Four years from now, the first phase of the Chickasaw Nation and Indian Healthcare Systems hospital will be open. At the same time, the new turnpike from State Highway 37 to Indian Hills Road in Norman will be open.
That’s part of the speech Karl Nail gave to attendees at the annual Newcastle Chamber of Commerce State of the City luncheon on Tuesday, April 23.
For now, the City of Newcastle invites the public to celebrate the grand opening of the new nearly $10 million Fire Station #1 at 4:30 p.m. on May 10.
City spokesperson Scott Hannan said this will be a time to meet the firefighters, tour the new facility, and learn how it supports their daily lives and professional needs.
Hannan said, “A fire station is a second home to firefighters working 24-hour shifts. A firefighter will spend onethird of his/her life at the fire house each month.
“Shift crews perform all of the same activities and chores at the station that a family would do at home including, cooking, cleaning, sleeping, mowing, exercising, etc.”
Hannan said, “Personnel will also conduct training, apparatus/ equipment checks, filling out reports, hose testing, etc. The fire house is a unique place of bonding and building trust with brother and sister firefighters. Safety and performance on the emergency calls are byproducts of this unity.”
Hannan said the City thanks Newcastle council members, Newcastle residents, and city staff for making the vision a reality for the firefighters.
The facility was designed by Guernsey Engineers, Architects and Consultants, and was built by Lingo Construction at a cost of just under $9.8 million.
During the State of the City, Mayor Nail reiterated that planning by the City Council and administration was to build new facilities and infrastructure generationally — “for our kids and grandkids,” Nail said.
Nail said the new Fire Station 1 is 18,000 square feet and “it is amazing.” He said the City has about $10 million in the facility and because of prepayments made by the City, the debt will be serviceable. He said paying off the fire station will have no impact on the City’s cash flow. They’ll be looking at the purchase of a ladder truck in the future.
Other large projects by the City, according to Nail, are the recently completed Animal Shelter at $3.4 million, the now-under-construction Wastewater Treatment Plant at a cost of $52 million which is planned to be complete by July 25, and several streets and roads projects including Eunice Road renovation, the Walker Avenue extension engineering along with its three bridges, and engineering to widen Country Club to a fourlane road. The Walker Avenue project is a $2.5 million to $3 million project.
Nail said with the activities underway, Country Club will be an even more important north to south road and more future traffic is expected. Along with the City’s projects, Nail said the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, as part of their Access Oklahoma project, will be rebuilding the smaller overpasses on the turnpike which service Newcastle roads.
Another source of pride Nail discussed was the Newcastle Master Parks Plan and the funding of facilities the City has obtained. He said a $2.3 million grant is awaiting final approval and the City is working towards having its matching portion for the Pavilion at Veterans Park. He said those wanting more information on the project can go to the City’s website and there they will find the Master Parks Plan.
The City also has a $1.6 million grant it received three years ago for the Newcastle Sports Complex (related story in this issue of the Newcastle Pacer), but it awaits approval from the National Parks Service and from Tribal authorities. He said in the meantime, the money that was awarded is no longer enough to fund the originally announced design because of inflation.
“We may have to scale back our plans, but Jeanette (Mc-Nally) is working to see if we can obtain more funds since our expenses have gone up,” Nail said.
Conversely, Nail described the City’s five-year sales and use tax trends which have in the last couple of years been on an uptrend, he said. The mayor further explained that the City and administrators believe there will be somewhat of a downward trend, but they continue planning ahead with their conservative budgeting and actions seeking out sales generators, which in turn will generate sales taxes for the city coffers.
Turnpike Coming
Nail said the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority Access Oklahoma east-to-west road between Newcastle and Norman is described as being 30% complete in design. He said OTA hopes to be at 60% done by the end of the year.
“The new bridge across the Canadian River will be 6,500 feet long and more than likely, sometime in 2025 they will start on construction of the bridge,” Nail said. “Within about four years there will be a turnpike here.”
Indian Hospital Coming
The Chickasaw Nation and Indian Health Services hospital will be located on 160 acres at the southwest corner of State Highway 62 and 16th Street. The land was purchased and has been placed in a trust.
“Also, four years from now, phase 1 of the new hospital will be open,” Nail said.
He said phase 1 includes 50 rooms, clinics, an emergency room, and 24 dental chairs.
Phase 2 is anticipated to include 900 examination rooms with 600 doctors working out of them. Planned are 22 operating rooms, and 10 pysch beds to bring individuals in for evaluations.
“This is tremendous,” Nail said, adding that the City has been meeting and planning for the additional water, sewer and other infrastructure that will be necessary.
Those items will have to be finalized over the next year because, according to Nail, within about 14-18 months, residents should be able to see buildings coming out of the ground. Upon completion there will be multiple 5-8 floor buildings.
“Indians will be treated there with the exception of the emergency room where anyone will be treated,” Nail said. “The level of care available here will be unmatched.”
The mayor said this facility will change the face of Newcastle with large parking garages and lakes on the north and south corners of the property. Also expected are a multitude of ancillary businesses, not just healthcare but businesses of all kinds to service the needs of the expected upto possibly 8,000 employees, according to Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby.
“This will be a visually amazing addition to this community — life changing. We did not seek this out, but we have it,” he said, noting the planning and preparation that must take place.
Nail said the City Council and administration want to keep doing things to make Newcastle special.
He said, “We don’t want to be another Moore or Edmond, we want to be Newcastle.”
Nail encouraged Newcastle residents to be active and knowledgeable. He added that any suggestions anyone has are welcome.
