The 2012 sales tax extension for Del City begins to pay off in a few big ways this year.

As part of an approximately $16 million improvement plan, Del City is building a new library, fire station, sports complex and women’s memorial.

These projects are all underway simultaneously, with the women’s memorial and fire station first on the timeline.

“The women’s veterans memorial is the project that is the absolute closest to completion,” City Manager Mark Edwards said. “It is going to be the [one of the few] monuments in the nation dedicated strictly to women in the military.”

The memorial, which is being built in Patriot Park, is set to be dedicated in November 2014. This memorial will consist of five bronze statues and a water feature depicting the different branches of the military.

“We have a planned dedication for Veterans Day, Nov. 11,” Mayor Brian Linley said.

The fire station slated for construction at SE 28th and Epperly, where Mister Keens Cleaners, the old police station/city hall and a few other buildings, are currently located. The contractors have been given the green light to tear down these buildings and construction will begin once plans are finalized.

“It’s real important that we relocate the fire station,” Linley said. “Currently fire station No. 2 is on the very, very outskirts of the south side of town, so the community is not really benefiting from the ISO rating it could have.”

Once online, the new station’s location will increase Del City’s ISO rating due to its centrality and more southern reach.

ISO is an independent company that rates risk assessments for fire stations across the country. It is not possible to determine how much it could change Del City's rating until construction is complete.

“A lot more people can benefit from the close proximity of fire and rescue operations by putting it in the middle of town,” Linley said.

The new station also will house the department’s administrative offices, which are currently located in the two different stations across town from one another. As for the old station, the city’s public works department will take up a shop in the space, a home they previously held, city officials said.

The next big project is a state-of-the-art library to be located at SE 15th and Sunnylane, where the old bowling alley currently sits.

“The current library we have has been in the community center building for years,” Vice Mayor and Ward 3 councilmember Ken Bartlett said. “We’re building a brand new free-standing building from the ground up. The way the library system works in Oklahoma County is a deal between the city and the county. We’re responsible for the building and the county is responsible for the content.”

The city has scheduled for the new library’s location to be demolished first and the city’s old police and fire station second.

“The same contractor has both demolitions,” Edwards said. “They will start with the library because it will be the simplest demolition. Then they have to go down to the old police/city hall building, which will be more complicated because smack-dab in the middle is a 100 foot water tower.”

The library building plans are not yet finalized, yet destruction of the old bowling alley will begin this week. Linley, Edwards and the current library staff have plans to tour local libraries and have polled local students as to what they should incorporate into the final building plans.

“We’re going to start touring the outlying communities to look at some of the new projects to get some ideas,” Linley said. “I also told the Del Quest 2013 class to give me some ideas of what [they] think a perfect library would be. We really got some great ideas from our students and we’re going to take all that information and share it with our engineer.”

Finally an all-inclusive sports complex is in the works for the north side of Ray Trent Park. This will provide a replacement for the sports complex at NE 4th and Sunnylane.

“We are wanting it to involve baseball fields, soccer fields and football fields,” Edwards said.

“We’re talking about bleachers, restrooms, lighting so that it can be used after hours, definitely running water and a whole lot of amenities that will be built into it. We don’t have anything on paper yet but that will be coming shortly.”

Other than buildings and sports facilities, the revenue from the sales tax extension has already been used to purchase a new police fleet, several public works vehicles – many of which are Compressed Natural Gas vehicles – and a new public works administrative building.

“Public works administration is working out of an old incinerator plant that has been cobbled together over the years, which has done the job for them, but really was never designed to be a proper administrative building,” Edwards said.

Del City officials look toward the coming year as a promising year of growth and development.

“2014 is going to be a busy year, but we’re feeling really good about it,” Linley said.  “We’re working on some good positive projects for the community.”