Bonds Eyed for Capitol Fix

Oklahoma lawmakers are considering $150 million of bonds to finance repairs and renovations at the state capitol that are expected to cost $140 million.

The bonds would be issued in $50 million tranches over three years by Oklahoma Capitol Improvement Authority.

House Speaker Kris Steele, R-Shawnee, said options are being considered, and information is being gathered.

“At this point no decisions have been made,” Steele said. “No commitments have been made.”

Steele said there was little appetite for any additional bond proposals among House members.

Gov. Mary Fallin included $5 million for debt service on a $50 million bond issue for the capitol in her proposed budget for fiscal 2013.

Scaffolding was installed on the south side of the Capitol in October 2011 after chunks of limestone began falling from the 100-year-old structure.

Capitol architect Duane Mass said the exterior restoration alone could cost $10 million, including the masonry repair and replacement of much of the capitol’s copper dome.

He said it could take up to five years to re-position the airconditioning system, which was not part of the original structure.

The building’s plumbing and electrical systems may need replacement, Mass said, and other problems will likely surface as the work progresses.

Original cost of the structure when it was completed in 1917 was $1.5 million.

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Oklahoma
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