04-08-2025
Sikes Senter sale, firefighters benefits on City Council agenda
Wichita Falls city councilors will discuss the recently revealed plan to buy Sikes Senter when they meet on Tuesday, but not in public.
The meeting is set for 8:30 a.m. in the Seminar Room of the MPEC, 1000 Fifth St. The meeting is open to the public except for the executive sessions, and is livestreamed on the city's Facebook page.
Two executive closed-door items are "negotiations with a third party (including, but not limited to, the purchase and/or value related to 3111 Midwestern Parkway)," which is the address of Sikes Senter. The agenda said deliberation in open session would have a detrimental effect on the position of the city in negotiations.
The second item is "to discuss or deliberate the offer of a financial or other incentive to a business prospect" the City Council seeks to locate here. The agenda said that closed-door talk would be "including, but not limited to, an economic development update and 3111 Midwestern Pkwy."
After Sikes Senter merchants received notice of the sale on July 24, Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce CEO Ron Kitchens confirmed the city's Economic Development Corporation was in contact with the owners of Sikes Senter to buy the 60-acre property and sell it to an undisclosed Dallas developer to bulldoze the present building and create retail "clusters." Kitchens said the site would also include space for a stadium to be leased to Midwestern State University. Kitchens said the stadium would be built with philanthropic donations and money from the Texas Tech University System. A university spokesperson on Wednesday said Texas Tech would not contribute funding to the project.
A public hearing on the Sikes Senter plan is set for 2:30 p.m. Aug. 14 in Room 10 of the MPEC, 1000 Fifth St.
Items the council will consider in open session on Tuesday include approving the "Funding Soundness Restoration Plan for the Wichita Falls Firemen's Relief and Retirement Fund" and increasing the city's contribution rate to the fund from 17.5% to 18%.
Councilors will also consider awarding a contract for the 2025 Water Budget Utility Improvement Project & Large Valve Replacement to Bowles Construction for $1,049,599.
Other business will include:
Spending $64,500 with CLAW Contractors, LLC to construct a dog park at 1200 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Buying mowers for the Parks Department for $51,874.26.
Buying new carpet for the library for $326,368 and new shelves for $60,225.
Accepting a grant from the Priddy Foundation for $55,000 for new shelves at the library.
Approving plans for the annual Block Grant from the federal government.
Buying a pair of garage doors from Tex-Oma Building Supply for $66,200.
More: Sikes Senter's replacement might resemble this Metroplex shopping center
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This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Sikes Senter sale, firefighters benefits on City Council agenda
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