April 2024

As the end of the fiscal year approaches, the team is racing to finalize contracts for remaining projects on the eight-year plan. This month’s big push was getting projects through the solicitation phase to secure construction managers. Currently, 11 of the priority projects are in the solicitation phase.

A few buildings across the Capitol Complex are under construction, including the Will Rogers and Sequoyah buildings, which recently experienced delays in the delivery of materials that impacted their start dates. Meanwhile, the crews at the Hodge and Connors buildings are putting the finishing touches on the entrance replacements.
The Agriculture Building project has nearly finished the first of seven phases, and the contractors are beginning to mobilize to the next section of the facility. Repairs will be made to the lighting, ceiling grids, variable air volume control system and air handler units.

We will continue to provide updates as projects progress. View the dashboard for real-time updates and details for all FY 2025 deferred maintenance projects.

This month, REALS held a sealed bid auction for a property owned by the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Real Property Trust. Located in Oklahoma City at 1501 NE 11th St., the property was sold to the highest and best bid received. 

The transaction will now move to closing procedures and be transferred to the winning bidder once all documents are completed and remaining monies are received.

The Office of Facilities Management was recently presented with a lighting rebate check from OG&E as part of our energy program. OFM takes a proactive approach to energy savings by identifying opportunities to save the state utility costs. This presentation check was a result of our lighting retrofit project at the Oliver Hodge Building, where we replaced outdated light fixtures with new LED lights and reduced fixture counts by approximately half while maintaining code-compliant lighting levels.

Fleet is pleased to welcome Jed Redeker to the team as our fleet systems manager. Born and raised in Oklahoma, Redeker joins the Fleet team with a B.B.A. in economics as well as a background in the Marines. He brings with him experience in logistics planning and operations, KPIs, reporting and analysis. 

Redeker is a father to 10 children, and in his free time, he is an avid reader who enjoys DIY projects like building trebuchet catapults.

We appreciate the expertise Redeker brings to our operations and are happy to welcome him onto the Fleet team!

Efforts are underway toward the construction of the Oklahoma Capitol Arch to honor the 45th Division of the Oklahoma National Guard. With the initial master plan by Mass Architects and the recent selection of Quad to build the 30x60 limestone arch, the bill passed through the 2024 Oklahoma Legislature with great support. The surrounding park will feature additional monuments to commemorate those who have served, as well as a small amphitheater and walking paths. 

The original concept dates back to the initial design of the Capitol grounds in 1919, though it was excluded from construction due to funding constraints at that time. As this project has been revived after the completion of the Capitol Restoration Project in 2022, the Office of Management and Enterprise Services will oversee the effort through to its final fulfillment, over a century after its initial design.

Construction at the Jim Thorpe Building continues to push forward, with mechanical ducting largely complete up to the fifth floor.

Plumbing and piping work is underway on the upper floors, and the basement slab trenches have been patched. Interior wall framing throughout the building is 90% finished, and the final insulation and drywall installation is in progress on every floor.

Interior electrical installation including fire suppression systems are underway, while installation for the waterline and storm drainage was initiated this month.

The team is also initiating mockups to restore the building's original limestone. Overall, we are exploring opportunities for the project's betterment that will be considered by the oversight committee.

Currently expected for completion in August 2026, the building's construction progress remains on schedule.

Renovations at the Allen Wright Library are moving into the schematic design phase of architectural design. 

Still on time and on budget, the team is beginning the pricing process to ensure that state archives and records are securely transferred and stored.

For Central Printing and Interagency Mail, the last two weeks of January are what we call our "tax season crunch time." This is the time of the year we print, insert, meter and mail tax-related documents for several of our client agencies. To ensure that we are prepared, we begin in early October and work with our supply vendors on pricing, converting and delivering the custom envelopes and perforated stock needed for the different 1099-R, 1095, W-2 and benefit statement documents. 

In 2025, we produced a quarter of a million tax documents. Every member of our team worked tirelessly to ensure that every statement was in the mail before the mandated Jan. 31 deadline.

This month we are pleased to highlight OFM's service contract specialist, Cindy Holloway! Holloway is always available to aid in any procurement effort for OFM. She is a proactive worker when it comes to assessing the most effective way to get things done with the building managers and vendors she collaborates with. She takes strong ownership of managing vendors, contracts and day-to-day operations as required to ensure the state is receiving what taxpayers pay for.

When she's not working, Holloway enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, exploring new restaurants with friends and family, and gardening as an artistic outlet.