By Lisa Beeman
Community Development Director
In the upcoming March 6 General Obligation Bond Election, the voters will have an opportunity to decide if the City of Bartlesville should make a substantial investment in the City’s Park and Recreation system.
This proposition seeks approval from the voters to allocate $8.26 million to make much-needed repairs and improvements throughout the park and recreation system. Projects included in this proposition are in response to what citizens have said they want and expect from the City’s park system: to maintain and improve the facilities that we have and, where appropriate, utilize parks and recreation facilities to enhance our local economy by attracting visitors to Bartlesville, as well as by encouraging homebuyers, workers, young families and retirees to call Bartlesville home.
The majority of the funds proposed for park and recreational improvements — 78 percent, or $6,483,500 — will be used to maintain, improve or upgrade the City’s existing park and recreation facilities. These project include:
- Repave and repair two miles of Pathfinder Parkway ($304,500)
- Repave parking lots in the City’s parks ($634,500)
- New entryway and fencing for Kiddie Park ($101,500)
- Continued improvement and upgrade of Price Fields Baseball/Softball Complex ($3,654,500)
- Lighting of Daniels Fields ($355,300)
- Upgrade and remodel Johnstone Park restrooms ($76,100)
- Veterans Park playground and memorial ($81,200)
- Improved City entryway and park signage ($192,900)
- Johnstone Park skate park replacement ($355,300)
- Splash pad at Johnstone Park Pavilion ($355,300)
- Adams Golf Course bunker repair and equipment ($152,300)
- Repave Douglass Park walkway ($45,700)
- Solar lighting for Lee Lake Trail ($32,300)
- Miscellaneous park improvements, erosion repair and replacement of drinking fountains, benches and picnic tables ($142,100)
An additional $1,776,500 is identified for the construction of the Tower Green, an outdoor public space which ties together the Price Tower, Bartlesville Community Center and the Downtown Central Business District. This space, envisioned in both the 2004 Downtown Master Plan and the 2009 Downtown Redevelopment Plan as the heart of the Downtown Arts and Cultural District, will provide Bartlesville with a “town square,” found in many downtown areas, which serve as a community gathering space.
The space would include an open green space as well as an outdoor amphitheater, which can be used by the public for a wide variety of community events, concerts, theater, movies, music and art festivals, public markets, weddings, school and church programs and gatherings, and other opportunities for recreational and leisure activities for children and adults of all ages. A committee would be formed to oversee the management, programming and maintenance of the facility, under a partnership between the City of Bartlesville, the Price Tower and the Bartlesville Community Center.
The Park and Recreation Proposition, the first of four questions voters will decide during the upcoming election, includes improvements to most of the City of Bartlesville-owned park and recreation facilities, including Pathfinder Parkway, Johnstone Park, Kiddie Park, Sooner Park, Jo Allyn Lowe Park, Douglass Park, Veterans’ Park, Adams Golf Course, Price Baseball/Softball Complex; Daniels Fields and Lee Lake.
For more information about the City of Bartlesville’s General Obligation Bond Election, see GO Bond Election 2018 FAQ, GoBond2018.com or GO Bond Election Presentation.
This is the first in a three-part series of informational columns concerning the City of Bartlesville’s upcoming General Bond Election on March 6, 2018. The remaining projects and other information will be covered in the next two installments.