Bartlesville voters overwhelmingly approved all four ballot propositions presented in the Oct. 10 General Obligation Bond Election.
Seventy percent of the $17.6 million bond package will be used to repair existing streets, while the remaining funds will pay for upgrades to public safety, parks and City facilities and equipment.
“I am extremely grateful to everyone who took the time to vote in this election,” said City Manager Mike Bailey. “Bartlesville residents have again demonstrated their overwhelming support for the ongoing General Obligation Bond program, which serves to maintain, strengthen and enhance the services we provide to our citizens.”
According to unofficial results from the Washington County Election Board, all four propositions passed by the following percentages:
Public safety buildings and equipment ($2,412,000) – 69.49%
Municipal buildings and equipment ($696,000) – 68.78%
Streets and bridges ($12,278,000) – 75.68%
Parks and recreation ($2,214,000) – 69.25%
GO bond funding is one of the few options municipalities in Oklahoma have for funding capital projects. The City typically holds G.O. bond elections every three to five years.
“This funding enables us to fund the projects that citizens expect us to do,” said Bailey. “It pays for street projects, public safety vehicles and equipment, park projects, improvements to our facilities and upgrades to the software and other tools we need to provide services to our residents and the people who visit our great city.”
City staff and the City’s bond counsel will move as quickly as possible to get started, Bailey said.
“We appreciate the faith the voters have put in us, and we will move to issue as quickly as we can. Based on our mill cap, about $3.5 million in bonds will be issued post-June 30, 2024,” he said.
Funding for G.O. Bonds is provided through the ad valorem (property) tax, which is capped at 15 mils to ensure there is no tax increase for Bartlesville residents.
Projects included in the issue include:
- Portions of the following streets:
- Adams Boulevard
- Silver Lake Road
- Jefferson Road
- Lupa
- Rockdale
- Cherokee
- Lahoma
- Michigan
- Southview
- Swan Drive
- Avondale
- Park Hill streets
- Spruce
- Greystone
- Rice Creek road
- Valley and Denver
- Georgetown
- A new fire station No. 2 at Hensley Boulevard and Virginia Avenue
- Improvements to Pathfinder Parkway
- Security lighting in City-owned parks
- Wayfinding signs
- Douglass Park playground shade structure
- Hudson Lake restrooms
- Jo Allyn Lowe drainage improvements and trail lights
- Adams Golf Course greens rebuild
- Upgrade to the City’s core servers and UPS replacement
To see a full list of the projects, see www.cityofbartlesville.org.