MAYOR’S MINUTE
Broken Arrow’s Bright Future Recycling, Development, and City Projects in BA by Mayor Craig Thurmond Happy New Year Broken Arrow! 2019 was another exciting year for the community. The city saw the creation of its second Tax Increment Finance, or TIF, district with the Creek 51 Business Park; the Elm and New Orleans Advisory Committee was formed to decide the best way the City MAYOR THURMOND can help revitalize an important area; we hosted a nationally-televised Showtime boxing event, and the City had more than $117 million in improvements underway. All that momentum puts the city in a wonderful position heading into 2020. For starters, Showtime loved the Rumble in the Rose District and the atmosphere that Broken Arrow had for the fights. The producers have told us they would like to return to the Rose District to host a second event again this year. Hopefully, the weather cooperates more and we can keep this one outside. Also in 2020, City leaders plan to maintain a major focus on economic development in the community. The Elm and New Orleans Advisory Committee I mentioned continues to meet twice each month gathering information and forming ideas on how the city should proceed in helping the area. I’m excited about the work this committee is doing and look forward to the full report, which should be ready in May or June. Other economic developments include the opening of the Milestone project and the Bramble restaurant in the Rose District. I know I speak for the rest of the City Council and the administration when I say growing retail shopping and dining opportunities in the south part of our community is a major priority for all of us. We want all of our residents to feel they can get everything they need within a reasonable distance from their home, but within Broken Arrow. We are all very excited about the planned ribbon cuttings and groundbreakings in South Broken Arrow in 2020. Another major change coming this year is the change to the trash service. The Municipal Authority last fall decided to implement curbside recycling for all residential trash customers. Adding curbside recycling means residents 36
Broken Arrow City Magazine | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020
need to have a cart for trash and another for recyclables. This also means the entire city’s pickup schedule has to be updated to accommodate changing to once-per-week pickup. The city’s administration is working hard on all the logistics concerning this transition. Look for information from the city in the coming months about the implementation. I know this is a big change for both the city and residents, but pretty much all successful cities our size have curbside recycling, and it’s time Broken Arrow did too. 2020 won’t be without its challenges for the city. Two of the biggest are also two of the most visible – the Hillside Drive and the Tiger Hill retaining walls. There are plans to correct both, and work on the planned shopping center at Tiger Hill will go on unimpeded. Hillside Drive should be ready for traffic again this summer. Another challenge is that, like all Oklahoma communities, we rely on sales tax to fund operations. Among other things, this provides vital Police and Fire service for BA and money to fix our streets. This is why you will always hear city leaders say it’s so important to shop local — when you need a police officer or have a medical emergency, Amazon isn’t coming to help you.
