A great crowd of Broken Arrow residents attended the first GO Bond Public Forum, held at the Battle Creek Golf Course Banquet Room on Aug. 28.
They learned about the roughly $600 million in proposed projects under consideration for the 2026 General Obligation Bond package. City officials estimate that some $400 million will be available to fund these projects. Therefore, it is up to the City Council to decide which projects to include in the propositions that will be presented to the voters on April 7, 2026.
The forums are a way for the Council and city leaders to engage with the public and to hear the citizens’ first-hand opinions about each of these initiatives. The next public forum will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 3, at the Broken Arrow Public Schools Events Center, Varsity Room, 2200 N. 23rd St., beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Mayor Debra Wimpee and City Manager Michael Spurgeon welcomed everyone to the event.
"We are excited about the future of Broken Arrow and want your input," Wimpee said. "We're being intentional with the growth and what we're providing with your tax dollars."
Spurgeon touted the city's 40-year history of supporting bond initiatives. He encouraged the residents to meet with each of the public officials and said that the data collected from the three GO Bond Forums would be heavily relied upon when it came to decision-making time for the Council near the end of 2025.
"Let us know what you think about those projects," Spurgeon said. "Because when you've got to go from $600 million in change to $400 million, priorities matter. And so, I encourage you, on behalf of the Mayor, the Council, and the Directors, to take the time to let us know what your priorities are, because in the end, it will matter."
After the brief remarks, the citizens walked around to the various project stations, examined the displays, and engaged with city leaders, staff, and representatives from the city facility user groups.
James Bell, who served on the Citizen Steering Committee, said it was essential for him to attend the forum to learn how citizens' opinions differed from those of the Steering Committee.
"It's important to be here to support the city in this process because these improvements support our quality of life," Bell said. "It's economic development, it supports the continued sustainable growth of the city."
Linda Young has lived in Broken Arrow since 1979. She prioritized coming to the forum to learn more about the proposed projects.
"In general, I'd say I'm pretty impressed with the whole list because it touches on a lot of things that we need and it covers a lot of ground," Young said. "It's not really focused on one particular area, and I think that is smart."
Homeowners' Association President Vicky Anderson says she came to the forum to pass along information to her neighborhood association. She is also active at the Broken Arrow Senior Center.
"That facility is so wonderful, but the old building is not as nice," Anderson said. "I found out tonight that they're planning to expand the current new building so they could put it all in one building, and I think that is marvelous! Nobody running across the street, they can have wonderful facilities for the whole thing."
