There’s a water in the river vote tomorrow — in Bixby.
Bixby is one of two communities holding sales tax renewal votes tomorrow, including its portion of the expiring Vision sales tax. Broken Arrow is the other.
Bixby proposes using three-tenths of its Vision renewal for Arkansas River projects. Mayor John Easton said they plan to dredge the channel to deepen the river.
"And we will use that material to build islands and habitat in the river, as well as stabilize and beautify our riverbanks," Easton said. "We will train water flow so that we can put the water where we want it and we can open it up for kayaking, canoeing, fishing and other sports activities."
Bixby officials propose using the other quarter cent of the Vision renewal to pay for more cops, firefighters and streets personnel. If approved, that piece of the package won’t expire.
"Our city is going to continue to grow. Our needs are not going to be any less in five, 10 or 20 years," Easton said. "It doesn't make sense to hire and train and equip these people on funding that could have a sunset."
Bixby voters are being asked to approve more than a penny in sales tax renewals in all. An existing half-cent sales tax is on the ballot for park maintenance.
"Our plan is simple. It's to create, support, protect and maintain a sustainable city from north Bixby to south Bixby — a community that people want to reside in for a day, a year, a generation," Easton said.
Broken Arrow's Vision renewal proposal is split between a three-tenths of a cent proposition to fund public safety and a quarter-cent one to pay for street maintenance. The public safety portion should bring it nearly $4 million a year to hire 20 police and firefighters.
Broken Arrow Chamber President Wes Smithwick was among the city leaders urging voters to approve the renewal.
"If you're a resident of Broken Arrow and you value the public safety that we have today, if you value the fire service and ambulance service that we have today, if you value the road network infrastructure we have and want us to continue to have state-of-the-art six-lane and five-lane roads in Broken Arrow, then you need to go out and vote 'yes' on both propositions," Smithwick said.
Mayor Craig Thurmond said two-thirds of Broken Arrow’s subdivisions need major street work.
"Right now, we have a small amount of money to cover that, and this is going to give us over $3 million a year to address those needs," Thurmond said.
City Manager Michael Spurgeon said this is a big election for Broken Arrow and neighboring Bixby.
"This is a great opportunity for all the voters in these two communities to help continue to progress forward and make this region one of the best places to live in the entire Midwest," Spurgeon said.
