By John Dobberstein, Editor
During Tuesday’s “Build Our Future” GO Bond election, Broken Arrow voters will have an up-or-down vote on whether to make significant improvements to facilities that city officials believe add to the “quality-of-life” factor in the city.
Propositions 3 and 4 together represent $139 million, or 33%, of the $415 million bond package proposed by the city — including construction of a large community center at Elam Park on the south side of Broken Arrow, and expansion or improvements for Rose District Plaza, the veteran and senior centers and the city’s two museums.
Proposition 7, which asks voters to approve a $4 million contribution toward a partnership between the city and the Tulsa City-County Library (TCCL) system to expand the South Broken Arrow Library, which is a $12 million project.
If the three propositions are approved it would not increase current property taxes.
Boosting recreation options
With Proposition 3, the big-ticket project is the $42 million multi-purpose community center that would support fitness programming and other activities. City Manager Michael Spurgeon said a community center ranked very highly in recent community surveys about recreational options.
The building would have courts for basketball, volleyball, pickleball and other sports, and likely an elevated walking track. “When we’ve talked to folks they have just raved about the ability to be able to walk indoors in inclement weather,” Spurgeon noted.
Another project in Proposition 3 would include $4 million for a splash pad and other amenities at Elam Park.
Additional major highlights of this proposition include:
- Splash pad for Country Aire to replace the pool ($3.2 million)
- Park playground equipment upgrades and amenities ($2.7 million)
- Pickleball courts and amenities at Nienhuis Park ($2 million)
- Central Park Community Center Renovation and Expansion ($2.3 million)
- A new dog park in undetermined area of Broken Arrow ($2 million)
Another $9 million would be budgeted for upgrades to Battle Creek Golf Course, phase 2 of the Gardens at Central Park expansion, sand volleyball courts at Nienhuis Park and other projects.
Developing ‘placemaking’ assets
Proposition 4 would direct another $65 million in expansions, relocations and improvements for several community institutions that have already proven popular with Broken Arrow residents.
Some $51.4 million would be used to expand and renovate the Broken Arrow Senior Center ($18 million project); expand Rose District Plaza ($10 million); expand and renovate the Arts @302 facility ($7.5 million); expand, renovate and improve parking for the Broken Arrow Veterans Center; relocate the Oklahoma Military History Center ($9.2 million); and expand and renovate The Museum Broken Arrow ($5 million).
Another $13.6 million would be for projects with second priority, including a vehicle storage building and traffic monitoring center renovations for the city’s Operations Center, renovation of the city’s Fleet Maintenance building, and fiber optic network ring infrastructure.
Spurgeon said the current building housing the military museum has reached its useful life, but a new location hasn’t been chosen yet. The city would like to move it near the Veterans Center and Veterans Park.
He said the city would like to start a veterans tourism program. The opportunity there, he says, is for other school districts to bring their 9th or 10th graders to Broken Arrow for a program to learn about military history.
Another piece of the puzzle for the Rose District is a master plan that was created for “Rose District Plaza,” which includes the 158-foot-tall former grain silo and adjacent properties, which is in Proposition 4. The city purchased the silo, originally built in 1962, from Hansen-Mueller in 2024 during an auction for $250,000.
In November the City Council chose an option that would keep the existing splash pad and align the open lawn and farmers market to keep an open layout. The pavilion would be relocated north to a spot on El Paso Street, which will create a boulevard through the plaza.
The option chosen by the city for the plaza would double the size of the covered pavilion area to be used during the farmer’s market, ice skating and outdoor events and include an open lawn with permanent stage, a food truck alleyway, some covered seating and other playground and play features.
Just north of the splashpad lies The Museum Broken Arrow, which has been seeking to expand its facility.
The Veterans Center, Senior Center Annex and Arts @ 302 buildings are all new with the last few years, but Spurgeon said needs have already outstripped the available amenities at the Senior Center and Veterans Center, and expansion has always been planned for Arts @302.
The Broken Arrow Senior Center has grown to more than 3,000 members and Spurgeon noted they’re averaging visits in the hundreds of patrons each day. The city felt that expanding the Senior Center Annex made more sense than spending significant money on the aging Senior Center building on the west side of Main Street.
From left: Renderings of proposed Rose District Farmers Market, Senior Center expansion and relocated Oklahoma Military History Museum.
While many cities, such as Tulsa, have benefit from private foundations and philanthropic help to support arts programs, Spurgeon says that hasn’t been the case in Broken Arrow thus far.
“When I first started here in 2015, the city had hired a gentleman for 3 years and paid him $150,000 to raise money privately for helping with building the arts center, and he didn’t get one pledge. So yes, there is a limited amount of appreciable resources in Broken Arrow,” Spurgeon said.
“There are folks that support the operational expenses, but having the type of money that you have in Tulsa just doesn’t exist here to offset those costs for capital improvements.”
“Those are all about trying to create opportunities for placemaking, for our residents to do things locally and maintain that small-town feel,” Spurgeon says, “and to make sure Broken Arrow’s history and the arts is a priority.”
New future for library?
Proposition 7 on Tuesday’s ballot asks voters to approve city funding to build a new library in south Broken Arrow in partnership with the Tulsa City-County Library (TCCL) system. The library first started talking about the expansion in 2022.
The city is offering to contribute $4 million toward the project to replace the current 6,000-square-foot facility at the corner of Aspen Avenue and New Orleans Street. Built in 1993, the South Broken Arrow Library is the system’s 6th busiest of 25 libraries pat of TCCL.
TCCL has raised $6.6 million for the project through planned capital savings and private fundraising, but there is still a funding gap of around $5.35 million.
Renderings of proposed new South Broken Arrow Library to replace the current, 6,000-square-foot buildings.
Housing 150,000 items, with nearly 80,000 of them for children, the city has seen increases in visitors every year since 2021. The library also hosts more than 20 homeschooling groups that use a single meeting room.
Preliminary designs for the new facility, which would be located east of the current location, show it would triple the size of the current location and increase the library’s collection.
According to the city, the 18,000-square-foot facility would offer more community meeting rooms, expanded space for children’s programming, dedicated homeschool instruction space, an outdoor reading area, play space for children, updated technology and a tech hub and an outdoor children’s amphitheater.
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