Source: City of Broken Arrow
In the early hours of Jan. 14, City of Nowata officials were alerted that a catastrophic fire had burned their Public Works Facility to the ground along with seven vehicles, two backhoes, an excavator, a sewer truck, and several mowers.
The fire took 45 minutes to burn down what the city of 3,500 people took years to build.
“We had spent a lot of money in the last two years to upgrade our city barn with insulation and a new roof and so forth, and it was gone,” Nowata City Councilor Dean Bridges said at the Jan. 21, Broken Arrow City Council meeting.
Following the fire, Bridges, a 25-year Army veteran, put his experience to work and began reaching out to area communities, including Broken Arrow, seeking assistance.
“I called Kenny [Schwab] and said, ‘I don’t know where we’re at, but I’m going to ask you if your city can help us with work if we need something,” Bridges said.
Assistant City Manager Kenny Schwab assured Bridges that he would discuss the situation with City Manager Michael Spurgeon and the Broken Arrow City Council.
Schwab also contacted Maintenance Services Director Ryan Baze, who said the City of Broken Arrow happened to have a 2007 Kubota excavator that had recently been replaced and deemed surplus equipment.
The mini excavator had reached the end of its useful lifecycle for Broken Arrow’s purposes, with City crews clocking 7,000 hours on this particular piece of equipment. However, it’s still operational and will be a valuable asset for Nowata in their time of need.
The Broken Arrow City Council unanimously voted to transfer ownership to the City of Nowata at its meeting on Jan. 21 in exchange for labor on a future project after they make it through this crisis.
Drivers from the Maintenace Services Department delivered the excavator to Nowata on Wednesday after Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Baze says he is proud to work for a city with a heart to help.
“I think this trade highlights the inter-city cooperation, especially in times of crisis,” Baze said. “By trading resources like this equipment for labor, I think Broken Arrow and Nowata are able to support each other.”
“My mayor wanted me to tell you, words cannot express how much we appreciate this,” Bridges said. “I will promise you that this excavator will be used, it will be abused, and it will help us move forward as we overcome this position that we are in. I cannot tell you how much it will help us, so thank you very much!”
Broken Arrow City officials were empathetic to Nowata’s situation and wanted to help in any way possible.
City Manager Michael Spurgeon remembered when he was working in a smaller community, and there was a major fire at a transfer station, and two trash trucks were lost.
“I know what it is like to be here in this situation but to be able to help one of our other communities, not only is it the right thing to do, but I think we have a responsibility to do that,” Spurgeon said.
The City of Broken Arrow has a history of helping other communities, Councilor Lisa Ford said.
“We’ve done the same with police cars; we’ve given police cars to NSU, and we’ve donated police uniforms to the City of Haskell Police Department,” Ford said. “It may not be useful to us anymore, but to these smaller communities, it’s like a brand-new car or excavator.”
Mayor Debra Wimpee agreed, saying, “Working together in this capacity makes our cities stronger, and stronger cities make a stronger state.”
Bridges said the City of Nowata has a long road ahead.
“We’re going to take it as an opportunity to rebuild and go forward,” he said. “Thank you, I’m trying to hold back some tears, but thank you so much!”
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