PLATFORM
In my successful campaign for the Bartlesville City Council 6 years ago, one of my primary objectives
was to improve the quality of life for the citizens of Bartlesville. I committed to follow our valued but
under-utilized strategic plans that recommended we make significant investments for our quality of
life, improve our Parks, fund maintenance of our parks , and grow and strengthen our downtown.
After 3 terms, I believe, with the support of a committed City Council and Administration, we’ve made great progress. As promised, my focus has been to lead the effort to improve our quality of life. We have vastly improved the economic prosperity of our community by strengthening and enhancing Bartlesville's core assets: our historic Downtown District, our existing park system and our youth and adult athletic fields. By creating great public places like the new Tower Center at Unity Square, today they help us attract young families, new businesses, residents, and visitors by promoting our festivals and events and by simply providing an awesome place to gather.
Additionally, investing in new sporting venues, new softball and baseball fields with new parking, restrooms and concessions, up-grading our famous Kiddie Park and constructing a new and exciting skate/bike/scooter park, further enhances the lives of our citizens and will also strengthen and help grow our economy in many new ways.
We have made great progress in quality of life, and as a result today, growing our community and attracting young families and workers is becoming a reality. With innovative housing and business incentives our Economic Development efforts continues to find ways and create opportunities to attract companies and jobs to our community. I will continue to help find and support way to grow our City.
THE ISSUES
Comprehensive Economic Development
With recent improvements to our quality of life in Bartlesville, our community is now better positioned to attract and retain retirees and workers who previously have chosen communities to our south to reside in will working here. That will be our task going forward. With this new quality of life investments, new retail and restaurant choices, along with our quality schools and health care, our tourism departments, community leaders, economic development officials, realtors and the community
have a great story to share about how great it is to live in this community.
In an incredibly challenging environment our economic development program under the Bartlesville
Development Authority (BDA) has worked diligently and successfully to market this community and grow primary jobs. It has supported companies helping grow and preserve local jobs.
The BDA just recently purchased the Siemens complex by the airport for $1.75 million using the proceeds from the recent sale to ABB of a building, which was built and leased to this strong and growing corporate partner.
With this arrangement, we have purchased a new and marketable facility which is in very good shape, preserved 24 jobs currently residing in this facility and now have a facility to offer several manufacturing prospects who are looking to quickly move into.
We are working daily with local business prospects to find solutions to their ideas for start-ups, growth and expansion. In addition, we are pursuing companies in our region that might be viable companies to re-locate locally.
Today we offer incentives for new employees to purchase or build homes and we a developing a program of incentives to attract remote workers looking for a community like Bartlesville to reside and work in.
High speed Broadband Internet service throughout the city is critical to our community. With the advent of COVID, the work environment is changing and more people are required to or can choose to work remotely from home. With the significant improvements to our quality of life, schools, health care we have a great opportunity to attract remote worker to reside here and work remotely for distant companies.
Beside the question of quality schools, the quality Broadband coverage is the question asked by most all new residents. We must improve this essential life-line for all to utilize and I will work to provide all the necessary means to grow and strengthen our broadband coverage in Bartlesville and the surrounding area.
I will continue to find new innovative ways to grow jobs for this community This is priority number 1.
Downtown Is Key
It’s been proven in town after town, all across the country that prospering community’s invest in their downtown. Our own strategic plans stress the need to capitalize on Bartlesville historic downtown. In the end, the entire city is the overall winner because downtown is the heart and soul of this city.
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“….downtown Bartlesville with it’s large corporate base, arts/culture amenities, historical sites – is collectively the city’s most unique asset and it’s strongest competitive advantage”. Angelou Strategic Plan Update, 2013.
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“….the growth in visitors and residents that result from a rejuvenated downtown district will improve the growth prospects and health of retail stores and restaurants throughout Bartlesville, not only in the downtown area.” Angelou Strategic Plan Update, 2013.
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“….Preservation and development of Parks and open space are critical to the Vitality of Downtown.” Angelou Strategic Plan Update, 2013.
While that was determined in 2013, in the last 2 years we have added a key piece of the puzzle between the iconic Price Tower and the Community Center…… the Tower Green at Unity Square. This outdoor amphitheater and gathering place is helping our citizens connect and provides continued growth opportunities for our Downtown and our City.
I’m proud that within months of my first term our Council determined the City alone was the owner of downtown landscaping and its maintenance and future improvements. Today we have completed two phases of improvements and we will soon start the next and final phase. We have responsibly reduced the scope and cost to maintain the downtown landscaping while preserving a quality aesthetic appeal.
We also just finished a complete resurfacing of all the downtown streets with money approved from the 2018 bond issue. Our downtown continues to grow and strengthen and is a core asset that we can proudly represent to new business prospects, workers and retirees and visitors to our community. Downtown remains a priority for me.
Proactive Communications
I believe the people who live, work and do business here should have a voice in how our community develops. Our 2018 Parks Bond issue was a great example of that. From the historic levels of supports to the individuals that worked on many of these projects and helped make them what they are today is a great example of listening to the citizens.
I will be fully informed on all critical and important matters that come before the Council and I will be responsive to equally important individual concerns. I will continue to communicate professionally with City Staff, Councilors and the community.
I will keep the citizens business squarely before us and pledge to move important issues before the Council to help insure progress. I embrace and respect constructive civil dialogue, diversity and differing opinions. We all don’t think alike, respecting and appreciating that is what makes our community work so well.
Quality Of Life is Critical
Today our Quality of Life is a priority. The completion of Tower Green at Unity Square was the culmination of many forces and is providing a place for our community to gather and enjoy events, music, art, plays, concerts and the company of our fellow citizens.
In six years I have served our community has moved forward by following our strategic plans and through our bond issues, supported the construction of new splash pads, a first class skatboard park, improvements to our most unique Kiddie Park, improved our parks and park maintenance, pathfinder and youth and adult softball and baseball fields.
These projects and places help enhance our lives daily and bring generations together to enjoy fellowship, musical entertainment, festivals, art, activities and youth and adults sports. (see list of
accomplishments)
Today our community has leveled the quality of life “playing field” with our neighboring cities and we better attract workers and young families to reside here. This is our continued task ahead!
Quality of life will always be a top priority and I’ll always be looking for ways to further enhance our lives in Bartlesville. I will work daily to use these to help strengthen and grow our local businesses and attract new workers and residents to this community.
I will continue to support, equip and train our Police, Fire and Emergency Management Services so they can provide safety, cooperation and respect for our Citizens and for the men and woman that provide for our safety.
Financial Stewardship
I will continue support to limited, prudent spending and provide fiscal responsibly through balanced budgeting. Despite the revenue unknowns during the first 6 months of the pandemic, we managed to make grow our rainy-day funds, preserves our fund reserves, retain all City Staff and keep our Police and Fire staffing at proper and safe levels.
In 2018 we approved the first “multi-year police and fire contract provided a step increase and a system to make future step increase more available. This will help insure the integrity of these essential
departments and the safety of our community. We also purchased and are bringing on-line new “Enterprise” management software that will stream line our billing and reporting process, provide
better data and better serve the community.
As costs continue to rise and with our historical level revenues our retail expansion has helped in many ways replace these diminishing revenues. Finding ways to reduce our cost structure without raising rates is our challenge ahead. We are reviewing a use tax that would capture internet sales which plays a large role in our reduced sales tax revenues. We are the only city in the state our size in the state to not have a use tax.
Ward Map
Click the map to view a larger version and to learn more.
COVID Pandemic 2020
Our City Government lead by our Mayor Dale Copeland and City Manager Mike Bailey have provided outstanding leadership as we work through the COVID Pandemic. I will continue to support the necessary measures to protect our community.
As we proceed forward with elements of COVID still present I strongly encourage social distancing, hand washing and sanitizing.
Each of us are responsible personally for our own protection. While there are certainly differing views on both ends of the mask issues, I believe as a whole our community has responded in a caring manner to the choice of wearing masks for the protection of each other. This continued to be a time where patience, understanding and kindness are in order.
