BIXBY, Okla. — Bixby residents have a big decision to make in this upcoming election that could impact the booming city’s roads.
2 News listened to residents’ thoughts and concerns about infrastructure and asked city officials for answers.
For over 30 years, a single-penny sales tax has funded capital improvement projects for public safety and sewers. That tax is about to expire.
Bixby residents will have the chance to vote to extend the sales tax for another three decades and reallocate some revenue toward critical road projects.
Bixby residents first approved a version of this single-penny sales tax in 1989, then voting in 1994 to renew it in its current form.
The city’s population has soared astronomically since that first vote.
- RELATED STORY >>> NEW NEIGHBORHOOD: Proposed housing raising concerns in Bixby
Bixby had about 9,500 (9,502) residents in 1990. As of 2020, over 28,000 (28,609) call Bixby home. That’s a 201% increase.
One longtime resident, Barry Helms, has seen dramatic changes come in tow.
2 News asked him if the city has kept up with growing infrastructure needs, and he said, “I think the… they’re probably behind a little bit with just the population and the number of cars that are on the streets. So, roads are probably ready to be widened.”
We then asked Bixby Interim City Manager Joey Wiedel if there are any plans to widen particular corridors.
“Yeah,” he replied. “We're always working with that.”
Wiedel continued: “Memorial [Drive] gets talked about a lot. Obviously, that is a busy intersection. That is an ODOT state highway, so that is not a City of Bixby highway that we can just widen. We are currently working on Mingo between 111th and 131st. … We're also looking at 131st to Garnett [Road]. So, that way, from Memorial to Garnett.”
Wiedel told us that studies are taking place right now to pinpoint exactly where to focus road project funding.
"I plan to vote for that," said Helms. "I think it’s gonna be good for the whole Bixby economy. That goes along with the new revitalization that’s going on down here."
Syble Davis has called Bixby home for seven decades, longer than most people can claim.
When asked for her thoughts on infrastructure in Bixby, she replied: “Boy, it didn’t used to be. But it’s good now, I think it is, for a small town.”
Like Helms, she said she’s in favor of continuing the tax.
“But the city council needs to be talked to,” she told us. “They promised us sidewalks.”
Davis lives on Breckenridge Avenue, near the River District. Talking about the sidewalks, she explained that “everything quits at the Baptist Church. And then… from then on, it’s just the road is rough, and we don’t have sidewalks, and I’d love to have a sidewalk.”
We asked if the money from the single-penny sales tax would fund more sidewalks, and Wiedel said, “that sales tax will fund sidewalks, easements, bridges, widening of roads, allocation of property.”
“So, in downtown, obviously, there's a lot of growth,” he added. “Downtowns, historically, [in] any municipality you go to, they are trying to catch up with times. ... So, as new developments come in, we're adding those sidewalks and trails to make sure we have the ability for people to egress as they see — biking, walking — those type of things.”
Should voters vote to renew the sales tax, the city has much more planned and proposed. The Renewal for Roads initiative has a full breakdown on its website.
But Wiedel mentioned that it will also pay “our debt services for the sewer, along with continuing to purchase capital products such as ambulances, fire trucks, [and] police needs that we have throughout the years.”
But what would happen if voters said no to renewing the sales tax?
According to Wiedel, the city would need to find other ways to pay debt services, mentioning the recently built $25 million sewage plant as an example.
“Those costs would have to go somewhere, and it would also hurt our emergency response personnel on capital expenditures,” he emphasized. “So, ultimately, we'd have to get creative and figure out where those costs are going to come from in order to continue to fund the growth of the city.”
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Early voting will happen Wednesday, Oct. 30, through Saturday, Nov. 2.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- SUBSCRIBE on YouTube
