shane453
Dec 12, 2007, 11:39 PM
Could there ever have been any doubt that OKC would pass this huge bond issue with city morale so high? In some precincts the bond issue passed with a 90% 'yes' vote. It means we get:
350 miles of sidewalks
750 lane miles of streets
17 new bridges
34 traffic flow improvement projects
land for a HUGE new downtown park
about 70 recreational facilities (walking trails, playgrounds, community centers)
drainage improvements and expanded city maintenance facility
5 new fire stations, new police HQ
2 new libraries
more efficient metrotransit bus fleet
AND, perhaps the most potentially beneficial:
a $75 million economic incentive fund which OKC can use as a selling point to any business looking to move or expand into the city.
HOT DAMN.
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By Bryan Dean
Staff Writer (newsok.com)
Streets will be fixed, parks will be built and sidewalks are coming in Oklahoma City.
Voters overwhelmingly passed the $835.5 million bond issue Tuesday, with all 11 propositions garnering at least 78 percent of the vote.
“I think people are proud of their city and elections like this give them an opportunity to say so,” Mayor Mick Cornett said.
With all 271 precincts reporting, the yes vote on the 11 bond issue propositions ranged from 89.1 percent to 78.3 percent.
The largest portion, $497.4 million, will go to streets. Among other things, the bond issue includes $89.7 million for parks, $41 million for police projects including a renovation to the downtown headquarters building and $32 million for drainage projects.
Included in the street funding is $68 million for new sidewalks. Any street that is widened or rebuilt will get a sidewalk if it doesn’t already have one.
‘A high quality of life’
Cornett said people understand you have to invest in infrastructure and maintain streets. Support for some of the other propositions shows voters are willing to dream bigger, and it mirrors the success of city initiatives like MAPS, he said.
“I think there is a growing understanding in this community of how important it is to create a high quality of life, a city where people want to live,” Cornett said. “I think the commitment to parks and sidewalks and the support they got tonight speaks to that.”
Most of the propositions got more than 80 percent support from voters. The lowest vote getter was proposition 11, which will establish a $75 million economic development fund. City officials plan to use that money to lure new businesses to the city.
The bond issue won’t raise taxes. It will replace an expiring bond issue, and city council members voted to pay the new bonds at the same rate as the expiring bonds.
350 miles of sidewalks
750 lane miles of streets
17 new bridges
34 traffic flow improvement projects
land for a HUGE new downtown park
about 70 recreational facilities (walking trails, playgrounds, community centers)
drainage improvements and expanded city maintenance facility
5 new fire stations, new police HQ
2 new libraries
more efficient metrotransit bus fleet
AND, perhaps the most potentially beneficial:
a $75 million economic incentive fund which OKC can use as a selling point to any business looking to move or expand into the city.
HOT DAMN.
-------
By Bryan Dean
Staff Writer (newsok.com)
Streets will be fixed, parks will be built and sidewalks are coming in Oklahoma City.
Voters overwhelmingly passed the $835.5 million bond issue Tuesday, with all 11 propositions garnering at least 78 percent of the vote.
“I think people are proud of their city and elections like this give them an opportunity to say so,” Mayor Mick Cornett said.
With all 271 precincts reporting, the yes vote on the 11 bond issue propositions ranged from 89.1 percent to 78.3 percent.
The largest portion, $497.4 million, will go to streets. Among other things, the bond issue includes $89.7 million for parks, $41 million for police projects including a renovation to the downtown headquarters building and $32 million for drainage projects.
Included in the street funding is $68 million for new sidewalks. Any street that is widened or rebuilt will get a sidewalk if it doesn’t already have one.
‘A high quality of life’
Cornett said people understand you have to invest in infrastructure and maintain streets. Support for some of the other propositions shows voters are willing to dream bigger, and it mirrors the success of city initiatives like MAPS, he said.
“I think there is a growing understanding in this community of how important it is to create a high quality of life, a city where people want to live,” Cornett said. “I think the commitment to parks and sidewalks and the support they got tonight speaks to that.”
Most of the propositions got more than 80 percent support from voters. The lowest vote getter was proposition 11, which will establish a $75 million economic development fund. City officials plan to use that money to lure new businesses to the city.
The bond issue won’t raise taxes. It will replace an expiring bond issue, and city council members voted to pay the new bonds at the same rate as the expiring bonds.