Good morning, Good morning morning and walcome Welcomelong. It was time now for
our community connection. It's a city matters here. We have his hunter in
the mayor with is Dale Copeland. How you doing there, young man?
I am good Tom. It's a beautiful day in the ville. Yeah,
it always is. You had a little bit of a late night last night,
but you got a lot of things accomplished. Buffalo shall roam in Buffalo.
Bartlesville new group. Great idea, kind of not one I would ever
have imagined, but the more we've learned about it, it sounds like a
really interesting concept. Of course, we know that all the different God this
has been movie week here in Bartlesville, but with all the new things happening
that it just seems to fit. We had decided, you know, what
can we do with the First Christian Church. The church has been amazing to
work with. They want the facility to be retained and find some use and
we've tried some things. The ideas just didn't work out. They came in
with this idea of a film academy because we see the people that are in
front of the camera, of course, but there's so many people, a
lot more people I suspect behind the camera. Everything from carpenters to electricians to
jobs I don't even understand, and where do they learn those skills. So
they're looking at a film academy to help train that. You know, we
have a great Tricounty tech you want to be a welder and electrician, but
here's something that's focused on the film industry that they want to run that.
And then also they're going to build a large sound stage that would be to
the north of it. They had their conceptual drawings last night of what that
would look like and the whole thing fits together. Upgrading the building, it
needs a new roof. They're going to do that first. Really investing in.
The other piece that we liked is the city had considered this is an
important piece of bartlesviielle. This is important piece of history. The church would
like to see this retained even after they're gone. What can we do?
So the idea came out, well, if the city were to put in
two million dollars, Buffalo Rome said we'll put in at least two million dollars.
So last night we were able to go through several steps that are involved.
This is not just a simple thing, of course, but one of
the things was to form begin the formation of what we're going to call the
Bartlesville Film Authority. We have the Development Authority, the Redevelopment Trust Authority,
the municipal Authority. This would be a group that would be tasked specifically with
overseeing this two million dollars that is matched dollar per dollar, not just going
to give two million dollars, but as they spend money, we would match
it to upgrade this facility, to repair and improve the structure. They had
explained last night, they're looking at insulation and wiring and led lots and lots
of changes and upgrades to the building. And then north of that add I
believe ten thousand feet of my memory is correct tom stage, so that they
will be able to do movies, big movies which we think about that have
have happened here recently, but also commercials, YouTube videos, all the smaller
things that every day we see. Where do those come from? So this
facility would have that. That couple's well, I think with the Film Academy,
because it's one thing to go and learn theory. It's another to walk
over here and be able to hands on practice that and learn those skills and
just add another facet to Bartlesville. We have so many great things in town,
but this is completely new from a different place. So we did all
the things that were necessary with that. One of the you know, just
some smaller details. But the church was concerned with what they call a columbarium
that's in the north chapel that some of their deceased members and of course family
members are concerned. So we had an agreement on how to deal with that
as they redo the building. They wanted a plaque that they're going to have
created that notes that this was the first Christian church for so many years in
Bartlesville. So a lot of those details we worked on and moved forward to
make that happen. Very exciting. The other thing I like is they very
swift schedule. I think they're planning to start this month and they plan to
have it completed by the end of December twenty five and have everything up and
operating. Wow, it's they're busy. This ain't a slow boat. Now.
They're ready to go, all right, well speaking, ready to go.
Resolution to initiate the final trunch a voter approved at twenty twenty g O
bonds this after we disapproved by a voter's acclamation. Right, Yeah, the
you learn a lot. My wife said, what's a trunch? Yeah,
I was gonna ask you that. Yeah, it's a French word. I
learned. I didn't know that, but I did learn that. I took
French in high school, but that was a long time ago. It means
slice or part. So when we approve a bond, that doesn't mean the
bond gets sold tomorrow morning. So the city will look at our debt and
manage it so that we stay at that fifteen mil leve. When you get
your tax statement in a month or so, it will show the City of
Bartlesville, it might be fourteen point ninety six or fourteen point eight, but
about fifteen mils, so that we stay constant. That's been golly decades that
the city council is not threeful today. And so this tranch that was approved
last night that will be sold before the end of the year, is the
last part of the twenty twenty bond election. So that was approved in twenty
twenty, we sold some, we sold some more. This is the final
and it just allows us to keep getting the projects that were approved in twenty
twenty completed. People say well, you know, we passed that bond issue
Tuesday. When are they going to start. Well, it's a four year
bond issue, so some things will happen first, second, third, fifth,
and unfortunately some happen three years, four years later. The bond issue
that was passed this week last week on Tuesday, we go today. Really,
I'm very pleased and very thankful for our voters that turned out. The
lowest approval was sixty eight point eight percent up to seventy five point seven percent
approval, so about a two to one approval rating, which is very good,
very strong. But that will allow us when we sell those trunches in
the future. I think the first one will be sold probably next year sometime,
to continue doing those list of things that were there, streets, it
improvements, a new fire station for the west side. People don't realize that
we have to have a fire station on the west side. If a train
we're going through Bartlesville at the time there was a call, you can't get
through and we want that rapid response time. So having that station at Hensley
in Virginia allows that. So this will allow us to get that facility.
Just all the pieces that were listed, but it was approved, and I
really want to thank the voters that turned out and allow us to move forward.
And it's now all about the water, water, water, water or
lack of water. These were not cany Kansas. They turned off the public
bathrooms. There are communities around us that have more serious concerns than we do
have concerns. We have very bud there are others that are with us.
It's a long standing drought and as you recall, Tom recently updated what we
learned from our experience over the last year. We modified the ordin that's just
slightly and now, for instance, we are in phase two. If you
have an even numbered house number, you can water on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
We moved that to the weekend. People said, well, it's great to
be able to water on Friday, except I'm not home. I'm at work.
So day you water Tuesday, Saturday. If you have odd numbers,
you water Wednesday and Sunday. I got the report yesterday day. Our water
supply is at sixty point eight percent. We're very close into going to phase
three. But the good news is the new ordinance included a trigger that said
we will not change the rate structure if our people can use less than five
point five million gallons per day. Oh there you go. Well, last
week it was at five point two eight, so there would not be a
rate increase now to move that forward. If we go into phase three,
which is very possible being at sixty point eight, that we would drop to
fifty nine, then that target drops to four point seven five million gallons per
day. But again, if we can voluntarily conserve, then we have a
situation where the city Council does not have to look at a rate change because
everyone is doing what the rate change was intended to do, get everyone to
use less water if we do that voluntarily, so we really are encouraging people
to come together. We're going into the cooler weather, water usage should drop
normally, and if we can get down to four seven five, then we'll
continue to just leave the rates alone, which is what we would prefer to
do. And praying for a good old el nin yo snow. I am
seeing if the Farmer's Almanac knows what they're doing, and they seem to be
good a lot of the years. They're talking a colder than normal, but
also a much wetter than normal, so hopefully that will work. Now on
the other side, of that, the Water Resources Board continues to meet and
look at long range. We're not gonna be able to do this by next
month, But what are the options that are affordable? I mean, it's
it's the old deal. With money, you can do anything. Two hundred
three hundred million dollars is a number that is hard to wrap your head around.
I can't. Yeah, it's just a huge number. And when we
distill that down to what does that cost you and me? It's a big
number. So what are our best options for water supplement? More water?
We've looked that drilling in this aquifer that's just west of us that I didn't
even know existed. I don't think hardly anybody yet does that provide not all,
but a portion that it's close by? What about getting with the core
to get more capacity at Copainne that when we continue to work on I have
confidence there. What about getting them to change the conservation levels If they hold
more water in the lakes, then we have that extra cushion. What about
caw hugely expensive but a lot of supply. What about to our south?
So we're looking at a call it a laundry list of options that we might
do. What would they cost and what would they provide us. And we'll
continue to work on that and put that together with what we're already doing improving
our systems to keep us strong. And we got a little cleanup coming up
here. And if people wonder about why December and I got a tree that
reminds me, whye December, he doesn't start to lose anything, tell about
then it's always hard to know. Tom. If we do it in November
and the leaves drop and all of that, great, But what happens,
to your point, is quite often I picked up my yard, we have
the yard debris, the sticks, the twigs, the leaves looking good,
and then it doesn't get cold, and my tree decides to dump all of
its leaves the week after pick up. So we're going to do this in
December. If you pick up your leaves and things this week are in the
middle of November, bag them, put them aside, and then when this
comes around, it's the week of get it right through the eighth. Yeah,
so your normal day. And I think the record it was like one
hundred and thirty bags. Obviously a house with lots of trees, but oh
I saw that just a mountain of leaf bags. Don't put them on your
trash cart. Put them nearby, because that truck will not pick them up.
That's an automated truck. But a truck will come by on your normal
day. So if your day is Tuesday, put them out Monday night when
you put your cart out, and they will pick them up that next day,
even if it's not at the same time they empty your car. Don't
call city hall when they pick up your poly cart and you say, hey,
you forgot that, not no, no, it'll pick them up by
Thursday. Call city Yeah, they'll get you. But you can imagine watching
lots of things to pick up, so it can take a while to go
around, but they will do that. There is absolutely no charge, and
we do that once in the fall and once in the spring. Very good,
alright, he was, I tell you what. We packed a lot
of information very well going on in town. There's a lot of good things
going on in town. So save water. Be happy for living in an
amazing community. Glad to see you this morning. Glad to see you.
Yeah, it's a good day. It is. Ladies and gentlemen. You've
been listening to City Matters with Mayor Copeland right here on Okay, what