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Survey shows strong support for city contribution to South Broken Arrow library; council readies public forums for 2026 bond
Summary
A city-conducted survey found broad support for a municipal contribution to a proposed South Broken Arrow Library expansion. City staff said the library project would likely be a separate proposition on the 2026 general obligation bond and announced three public forums to gather input.
Aaron McCulloch, communications director for the City of Broken Arrow, presented results from a public survey on a proposed expansion of the South Broken Arrow Library and discussed how the idea could appear as an additional proposition on the city’s planned 2026 general obligation bond.
McCulloch said the survey ran from July 28 through August and drew 4,212 responses, the highest response total the city has recorded for any survey. “As you can see here, 90% of the people who responded responded in the affirmative that they would like to see some kind of contribution from the city,” McCulloch told the council. He said 58% of respondents selected a $5 million contribution as their preferred option.
The Tulsa City-County Library (TCCL) plans a new South Broken Arrow facility estimated at about $12 million, McCulloch said; he reported TCCL had raised roughly $6,650,000 and faced an estimated funding deficit of about $5,300,000. City staff described one possible approach as adding a separate proposition on the 2026 general obligation bond to ask voters whether the city should contribute to the project.
City Manager Spurgeon and staff told council members they expect TCCL to continue pursuing private donations and that the amount requested of the city could change before the bond goes before voters. Spurgeon described the survey response as unusually large and said the city will hold three public forums to gather further input: Aug. 28, Sept. 3 and Sept. 25, all beginning at 6:30 p.m., at varying community locations.
Council members and staff noted some respondents to the survey questioned specific design features, such as an outdoor children’s amphitheater and a drive-up window, while many respondents said the existing facility is undersized. McCulloch said the survey also asked an open-ended follow-up for respondents who selected “no contribution” to explain their reasoning; he said staff had reviewed many but not all of those write-in answers and that common themes included the reduced need for brick-and-mortar services because of internet access and competing local priorities for city funds.
No formal council decision on an appropriation or bond placement was taken at the meeting; staff said the fall schedule will include narrowing potential projects in the bond package and that propositional changes would be made with an eye toward keeping the tax rate unchanged for propositions 1–7.
