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Council considers temporary 'Joanna Hamilton Cooper Avenue' sign to honor 70 years of family-run nursing home
Summary
Councilmembers heard a request from family members to temporarily assign an honorary street name for Joanna Hamilton Cooper, who has run a 101-bed family-owned nursing home in Broken Arrow for 70 years; staff explained the city's guidelines and council moved to approve the request (item 26-286).
During general council business, Lori Hill introduced a request from the daughters of Joanna Hamilton Cooper to assign a temporary honorary street name—"Joanna Hamilton Cooper Avenue"—for the blocks near the Broken Arrow Nursing Home.
Paulie Porman, one of Cooper’s daughters, told the council the family would like a sign placed where the nursing home sits; she said Cooper is 87, still active, and unaware the sign was planned. Council members and other speakers described the nursing home as a longstanding, family-owned facility with 101 beds and noted its significance to residents who have spent final years there. Several council members and attendees recounted personal connections to the home.
Staff and council discussed the city’s honorary-street-sign guidelines: requests are processed by development services, reviewed by the development services director (or designate), scheduled for council review on approval, and require the standard street-sign fee unless waived by council. Council discussed duration and maintenance/replacement responsibilities for temporary signs (including possible replacement costs if the sign is damaged by storm or other events) and confirmed that honorary signs do not change the legal street name and thus do not require residents to change addresses.
After discussion, a council member moved and a second was recorded for item 26-286 (honorary street-name assignment); the motion was called for roll and proceeded toward approval during the meeting.
The council did not specify a fixed duration in the discussion; staff said the council has discretion to set the length and to apply the city's guidelines when finalizing the request.
The family and supporters highlighted Joanna Hamilton Cooper’s long service (70 years in business) and described the proposal as a community recognition of a local, multi-generation small business.
