Midwest City Voters Approve Police/Fire Training Center Bond Project and City Charter Amendments

On Tuesday, voters went to the polls in Midwest City and approved 13 of 15 propositions on a special election ballot. Among the 13 approved propositions was a revision to a project originally included in the 2018 General Obligation Bond Election. The proposition sought funding for the construction of a new Police/Fire Training Center.

After being approved in 2018, the original Police/Fire Training Center project faced several challenges. It was discovered that the project’s official address was listed incorrectly on the ballot. This issue alone would have required a new election for the project. The original design also lacked amenities needed to host successful training exercises at the site. Additionally, neighbors of the proposed project site expressed concerns about the impact of noise and smoke once the facility was operational.

Addressing these issues meant finding a new location for the training center, an increase in cost due to the lack of infrastructure (water, sewer, electric, communications, etc.) at the new site and significant overall increases to construction costs due to the pandemic. With these changes, a $5.7m budget was proposed for the project. The original budget was $885,840.

“We’re thankful to the voters for approving the training center project. Having this facility in our community is a great amenity for our public safety personnel,” said City Manager Tim Lyon. “This new facility will help keep our crews locally available for emergency response while they train, instead of placing them out of service in other communities.”

Being the only bond-related proposition on the ballot, there were concerns that the training center project would require a property tax increase. The approval of the bond project will not change the property tax rate for the community. Midwest City’s millage cap will remain unchanged at 10 mills, which was approved in the 2018 G.O. Bond Election. A timeline for the training center project is anticipated soon.

The other propositions approved on the ballot included 12 City Charter amendments. Generally, the intent of these amendments was to reduce redundancy in City processes, increase ethical expectations for City leadership and personnel, and to clarify language regarding the handling of declared emergencies. The two propositions not approved on the ballot were meant to repeal antiquated language in the charter.

Find more information about the special election at MidwestCityOK.org. Official results will be posted once they are certified by the election board.

# # #