Edmond City Council put $231 million GO bond on November ballot

EDMOND, Okla. (KFOR) — Edmond residents will have the opportunity to vote on a $231 million GO (General Obligation) bond in November during the general election that will be used towards much needed city repairs and updates.

Edmond City Council held a meeting on Monday night to which council members approved a special election to happen in November. The $231 million GO bond will be used towards 22 projects that revolve around roads, parks and public safety.

Street and bridge improvements	Park and recreational facility improvements	Investment in firefighting facilities
65% ($151 million)	30% ($70 million)	5% ($10 million)

To fund the projects, voters would have to agree on increasing property taxes more than 14% for the next 10 years.

A 25-member Task Force was established by the City of Edmond in May, assigning the 22 projects and approving its final recommendations during their last meeting on July 15.

According to NonDoc, this would mark the first time that Edmond city government issued a general obligation bond for city projects.

A breakdown of the projects and budgets according to the City of Edmond:

Streets

• Street overlay/reconstruction - Proposed overlay locations. ($35 million) 
• Intelligent Transportation System Phase V ($7 million)
• Widening of Covell Road from I-35 through Air Depot Boulevard ($15.8 million)
• Covell Road and Western Avenue intersection improvements ($12 million)
• Thatcher Street right-of-way retrofit, bike lane, and pedestrian infrastructure improvements ($1.2 million)
• 2nd Street and Boulevard intersection improvements ($7.185 million) 
• 15th Street corridor between Broadway Avenue and Boulevard capacity improvements ($3 million)
• Kelly Avenue and Edmond Road capacity improvements ($3 million)
• 15th Street and Bryant Avenue capacity improvements ($3 million)
• Santa Fe Avenue and Edmond Road capacity improvements ($3 million)
• Danforth Road widening from Holly Hill Road to Thomas Drive ($9.2 million)
• North University Drive right-of-way retrofit, bike lane, pedestrian infrastructure ($3.03 million)
• Covell Road and Santa Fe Avenue intersection improvements ($20.050 million)
• 2nd Street and Garland Godfrey - crossing safety improvements ($1.015 million)
• Coltrane Road widening north of 2nd Street ($4 million)

Parks

• Veterans Memorial ($8 million)
• Mitch Park improvements - ballfields, infrastructure and amenities ($25 million)
• Neighborhood park playground replacement for 13 parks including new equipment at Kelly Centennial, Pennick, Meadow Lake, Whispering Heights, Westborough, Brookhaven, Gossett, Johnson, Clegern, Fink, Chitwood and Hafer parks ($6 million)
• Creek Bend Trail completion ($4 million)
• New park at Post Road and 2nd Street ($8 million)
• Service-Blake Soccer Complex full renovation Phase I ($10 million)

Safety

• $9 million is projected to replace and relocate the aging Fire Station Number 3 that is located near Danforth and Kelly and move it to the Northwest corner of Kelly Avenue and Hawthorne Lane.
• $1 million will be used for safety projects.

The initiative will be on the ballot for the election held on November 5, 2024.