BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Broken Arrow’s upcoming bond package features two projects, centered on the city’s effort to honor the miltiary.
First, is $1.2 million for the Broken Arrow Veterans’ Center.
WATCH: BA GO Bond includes two projects to expand local military institutions
“When I walk through the doors [I feel] relaxed. I know everybody that I’m gonna be around here, for the most part, fellow vets. Just kind of … ease into it and it’s a happy place,” Michael Sturgill, who sits on the center’s board said.
The veterans’ center is the hub in a city where veterans are a high priority.
Right next door is the Veterans Park, and just a few blocks down Main Street is the Military History Center.
“We’ve just kind of outgrown [the center] at this point,” Sturgill said.
Sturgill said if the bond passes, part of $1.2 million dollars will pay to expand the building by 1,000 square feet. Another part will add more parking.
The current parking lot has just 19 spaces and one of them is usually occupied by a storage trailer. Just two of them are handicap accessible.
Sturgill helps run the center that changed his life.
“Personally, the camaraderie, giving me that, missing it from the service. Being around the other vets, and the role that I’ve kind of moved into, gives me good purpose and helps me fulfill my goal of trying to help other veterans,” Sturgill said.
Meanwhile, the history center is set for a new location, with a price tag of $9.2 million, if the bond passes.
“Probably, Broken Arrow’s one of the most veteran-support cities in the state,” Brigadier General Tom Mancino said.
Mancino is in charge of the museum’s operation.
The museum is filled to the brim with artifacts, while even more sit in storage.
THE OTHER MUSEUM >>> BA's history museum could see expansion if the bond passes
While the move is on the bond package, the potential new site is not yet known.
“It’s as much about the leadership as it is the community. The community supports the bond proposals, and the museums, the leadership of Broken Arrow are the ones that plan,” Mancino said.
Broken Arrow voters will decide the outcomes of eight bond propositions on April 7.
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