BIXBY, Okla. — As the city of Bixby grows, so does its needs. That's why the next few weeks are more important than ever for the town as they look to fill vacancies on the police department and prepare for a bond vote on August 25.
"This city is going to grow whether we like it or not, and we have to have the infrastructure to be able to support that," Todd Blish, Bixby's chief of police, said.
WATCH: Bixby hiring police officers, preparing for bond vote
Bixby has its final public bond meeting on August 11 at 6:30 at New Beginnings church. It's another opportunity for people in the community to ask questions about what's in that bond. People like Hank Grant, a Bixby pastor who's seen all the development plans at places like Spartan Creek among others. And with that growth comes a need for infrastructure, something people in town worry about.
"There's just an incredible amount of growth happening in Bixby, which is exciting to be a part of," Grant said. "Seeing some road improvements where it's necessary, seeing a little more access to the city would be great."
Blish, who's also the city's acting city manager, tells 2 News development and infrastructure should go hand in hand.
"If we can continue to improve the roads, and you have to have shoppers to support business, and those two things have to grow at an equitable rate in order to be successful," Blish said. "You can't have one without the other."
Blish also bears the responsibility of hiring more police officers. The department has four openings, two vacant positions for officers who left, and two moving to school resource officer roles.
"Just in the nearly five years I've been here, we've seen the population increase by 3 to 4,000, and it's obvious when you see the traffic and you look at our calls for service continually go up," Blish said.
Blish says right now, fully staffed for the police department is around 45 officers, but as the city continues to grow, he'd like to see that number approach 50, or potentially more. All in an effort to support a rapidly growing town, with no signs of slowing down.
"It's really exciting, it's great, but I hope our infrastructure can keep up with those things," Grant said.
To apply for the open police officer position, you can do so here.
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