Broken Arrow City Council Meeting — November 3, 2026

The Broken Arrow City Council met on November 3, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. local time in Council Chambers. The amended agenda included routine consent items, a general obligation bond presentation, public comments about Chief Lance Arnold, election and construction approvals, three general obligation bond sales, ordinance previews and adoptions, and an executive session on pending eminent domain litigation. No minutes were available; the transcript ends as the Council enters executive session. Roll call recorded Green, Ford, Parks, and Wimpy present; Council Member Pickel was not recorded in the transcript roll call.

Consent Calendar

• Approved the consent agenda with Item D removed. Item D, the 2027 notification of regularly scheduled meetings, was amended by motion and second to move the first April 2027 Council meeting to the Monday before election day; the transcript shows the roll-call system was activated but does not record the vote result.
• Routine approvals included out-of-state travel by Council members, the October 6, 2026 City Council minutes, the September 24, 2026 Planning Commission minutes, the Optimist Youth Appreciation Day proclamation for November 13, 2026, Budget Amendments 22 through 26 for FY2027, a Kimley-Horn agreement amendment for the College Street Rehabilitation Project, City Manager and Assistant City Manager consultant and construction agreements of $100,000 or less, a Central Salt bid amendment for winter road salt, a $28,208.06 BMW North America settlement for a 2024 BMW R 1250 police motorcycle, surplus equipment trade-in authorization, a Progressive insurance claim acceptance, a Cherokee Pride Construction change order for 6th Street Widening, a Hilderbrand drainage easement, Shutts Family Trust utility easement and right-of-way acceptances, and the October 26, 2026 claims list.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Brian Cathy, a resident, expressed deep disappointment with the City Manager's communication and leadership regarding Chief Lance Arnold's administrative leave. He said his frustration was directed at the City Manager, not the Council, expressed support for Chief Arnold, asked the city to reassure residents that the review did not involve criminal or moral-turpitude allegations, and submitted a written statement for the record. He also criticized the Mayor's handling of meeting rules; after exceeding time and using profanity, he was told to stop.
• Chris Walker, a retired law enforcement officer with 27 years of service and an FOP member speaking as a private citizen, said he had never seen an FOP lodge stand with a police chief in opposition to city administration. He said the local lodge and community support Chief Arnold and urged the Council to stand for Chief Arnold and allow him to continue leading the department.
• The agenda listed three citizens signed up to speak; the transcript records two speakers. No action was taken under this item.

Discussion Items

• General obligation bond presentation: Assistant City Manager Kenny Schwab, Cindy, and Charlie presented the history and process of GO bonds. They said Broken Arrow's first bond was in 1909 for water; GO bonds are repaid with property tax while sales tax funds daily operations; Oklahoma is the only state that does not allow property tax for municipal operations. They reported the city's net assessed value rose from $829,218,000 in 2016 to nearly $1.5 billion, a 78.8% increase, and the city's mill levy is 16.48 mills against a 16.5 target. They described the $415 million 2026 bond authorization, projected $398 million remaining after this year's sales, and voter approval of roughly seven of every ten bond propositions.
• General Council business: Resolution 1780 authorized the April 6, 2027 nonpartisan general election for Ward 3, Ward 4, and Member at Large; a motion to approve was made and seconded. Council awarded the lowest responsible bid for the General Services Center Administration Building, Project No. 2517170, to Myers-Cherry Construction, LLC at $2,573,000 with three alternates; Shannon Marshall said nine bidders competed. Resolution 1782, approving the Broken Arrow Municipal Authority's Sales Tax Revenue Note Series 2026 indebtedness, was tabled until after the BAMA item; staff later recommended approval, and a motion and second were recorded.
• Preview ordinances: An ordinance amending the traffic code accident-report threshold from $300 to $3,000 to align with HB 4143 was previewed and set for adoption. Ordinance 3966, adding Land Subdivision Code Section 6.13 for removal of illegal discriminatory restrictive covenants under SB 2139, was previewed and set for adoption.
• Annexation: Ordinance 3961 would voluntarily annex approximately 75.48 acres one-third mile north of Washington Street, also known as 91st Street, and west of Oneta Road, also known as 241st East Avenue, in Wagoner County. Rocky Hinkle said the property owner requested annexation for a single-family residential subdivision; Council moved to adopt the ordinance and approved the emergency clause.

Bond Sales and Debt Issuance

• Council received bids and awarded three GO bond series to Robert W. Baird & Co.: Series 2026A, $9,775,000, at 4.1402% with four bids; Series 2026B, $14,750,000, at 4.1337% with four bids; and Series 2026C, $2,000,000, at 4.2155% with four bidders. Series 2026A was from the 2018 authorization; Series 2026B and 2026C were under the $415 million 2026 authorization.
• Council then moved to adopt Ordinance Nos. 3963, 3964, and 3965 authorizing the respective bond issues and approved the related emergency clauses.

Key Outcomes

• Consent agenda minus Item D was approved by motion and second; Item D was amended to shift the first April 2027 Council meeting to the Monday before election day, though the transcript does not record the final vote tally.
• Resolution 1780 for the April 6, 2027 election was approved by motion and second; the Myers-Cherry Construction bid was awarded; and the three GO bond sales were awarded to Robert W. Baird & Co.
• Ordinance 3961 annexation and its emergency clause advanced; Ordinance Nos. 3963, 3964, and 3965 and their emergency clauses advanced; the traffic accident-report and restrictive-covenant ordinances were previewed and set for adoption at the next meeting.
• Resolution 1782 was tabled pending BAMA action and later recommended for approval, but the transcript does not clearly record a final roll-call vote.
• Council voted to enter executive session regarding City of Broken Arrow v. Norma Carter Brown, et al., Wagoner County District Court Case No. CV-2026-33, to discuss possible settlement under 25 O.S. Section 307(B)(4). The recorded roll call was Green yes, Ford yes, Parks yes, and Wimpy yes. No open-session action or adjournment is recorded after entering executive session.

Remarks and Updates

• Council members recognized the Pride of Broken Arrow Marching Band's 24th consecutive state championship and 33rd overall state title; announced the Veterans Day Parade on Saturday at 10 a.m. and a salute to veterans at 2 p.m.; noted the Broken Arrow Tigers district championship and Keep Oklahoma Beautiful finalist recognition.
• The City Manager clarified the council-manager form of government, stating that employee matters are handled by the City Manager rather than the Council. The Mayor thanked citizens for supporting Chief Arnold but said foul language and disrespect would not be tolerated.