Doors officially open for $3.8 million Broken Arrow Senior Center Annex

Source: City of Broken Arrow

"According to Native American tradition, it's how you care for elders and young people that will tell you everything that you need to know about a community, and Broken Arrow, you do an outstanding job on both," Broken Arrow Seniors Board President Michayne Morris said at a grand opening ceremony for the new Senior Center Annex on Oct. 4.

More than 100 people were on hand to celebrate the facility's opening that was years in the making.

City Manager Michael Spurgeon provided a timeline for the building of the Senior Center Annex. In 2018, Broken Arrow voters approved $3.8 million of the General Obligation Bond to fund the new facility.

"That was done after discussions for about a year and a half about what would be the best way to increase the square footage of the facilities we have for our seniors because it is such an emerging population," he said.

Spurgeon said the city determined it would not be feasible to build on the current property.

“It was decided the best option was to build an annex," he said. "There was a lot of effort put into how it would look, the services, the rooms, and what type of amenities it should provide."

Spurgeon thanked the voters for approving the bond to fund the facility's construction, those who had a part in building it, and the seniors who educated the public on the need for the annex.

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All five City Council members were in attendance and spoke at the ceremony, including At-Large Councilmember Johnnie Parks, who serves on the board of directors for Broken Arrow Seniors, and spoke about the mission of the program.

"We are the model in the region for promoting healthy, emotional, and physical engagement for adults 55 and older, through programs, activities, and social opportunities," Parks said. "We are very successful in that mission."

Parks said these programs help people in the community have a better quality of life. He estimated that seven to 10 percent of the City's residents who are 55 and older are members of the Broken Arrow Seniors organization.

With the new facility now operational, the goal is to add to those numbers and serve an even more significant number of Broken Arrow's senior population.