Bartlesville Radio: The area’s best source for news, weather and sports!

Last week, the Joint Committee on Pandemic Relief Funding sent a comprehensive group of projects to the full state legislature for consideration in an upcoming special session. Sixty projects were chosen from hundreds of applications submitted earlier this year for a portion of the $1.87 billion share of ARPA funding that Oklahoma was given by the federal government to spend on infrastructure projects. Areas of consideration were workforce development, rural development, economic development, healthcare, IT modernization, and supporting non-profit agencies.

Bartlesville Development Authority submitted an application to improve the Sunset Industrial Park area with the hopes of bringing in more corporations who need aerospace locations. BDA found out late last week that it's application was chosen to be part of the next phase of consideration. 

Chris Batchelder, Vice President of BDA, says the application process was lengthy and complicated. There were hundreds of applications so to be chosen is a very good sign that the City of Bartlesville an now begin making plans for moving forward.

Batchelder also said the city probably wouldn't be in the running for the funds if it wasn't Rep. Julie Daniels and Judd Strom, who really pushed for the City of Bartlesville to have the opportunity to be part of the aerospace industry.

The special legislative session to vote on the final recommendations for Governor Stitt to sign will be held later this week. 

Bartlesville Radio will continue to monitor the funding and report the outcome once we learn of it.