“New Edmond Mayor’s Message”

When I started
writing these messages, my purpose was to gain an additional way to communicate
to and with our citizens.  The good news
is – it’s working.  Weekly, I hear back
from our residents about my mayor messages. 
Many times, Edmond residents follow up by asking questions.  In recent weeks, the questions have focused
on relief for individuals that suffered damage in the June floods.  Other questions have focused on road
construction on many of our busiest roads. 
Clearly, these are important questions that need to be answered in a
public way. 

First, governmental
relief for flood victims has been slow coming.  
Much to our disappointment, Oklahoma County was NOT declared a federal
disaster area by President Obama, and FEMA to give individual assistant.  However, Oklahoma did meet the criteria to be
declared a disaster area for public assistance (this assistance applies to
roads and bridges.) 

The Small
Business Administration made a different decision, and declared Oklahoma County
to be an area entitled to relief both for businesses and individuals.  They now have an office at 16 E. Campbell, in
Edmond, and are working with both businesses and individuals who suffered
damages to get low-interest loans.  If
you suffered damage – either to your home or your business – I urge you to
contact this office.  You can apply for
help online or in person at the temporary office in Edmond.

Thanks again
to the many churches, individuals, and groups who showed up to help these
victims.   Edmond proved it deserved the
honor of being named one of America’s best cities.

Road and bridge
construction is continuing on the roads that were damaged by the June 14 floods.  Along with Oklahoma County, Edmond has been
surveying areas to get damage and cost estimates, and has been repairing those
less-damaged roads quickly.  Most of the
damage occurred outside our city boundaries, but we are providing technical
resources whenever we can to county officials. 

On the topic
of roads, I have heard from several of you wondering why so many roads came
under construction in the last month. 
Simple answer – the timing was right and the funding became
available. 

As for
timing, our city staff aims to begin and finish construction quickly and
efficiently hoping to cause the least disruption to our resident’s
travels.  When Edmond Public Schools are
out for summer, we put a big push on repairing the roads surrounding
schools. 

For example,
Danforth , from Broadway to Santa Fe , has been resurfaced or is in the process
of being resurfaced.  Inconvenient
timing?  Not when you consider that
Edmond North High School and John Ross Elementary sit in the heart of this
area.  Best to accomplish the repairs
when school is out, and parents are not caught in the construction while
delivering kids to school.     

Always important
is how these overlays can be funded. 
These roads were in the cue for repair, and federal funding was available
to accomplish them.  Edmond seeks to maximize
other funding sources and works to use this funding in the most efficient
method to accomplish the most needed repairs on our busiest streets. 

In our local
neighborhoods, we spent considerable time and resources in Fox Lake and
Arrowhead Valley.  Those neighborhood
streets were in need of milling and overlay. 
These projects have just been completed. 

If you need
more information about roads, feel free to contact our city offices.  City staff knows you are our customer and
will work hard to deliver the information you need in a timely manner. 

Patrice Douglas, Mayor