Stillwater NewsPress

Multimedia

Related Photos

  • Mayor John Bartley stopped by the NewsPress Studio to speak about the future of Stillwater and his upcoming second year in office.

    Bartley_Conversations_02_12_13.jpg
February 13, 2013

VIDEO: Long-term progress key to Stillwater's mayor

By Chris Day Stillwater NewsPress

STILLWATER, Okla. — Stillwater Mayor John Bartley isn’t ticking boxes off a checklist, saying his vision for Stillwater stretches beyond his time in office. “Some of the problems we have had in the past is too many elected officials are wanting to accomplish things that you can check a box right now and say they’re done. ... The things I’m working on are going to make the next mayor look like a superstar because that’s when they will really be finishing or we will be really able to take advantage of the progress that is being done now,” Bartley said. Bartley will complete his first year as mayor in March. In January, he was selected Citizen of the Year by the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce. The mayor said his selection as Citizen of the Year was an honor and a surprise because the Chamber has presented the award to many residents who spent their lives working to make Stillwater a better place to live and work. It also came as a surprise because Bartley said setting a vision for the city and promoting the attributes that define Stillwater and its residents are a mayor’s duties. “It’s those natural duties or jobs that a mayor or leader needs to be doing. I don’t think I did anything extra or above and beyond what a good leader for our community was,” he said. “I was very honored to win the award.”Eliminating divisiveness and forging common ground, Bartley said, were his immediate priorities when he took office in March 2012. The Council and administrative staff didn’t need to agree on everything, but needed to “at least be on the same page.” “Let’s pull together. We are a team. We need to be working as such,” Bartley said. “I spent a lot of time and a lot of energy just working with people — just getting to know people better and from a different perspective than just on the City Council. That’s both city staff and city councilors. ... I spent a lot of time and energy making sure we were all working together. I think we accomplished that.” People must work to maintain relationships and build upon them, he said. The mayor pointed to several successful initiatives, including a citywide curbside recycling program that will begin this summer and water system improvements. The city has two tools under development — a downtown parking study and comprehensive master plan update. Public input meetings are scheduled Saturday and Monday on the comprehensive master plan and Tuesday for the parking study. All the meetings will be held at the Community Center. The master plan meetings will be 10 a.m. to noon Saturday and 6 to 8 p.m. Monday. The parking meeting will start at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The mayor’s goals for his second year in office involve infrastructure, economic development and quality of life. “Every dollar the city spends should be touching at least one of those ideas. A lot of times, they will touch multiple of those ideas,” he said. Proposed projects may be the germ of an idea. The public will be asked to define and refine the idea into a working project, the mayor said.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Multimedia
Buy & Share Photos
NewsPress e-Edition
NewsPress Specials
AP Video
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools $1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel? Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
Stocks
NDN Video
Twiggy, the Water Skiing Squirrel Sailor Surprises His Mom At Her CU Denver Graduation Ceremony Official: ‘Amazing’ No One Was Killed In CT Train Crash Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country Coffee Stop Leads To Arrest Of YouTube Sensation Wanted For Murder Bearded Dragon Reunited With Owner Marine Reunited with Warzone Companion Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool Beyonce Is Pregnant! SF baseball player overpaid $500,000 RETURNS money -- and team says KEEP IT $1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest Dad returns from Afghanistan, surprises family during Rays' first pitch See Jennifer Lopez's New $10m Hamptons Mansion Woman tricked into taking abortion pill Emma Watson Goes Pantless IRS scandal: Republicans seek to tie Obama to agency's woes Play of the Day: Flipping to Safety Pregnant Kim Kardashian Squeezes Her Swollen Feet Into Stilettos Top Videos of the Week: Angry Taco Bell Guy, Glacier Moves on House, Dog Hates Baths Cindy Crawford Stuns At Cannes