The annual Claremore State of the City luncheon offered up a program that included a speech by Mayor Flanagan and a presentation by City Manager, Jim Thomas.
Mayor Flanagan took to the podium hitting some of the highlights from 2016. The successes of the Claremore Collective and their outreach to the “young professionals” in the community, Captain Farley being inducted into the firefighters hall of fame and the revitalization of downtown through renovation and investment were among the topics.
Two Mayoral proclamations were made honoring the hard work of two groups. Those involved with the Claremore mountain bike trails were the first acknowledged. This group effort took volunteers from the community and matched them with equipment from the city helping to expand and build 4 miles of new trails near Claremore Lake. The second proclamation was for Claremore Main Street becoming part of the National Historic Registry.
City Manager, Jim Thomas, took the stage and informed the people of continuing efforts to improve traffic via the expansion projects of Highway 20, Southaven and Country Club roads.
He also announced a new development plan that will be called “Claremore Dreams 2025”.
Mr. Thomas said, “We will take the council on the road and get feedback from the people.”
He continued, “Now is the time for Claremore to dream, expand our commercial base and increase parks and rec. The heart and soul are the men and women of our town.”
Other topics included the Will Rogers Downs sewer line project that will open an additional 800 acres for future development. That project is set to be complete in February.
The Claremore Air Show was a huge success! Over 8,000 were in attendance and the event will be back in 2018.
Developments and investments include: The Main Street Tavern opening, B&B Theater renovation, Planet Fitness and the new Claremore Lake Splash Pad. The splash pad will be double the size of the one at Will Rogers Park and should be complete by Memorial Day 2017.
The Will Rogers PRCA rodeo was also acknowledged for their incredible three-peat as Small Rodeo of the year. This year will mark the 71st annual rodeo.
Thomas finished by saying, “It is the men and women of Claremore who get things done. We treat our neighbors like family and our visitors like neighbors.”
It seems we are coming together and moving forward. Bring on 2017!
