Letter from a City Official: Beau Wilson

SAND

SPRINGS

Letter by City Councilman Beau Wilson

2020 will be an exciting year for Sand Springs!

This will be the year of the Census! An event that only comes around once every decade and this is a very important milestone for every community. This is an opportunity for the Federal Government to count our population and assess our growth and heath as a community. For many companies and industries that look for places to invest or expand, the census is their key guide to knowing where to place their investment dollars. For many decades Sand Springs has been just under the magic number for growth that would entice these companies to relocate or expand operations here. We are hoping that the 2020 Census will be dramatically different, but we cannot achieve the goals we want if everyone is not counted. I urge all of our citizens to take the time and fill out the census form as accurately as possible. If a census worker comes to your home, please take the time to visit with that individual. All of the information that they collect will help our city in a dramatic way, not only with increased federal dollars, but with demographic data that companies use as a measure of a communities risk for investment. Please participate in this key function of governance; it is important that all Sandites be counted and is a patriotic way to impact your community directly.

Also, we have wonderful things happening all over town. In late 2020 we will see our newest investor to Sand Springs, Chick-Fil-A, open their doors. Our citizens will continue to see ongoing beautification efforts around town to enhance the appeal of our city and attract more businesses. Our High School is getting a dramatic face lift, an enhancement that will completely change the landscape of Charles Page for generations to come. Our downtown businesses continue to invest in their storefronts to make our historic downtown a shopping destination for west Tulsa County.

Sand Springs is poised to enter this new decade as a phoenix out of the ashes. Our industrial footprint has shrunk and left behind building after building that needed to demolished or re-purposed, a daunting task for any municipality to deal with, let alone one our size. But, I am grateful to my fellow council colleagues, our city staff and our city manager for having a forward thinking mentality and to committing to reinvest in Sand Springs. We have so much to be grateful for as a city, not only for our rich historical past but for our bright future on the horizon.

Happy New Years, and may God bless you all in 2020!

- Councilor Beau Wilson