Kelsey Walker, the administrative assistant for the City of Bartlesville’s Community Development Department, took the top prize in the Employee Innovation Challenge.

Walker’s idea to implement a citywide mobile app that will enable citizens to access City-related information on their phones won her the prize. Winners of the inaugural event were announced during a luncheon held Thursday, Feb. 27, which was sponsored by the Price Tower Art Center.

The Employee Innovation Challenge was launched last year after the Bartlesville City Council approved $5,000 in the 2019-20 fiscal year budget for the employee who submitted the winning idea. As the grand prize winner, Walker will receive a $5,000 travel package and five days of special vacation.

City Manager Mike Bailey said he cannot count the number of times he has attended events in other cities and heard people talk about Mustang’s app, or Richmond (Texas) or Broken Arrow. He said having a citywide app will allow citizens in Bartlesville to access the information they need in one place, and it will build on other forms of communication they have already put into place. It’s yet another tool that the City of Bartlesville can use to more efficiently serve the community.

Walker said she believes a City app would help citizens who want access to City information for a variety of purposes, from applying for permits to finding out holiday trash routes.  She said city-specific mobile apps are used by cities all over Oklahoma and across the U.S.

Larger and smaller cities are turning to mobile apps as a way to communicate with their citizens. Walker said a mobile app specific to Bartlesville could allow notifications to citizens of important announcements, such as holiday trash routes and street closings, and it could offer another mode of communicating bigger announcements — such as City Beat (the City’s public e-newsletter) — to citizens. She said it may implement the City directory with a quick link to contact each department, a Q&A-type feature, or provide an easier way to pay utility bills, too.

In all, 53 submissions were received by 33 participants. Ideas were submitted anonymously and reviewed by one of several subcommittees for feasibility. Ideas passing the feasibility stage were then reviewed by a finalist panel. Department directors were not eligible to win.

Second Place winner Tammy Hudgens submitted ideas associated with energy cost savings, including installation of a motion sensor lighting system, an automated light shut-off system and the installation of LED lighting at city buildings and facilities. Hudgens won a free night’s stay at the Inn at Price Tower, donated by the Price Tower.

Other finalists in the contest were Sonja Settle, Jason Butterfield, Trevor Bay, Ray Raley, Jeremy Shadwick, Emily Taber, Karla Fecht and Marcy Koester. Pictured below are the finalists in the 2020 Employee Innovation Challenge waiting to hear the announcement of the grand prize winner during the luncheon at the Price Tower. Pictured are, (from left to right), Karla Fecht, Emily Taber, Marcy Koester, Kelsey Walker, Jeremy Shadwick, Ray Raley, Jason Butterfield and Tammy Hudgens. Finalists not pictured are Trevor Bay and Sonja Settle.

(Photo courtesy: City Beat)