50,000

Rumors of bringing a Target and Best Buy to Stillwater have been floating around for years.

A new program might make those rumors a reality sooner than expected, but Stillwater officials said it will take the help of OSU students to make it possible.

Count Stillwater is a joint initiative between the city of Stillwater and the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce to push for a census count of 50,000 in 2010.

"Count Stillwater is basically our attempt to get everyone in Stillwater to register for the census," Stillwater Mayor Nathan Bates said. "It's a snapshot of the community that is vital for us."

Bates said the success of the Count Stillwater project will depend on how many OSU students fill out a census form claiming Stillwater as their residence.

"It doesn't matter if you're from the international community here or from Perry, Okla.," he said. "If you're here eight months out of the year, we need their participation."

When the last census came out in 2000, Stillwater had 39,065 registered residents and 68,190 in Payne County, but leaders believe Stillwater is larger than the number registered.

Larry Brown, president and CEO of the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce, said Oklahoma ranked 45th in census participation in 2000 and Payne County ranked 3rd to last on the list.

Bates said the impact of obtaining the 50,000-resident milestone could help Stillwater obtain many of the businesses that have been talked about for so long.

"Getting that 50,000 means, to Stillwater, the ability to attract businesses like Target, Best Buy, new movie theaters and really anything else that really caters to the college lifestyle," he said. "So really, college students have more to gain than traditional residents here."

City Councilman Darrell Dougherty said reaching 50,000 residents would come from state grants that could go toward city projects.

"Last year we got $130,000 for a drainage project near campus," he said. "At 50,000, we could get six or seven times as much and we owe that to our citizens who pay just as much in state taxes as those in larger cities."

Dougherty said with students' help with the census, they might see big differences in a year.

"Fortunately as a student body, you have an opportunity where you can make a difference in attracting businesses and growth to Stillwater," Dougherty said. "That opportunity didn't exist five years ago."