Tulsa World: DTU era will end; new voice envisioned

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DTU era will end; new voice envisioned
It will stop providing downtown services, but members aim to become a voice for property owners.

By P.J. LASSEK World Staff Writer
Published: 6/25/2009 2:30 AM
Last Modified: 6/25/2009 3:28 AM

Downtown Tulsa Unlimited will close its doors Tuesday after 52 years of providing downtown services and events, such as Mayfest, a farmers market and the annual Christmas parade.

Although its mission will no longer exist, its membership will not disband, DTU Chairman Don Walker said Wednesday.

"The plan for the organization is to become a true property owners association and sustain a voice in the decisions of the Downtown Coordinating Council," he said.

City officials announced in February that the coordinating council would be created to take over the management of the city's Business Improvement District, which assesses fees on property within the Inner Dispersal Loop to fund the downtown services. The council's first meeting is set for next week.

The city's new Tulsa Stadium Assessment District will come into being July 1 with a higher assessment rate than that of the current district, which expires Tuesday.

The 30-year annual fee will be 6.5 cents per square foot of land and structure. Of that, 4.3 cents will go to construct the downtown ballpark, and the remaining 2.2 cents is to pay for downtown services.

Walker said the newly formed group, which will move to a smaller office and have only one employee, also wants to act as a watchdog.

"We want to take a positive approach to assisting downtown, but at the same time hold the city and all players accountable for the use of the assessment fees that all downtown property owners are paying," he said.

The new assessment fees will pay for all of the maintenance and economic development plans and a significant portion of the ballpark, he said.

As the city attempts to provide downtown services, "DTU wants to be respectful and assist in the transition to a new organization for services," he said.

DTU lost in the bidding this month to provide some maintenance services downtown, such as landscaping and street sweeping.

The city awarded the service contract to Unlimited Sweepers and Cleaners LLC of Oklahoma City, which was the lowest bidder.

DTU's contract with the city expires Tuesday. DTU has held the contract, with annual renewal, since the current assessment district was formed in 1979.

Walker said that if DTU had won the new services contract, it would have remained open.

As of Tuesday, other DTU-sponsored functions such as economic development, marketing and special events will cease, he said.

Mayfest's board will take over the festival's management, and the Convention and Visitors Bureau will take over the DTU marketing Web site, he said.

DTU has been paying for the electricity for the specialty "acorn" lights installed as part of the downtown street improvements from the 2006 third-penny sales tax program, he said.

After the lights were installed, he said, neither the city nor property owners accepted responsibility for them, "so DTU just paid the bill because we knew the lights had to be on."

Paul Strizek, the Public Works Department's manager of planning contracts, said the city would use the assessment fees to keep the lights on and to maintain the public rights of way, landscaping and sidewalk furniture.

Any needed maintenance other than that provided by Unlimited Sweepers will be handled by the department, and the city will cover the cost, he said.

"Over the years, DTU has done a fabulous job maintaining downtown," Strizek said. "In my opinion, most people just take it for granted what DTU has done."

Walker said he did not know who will continue the Christmas parade, farmers market, Devour Downtown, and other events DTU has sponsored.

DTU was formed in 1957 as a nonprofit organization with a mission to bring merchants back to downtown following the development of Utica Square.

P.J. Lassek 581-8382
pj.lassek@tulsaworld.com By P.J. LASSEK World Staff Writer

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Some reader comments for this story were copied from "Downtown Tulsa Unlimited to close after 52 years," which was published on 6/24/2009.

	Report Comment Nuff, (6/24/2009 8:04:38 PM) And the homeless love down town.
	Report Comment okie ridgerunner, Small Country Town State Line (6/24/2009 8:21:04 PM) The rest of the city use to love downtown as well. And they would not have to try to bring merchants back to down town if they had did things right from the beginning.once down town was booming and history can repeat it self. but they have to let it. and the way they are trying to do it is not working very good.
	Report Comment DowntownNow, (6/24/2009 8:24:20 PM) Goes to show the level of committment by Jim Norton. As soon as he saw the writing on the wall, he jumped ship and left everyone else who had a job at DTU without a life vest of any kind. What happened to any dues paid by the purported 200+ members of DTU over the 30 years? This will not become a rallying cry for all the assessment proponents..."If you want the lights to stay on, you'll back off for the good of downtown." Watch.
	Report Comment Lance-a-lot, Tulsa (6/24/2009 9:01:35 PM) This is pretty sad, DTU served Tulsa well for many years. I hope some entity downtown can keep doing many of the things DTU was responsible for. I will keep a close eye on the maintenance and landscaping work of this new crew the city hired. I hope things don't regress.
	Report Comment Better Than, (6/24/2009 9:48:07 PM) nag I agree. I love Utica Square. We have been going downtown to try out some of the restaurants and have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Looking forward to Tiamo's downtown.
	Report Comment rdj, Tulsa (6/24/2009 9:49:00 PM) The politics involved in this decision are just sad. I wouldn't say DTU was a perfect organization but it's sad that downtown Tulsa no longer has an "official" organization to represent it. I hope the CVB, Chamber and the Mayor's office can figure out a way to better market downtown as well as sustain and even create homegrown events. I'll be curious to hear how tonight's CineSeries event was received.
	Report Comment Graychin, Eucha (6/24/2009 10:20:02 PM) “Over the years, DTU has done a fabulous job maintaining downtown,” Strizek said. That's debatable. Why are there still so many one-way streets downtown when most of the time there is little or no traffic?
	Report Comment hmmmmmmm, (6/24/2009 10:30:06 PM) Since when was it DTU's job to paint the lines on the streets?
	Report Comment Whirled Peas, (6/24/2009 10:38:03 PM) I dont know which was more pathetic, the fake golf-cart cop or the fake antique street lights. Norton didnt waste any time bailing on Tulsa once he saw he wasnt gooing to get his way anymore.
	Report Comment DowntownNow, (6/24/2009 10:39:55 PM) hmmmmm thats just Graychin talking without facts again. There is plenty of traffic in downtown weekdays, so much so that its a good thing for those walking between buildings and during lunch that they know which way traffic is coming from. Is it perfect? Prolly not but then Graychin...what would you do? And besides all that, traffic flow was never DTU's domain....that was the marketing of downtown, maintenance services and flexing political clout backed up by some of the largest companies in the IDL.
	Report Comment newmayor, Tulsa (6/24/2009 10:49:31 PM) Having been involved with DTU for almost forty years, I can say that personnel and politics were the factors that shut them down. And money. They were less interested in promoting downtown than they were in making sure they got a "cut" of every dollar spent by visitors and participants in downtown events.
	Report Comment newmayor, Tulsa (6/24/2009 10:51:13 PM) ...and I might say that the River Parks Authority is going the same way....show me the money.....
	Report Comment Bball Fan, (6/24/2009 11:11:07 PM) This is unfortunate. And I want to know where all of the cool Mayfast posters will be stored when DTU shuts down. They have a fabulous stockpile of old posters that are wonderful for framing and provide a nice history of Mayfest.
	Report Comment jasouthard, Tulsa (6/24/2009 11:37:00 PM) The most development and enhancement downtown has been done within the past 2-3 years. Really: what has DTU done for the last 27???
	Report Comment FS, Broken Arrow (6/25/2009 1:07:15 AM) Now, if we could just get the anti-worker Chamber of Commerce to die, Tulsa may once again be a fairly decent place.
	Report Comment OPEN YOUR EYES TULSA, Tulsa (6/25/2009 8:27:19 AM) Good. DTU sucks.
	Report Comment Tulsan since '72, Tulsa (6/25/2009 9:13:43 AM) DTU had to move to a smaller office. Guess they couldn't afford the mayors huge assessment increase!
	Report Comment Independent Thinker, Tulsa (6/25/2009 10:01:50 AM) IT TOOK 52 YEARS FOR THEM TO REALIZE THAT TULSANS DON'T GO DOWNTOWN ANYMORE IF THEY DON'T HAVE TO! WE ARE NOT LIVING IN THE EARLY 1950S ANY MORE. TULSA LIFE IS SPREAD ACROSS THE ENTIRE COUNTY. WHERE ARE THE MOVIE THEATERS? WHERE IS THE ENTERTAINMENT ACTION? WHERE ARE THE SHOPPING CENTERS? WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE? DO MATTER HOW MUCH THE MAYOR AND HER FIVE COMPLIANT CLOWNS TRY TO FORCE PEOPLE DOWNTOWN, TULSA IS VOTING WITH ITS FEET. THE REST OF THE COUNTY IS WHERE THE ACTION IS ... AND DTU IS NOT GOING TO BE THE FIRST CASUALTY OF THAT REALITY.
	Report Comment Urban Crab, Tulsa (6/25/2009 10:50:21 AM) Extraordinarily good riddance. 52 years of wasted time, effort and money.
	Report Comment jhill, Tulsa (6/25/2009 4:11:48 PM) righton, Once you demolish your downtown building, putting a fence around it is a pretty good trick. Independent Thinker, Stay in the county. You're obviously happier there. Downtown will either sink or swim without you.
	Report Comment Ron Ballew, Lawton (6/25/2009 10:47:29 PM) Downtown should close too. Put all the money in the suburbs and turn downtown into a park.

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