Mayor signs off on council's Vision2 resolution

BY BRIAN BARBER World Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
10/03/12 at 8:27 AM

Mayor Dewey Bartlett didn't see all of his Vision2 funding recommendations followed but has signed off on the City Council's resolution specifying how the potential $158 million would be spent.

"Good government, in my view, is about compromise," he told the Tulsa World on Tuesday. "That's what we came up with here."

Bartlett noted that the projects list was approved unanimously by the council, even with Vision2 critic Councilor Blake Ewing voting in the affirmative.

"You can imagine what it would have been like with the last council," the mayor said, referencing his acrimonious relationship with many of the former councilors who left office last year.

While Bartlett didn't get all of his projects on the list, he said, he felt it was important to quickly sign the council resolution as a show of unity.

Getting crosswise with one another would have harmed the Vision2 effort, Bartlett said.

"That would have killed it, and no one wanted to see that," he said.

The Tulsa County Vision2 package will go to voters Nov. 6.

City leaders will be putting together a combination Fix Our Streets and third-penny package for Tulsa residents to consider at some point in 2013.

Some of Bartlett's funding recommendations that didn't make the Vision2 list could be reconsidered for that effort.

Among them is the $10 million the mayor wanted to see allocated for Riverside Drive park-and-ride infrastructure.

What's envisioned, Bartlett said, is a new parking garage in the area of Riverside Drive and Interstate 44 on the east side of the river where people could park and get on a bus that would be on a circular route.

The area is getting busier with the popularity of River Parks' trails and green space, he said, and will get even more so with the planned mega-park by the George Kaiser Family Foundation and if low-water dams are built allowing for water activities.

"I know some of the councilors understood the need after we explained it better to them," Bartlett said.

The mayor also wanted to see $5 million devoted to cleaning up local brownfield sites, but the council allocated $471,000.

Bartlett said that, too, needs to be revisited with the next capital improvements package.

City of Tulsa Vision2 allocations

$71 million: Creation and upgrading of Arkansas River dams

$20 million: Improvements to the Tulsa Zoo

$14 million: Creation of a Lacy Park Regional Recreation Center and repairs and modernization of the city's five remaining swimming pools

$10 million: Creation of permanent home for the Tulsa Children's Museum

$10 million: Renovation of the Central Library

$7 million: Contribution toward Phase 2 of Tulsa Community College and the Tulsa Fire Department's joint fire training center

$5 million: Contribution toward extension of the Gilcrease Expressway

$4.5 million: Improvements to neighborhoods ($500,000 for each of the nine council districts)

$4.3 million: Contribution to help the University of Oklahoma and the University of Tulsa build a joint medical school downtown

$4.3 million: Contribution to help Oklahoma State University-Tulsa build a new Medical and Academic Center on its campus

$4.3 million: Contribution toward Phase 2 of Langston University's nursing school

$2.1 million: OSU Medical Center birthing center

$549,000: Improvements to the Route 66 Village

$471,000: Cleanup of brownfield sites

$400,000: Purchase of an industrial generator for Morton Comprehensive Health Services

Total: $157,920,000

Original Print Headline: Mayor signs off on council's Vision2 plans

Brian Barber 918-581-8322
brian.barber@tulsaworld.com

Associated Images:

Mayor Dewey Bartlett: While he didn't get everything he wanted, he said backing the council's resolution was important.