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Until MAPS 3 is voted on, 12/8/2009, a current MAPS 3 poll is in the left pane. If you live in Oklahoma City, you are invited to vote.
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This on-going article was first published on October 26 and is current through November 13, 2009. It will eventually be filled with articles beginning in mid-September with updates through December 9, the day after the election and perhaps a bit later. As each "Breaking News" item is added, I'll move this article to the top of blog articles, other than the Index item which always appears at the very top.
One of the gripes that some have about MAPS 3 is that not a heck of a lot of news about it has been readily available. If, in fact, the Oklahoman were taking its principal (news reporting) function seriously, which thus far seems not to be the case, scarcely if any need would probably exist for a compendium of news like this one. In this regard, also see this article in Dustbury and this one at imaginativeamerica.com.
The purpose of this article is to assemble and disseminate ALL news that I can locate about MAPS 3 in one place — pro, con or neutral — so that it will all be either readable from here or clickable to outside links. It will include videos, newspaper articles, stuff from local television news. Since this article begins after the fact of the City Council's decision to schedule a vote on MAPS 3 on December 8, I'll do some backtracking to include all articles beginning mid-September or so.
BREAKING NEWS! The Journal Record's Take on November 12 developments The day following the mayor's press conference on public safety, MAPS 3 and as relates to the city's still under-wraps offer to the police and firefighter unions, the Journal Record gave its report of the events.
This news report will be eclipsed by news which will presumably come later today about union meetings held during the evening of November 12 and their respective responses to the offers from city hall.
SEPTEMBER NEWS. On September 17, the MAPS 3 public announcement was made by Mayor Cornett, flanked by council members Gary Marrs (Ward 1), Pete White (Ward 4), Skip Kelley (Ward 7), Meg Salyer (Ward 6), and Sam Bowman (Ward 2) and with letters of support from council members Larry McAtee (Ward 3) and Patrick Ryan (Ward 8). Only J. Brian Walters (Ward 5) was not present and later expressed his opposition (even to the extent of being unwilling to submit the matter to a vote of the people). The proposal was put before the City Council on September 22, and on September 29, the proposal was approved to be put to public vote on December 8. This "September" news section begins on September 22.
September 22: News9/Oklahoma Gazette Poll. On the same date as the proposal being put before Council, the results of a scientific poll sponsored by News9 and the Oklahoma Gazette were released. The Gazette's article by Scott Cooper is here the PDF file containing the full poll and results is here. Among many other things, the poll showed that a minor majority favored extending the sales tax but also that more than 80 percent of those polled said they did not have sufficient project information to make a final decision of support or opposition for MAPS 3.
September 30: Campaign to Inform the Public. In this Gazette article by Scott Cooper, covered the mayor's thoughts about the need to educate the public and a bit about doing that.
September 30: Council Sets Vote. In an article by John Estes, the Oklahoman reported on the September 29 City Council decision to put MAPS 3 to a vote. It is the last decent Oklahoman article to have been written so far (as of this date, October 27).
OCTOBER NEWS. From October 1 through October 20, the silence was deafening. On October 20, a piece appeared on KOCO-TV news discussing police response time in emergencies which, according to an internal manpower study (by OCPD, I guess), was significantly below Edmond and Norman. In the print media, one article appeared in the Oklahoma Gazette and that is all. But, as this update is written, October is finally picking up, but not in the Oklahoman.
October 21 — The Park. This lengthy Oklahoma Gazette article by Rob Collins and C.G. Niebank reported on the proposed $130 million park. The article included interviews of Assistant City Manager Cathy O'Connor and Russell Claus, the city's Planning Director. A crop from that article, showing a pair of comments by those officials, caught my attention:
Hmmmm ... "* * * if the election is successful," O'Connor said. "Then we'll have a much better idea of what everything's going to cost." "The amenities and the associated numbers are extremely conjectural." Like it or not, then, the numbers stated by the city may well be "extremely conjectural." Fine, if that's so — but voters have need to know just how speculative the promised parts of the $777 million proposal are.
Catchy quotable quotes by our city officials, they are. This is particularly interesting since the city already paid $500,000 + for an outfit in San Francisco to come up with the existing plan.
October 21: The first of three Breaking Through Luncheons. Unknown to me until after the event had occurred, a kick-off Breaking Through luncheon sponsored by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce occurred on October 21 at the Skirvin. Not widely publicized (it wasn't mentioned in the City's MAPS 3 website, it wasn't mentioned in the Chamber's MAPS 3 or regular website, and I've been unable to find any notices of the meeting in the Oklahoman's archives which predate October 22).
A brief and not particularly informative article by Jesse Olivarez was in the October 22 Oklahoman.
A streaming video presentation of the meeting was available to be seen at the Chamber's and the Oklahoman's NewsOK.com websites, but unless citizens were aware of the event and that the streaming video would occur, they would not have been able to see it as it unfolded. A video of the luncheon is, however, available for your viewing this area of the Chamber's website but not in the Chamber's specific pro-MAPS 3 campaign website.
The video is incapable of being embedded here, but I ripped the audio and put together modest slide shows, below, enough for you to get the flavor of how the speakers appeared. They are presented in the order of the conference though you can skip around if you want. I am in the process of adding of each speaker's comments and of the 22 minute Q & A session which ended the meeting.
Master of ceremonies David Thompson, president of the OPUBCO Communications Group and chairman of Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, made a few opening remarks which largely consisted of inviting attendees to get on their
David Thompson, Introduction — 3:05
hand-held devices and tweet their friends to watch the video of the event which was being streamed to the Oklahoman's and Chamber's websites and introduced the speakers for the program: (1) Mayor Cornett who would discuss the convention center, improvements to the state fairgrounds and to the Oklahoma River; (2) Joe Jacobi, US gold medal winner in white water canoeing and acting executive director of USA Canoe/Kayak, to discuss the proposed white water facility; and (3) Teresa Dodson, manager of global accounts for HelmsBriscoe, a Houston based business specializing in helping groups with their convention meetings — planning and site selection. He said that a question and answer period would follow the speaker presentations.
After noting recent accolades about the city and doing some good PR about good things going on here, Mayor Cornett gave a background about MAPS and MAPS For Kids and I'll not get more particular about that in these notes. About MAPS 3, he gave the general
Mayor Mick Cornett — 14:14
background of the city establishing a MAPS 3 website nearly three years ago in which a call for ideas which posed two questions: "One, would you like to see a list of initiatives for a MAPS 3 proposal that you can consider; and, two, if you would like to see it, what would you like to see on it?" he said. To question (1), he said 85% answered affirmatively, and, as to (2), 2,747 ideas were submitted. Of the top 14 vote getters, 12 are in MAPS or have already addressed in another initiative. He said, "This, to the purest level, is a citizen-led initiative," adding, "of course, we would have a citizen oversight board as we always have in the past." About the proposed convention center he said it has become an "incredibly large amount of our economy — two billion dollars is coming into Oklahoma County today, a year, as a result of our tourism budget. We have built a city that people want to visit. We haven't necessarily kept up with having a venue to visit, once they've been here," he said. "We've never really built a convention center, and I think that's one of the reasons we have a tough time communicating this largest project of MAPS is because when people think of a convention center in Oklahoma City they think of the Cox Convention Center where they go to watch sporting events. What we did was we built a sports arena, we put some big rooms around it, and called it our convention center. We've really under-served the convention center industry as a whole. When you start to think about the best way to improve your economy, economic development at its purest form, you're talking about a dollar that was earned somewhere else and then deposited in your community. That's the way it grows. And that's tourism in its most basic form. The opportunity that we have with the convention center will allow us to triple the business that we currently get from the convention business. Our current facility is smaller than Tulsa, smaller than Wichita, smaller than Omaha." He said that, although "We have a really site good picked out in the Core to Shore planning prospect — put it on the boulevard, next to the park. We're going to continue to revisit the site because this is a pretty big decision. I want to make sure that we have a strong consensus in the community that that's the best site. But the things to keep in mind are, where are the hotels, and where is Bricktown. Do not get too far away from either of those two entities." About the Oklahoma River, he said, "The fact that we used to mow it ... and now we row it ... is an extraordinary accomplishment." "We will build, if MAPS passes, the best rowing course in the world. This will be best rowing, canoe, and kayak venue, anywhere. And I don't have to tell you that if you have the best facility in the world the events are going to come." Mayor Cornett described the White Water facility as "an interactive, man-made, canoe/kayak facility that's not only for Olympic caliber athletes, it's also for you, me, and family." He said that the only real model in the United States is a facility in Charlotte, and a few video clips of that facility were shown. "But, this is the type of amenity that we've gotta continue to offer to our young people. If we're going to continue to attack our kids and our grand kids to live in Oklahoma City, we've gotta come up with some really cool stuff." The mayor then turned to facilities at the Oklahoma State Fair, and he described how successful the bond program which improved horse show facilities had been, to the extent that the horse show season has been extended to allow for more events. But, about other public facilities, he said, "Whenever I'm at the fairgrounds, I get nostalgic. You , know, I ... I ... I remember back when I was a kid. And there's a reason for that. It's because it looks just like it did when I was a kid. I mean, these buildings were built in 1950s and 1960s. And if you go out to the state fair or you go out there for a gun show or an arts and craft show or an antique show, you've seen these buildings. It's probably the most inclusive aspect of all of the MAPS projects in this initiative," he said. "So what we need to do in MAPS is improve the public facilities at the fairgrounds, what we use during the State Fair of Oklahoma, where we go when we go to an antiques show or an arts and craft show or a gun show," and he said, "MAPS will take care of that."
Of all presenters, this guy was my personal favorite. Not only did he genuinely come across as a good, passionate, and down-to-earth guy, in his presentations he demonstrated an ability to be able to call to the fore qualities we'd all want to
share and be a part of — that part of our individual and collective psyches which speaks to our existing pride and self-esteem and an evocative call to enhance it even more. He gets Doug Dawgz blue ribbon for being the most effective speaker of the group. One cannot help but like this guy, particularly when coupling his talk with the remarks he made in the Q & A which followed the formal addresses. With a partner in his 2-member slalom kayak event, Jacobi won USA's 1st (and only) Olympics gold medal in kayaking at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and he was obviously gung-ho about his sport and completely humble while doing it. He also seemed genuinely gung-ho about what has already occurred in Oklahoma City and about that which might yet occur via MAPS 3. And his job was to sell those present on sharing his enthusiasm about all of the above. He did his job very well. Concerning the white water canoe/kayaking/rafting course, he said, "But, imagine, one day that that athlete is one of your own ... is a young person who's, right now, is in school in Oklahoma City who is developing the dream, 'Yes, I can go to the Olympics and I can stand up for my community and make them proud.'" About Oklahoma City's existing status, he said, "You know, one of my of my colleagues at the US Olympic Committee I was speaking to recently, and he told me, he said, 'If there's one bit of advice I give to you, enhance, build, and stay with that relationship with Oklahoma City.' That's the US Olympic Committee talking to us. Folks, you are on their radar screen. You are on the world's radar screen right now. We have an amazing opportunity to reach out and show a part of you and what you stand for to paddlists from all over the world." His focus, though, wasn't on those who live outside Oklahoma City. He said, "But, there's here more here, happening for you" . . . "I think the word 'connection' comes to mind. And I think we're talking a little bit of why I think this is going to be successful here." Although he talked about "physical connection," he wound up giving greater emphasis to a different element, what he described as the "emotional connection." About the "physical connection," Jacobi said, "People are going to be able to take a boat, a bike, walk, roller blade, to use alternative forms of transportation that just makes the journey to those areas more rewarding and more special. So, that physical connection is so important." About the "emotional connection," he said, "But, there's something else that is really important to me and why I think that this is so unique and that is the emotional connection to this" . . . "We need sanctuaries, we need places, not just on the river but around water. Water represents something that's very special and deep for us" . . . "I'm talking about you, the citizens of this community, the people that you work with, the people that you go to church with, your next door neighbors in your community." He equated the white water facilities as an example of something that has the capacity to make a difference in our lives. He said, "I'm so interested in people living the life that they really want to live and I know, first hand, the role that these kind of facilities will make in, in, the difference in your life." Turning to outsiders briefly, he said, "I think that the idea of an Olympic medal, the idea of athletes coming here . . . I'll show you exactly what they are coming here to train for. They are coming here for one of these, and this is the gold medal that I won at the Barcelona Olympic games in 1992. That's what these young guys are coming here for." But, once again, he turned the external to the internal and said, "The thing is, I know a thing or two about winning these. And, the thing is, they are not won once every four years. They are won every day. They are won every day doing the kind of things you are doing right here in Oklahoma City. And, specifically, that means, you guys are not scarred to be different and stand apart and do and set yourselves apart from people based on those differences. That is such an admirable trait in people. It's an admirable trait with businesses. And it is a really admirable trait in municipalities — when you will stand up and say, 'We want to be different, we want to be known, we want to be a part of something else, something better, something deeper, something that just resonates with who we are and what we stand for and what living well is all about.'"
Teresa Dodson is global accounts manager for HelmsBriscoe, a Houston firm that assists groups wanting to have conventions. Her job is to help them select a convention city and make plans for their convention events.
Her presentation focused upon a recent example in which she worked with an unidentified organization planning for a medium-sized 2010 national conference. The group wanted to meet somewhere in western United States. Oklahoma City was not one of the cities considered, and she explained why. Previously, the same organization had its annual conferences in "eastern" cities which she identified as New Orleans, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Nashville. Prospective "western" cities considered, those on the "long list," were Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Austin, Denver, Salt Lake City, Seattle (but not seriously), and Anaheim. "And, as you can hear," she said, "Oklahoma City didn't make that list," although she added, "but with these products coming on line, Oklahoma City would be on that list. And I think that it's important to know is that how a city can grow if you get the right products in place." She described the organization's demographic needs as follows: "Just a little bit about this conference, so you can have some good idea about the numbers and the amount of revenue that it would generate. It is a 2 ½ day conference; it is 6-7000 attendees; 12,000 room nights with the peak room-night being 3,800 rooms; we view 30-40 break-out rooms; we will do some exhibits." She said that, "General economic development for that would be about $4 million dollars. That's just the attendees' spending the night and eating and doing some shopping," exclusive of other spending during the conference. "The things that you do are important, the activities that you participate in. Some of the things about the long list, which is the cities that we were considering, are important — you have to have the right venue to come; you have to have space; you have to have the right amount of space. The convention center that we would be using would need at least 200,000 square feet of meeting space — and that's not a great sized meeting." "The other things that take into consideration when you're looking at a city for a convention would be the 'short list,' which is what I talk about are having the rooms, having the right amount of space, but also having the things to do, and what's around that convention center, and again, it sounds like with this MAPS plan that you are on the right track with those types of products. When a convention person is in town — they wanna . . . and this group had a lot of free time on their hands, so they want to dine out, they want to go to the attractions, they want to shop — and all those things those things you see with the new MAPS plan would really promote that." She said that her company, HelmsBriscoe, is always looking at new sites and said she would be glad to promote Oklahoma City.
A summary of the questions and answers following the speaker presentations is being prepared and will shortly be added in this space.
Question & Answer Session — 22:10 (There are no middle slides in this file, only audio)
October 21: Local groups oppose MAPS 3. On the same day as the above luncheon, KFOR-TV News used the foregoing headline in a story discussing local FOP and Firefighters' opposition to MAPS 3. Included with the story was the following video:
The associated article reads,
OKLAHOMA CITY — As the vote on MAPS 3 draws near there is more and more talk about what it will mean for the city. However, not everyone is excited about the plan. In fact, two prominent local groups are coming out against the plan.
At their meetings this month, members of the International Association of Firefighters Local #157 and the Fraternal Order of Police voted unanimously to oppose MAPS 3. ¶ Both groups agree previous MAPS projects have done great things for the city. ¶ They also say they are not necessarily against the projects within MAPS 3; they simply feel in the past MAPS has not delivered what was promised.
Phil Sipe, local president of the IAF, says, "The promise it was going to provide the economic tax and revenue base, we feel, has not been fulfilled." ¶ He says since 2002, 50 firefighter positions have been cut. ¶ A spokesman for the FOP says a public study recently found the city needs nearly 200 more police officers to adequately cover the city, with the amount of growth it's seen.
The mayor says these groups are implying that public safety is not important; he says that is wrong. ¶ OKC Mayor Mick Cornett says, "This community should be offended by any implication that public safety is not important because it absolutely is." Regardless, these two groups feel MAPS is leaving them behind.
Sipe says, "Growth in the city, we feel, can't be one sided. It can't just be about economic development; you also have to address the issue of how are you going to take care of that growth." ¶ Sipe says local firefighters have offered to give their raises back in order to fund more positions, but they say that option was denied by the city.
The vote of MAPS 3 is scheduled for December 8, 2009.
October 23 Interview of Joe Jacobi. In town for the Chamber's Breaking Through luncheon on October 21, Olympic Gold Medal winner Joe Jacobi discusses the white water elements of MAPS 3 in this interview by Angi Bruss.
October 23, 2009: MAPS 3 faces date with voters; chamber hopes for good turnout. In an article by Brian Brus at the Journal Record, the the size of the turnout was discussed, including observations from academic types from the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma City University:
OKLAHOMA CITY – Voter turnout for each of Oklahoma City’s major penny sales tax issues has increased slightly over the years, as has the margin of support, and MAPS 3 promoters are hoping for even bigger numbers Dec. 8, Greater Oklahoma City Chamber spokeswoman Cynthia Reid said. ¶ “Our goal is a big turnout, because we really believe it’s important that everybody who is excited about what’s happening in the city comes out and votes,” Reid said Thursday. “So we want a big turnout.”
But political science experts said they’re not certain that a large turnout will necessarily be good for passage of the $777 million issue.
In September, Oklahoma City Council members voted to set a special election for the public to decide whether to continue a 1-cent, limited-use sales tax for seven years to support a package of major infrastructure and facility improvements, dubbed MAPS 3. ¶ The first MAPS, or Metropolitan Area Projects, was passed in 1993 and included projects such as construction of the Bricktown Ballpark, renovation of the Cox Business Services Convention Center, and development of the Oklahoma River. The second issue in 2001, MAPS for Kids, focused on the Oklahoma City Public Schools District with new buildings and technology upgrades.
If passed, MAPS 3 will provide for the creation of a 70-acre park downtown, a fixed-rail streetcar system and new convention center downtown, trails and sidewalks throughout the city, state fairgrounds improvements, wellness aquatic centers for senior citizens, and upgrades to facilities at the Oklahoma River at the heart of the metro area.
The first MAPS was passed with the support of 53.8 percent of about 60,000 voters, Oklahoma County Election Board records show. The follow-up MAPS for Kids issue passed with about 61-percent support, but the question was divided into two portions – 60,000 ballots were cast for the municipal components and about 34,000 ballots were cast for school district components.
In early 2008, city officials proposed a penny tax worth $120 million to upgrade the Ford Center arena in downtown in order to lure an NBA team. Arena improvements were originally intended to be part of a larger MAPS package, officials said at the time, but had to be moved forward because of NBA board of directors’ voting priorities. That issue passed with the support of 61.9 percent of about 74,400 voters.
Keith Gaddie, a professor in the political science department at the University of Oklahoma, said the MAPS 3 vote has an inherent component that will likely keep numbers down: scheduling. The election takes place shortly after Thanksgiving when people start getting busy for winter holidays and thinking about buying Christmas gifts.
Small voter turnouts generally benefit passionate supporters, he said, because indifferent voters just won’t bother. ¶ “But the downside is that in a low-turnout election, it’s also a lot easier for an intense opposition group to get organized and get their vote out together,” Gaddie said.
At Oklahoma City University, political science department chairman Richard Johnson said the MAPS 3 campaign needs to do a better job of informing constituents. ¶ “Unless the supporters do a better job of getting out in front of this, they really risk having it fail,” Johnson said. ¶ “People have felt really good about the MAPS projects generally and getting a reasonable return on their dollar. But there’s not really enough out there yet. The public really needs to be educated about MAPS 3 and what’s in it – something like the need for an expansion of the Civic Center, for example. The benefits really need to be laid out for people to motivate them to vote.” ¶ He agreed with Gaddie: “There will be some people who are anti-tax no matter what,” Johnson said.
Other major elements most likely to negatively affect the election outcome, Gaddie said, are grass-roots voters and the unions of first-responder emergency workers. ¶ “Firefighters and cops are a significant threat to an election like this, because people know them and respect them, and they’re organized,” Gaddie said. “And even though unions are weak in Oklahoma, there are more union workers in Oklahoma City than any other part of the state.”
Phil Sipe, president-elect of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 157, said that although his group supports economic development through MAPS tax issues, they are bothered that an increased workload for city employees has not been addressed also. The union originally announced its membership could not support MAPS 3. On Thursday, Sipe confirmed his group would actively oppose the issue. ¶ “We’re trying to plan our some kind of campaign against it. And what form that’s going to be, nobody really knows at this time,” Sipe said. “We have a big uphill battle ahead of us. Let’s face it, we don’t have anywhere near the financial support or wherewithal to mount a massive campaign against it. We’ll just do the best we can with the limited resources we have.”
City leaders have been promoting the issue through various small events, appealing to other opinion influencers in meetings such as Cornett’s presentation at a chamber of commerce luncheon earlier this week. ¶ “We are doing so many speaking engagements, it’s out of control,” Reid said. “We are everywhere right now, and although the big television and media campaign hasn’t started yet, we are very active on the ground, talking to voters and opinion-leaders and people who have questions … from neighborhood meetings to six employees at a company to the Downtown Rotary Club.”
October 29: The 2nd of 3 Chamber Breaking Through Luncheons. This 2nd Breaking Through Chamber luncheon occurred on October 29 at the Petroleum Club. Notably, the occasion marks the 1st instance in October that the Oklahoman designated one of its first-line reporters, Steve Lackmeyer, to cover ANY MAPS 3 news event. The next day, a Lackmeyer-written article describing the event was also printed in the Oklahoman — see October 30, following this item. Might it be that the phrase "Breaking Through" has a greater meaning than merely being a catchy name for the Chamber's 3 major MAPS 3 presentations?
The sole topic of this luncheon was the Central Park element of MAPS 3. Unlike the 1st Breaking Though luncheon at which the master of ceremonies was David Thompson, president of the OPUBCO Communications Group (which, of course, owns the Oklahoman), on this occasion the master of ceremonies was Roy Williams, Chief Executive Officer of the Greater OKC Chamber.
Earlier, Williams (in this writer's opinion a wholly classy guy) more than ably led the Chamber's wildly successful March 4 Ford Center campaign.
To me, at least, this was a refreshing and hopefully not just a coincidental development — but, even more hopefully, may also represent a harbinger of things to come. See this article for more about that.
Like the 1st Breaking Through luncheon, the event was video streamed to the Oklahoman and Chamber websites. The full video can be viewed at the latter link but you'll have to wait through about 25 minutes of eating time to get to the actual presentations.
I've again ripped the audio portions from the streaming video so that you can skip right to the speaker presentations. Modest slide-show animations accompany the audio so that you will get some visual idea of the speakers during their presentations. You can listen/view chronologically or skip around, as you prefer. No summaries are done as yet though they will be, shortly.
Roy Williams, Chief Executive Officer of the Oklahoma City Greater OKC Chamber of Commerce, was master of ceremonies for the event. Mayor Mick Cornett also presented a very general MAPS 3 overview. A summary of this segment is in preparation and will shortly follow.
Roy Williams, Introduction Mayor Cornett, Overview — 6:57
Mary Margaret Jones, President & Senior Principal, Hargreaves Associates. Additionally, she was the the principal designer of the Central Park design for which the city has already paid more than $500,000. She was the principal speaker in this Chamber Breaking Through luncheon. The accompanying slide-show animation shows 37 of the screen-captured images available, certainly not all shown in the full video. A summary of her presentation and animation will be included here shortly.
In this slide show, back/forward navigation buttons are available since the graphic images rarely match the sequence of Ms. Jones' remarks. Using those buttons does not affect the audio flow, except that if you prematurely navigate to the last slide audio will stop and you will have to start over to hear any part that you may have missed.
Following the above, a question & answer session took questions from the floor. A summary of the Q & A appears below. Shown here, the speakers point to Steve Lackmeyer to ask the 1st question.
Q & A — 10:38
Question 1: Oklahoman reporter Steve Lackmeyer noted the existence of plans for a new ice rink in the new Myriad Gardens plans as well as in Central Park. How much coordination is going on over there, how do you see that working ...?" Ms. Jones: "We have met with that team because this very issue came up. I'm happy to that we, uh, are working together very well. So the coordination is something we're doing on an ongoing basis. What we're doing is complementing each other in terms of scale of events. Where the ice rink ends up downtown I think is still a little bit under discussion because it has a current home ... at what point it might shift to Central Park is something that we're all thinking about. But Myriad Gardens is more of a, uh, where you want to get married, where you want to have sort of smaller events, and these are larger events. The other thing Russell always reminds of is it's good to have both, because you can have something small happening in Myriad Gardens at the same you have something large happening in Central Park, and it's that vibrancy in going back and forth that will make both be better. So it's both end up being better because of the proximity to each other." (Also, see Steve Lackmeyer's OkcCentral blog story for more about this, including comments by Mayor Cornett which are not contained in the recorded video.) Question 2: The second question inquired about studies, parks, in other cities about security issues and measures. Ms. Jones: "There's nothing that makes a downtown feel safer than people, and so there's nothing to help that better than an active park full of people. What we do is outline a security program ... First of all, you have to design it so you can see. You know, that's one of the most important things is to not set up a park that has hedges and, you know, lots of sort of visual barriers. You want trees, and you want some land forms, but you also need to be able to see. So, that's the first thing. In Discovery Green, they have a security force that is part of the staffing of the park itself, and then they also use off-duty policemen who come like for the Thursday night concerts. There's always somebody there on a bicycle, typically, but there's always security there. You need your park offices in the park, you need your cafes, you need activity. As long as you have that you're fine." Question 3: After a lengthy introduction, the 3rd questioner asked about planning for the funding, the financing, of security and what thought had been given to that. Ms. Jones: "Absolutely. The budget we are helping the city come to would be a budget that would include maintenance, that would include security, and that would include the staff that you need to program the park. And then we're looking at the various ways of funding that budget. But that budget includes all of those. The funding of that budget on a yearly basis would probably be some combination, like most parks are, of fund-raising, city funding, and the income generated by the facilities in the park itself. It has to be thought of up front. Has to be part of the plan for the park." Question 4: What about parking and access? The mayor said to Mary Margaret, "Do you want to address the parking?" but he changed course and gave his comments first. He said, "We ... we ... we don't at this point know exactly what the parking needs are going to be and we're willing to address them as the time comes. At one time, we thought about putting parking underneath the park as is done in Chicago's Millennium Park. But the cost was so expensive, that we realized we can probably spend our parking dollars better of somewhere else. But until we start dealing with the private sector on the edges and try [?] to see how the park is going to be incorporated in the other land use that's around it, it's probably presumptuous of us today to say today exactly where the parking needs are going to be. But when you think about a park in general, you're probably talking about its high-use times are on weekends when downtown parking is typically available. Similar to the Ford Center, we don't hold games at 2 o'clock on a Monday afternoon but if we did it'd be hard to park for an NBA game. And, so, I think one of the ideals is, you want to maximize your parking at all times and a park actually helps complement the parking flow with the business community that is already enacted [?] in the parking area [?]." Ms. Jones, added, "I'll just add to that the amount of street parking that we can get surrounding the park is a lot. And the street parking around the park is actually a good thing. It gives people a place to park with their picnic baskets and their kids right adjacent to where they want to be. It also gives you a kind of safety buffer if a kid runs out of the park chasing a ball. If they run through first a kind of buffer of parked cars before they end up in a street of moving car, that's a good urban design measure. So there's hundreds of parking spaces right around on the surface streets. There also sites for structures that can be right adjacent to the park. As the mayor said, it didn't seem like you guys were so land-strapped that you had to put a parking garage below the park." Question5: Has much study done on the interest in businesses or residential complexes building around parks like this and what kind of revenue that would produce? "In other cities, absolutely. That's what my slide was about in terms of return on the investment that other cities have seen. We're putting that report together for city staff, but there are great examples. It's an enormous return on investment. The value of residences adjacent to parks is 6 to 10 times higher. The value of development adjacent to parks is measurable, we can actually measure that. We can measure the private investment in these other cities in relation to the public investment and it's always 4 to 10 times what the public investment is." After a closing joke by the mayor and thank you's, Roy Williams announced that the next Chamber Breaking Through luncheon wold be Monday, November 16, and that the topics would be trails, sidewalks, transit system, and wellness centers, and, in the latter regard, that Mayor Patrick Hayes of North Little Rock will be the featured speaker.
October 30: Breaking Through ? — an Oklahoman Article on Breaking Through. Not since John Estes' September 30 article which described the Council's decision to place MAPS 3 on the ballot had the Oklahoman deigned to publish a substantive article on MAPS 3, certainly none by one its front-line reporters. After that, by all appearances MAPS 3 was "hands off" for the Oklahoman's front-line journalists.
After a month's hiatus in avoiding reporting upon MAPS 3 in a critical sense, i.e., thoroughly and analytically, on October 29, the Oklahoman authorized Steve Lackmeyer, its well-known and well-respected business writer, to attend the above October 29 luncheon and to write about it in the October 30 edition. Click here to read the article, "Designer reveals plans for MAPS 3-funded park in Oklahoma City." The article itself isn't particularly lengthy but does point out that both the plans for a revamped Myriad Gardens and the tentative plan for Central Park include provision for an ice rink, a possible inconsistency, and Lackmeyer inquired about that during the Q & A session of the Chamber luncheon. The content of the written article is expanded upon in Lackmeyer's October 30 OkcCentral.com blog post on the same topic.
In the grand scheme of things, the apparent duplication of an ice rink is a relatively small matter even if a good reporter would notice the fact and would inquire about it. That's what good reporters do.
But, until October 29, no Oklahoman reporters were on the job to even make such innoxious inquiries much less any more serious probing around about other MAPS 3 issues. So, the much larger matter is that the Oklahoman authorized Lackmeyer to attend and report on the MAPS 3 presentations in the first place.
In the current context, the paragraphs above present a worthy news item, all by itself. The simplified story might look something like this:
Daily Planet Reporters Again Authorized to Report October 30, 2009 By Jimmy Olson, Cub Reporter
The long days and weeks of grief and mourning have been hard to endure ... rendered powerless by a blast of Kryptonite from the dastardly Lex Luthor, Daily Planet reporters were but vestiges of their former selves — morale was in the toilet. But, in what some observers see as a dramatic 180 degree turnaround of events, on the morning of October 29 within the cloistered and security protected walls of its fortress on the Broadway Extension in Oklahoma City, the Daily Planet, which had previously forbidden serious news gathering and reporting by its reporters on matters which might be seen as critical of MAPS 3, instructed Clark Kent, one of its most established and well respected journalists, to attend a Breaking Through luncheon sponsored by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce at the Petroleum Club in downtown Oklahoma City and to prepare a report for publication the next day.
All kidding aside, do these developments represent a breaking through the Oklahoman's no-MAPS 3 reporting barrier?
Hopefully, they do, but only time will tell. At least, the article represents a start, and I commend those within the Oklahoman organization who allowed it it happen. Such persons are deserving of a gold star, a purple heart, or something along those lines.
NOVEMBER NEWS. If a change might be in the air for the Oklahoman's news coverage about MAPS 3, such a change was not evident on November 3 when the Oklahoman was scooped by the Oklahoma Journal with the lead November story below.
Journal Record, November 3: Not This MAPS Coalition. A November 3 Journal Record article by Brian Brus reported that on November 2 a formally organized political committee, the Not This MAPS Coalition, filed paperwork with the Oklahoma City Clerk.
The article notes that the committee generally favors MAPS 3 but that its members would oppose passage of MAPS 3 unless arrangements can be worked out to hire more Oklahoma City police and firefighters. The political committee wants the vote on MAPS 3 postponed so that its concerns can be addressed. The article reads:
OKLAHOMA CITY – The upcoming MAPS 3 tax issue election has drawn formal opposition with the filing of a political committee, Not This MAPS Coalition, with the Oklahoma City clerk’s office.
The group is opposing the $777 million, seven-year, penny sales tax issue mainly because of what the package of capital improvement projects doesn’t have: more emergency response personnel, said Phil Sipe, president-elect of the International Association of Firefighters Local 157 and chairman of the coalition. Not This Maps Coalition otherwise supports MAPS 3.
But if the issue is passed by voters Dec. 8, he said, the likelihood of securing additional funding to hire firefighters and police officers any time in the next several years severely decreases. So the group is trying to convince city leaders to postpone the question to allow for more consideration.
“We still hold out hope that we can come to some kind of last-minute resolution of the staffing issues that we have,” Sipe said. “So we’re not entirely resigned about running a campaign against it. We’re actually trying to work out a resolution so that they address staffing needs.”
The first MAPS, or Metropolitan Area Projects, was passed in 1993 and included projects such as construction of the Bricktown Ballpark, renovation of the Cox Business Services Convention Center and development of the Oklahoma River. The second issue in 2001, MAPS for Kids, focused on the Oklahoma City Public Schools District with new buildings and technology upgrades. ¶ If passed, MAPS 3 will provide for the creation of a 70-acre park downtown, a fixed-rail streetcar system and new convention center downtown, trails and sidewalks throughout the city, state fairgrounds improvements, wellness aquatic centers for senior citizens, and upgrades to facilities at the Oklahoma River at the heart of the metro area.
The anti-MAPS 3 group is countered by only one other formal filing with the clerk’s office: the Yes For MAPS Coalition, headed by Mayor Mick Cornett as chairman and former Mayors Kirk Humphreys and Ron Norick as co-treasurers. The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber is providing the main support for MAPS 3.
Keith Gaddie, a professor in the political science department at the University of Oklahoma, had predicted in an earlier interview with The Journal Record that a union-based opposition would be the biggest threat to MAPS 3. ¶ “People know cops, and people know firefighters. They trust them,” Gaddie said. “And even though unions are weak in Oklahoma, there are more union workers in Oklahoma City than in any other part of the state. So there’s potentially a lot of support there.”
The MAPS 3 opposition group maintains that the city doesn’t have enough police officers and firefighters, and personnel resources would be further stretched. The group’s vice chairman is Gil Hensley, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 123, who spoke out with Sipe against MAPS 3 at City Hall when the issue was first announced. ¶ Sipe said Not This MAPS Coalition wants the ballot changed to include emergency services funding. But Oklahoma County Election Board Secretary Doug Sanderson said that once the municipal government submitted its resolution, the text of the question was set. The change deadline was Oct. 8.
It is, however, possible to call off the election, Sanderson said. City officials could cancel the issue at any time up to the scheduled election date, although the investment in ballots and personnel would still have to be paid.
Sipe said his group is not trying to leverage MAPS 3 opposition for emergency workers’ pay increases. The firefighters union earlier this year said it was willing to give up raises this year if the city would hire more people or otherwise fill scheduling holes. Ultimately, arbitrators sided with the union and firefighters got their pay increased. ¶ “It’s never been about the money,” he said.
The Oklahoman, November 3: Chamber Hosts MAPS 3 Talk. On the same day as the above, in its "News Briefs" column, the Oklahoman reported that,
The Northwest Chamber is hosting a luncheon with Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett on Wednesday to discuss the MAPS 3 proposal up for a Dec. 8 vote from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Incredible Pizza in Warr Acres, 5833 NW Expressway. Cost is $10 for members and $15 for non-members. Call 789-1256 or email larissa@thenorthwestchamber.com
November 4, the Journal Record: Walking A Fine Line. This Oklahoma Journal article by Brian Brus is one that I initially missed. Due to Oklahoma Journal subscription policies, the article is not presently available to be read at its website. However, thanks to BNET, the referenced article can be read there. From the BNET source, the article reads as follows:
Oklahoma City's MAPS controversy causes officials to walk a [fine line?] Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City) Nov 4, 2009 by Brian Brus
Whether in favor or opposed, those with a stake in the Dec. 8 MAPS 3 bond [ed note: wrong ... it is a sales tax election, not a bond election] election must walk a fine line between official duties and political activism.
Mayor Mick Cornett serves as an elected official who represents all of Oklahoma City's residents and the chairman of the pro-MAPS 3 campaign committee. Phil Sipe, the chairman of the Not This MAPS Coalition, is on the city's payroll and a union official.
On one hand, city policy forbids the use of public funds, property and personnel for political advocacy. On the other hand, "being mayor is a 24/7 deal," Cornett said. ¶ "I have to do what's in the city's best interest, and doing everything I can to help MAPS 3 pass is in the city's best interest," he said. ¶ At the top of the city's most recently published informational flyer about the $777 million MAPS 3 tax issue, Cornett is quoted: "MAPS is about creating jobs, improving our quality of life and continuing our momentum."
Those words were chosen carefully, said Kristy Yager, the head of the city's public information office. The phrasing does not inherently advocate a vote in favor of MAPS 3, because if the issue passed it would, indeed, continue the momentum of a penny sales tax otherwise set to expire and it would create jobs - at least during construction. And few would argue that a new park, fixed-rail transit system, sidewalks, convention center, trails and senior wellness centers would not improve the quality of life.
The rest of the flyer outlines specific details of MAPS 3, without bias. The first MAPS project in 1993 set a penny sales tax for about five years to raise money for projects such as building the Ford Center, Bricktown Ballpark and the Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library. The second issue, dubbed MAPS for Kids, focused on local school improvements, mainly rebuilding or renovating all 75 buildings in the Oklahoma City Public Schools District.
If MAPS 3 is approved with a citywide public vote Dec. 8, the sales tax collections will begin April 1, 2010, the day after the end of the sports facilities sales tax that voters approved in March 2008.
The Oklahoma Gazette, November 4: The Downtown Rail Initiative. In a very nice article by Ben Fenwick with the headline, "Officials: Downtown rail initiative in MAPS 3 can serve as future framework," a brief history and the potential of both MAPS 3's downtown modern streetcar and the potentials beyond that are nicely covered. You can read the article at the Gazette's website here, or you can read a more printable version here.
The November 4 article is actually the 2nd major Gazette article on the "modern streetcar" and MAPS 3 -- the 1st was done in a July 22 article by Fenwick and Rob Collins ... pair up the articles and an excellent resource is presented by the Gazette ... much much more information than exists from any other media source. I'm not getting into the July 22 article except to mention it since the sequence of this "All The News About MAPS 3" column begins in September. At this point leading to the December 8 election, the Oklahoma Gazette, in my estimation, is winning the prize for the most regular and thorough reporting on MAPS 3, even though it is only a weekly. Hats off to you, Gazette guys and gals!
The November 4 article begins with a discussion of Oklahoma City's Fixed Guideway Study ... I'm not sure this is the same thing as the lengthy ACOG (Association of Central Oklahoma Governments) study published in 2006, but I think that it is -- I'm certainly not aware of another such study. Some discussion of the ACOG study previously occurred in this blog's Core To Shore article here.
Beyond that, Fenwick's article contains interviews with Rick Cain, COTPA's director of public transportation, Mayor Cornett, Jeff Bezdek, a principal in the "Modern Transit Project" (MTP) and an avid promoter of modern streetcar development, Kara Chiodo with ACOG, and David Holt, the mayor's Chief of Staff who was previously described here concerning the elements in the MAPS 3 proposal. You'll find no pat answers in the article -- there aren't any. But you'll find lots of food for thought.
November 6, the Oklahoman: City Manager To Meet With Firefighters Union Representative. In an article titled, "Meeting Set to discuss Oklahoma City firefighters' raises," reporter John Estus reports that a meeting between City Manager Jim Couch and Firefighter's Union president Phil Sipe would occur today, November 6. Although the article incredibly contains no reference whatever to MAPS 3, since the Firefighters are half of the "Not THIS Maps" organization formed to oppose MAPS 3 (the local Fraternal Order of Police being the other), the significance of the meeting could well have a profound impact on MAPS 3. If Firefighters' issues with the city are at least partially resolved in today's meeting or in others which it may spawn, the Firefighters could conceivably withdraw from the anti-MAPS 3 coalition or at least the zeal of its opposition to MAPS 3 could be diminished.
In some of his remarks about the police and firefighter unions' opposition, the mayor has sometimes trivialized their opposition as being merely about wage increases even though other information quite clearly demonstrates that the opposition is based upon staffing issues which MAPS 3 does not address. In my estimation, the mayor would have been better served by taking the higher ground, discussing those issues straightforwardly, instead of being dismissive of the unions' non-wage serious concerns.
Whether a logical linkage between MAPS 3, which focuses on capital improvements, and the unions' issues which focus on a need for more personnel, (i.e., one wouldn't expect that permanent staffing needs of city employees would be appropriately covered in a temporary sales tax package) is not considered here. But, as a practical matter, since the anti-MAPS 3 coalition is attempting to make that linkage, it is obviously MAPS 3 newsworthy.
NewsOK.com maintains this area at its website which specifically focuses on the firefighter's issues with the city. Click the last stated link or the graphic below to go there and see for yourself.
There, a very nice interview by Bryan Dean of Mike Kelly, Secretary/Treasurer of the figherfighter's union, presents a good and understandable context which could bear upon the significance of today's meeting. The video appears below:
If you watched the above video, you know that the firefighters are more interested in staffing additional fire fighters than they are about salary increases. So, while the November 6 article makes no mention of MAPS 3, only a blindfolded horse would fail to see the relevant connection. To read the Oklahoman article, click here. As I said, don't look for the phrase "MAPS 3" in the article -- that wouldn't have been allowed by the Oklahoman's powers that be. But one doesn't need to see the phrase to comprehend its possible relevance to MAPS 3.
November 8, The Oklahoman: MULTIPLE ARTICLES! Following a period of substantive dormancy in reporting on MAPS 3, the Sunday Oklahoman captures our fancy with a breathtaking announcement on page 1:
Geez, a series of articles running all the way through the Sunday (December 6) before the election (December 8). Is the Oklahoman about to become a real newspaper in its reporting of MAPS 3?
Sad to say, if the November 8 Oklahoman serves as an example of what to expect from the Oklahoman during the next 4 weeks, the answer is, "No. All we're going to get from the Oklahoman is Kool-Aid."
Don't take my word for it -- read the articles yourself -- but don't look for any hard-hitting, look-under-the-corners-of-the-rug articles no such questions and/or answers. No such questions were asked or answered in any of the 8 articles in the November 8 Oklahoman. All articles, in my opinion, merely advanced the pro-MAPS 3 position and did not look closely at anything to the contrary.
Article 1: Front Page. The lead article on the front page is by Bryan Dean and has the headline, "List of MAPS 3 recipients features familiar cast." The article presents an amusing analogy by presenting MAPS 3 as though it was a movie sequel. "Nothing packs the movie theaters like a big-budget sequel. Moviegoers are willing to pay for a ticket because they are pretty sure they'll like it," Dean says. The remainder of the article lightly touches upon the items contained in MAPS 3 but presents no substantive discussion of any of them, either as to detail or about the various types issues that citizens have expressed in other forums such as in the Oklahoma Gazette or the Journal Record. Dean concludes the article by saying, "Get your popcorn ready for Dec. 8," but he should have added, "The Oklahoman will provide the Kool-Aid."
Article 2, Page 4A: Opponents and Proponents. At page 4A, a sidebar article identifies groups which support and oppose MAPS 3 but provides no particular analysis. The website of those supporting MAPS 3 is identified but the NotThisMAPS Coalition's website is not. As a public service to rectify the Oklahoman's unequal treatment -- and not because I support that coalition's viewpoint which I don't -- I'll supply the omission: the opposing coalition's web address is http://nomaps3.com/. Was the omission an Oklahoman oversight? Maybe, but if so it was sloppy reporting all the same. If a proponent's website is identified, the opponent's website should be, also. Nothing new is presented and not even-handed reporting, just more Kool-Aid.
Article 3, Page 4A: Items Included In MAPS 3. At page 4A, a "Did You Know" article identifies the projects intended to be accomplished with MAPS 3, plus the contingency funding item. The list is essentially a restatement of what's said at the city's MAPS 3 Summary website, a list which is duplicated at the Chamber's "Yes For Maps" website, all of which has been old news since the middle of September. The article would have been more accurate if it had identified the items as being included in the concurrent City Council non-binding resolution and not in the ballot or ordinance itself. Anyway, no new news, just more Kool-Aid.
Article 4, Page 6A: The Vague Form of the Ballot and Ordinance. At page 6A, this article bearing the headline, "Ballot won't detail individual projects," John Estus presents the only article in the November 8 Oklahoman which approaches a reasonable discussion of one of the issues involved with MAPS 3 -– the form of the ballot and its underlying ordinance. He notes that the 1993 MAPS ballot itemized the capital improvement projects which would be built if the vote succeeded, as it did, and he says that the 1993 ballot "may have been improper, according to numerous attorneys." He says,
A state law [emphasis supplied only to emphasize vagueness in his reporting -- wouldn't a thorough article identify which state law he/she had in mind, if any, when writing such particular words?] commonly referred to as the single subject rule forbids cities [emphasis supplied; see discussion below] from asking voters to approve one tax for multiple purposes. Voters must vote on tax-funded projects one at a time.
The serious and inherent weakness in Estes' article, however, is that he assumes, and does not investigate, whether such assertions have a sound basis in Oklahoma law. Maybe they do, but a solid journalist would also be aware of the possibility that maybe they don't, and he/she will explore, investigate, and give a more solid analysis than is involved in merely parroting what he/she may have been told.
As to whether any "state law" exists, as Estes claimed that it did, I do not present myself as knowing the answer. I do present myself as one who has done a fair amount of recent legal research into whether "log rolling" -- the term typically used to identify single vs. multiple project funding by tax or bond measures -- is prohibited in city sales tax elections. In that research, I was unable to locate any constitutional provision, any state statute, or any appellate court decision which would confirm Estes' statement as being a correct statement of the law. Since the city asserts that the same exists, it is incumbent on a journalist to inquire, "What state law? What statute? What constitutional provision? What appellate court decision supports what you say?"
Article 5, Section 57 of the Oklahoma Constitution does indeed contain an express prohibition against "log rolling" but the same provision only expressly refers to statewide level funding and does not mention political subdivisions, i.e., cities, towns, county revenue measures. The constitutional provision only speaks to acts of the Legislature but it has also been applied by the Supreme Court to statewide initiative referendum petitions, which is to say, a referendum which would be tantamount to a state statute if adopted. The recent decision in Fent v. State ex rel. Oklahoma Capitol Improvement Authority nicely illustrates both the principles involved and their application to statewide legislation.
The short story is that I have been unable to locate a single decision by an Oklahoma appellate court which applied the same standard to a city sales tax election, and no one has informed me of any such which may exist. Should such a court decision, or, as Mr. Estes more generally put it, "a state law," I'll more than gladly report it and amend paragraphs such as this. As this is written, I seriously doubt that a specific constitutional provision, state statute, or appellate court decision exists which states what the city has stated and Mr. Estus reported. It is a failing of his article that the matter was not explored more particularly.
So, although Mr. Estes' article was the best of the lot in the November 8 Oklahoman, his analysis was far from being complete. What's the real answer? I don't know. I suspect that the city doesn't know, either. But overstatement serves no good purpose, it only serves to fuel suspicion about whether (a) the city is honestly stating its legal conclusions to the public and/or (b) whether a journalist is really doing his/her job well in critically analyzing such public statements. As for the possibility that a senior editor may well have edited Mr. Estes' article by the time it went to press and that Estes may actually have done his job well ... yes, I admit to that possibility. But the bottom line is that the article bears the author's name, his signature, so to speak.
Article 5, Page 6A: Oversight Board. Also at page 6A, the 5th November 8 article appears, another by Bryan Dean, captioned, "Oversight board included on ballot, but not defined." He says,
Such a group is included in the documents passed by the city calling for the MAPS 3 election.
Why, one might wonder, was an item on this topic even included in the November 8 mix of MAPS 3 articles?
My interpretation is this: City and chamber leaders are aware that (1) the ballot form and proffered ordinance are so vague as to reasonably prompt some voters to inquire, "Well, the city tells me that if I vote 'Yes,' projects x, y, and z will be built; but (2) even if I'm agreeable to projects x, y, and z, what assurance do I have that x, y, and z will actually be built?'" As noted in John Estes' article, above, the City Council resolution which identifies the projects can be changed by the council at any time by a majority vote.
Since the existence of an "oversight board" is apparently the key method of providing assurance to city voters that the original resolution would be adhered to by later incarnations of the council over a 9 year 9 month period of time, a good piece of journalism would have given analysis about such a board, how it might work, and whether its existence does actually provide voter assurance that the city council will stick with its guns over a 9 3/4 year period of time. The article did not do any of the above. It merely gives more Kool-Aid.
Article 6, Page 6A: Brief MAPS History. In an "At A Glance" sidebar, a very brief history of previous MAPS initiatives is given. As an eye-blink summary, it does an adequate job. But, it does not discuss original MAPS cost overruns and the assertion that some have made that original MAPS money may have been diverted to non-MAPS purposes. Whether those criticisms have merit or not, I do not know. But, since such matters have been raised in the MAPS 3 discussion, it would have been good to address them, one way or another.
Oklahoman, November 9: Meg Salyer's Opinion. City Council member Meg Salyer who represents Ward 6 presents a brief and nicely written opinion piece about how she sees the city and why she supports MAPS 3.
Journal Record, November 10: Is Deal With Firefighters In The Works? On November 6, Oklahoman reporter John Estus reported that a meeting between City Manager Jim Couch and Firefighter's Union president Phil Sipe would occur that day, November 6.
This November 10 article by Brian Brus sounds as though progress is being made and that, possibly, the Firefighters may be prepared to do an about face in their opposition to MAPS 3. For a brief time, the article can be read at the Journal Record's website, but I've set it out for you below.
Firefighters' union seeks deal with city on MAPS 3 issues by Brian Brus The Journal Record November 10, 2009
OKLAHOMA CITY – Negotiations involving Oklahoma City's firefighters' pay and additional staffing could lead to union support for the upcoming MAPS 3 tax issue, union president Phil Sipe said Monday.
"To be completely open here, that's what we've been talking about. Once the (staffing) problem goes away, then I'd think the (MAPS 3) opposition would go away," said Sipe, who heads the International Association of Firefighters Local 157. ¶ A resolution could be reached as early as Tuesday, he said.
Earlier this year, firefighters were granted a pay increase in arbitration after direct negotiations with City Hall broke down. Sipe said the union in February offered to forego that raise upfront in exchange for a so-called "me too" clause that would guarantee a pay adjustment for firefighters later if the city decided to give other employees raises, too – something that had not been planned for this year.
However, new negotiations reopened the issue at the end of October shortly after the filing of a political committee opposing MAPS 3, headed by Sipe and leadership in the local Fraternal Order of Police. Those groups said they will actively campaign against the $777 million tax issue for public projects because of what it lacks: funding for more emergency response workers.
If passed in a citywide vote Dec. 8, MAPS 3 would provide for the creation of a 70-acre park downtown, a fixed-rail streetcar system and new convention center downtown, trails and sidewalks throughout the city, state fairgrounds improvements, wellness aquatic centers for senior citizens, and upgrades to facilities at the Oklahoma River at the heart of the metro area. The one-penny sales tax would be temporary, lasting about seven years.
Sipe said the basis of the union's position is that the city needs more firefighters on duty already, and that projects under MAPS 3 would further stretch personnel. ¶ He suggested ways that city leaders could put more people on duty: "They could hire more people. They can, at their leisure, call in firefighters who are at home and not working and pay them. There are different options available," Sipe said.
"We are willing to give our raises back if they address the staffing issues," Sipe said Monday. "We received a letter from (City Manager) Jim Couch on Friday, and that's the basis on which we are formulating a counteroffer. Hopefully that will be on Couch's desk real soon." ¶ City officials would not discuss ongoing negotiations, City Hall spokeswoman Kristy Yager said.
Sipe said that although he has told city officials that the MAPS 3 opposition could evaporate, it's not entirely up to him. ¶ "That is one of the things that's really up to the membership. They're the ultimate authority here. If they're willing to reverse the previous stand they've taken and decide to rescind that original decision, then we're certainly willing to do a 180-degree turnaround and support it," Sipe said.
The anti-MAPS 3 group is countered by only one other formal filing with the clerk's office: the Yes For MAPS Coalition, headed by Mayor Mick Cornett as chairman and former Mayors Kirk Humphreys and Ron Norick as co-treasurers. The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber is providing the main support for MAPS 3.
Oklahoma Gazette, November 11: Water ... Oklahoma River, Canoe/Kayak Course, Senior Citizen Water/Wellness Centers. This Gazette installment on MAPS 3 by Carol Cole-Frowe presents a nice summary of what the city expects will come from Oklahoma River improvements, the canoe/kayak course, and senior citizen water/wellness facilities. You can read the article at the Gazette's website or you can click here for a printer-friendly version.
If the article has a shortcoming, it is that Ms. Cole-Frowe did not inquire of city officials (or at least did not report that she did) as to how much, if any, of the developments identified were speculative and not set in stone, so to speak. Presumably what city leaders said about the planned central park is likewise true for the elements covered in this article. See, for example, statements reported in the Gazette's October 21 issue, above. The article contains no probing questions/answers, unlike previous Gazette MAPS 3 articles.
Aside from that, Ms. Cole-Frowe's article presents a lengthy summary of what has already been presented elsewhere with perhaps a bit of news. Several of the quotes from the mayor seem to have been taken from his October 21 talk at the Chamber's "Breaking Through" luncheon, above, but he may have repeated himself to Ms. Cole-Frowe, I don't know.
River Developments. $35 Million is identified as being for improvements on the Oklahoma River, including "a larger grandstand, new sound system, a scoreboard, a floating stage, river beautification and permanent sports-venue lighting," according to the article. The article says, "The grandstand would be built on the south bank of the river. Within the grandstand would be the floating stage where a variety of entertainment could be staged, from musical performances to plays." In addition to the video linked in the article (which appears below), several others are available at the Oklahoma City Boathouse Foundation website, aka "the boathouse district."
Canoe/Kayak Course. $25 Million would be spent on an associated project, a canoe/kayak course at an undetermined location. It would be separate from the Oklahoma River but would presumably be on the north side of the river. The article quotes David Holt as saying, "'There is no exact location,' said David Holt, the mayor’s chief of staff. 'Conventional wisdom has been that it would be near (or) in the Boathouse District. The most likely area would be the north shore where all the privately funded boathouses are, but obviously the land is not acquired at this time.'" A nicely done video by the Oklahoma City Boathouse foundation, linked to in the article, appears below.
Senior Aquatic/Wellness Centers. Nothing new about this $50 Million item was said in the article that hasn't been said already but with a possible exception being what Mayor Cornett was reported to say about operational costs of the 4 or 5 facilities which are contemplated. The article reports, "He said if the MAPS 3 measure passes Dec. 8, the city would likely be looking to partner with perhaps YMCAs or universities to operate the facilities." About operational costs, the article quotes Kristy Yager, head of the city's public information office, as saying, "We do not have operational costs on the aquatic centers since we do not know how many there will be or how big they will be." The article notes, "The $50 million for aquatic centers will likely be much more than seniors got from the first MAPS vote."
Mayor Patrick Hayes of North Little Rock will be the featured speaker at the Chamber's next "Breaking Through" luncheon on November 16.
November 12 OKC Press Release. Early this afternoon, the city issued a press release, fully set out below, which speaks to a proposal by the city to resolve issues with the local Firefighters Union and the Fraternal Order of Police concerning staffing issues raised by those groups in its NotTHISMaps coalition. My understanding is that the proposal will be voted on by union members at meetings to be held this evening. I won't otherwise comment since I am not privy to the proposal and don't presently understand the nuances in the words of the press release.
But, here it is, courtesy of and thanks to Ben Johnson of okcreview.com:
11/12/09 Contact: Kristy Yager, 297-2550
Mayor, District Attorney, Councilman address impact of MAPS on public safety
Flanked by the County’s top prosecutor and a former fire chief, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett today addressed the past impact that MAPS has had on public safety, and discussed a proposal to continue the City’s long-standing tradition of supporting public safety by committing the use tax created by MAPS 3 to police and fire protection.
If MAPS 3 passes on December 8, this commitment could mean that the community will immediately benefit from the addition of new police officers and firefighters, in addition to protecting current public safety positions. The practice of supporting public safety with a MAPS use tax began in 2001 with the passage of MAPS for Kids.
"Right now, at a critical time in our City’s history, we’re facing efforts to confuse our voters into thinking that somehow the passage of MAPS will create public safety issues," said Mayor Cornett. "I can assure you that if we don’t pass MAPS, our public safety issues multiply."
Mayor Cornett explained that in 2001, the voters of Oklahoma City passed MAPS for Kids. In Oklahoma, sales taxes are accompanied by use taxes, which are primarily paid by businesses on products purchased from out of state and intended to be used in Oklahoma. The MAPS for Kids use tax has been applied to public safety capital, such as police cars, fire trucks, police helicopters, technology and fire stations. The total investment from MAPS for Kids in public safety is a staggering $60 million.
"We believe the use tax could add new police officers and firefighters, while also protecting current positions," said Mayor Cornett. "In a time that cities across the nation and in Oklahoma are laying off public safety officers, we're grateful to have this opportunity. But that option goes away without passage of MAPS 3."
Mayor Cornett also discussed the City's overall commitment to public safety. Over two-thirds of the City's general fund is applied towards police and fire protection, and over a quarter-of-a-billion dollars ($285 million) of City funds are spent every year on public safety.
"The economic impact of MAPS over the years has given us more resources to devote to public safety, and we have," said Mayor Cornett. "Our community has a proud history of supporting public safety, and we are grateful for the service of each police officer and firefighter. We hope that the economic impact of MAPS is allowed to continue, which increases our overall resources. And we hope that the impact of the use tax on public safety is also allowed to continue, because that can immediately help to maintain and enhance our public safety departments."
Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater and Oklahoma City Councilman Gary Marrs also addressed the potential impact MAPS 3 could have on public safety.
"I recognize what MAPS for Kids has done for public safety, and I enthusiastically support any plan for MAPS 3 that can put more police officers on the street," said Prater. "As a former police officer, I know that commitment means a lot to these officers. As a citizen and a prosecutor, I am appreciative for what MAPS for Kids has done for public safety, and I am pleased that MAPS 3 could continue that commitment, in addition to the other projects that will push our City forward."
"The potential impact of the MAPS 3 use tax on the fire department is significant for the firefighters and for our citizens," said Marrs, who is also the former Oklahoma City Fire Chief. "MAPS has been a critical element to our public safety funding in the past, and I’m hopeful we can continue that with MAPS 3."
MAPS 3 is the continuation of the MAPS initiative that first began in 1993. The proposed MAPS 3 does not increase the sales tax rate from its current level. It dedicates one cent of sales tax for seven years and nine months to the construction of eight projects. The projects include a world-class park, transit, a new convention center, sidewalks, trails, health and wellness centers for seniors, improvements at the State Fairgrounds, and improvements on the Oklahoma River. More information can be found at www.okc.gov/maps3.
###
The Oklahoman, November 12: The City's Announcement. Oklahoman reporter John Estus reported on the development later in the afternoon, presumably to be carried in tomorrow's paper.
Use taxes are charged instead of sales taxes to businesses who buy items from outside Oklahoma City for use within the city. A use tax typically accompanies a voter-approved sales tax.
City records show public safety has received $60 million of use tax revenue from MAPS For Kids, which passed in 2001. The money has been used for public safety capital projects.
The article says that neither the city nor the unions have comment as to details of the city's proposal, although the unions are apparently set to vote on it this evening. The article says,
Union officials said they would have no comment on the use tax plan or MAPS 3 until a news conference Friday. * * * Cornett declined to discuss specifics of the latest contract offer the city made to the unions this past week, but said MAPS 3 use tax revenue could pay for additional police officers and firefighters in addition to capital projects.
Also, see OkcBiz for its less comprehensive coverage of this event ... basically a summation of the city's press release.
November 13, the Journal Record: Its report on the above November 12 developments.
Among other things, repoter Brian Brus reported that,
Cornett's presentation countered the position held by the Not This MAPS Coalition, whose leadership contends that the $777 million MAPS 3 tax issue coming up for public vote Dec. 8 would further stretch the city’s emergency personnel resources. The coalition's chairman is Phil Sipe, who heads the International Association of Firefighters Local 157; Gil Hensley, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 123, is vice chairman.
When the MAPS 3 package of civic development projects was first announced, union leaders said they could not support it because the issue lacked funding for additional emergency response workers. In October, they registered the political committee at City Hall to actively campaign against MAPS 3.
The unions were expected to meet last night and vote upon an offer submitted by the city, presumably concerning the use tax which would accompany MAPS 3 and most likely a commitment to use some or all such tax proceeds for police and firefighter staffing needs, however no details of the city's proposal have been publicaly available. Reports are expected this morning about the outcomes of those meetings and the content of the city's offer.
Some of you elder-types will remember the fine 1951 movie Quo Vadis starring Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, and Peter Ustinov, as well as its exceptional musical score by Miklós Rózsa. "Quo vadis" is a Latin phrase meaning "Where are you going?" or "Whither goest thou?"
This article asks the Oklahoman, "Where are you going" and "Whither goest thou," as well as more particular questions, in an open letter to the Oklahoman concerning its handling of issues relating to the MAPS 3 campaign.
Although I'm a strong supporter of MAPS 3, that does not mean that issues about the process, particularly as relates to the Oklahoman, have escaped my senses and/or that they do not cause me great concern. I am aware that many of you who read my stuff feel the same. This article posts my open letter sent by e-mail on this date to David Thompson, president of the OPUBCO Communications Group and publisher of the Oklahoman, Christy Gaylord Everest, chair and chief executive for the Oklahoma Publishing Company, and David Kelley, editor of the Oklahoman. It will also contain any unedited responses which any of them may care to give.
The content of this my e-mail to them appears below.
November 10, 2009 E-mail to Messrs. Thompson and Kelley and Ms. Everest,
To introduce myself, I am Doug Loudenback, an ordinary Oklahoma City voter, and I operate a modestly successful Oklahoma City internet blog which largely focuses on Oklahoma City history, with a strong side-emphasis in Oklahoma City's NBA team, the Thunder (and before that, the Hornets). The general address of my blog is http://dougdawg.blogspot.com/.
Most often I avoid getting into political issues since I am much more interested in our city's history than I am its contemporary local politics. To be sure, there are lots of great historical political tales to tell such as the city's first-year battles between the Kickapoos and the Seminoles, the Daily Oklahoman's controversies with Henry Overholser (1904 and 1905 articles described him in the most unflattering of terms — see this article), as well as many other great political tales of times gone by.
But there are contemporary exceptions. I immersed myself without reservation in the earlier March 4 Ford Center vote and was an outspoken cheerleader in Mayor Cornett's and the Chamber's successful campaign. I think that the Chamber, much-more-than-ably lead by its CEO Roy Williams, did an outstanding job in that campaign, and I generally regard the Chamber very highly. I'm also very much interested in, and have blogged at length about, the city's Core To Shore vision for downtown's future.
Most recently, though, I am writing and have written at length about MAPS 3. I readily align myself with the opinion piece by Meg Salyer which appeared in the Oklahoman only yesterday. Even though I do have deeply felt issues with MAPS 3 which largely relate to procedure, I am nonetheless a strong supporter of MAPS 3 and will be voting to approve MAPS 3 on December 8 and I am encouraging others to do the same. About that general goal, your views, and mine, are the same.
But, as I said, there are important concerns about MAPS 3 that many voters have. One principal concern has to do with the relationship between the city and the Oklahoman given that, Mr. Thompson, you are wearing two hats — (1) president of the OPUBCO Communications Group and publisher of the Oklahoman, the principal print media in Oklahoma City, and (2) president of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce and leader of the pro-MAPS 3 campaign. Some, myself included, see that the duality of roles has directly impacted the thoroughness and completeness of the Oklahoman's journalistic coverage of MAPS 3. The reasons for concern are expanded in the "Background Information" which appears immediately after the following questions which I'm addressing to each of you, should any or all of you care to respond to the ...
QUESTIONS I'M ASKING YOU TO ANSWER
Have the Oklahoman's owners, managers, or editors given advice and/or instruction to its reporters about the content and/or manner in which they report about MAPS 3?
If so, what has been that advice and/or instruction?
If not, are you of the opinion that the Oklahoman has provided an in-depth serious analysis and critique of MAPS 3 in its articles since mid-September?
Does the Oklahoman plan to assign to long-established journalists to MAPS 3 investigative, analysis, and reporting roles?
Does the Oklahoman intend to identify, with particularity, what state law (e.g., a constitutional and/or statutory provision or appellate case decision) prohibits a "log rolling" ballot and ordinance like that done in the 1993 MAPS ballot and ordinance, or does it intend to accept without further analysis that a 1993-like log-rolling ballot in municipal tax measures is improper under current state law?
Voters are led to believe that a "Yes" vote on December 8 will mean that the projects identified in the City Council resolution (adopted concurrently with placing the MAPS 3 ballot and its underlying ordinance on the ballot for vote on December 8) will absolutely be done, and no equivocation has been presented by the city in that regard. Since it is a given that a City Council resolution can be changed by a City Council vote at any time during the 9 3/4 years that the MAPS 3 tax would be in effect, does the Oklahoman intend to explore, analyze, and report on that potential and possibility?
If any of you are willing to respond to any or all of these questions, I hope that you will. Any response will be reported verbatim and in proper context and with no changes made by me. From a pro-MAPS 3 voter's perspective, and that includes me, it would be great to see that MAPS 3 concerns which have to do with the relationship between the city and the Oklahoman simply go away.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
My research demonstrates that, notwithstanding that the Oklahoman's editorial position strongly favored passage of the original 1993 MAPS and MAPS For Kids, the journalist function of the Oklahoman nonetheless continued to critically analyze and render articles which were independent of, and sometimes differed from, the Oklahoman's editorial position. During these times, the editorial and news reporting functions appear to have seamlessly coexisted, neither negating or particularly influencing the other. As an example, see this example which appeared in the Oklahoman on December 10, 1993, only four days before the December 14 election.
I have already written in my blog and at www.OkcTalk.com that my sense and opinion is that a similar respectful duality does not exist concerning the MAPS 3 issues and campaign. My view is that the journalist side of the Oklahoman has been severely chilled if not altogether stopped dead in its tracks. It does not take a great deal of reading to see that much more comprehensive and analytical reports have been presented in the Oklahoma Gazette and the Journal Record on MAPS 3 than have thus far been published in the Oklahoman, certainly since mid-September. At least, that is my take.
Two reasons exist for my concern:
(1) First off, I want MAPS 3 to pass. If the Oklahoman has embraced a policy which subjugates its journalist side to its editorial side, such a policy may actually backfire and diminish the chances that MAPS 3 will pass. For those who are undecided, such a policy could easily influence a backlash negative vote. In my opinion, what the Oklahoman's owners and editors appear to be doing is exactly that and it doesn't take an incredibly insightful person to see that — the Emperor's New Clothes fairy tale comes to mind and I don't suppose that I need to explain how such an analogy might be seen as appropriate in this instance.
(2) Second, since I am a supporter of MAPS 3, why do I care? Even if what I have said, above, is completely true, why would I be concerned since I want MAPS 3 to pass? The reason is this: I am not an "ends justifies means" person. I care about the "means." As much as I hope MAPS 3 will pass, a larger and more important matter is the integrity and independence of the press. The role of an independent and free press is high up on the list of constitutional protections in our country and for a very good reason. The reason is that a constitutionally protected source, the press, independent of government, is ready, willing and able to inquire of and about government and render appropriate reports to be read by all citizens. In this context, the press is sort of a super-citizen — it is called the Fourth Estate. As such, it is fundamentally important that an alliance between government and the press NOT exist since that would radically diminish the reason that such constitutional protections came to exist in the first place.
Mr. Thompson is president of the OPUBCO Communications Group and is publisher of the Oklahoman, the principal print media in Oklahoma City. He is also president of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, the group which is leading the campaign for passage of MAPS 3. In the latter capacity, he is leading the pro-MAPS 3 campaign together with the mayor. Some would opine, me included, that Mr. Thompson has a classic conflict of interest in these paired roles, particularly if the Oklahoman's owners and editors have been and are being heavy-handed with its journalist employees in the performance of the Oklahoman's main reason for being — the collection, analysis, and dissemination of news.
My view is that the decision which resulted in Mr. Thompson leading the Chamber's efforts in the MAPS 3 campaign was ill-advised. The Chamber's CEO, Roy Williams, a gentleman of the first order, proved himself to be quite capable in handling such a leadership role in the March 4 Ford Center sales tax vote, and he is not a part of OPUBCO. The leadership role at the Chamber should have been assigned to him.
It is not too late to eliminate this concern and cause what I've said here become a non-issue. It is not too late that the Oklahoman's seasoned and established front-line journalists be let loose to do the jobs that they have been trained to do. It is not too late that senior editors not re-write articles by journalists so that articles be more consistent with the Oklahoman's editorial position. It is not too late that Roy Williams take the lead in the Chamber's pro-MAPS 3 campaign and that Mr. Thompson not be directly involved with that campaign. It is not too late for the Oklahoman to be more like the Oklahoman was in the original 1993 MAPS tax campaign.
Thanks for reading through this long message, and for any replies which any of you may care to make.
Initially posted on October 20, 2009; current through November 12.
With both credit and apologies to Dr. Seuss, it has been written,
Out west, near Hawtch-Hawtch,
there’s a Hawtch-Hawtcher Bee-Watcher.
His job is to watch ... is to keep both his eyes on the lazy town bee.
A bee that is watched will work harder, you see.
Well…he watched and he watched.
But, in spite of his watch,
that bee didn’t work any harder. Not mawtch.
So then somebody said,
"Our old bee-watching man
just isn’t bee-watching as hard as he can.
He ought to be watched by another Hawtch-Hawtcher.
The thing that we need
is a Bee-Watcher-Watcher.
Even if you think that you've correctly identified the analogous characters in the above, this bee-watcher-watcher will vote yes on MAPS 3. I'll be voting for it and I'll have "Vote Yes" yard signs in the front of my house when they become available.
So, as a MAPS 3 supporter, I want the MAPS 3 vote to succeed. That's one reason that I'm distressed about the close tie between the Oklahoman and the MAPS 3 campaign. The relationship doesn't pass the smell test and it gives MAPS 3 opponents an additional reason to oppose MAPS 3 that wouldn't otherwise exist.
INTRODUCTION AND THE REASON FOR THIS ARTICLE EVEN BEING HERE. One of the frustrations which some, including me, have with the upcoming December 8, 2009, MAPS 3 vote is that, aside from the information contained in the city's MAPS 3 website, Oklahoma Citians haven't yet been presented with much information about it. In the City's Summary about MAPS 3, it is said,
Please note that more information on each project will be made available at regular press conferences BEGINNING IN OCTOBER.
In September, I awaited October 1 or shortly thereafter with great anticipation and twiddled my thumbs until that date, expecting, certainly hoping, that something new would be forthcoming, ala the above official words of the city's MAPS 3 website. Somehow, I figured that "beginning in October" would have, by October 20 when this article was originally written, be come and gone.
Nope, not as of October 20. At that time, all were still waiting for those public news conferences promised in the city's MAPS 3 website. If any such press conferences had occurred, they'd not been reported in the Oklahoman, our primary print medium for Oklahoma City news, or elsewhere. I opined that perhaps in the next 10 days such news conferences would at long last begin.
On October 21 and again on October 22, I added a note saying that, as of those two dates, information in the last paragraph remained true.
Turns out, I missed a step. For the good of us all, as it turns out, this bee-watcher-watcher has a bee-watcher-watcher-watcher! That is so totally cool!
Late afternoon on October 22, I received an e-mail from David Holt, the Mayor's Chief of Staff (see MAPS 3 Proposal Redux) in which he kindly corrected me about my post-October 20 reporting.
By the way, if you're lost in this Dr. Seuess analogy: (1) the city is the bee; (2) someone is supposed to be watching the bee, and that would be the Oklahoman which should be the largest reporting element of the 4th estate around these parts; (3) some are watching the Oklahoman and that would include me around these parts due to its integration with the Chamber in the MAPS 3 campaign. It does get confusing, but I'm hoping you're still following.
(4) To that train of bee-watch-watchers, I'm glad to add a new watcher-watcher, David Holt, he being the bee-watcher-watcher-watcher who is apparently watching my humble offerings here! Hopefully, more bee-watcher-watcher-watchers will follow — one can simply not have too many bee-watcher-watcher-watchers! Anyway, welcome aboard, David!
Anyway, in his e-mail, David let me know that I'd missed the mayor's remarks on October 21 at the Skirvin. Indeed, I had no knowledge that the mayor would be making a speech on MAPS 3, much less did I know that Mayor Mick would be conducting one of the promised press-conferences about it. David kindly let me know that that an article appeared in the October 22 Oklahoman about that, in the Business Section.
Unfortunately, when I stumbled out the door to retrieve my morning Oklahoman at around 5:30 a.m. on October 22 (I have sleep issues), I discovered that it had been tossed into a water puddle and that my soggy newspaper weighed about the same as a Big Mac half-pounder, wholly useless as a newspaper but perhaps tasting as good as the latter. So I didn't get my morning read and I wasn't ready for breakfast. As is my morning rote, I then stumbled into the itty-bitty room of my Mesta Park home — Doug Dawgz inner sanctum — and I dutifully checked out the morning news in the on-line Oklahoman. I didn't notice anything about MAPS 3 and I missed the article that David was pointing out to me in his e-mail.
Anyway, after David's e-mail late this afternoon, I revisited the on-line Oklahoman and I did find that I'd missed the Oklahoman article by Jesse Olivarez (with all respect to Jesse, who dat?) which reported on Mayor Cornett's talk before a $30 or $35 luncheon at the Skirvin — apparently a Chamber-sponsored luncheon during which the mayor discussed MAPS 3 before those who had paid the price to attend. The article is now fully readable in the table, item #2 for MAPS 3 coverage, below.
But, as was said by Otis Day & the Knights oh so long ago in their classic tune, "Shout,"
Now waaaa-aaai-t a minute ... You know you make me want to (SHOUT)
Kick my heels up and (SHOUT)
Throw my hands up and (SHOUT)
Throw my head back and (SHOUT)
Come on now (SHOUT)
Don't forget to say you will
... and so on
Now waaaa-aaai-t a minute ...
The October 21 pay-to-attend luncheon at the Skirvin was one of the promised "regular press conferences" scheduled to begin in October? Shout!
If it was, were opportunities presented to members of the press who were present to ask questions and get answers?Shout! That's kinda-sorta an established ingredient of a press conference. Shout!
If members of the press were given that opportunity, what were the questions asked and what were the answers given? Shout! In other words, where's the beef reporting, the journalism, by Oklahoman writer Jesse Olivarez? Shout!
Does a pay-to-attend luncheon at which (according to the article) the mayor makes a "short speech" really match what was promised on the city's MAPS 3 website ...
Please note that more information on each project will be made available at regular press conferences BEGINNING IN OCTOBER.
Shout! If this address by the mayor was intended to match the foregoing definition, the mayor's and Doug Dawgz interpretive modes are not simpatico.
Damit. I hate writing this. I should stick to ancient history and the NBA. The mayor is one of my heroes in The Three Amigos.
The article's sidebar notes that another pair of talks by the mayor will be presented at COC-sponsored luncheons on October 29 and November 11 at the Petroleum Club. Just pay your $35 (non-COC members) or $30 (COC members) for the luncheon and you'll get the opportunity to attend the mayor's next press conferences. "To register," the sidebar says, "go to www.okcchamber.com/events."
The point of this article is this: Since the September 30 City Council vote, any number of news articles reporting on various aspects of MAPS 3 could have been, and would have been expected to have been, investigated and published. Examples: Issues concerning the vague ballot and the non-binding City Council resolution, including the city's claim that "log rolling" is now prohibited in municipal sales tax elections; issues concerning whether a new convention center is desirable; issues concerning the location of the proposed Convention Center, even if desirable; issues concerning city-unions not supporting MAPS 3; and so on.
Topics like the above are newsworthy, regardless of one's disposition to favor, or disfavor, MAPS 3. They are also newsworthy topics which have been, thus far, shrouded with silence in the Oklahoman. Hopefully, that will change.
In this country with its built-in and historically established reasons for embracing a constitutional protection for the press, the so-called Fourth Estate, it is not only in Oklahoma City that citizens should expect, and deserve, its members of the 4th Estate to be independent from government and report objectively.
With MAPS 3, the distinction between government and the 4th Estate has been blurred, at the least, and, at worst, put asunder. But, finally, on October 29, better judgment at the Oklahoman prevailed and a front-line and well-respected journalist, Steve Lackmeyer, was allowed to represent the Oklahoman at the Chamber's October 29 Breaking Through luncheon and write an article which appeared on October 30, shown below.
Hopefully, that trend will continue. I'll keep watching and reporting until this matter is done.
Why would I care, since I'm a strong supporter of MAPS 3? The cause of the distress would take too many pages to bear reading and you'd get bored and hang yourself before reading it all — ala the movie Airplane — so in a soundbite phrase I'll summarize those thoughts by these 3 words: Conflict of Interest and ask these questions:
Will the Oklahoman's reporting of the many issues involved in MAPS 3 look closely at both pro and con; will it be objective? In short, will the Oklahoman be a faithful bee-watcher that watches government?
In this article, I expressed my doubts. There, I said,
The Oklahoman. Objective reporting? Unlikely. Get real — who is the present Chairman of the Board of the Chamber (I generally like the Chamber and think it has done a lot of good for the city, just so that you'll know)? David Thompson. Who is heading up the Chamber's MAPS 3 campaign? David Thompson. See this video and Oklahoman article. Who is president of the OPUBCO Communications Group? David Thompson. When the Oklahoman publishes an article which objectively analyzes MAPS 3, such as those mentioned by the Oklahoma Gazette below, I'll be more than willing to acknowledge the error of my ways.
In the research I've done related to the still unfinished original 1993 MAPS article — and that consisted of reading about 200 Oklahoman articles as well as re-studying what Steve Lackmeyer and Jack Money had to say in their OKC: Second Time Around — I reached the conclusion that in 1993 the Oklahoman found it possible to differentiate between its editorial position on the one hand and its investigation of and reporting of the news on the other. But, in the original MAPS, the Oklahoman was not as integrally linked to the proposal as the Oklahoman is with today's MAPS 3 which is closely akin to having a built-in conflict of interest. But the problem is that the 4th Estate has no enforceable rules of ethics and that its self-monitored ethics are only time-and-honor bound.
In that context and in this day, some bee-watcher-watching is called for. In this article, as the MAPS 3 campaign progresses, each article appearing in the Oklahoman will be identified. And, for comparison purposes, each article that I located in the Oklahoman concerning the original MAPS initiative is shown as well. The time period begins with the date that the Oklahoman reported that the City Council voted to place the respective votes to the people and ends with the day following the respective elections.
The Oklahoman's MAPS Coverage
Beginning With Council's Call For Election
Background: Original MAPS was approved by the city council on October 14, 1993, for city vote to occur on December 15, 62 days after the City Council's decision. MAPS 3 was approved by the City Council on September 29, 2009, for city vote on December 8, 70 days later. Below, click on a subject to read the article. For reference, John Parker was the principal author of articles on municipal votes in 1993, with some articles by Jack Money and others. In the MAPS 3 era, Steve Lackmeyer is the Oklahoman's principal writer of business and downtown issues and he covered MAPS For Kids extensively and, with Jack Money, co-authored OKC: Second Time Around (Full Circle Press 2006). Jack Money is no longer with the Oklahoman but does occasional free-lance articles for the Oklahoma Gazette. Today, Bryan Dean commonly reports on City Hall. An article's length is shown by color code — ordinarily, longer articles are more serious since they contain greater content.
Below, two thumbnail images compare what is now called the Oklahoma River, earlier the North Canadian. At left is a photograph contained in Photographing Oklahoma 1889/1991 by Mark Klett (Oklahoma City Art Museum 1991) showing the then North Canadian River near Wiley Post Park in 1991. Check out the TV laying in the riverbed. At right is a photo which I took in August 2006 in the same general area but looking from the south shore on the Byers bridge toward the Chesapeake Boathouse. Click either image for a larger view.
1991
2006
The cause of the extreme makeover was, of course, the original Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) initiative spearhead by then Mayor Ron Norick which was approved by Oklahoma City voters on December 14, 1993. We voted to tax ourselves ... outsiders, no kidding ... we did ... we voted to tax ourselves with a penny sales tax which was originally contemplated to last 5 years.
In today's time, 16 years later, Oklahoma City voters are presented a new version of MAPS. When the original MAPS was voted upon, the anticipated cost was a mere $237.6 million — which, due to cost overruns and perhaps other matters, wasn't enough to get the job done — but, by five years later, results of MAPS were demonstrable and city voters almost gleefully voted to extend the tax by an additional 6 months so that the Ford Center and downtown library could be properly funded and built. In the original MAPS day, Oklahoma City voters had not been asked to tax themselves that much for anything so expansive or expensive. In this time, the MAPS 3 day, $237.6 million almost seems like chump change. The anticipated cost of MAPS 3, to be decided by city voters on December 8, 2009, would continue the penny sales tax for 7 years and 9 months at an anticipated cost of $777 million, almost treble the original MAPS expected amount.
This article focuses on the original MAPS initiative. It is hoped that the perspective and information provided will afford some useful data for comparing and deciding what to do about MAPS 3, 16 years later.
INTRODUCTION TO THE GIFT THAT WE GAVE OURSELVES. A December 14, 1993, Oklahoman editorial cartoon by the legendary Jim Lange showed Santa high in the sky and Oklahoma City's Christmas stocking just waiting to be filled. A colorized version of that cartoon is shown below (click here for the original) ...
... but the story ain't as simple as Santa dropping off a package that would radically change Oklahoma City within a fairly short span of time and within our lifetimes. A whole heck of a lot of history would occur before that would happen.
About This Article's Sources. This article tells a bit of that history based upon information contained in these two principal sources:
The Oklahoman and Its Archives. My research for this article included locating and reading more than 80 articles located in the on-line Oklahoman archives, several of which were during Mayor Andy Coats term (April 1983 - April 1887) and Mayor Kirk Humphreys' two terms (April 1998 through November 2003 — the 2nd term being cut short when he resigned to run for U.S. Senate against Tom Coburn in November 2003) but the vast majority were during Mayor Ron Norick's two terms of office (April 1987 - April 1998).
MAPS 1 and Relevant History: Respect & Admiration. Having done that research, I must say this: I came away from that study being duly impressed with the Oklahoman's full presentation of news and issue discussion during that entire 20+ year span of time. Even though the Oklahoman'seditorial position favored passage of each of the tax/bond issues presented during the span of this study, the Oklahoman'snews position consistently presented all sides of the issues involved. The maintenance of a formal or informal fire-wall (so to speak) separating ownership's/management's opinions on one hand and unfettered news coverage on the other was both admirable and fully accomplished, from my observations at least.
MAPS 3 Reporting: Disappointment. Today, regrettably for us voters, and, to be sure, for what I would presume to be for the Oklahoman and its own self-esteem as a respected and card-carrying member of the 4th estate and all that such a title historically entails, such a bifurcation does not seem to be present. Concerning the current MAPS 3 news and analysis, the Oklahoman gives unmistakable signs and appearances of being disinclined to fully report both sides of the issues presented. At least, that is the opinion of this writer. For example, a well thought-through article presenting both sides of whether a new convention center was desirable appeared in a July 2009 article of the Oklahoma Gazette but nothing similar has appeared in the Oklahoman. More recently, a decision by the Fraternal Order of Police to oppose MAPS 3 has been reported in radio and TV media but was not reported in the Oklahoman.
By contrast, on the eve of the original MAPS vote but while the Oklahoman's editorial position was steadfastly pro-MAPS, the Oklahoman nonetheless carried a story written by John Parker bearing the headline below (click the headline for the full article) ... whether you liked E.L. Gaylord or not, he did not prevent the article below from being published ...
Why the difference? For the possible cause of the difference, see this part of my earlier MAPS III The Actual Proposal Redux. It is not yet too late for the Oklahoman to once again resume its position as a respected member of the 4th Estate.
Steve Lackmeyer & Jack Moneys' OKC: Second Time Around (Full Circle Press 2006). In this seminal book, the authors tell a much longer and more detailed story than I'll tell here — it is the bible for information about the entire relevant period of time (late 1950s through 2006) and you'll find none finer. I have been courteously allowed to present parts of their work in this article, and I thank the authors for that great courtesy.
OKC DOWNTOWN BEFORE MAPS. Downtown Oklahoma City was once the destination for not only business but retail, all kinds of shops, and the movies. It was Oklahoma City's main people place. Everyone went downtown.
That changed. So, where shall this particular story about MAPS begin ... three of the possibilities are ...
The changing character of downtown. The development of large suburban shopping and entertainment districts was underway by 1950. For example, the Mayfair Shopping Center near NW 50th & May opened around late 1949 - early 1950; Sears, Roebuck & Co. moved from downtown to its new $3 million facility at NW 23rd & Pennsylvania in 1954; Reding Shopping Center at S. Western and SW 44th opened in late 1954; Penn Square Mall's construction plans were announced in 1955; and construction of the $15 million Shepherd Mall was announced on January 13, 1963 — located on a 54 acre tract in near northwest Oklahoma City on Northwest 23rd near Oklahoma City University, west of the Sears operation, it would be Oklahoma City's first enclosed shopping mall and would contain 70 stores and was said to be the largest of its kind west of the Mississippi River. Downtown was losing the battle of attrition to the new shops and theaters which offered free and easier parking.
Urban Renewal. Beginning in 1962, Urban Renewal took hold of downtown and the time of the Pei Plan had arrived. Intended as a solution to (1), above, it was downtown's first extreme makeover, even if few would be found today to maintain that it was successful as it and downtown continued their slow death into the 1980s.
The Oil Bust & Penn Square Bank's insolvency. The Oil Bust began around early 1982. By July 5, 1982, Penn Square Bank was declared insolvent and before all was said and done 139 other Oklahoma banks came to fail or be absorbed by other financial institutions, including, of course, the unthinkable — the failure of the First National Bank of Oklahoma City.
Each of the above are indispensable parts of the background of explaining why something like MAPS was even necessary in the first place.
But, I'll not select any of those worthy topics as a beginning point for this article. For those stories, see Steve Lackmeyer & Jack Money's OKC: Second Time Around, mentioned above — is the singular and best place to go for all of that detail.
ANDY COATS — THE FORGOTTEN MAPS MAYOR. Instead of the above, I'll begin this story by writing about the period of time immediately following (3), above, Andrew (Andy) Coats, the period of time that Andy Coats was the city's mayor (between April 13, 1983, and April 14, 1987).
After his mayoral term, he was elected to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and presently serves as the Dean of the College of Law, University of Oklahoma.
Left photo: Mayor Coats delivering a State of the City address, probably in 1985, courtesy OKC: 2nd Time Around. Click on the image for a larger view.
I say "forgotten" since he is rarely if ever mentioned in connection with MAPS, a venture which, strictly speaking, began during the term of his successor in office, Ronald J. Norick. This section explains why, in my opinion, Andy Coats is integrally involved with a complete telling of the story of MAPS and how it came to be.
Coats The Leader. Mayor Coats was elected on March 15, 1983, by a 68% landslide majority and he took office on April 13. His four-year term was consistently marked by stark candor about the city and its unsatisfied needs and by his proactive leadership in attempting to find and implement means by which those needs would be met and the city would become turned around. He saw and spoke openly about the city that he loved as being in a period of doldrums if not decline while, at the same time, he vigorously led attempts to turn the ominous tide.
Setting aside the mayor's tax plans for a moment, this takes a brief look at him more generally as the city's leader.
Coats was vigorous in his support of the city at all times. In September 1983, he was on the bandwagon for the city to host a World's Fair. Click the headline below for the full article.
Part of the article reads,
Mayor Andy Coats' face lights up at the mere mention of Oklahoma City's bid to bring the World's Fair here in 1989. ¶ "If we can get it done and do it right, it would give us a chance to show Oklahoma City off to the nation and the world," Coats said. * * * Hosting the World's Fair would give Oklahoma City a chance to overcome the hard knocks it has taken since Penn Square Bank was declared last year, Coats said. ¶ "I think we're not held in very high repute by the national business community because of the General Motors tax problem and the business losses caused by Penn Square Bank's collapse," he said.
1989 being our city's centennial year, Oklahoma City began its push to be awarded the 1989 World's Fair in 1981. In September 1984, it became known that Knoxville and New Orleans had suffered losses during their hosting of similar events and the idea was nixed for Oklahoma City. For more about the proposed World's Fair, read this article. Mayor Coats was a huge supporter of Neal Horton's Bricktown venture. A 1983 video clip of the mayor interviewing Neal Horton will hopefully be up and running again at Steve Lackmeyer & Jack Money's OkcHistory.com — as this article is being written, the video is not presently available.
In 1985, Mayor Coats championed a campaign to encourage Oklahoma Citians to think more positively about their city — a "Love" campaign. The mayor is shown below in a September 13, 1985, Oklahoman article below near an associated highway billboard. Click the image to read the full article.
Part of the article reads,
After a recent walk through the downtown area with Mayor Andy Coats, a group of New York visitors told the mayor "Oklahoma City has got to be one of the most beautiful places in the world," Coats said Thursday. "And as I looked at it through their eyes, it was so," Coats said. * * * "We have an unfortunate image of ourselves," he said. "We are somewhat apologetic about who we are." * * * To help battle the negative image, the mayor announced a new campaign "called very simply, 'We Love OKC.'" Billboards and bumper stickers will be part of the campaign.
Three Tax Initiatives. As vigorous and valiant as his efforts were and despite his popularity, those qualities were not enough to accomplish a means of obtaining large amounts of new revenue for the city's existing or future needs. During his 4-year term, he would try to change that, three times.
In his first State of the City address on September 15, 1983, at a joint meeting of the Rotary Club, the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce and the South Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce. Click the headline below to read its associated Oklahoman article.
The article reports Coats as saying,
If you want us to continue operating the city in a caretaker posture by fighting crime and fire with understaffed departments and putting Band-Aids on failing water and sewer systems, we will do the best we can with what we have.
If, however, we are to build a great city, then we must have the vision and the courage to generate and spend the money necessary to ensure the highest quality of life for our people. I believe serious consideration must be given to raising city revenues.
Although he didn't expressly announce his support for a lengthy sales tax increase to address the city's needs, he came close to it — see the Oklahoman's editorial interpretation of what he had to say. Among other things, the editorial said,
But first things first. Citizens will want to see clearly how the money will be spent before they jump on any tax-increase bandwagon.
Although blunt about the city's needs, the mayor's 1st State of the City address was cautious and unspecific about the path of remedy — it presented no grand vision, no specifics as to a path which Oklahoma City might follow to exit its period in the wilderness, so to speak. While the address was wholly logical and sensible, it lacked the element of a vision, a dream, from and in which lofty goals could be seized and embraced by the public.
The above Oklahoman editorial was correct — in his address, Mayor Coats did not specifically enumerate a goal-path of his vision that would be pursued. But that was because an existing goal-path had not yet been resolved and was still in place as the city's dream for the future — Urban Renewal. Let's step back in time for a moment before looking at the mayor's tax proposals.
Flashback: The Remnants of Urban Renewal.
In all fairness to the mayor, the city's existing visionary plan, Urban Renewal, had not yet come to its end and that plan was still on the table. So, at the time of Mayor Coats' 1st State of the City address, no need existed to enunciate some new grand vision for the city ... the old one hadn't played out yet and a newly announced one would have doubtless caused city-wide confusion if not apoplexy.
Before Coats was elected, On April 26, 1978, Vincent A. Carrozza had been selected by the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority to develop the crown jewel of the plan, the 4-block downtown Galleria area which included the proposed shopping mall and two or three adjacent stunning new office buildings. Although One Galleria Tower (the Oklahoma Tower) and Two Galleria Tower (Corporate Tower) did get done by Carrozza, another 50-story tower and the Galleria mall did not. After being granting a brief extension to deliver a concrete plan to accomplish the shopping mall, Carrozza's contract was terminated by the city in May 1983.
Aside from the Galleria mall, other Urban Renewal projects were still in process during Mayor Coats' term, notably the Myriad Gardens. Although the botanical tube had been completed about 1 1/2 years earlier, it remained hollow until work began on its innards in January 1986.
Given its special status, it was the part of the Urban Renewal dream that refused to die until Mayor Norick's term in office.
After termination of the Carrozza contract, city leaders continued to hope beyond hope that someone else would contract with the city to complete it, and that posture remained intact during the entirety of Mayor Coats' term in office. For those interested in tracing the Galleria's history, headline links are provided below, beginning after Carrozza's contract had been terminated. Click on any headline to read the associated article.
February 17, 1985
September 18, 1985
January 1, 1986
February 1, 1986
March 25, 1986
May 13, 1986
May 22, 1986
May 22, 1986
January 15, 1987
May 3, 1987
May 19, 1987
November 9, 1987
August 17, 1989
February 14, 1990
May 4, 1990
May 5, 1991
At long last, in 1996, the city tossed aside the name "Galleria" as an unwanted and failed Urban Renewal reminder ...
... and the vestige and failed name "Galleria" was frisbeed off into the Urban Renewal neverland wilderness from whence it had come.
Good riddance! Today, the 4-block space is occupied by Robinson Renaissance (which Carrozza wanted to raze), the IRS Building, the Colcord Hotel, the Ronald J. Norick Library and Learning Center, a large downtown parking garage, and the iconic springing-from-the-earth as this is written 50 story Devon Tower.
Now, switch gears and flash forward to Mayor Coats' inaugural term and the 3 tax proposals offered to cure downtown's malaise.
Proposed Tax #1. After the Mayor's State of the City September 1983 address, mayor and council agreed to submit a very general sales tax initiative to the people. An October 14, 1983, Oklahoman article reported that,
Mayor Andy Coats and the Oklahoma City Council agreed Thursday that a proposed 1-cent sales tax increase should last a minimum of 10 years in order to generate enough money to finance urgent projects. ¶ The council did not adopt a formal list of projects to be financed by the tax but will review some ideas Tuesday when the council votes on whether to call a sales-tax election on Nov. 22.
Unfortunately for the city, Gov. George Nigh also called for a special session of the Legislature to consider a statewide sales tax increase to fund the state's revenue shortfalls, and that added baggage may well have accounted for Oklahoma City voting negatively on its own sales tax initiative on November 23, 1983, by a mere 442 votes, as reported in this November 24, 1993, article. Click the headline below for the accounting.
As it developed, this 442 vote margin was as close as Mayor Coats would get for tax proposals during his tenure as mayor.
Proposed Tax #2. Undaunted, another sales tax vote was approved by the City Council for vote on June 26, 1984. Click the headline below for the full May 22, 1984, Oklahoman article which reported on the council's decision. Click the headline to read the full article.
A part of the article reads,
Residents of Oklahoma City will be going to the polls on June 26 to vote on an additional 1 percent city sales tax. City Council members scheduled the election today, saying they are giving residents a choice. ¶ Residents can choose to pay the 1 cent increase per dollar by passing the issue or face cutbacks in city services by voting no, Councilman Jack Cornet said. "What we are doing is not voting for the tax, but giving people the right to vote yes or no." ¶ The proposed extra penny tax would last for five years and the money would be spent only on a specific list of major city improvements, council members agreed. ¶ The list has not yet been prepared ... * * * ¶ Many council members blamed the failure of the November request on the fact that the state had just begun talk of increasing the state sales tax. The state has since raised its tales tax. Oklahoma City residents now pay a 2-cent city sales tax and a 3-cent state sales tax.
The vote failed, 58% to 42%. Click the headline below for the story.
Proposed Tax #3 — Six To Fix. Near the end of his term, Mayor Coats appears to have invested himself personally in much more than was done in the 1st 2 tax measures during his term. Not only did he champion the measure, he named it — Six to Fix the City. Beyond the name game, it was the 1st of the 3 tax measures during his term to be specific — to identify what the voters would get if they voted yes or no. Unlike the MAPS ballot during Mayor Norick's administration, voters were given the option to pick and choose individual items, yes or no.
September 1985 was a busy month for the mayor. The Galleria concept was still alive and, as noted in the September 18, 1985, article linked to in the above "Flashback," while Carrozza was gone as its developer other firms were being sought, one of which, Forest City Enterprises of Cleveland later wound up getting the contract, contingent upon financing being arranged (which never happened). In the article, Coats indicated a flexible approach to what the Galleria might become:
Coats said last week the Galleria may be developed as a "festival center" with theaters, restaurants, athletic activities, specialty retail stores and various exhibits.
September was also the month in which the mayor announced his "We Love OKC" campaign discussed above in which he attempting to get citizens to rekindle a lost pride in the city, as well as a campaign to let outsider business interests know that Oklahoma City was "America's Crossroads."
But, the most important event was his State of the City address scheduled for September 12 in the Skirvin before the city's business leaders – Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, and South Oklahoma City Chamber. Word had leaked out about what he might have to say and that part of it might well call for a tax initiative, the third during his term. According to a September 9, 1985, article,
Knowledgeable sources told The Oklahoman that Coats will discuss: — An increase in the city's sales tax to fund improvements to the city's water and sewer systems, streets and bridges. — Calling for a bond issue to finance a domed stadium at the state fairgrounds. — An increase in the city's hotel-motel tax, to pay for operating the Myriad Gardens and other city beautification projects. * * * Coats said he will discuss the direction the city ought to go in the next few years and "where Oklahoma City wants to be by its centennial in 1989."
The article noted that Lee Allan Smith, Chamber chairman, had been talking about the domed stadium since April. Mayor Coats had been publicly advocating a sports complex to stimulate economic grown since October 1984. An October 12, 1984, article reported on the mayor's 2nd State of the City address around a year earlier.
If Oklahoma City wants to be a major league city, "we must have a major sports complex," Mayor Andy Coats said Thursday during his second annual state of the city address. ¶ A sports comlex would help pull new business and industry to Oklahoma City, he said. When a business looks at Oklahoma City as a possible location, "they say, 'what have you got to do there?'" coats said.
At the time of that address, no proposal was put forth — even though the idea was floated.
The mayor's 3rd State of the City address was different. OKC: Second Time Around reported on the meeting in the banquet room of the Skirvin Plaza:
It was time for some brutal truth-telling about what Coats declared as "the massive malaise that exists in our economy." The city's population had dropped for the first time in decades. Unemployment was on the rise as so many skilled workers were fleeing to other cities, coats said. Four city banks already had failed, and the trouble did not appear to be over yet. "We've become so used to it that it doesn't bother us," Coats said. "We don't pay any attention ... we've taken the downturns in stride." * * * Coats blamed much of the city's demise on residents' own self image. "We have an unfortunate image of ourselves. We are somewhat apologetic of who we are and where we are." Coats argued the stalled effort to redevelopment downtown played into that image. "Let's finish what we started. For good or ill, our city is going to be judged by the quality of our downtown.
A September 13, 1985, Oklahoman article reported that, while the mayor did call for the construction of a domed stadium at the fairgrounds, as well as other infrastructure city needs, he didn't announce how to pay for it. Although he called for a 3 or 4 cent increase in the city's hotel-motel tax which would be earmarked for the purposes previously stated, about the stadium, streets, bridges, sewer and water matters, the article reported that
Instead, he said a blue-ribbon committee of about 60 residents should decide if and how those projects will be financed. ¶ The idea of a citizens' committee has been repeatedly endorsed in recent months by the Oklahoma City Council. * * * Coats named James Tolbert, a city businessman and civic leader, to chair the Mayor's Advisory council.
The advisory committee did its work and on April 26, 1986, the Oklahoman's read as shown below (click on the headline to read the article):
Part of the article says,
Three revenue-raising options will be offered Oklahoma City voters to pay for $226 million in civic improvements recommended by the Mayor's Advisory Council. ¶ Another $120 million in water and sewer improvements may be started with only the Council's approval.
Voters can reject or approve any or all of the four separate projects Mayor Andy Coats said will be on the ballot under $73,895,000 in general obligation bonds. ¶ General obligation bonds could be used to pay for:
Additional neighborhood police stations, which Coats said should reduce response times, and a new crime lab, $9,550,000; new equipment, repairs and construction of new fire stations, $6,345,000; traffic control and intersection improvements, $20 million; and a 40,000-seat sports, entertainment and assembly center, $38 million. * * * Under the proposed 1-cent city sales tax increase, project may not be approved or rejected individually. ¶ The sales tax boost is expected to raise $152,669,000 over its four-year life and would contain:
$50 million for street and bridge improvements; $27.2 for improved police protection, including 140 new officers, higher pay for beginning officers and $10 million for expanded jail facilities; $20 million in flood control; $10.88 million for improved fire protection, including additional personnel; and $7.5 million for park restoration.
Also included in the sales tax proposal are:
Parks and recreation operation and maintenance, $7.2 million; inner city improvements, including completion of the Galleria project and a large, high-tech library downtown to attract new industry, $20 million; weed and litter control, $3 million; and neighborhood code enforcement, $2,129,000. * * * A measure boosting the hotel/motel tax 3 cents will be paid almost entirely by people living outside Oklahoma City. The additional money will be used to improve and support convention and tourism facilities, and to operate and maintain the Myriad Gardens, Coats said. * * * The city council may trim or add to the total financing package when consideration begins Tuesday.
In a related page 1 article on the same day, the combined bond, sales tax, and hotel tax package was identified as paying for $346 million in city projects. The article said,
Coats said at an afternoon news conference that the money is needed to pay for civic improvements that will bring Oklahoma City and the state out of the economic doldrums caused by declining activity in the oil industry. ¶ "I think it's time for Oklahoma City to take hold of its own destiny," he said.
The City Council considered the matter and it was approved to be submitted to a vote of the people on June 17. The May 4, 1996, headline, below, announced the vote (click the headline to read the article).
In the article, Mayor Coats was reported to say,
Coats said, "People need to understand that this is money that will be spent right here in Oklahoma City." ¶ coats predicted if all measures are approved it will create 5,000 construction jobs and 2,000 retail positions for Oklahoma City's ailing economy.
It will "fix the city, provide jobs and will have a great economic impact," Coats said. Ward 5 Councilman Jim Scott said after the two latest defeats, the city has learned it's not wise to lump all projects in one funding proposal.
In a June 15 article, Lee Allan Smith, chair of the Oklahoma City Chamber, said that the ballot is "the most important election in the history of Oklahoma City." The largest item on the ballot was the 4-year sales tax, projected to raise $152,699,000. A snippet from the June 15 article is at the right.
Strong opposition existed from council member Jerry Gilbert and the hotel/motel industry which complained that it was unfairly being targeted with raising revenue to maintain Myriad Gardens , among other objections, and many viewed the domed stadium unfavorably. The Six To Fix campaign was aggressive with frequent and splashy ads claiming that the cost to voters would be a dime a day and numerous civic groups supported the measures.
Voter returns began appearing during the evening of June 17. Three measures passed; three failed. Click the June 18 headline below to read its associated article.
At right, council member Jerry Gilbert is all smiles at a Vote No watch party. Click the graphic for the June 18, 1986, article, part of which reads, "Tax opponents whooped and sang their satisfaction late Tuesday over the apparent defeat of half of the city's tax package. One hotel official described the outcome as 'David slew Goliath.' * * *Opponents let out their biggest screams and laughs over results showing the bond issue for a domed stadium going down hard to defeat. Several started singing a version of 'Happy Days Are Here Again.'"
Ironically, the voters passed the measure which would provide new police briefing stations and equipment but voted no on the sales tax which would have added 149 new officers to staff them. Fire station renovations and improved traffic controls had also passed.
In addition to the sales tax failure, the hotel/motel tax and domed stadium fell in defeat. Click the graphic summary at left for the larger June 19, 1986, full article. The 4-year sales tax was project to garner $152,699,000. The hotel/motel tax was project to produce $1.5 million a year for additional revenue of operating and maintaining Myriad Gardens and convention and tourism promotion; and the property tax measure to raise $38 million for the domed stadium failed to carry.
Why did the larger items not gain approval of city voters? Various reasons were offered. In this June 18, 1986, article, Mayor Coats said that hotel and motel owners worked so hard to defeat the proposed room tax increase they probably pulled the sales tax down with it. The next day's June 19 article council member Pete White wondered whether voters understood that additional police and fire fighters were included in the sales tax. "We don't need those outlying stations if we don't have police to put in them," he said. White also said that opponents had conducted a "gutter campaign."
Thus ended the attempts by Mayor Coats to turn the city around. Even though a popular and energetic mayor who never quit trying, persuading the citizenry in tough economic times to tax themselves, particularly burdened with the albatross of Urban Renewal's illusive retail Galleria, proved insurmountable during his day. At least, the eyes of some may have been opened by what he had done and he may well have set the stage for what was yet to come. And, quite possibly, the series of tax failures may have well afforded Coats' successor, Ronald J. Norick, some lessons worth studying very closely.
ENTER THE DRAGON-SLAYER: RONALD J. NORICK. One might not suppose by looking that the modest-looking short guy at the right was particularly equipped in the medieval art of killing dragons. Little did we know ...
Under his leadership the City was chosen as a finalist for several large economic developments including a United Airlines maintenance facility. When other cities were chosen for these, Norick focused his efforts on winning passage of the five-year one-cent sales tax to fund the Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) program. * * * During Mayor Norick’s tenure, Oklahoma City was twice named one of the ten best-managed cities in the US by Financial World magazine and one of the ten best cities in which to do business by Fortune magazine. Oklahoma City was also rated the most affordable city to live in by U.S. News and World Report magazine.
But, of course, that's the official sterilized word. What else might be observed from the eyes of one who cares less about official versions but cares more about what the records of history reveal? In this instance, the versions will not be remarkably dissimilar, but let's have a look, just the same.
The Mayoral Campaign. Politics is politics and everything is fair in love and war ... and politics, right? I don't subscribe to that premise, however. I see what is said during political campaigns as being important indicators of a candidate's character — what is one really prepared to do just to get elected? Maybe it's just me, but some parts of this campaign's rhetoric may well present items that Mayor Norick would chose to do differently, had it to be done over again.
Seven candidates announced for mayor by filing time. Click the March 8, 1987, headline below for its associated article which identifies them all and gives a thumbnail report about each.
More information about each candidate is in this 2nd article in the same Oklahoman edition. The front runners were identified as Ron Norick and Pete White, then (as now) a member of city council.
Now, maybe this is just me thinking like this, and maybe my perceptions are wholly screwed up, but if EVER there has been a city council member with impeccable integrity, adroit and often laid-back skills, it is Pete White (who presently serves as a member of the City Council). As much as I admire what Ron Norick has done and continues to do for this city, and I do, it did not please me one iota to read what was described in the following March 11, 1987, article in which Norick impugned White's character.
Cheap shots are never classy and I always want my city's mayors to be classy. In this instance, I'll give candidate Norick a thumbs down on the "classy" element and side with candidate Pete White who only gave a polite, though pointed, reply.
In any event, Ron Norick won the race on March 17 by achieving a 50.6% vote, thus winning without a runoff. Councilman White was second with 31.6%. Then, in a remarkable show of unity, the two candidates held a joint reception on March 28 to raise money together to pay off unpaid campaign debts.
Interestingly, in Ward 6, Beverly Hodges narrowly defeated Jerry Gilbert's re-election -- some thought that Gilbert had doomed Mayor Coat's Six To Fix campaign.
Norick's First Months. Perhaps as an indicator of things to come, one of Norick's 1st decisions was to abolish all nine existing standing committees as well as various ad hoc committees of the City Council. His campaign slogan was, "Norick means business," and it seems that he did. See this April 15 article. A May 20 article reported that he was forming an advisory committee to develop a comprehensive plan for the city, the first since 1977. Faced with shrinking revenues, Norick sought means to reduce city expenses — such as by a 1 hour weekly unpaid furlough for non-uniformed city employees and reduction of the number of city employees hopefully through attrition. See this May 28 article. In this June 5 article he was reported to favor reducing city employee fringe benefits and he opposed an across the board pay increase for city employees that City Manager Terry Childers had proposed, at a time that some employees would lose their job because of the need to reduce city expenses.
On three occasions during Mayor Coats' term, citizens had substantially refused to increase their taxes, and it was payback time. Faced with a shortfall of $5.8 million in projected revenue, those left to deal with those decisions had to form a fiscal budget, and it wasn't going to be easy, as reported in the June 7 Oklahoman — click the headline below for the full article.
The budget did get approved — council member Jackie Carey returned to the city while on vacation in Germany to be sure that Myriad Gardens funding was not cut (favored by Mayor Norick) and then flew back to Germany. This June 10 article gives the report. In a June 12 article, it was reported that Mayor Norick, perhaps disgruntled that the budget did grant city employees an across the board pay raise and continued funding levels for the Myriad Gardens, effectively said in a self-called press conference that, "Wait until next year." As for pay raises, he'd have none of that but the City Council approved them over his strong objection, according to this July 1 article. In the article, the mayor was quoted as saying,
The increases were bitterly opposed by Mayor Ron Norick, who said about one wage agreement, "whoever write this contract ought to be in the AFL-CIO hall of fame." * * * He was particularly opposed to increases for management. The 4.1 percent to 5.1 percent raises high-level supervisors will receive is "pretty good for a broke business," Norick said.
Contentiousness on City Council continued ... click the July 10 headline below for the report ...
From the article:
Recent Oklahoma City Council meetings have been trying. Tuesday the council wrestled for more than five yours with an agenda that was four inches thick and weighed a hefty 10 pounds. ¶ It contained several controversial items as well as reviews of nearly all the city's yearly contracts for goods and services. ¶ The ponderous agenda only added stress to the meeting. Council members were already upset because they had received it just three days before having to vote on it Tuesday. * * * On Tuesday Councilman Goree James threw a plastic coffee stirrer at Purser following an exchange of remarks over the economic prowess of Purser's northwest Oklahoma City constituents vs. those of James on the northeast side. The stirrer fell short of its mark. The verbal barbs did not.
Thus far into Mayor Norick's 1st term, while he certainly showed himself as an independent thinker and more than amply revealed his feisty side, he had clearly not taken charge.
Perhaps in this time, he learned that, although he was mayor, his one vote did not trump any other member of the City Council. When all was said and done, his position as mayor actually included no superpowers. If his position afforded him anything special, it would be the element of bully-pulpit, the opportunity to lead and bring council members, and the city, together, on a quest.
That dragon-slayer time for Mayor Norick would come, but it was certainly not in hand during the first months of his administration. Meanwhile, while the rancor at city hall continued on, the capital improvement needs of the city were not being met, and that was the direct result of citizen votes on taxing proposals during Mayor Coats' term. As an example, this September 10 article reported on the dilapidated conditions of the Myriad Convention Center and how the city was losing convention business on that account.
In this time, Mayor Norick had not yet formed a city-vision to elevate and capture the minds and hearts of Oklahoma Citians — in this time, he was preoccupied with his own views about making city government accessible to public participation, balancing city budgets, dealing with shrinking revenues, and perhaps being out of harm's way when council members might toss harmless missiles at one another during council meetings. All good things. But, in the larger scheme of things, these were the mundane and pragmatic roles of mere mortals, not those with special gifts which might be used in capturing the fancy of a city as to what it might become.
In this time, Oklahoma City remained possessed by the circling dragons which had been developing since the Oil Bust in 1982:
Low city self-esteem
Low city hope for the future
Continuing diminishment of the importance of downtown
If Mayor Norick would yet come to see himself as being in the role of slaying these dragons, the time had not come, and, whether it would, only time would tell.
This article will continue to be modified as MAPS 3 developments occur and more information becomes available. It was originally posted on September 20, three days after Mayor Cornett's September 17 announcement of MAPS 3, and it was last modified on October 5, 2009. However, I'm calling this revised article, MAPS III — The Actual Proposal Redux because it more accurately reflects my personal opinions today as opposed to those when it was first written on September 20 and then completed on September 24. For purposes of historical completeness, a copy of the version which was current as of September 24 is available here.
In another lengthy article, I tried as well as I was objectively able to present the pros and cons with regard to the on-the-table report of the Core To Shore Steering Committee to contribute to the discussion, and I'll not repeat the content of that article here. In a nutshell, that article presented the Steering Committee's late 2007 report for the purpose of understanding, discernment, and discussion at a time that, presumably, your and my input may have been a factor in shaping the final plan. In a separate article, ballot, ordinance, and council resolution issues are addressed.
MY EARLIER RANT. In the earlier version of this article, I began it with a preface in which I voiced a pair of complaints. Among other things, I said:
As a preface to a pair of procedural matters which I regard as important and have been handled poorly, let me begin by saying that I have respect and a good regard for our mayor and the city council members that I personally know. Despite that, I have a present need to be straightforward.
In my own rambling way, those complaints were identified more particularly:
Misleading Statements About Value of Additional Input. Among other things, I said these things about that:
I really do hate being the village jackass by saying this, but it is now evident that statements by the mayor during the spring that input could still be made and would be considered in shaping the final MAPS 3 proposal are now clearly nothing but window-dressing. Do I correctly recall something being said about town hall meetings? Heck, now we know that the City Park renderings at the end of this article are dated August 14, 2009. It seems clear enough that those of us who took the mayor's comments to heart and spent considerable time and thought in discussing this stuff during the summer were just flat-out wasting our valuable time.
I also said,
I'm not presently inclined to think that your and my input during summer 2009 mattered at all — I'm more inclined to think that the summer's MAPS III decisions were based solely on political considerations which would facilitate a MAPS III passage at the polls. The mayor essentially said as much in the press conference when he said that the city was probably divided into 3 thirds: (1) Those wanting everything downtown; (2) those wanting everything spread out through the city; and (3) those wanting to chose the best ideas no matter where such project may be located. He pointed out that proposals like this are always difficult to pass. He implied that the package's blend endeavored to have stuff to interest all three groups to facilitate passage of the package deal.
That's fair enough — political savvy in passing MAPS I was certainly involved and required and good political judgment in a package deal like this is certainly a good thing.
Political savvy is one thing but misleading citizens to believe that the summer's additional input was still welcome and would be considered is something else altogether — and what happened to those town hall meetings that were promised in the spring? Never happened. Secondly, the absence of detail presented on and after September 17 (thus far) is also quite another matter. Political savvy is good, but the items just mentioned show a lack of respect for the citizenry.
Lack of Detail. The second major gripe I made was that we hadn't been given the full deck of cards, right then, when they were available to be given. A few days later, I started a short-term poll ending 9/30/09, results shown at right. All we were (and have thus far been) given is a summary. About my perceptions and expectations, I complained that we were entitled to all available detail as soon as it was available, that we were smart enough to cuddle up to it and analyze it for ourselves, right then, and not wait for MAPS 3 campaign presentations beginning this month in which that detail would strategically (I didn't use that word but it was in my head to think it) be made available. Additionally, I said,
Neither the press conference, nor the www.MAPS3.org website (including it subparts) give any real detail. It's like the city is mimicking what cool-guy Jack Nicholson said in the 1992 movie, A Few Good Men, "You can't handle the truth." Jack was wrong. We CAN handle the truth and some of us (me, at least) are fairly pissed that we've not yet gotten it. The mayor was wrong in not providing the detail as soon as it became available, on or before September 17 and as this edited file is written on September 24 nothing has changed.
The above summarizes the complaints stated in my original blog article. However, what I said originally should be tempered, supplemented, and adjusted by what would next occur, to my complete surprise.
CONVERSATION WITH DAVID HOLT. On September 25, I received a polite e-mail from David Holt, Chief of Staff to Mayor Cornett, in which he said,
Doug — I read your blog. There seems to be a disconnect between the level of information you think we have and what we actually have. If you want to call me next week, or visit, please do so, and we can talk in more detail.
I naturally accepted the invitation, and so it happened that on Monday, September 28, less than 24 hours prior to the September 29 City Council vote, a meeting was arranged for in his office around 1:00 p.m. on September 28 on the 3rd floor of the Municipal Building — heady stuff for a mere Oklahoma City blogger like me who is ever so much more interested in the city's history than he is in its politics — I think that I've made that very clear already — I don't like making political posts. But, it's my own fault for posting stuff about the MAPS 3 vote if I wanted to avoid politics, so I've got no one to blame for that than myself.
The meeting itself lasted about 1 hour and 20 minutes, as I recall. When I arrived, I noticed that the City Hall's fountains were looking particularly beautiful ...
... a good omen for the meeting, I was thinking.
Here, I'll try to present in an organized and coherent manner (my notes lack that quality — he allowed me to jump around and ask about stuff as it occurred to me to think of it) that Mayor Cornett's Chief of Staff had to say.
By the way, David is the tall guy on the left. Click on the photo for a larger view.
First off, despite the biting criticisms I'd made in the original article of his boss, the Mayor, if not City Council, David was more than polite and gracious at all times during the meeting, and I was made to feel comfortable and welcome, even on those occasions that smart-ass questions or comments managed to pop out of my mouth. We exchanged many laughs and no frowns and I would say that the meeting was marked by a gregarious tone and was a wholly respectful time, both ways. Heck, at the end of the meeting, he even gave me an official Bic Grip Roller pen containing graphics of the city's logo and the Mayor's signature when I left as a souvenir of the meeting. How cool was that?
Second, and much more importantly, a summary of the the discussion follows — I've paraphrased our words unless otherwise stated. Don't be fooled by the fairly organized structure presented below — a tape recording would show that the conversation was much more random and disorganized than is presented below, largely because of my own jumping around with various questions and comments.
What about those town hall and/or other meetings in which additional citizen input might be received and considered in the formation of the final MAPS 3 package. Rightly or wrongly, some of us expected that such meetings would occur — why didn't they?
David said that he was unaware that the mayor had ever mentioned "town hall meetings" and would be surprised if he did, since such types of meetings are not part of Mayor Cornett's style. (Remember, I'm paraphrasing.) He did say that he would stand to be corrected if I found something to the contrary.
Yesterday morning, I looked to see what I could find. I found absolutely no press or other media reports which used that phrase, "town hall meeting" with regard to MAPS 3. So, I have to conclude that term was the product of my own wishful thinking and was an error on my part in the initial article.
But, in searching the Oklahoman's archives, I did find that the eighth annual "Mayor's Development Roundtable" was scheduled for and did occur at the Cox Convention Center on May 13, 2009. In his OkcCentral.com blog article called "End of Summer" on August 30, 2009, Steve Lackmeyer said,
OK, before anyone gets picky about it, I’ll concede that technically summer isn’t over until Sept. 21. But in terms of all the discussion that took place back in May, it seems as if we’ve only had a lot of behind-closed-door discussions and pronouncements by Mayor Mick Cornett as to what will and won’t be on the MAPS 3 ballot.
We’ve certainly not had any public forums or opportunities for residents to tell city leaders what they want to see on the ballot – a process Cornett indicated would take place over the summer before the ballot items were to be decided (Cornett indicated such a process would take place while being questioned at a press conference during the Mayor’s Development Roundtable in May).
So, despite my flop on "town hall meetings," I didn't come up completely empty handed in my research.
To my knowledge, no specific opportunities for public input as to the final MAPS 3 ballot occurred after the May 13, 2009, Roundtable meeting through the time of the September 17 press conference which officially announced the content of MAPS 3.
That's so even though other Oklahoman articles indicate that at least some potential items, such as a June 8 article concerning the Bricktown Canal extension and, as well, a July 3 article was again mentioned as were possible locations of the convention center. In the latter July 3 article, the Mayor was quoted as saying (emphasis supplied),
"The MAPS 3 ballot is not a done deal, and this [the possible canal extension] could be considered," Cornett said Thursday. "I've not had any level of depth of conversation with the council about plugging this in. But I think the idea of whether it's a MAPS 3 project is very much on the table and I don't think a conclusion has been made."
On whose table? The table was a private one and was not public. The public did not participate in a discussion of the alternatives which were privately being considered.
Taking Mayor Cornett's statement at face value, the final configuration of MAPS 3 was NOT a done deal as of July 3 even though it became one by the August 17 news conference. Location of the Convention Center was, may still be, an open topic. But there were no public meetings in which the item was discussed.
We know now that the potential inclusion of a Bricktown Canal extension did not make the final cut. Whether the size and configuration of the proposed Central Park was reconsidered we are left to guess, based upon an absence of reported information.
"Transparency" is a big deal with the city, and, presumably, that means that you and I actually get to "see" what is going on whether the "going on" be in a public or private meeting. However, the problem with non-public decision-making has nothing to do with transparency, it has to do with invisibility.
Private decision-making meetings certainly do not involve the participation or knowledge of the public where you or I give any input; they do not involve our knowledge, either, of what might have transpired. And, apparently, no record exists that such meetings and decisions ever occurred. Transparency means, I think, that one can see what is going/has gone on. Invisibility means that one does not know what is or may have gone on. There is a difference.
So, I think that I'll just pass this one back to David and ask, "Were any public (citizen) meetings scheduled on any of these open topics; secondly, if only private meetings were held, why was that?" Surely, some explanation and decision as to why the possible Bricktown Canal extension was not "plugged in" is available; ditto for the convention center location, as mentioned above.
By e-mail, David's October 5 response to the above is the following:
From the Mayor’s perspective, every day is one long public meeting. All he did for several months was talk about MAPS 3 with citizens. Our door was always open. And though I wouldn’t say we received a ton of e-mails on the topic of MAPS 3 during the period you mention, we are easy to e-mail, and all that we received were read by myself, the Mayor and the City Manager.
As to why the Canal extension wasn’t included, it probably falls in the category of good ideas that there just wasn’t enough room for. As for the Convention Center location, as I indicated in our meeting, that’s still an open question, and the time for a substantive public dialogue may not occur for several years.
Between the 2007 online survey, our open door policy, and the normal interaction with the public by the Mayor and Council, who are elected to represent the people of Oklahoma City in such conversations, we are confident there is not an opinion that wasn’t heard. Just because an opinion isn’t used doesn’t mean it wasn’t heard, and it’s also possible the time for a certain decision hasn’t actually arrived yet.
How were decisions made about the non-core items made, where did the input come from? By "non-core" (my term, not David's), I mean other than (a) the central park, (b) convention Center, and (c) street cars ... items not having a downtown focus. To mimic the model used by Mayor Norick in original MAPS, something needed to be included for others in the city who are not so much only, or at all, interested in the development of downtown and the inner city (as big a priority as that is with me).
David's response was that, largely, identification of the other items in MAPS 3 came from City Council members, e.g., a couple favored the senior citizen and wellness centers, and so on. About the development of the Oklahoma River item, he said that no one or two council members were responsible for that but it was more the result of a consensus that such projects be included.
About the absence of detail, I asked if greater detail about the proposed projects wasn't presently available in addition to what is described in the Summary. This one was kind of fun as we were both enjoying playing with each other — me with my disbelief, David in his obvious sincerity that the city didn't have much if any greater detail for the most part beyond that contained in the Summary.
Why my disbelief? MAPS 3 IS NOT a Johnny-Come-Lately kind of thing — it's been in various stages of planning for years — and but for a Ford Center opportunity which arose in December 2007 and was voted on March 7, 2008, we'd have almost certainly already voted on MAPS 3 by now if not at the exact time that the Ford Center vote occurred. But, the NBA gods and designated angels were with us in this twilight zone time in our city's history. Regardless of the supernatural factors, by reason of the Mayor's magnificent leadership in this time, the March 7 vote occurred with astonishing swiftness and surgical accuracy, it passed muster in the public's vote, and during July we wound up getting an NBA team in a mind-boggling short span of time. Seattle fumbled. Either that, or as Bob Berry Sr. once said (and by doing so coined the phrase when talking about something entirely different), Seattle lost the team by reason of "self-tacklization" and offered Oklahoma City a mighty fine opportunity should this city opt to land on their fumble and run the ball in for a touchdown. Which we did.
But before that opportunity presented itself, and but for all of the late 2007-early 2008 developments regarding the NBA, some form or measure of MAPS 3 was in all probability ready to be put on the voters table by late 2007 or early 2008. So, when MAPS 3 was revisited in 2009, it was not a "new" deal. The Core To Shore final report was presented in late 2007. Although Core To Shore and MAPS 3 are not synonymous terms, at least some elements in MAPS 3 and Phase 1 of Core To Shore — central park, convention center, and streetcar — are essentially the same. So, surely, with all of that time to think about it, it is more than reasonable to think that more detail is available than that which has been presented so far.
David said that there are three levels of questions that voters ask vis a vis a MAPS type proposal, some being more concerned about one level than another: (1) The Generalists (my term) who say, "Do I want the city to continue to move forward with what began with the initial MAPS?"; (2) Those who focus on the identification of projects, generally, e.g., those who want a central park, those who want light rail, those who don't, etc.; (3) Those who want to know still more detail about the projects, particularly (my words).
To make the point, using the March 4 Ford Center vote as an example, David threw it back to me, knowing that I had already identified myself as being a gung-ho March 4 Ford Center vote supporter. "Did you want to know about loge seating in the Ford Center?" "No, I didn't — my interest was focused on getting an NBA team, my only concern," I replied (or something like that). His point, of course, was that, for that vote, I didn't care about detail.
He also said, when I inquired about street car routes, "Does it matter to you whether the route is on Hudson or Harvey?" I replied, "No, but I'd like to have an idea of what route is contemplated." I said, "One graphic shows the street car going into Bricktown. Does that mean that it will? David's response was basically, "Duh ..." He didn't put it that way but I got the point and I now take it that a that a Bricktown path is a certainty.
My take? Great ... but what's wrong with explicitly saying so in the MAPS 3 documents? We shouldn't have to guess.
Anyway, no route is formally set, should that matter. I don't suppose that it does, as long as it goes through Bricktown.
Hmmm ... might he be make progress with me?
What about the pictures — do the graphics presented by the city mean anything about detail or not? As an example, I asked him about the lake design shown in the proposed central park — should we presume that the lake will probably look like that ... or not?
David began responding by getting into whether people might like the design, but I interrupted and said that wasn't my question — the question being more general and having to do with how we, you and I, should interpret graphic images presented by the city. Does the detail in those graphics present detail that should be expected, at least kinda sorta, or not? In this instance, I asked him if we hadn't paid someone (Hargreaves Associates, I think) more than $500,000 to come up with a park design, and wouldn't one expect that the detail shown would most likely be reasonably reliable?
This is the model on display in the City Hall entrance ...
... and it would be fair enough to suppose that we'd be getting more than a concept and a nice model to display for the $500+ thousand spent. Maybe that's just me.
I don't recall what David said about this. I'm emailing him the link to this revised article and he's at liberty to correct any impressions I have that are wrong, and I'll make needed changes. I have no wish to mischaracterize anything that he said.
By e-mail, David adds the following on October 5:
I think it’s fair to expect implementation of what you see in the latest park designs. But that’s not to say that if some detail met with a public outcry, that the City wouldn’t respond and make an alteration. That’s all part of the ongoing public discussion that has traditionally followed every MAPS vote. Election day is really the beginning, not the end. But we have verified that the money set aside in MAPS 3 can create what you see in those designs, and I suppose we did that for a reason – we do understand that the designs create expectations. So I think you can rely to a great extent on those designs, understanding that there is always a natural adjustment when vision meets reality.
Other Projects. About the State Fairgrounds, David said that a master plan is in place and that it would be fair enough (no pun intended) to expect that MAPS 3 money earmarked for the fair would be done to develop that plan. Ditto the master plan for trails. On these, I agree ... fair enough. About the proposed sidewalks and their location, it came up but only in passing, and I don't recall what was said and I have no notes about that. Frankly, the sidewalks project was not, is not, at all important to me but a better reporter would have taken greater care about this MAPS 3 element than I did to for the sake of being thorough.
Has a location for the convention center been determined or is that still up for grabs? I mentioned my concern, and that of some others, that a location south of the Ford Center, as opposed to south of Lower Bricktown in the Cotton Producers Cooperative Oil Mill area which I understand to be up for sale, might be detrimental to Bricktown development.
About this, David was (as I recall) somewhat vague but he did say that, in the end, a cost analysis of acquisition of the comparative areas Cotton Producers Cooperative Oil Mill would have to become involved. I think that he said that, for the south-of-Ford Center, land acquisition costs would be around $30M (an OG&E power substation is located there) but the cost of the Coop Oil Mill area might be much greater. I think (but am not sure) that he said the $30M was included in the $280M projected cost. He can correct me about this if I've got it wrong.
If it's so that $30 million is included as part of the convention center cost, that would seem to make south of the Ford Center the default location, even though David didn't say that it was.
By October 5 e-mail, David adds:
Yes, the $30M for the OGE substation relocation is included in the convention center estimate, but that $30M mitigation budget could just as easily go towards mitigation at a different site, if that made sense at a later time.
What about the Senior Citizen Health and Aquatic Centers? What might they be like and how many might there be?
David said that no decision had been made about this but that the Mayor liked what had been done in Little Rock and he mentioned the name, "Patrick Hayes." After the meeting, I Googled for that combination of words and came up with this weblink in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Combining a pair of graphic images there, you get this:
Now, if that presents the general notion of what MAPS 3 might involve, even if only as a concept, why not show that image just as I've done by web search?
Even if the North Little Rock facility is only presented as a concept, ain't somethin' better than nuttin? Seems so to me, but, once again, that's just me — even if the question of "how many" remains an unknown.
What about historical preservation issues? Are all buildings in the path of Central Park gonners? I went to David's computer and showed him new and old pics of the venerable 1909 International Harvester Building on S. Broadway, shown at the right. I don't recall that I showed him pics of the Film Exchange Building on S. Robinson. I also asked him about this Journal Record article in which it was reported that properties a block or so off the Core To Shore Phase 1 perimeter were being acquired by the city, which could include the International Harvester Building on Broadway.
Whip me if you want, but the only thing that I recall that David said about historic preservation issues is that the city had run out of money to be used for acquiring new properties. I think, but do not specifically recall, that he said that such issues could be addressed as MAPS 3 develops down the line, should it pass on December 8. David can correct me if I've said this wrong.
What about a timeline as to when this stuff will be constructed? Naturally enough, NOTHING can get started until some sales tax receipts are generated. But is there any sequence of when the various parts of MAPS 3 will be constructed?
David indicated that there was no timeline in place for beginning the 8 projects involved in MAPS 3 except that I think that he said that the downtown park would likely begin first, which is natural. But, officially, a timeline does not exist.
By an October 5 e-mail, David adds the following:
This is correct, but I would also add the Mayor has expressed a preference for the convention center to probably be staged last.
About The Fuzzy Ballot. Although we discussed this topic at length, that discussion is reported in a companion article, MAPS 3, The Actual vote.
That's as good an account of our conversation as I've got to give, except for this last important thing.
At one point in our discussion, perhaps when discussing ballot issues which are discussed here, I showed him a copy of the original MAPS ballot which, of course, itemized each of the original MAPS projects one at a time. Having a look at it, he said something like the following (not his words, but mine to capture the point that he was trying to make):
Wow. That's a lot of detail, "A baseball park meeting not less than 'AAA' professional baseball standards'; 'The improvement of the Myriad Convention Center and/or related facilities.'"
While those weren't the exact words that he used, he was clearly using polite sarcasm to make his point: The level of detail that I've complained about not being presented in MAPS 3 wasn't given in the original MAPS proposal, either. I think that it was then that a 15 watt oven-light-bulb turned on in my head — not a 150 watt dazzler but one which was nonetheless internally noticed.
As this revised article is being written, it has now been 7 days since the meeting with David Holt. When leaving, I told him that I would be thinking about what he had said. I have. As part of that process, I've also tried to put myself into my 1993 shoes when I checked the box in that ballot, "For the Proposition — Yes."
Doing my own self-critique, I have today, October 4, reached five conclusions:
I haven't changed my mind about the absence of public input since this past spring; it should have been provided for but wasn't.
As to the sufficiency of detail, I have placed greater demands upon the MAPS 3 proposition, and Mayor Cornett, than I did with the original MAPS, and Mayor Norick.
I have been wrong in doing so.
Sufficient detail has been provided by the city to reach a voting decision.
I can now remove the "probably" in earlier statements I've made such as, "I will in all probability be voting 'Yes'" since on December 8 I will be checking the box, "For the Ordinance — YES."
After the meeting, David sent an email (which he said that I could quote), as follows:
More detail is coming - maybe not as much as you had hoped, but it will be everything we have. And we believe that what we will ultimately present is the appropriate level of detail, based on previous MAPS customs and best practices. December 8 isn’t the end of the implementation and the public’s role in this process – it's the beginning of what will be a decade of more detailed decisions that this community will have to make – funneled through the citizen oversight board and your elected officials. That’s how MAPS and MAPS for Kids worked, and we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel with MAPS 3.
Again, I thank David, and his boss who surely must have authorized this meeting, for a very pleasant conversation.
Although out of chronological sequence, I thought that the foregoing matters should be covered first. Now, jump back to September 17 to begin the sequence of events which began on that day, beginning with Mayor Cornett's announcement.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT. Flanked by council members Gary Marrs (Ward 1), Pete White (Ward 4), Skip Kelley (Ward 7), Meg Salyer (Ward 6), and Sam Bowman (Ward 2), on September 17 Mayor Mick Cornett announced that the Maps 3 was ready and that it would be submitted to the City Council on September 22, less than a week later, and would presumably be voted upon on by the council September 29, a week after that. Additionally, letters of support for 2 council members not present were in hand from Larry McAtee (Ward 3) and Patrick Ryan (Ward 8). Only J. Brian Walters (Ward 5) was unaccounted for and who has since announced his opposition.
The Oklahoman's video of the press conference appears below. It begins after the point that the mayor greeted those in attendance and council members present were identified, as well as two others who could not be present but had issued letters of support, mentioned above. About a minute is lost in the Oklahoman's video and it doesn't present the graphics which were being shown as the mayor was speaking but it was all I could locate which could be embedded here. A complete video, but one which I was unable to embed, is at the Channel 9 website, should you want to see the whole thing.
An area of the city's website, www.okc.gov/maps3 popped up the new information on the same day. There, part of the text reads,
The initiative proposes a diverse list of eight projects:
A new, approximately 70-acre central park linking the core of downtown with the Oklahoma River
A new rail-based streetcar system, plus potential funding for other rail transit initiatives, such as commuter lines and a transit hub
A new downtown convention center
Sidewalks to be placed on major streets and near facilities used by the public throughout the City
57 miles of new public bicycling and walking trails throughout the City
Improvements to the Oklahoma River, including a public whitewater kayaking facility and upgrades intended to achieve the finest rowing racecourse in the world
State-of-the-art health and wellness aquatic centers throughout the City designed for senior citizens
Improvements to the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds
"This proposal dreams big, and it continues the momentum and renaissance of the last 15 years," said Mayor Cornett. "I believe it will achieve the goals that have always defined MAPS projects – creating jobs and improving our quality of life. I think it recognizes the needs of the world-class city we are becoming, and I think it will capture our imaginations. If this initiative moves forward, the next 10 years of this City’s history will be more exciting than the last 10. We have hardly scratched the surface of what this City is capable."
The MAPS 3 proposal calls for a seven-year, nine-month one-cent sales tax that will maintain the Oklahoma City sales tax rate where it currently stands. Oklahoma City’s sales tax rate is one of the lowest of all municipalities in central Oklahoma. If approved, the collection of the sales tax will commence on April 1, 2010, the day after the conclusion of the sports facilities sales tax collection that voters approved in March, 2008. The MAPS for Kids sales tax collection lasted seven years.
The estimated total cost of the initiative is $777 million. That total cost includes $17 million in contingency funds.
The creation of previous MAPS packages were inclusive for their time, created through committees or by elected City leaders, but technology allowed this initiative to be molded by the people of Oklahoma City through the most inclusive process to date. In 2007, Mayor Cornett announced the launch of www.MAPS3.org, which for four months conducted a "call for ideas" open to all citizens.
MAPS 3 SUMMARY. The www.MAPS3.org website presents a summary of MAPS 3. My summary of the summary is as follows:
The Park. About 70 acres in a 2 block-wide swath from present I-40 to the new I-40, and then a 1-block area south to the Oklahoma River. The summary doesn't say, but the east/west boundaries are presumably the same as those contained in the Core To Shore Steering Committee's late 2007 final report, Robinson to Hudson on the north and Robinson to Harvey on the south. Estimated cost: $130 million
Transit. 5-6 miles of downtown rail street car and perhaps (the summary is vague) intermodal transit hub (somewhere) in downtown. The summary does not specify the route. Estimated cost: $130 million.
Convention Center. Aside from stating a rationale as to why the convention center is included, no details are stated, including location. Estimated cost: $280 million.
Sidewalks. The summary states that,
This project will strategically construct sidewalks in different areas of the city on major streets and near facilities used by the public (such as schools and libraries).
The summary does not say where. Estimated cost: $10 million.
Trails. The summary says, "This project will construct 57 new miles of bicycling and walking trails, all but completing Oklahoma City’s trails master plan." Presumably, one could look up that plan and find the locations. Estimated cost: $40 million.
The Oklahoma River. The summary reads,
This project will provide improvements to the Oklahoma River, including a public whitewater kayaking facility, and upgrades intended to achieve the finest rowing racecourse in the world. The whitewater facility is estimated to cost $25 million with the remaining $35 million to fund River improvements. Those improvements include grandstands, parking, Lincoln Bridge enhancements, a floating stage, river beautification, lighting and other improvements to the course itself.
What irony! Not so long ago, we had a river which was said to be the only river in the country which had to be mowed twice a year, and now the city is an internationally (and US Olympic-ally) recognized rowing venue. Estimated cost: $60 million.
Health & Wellness Aquatic Centers for Senior Citizens. Hey, I finally get a pool! "Multiple" (count 'em) centers will be constructed at locations "around the city." Estimated cost: $50 million.
State Fairgrounds. The summary reads,
This project will upgrade publicly-used facilities at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds, especially those used by the public during the annual State Fair of Oklahoma. It will consolidate various structures that are in excess of 50 years old.
The summary does not identify any particulars. Estimated cost: $60 million.
About these items, each voter must form his/her own opinions, about projects individually and as a package deal. My own, largely important only to me, are shown below.
MAPS 3 ITEMS
Millions
High Priority
Medium Priority
Low Priority
1
Central Park
$130
$130
2
Modern Streetcars
130
130
3
Convention Center
280
280
4
Sidewalks
10
$10
5
Trails
40
40
6
Oklahoma River
60
60
7
Senior Health Centers
50
$50
8
Fairgrounds
60
50
9
Contingency Fund
17
17
Totals
$777
$617
$100
$50
RESOURCES TO HELP YOU THINK. While I've now arrived at my own decision, many of you have not and you may want something else to read. You'll get the city's side of things from its own MAPS 3 pages and from that of the Greater OKC Chamber, which is handling the MAPS 3 campaign, at this location.
But, for additional objective analysis (i.e., other than Doug Dawgz Blog), where might one look for stuff to read?
The Oklahoman. Objective reporting? Unlikely. Get real — who is the present Chairman of the Board of the Chamber (I generally like the Chamber and think it has done a lot of good for the city, just so that you'll know)? David Thompson. Who is heading up the Chamber's MAPS 3 campaign? David Thompson. See this video and Oklahoman article. Who is president of the OPUBCO Communications Group? David Thompson. When the Oklahoman publishes an article which objectively analyzes MAPS 3, such as those mentioned by the Oklahoma Gazette below, I'll be more than willing to acknowledge the error of my ways.
The Oklahoma Gazette. Objective reporting? Likely. This weekly publication has demonstrated a willingness to explore both sides of MAPS 3 issues. For example, as to the city's need for a new convention center, click here, and, unlike the Chamber which declined to release its own MAPS 3 polls, the Gazette and News 9 engaged Shapard Research to conduct a scientific poll, the results were fully released and published in the Gazette. As well, the Gazette recently published this article in which Mayor Cornett and others explained what is needed to be done between now and December 8.
The Journal Record. Objective reporting? Unknown. Although the Journal Record has an area set aside for Core To Shore, it has not yet done so for MAPS 3. As of this writing, the Journal Record hasn't reported much (if anything) about MAPS 3, though surely it will. One would suppose that editor Ted Streuli's blog, Hot Topic would eventually pick up and start discussing MAPS 3, but so far, MAPS 3 is a missing person there.
Of course, one expects to see and hear stories on the local radio and television media, but unless sound bites will help you reach a decision, not much in depth analysis should be expected there. Last time I checked, Oklahoma City does not have a local equivalent of the likes of NBC's Meet The Press or CBS's Sixty Minutes.
PARK PICS. I've extracted the 8 images in the PDF file showing views of Central Park. The extracted images are quite large (5400 px wide) so I've shrunk the kids for internet purposes. Click on any thumbnail below for a 1024 px wide rendering.
OTHER IMAGES. The "YES for MAPS coalition" opened its campaign yesterday by providing at least a peek at a few graphics representing some of the items -- the Chamber is leading the effort so I presume that it set up the coalition's website. Still not much detail is provided, but it's a start assuming that it is fair to draw reasonable inferences from the images. The website is http://www.yesformaps.com
I've done a screen capture of the images we've not seen before (I've not included the night-time fireworks shot over Central Park which we've already seen). Larger images are not presently available:
When additional renderings of elements of Maps 3's proposal, I'll add them here.
This article will be modified as MAPS 3 voting issues occur. The initial post was made on September 27, 2009; modified and completed on September 29, the 10:24 a.m. with various grammatical corrections after that. As expected, City Council voted about half an hour ago to submit MAPS 3 to a vote of the people on December 8, 2009. The only council member voting NOT to let the people vote on MAPS 3 was Ward 5 council member Brian Walters.
In another lengthy article, I tried as well as I was objectively able to present the pros and cons with regard to the on-the-table report of the Core To Shore Steering Committee to contribute to the discussion, and I'll not repeat the content of that article here. In a nutshell, that article presented the Steering Committee's late 2007 report for the purpose of understanding, discernment, and discussion at a time that, presumably, your and my input may have been a factor in shaping the final plan. And, in the MAPS 3 proposal, MAPS 3 is discussed as to it pragmatic content, again, without repetition here.
The focus of this article is/are procedural matters/decisions to be made by city council and by you and me, nothing more, nothing less, from this day forward. This article is not involved with your and my possible reasons for favoring or disfavoring MAPS 3 in the final vote. It is strictly related to procedure from this point forward until the vote is cast. The article contains and discusses the ballot and related documents which will be presented for our decision on December 8.
Note: I've OCR'ed the documents discussed discussed below (the Ballot, proposed Ordinance, and Resolution, and converted them to text. To read and/or print those documents, click here. Most are also set out below.
THE 1ST VOTE: CITY COUNCIL ON SEPTEMBER 29, 2009. The 1st version of this article was written two days before the September 29 council meeting, and the City Council has now decided that MAPS 3 will be submitted for public vote on December 8. Council members Gary Marrs (Ward 1), Pete White (Ward 4), Skip Kelley (Ward 7), Meg Salyer (Ward 6), Sam Bowman (Ward 2), Larry McAtee (Ward 3) and Patrick Ryan (Ward 8) and Mayor Cornett voted Aye. Only J. Brian Walters (Ward 5) voted Nay.
Council member Walters wasn't even willing to let the people make their own decision on MAPS 3. So, as promised two days ago, Brian Walters is bestowed the Doug Dawgz Anti-Democracy Award for 2009, hopefully the last time that such a non-prestigious award ever be made.
It is fair enough for one to conclude that MAPS 3 should not be passed. Each of us are entitled to form our own opinions about that and cast our votes accordingly. But, WHETHER you and I get to participate in a democratic vote is an entirely different matter. The voters should hold the trump card, not a council member who would want to prevent that from happening.
BACKGROUND. City Council voted "Yea" on September 29 to approve matters then pending to submit MAPS 3 items to a vote of the people on December 8. But it comes in a different form than MAPS 1 did and this section attempts to explain why.
Oklahoma City's learning curve may have come from a 1986 capital improvements initiative by Mayor Andy Coats. Mayor Coats had described Oklahoma City's situation in bleak terms, and we certainly know that the period was a dark time for Oklahoma City, at least at night if one was downtown. The city was even losing population for the first time within anyone's memory. His "Six To Fix" campaign was an attempt to do something about that — among other things, it would have created a domed stadium at the fairgrounds. "Six To Fix" involved multiple ballots, one per proposed project with each project being voted on separately.
The only happy watch parties on the night of June 17 were in the "vote no" camps. Incomplete returns in the June 18 Oklahoman reflected that only police and fire department elements had been approved and that the big ticket items were substantially defeated. For example, the stadium proposal was failing by a vote of 40,753 to 17,409.
With 1993's MAPS, Mayor Norick was determined to take a different tack. Instead of multiple ballots, there would be only one — up or down, all or none. More, it would be the most bold and ambitious tax proposal ever to be submitted to Oklahoma City voters (at least, as far as I'm aware). Steve Lackmeyer and Jack Money's OKC: 2nd Time Around brilliantly and thoroughly describes Mayor Ron Norick's approach and how it succeeded — symphony and arts supporters who wanted upgrades to the Civic Center Music Hall were in common cause and league with sports supporters who wanted a Bricktown Ballpark and Sports Arena, and so on. Each group wound up being a cheerleader for the other. That approach worked and MAPS 1 passed 54% to 46%.
While the present MAPS 3 proposal takes the same general approach, there are differences, some perhaps all arising out of legal necessity.
David Holt Reports on Structure of a MAPS 3 Ballot
Many people might forget that the original MAPS ballot – a list of items to be paid by the tax but with just a "yes for all" or "no for all" vote might be difficult to exactly duplicate today due to a court ruling that came out against such ballots a few years ago.
David Holt, assistant to Mayor Mick Cornett, reports the following regarding a potential MAPS 3 ballot:
"Legal interpretations of what an Oklahoma ballot should look like have evolved since the original MAPS vote in 1993. Should the Mayor and Council move forward with a MAPS 3 proposal, the process will certainly conform to the operative law, and the City's legal office will be exploring those issues as appropriate. It would be our intention to stay close to the basic model the voters have shown themselves to be comfortable with."
During a meeting I had on September 28 with David Holt, Mayor Cornett's Chief of Staff (which will be more particularly described in this related article on the actual Maps 3 Proposal), he was able to give me some leads pertaining to the legal issue alluded to above. I have no intention of making an in-depth study of the legal issues involved here — in the 1st place, I have no expertise in this area of the law, and, in the 2nd, legal issues are not what this article is about, even if I did. But I did peruse the case of Fent v. State ex Rel. Oklahoma Capitol Improvement Authority, a 2009 Oklahoma Supreme Court Decision, as well as some of the references mentioned in that case, and I am more than reasonably satisfied that a ballot like that contained in original MAPS would not likely withstand legal challenge today — at the least, I take and accept that conclusion as a given.
The nub seems to be, at least at the state (Oklahoma Legislature or initiative referendum) level, an "all or none" approach is not OK. That general method is referred to as "logrolling" in the cases. Paragraph 14 of the above cited Fent case reads as follows:
¶14 Art. 5, §57 of the Oklahoma Constitution provides: "Every act of the Legislature shall express but one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title. . . ." This provision is commonly known as the "single subject rule." The purposes of the single subject rule are: 1) to ensure that the legislators or voters of Oklahoma are adequately notified of the potential effect of the legislation; and 2) to prevent "logrolling," the practice of assuring the passage of a law by creating one choice in which a legislator or voter is forced to assent to an unfavorable provision to secure passage of a favorable one, or conversely, forced to vote against a favorable provision to ensure that an unfavorable provision is not enacted. The single subject rule applies to legislative acts promulgated through the initiative process, as well as those promulgated through the Legislature.
For much more about "logrolling," see the 1993 Oklahoma Supreme Court decision in Campbell v. White, beginning at ¶7. Although the just cited cases pertain, strictly speaking, to state legislation and initiative petition measures, I nonetheless take it as a given — but without researching the matter further and knowing with certainty — that the same types of rules pertain to revenue measures of political subdivisions, e.g., cities such as Oklahoma City, since it would be senseless for one set of rules to apply to state-level revenue measures and a different set of rules to apply to political subdivisions, e.g., cities such as Oklahoma City. In my very shallow research, I did see that Oklahoma Constitution, Article 10, §19, provides that
Every act enacted by the Legislature, and every ordinance and resolution passed by any county, city, town, or municipal board or local legislative body, levying a tax shall specify distinctly the purpose for which said tax is levied, and no tax levied and collected for one purpose shall ever be devoted to another purpose.
As a practical matter, the bottom line is that the city would likely have followed the original MAPS model if it thought that it could do so, given that model's history of success in our city.
So, while the 1993 MAPS ballot was long and detailed, each item being particularly identified, the 2009 MAPS 3 ballot reads quite differently.
Below is a hard-to-read version of the 1993 MAPS ballot, followed by the ballot MAPS 3. The image below is from the December 13, 1993, Oklahoman. Click on the graphic for a more readable version.
As you can see, the original MAPS ballot was quite long and itemized each project and contained these words of limitation and oversight:
* * * providing that said additional limited-term excise tax may be expended only for the following limited purposes (the "main projects"): * * * * * * providing for a citizens oversight board to review and make recommendations regarding expenditures of tax monies collected under Ordinance No. 20,045; * * *
Compare the 1993 ballot with that which will be utilized in the 2009 election, which is much more general in its content:
The Proposed Ordinance. The above ballot is only a snapshot, a brief summary, of the much lengthier proposed ordinance No. 23,942.
The ballot reads, in part,
The Ordinance [No. 23,942] defines the term "City capital improvement." The Ordinance states expenditures to provide City capital improvements may include expenditures for any or all items(s), article(s), cost(s), or expense(s) related in any way to providing a City capital improvement. The Ordinance creates the "Oklahoma City Capital Improvements Sales Tax Fund."
Go to the actual proposed ordinance and see that "City capital improvement" receives considerable attention:
§ 52-23.4. Excise tax on gross receipts for funding City capital improvements. * * * (c) For purposes of this section, the, term "City capital improvement" shall mean without limitation any one or more of the following:
(1) The acquisition of real or personal properties or any interests therein or appurtenances thereto; and/or
(2) The construction, reconstruction, demolition, installation, assembly, renovation, repairing, remodeling, restoring, furbishing, refurbishing, finishing, refurnishing, equipping, reequipping, or maintenance of City buildings, structures, fixtures, or personal properties or on any City real properties or interests therein or appurtenances thereto; and/or
(3) Any other type of beneficial or valuable change or addition, betterment, enhancement, or amelioration of or upon any real property, or any interest therein or appurtenances thereto, belonging to the City, intended to enhance its value, beauty, or utility or to adapt it to new or further purposes.
(d) Expenditures to provide City capital improvements under this section may include expenditures for any or all item(s), article(s), cost(s), or expense(s) related in any way to providing a City capital improvement, including without limitation the following:
(1) Payment of the costs of acquiring real or personal properties or interests therein and appurtenances thereto;
(2) Payment of the costs of construction, reconstruction, demolition, installation, assembly, renovation, repairing, remodeling, restoring, furbishing, refurbishing, furnishing, refurnishing, equipping, reequipping, and maintenance;
(3) Payment of architectural costs, engineering costs, or consulting costs;
(4) Payment of project management costs, administrative costs, and legal costs;
(5) Payment of any other items, articles, costs or expenses related, incidental, or ancillary in any way to providing a City capital improvement;
(6) Reimbursements or paybacks for expenditures made by a public trust with the City as its beneficiary for the purpose of providing a City capital improvement; and/or
(7) If deemed necessary or appropriate by the City Council for cash-flow purposes, for the payment of principal and interest on and the costs of issuance of bonds, notes, lines-of-credit, or other evidences of indebtedness issued by a public trust with the City as its beneficiary for the purpose of providing a City capital improvement.
(e) Pursuant to authority of 68 O.S. § 2701(B), there is hereby created a limited-purpose fund to be known as the "Oklahoma City Capital Improvements Sales Tax Fund" (hereinafter the "Fund") into which all revenues collected pursuant to Subsection 52-23.4(a) above shall be deposited. Money in the Fund shall be accumulated from year-to-year. The Fund shall be placed in an insured interest-bearing account and the interest that accumulates on the Fund shall be retained in the Fund. The Fund shall be non-fiscal and shall not be considered in computing any levy when the City makes its estimate to the Excise Board for needed appropriations. Money in the Fund shall be expended only as accumulated and only for the limited-purpose specified in Subsection 52-23.4(b) above.
(f) The excise tax levied pursuant to Subsection 52-23.4(a) above shall be for a limited term of seven years and nine months, beginning at 12.00 a.m. on April 1, 2010, and ending at 12:00 a.m. on January 1, 2018.
(g) For the purpose of advising the City Council regarding projects proposed for funding from the excise tax levied by this section, the City Council shall by resolution establish a Citizens Capital Improvements Sales Tax Advisory Board. The Board's function shall be to review any such proposed project and submit recommendations to the City Council regarding the project.
Without more, and assuming the legal validity of both the ballot and the ordinance, passage of the ordinance would give the city carte blanch authority to apply and utilize the $777 million projected to be received via the MAPS 3 vote in any way that it might occasionally decide by adopting a new Resolution which modified the first. As long as the definition of "City capital improvement" was satisfied, it would be within the city council's power to do that.
Given that I am such a fan of Oklahoma City, the city might well decide to honor that fact by using an itty-bitty piece of that $777 million by constructing a very cool public swimming pool in Mesta Park, just two blocks west of where I live! Way Cool!
But, no, you wouldn't like that, would you? You would want the $777 million to be expended for the items explicitly outlined by the mayor and council in the MAPS 3 overall proposal. And so would I (the possible exception being the cool pool in Mesta Park).
So where's the safeguard that the $777 million will actually be expended for the explicit purposes that the city tells us the money will be spent to construct?
SAFEGUARDS. Actually, there are two: (1) a Citizens Capital Improvements Sales Tax Advisory Board; and (2) the resolution which accompanies the other documents.
Citizens Capital Improvements Sales Tax Advisory Board. The proposed ordinance includes the following paragraph:
(g) For the purpose of advising the City Council regarding projects proposed for funding from the excise tax levied by this section, the City Council shall by resolution establish a Citizens Capital Improvements Sales Tax Advisory Board. The Board's function shall be to review any such proposed project and submit recommendations to the City Council regarding the project.
As is plain from the language, the advisory board has no power of decision. Its functions are limited to (a) review and (b) recommendation. It might be a good thing to have an Eric Groves and/or a Kirk Humphreys type of guy on this committee, I'm thinking. But, that's just me.
The Accompanying Resolution. Taking it as a 1st given that the MAPS 3 ballot and ordinance may not be the "logrolling" type discussed above, and taking it as a 2nd given that the city still opts for the general collective "up or down" approach of the original MAPS championed by Mayor Ron Norick, what's a mothercity to do? The 1986 "Six to Fix" item-by-item campaign was, substantially, a disaster. Conversely, the 1993 MAPS initiative take-it-or-leave-it all-or-none approach turned out to accomplish a true and non-debatable miracle for our city.
How can the original MAPS approach be duplicated today given the legal constraints discussed above? Put differently, is there a way around the "logrolling" legal problem discussed above?
Maybe. Possible legal challenges will ultimately answer the above question. But, for now, the city has put together a logrolling work-around (1) by crafting a general ordinance which identifies no particular project but only defines the term, "City capital improvement," and (2) by crafting a simultaneous City Council Resolution which commits the city to utilizing the MAPS 3 tax receipts for the purposes which have been publicly identified in the overall MAPS 3 proposal, those projects being identified in the Resolution.
My guess, given the existence of what some might call ombudsmen like Jerry Fent (who has been involved in at least 26 Oklahoma Supreme Court cases as a taxpayer litigant that I could quickly locate), is that if MAPS 3 passes it will face immediate legal challenge before the Oklahoma Supreme Court. I offer no outcome prediction should that occur, but it would be foolhardy not to anticipate and expect that such challenge, given what I've already said above, would be made.
The accompanying Resolution reads as follows (underscoring in the Resolution is added):
RESOLUTION
RESOLUTION SETTING FORTH THE PRESENT INTENT AND RESOLVE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF OKLAHOMA CITY REGARDING THE "MAPS 3 PROGRAM" TO BE FUNDED WITH THE "OKLAHOMA CITY CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS SALES TAX" LEVIED PURSUANT TO SECTION 52-23.4 OF ARTICLE II OF CHAPTER 52 OF THE OKLAHOMA CITY MUNICIPAL CODE, 2007; STATING THE COUNCIL'S INTENT AND RESOLVE REGARDING THE CITY CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE MAPS 3 PROGRAM; AND DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO TAKE ALL NECESSARY ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS TO IMPLEMENT THE MAPS 3 PROGRAM UPON APPROVAL OF THE OKLAHOMA CITY CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS SALES TAX LEVY BY CITY VOTERS ON DECEMBER 8, 2009.
WHEREAS, on December 8, 2009, the voters of The City of Oklahoma City will be voting on the proposed levy of the "Oklahoma City Capital Improvements Sales Tax," a seven-years and nine-months limited-purpose excise tax of one percent (1%) enacted by the City Council of The City of Oklahoma City pursuant to City Ordinance No. 23,942; and
WHEREAS, upon its approval by City voters on December 8, 2009, the Oklahoma City Capital Improvements Sales Tax levy will provide funding for City capital improvements within The City of Oklahoma City; and
WHEREAS, the City Council intends to use the Oklahoma City Capital Improvements Sales Tax revenues to continue the exceptional "Metropolitan Area Projects" initiative begun in 1993 by Mayor Ronald J. Norick and continued in 2001 by Mayor Kirk Humphreys; and
WHEREAS, the MAPS initiative is visibly transforming key parts of The City of Oklahoma City to the benefit of the citizens of this great community, including but not limited to Bricktown and adjacent areas, the Oklahoma River, the State Fairgrounds, and numerous public schools and public school facilities that are located in the Greater Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area and that are attended by City-resident students; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires at this time to set forth its present intent and resolve to use the revenues generated by the Oklahoma City Capital Improvements Sales Tax levy to fund the continuation of the exceptional MAPS initiative begun in 1993 and to implement a new City capital improvements program to be known as the "MAPS 3 Program;" and
WHEREAS, the City Council's intent and resolve is for the MAPS 3 Program to include the implementation of all of the City capital improvement projects listed on Exhibit A attached to this Resolution; and
WHEREAS, the details regarding the City capital improvement projects included in the MAPS 3 Program shall, at appropriate times in the future, be determined by the City Council following recommendations regarding said projects to be submitted to the City Council by the "Citizens Capital Improvements Sales Tax Advisory Board," as required by Ordinance No. 23,942.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of The City of Oklahoma City does hereby express its present intent and resolve to use the revenues generated by the Oklahoma City Capital Improvements Sales Tax to fund the MAPS 3 Program, with the City capital improvement projects to be included in the MAPS 3 Program listed on Exhibit A attached to this Resolution.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the details regarding the City capital improvement projects included in the MAPS 3 Program shall, at appropriate times in the future, be determined by the City Council following recommendations regarding said projects to be submitted to the City Council by the Citizens Capital Improvements Sales Tax Advisory Board, as required by Ordinance No. 23,942.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the MAPS 3 Program shall be subject to the provisions of Section 38-488 of the Oklahoma City Municipal Code, 2007, relating to the budgeting of public funds for works of art and for the selection and placement of works of art upon property owned by the City.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Manager of The City of Oklahoma City is directed to take all necessary administrative actions to implement the MAPS 3 Program upon approval of the Oklahoma City Capital Improvements Sales Tax levy by City voters on December 8, 2009.
I guess you caught that "present intent and resolve" part, right? Put differently, City Council could, should it wish, change, delete, substitute, abandon, each and every item contained in Exhibit A which follows, and it would be completely legal.
The Resolution could have been made a little tougher by including a requirement that a generous supply of tar and feathers be made publicly available and accessible at all times, should Council unwisely make such a choice.
Here's Exhibit A to the above Resolution:
EXHIBIT A THE MAPS 3 PROGRAM
The intended MAPS 3 projects include the following —
A new large, downtown public park linking the core of downtown with the Oklahoma River, with the park to be generally in accordance with the Core To Shore framework plan.
A new rail-based streetcar system to service the inner city and/or to service other areas within The City of Oklahoma City, plus funding for other transit infrastructure as appropriate, such as connections to other rail-based systems and/or a transit hub.
A new downtown convention center, to include exhibit halls, meeting rooms, ballrooms, mixed uses, and parking.
A series of strategically-placed sidewalks on arterial streets and near public use facilities within The City of Oklahoma City.
Improvements and/or enhancements to the Oklahoma City public trails system.
Additional facilities, equipment, improvements, and/or enhancements related to the recreational use of the Oklahoma River, including but not necessarily limited to the following items:
1) New public whitewater kayaking facilities and equipment; and
2) New grandstands and other rowing venue enhancements.
New health, wellness, and aquatic centers designed for senior citizens.
Improvements and/or enhancements to the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds.
CONCLUSION. In a nutshell, the method described above places a great deal, a very great deal, of public trust in the City Council and Advisory Board, not just this year or the next but during the entire span of 7 years and 9 months time.
Members of council will come and go before the time fully passes. Should the citizenry decide to pass MAPS 3, we actually don't want the city to decide, later, to chuck parts of MAPS 3 which are being sold to us today, do we. That's a rhetorical question.
While I would have preferred a "long ballot" with all of the projects identified in it with an all-or-nothing vote like MAPS 1 was, since "logrolling" is apparently no longer legally allowed, that was not a possibility.
I'm willing to take the risk and do the handshake deal, but I also think that we should make sure that the supply of tar and feathers isn't allowed to get too cold, should they become needed — that, and get an Eric Groves and a Kirk Humphreys on the Advisory Board, as well. Fair enough? Fair enough.
That's pretty much all there is to say unless I think of something to add later.
Daily Links
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HEY KIDS! READ THIS RARE CAPTAIN MARVEL COMIC FOR YOURSELVES! (thanks to
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BREAKING NEWS! The Journal Record's Take on November 12 developments The day following the mayor's press conference on public safety, MAPS 3 and as relates to the city's still under-wraps offer to the police and firefighter unions, the Journal Record gave its report of the events.
Article 1: Front Page. The lead article on the front page is by Bryan Dean and has the headline, "List of MAPS 3 recipients features familiar cast." The article presents an amusing analogy by presenting MAPS 3 as though it was a movie sequel. "Nothing packs the movie theaters like a big-budget sequel. Moviegoers are willing to pay for a ticket because they are pretty sure they'll like it," Dean says. The remainder of the article lightly touches upon the items contained in MAPS 3 but presents no substantive discussion of any of them, either as to detail or about the various types issues that citizens have expressed in other forums such as in the Oklahoma Gazette or the Journal Record. Dean concludes the article by saying, "Get your popcorn ready for Dec. 8," but he should have added, "The Oklahoman will provide the Kool-Aid."
Article 2, Page 4A: Opponents and Proponents. At page 4A, a sidebar article identifies groups which support and oppose MAPS 3 but provides no particular analysis. The website of those supporting MAPS 3 is identified but the NotThisMAPS Coalition's website is not. As a public service to rectify the Oklahoman's unequal treatment -- and not because I support that coalition's viewpoint which I don't -- I'll supply the omission: the opposing coalition's web address is http://nomaps3.com/. Was the omission an Oklahoman oversight? Maybe, but if so it was sloppy reporting all the same. If a proponent's website is identified, the opponent's website should be, also. Nothing new is presented and not even-handed reporting, just more Kool-Aid.
Some of you elder-types will remember the fine 1951 movie Quo Vadis starring Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, and Peter Ustinov, as well as its exceptional musical score by Miklós Rózsa. "Quo vadis" is a Latin phrase meaning "Where are you going?" or "Whither goest thou?"
ANDY COATS — THE FORGOTTEN MAPS MAYOR. Instead of the above, I'll begin this story by writing about the period of time immediately following (3), above, Andrew (Andy) Coats, the period of time that Andy Coats was the city's mayor (between April 13, 1983, and April 14, 1987).
In a June 15 article, Lee Allan Smith, chair of the Oklahoma City Chamber, said that the ballot is "the most important election in the history of Oklahoma City." The largest item on the ballot was the 4-year sales tax, projected to raise $152,699,000. A snippet from the June 15 article is at the right.
At right, council member Jerry Gilbert is all smiles at a Vote No watch party. Click the graphic for the June 18, 1986, article, part of which reads, "Tax opponents whooped and sang their satisfaction late Tuesday over the apparent defeat of half of the city's tax package. One hotel official described the outcome as 'David slew Goliath.' * * *Opponents let out their biggest screams and laughs over results showing the bond issue for a domed stadium going down hard to defeat. Several started singing a version of 'Happy Days Are Here Again.'"
In addition to the sales tax failure, the hotel/motel tax and domed stadium fell in defeat. Click the graphic summary at left for the larger June 19, 1986, full article. The 4-year sales tax was project to garner $152,699,000. The hotel/motel tax was project to produce $1.5 million a year for additional revenue of operating and maintaining Myriad Gardens and convention and tourism promotion; and the property tax measure to raise $38 million for the domed stadium failed to carry.
ENTER THE DRAGON-SLAYER: RONALD J. NORICK. One might not suppose by looking that the modest-looking short guy at the right was particularly equipped in the medieval art of killing dragons. Little did we know ...
Here, I'll try to present in an organized and coherent manner (my notes lack that quality — he allowed me to jump around and ask about stuff as it occurred to me to think of it) that Mayor Cornett's Chief of Staff had to say. 
Council member Walters wasn't even willing to let the people make their own decision on MAPS 3. So, as promised two days ago, Brian Walters is bestowed the Doug Dawgz Anti-Democracy Award for 2009, hopefully the last time that such a non-prestigious award ever be made.
The long days and weeks of grief and mourning have been hard to endure ... rendered powerless by a blast of Kryptonite from the dastardly Lex Luthor, Daily Planet reporters were but vestiges of their former selves — morale was in the toilet. 
But, in what some observers see as a dramatic 180 degree turnaround of events, on the morning of October 29 within the cloistered and security protected walls of its fortress on the Broadway Extension in Oklahoma City, the Daily Planet, which had previously forbidden serious news gathering and reporting by its reporters on matters which might be seen as critical of MAPS 3, instructed Clark Kent, one of its most established and well respected journalists, to attend a Breaking Through luncheon sponsored by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce at the Petroleum Club in downtown Oklahoma City and to prepare a report for publication the next day.
November 8, The Oklahoman: MULTIPLE ARTICLES! Following a period of substantive dormancy in reporting on MAPS 3, the Sunday Oklahoman captures our fancy with a breathtaking announcement on page 1:
Geez, a series of articles running all the way through the Sunday (December 6) before the election (December 8). Is the Oklahoman about to become a real newspaper in its reporting of MAPS 3?
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