OKLAHOMA CITY – Voters can approve the $777 million MAPS 3 plan Dec. 8 for eight projects, including a large downtown park and new downtown convention center.

It requires a seven-year, nine-month, one-cent sales tax that maintains the Oklahoma City sales tax rate where it is currently.

And at the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, which supports the “Yes For MAPS” initiative, president and CEO Roy Williams said the city must capitalize on the current momentum.

But opposition is growing. Local fire and police unions oppose it, and KTOK 1000 AM radio talk show host Mark Shannon repeatedly said now is not the time to spend millions on a senior aquatic center or a whitewater river course on the Oklahoma River, other projects in the proposal.

But Williams, the Chamber and Mayor Mick Cornett are pushing it.

“Support is very strong,” Williams said of the interest in the new MAPS proposal. “This is exactly the perfect time to pass it. The economy was in a terrible position when we did the original MAPS.”

That was in the early 1990s, with recession and higher unemployment. After it passed, Oklahoma City revived. The original MAPS included the Bricktown Ballpark, renovation of 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.

The first MAPS was approved by 53.8 percent of about 60,000 voters. The follow-up MAPS for Kids issue passed with about 61-percent support.

MAPS 3 would create a 70-acre park, a 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.

Williams said Oklahoma has low unemployment compared to the rest of the country, and Oklahoma City is one of America’s top cities for launching a business.
“We need to continue our momentum,” Williams said. “And when the recession is over, Oklahoma City will be moving along and will have benefited the most.”

The Chamber sponsored a trip to Houston, Texas, to visit a similar central park and convention center.

“The interrelationship between their (park and convention center) would be similar to our own,” Williams said, adding that the Houston park is a “destination park” where people travel long distances to visit.

Williams also noted the “Big League City” vote, which was really a penny tax worth $120 million to upgrade the Ford Center arena in downtown Oklahoma City to lure an NBA team, the Seattle Sonics, now the Thunder. Arena improvements were originally intended to be part of a larger MAPS package. However, NBA-related issues put the squeeze on the city and the vote was proposed. It was ultimately approved by more than 60 percent of voters.

Shannon says it’s a bad idea.

In an email response to Oklahoma Watchdog, Shannon wrote that “luxury items in a necessity-only economy” is a mistake.

“Too much money, too long a tax to commit to when the state and city are both suffering financially (with) losses of tax revenues,” Shannon added in the email.

And pointing to a post on his MarkShannon.com blog, he writes: “Fellow citizens of Central Oklahoma: I supported MAPS, MAPS the Extension, the NBA tax and have been happy with the results. Those taxes were spent when the economy was up and the city needed to run to catch up. However, economic responsibility requires that we say no to this MAPS, now.”

Williams said he does not understand criticism of MAPS 3 by the local fire and police unions. He said the money never went towards more fire and police protection since day one. And what will the fire and police do if the city did hire more, and the money stopped coming in after seven years?

Phil Sipe, the president of Oklahoma City’s Local 157 firefighter’s union and a member of the union and citizen-led “Not This MAPS” coalition told Oklahoma Watchdog they oppose the MAPS 3 proposal “on many different fronts”

“We think it’s a bad plan,” Sipe said. “Having good trust in local government is important. A bad plan doesn’t create that.”

Sipe notes how the ballot doesn’t feature a list of the projects they are proposing.

“All the previous MAPS mentioned what they were spending the money on. This does not,” he said, adding that he has documents that show that the proposal will “fall $60 million short of their goal.”

Sipe said Mayor Cornett has not come forward to debate the issue and answer the hard questions that the unions and citizens have. And regarding the unions, Sipe said there is a real concern that the money is not being directed in areas that really need it – like public safety.

“We never believed (MAPS funds) were a permanent funding source,” Sipe said. “What we should have done is get together on a long-term funding plan.”

Sipe said studies show that Oklahoma City could use three additional fire stations and up to 60 more fire fighters. Police could use as many as 300 new officers, he said.

And Sipe is quick to add that Local 157 has supported previous MAPS campaigns, raising $25,000 for the MAPS for Kids campaign several years ago.

“To say we don’t support MAPS is unfair,” Sipe said. “We have supported it and supported it strongly. This plan has too many problems with it. We have to re-evaluate and re-plan and figure out what’s best for the community.”

By Andrew W. Griffin
Oklahoma Watchdog, editor
Posted: November 19, 2009
andrew@oklahomawatchdog.org

Copyright 2009 Oklahoma Watchdog