Take part in the MAPS 4 discussion
WHAT should MAPS 4 look like? New Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt has asked folks for their answers to that question, and they’re taking him up on the invitation.
This is encouraging. If the city is to pursue another extension of a 1-cent sales tax that’s been in existence for 25 years, it should include as much input as possible from the people who will pay the bulk of it.
Holt, who has been in office since April, released a video last week in which he said it is time “to dream big again.”
“If we do this right, we can have a community conversation that includes everyone in the city,” Holt said. “What will extend our city’s renaissance?” People may submit suggestions on social media using the hashtag #ideas4maps, at the website www.okc.gov/ government/maps-4, or by mailing a letter to City Hall, 200 N. Walker Ave., 3rd floor, Oklahoma City, 73102.
Residents are responding. Scores of suggestions have been offered on Twitter and on Holt’s Facebook page.
Transit is a popular topic — recommendations include extending the downtown streetcar, which is being built as a part of MAPS 3 and is scheduled to come on line in December. The Oklahoman’s Steve Lackmeyer noted in a column Friday that if it were possible to connect those on the east side, Capitol Hill and Classen-10 Penn with jobs and potential jobs downtown, “suddenly the streetcar is a game changer for our community’s less fortunate.”
The request for public input coincides with behindthe-scenes discussions that have been underway for some time. An August event for business leaders produced ideas including more green space and bus rapid transit to the airport. Other ideas that have percolated include replacing the fairgrounds arena, adding sidewalks and trails, and expanding the number of senior health and wellness centers — the latter two are popular parts of MAPS 3.
The original MAPS tax was approved narrowly by voters in December 1993 and financed construction of, among other things, the Bricktown Canal and ballpark, renovations to Civic Center Music Hall, and construction of a new library and arena downtown.
That was followed in 2001 by MAPS for Kids, which upgraded facilities at schools throughout the city (and was extended briefly for upgrades to Chesapeake Energy Arena), then in 2009 by MAPS 3. The latter includes the streetcars, new sidewalks, trails and senior wellness centers, a whitewater park, a fairgrounds expo center and a convention center.
Since the passage of the original MAPS, private investment in Oklahoma City has totaled an estimated $3.9 billion. Simply put, they have been tremendously successful.
And last year, Oklahoma City voters approved an extension of the MAPS tax to pay for street improvements, sidewalk construction and related improvements.
The tax is set to expire in March 2020, meaning a potential MAPS 4 ballot likely would go before voters sometime in 2019. That’ll be here before you know it.
“What will ensure our renaissance is felt by everyone in our community? What will help us to continue to build a city our children want to call home?” Mayor Holt is asking those questions. Give him your answers.