#OKCCIVICLIFE
Cultural Center construction to resume
Construction is expected to resume in January at the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum. Blake Wade, chief executive officer of the Native American Cultural and Educational Authority (NACEA), said $50 million is in the museum completion fund — $9 million from the city of Oklahoma City, $16 million in private donations and $25 million in state-issued bonds. The authority board met last week and reviewed plans for exhibits. The longdelayed museum is slated to open in 2021.
Of note: NACEA board member Henrietta Mann will be honored Nov. 27 with the dedication of Mann Hall on the campus of Southwestern Oklahoma State University. Mann was president of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal College.
Convention center additions OK’d
The MAPS 3 convention center’s foundation will be strengthened to accommodate a second freight elevator and enclosure of the loading dock. Adding the elevator is expected to provide flexibility and could serve future expansion needs. Enclosing the loading dock would be a buffer against weather and an energy saver. The MAPS 3 Citizens Advisory Board recommended the upgrades last week. Total cost for the foundation work is $824,366. The city council could give the OK next week.
Streetcar signals upgraded
Upgraded “Opticom” signal equipment that can give streetcars priority over other traffic is being installed at four locations on the Bricktown loop, three on Sheridan Avenue and the fourth on Reno Avenue, at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Streetcar testing and operator training will continue through November on the Bricktown and downtown loops. Service begins in mid-December.
Of note: $19,000 in damage occurred to the blue streetcar No. 4 when the pantograph — the contact mechanism that is extended to reach overhead wires — banged into the BNSF Railway viaduct at the Reno Avenue underpass. Investigators said the operator and trainer were distracted and the dispatcher failed to notice the pantograph had not been lowered before the streetcar approached the viaduct.
Short takes: Sex shops, new park
• The city council deferred until Nov. 6 final action on relaxing regulations pertaining to adult stores.
• Applications are due Thursday from candidates seeking to succeed Jim Couch as city manager.
• The city council set a public hearing Nov. 6 on a proposal to authorize an estimated $128 million in public financing to assist development around the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum.
• A 130-acre park will be developed on the late oil man Dean A. McGee’s Lone Oak farm in northwest Oklahoma City, along Bluff Creek. It will be the city’s 165th public park.
Quote of the week
“Be it resolved by the MAPS 3 Citizens Advisory Board that they do hereby recognize and commend Pam Henry for her fine contributions as a MAPS 3 trails and sidewalks subcommittee member and for her valued public service.”
— From a resolution approved by the MAPS 3 Citizens Advisory Board honoring Pam Henry. Henry was an original volunteer member of the trails and sidewalks subcommittee, appointed in 2010 by the mayor and confirmed by the city council. She was a pioneering television newswoman at Channel 4 and later became the city’s leading advocate for the disabled, chairing the Mayor’s Committee on Disability Concerns. Henry died last month.
Billboard permit revoked
The state Transportation Department is revoking a permit for an electronic billboard along the Hefner Parkway in northwest Oklahoma City. The department found after issuing the permit to Lamar Outdoor OKC that the chosen location was within 500 feet of a school playground, a violation of “outdoor advertising control” regulations. Lamar can apply for a permit for a different location.
Tweet of the week
“About 1 in 4 Oklahoma motorists drive uninsured, officials say. Next month, new license-plate scanning cameras will start identifying them”
— @NewsOK, read coverage at NewsOK.com on deployment of the new system.
Present/absent
Mayor David
Holt and seven of the eight city council members attended last week’s meeting. Ward 5 Councilman David Greenwell was out of town on business.
Calendar
The Oklahoma City Council meets at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 6 at City Hall, 200 N Walker.
• Balloting for the Nov. 6 election includes voting in the Ward 7 Oklahoma City Council race. Absentee ballot applications are available through 5 p.m. Wednesday. Early voting is at the Election Board, 4201 N Lincoln Blvd., between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. There is no requirement that voters have an excuse in order to vote absentee or early.
WILLIAM CRUM,