Council OKs MAPS 4, sets vote on Dec. 10
The Oklahoma City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved sending MAPS 4 to voters, agreeing to a pivot from pricey downtown building projects to more neighborhood revitalization and efforts to better meet the needs of residents threatened by mental illness, addiction and homelessness.
Where about 1 2% of t he MAPS 3 budget was al locat ed to neighborhoods, Mayor David Holt said 70% of the estimated $ 978 million to be raised by MAPS 4 is earmarked for neighborhood sand" human needs ," which includes new park features and a new home for a center dedicated to reducing
the incidence of domestic violence.
The council voted to call an election Dec. 10.
If voters agree, the 1-cent MAPS sales tax would be extended for eight years beginning April 1, 2020. Oklahoma City's 4.125-cent sales tax rate would remain unchanged.
A nearly year-long public engagement process and a coalition-building series of four public meetings that drew hundreds of advocates to City Hall this summer led to Holt's recommendation of 16 projects for MAPS 4, double the eight that were in MAPS 3.
“It will continue the momentum of Oklahoma City's renaissance,” the OKC Fairgrounds said in an email urging supporters to make thank-you calls to council members for including money in MAPS 4 for a new Fairgrounds Coliseum, to replace the more than 50-yearold Jim Norick Arena.
A total of $215 million is included in MAPS 4 for the new coliseum, a new stadium with a regulation professional soccer field, and expansion and renovation of Chesapeake Energy Arena, home of the NBA's Thunder.
The single-largest allocation ,$140 million, is for parks, including $63 million to rehab every community and neighborhood park.
Ward 6 Councilwoman JoBeth Hamon tried to move $10 million from a job-creation initiative to an affordable housing package intended to combat homelessness. Her motion failed 6-3.
Ward 5 Councilman David Greenwell said he supported scheduling the election but would withdraw his support for MAPS 4 before the December vote without adequate assurances from community partners that programs they manage on the city's behalf would produce measurable outcomes. Assurances he has received so far, Greenwell said, have with one exception been “underwhelming.”
Former Ward 2 Councilman Ed Shadid, in remarks to the council, threatened to file a lawsuit on state constitutional grounds to block the December election.
Promising 16 projects to voters in a“resolution of intent” circumvents a requirement that city ordinances be limited to a single subject, Shadid said.
For MAPS 4, voters will be asked to approve or disapprove an ordinance extending the Metropolitan Area Projects sales tax “for a limited term of eight years.”
The ballot measure to be considered by voters is about 125 words long and makes no mention of how the money is to be spent.
Shadid contends the city is required to let voters cast ballots on each project separately.
Shadid called the ballot language a “fraud.” His attorney, Jay Barnett, characterized MAPS 4 in remarks to reporters as “a billion-dollar slush fund.”
Past councils have built MAPS' credibility around fulfilling promises to voters that projects would be completed as envisioned, on time and within budget. A network of volunteer citizen advisory committees oversees projects, from conception to design and construction.
The council will have a public hearing on the ballot language Sept. 10 and vote to adopt it Sept. 24.
MAPS 4 includes $70 million to construct at least four youth centers, $15 million for a fifth MAPS senior health and wellness center, $22 million for a “restoration center” for mental health crisis and substance abuse services, $38 million each for the Palomar Family Justice Center and a new animal shelter, and $50 million to rehab existing affordable housing and build new units.
Transit would get $60 million primarily for development of bus rapid transit service to northeast and south Oklahoma City. Another $ 10 million would go toward 500 new bus shelters.
Pedestrian- and bicyclefriendly improvements would get $87 million, with $55 million allocated to sidewalks, a significant increase over the $10 million originally included in MAPS 3.
A “diversion hub” for agencies assisting low-level criminal offenders with options besides j ail would be built for $ 17 million. It is expected to receive a $20 million private donation for operating expenses.
Job-creation efforts in the Innovation District would get $50 million for renovations, new construction, and improved connections across Interstate 35 between downtown and the Oklahoma Health Center.
The plan allocates $16 million for construction of the Clara Luper Civil Rights Museum and renovation of the Freedom Center, a civil rights landmark in northeast Oklahoma City. A statue of author Ralph Ellison is planned.
The plan puts $25 million into makeovers for approaches to the city, especially to and from Will Rogers World Airport. Also Tuesday:
• The council rejected 5-4 a resolution in support of a referendum aimed at rolling back the state's “permitless carry” gun law that is set to take effect Nov. 1. Referendum sponsors want to call a statewide vote on the law in November 2020. The measure had broad support in the Legislature and was the first bill signed by new Gov. Kevin Stitt.
• The council agreed to authorize the city manager to begin the process of creating a “healthy neighborhood overlay” zoning district in northeast Oklahoma City. The idea is intended to encourage full-service grocers to locate in a part of the city labeled a “food desert” because many residents are poor and lack ready access to nutritious food choices.