MAPS prepares to go to the people
Ward 5 Councilman David Greenwell wanted to know whether advocates going after MAPS 4 dollars would be held to account, required to produce measurable results. Take homelessness, he said. Those pushing for up to $80 million for affordable housing listed cities they said were having success getting t he homeless off the streets.
His research, Green well said, suggested otherwise. That set off Ward 6 Council woman Jo Beth Hamon.
The city council is pouring operating money into MAPS 3 projects, she said ,“and we never ask them for outcomes … we just accept them when they come from the business community.”
But when the requests, she said, “come from people who say ,` We' re spending tax dollars already over here like this, let' s spend them over here doing something more humane,' somehow we have to give them, like, the third degree?”
After 26 hours of public presentations by dozens of advocates for MAPS 4 proposals, the tension over MAPS' pivot from downtown to addressing neighborhood and human needs — sidewalks for schoolchildren, support for domestic violence victims, treatment for addicts — had spilled into the open.
More than two decades after voters approved the first Metropolitan Area Projects, this MAPS will be different, Mayor David Holt said, “but I think it meets the needs of 2019 and beyond and I think it meets the expectations of the citizens we represent.”
Major public investments in facilities including the Bricktown ballpark and canal, the downtown arena and the MAPS 3 convention center, and opening them debt-free, has revitalized the urban core and leveraged billions in private investment.
MAPS for Kids in the early 2000s renovated or replaced public school buildings throughout Oklahoma City.
Now, city leaders aim to take MAPS back to the people with a slate of projects that Holt — the architect of an extensive public engagement campaign and spokesman-in-chief for the end result — estimated is 70% about “neighborhoods and human needs.”
Among t he 1 6 proposals expected to make the list: a new animal shelter; treatment facilities for the mentally ill; a “hub” to divert individuals caught up in the criminal justice system to addiction treatment or punishment options besides jail; sidewalks to connect neighborhoods to schools, parks and transit; youth and senior centers; and a park system makeover.
Roy Williams, chief executive officer and president of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, the city's leading business organization, said the focus seems to “honor what the community feels like are the priorities for our time.”
The Chamber is advocating for a $100 million job-creating investment in the Innovation District centered on the Oklahoma Medical Center south of the state Capitol.
Tourism and a measure of restorative justice are addressed with the proposed $25 million renovation of the civil-rights landmark Freedom Center and construction of a Clara Luper Civil Rights Museum.
The Rev. Lee Cooper Jr. told the city council last week the Freedom Center project is an “investment that this city owes to northeast Oklahoma City.”
Chesapeake Energy Arena, home of the NBA's Thunder, is in line for up to $135 million in upgrades.
A coliseum estimated to cost $95 million to $120 million is proposed at State Fair Park.
The Energy FC soccer team has proposed a multipurpose stadium with a regulation field — the current field at Taft Stadium fails to meet professional soccer standards — for up to $72 million, with seating for up to 10,000.
Budget reality
Williams noted the reality that proposals significantly exceed the expected budget.
This MAPS is expected to extend the 1- cent sales tax for seven to eight years, raising around $900 million.
By contrast, MAPS 3 ran seven years and nine months and, with interest still accumulating, is bringing in more than $800 million.
The council could vote as soon as Tuesday on a slate of projects, budget and election date. Voters are expected to have the final say on Dec. 10.
As final details were being hashed out this week, a cone of silence fell over what until now has been promoted as a process of unparalleled transparency.
More than one person said it was best to wait for the mayor to make an announcement before commenting.
Where previous MAPS have been celebrated as “transformational,” “impactful” is the word used most recently by Holt as he shepherds the highest profile task of his first term toward a vote.
In closing remarks after eight hours of presentations at the fourth and final public session Aug. 6, Holt said he saw the lineup addressing neighborhood and human needs, jobs, and desires for entertainment and a better quality of life.
He told the council he thought the mix, heavy on taking MAPS to a place where it improves everyday life, was “a great balance.”
“I feel like we've taken this MAPS legacy of 25 years and really made it our own,” he said.