County Discusses River Authority

[waterboy]

Anyone go to this meeting this morning? I wasn't able to make it. They are considering expanding the current River Parks Authority.

[sgrizzle]

Here's the World's take on it:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/NewsStory.asp?ID=070223_Ne_A7_River9595

[waterboy]

"Discussions about whether to expand the River Parks Authority initially centered on the possible public perception of a conflict of interest.

County Commissioner John Smaligo praised the group (River Parks Authority) for its work but said the fact that two of its seven trustees -- John-Kelly Warren and Ken Levit -- are involved in proposed river development projects could present a perception problem.

Warren agreed, but he added that there will always be the potential for a conflict of interest, regardless of who is appointed to the authority."

Also not disclosed was that the World publisher is on that authority. He is a partner in a housing development on the river near the proposed south Tulsa bridge. These conflicts of interest can be minimized if the authority is staffed with members who have functional knowledge or functional responsibilities rather than political/commercial. Members from the ranks of hydraulic engineers, geological, ecological associations, fire/rescue, land planners etc. would analyze plans based on the impact to the public. They could be presented by the communities along the river but not just representing that community.

Help me if I'm naive. You wouldn't staff a zoning commission with people lacking knowledge of the principles of good land use. Why staff an authority to develop a river with politicians, businessmen & land developers  and expect anything but conflicts of interest?

[Vision 2025]

I attended this and the other two such meetings.

This meeting was in my opinion quite productive as there was good discussion on the viability of utilizing an expanded River Parks Authority along with several different view points being discussed as to the appropriate make-up of an expanded RPA.  

There were appropriate questions raised about possible conflicts of interest with existing RPA board members who have made or are in the process of making river development proposals which I thought were well addressed by good discussion that unfortunately was only partially reported in the morning paper.  

The end result of the meeting was a consensus (of those present) that the area Mayors and one County Commissioner and representatives of RPA are going to get together and to develop a fair and workable expansion of RPA which would likely be a combination of RPA current members and future appointments and appropriate elected officials.

Working in a technical support role to whatever authority becomes responsible will in all likely hood be essentially the same (already established) technical support structure that was created for development of the Arkansas River Corridor Master Plan which included strong representation from the engineering and technical community, user groups, regulatory agencies, and municipal representatives.  FYI this same support structure was utilized to review the parts and pieces of the proposed Channels plan which members included a couple of regular contributors to this site.  

Hope my opinion and observations help.

Kirby

[waterboy]

quote:Originally posted by Vision 2025

I attended this and the other two such meetings.

This meeting was in my opinion quite productive as there was good discussion on the viability of utilizing an expanded River Parks Authority along with several different view points being discussed as to the appropriate make-up of an expanded RPA.  

There were appropriate questions raised about possible conflicts of interest with existing RPA board members who have made or are in the process of making river development proposals which I thought were well addressed by good discussion that unfortunately was only partially reported in the morning paper.  

The end result of the meeting was a consensus that the area Mayors and one County Commissioner and representatives of RPA are going to get together and to develop a fair and workable expansion of RPA which would likely be a combination of RPA current members and future appointments and appropriate elected officials.

Working in a technical support role to whatever authority becomes responsible will in all likely hood be essentially the same (already established) technical support structure that was created for development of the Arkansas River Corridor Master Plan which included strong representation from the engineering and technical community, user groups, regulatory agencies, and municipal representatives.  FYI this same support structure was utilized to review the parts and pieces of the proposed Channels plan which members included a couple of regular contributors to this site.  

Hope my opinion and observations help.

Kirby

They do, thanks. A casual perusal of authority boards around the city shows that a lot of their members are there for their names, their swag, their foundations or their standing in the political circles. Many do just fine but the credentials of a businessman who is successful in one area are often not transferable to the board of another area. Sort of like getting a fighter jet pilot to drive in Nascar. Both go fast but different skill sets.

I would hate to see that happen along the river (again). A big real estate developer presents a multi-story, tears down some structures and bingo, he's on the authority board helping make decisions that affect the whole river.

[sauerkraut]

I may be a bit old fashioned, but I'd like to see that RiverSide jogging trail expanded down past 101st street and I'd like more of the trail built on the west bank of the river. The Creek TurnPike Trail is really a nice addition to the RiverSide Jogging Trail. We need more trails like that. I'd like to see Tulsa build a whole system of jogging trails across the city. The cities of Omaha, NE. and Denver, Colorado have a whole network of jogging/bike trails. Omaha's trails have no street crossings so once your on the trail you don't have to worry about cars or crosswalks. You can run your legs off. JMO, Thanx.