DTU out, OKC company in

[cannon_fodder]

According to a Tulsa World Article a company from Oklahoma City has been selected to do downtown upkeep (sweeping, trash, tree trimming, weeds, landscaping, mowing, etc.).

The winning bid: $223,227 by Unlimited Sweepers and Cleaners LLC

Backup winner: $273,696, by Lot Maintenance of Oklahoma Inc. (of Tulsa)

DTU's bid: $483,003.  DTU's previous contract: $952,000 (this INCLUDES promotion, trolley, and some other services for downtown also).

The Invitation to Bid form:
http://204.62.23.97/Spec/TAC%20843%20Public%20Property%20Maintenance%20-%20bid%20specs.doc

[Conan71]

Sounds like the little ivory tower will be dismantled at long last.  Anyone else bet Jim Norton saw this coming?

It does irritate me that an OKC company wound up with the business, but I would assume they will employ local workers and spend money locally.

[jne]

I hate to see it go to an OKC group as well, but its about time we damned up the DTU money river. 

[patric]

I hate to see it go to an OKC group as well, but its about time we damned up the DTU money river. 

Maybe we can get the rash of Acorn streetlights under control, and start replacing them with something more economical and night-vision friendly that will make people fell better about downtown at night.

[Red Arrow]

I think I saw a news spot or something the other night about some lights going in downtown that were not acorns.  Was I dreaming or was that someplace else?

[sgrizzle]

I think I saw a news spot or something the other night about some lights going in downtown that were not acorns.  Was I dreaming or was that someplace else?

The park at 6th and Main has non-acorns and GKFF is funding a brad feasibility study which won't pic acorns.

[sgrizzle]

According to a Tulsa World Article a company from Oklahoma City has been selected to do downtown upkeep (sweeping, trash, tree trimming, weeds, landscaping, mowing, etc.).

The winning bid: $223,227 by Unlimited Sweepers and Cleaners LLC

Backup winner: $273,696, by Lot Maintenance of Oklahoma Inc. (of Tulsa)

DTU's bid: $483,003.  DTU's previous contract: $952,000 (this INCLUDES promotion, trolley, and some other services for downtown also).

The Invitation to Bid form:
http://204.62.23.97/Spec/TAC%20843%20Public%20Property%20Maintenance%20-%20bid%20specs.doc

DTU had a trolley?

Also, marketing was only like 5% of DTU's budget.

[PonderInc]

DTU didn't have a trolley, but they subcontracted with Bill White Co. to run a morning/evening parking shuttle which basically ferried people to and from...uh...Bill White parking lots.  (Weird use of public dollars, if you ask me.)

I wonder if a REAL circulator trolley could be subsidized?  Like a lunch and evening T-town trolley that would help get folks around downtown without their cars.  (If it could also run in the mornings to help people who park in the back 40, that's gravy.)

The T-Town Trolley runs on advertising revenue and sponsorships.   I wonder if they could become the downtown circulator, if they received supplemental funds from the Stadium Improvement District money?

[cannon_fodder]

DTU had a trolley?

Also, marketing was only like 5% of DTU's budget.

Just reporting what the articles/budgets said.

[swake]

DTU didn't have a trolley, but they subcontracted with Bill White Co. to run a morning/evening parking shuttle which basically ferried people to and from...uh...Bill White parking lots.  (Weird use of public dollars, if you ask me.)

DTU paid for that? I thought it was part of the parking fee you paid to Bill White.

That's nuts.

[TheTed]

Does this mean the main mall golf cart cop is done? I certainly hope so. Talk about a waste of money. If someone thinks a cop is needed to sit out on the main mall during business hours, they probably shouldn't ever leave their house.

As someone who walks around the desolate parts of downtown late at night all the time, it rubs me the wrong way that the cop is only there when no sane person has any reason to feel unsafe.

If this parking shuttle is reincarnated in some way, I really hope it includes service of more value than the Bill White shuttle. That was another huge waste of money, giving people rides so they don't have to walk four blocks.

[Red Arrow]

DTU had a trolley?

Faux trolley.  Rubber tires, internal combustion engine,  not rail guided.....

Not a bad idea, just not a real trolley.

See other replies for actual ownership.

[PonderInc]

Does this mean the main mall golf cart cop is done? I certainly hope so. Talk about a waste of money. If someone thinks a cop is needed to sit out on the main mall during business hours, they probably shouldn't ever leave their house.

As someone who walks around the desolate parts of downtown late at night all the time, it rubs me the wrong way that the cop is only there when no sane person has any reason to feel unsafe.

Yes, the golf cart cop was a total joke.  He was paid to hang out in the core of the CBD in the morning (about 6:00-8:00 AM), and for a few hours in the afternoon.  (Basically, the safest times and places imaginable in the entire city of Tulsa.)  Mostly, I saw him in the convenience store on the main mall.

I asked him one time why he didn't go over to 1st and Cheyenne, where there were drug deals going all day long, and he said he wasn't supposed to go over there.  He had "boundaries" within the CBD.  Another friend saw him hanging out deep in the shade inside the old Mayo parking garage most afternoons.  He also alerted him to a drug deal going on, and the guy basically replied: "So what?"

There are folks who believe there is value in having cops be "visible" during busy times of the day downtown.  Not because it's unsafe, but b/c it creates the "perception of safety," and more people are around to see the illusion during this time.  I think this is backwards.

The TPD talks about how much it costs on BOK event nights, and they want money from the ticket sales to subsidize them.  Perhaps they don't need 6 guys hanging out together on horses or bikes doing nothing.  Look for them at events.  They're just sitting there.  In a clump!  Why can't they patrol in ones or twos?  Wouldn't that be more efficient?

I have never once seen a cop downtown "walking a beat."  This would be a better use of their time than sitting around together like a bunch of junior high school kids at the cafeteria. 

[Kashmir]

When I was in STL last week, I actually saw a pair of cops walking a beat.  This was in the scary area a few miles from Barnes-Jewish Hospital.  Kinda neat.

[TheTed]

The TPD talks about how much it costs on BOK event nights, and they want money from the ticket sales to subsidize them.  Perhaps they don't need 6 guys hanging out together on horses or bikes doing nothing.  Look for them at events.  They're just sitting there.  In a clump!  Why can't they patrol in ones or twos?  Wouldn't that be more efficient?

I have never once seen a cop downtown "walking a beat."  This would be a better use of their time than sitting around together like a bunch of junior high school kids at the cafeteria. 

Agreed that the BOK Center event patrol is worthless. A bunch of them just sitting in cars for 15 minutes of not really needed traffic control. What we call traffic after a BOK Center event, other cities would call light Sunday afternoon traffic. There's no need for much traffic control. Our streets are wide enough to handle way, way more traffic than they normally see.

The whole segways thing is a waste, too. They're patrolling a couple block area, if that. Then I see the ones on bikes riding on the sidewalks weaving all over the place like a 7-year-old who just took off the training wheels.

And I remember an article stating that more horse cops would be present a couple years back. But despite spending 99% of my time downtown, I've still not seen a cop on horseback.