Taylor set to cry Foul - City restricted in ballpark fee case

[DowntownNow]

City restricted in ballpark fee case
by: P.J. LASSEK World Staff Writer
Saturday, September 05, 2009
9/5/2009 4:41:59 AM

A Tulsa County judge granted a temporary restraining order Thursday prohibiting the city from placing liens on properties owned by 21 property owners who have failed to pay the downtown ballpark assessment fee.

The annual bills for the Tulsa Stadium Improvement District were issued in July. Property owners have 30 days to pay. After 60 days of delinquency, the city can file a lien on the property.

A court hearing is set Sept. 14 on the plaintiff's application for an injunction until a court decides whether the assessment district is legal.

The plaintiffs are the same group of downtown property owners within the Inner Dispersal Loop who are seeking class-action certification for their challenge of the assessment district.

Tulsa County District Judge Dana Kuehn found that the plaintiffs would be harmed immediately if the city placed liens on properties and allowed those properties to be sold in foreclosure.

"We're talking real money," said the plaintiffs' attorney, Kirsten Bernhardt. "One property owner has a bill for $160,000."

She said the plaintiffs are concerned not only about the "significant financial hardship" of paying the fee but also the burden placed on property owners to pay immediately or face liens.

Bernhardt said there also is a fear that the money will not be repaid to property owners, if the courts determined that the district is illegal.

"The city is taking the fees under their governmental powers and funneling it through a public trust," she said. "Once the money is paid out, there is no mechanism to get the money refunded."

Officials from the city could not be reached for comment Friday, a designated city furlough day.

The plaintiffs are seeking to have the assessment roll declared unlawful because they believe that they will not receive a direct benefit from the stadium that is being built downtown to house the city's Double A baseball team, the Tulsa Drillers.

Bernhardt contends that an assessment district has to directly benefit those who are paying the fee.

She said the city argues that everyone within the Inner Dispersal Loop will benefit because property values will increase.

"That is nonsensical," Bern- hardt said. "That is not the type of benefit that is permitted by an assessment. It is a tool for providing improvements like sidewalks and sewer, not a baseball stadium."

The group also claims that they were denied the ability to complain or challenge the amount of the assessment. The plaintiffs allege that city Finance Director Mike Kier, in a notice of an April City Council hearing on the district's assessment roll, wrongfully informed potential objectors that the only issue that could be challenged was the accuracy of square-footage calculations.

The assessment fee approved by city councilors June 4 requires property owners within the Inner Dispersal Loop to pay for 30 years an annual fee of 6.5 cents per square foot of land and structure.

Of the total, 4.3 cents is paying for $25 million of the $39.2 million construction cost of the stadium. The remaining 2.2 cents is to be used to pay for current downtown services, such as landscaping and sweeping.

A $25 million revenue bond was issued in December to be repaid by the assessment fee. The first payment on the bond is due in November, officials have said.

The 6,200-seat stadium is set to be complete in time for the next baseball season, which begins in April.
Property owners suing the city
E&F Cox Family Trust

Michael Samara
Better Price Warehouse Sales Co.
Chromium Plating
Group M Investment
Tulscape Properties
Basil Roberts
Stephen C. Wolfe
Corporate Condo Rentals
Argo Properties
Clinton Elliott
Lester Springer
Harold E. Nixon, Nixon Properties
M.C. Enterprises
Main Square Towers
Gary Dean Meade and Carolyn Meade Family Trust
Terrell Palmer and Suzanne
Palmer Revocable Living Trust
Blake Properties Trust
Koenig Properties
James Folsom and Marcia Folsom
Dale and Vivian Wood, D.B.A Wood Enterprises

And so it begins.  It would seem based upon the judge's decision, there is merit to the Plaintiff's case.  Will be very interesting to see how this all turns out in the end.  My guess is, the assessment will be ruled invalid then the bigger issue of how those IDL property owners get their money back comes up. 

The judge in this case has so much fodder to look at as to how this assessment was established that she will have no choice but to rule it invalid.  At first glance, a flat rate assessment based on unsupported 'across the board' and equal benefit to every parcel of property.  Second is the leaving out of all religious owned property within the IDL, that should be subject to assessment, according to a stated Attorney General's opinion (though not subject to taxation, they are liable for any assessment).  Just a few of the myriad of things that will get this tossed out on its ear.

I think the folks that pushed this should prepare for a very humbling experience.

[Conan71]

[Wilbur]

I think the folks that pushed this should prepare for a very humbling experience.

Why?  What will their punishment be?  The same as Great Plains Airlines?  Absolutely nothin'.

As I predicted several months ago and posted on this forum, you and I will be paying for this fiscal fiasco disaster.  And the politicians who tried to cram this down everyone's throats will walk away unscathed.

[Kenosha]

Wil-

You schtick is tired.

What is it that you want anyway?  Has there not been an offer to recoup your incurred expenses from the city, and if so, did you reject the offer? Your initial complaint was to recover the money you had invested to that point, right?  So, what is it that you are trying to recover?  Is going to the media, and waging a public campaign against the city really the right way to go about handling your grievance IF you sincerely care about downtown and want to develop downtown? Do you really expect us to believe that your self righteous campaign against...whatever it is you are against (we are not really sure) isn't strictly motivated by vengeance?

Your methods are strange, Wil Wilkins, and while, for a while, we could look at your situation and have some sympathy, most of that is gone now.  We don't appreciate your strange, and personal war against "the powers that be", because your motives are not sincere.  We don't believe that you really care about downtown, or you would have accepted the offer given to you, taken that money, and invested it in another worthy downtown project.  Instead, you spend all of your time crying foul about people who have supposedly been shown favor over you. Could it be that those people understand how truly difficult it is to develop downtown, and that making nice with the right people is beneficial to their goals?  It's called not s**tting where you eat, my friend.

You could learn a thing or two, if you would just step outside of yourself for a moment.


Sincerely,

The rest of the people who care about downtown.

[MichaelBates]

Wil-

You schtick is tired.

What is it that you want anyway?  Has there not been an offer to recoup your incurred expenses from the city, and if so, did you reject the offer? Your initial complaint was to recover the money you had invested to that point, right?  So, what is it that you are trying to recover?  Is going to the media, and waging a public campaign against the city really the right way to go about handling your grievance IF you sincerely care about downtown and want to develop downtown? Do you really expect us to believe that your self righteous campaign against...whatever it is you are against (we are not really sure) isn't strictly motivated by vengeance?

Your methods are strange, Wil Wilkins, and while, for a while, we could look at your situation and have some sympathy, most of that is gone now.  We don't appreciate your strange, and personal war against "the powers that be", because your motives are not sincere.  We don't believe that you really care about downtown, or you would have accepted the offer given to you, taken that money, and invested it in another worthy downtown project.  Instead, you spend all of your time crying foul about people who have supposedly been shown favor over you. Could it be that those people understand how truly difficult it is to develop downtown, and that making nice with the right people is beneficial to their goals?  It's called not s**tting where you eat, my friend.

You could learn a thing or two, if you would just step outside of yourself for a moment.


Sincerely,

The rest of the people who care about downtown.

Shorter Kenosha: "You should be happy with a secret deal to pay you off and make you go away. Stop trying to open city government to public scrutiny."

"Making nice with the right people" - feh. Whose ring do you have to kiss in this town?

This is disgusting. This makes me sick, especially if I'm right in my hunch that Kenosha is an employee in the urban development department. Any urban development or TDA employee posting this sort of thing should be outed and fired.

I appreciate the fact that Will understands that this is a much bigger issue than the half-block at Archer and Elgin. This comes down to how people are treated when they aren't big shots, when they aren't connected. You want creative people to come to Tulsa? Treat them fairly even if they aren't big shots.

[cannon_fodder]

I care about downtown, but it seems to me Wilbur is looking more and more like a prophet on this one.   Kathy Taylor and a group of Tulsa oligarchs wanted to build a downtown stadium.  And they did. 

End of story.  There was little or not debate.  There was no vote.   

I'm happy with the result personally (except the additional land grab).  I want the downtown stadium and I don't have to pay for it.   But I certainly understand why the property owners are mad.

[Kenosha]

Shorter Kenosha: "You should be happy with a secret deal to pay you off and make you go away. Stop trying to open city government to public scrutiny."

"Making nice with the right people" - feh. Whose ring do you have to kiss in this town?

This is disgusting. This makes me sick, especially if I'm right in my hunch that Kenosha is an employee in the urban development department. Any urban development or TDA employee posting this sort of thing should be outed and fired.

I appreciate the fact that Will understands that this is a much bigger issue than the half-block at Archer and Elgin. This comes down to how people are treated when they aren't big shots, when they aren't connected. You want creative people to come to Tulsa? Treat them fairly even if they aren't big shots.

Don't paraphrase Michael.  Number one, Wil claimed that the money he was out on speculation was one of his major grievances.  When it was offered to him to recoup the costs, he rejected it.  It's not a payoff if the person getting paid asks for it.  But, if you were so inclined, you could make it look that way, I suppose.  But that is disingenuous.

Second, making nice has nothing to do with kissing rings.  It is the rank and file employees that are doing all of the hard work.  It's called politics, and it has been played in every city and every state and every company... at every level imaginable.  Going to the press, and waging a media war is one way to handle it, i guess, but I think it is idiotic. We have all been on the wrong side of a decision, or election, or of a favor.  How you handle it will determine if the pendulum will swing back your way. As a matter of fact it should...I believe that those folks might be entitled to some consideration. Fairness matters...and, honestly, I understand his anger, but there are a lot of "ifs" that he hasn't been called to task for.  Like, "if" he could do what he said he wanted to do.  And, "if" he could find another hotel partner (since SJS chose to do the Atlas instead), and "if" he had any money.  I think these are basic questions that any partner in a deal should ask.  The basic thing for me is this: it doesn't appear that Wil actually wants do anything, at this point, but stick it to the man.  That is not productive.

If you think only "well connected" people are trying to do something, you are wrong. There are lots of us.  Furthermore, Wil WAS well connected, despite what he wants to portray.  As a matter of fact, I know several people that would have helped him, had he not pulled this stunt (running to the press). His own lawyer dumped him after he did that.  Again, don't s**t where you eat.

And Michael...YOU are well connected.  Why don't you do something?

What I was trying to tell him was that how they are going about it is stupid, counter to their supposed cause and it is potentially poisoning the well for a lot of other right-minded people who want good things to happen down here. So save your righteous indignation.

Finally...I don't work for the city.  I am just another guy watching our city, with SO much potential, fritter it away. AGAIN.

[carltonplace]

One plantiff has a bill for $160,000
How many square feet does this person have? The assesment is .06 per sf, so that would be well over 2,000,000 sf right?

What does this mean for the ball park? Will construction cease or does it simply mean that the stakeholders will not be able to develop the surrounding properties (fine with me)?

[cannon_fodder]

What does this mean for the ball park? Will construction cease or does it simply mean that the stakeholders will not be able to develop the surrounding properties (fine with me)?

Construction is ongoing and the project will be finished.  As I understand it, the deal is structure such that the City of Tulsa will foot the bill, period.  If the funding source as planned falls through, the city is stuck with the tab just the same.  That's why so many people are mad.

Step 1:  Introduce plan to fund and plan stadium
Step 2:  Build as fast as possible
Step 3:  Worry about if funding is legal and find another way to pay for it

[TheLofts@120]

Thanks to the many heads up regarding these posts.  I felt it necessary to come in and make just a few small statements to what has been posted here since much of it is in error.

Since this is available in the court's public records and this will be the only statement I make to the proceedings, the Tulsa Development Authority did recently extend an offer to cover a portion of 'out of pocket' expenses that had been associated with this issue.  Feeling we have a solid case for the claims we filed, we rejected the offer.  The reverse side of this is that this was a legal tactic employed by TDA Counsel.  In rejecting the offer, should we pursue this matter in court and are awarded damages less than the amount offered, we could be subject to paying Defendant's legal fees.  Again, given the discovery to date and feel for the case, we chose to refuse the offer.

The inclusion of a hotel component was made after the public announcement of a ballpark across the street, so as to offer the most benefit to the area and the City to increase sales and property taxes, to provide an increase in jobs while also providing an increase in the needed hotel room counts to attract larger convention business to the area.  The participation by one hospitality group was independent of their desire to proceed with the Atlas Life Building project.  I can say that concretely since W3 Development LLC (the partner with Novus on this project) brokered the purchase and subsequent redevelopment of the Atlas Life to a Courtyard by Marriott.

As for understanding how difficult it can be to develop our downtown and my passion to see it done, that has never waned.  My companies continue to support and promote downtown Tulsa development on both a regional and national basis, working with hospitality, entertainment and restaurants, encouraging them to look here for their next growth market. 

We are actively working with two downtown property owners for development plans that will likely come to fruition in 2011.  We are also brokering two downtown high-rise properties in the hopes of finding re-developers that can revitalize the structures and compliment the growth already occurring in downtown. 

As for the legal counsel we had previously retained, it was their decision to recuse themselves due to a possible conflict.  That was their choice and was in the best interest of both parties upon revelation of that possibility.  We have remained on good terms and see eachother occassionally.  The counsel we have now has been outstanding in his pursuance of this matter within the correct legal framework and we look forward to continuing to help downtown revitalize in a fashion that is conducive to seeing that goal achieved.

As for the rest of the comments, I will have to leave it at this.  We look forward to our day in court and appreciate the support many of you have shown.

[TheLofts@120]

Sincerely,

Will Wilkins
918-902-0760

[ARGUS]

the assesment is a joke!

[Wilbur]

Second, making nice has nothing to do with kissing rings.  It is the rank and file employees that are doing all of the hard work.  It's called politics, and it has been played in every city and every state and every company... at every level imaginable.  Going to the press, and waging a media war is one way to handle it, ...

If you think only "well connected" people are trying to do something, you are wrong. There are lots of us.  Furthermore, Wil WAS well connected, despite what he wants to portray.  As a matter of fact, I know several people that would have helped him, had he not pulled this stunt (running to the press). ...

I guess only certain people with certain correct stances are allowed to play politics by going to the press. 

[Breadburner]

the assesment is a joke!

A cruel one at that.....

[TulsaSooner]

As I understand it, the deal is structure such that the City of Tulsa will foot the bill, period.

Could you point out this major detail in some sort of documentation for the rest of us?