Duh Vision According to Dewey

[Teatownclown]

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20130303_16_A1_Cityof47981

By the numbers

$800 million: Estimated funds available

$470 million-$670 million: Possible allocation for street repairs

Other proposals so far*

$109.3 million: River Parks (includes $41 million for Zink Dam)

$95.1 million: Street widening

$42.9 million: Traffic engineering (i.e., signals, lights)

$70 million: Citywide capital equipment

$62.7: Tulsa Transit Authority

$44.9 million: Planning and economic development

$43.6 million: Tulsa Zoo

$42.3 million: Performing arts, convention and BOK centers, Gilcrease Museum

$40 million: Parks Department

$35.3 million: City Hall and public facility renovations

$31.9 million: Bicycle, pedestrian infrastructure

$27.8 million: Bridge repair, replacements

$14.9 million: Sewers

$11.3 million: Stormwater/flood control

$8.6 million: Animal shelter expansion

$7.5 million: Gilcrease Expressway

* Police, fire, IT, airport, library, OSU Medical Center, MET and Downtown Coordinating Council to make proposals by March 14

Wow...$42.3 million: Performing arts, convention and BOK centers, Gilcrease Museum.....throwing more money at these projects already? What a frickin joke. I thought these projects were done. And more of a priority than fixing our water issues? And the Zoo? Again? And the way money gets hidden throughout these categories. Duplication?

I'm always peeohed when I see GOPeers/Teaheads wanting to shrivel up federal spending while at the same time arranging to allocate state and local spending towards what they deem "important."

This is just another stupid and shameful list of Chamber needs.

[nathanm]

How about instead of spending $400 million on streets we spend half of it on streetcars? That would be enough to do a downtown loop, run a trolley down riverside to 31st and do a line that goes out sixth to peoria and connects to cherry street and brookside. There might even be enough left over to run one out 11th to TU with that kind of money.

You know, something that actually helps Tulsa stand out and something that promotes the development goals we're pursuing in those areas.

[Conan71]

Where's the accounting for the first streets package?

Let's see what's been spent and accomplished on that before sinking in another 1/2 billion.

[nathanm]

Here you go.

[Conan71]

Here you go.

Thanky.  Maybe I should bookmark that rather than asking again in a year. 

[carltonplace]

No money for new downtown housing.

What exactly is Economic Development? Is that for emergency street widening whenever one of our beloved developers builds a Target Big Box store?

[swake]

No money for new downtown housing.

What exactly is Economic Development? Is that for emergency street widening whenever one of our beloved developers builds a Target Big Box store?

Chamber slush fund. Probably some money for AA too.

I don't want Dewey having any part of this decision. Slush fund for the chamber, more Gilcrease highway to nowhere nonsense. A new sprinkler system for the BOK center?? The place is still new, and even if it needs work, what happened to the fund for repairs that the profits were supposed to be going into? Then there's nothing for downtown, no downtown parks, no housing.  This is every bit as bad as Vision2, which was comically bad.

[patric]

Chamber slush fund. Probably some money for AA too.

I don't want Dewey having any part of this decision. Slush fund for the chamber, more Gilcrease highway to nowhere nonsense. A new sprinkler system for the BOK center?? The place is still new, and even if it needs work, what happened to the fund for repairs that the profits were supposed to be going into? Then there's nothing for downtown, no downtown parks, no housing.  This is every bit as bad as Vision2, which was comically bad.

Apparently the new arena's fire system was substandard from the design phase, and now we can pay the contractors again to fix it.

"Before we actually finished construction of the BOK Center, it was recognized that this fire system was not the proper system for an arena," said Tim Vogt, director of operations for SMG Tulsa.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20130304_16_A1_TheBOK920154

[Teatownclown]

Apparently the new arena's fire system was substandard from the design phase, and now we can pay the contractors again to fix it.

"Before we actually finished construction of the BOK Center, it was recognized that this fire system was not the proper system for an arena," said Tim Vogt, director of operations for SMG Tulsa.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20130304_16_A1_TheBOK920154

I always look for the nearest exits.

[swake]

Apparently the new arena's fire system was substandard from the design phase, and now we can pay the contractors again to fix it.

"Before we actually finished construction of the BOK Center, it was recognized that this fire system was not the proper system for an arena," said Tim Vogt, director of operations for SMG Tulsa.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20130304_16_A1_TheBOK920154

So is there no remedy from the people that made a design mistake? It's not old or outdated, this isn't maintenance, it's a mistake and there is a party at fault here.

I get the idea that the Convention Center needs improvements, but the BOK Center? And I ask again, where is the repair fund that was supposed to be fed from the profits of the BOK Center?

[swake]

Here, I found this from the World 5/28/12:

From July 1 to March 31, the BOK Center generated $5,473,418 in income to offset $4,368,688 in expenses, resulting in the $1,104,730 profit, according to reports.

All of the profit at the end of the fiscal year will be placed in the facility's reserve fund to help pay for any major maintenance needs. The fund has a balance of about $3 million.

So there is a $4+ million fund for repairs. Make the repairs from that and sue the engineering firm that screwed up.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=334&articleid=20120528_11_A11_TlasBK364783

[carltonplace]

I also take issue with the Tulsa Zoo (disclosure; I love the zoo especially the sea lions)...Dewey moved to privatize it so now why are we subsidizing a private entity?

[heironymouspasparagus]

Apparently the new arena's fire system was substandard from the design phase, and now we can pay the contractors again to fix it.

"Before we actually finished construction of the BOK Center, it was recognized that this fire system was not the proper system for an arena," said Tim Vogt, director of operations for SMG Tulsa.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20130304_16_A1_TheBOK920154

So, in addition to making it look like a crashed spaceship, we can literally have the associated inferno with deathtrap!  Thanks City Government and the magic of "low bid"....

Who designed that again...??
That would be MATRIX Architects, Inc as architects and engineers of record.  Just in case the City has forgotten and doesn't know who to go after...

[patric]

And I ask again, where is the repair fund that was supposed to be fed from the profits of the BOK Center?

[Conan71]

So is there no remedy from the people that made a design mistake? It's not old or outdated, this isn't maintenance, it's a mistake and there is a party at fault here.

I get the idea that the Convention Center needs improvements, but the BOK Center? And I ask again, where is the repair fund that was supposed to be fed from the profits of the BOK Center?

There's absolutely no excuse for that being built out with insufficient capacity.  If it was not caught in the design phase it should have been caught in the submittal review phase.

No great surprise though that the same firm who was responsible for the mechanical engineering on this is the same one which managed to undersize a central boiler heating system at the fairgrounds which tax payers got to quietly pay to re-engineer and replace after about a year or two of operation.