Mayor to veto annexation of fairgrounds

[RecycleMichael]

This from Channel 8...

Mayor To Veto Fairgrounds Annexation  
Tuesday May 08, 2007 9:04pm    

Tulsa - Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor and officials from Tulsa County have come to an agreement on the Tulsa County Fairgrounds. This week, the mayor will veto the city council's decision to annex... at least for now. It comes after several exhibitors threatened to pull out of their contracts with Expo Square. The mayor will veto annexing the Fairgrounds, but will defer it until January 2009. If the city council approves the plan, anything already scheduled at Expo Square after that date will receive a 3-cent sales tax rebate.

That includes the National Arabian Horse Show, which is under contract at Expo Square for three years beginning in 2008, bringing in an estimated 40-million dollars annually. After the city council voted to annex the Fairgrounds, officials with the horse show said they might not come to Tulsa because of the 3-cent city sales tax.

After learning about the mayor's decision, the horse show sent a press release, saying they look forward to coming to Tulsa. Mayor Taylor calls the agreement a win-win situation for both the city and county. The chairman of the National Arabian Horse Show says this was the right thing to do. It honors the contracts already signed and is a huge plus for the cooperation between the show and Tulsa.

Part of the agreement says the county cannot make any zoning changes to the Fairgrounds without the city council's approval. The mayor is expected to sign the veto on Thursday.

[MichaelC]

I heard it mentioned, I believe on a radio station, that the County was offering to take over some of the City's golf courses in exchange for an Annexation veto.

[Wrinkle]

Ms. Taylor just ended her political career.

As a benefit, we get to also see of what the Council is made.

[South_Tulsan]

quote:Originally posted by Wrinkle

Ms. Taylor just ended her political career.

As a benefit, we get to also see of what the Council is made.

How did she end her political career?

And what is the city council made of? At least the small majority of them (that voted in favor of annexation) are made up of the desire to tax more stuff at the cost of the general taxpayer.

That would be you and I.

[Double A]

Pathetic.  This is what happens when a socialite pretends to be a CEO, runs for Mayor, and manages to fool enough people to win. Just wait till she gets thumped over the police chief search.  

Da Mare betta recognize dat ya don't burn dem dat brung ya. Respect.

[Conan71]

So the mayor vetoed this hateful bill. [] Conan is pleased.

I think it was the prudent thing to do, in light of possibly losing some big shows.  Why didn't she just ask for a modification of the proposal to not tax anything already on the books and start taxing other shows as they are booked?

[RecycleMichael]

I was not real strong for or against annexation, but I think that a couple of years is a good compromise. That will allow for the fairgrounds to complete their current remodeling work, allow for the sales tax issues to be verified and resolved, and give the county time to prepare for any changes that could occur.

And a private note to doublea...you should really learn to spell or stop doing a bad impression of Ali G. We know you hate the Mayor. You have attacked her from the day she announced for office. You even attack everyone who likes her.

[Conan71]

Why is she waiting till Thurs?  Stuck in Ft. Lauderdale with last year's Lear Jet?

[RecycleMichael]

I thought it had to be approved by the County first.

[Wrinkle]

quote:Originally posted by South_Tulsan

quote:Originally posted by Wrinkle

Ms. Taylor just ended her political career.

As a benefit, we get to also see of what the Council is made.

How did she end her political career?

And what is the city council made of? At least the small majority of them (that voted in favor of annexation) are made up of the desire to tax more stuff at the cost of the general taxpayer.

That would be you and I.

Are you kidding?

She just negociated a 2009 end-around to get her Fire District TAX passed. You don't know what MORE is.

And, the County's going to pay Ms. Taylor her $300K estimated sales tax to manage a Golf Course which backs up to Ms. Miller's back yard.

She sold Tulsan's completely out.

[Wrinkle]

Is it too late to put an item on Thursday's Council Agenda to officially rename the position to "Mayor of Tulsa COUNTY"?

[MichaelC]

I didn't mind the Annexation idea.  I don't mind Annexation being exchanged for something else.

If the golf course are able to stay open this year, it would be a reasonable trade-off IMO.  The city needs to see if it can pawn off the pools to the County too.

[RecycleMichael]

Gee, Wrinkle.

Who did she sell out?

The reason Roscoe gave for pushing for annexation was for additional sales tax revenue.

This agreement enables the tax commission to pursue all taxes due to the City of Tulsa. It keeps in place the shows that are already contracted and ensures the economic impact for Tulsa.

She got the money, cooperated with the wishes of the exhibitors and convinced the County to help with other priorities.

I think it is a win.

[Wrinkle]

quote:Originally posted by MichaelC

I didn't mind the Annexation idea.  I don't mind Annexation being exchanged for something else.

If the golf course are able to stay open this year, it would be a reasonable trade-off IMO.  The city needs to see if it can pawn off the pools to the County too.

A City with an estimated $20 Million SURPLUS to THIS year's budget doesn't need to offload golf courses, or raise utility bills, to make it work.

And, if you will recall, the Fairgrounds tax was never really the issue. I've held the position it needed to be done if it raised only $1.67. No trade-offs required.

[rwarn17588]

Note Wrinkle said "estimated" surplus.

Just because it's estimated, doesn't mean it will actually be there when everything's totaled up.

Even so, $20 million out of a $560 million budget isn't much of a cushion at all. That's about 3 percent. You're within a whisker of running a deficit.