Vision 2025...Part 2?

[RecycleMichael]

Where are all the TNF tax haters?

I hate Texas. Is that good enough?

[Conan71]

Where are all the TNF tax haters?

That's advocating hate, Clown.

[erfalf]

Politicians never cease to amaze me. I felt the river tax was a tax in search of project. Rarely do good ideas come from this sort of mentality. In Bartlesville, there is a property tax measure that was used for school improvements several years back that is about to expire, and the ideas just keep getting floated, just hoping one will stick. First was a School Board plan that was all over the map crazy that went down in flames. Now the city is moving in hoping to get some new facilities out of the deal. I will have to say the later plan is far more reasonable and appropriate, but I still don't know if that will happen either.

It's like they all sit in a room trying to think up a way to keep the funding coming and they forget to think about what is actually good for the community.

I'm not saying all taxes are bad, because they aren't. But this sort of thinking is definitely a bad thing.

[RecycleMichael]

It's like they all sit in a room trying to think up a way to keep the funding coming

We don't sit that much. Mostly we dance.

[Teatownclown]

That's advocating hate, Clown.

You moron....hate against a tax is not prejudice nor is it discrimination. Lured you out, just couldn't get your confession. Saving it for the box?

[Townsend]

Relax

[Jeff P]

We don't sit that much. Mostly we dance.

I knew it!

[Conan71]

You moron....hate against a tax is not prejudice nor is it discrimination. Lured you out, just couldn't get your confession. Saving it for the box?

Sounds like I tweaked the Clown's nose.

[carltonplace]

Didn't we already vote to take over the V2025 tax once it sunsets in order to "fix our streets"? For COT residents this would be an additional tax, not simply an extension of an existing tax.

I wonder who at AA is spearheading this thing?

[swake]

Didn't we already vote to take over the V2025 tax once it sunsets in order to "fix our streets"? For COT residents this would be an additional tax, not simply an extension of an existing tax.

I wonder who at AA is spearheading this thing?

I think that was just the portion that was to be used for Boeing

[DTowner]

I third the sentiment above.

I'm already disappointed in how this was rolled out/leaked/floated.

This just totally smacks of the way the river vote thing was handled, where most of the general public was confused about what they were or were not voting for. 

Getting Vision 2025 extended or Part 2 or whatever should be a slam dunk.  It's been a smashing success in about any way you can measure it.  If this second phase is clearly communicated and it has a solid/well-thought-out plan, it would pass easily.

If there is a muttled message about "extending" versus "part two" and other talk of starting things before the current tax is done, then I project confusion and failure.

I just hope that cooler/smarter heads prevail and they do this the right way to maintain our momentum.

Definitely.  A failed vote on Vison 2025 pt. II could really poison the well for years to come.  Rushing a package through for consideration in November ignores the lessons from two failed Tusa Projects and the river project.

[rdj]

The regional municipal leaders (elected and staff along with county and area chambers) have been discussing this for months.  They are working to make it a county wide package.  Early polling numbers are very good for passage.

Needs to be in November.  Otherwise, the younger and "left leaning" voters that typically check yes for quality of life type of initiatives won't come out to vote.

There will be a nice surplus of V2025 I funds once it runs out.  As part of the additional money pledged towards the BOK Center those funds go to the suburbs first.  That will help get a deal passed.

The biggest obstacle will be the "deal closing fund."

[DTowner]

The regional municipal leaders (elected and staff along with county and area chambers) have been discussing this for months.  They are working to make it a county wide package.  Early polling numbers are very good for passage.

I think that is the concern - packages created from the top down have struggled in the past.  If we are going to tie up future Vision 2025 monies for another decade or so, it seems important that the public has input and buy in, not just political leaders.  Rushing this to try and ride the coat tails of a presidential year voter demographic seems, at best, ill conceived and presumptive.

[rdj]

I wasn't agreeing with the process.  Only pointing out what I knew from discussions with suburban leaders.

[Townsend]

TW FB post:

The commissioners scheduled the vote Thursday morning after hearing details of a proposed $748.8 million package of economic development and quality-of-life projects to be funded with the proposed tax extension.

Tulsa County commissioners will vote Monday on whether to call a Nov. 6 election on Vision2 - an extension of the 0.6 percent Vision 2025 sales tax through 2029.

The commissioners scheduled the vote Thursday morning after hearing details of a proposed $748.8 million package of economic development and quality-of-life projects to be funded with the proposed tax extension.

The extension would start when the current tax expires Jan. 1, 2017, although bond sales on the economic development half of the program could make funding available for those projects soon after voters approve it.

"I think that the proposal seemed to be positively received today, and it seems like each of us is ready to make a decision on Monday," Tulsa County Commissioner John Smaligo said after the meeting.

Later in the day, the Vision2 proposal was formally unveiled at the BOK Center.

"We want everyone to understand that Vision2 is direly needed, and it will make our region the region we want it to be," said Don Walker, co-chairman of the Vision2 campaign.

Officials chose to announce Vision2 at the BOK Center for a reason: The arena has been the centerpiece of the Vision 2025 program.

"Look around us, right here in this room," said Walker, president and CEO of Arvest Bank. "This facility is one of our key results of Vision 2025."

The first element of the Vision2 plan is $386.88 million for economic development - improvements on key industrial sites at Tulsa International Airport and a $52.942 million closing fund to offer final incentives to companies considering locating in the area.

A second $361.92 million package would go to quality-of-life improvements to be selected by the county and each of its cities.

The quality-of-life money would be apportioned to communities in the county according to population. Spending plans will grow from public discussions and should be determined well in advance of a vote on the package, campaign organizers said.

The resolutions to be considered by county commissioners on Monday would set the date for the election, the tax rates being proposed and the general purpose for which the funds will be used.

The resolutions do not include the community projects to be funded in Vision2.

Organizers of the Vision2 campaign said Thursday that they would like to see community projects listed before the proposed election but that each city will control how its vetting process is handled.

"It is important that each individual community and each individual city council in each of the suburban communities, as well as the city of Tulsa, has its respective discretion and its respective public process to determine what the local projects will be," said Mike Neal, CEO and executive director of the Tulsa Metro Chamber.

During their morning meeting, commissioners also agreed to consider a second resolution Monday outlining how the county intends to spend the $92 million it is projected to receive from Vision2.

Those proposed projects include $38 million for a juvenile justice center and family court facility; $25 million for roads and other infrastructure; $12 million for Expo Square; $10 million for levee improvements; and $7 million for parks and recreational facilities.

"This is a good opportunity for us to take care of a lot of issues for the county but that are also very critical for economic development," Commissioner Karen Keith said.

The two propositions presented to commissioners total $748.8 million, $900,000 more than initial descriptions of the package size. The difference is the result of a press release rounding error.

A key element of the economic development package is $254 million in improvements for three city-owned manufacturing facilities at the Tulsa airport-industrial complex, said Jim Fram, senior vice president of the Tulsa Metro Chamber.

The improvements will deal with fundamental engineering problems and equipment needed to create state-of-the-art industrial facilities, he said.

The three facilities - currently in use by American Airlines, Spirit AeroSystems and IC Bus - date back to the early days of World War II and are in dire need of fundamental repairs, including roofing, wiring and air conditioning, Fram said.

The package also includes high-tech equipment to allow the facilities to have useful lives long into the future regardless of the tenants, he said.

Before any of the money is spent on the facilities, the county will negotiate long-term contractual job commitments, Fram said. The contracts will include "clawback" provisions, allowing the county to recoup costs if the commitments aren't met, he said.

Even if the current tenants leave the facilities, the renovated buildings will be attractive lures to other employers, he said.

Walker said there is a false perception that the tenants of the buildings haven't spent any of their own money on the facilities. American Airlines alone has spent some $445 million on its Tulsa facilities, but the community needs to make a major investment now to protect its assets and the 11,000 jobs in the airport complex, he said.

Rich Brierre, executive director of the Indian Nations Council of Governments, said the project is structured so that the bonds for the economic development projects could be sold soon after the election, allowing for quick implementation.

Bonds for the quality-of-life projects wouldn't be sold until after the tax goes into effect, unless local governments want to pay additional financing costs and move their projects forward, he said.

Brierre said a senior rebate that was part of the Vision 2025 program will also be part of the Vision2 proposal.

Qualifying Tulsa County residents over the age of 65 currently receive $18 rebates on the sales taxes they've paid. If the new package passes, they would be eligible for $24 rebates starting in 2017 to adjust for increases in the cost of living, Brierre said.

More than 24,000 people take advantage of the program every year, Tulsa County Treasurer Dennis Semler said.
About Vision2

Proprosed election date: Nov. 6

Amount: Extension of 0.6 percent Vision 2025 sales tax through 2029

Proposition 1: Economic development

Airport industrial complex buildings and infrastructure - $122 million

Airport industrial complex equipment - $132 million

Closing fund - $52.942 million

Bond costs and interest - $79.938 million

Proposition 2: Quality-of-life improvements

Tulsa County - $92 million

Tulsa - $157.92 million

Bixby - $11.3 million

Broken Arrow - $44.1 million

Collinsville - $3 million

Glenpool - $5.9 million

Jenks - $9.2 million

Owasso - $14.38 million

Sand Springs - $10.1 million

Skiatook - $1.16 million

Sperry - $643,894

Bond costs and interest - $12 million

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=717&articleid=20120810_16_A1_ULNSeo547283