Quote Originally Posted by lasomeday View Post
They haven't even told us why they chose certain projects. I don't understand why MAPS3 should include anything for the fair grounds. I think a hotel tax should be presented for the fair grounds.

And the senior citizen aquatics center came out of nowhere too.

There are so many holes that need to be filled before people can vote. That is a lot of money for the city to spend.
The list of projects comes from the things requested by citizens on the Maps3 website. The top 10 or 15 were listed in the initial press release, and they all pretty much were covered either by MAPS 3 or the last bond issue.

There is already a hotel tax dedicated to the fair, but there's not enough to do this expo center at this time.

Quote Originally Posted by lasomeday View Post
It seems that if a group in OKC wanted something on the ballot they just pushed the mayor and city council to put it on there. I think the Chamber pushed for the convention center and the fair people pushed for their expo center. Didn't we just spend money to upgrade the fairgrounds?
Every project has a special interest group that pushed it. A mostly grassroots citizens group pushed the streetcar. The Chamber (as the promoter of city businesses) pushed the convention center. The fair board pushed their expo center. The Bricktown Association pushed a canal extension that they didn't get. All the projects either benefit the public as things we can directly enjoy, or they benefit us more indirectly by supporting our businesses and expanding tourism, which leads to higher sales tax revenues and more jobs. Some do both.