Thought I would post this on an subject heading at least along the same idea:

Mapping Core to Shore

The Journal Record February 9, 2009
CLICK HERE to view a video presentation of Core to Shore.

Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett (Photo by Maike Sabolich)

OKLAHOMA CITY – When MAPS-3 finally shows up on voting ballots – before the end of the year, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said – the temporary sales tax issue will likely represent a wide range of projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The question of exactly what projects city residents will be asked to support is yet to be decided, but it appears at least two Core to Shore elements will be included, he said. And because of their place in the city, they may even seem to be the heart of the initiative.

A massive redevelopment just south of downtown Oklahoma City is already under way as a two-mile stretch of the Interstate 40 crosstown is being constructed closer to the Oklahoma River. Once traffic is diverted to the new I-40, the old Interstate bridge will be razed and that thoroughfare converted to a main boulevard. City leaders describe all the projects planned to revitalize the zone as Core to Shore.

“We know Interstate 40 is going to be relocated,” Cornett said. “It’s more evident every day. … And you can see that 2012, when they expect to finish, is going to be here before you know it.”

“We know we’re going to be able to fund the boulevard using largely state money and then add some improvements of our own to make that the most special street this state has ever seen,” he said. “It will be the premier address in Oklahoma.”

“When you look at Oklahoma City with fresh eyes … and look around the country at other cities, what does Oklahoma City still lack to ascend to a new level?” said Cornett. “I think there are two elements: There’s public transit, that we do not fund and do not serve our citizens adequately. And then there’s a large gathering space downtown. We really need a Central Park that we can be proud of.”

The money needed to fund such a park, a new convention center nearby, and a fixed railway transportation system brings C2S to the intersection with MAPS-3.

The original MAPS, or Metropolitan Area Projects, was strongly approved by public vote in 1993 when residents established a 1-cent, five-year sales tax to fund nine projects, including the construction of the Bricktown Ballpark, renovation of the Cox Business Services Convention Center, and development of the Oklahoma River. A second package identified as Metropolitan Area Public Schools, or MAPS for Kids, kept that penny in play when voters easily passed two initiatives to fund local school districts.

Seventy percent of revenue generated from that sales tax went to Oklahoma City Public Schools for the construction of new buildings, technology and other improvements.

Together, the two MAPS initiatives directly yielded more than $800 million in taxes. So the MAPS identification has been considered by many city leaders as an invaluable brand name.

But action on a MAPS-3 plan, which many expected last year, was pre-empted when voters passed a $120 million temporary sales tax for remodeling the Ford Center downtown to improve chances of luring an NBA team to the city. City leaders had originally intended to include arena upgrades in a larger package of developments, perhaps even MAPS-3.

Because of the short deadline for the NBA board’s decision, the arena question was pushed ahead of schedule.

Cornett said it’s time to invest in the MAPS franchise again, even in a tough economy. When he was asked about the ramifications of failure, he said: “OK, so the economy’s not what we wish it was. Does that mean we want to stop creating jobs, which is what MAPS-3 is ultimately about? Does that mean we want to stop creating a city where people want to live? … If you don’t continue to invest in your city, then you’re going to stop the momentum that’s gotten us this far.”

As he recently told city leaders in the annual State of the City address, Cornett said the city needs a new convention center soon. If the public were to approve funding immediately to get started on a building to hold major entertainment and business events, it would take almost a decade for it to be finished. And by then the Cox Convention Center would be about 50 years old.

Although it’s generally accepted that convention centers are major economic engines that help attract tourism dollars – which means they end up helping to pay for their own construction – Cornett is still concerned that the public be able to easily identify some other benefit in Core to Shore projects to increase the likelihood of passage of MAPS-3. A massive public park would play that part, he said, as would a citywide public transit rail system of some sort, both of which were identified in a 2006 public survey as top interests of city residents.

“It’s easy to see the reasons that a park’s a great idea, and it’s easy to see that public transit serves everyone,” he said. “It takes a little more vision to see a 21st century convention center would help the city because it helps the economy.”

Those three components – convention center, park and mass transit – are a good place to start for MAPS-3, he said. After that, though, Cornett was reluctant to predict the direction of the package.

The sales tax question would have to be set for public vote by Cornett and the rest of the City Council, and for it to seamlessly take up when the last penny tax stops on April 1, 2010, city government must formally set an agenda for public discussions before the summer. The eight members of the council have repeatedly said they support a MAPS-3 package of some sort, but have not yet committed to what projects they would like to see included.
Councilwoman Meg Salyer said it’s likely that such a wide range of issues will be addressed in the final package that voters will likely find a majority they approve of and overlapping interests will carry the rest.

“That was certainly the case with MAPS,” she said. “There were elements that appealed to constituents all around the community.

“MAPS-3 certainly isn’t a done deal. We still need to have a lot of discussion with the citizenry,” she said. “As we begin to move forward, we’ll start to see some of the elements people are most interested in, based on timing and what we think the budget will likely be.”

Cornett said he’s always aware of the risk of city residents dividing themselves into regional sectors without appreciating the larger picture.
“Our citizens realize how important downtown is to the continuity of the city,” he said. “The quality of life, even in the other municipalities and the suburbs is affected by the vibrancy of downtown. And you’ve got to buy into that; you’ve got to realize that the excitement that the Ford Center and the canal and the ballpark all bring to Oklahoma City, brings a vibrancy 10 or 15 miles out away from the city’s core.”

Salyer, who represents one of the inner city wards, agreed with Cornett that Core to Shore projects will win support across Oklahoma City’s 620 square miles.

“As a former New Yorker, the value of Central Park to the entire five boroughs of central New York is unquantifiable,” she said. “There are great parks in other parts of the city, but Central Park is such an important gathering place for everybody in the community. It’s iconic. I think Oklahoma City deserves something like that of its own.”

If you go to the article on the Journal Record, there are two more articles about it.