Oklahoma County proposes bond to buy GM plant

[metro]

Okla. County proposes bond to buy GM plant
The Journal Record
March 12, 2008

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma County residents will be asked to approve a $55 million bond issue in May to purchase the empty General Motors plant so it can be leased to Tinker Air Force Base, County Commissioner Ray Vaughn said Tuesday.

The county’s three-member board of commissioners is expected to vote today to set a May 13 countywide election date. Vaughn said that if the issue is approved the 3.8 million-square-foot plant and the 430 acres it sits on could be back in use before the end of the year.

“This purchase is an expansion, of course, and is critical to the creation of more jobs and the continued growth of our economy,” Vaughn said. “Tinker is so important to our entire state, with more than 27,000 Oklahomans from 48 different counties commuting and working on base. The General Motor facility served as the worksite for thousands of Oklahomans over the years and everyone involved is anxious to see Oklahomans back in this facility.”

General Motors shut down its sport-utility vehicle assembly line at the plant two years ago, eliminating about 2,500 union jobs. The building has been vacant since then. The automaker was unwilling to sell the property until recently.

Local government officials have been negotiating with GM for about a year, and a deal was finalized Monday, Vaughn said. By law, the county can pay only the property’s appraised value; he said the agreed-upon price was slightly less than that. If the question passes, the bond issue would increase the property tax on a $100,000 home by 82 cents per month, officials said. Vaughn and others said the public would benefit by the creation of jobs and by helping maintain Tinker’s competitive position in a tight market.

Brig. Gen. Judy Fedder said the plant space could easily house operations currently spread throughout 69 buildings on base, thus allowing badly needed expansion and renovations and improving efficiency overall. Many of those buildings, which lie in runway clear zones, would be demolished. The GM facility would become the Tinker Aerospace Complex for the 76th Maintenance Wing operations.

If voters support the plan, the U.S. Air Force would pay for nearly $4 million in infrastructure upgrades to the property and spend from $50 million to $100 million over five years to make it usable for military purposes, Fedder said. About a third of the plant is expected to be occupied by private sector businesses involved in supporting the military aeronautics industry.

Officials were unable to predict what sort of businesses would be sought. The full slate of questions for the May county election is expected to include other issues for disaster funds and county building upgrades. Each issue will be voted on separately, for a total of $84.5 million.

[Pete]

I fear people may be a bit taxed-out.

Besides, I'd rather the local government takes a breather on these initiatives because we'll need every bit of goodwill to pass MAPS 3, which will likely be needed to make Core 2 Shore more than just a pipe dream.

[metro]

I agree. Some of us pro-everything progressive voters might support it, but with so many tax/bond elections lately, I think taxpayers need a break. We MUST past MAPS 3 so we can't burn our bridges before that. Unfortunately, this is a County issue and not a city issue so Mick Cornett and Roy Williams don't really get a say so, unless they want to spearhead a campaign and start fundraising. Since this is more for MWC's benefit, perhaps we should let them spearhead any advertising campaign. The county will be the ones to set up an election.

[Pete]

Core to Shore is simply a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we can't let pass.

When the old I-40 comes down, the city is going to have a huge ugly mess on it's hands unless they are prepared to at least go forward with the boulevard and Central Park. Think about how that area would look to NBA fans coming out of the fancy new Ford Center!

And we need to make sure these projects are done right from the outset. It would be a crime to slap up some lousy road and have a bunch of junk yards between the main exits of the new interstate and our CBD.

I realize this is county-led but I wouldn't be surprised if it failed. Core to Shore will be tough enough but certainly marketable as it's a bunch of sexy projects being promoted by leaders with a great track record in OKC.

[RoboNerd]

If there were already a plan in place for the GM plant, then sure, I'd be for it.

As it stands? Heck no. Why should taxpayers get screwed yet again by GM by giving them top dollar for a facility that's worthless to anyone except a car maker?

So far "Right to Work" has done a lovely job keeping our manufacturing jobs in the state, hasn't it? Delta, Dayton, GM... see ya in Korea!

[Pete]

There is also a strong argument that property owners shouldn't be the only ones to have to pay for this. Why penalize those that own their own homes and businesses?

[jbrown84]

So you blame it on Right to Work? More likely Right to Work was too late. The unions here had already pissed GM off too much.

[bornhere]

The unions and right to work had nothing to do with GM closing the plant.

As for Roy Williams (and by extension, the chamber), there's nothing to stop him from involving himself in this. I assume he and the chamber have already been involved, and may even be the real movers on this.

There is also a strong argument that property owners shouldn't be the only ones to have to pay for this. Why penalize those that own their own homes and businesses?

That's the only way I know of that you can do a GO bond issue. Another option would be industrial revenue bonds, backed by the lease payments from Tinker and the businesses that will presumably be filling the remainder of the building.

[Kerry]

bornhere - I am sure Rick Wagoner at GM would disagree with you.

[bornhere]

Other than the relatively new Solstice, when was the last time you saw anyone standing in a parking lot or driveway admiring a GM product?

That's not because the godless UAW refused to work for 7-Eleven wages.

[Kerry]

Well, maybe if they could pay designers more and production workers less they could design a better product. However, they still sell more cars in the world than anyone else but make less profit per car so you tell me how that happens. According to their CEO, GM spends more on health care for retirees than they do on steel.

[bombermwc]

Small soap box here. OK, first off, the UAW managed to squeeze unheard of wages for jobs that don't deserve them. It's been said time and time again all over the country that auto workers make far more than they should...and it's because they piss and moan and then strike. An assembly line worker does not need to make 50K a year folks. There were people that worked there with barely a high school education making that much by screwing a part on a car....i personally know them. A MAJOR problem in the automobile industry was that employees priced themselves out of the job...and at a time when U.S. car sales are declining rapidly. You can't expect to keep all these plants open with these salaries with such low sales....it's bad economics.

And as Kerry said, retirement packages are choking the industry...and others. It's like social security. They offer these great packages 50 years ago and get stuck with them while the people who work now have to pay for it and will never get a benefit out of it.

GM has been trying to downsize so much for many many reasons. One huge issue is that they often times only compete against themselves. People who buy Olsmobile also buy Buick and not Honda....which is why Olds got tossed. It's a LONG term plan to get things put back together, but it was never a surprise.

I for one am a support of the right-to-work. I don't think anyone should be forced to join a union whether they want to or not. If i don't want in the union, then don't make me and dont make me pay dues. It's the unions responsibility to convince me to join...not force me. Unions today are a joke compared to what they were origionally made for. We aren't battling life-threating conditions with child labor and pennies on the day salaries....we're pissing about wanting another 5K bonus with a dental plan that covers our braces.

[jbrown84]

Well said bomber!

[bornhere]

Yeah, maybe they could have hired more designers. But they woudln't have. Even if GM workers had agreed to taking minimum wage, GM would have built exactly the same cars they built anyway and spent the difference on executive salaries. And the cars would sell exactly the way they've been selling and GM would be blaming someone else - anybody but its own decision-makers - for the situation.

GM has been trying to downsize so much for many many reasons. One huge issue is that they often times only compete against themselves. People who buy Oldsmobile also buy Buick and not Honda....which is why Olds got tossed.

Exactly so. Except... who do you know that looks forward to buying a Buick?

[windowphobe]

The Chinese, for one, are major Buick fans; the most recent Park Avenue was debuted, not at a US auto show, but in Shanghai. I wouldn't mind having something like that, but they aren't going to sell it here.

Buick reintroduces the Park Avenue...in China - Autoblog

[bombermwc]

Im not saying that they have a bad product, but I'm saying the whole stupid company has it's prorities in the wrong place...including the assembly line workers. Like everyone else in the auto industry, they need to collectively pull their heads out of their rears before they all lose their jobs completely, of their own doing.

I actually don't dislike Buick myself. My grandparent's have always only bought Buick and we had a Skylark when I was little. They aren't bad cars. They are super flashy, but they are good solid family cars.

[AFCM]

Back on topic: Here I am, not sure on how to feel about this proposal. I am all in favor of Tinker aquiring the old GM plant. I want to see Tinker become the 'super-base' I think it will become when BRAC starts to consolidate DOD resources. In fact, this one hit close to home: A unit at my old base, the 726th Air Control Squadron stationed at Mountain Home, is coming to Tinker as a result of BRAC. This means Tinker is picking up a new mission and more will likely follow, along with more federal dollars being pumped into the OKC economy. This is a good thing.

However, I'm not sure why the AF would only lease the plant and not aquire it outright. What's the deal with the lease? Does anyone know how the legalities of this would all work?

Again, it is in the best interest of the city for Tinker to keep growing. San Antonio is booming with DOD dollars and adding more and more jobs by the year because of BRAC. OKC should follow suit as I think it will. Like the vote on March 4th, I support the thing as a whole, but there are also a few smaller issues outlined that I don't agree with.

[Midtowner]

Well, the property looks blighted to me.

Why can't the county just acquire it through eminent domain and get it to Tinker through that sort of an apparatus? They'd still have to pay fair market value, but really.. what fair market value is left in an obsolete, run down car plant? I'd almost think GM would want out from under this thing just because of the property taxes involved.

[AFCM]

Why can't the county just acquire it through eminent domain and get it to Tinker through that sort of an apparatus? They'd still have to pay fair market value, but really.. what fair market value is left in an obsolete, run down car plant? I'd almost think GM would want out from under this thing just because of the property taxes involved.

That's what I don't understand. I'm speculating that Tinker wants to show the AF and DOD what capabilities exist in the plant, hoping they'll purchase the property altogether. I praise the military leadership at Tinker for trying to do what's best for the base, but I just don't understand why they won't buy the property outright.

[OKCMallen]

If there were already a plan in place for the GM plant, then sure, I'd be for it.

As it stands? Heck no. Why should taxpayers get screwed yet again by GM by giving them top dollar for a facility that's worthless to anyone except a car maker?

So far "Right to Work" has done a lovely job keeping our manufacturing jobs in the state, hasn't it? Delta, Dayton, GM... see ya in Korea!

Unions have made wageworkers unaffordable. Right to work was too late to save the jobs. Do you think automanufacturers ENJOY unions?

[mmonroe]

If tinker leases the place, are they then not responsible for the property tax and just the county? But then, can the county just not pay the property tax? Just curious.

[bornhere]

Why can't the county just acquire it through eminent domain and get it to Tinker through that sort of an apparatus? They'd still have to pay fair market value, but really.. what fair market value is left in an obsolete, run down car plant? I'd almost think GM would want out from under this thing just because of the property taxes involved.

Eminent domain against GM? Eminent domain is for taking property from the peons, not from people who can muster a brigade of lawyers to fight back.

If the county buys the property, there won't be any property tax. Government-owned property is exempt from property taxes. It would also be exempt from property tax if DOD bought it outright.

And as for what union workers make, I think Oklahoma waived the right to complain about what anyone makes when they decided they needed to give tax incentives to create jobs for NBA players.

[Midtowner]

Yes, eminent domain can absolutely be used to take this property. I don't even know if GM would fight that so long as the settlement offer is something they can swallow. I think they'd possibly even take a lowball settlement. Consider that the fair market value of that particular piece of property might be rather low considering what stands on it and the current tax situation -- factors which would go into a computation like that.

A recent Oklahoma Supreme Court case could really pave the way for the blight determination here. Swarms of lawyers and buckets of money can't stop the state from exercising its powers.

GM is a business. At this point in their corporation's history, I'm sure they're familiar with the term "cut your losses."

[soonerguru]

Oklahoma has never been a powerful union state. The reason the plant closed is they started building trucks there nobody wanted. It's pretty simple, really. If people don't want your products you can't stay in business.

The problem at GM is a failure of imagination and marketing, not labor disputes.

[mmonroe]

I believe if the GM plant was taken by eminent domain, it would send the wrong message to other corporations that it could happen to them. Makes a bad rep for the state in my opinion.