‘Tireless advocate' of Bricktown Association resigns
By Steve Lackmeyer
Business Writer


Frank Sims, director of the Bricktown Association, surprised members Tuesday by quitting his post but retaining control over the district's office, visitor center and gift shop.

Sims led the association since 2001, and during the past year he oversaw the organization of merchants and owners through power outages, gang violence that threatened the entertainment district last summer and disagreements over property appearance and parking.

"I have been involved in the Bricktown Association for more than five years, and it literally has just gotten to a point that it is six to seven days a week, 10 hours a day,” Sims said. "I'm not complaining about the work, but it is overwhelming.”

Sims, who also publishes the tourist publication Key Magazine, was on a contract with the association, and he separately holds the lease for his office and the visitor center in the Oklahoma Hardware Building.

Sims denied any acrimony led up to his resignation. In December, Jim Cowan, owner of the Bricktown Brewery, stepped down after serving multiple terms as association chairman. During one of his final meetings as chairman, he complained about a disconnect between owners and merchants in regard to issues facing the district, including parking.

"For five years, we've all agreed to agree and disagree,” Sims said. "As Bricktown becomes a destination for travelers, there are more personalities involved, and everyone has the common goal of making Bricktown a bigger and better place.”

John Allgood, the current association chairman, said he was surprised by the resignation and didn't know about Sims' intention to continue operating a Bricktown Visitor Center and gift shop.

"We're going to meet as a board next week and look where we are at for 2007 and make some decisions on what direction we want to go with an executive director,” Allgood said. "I think it's more about what we want the Bricktown Association to be. What's the purpose? We need to promote Bricktown, draw more people and become a self-sufficient association.”

Allgood called Sims "a committed employee” and said he had hoped he would stay as director.

"It's going to be hard to replace Frank, but there are a lot of good people out there,” Allgood said.

Chad Huntington, who operates Bricktown's water taxis and is an association board member, said he's uncertain about the association's future direction.

"It's going to be incredibly difficult to fill his shoes and maybe impossible,” Huntington said. "Frank was a tireless advocate for Bricktown and saw us through some very difficult and challenging times. I give Frank much of the credit for much of the success the association has had in the past five years.”

Cowan said he learned about the resignation Tuesday only 45 minutes before the association's members meeting.

"I don't know all the details,” Cowan said. "I know it's a very difficult and demanding position, and you have to answer to a lot of people. There are so many mixes down here ... trying to make so many people happy I'm sure is a major, major challenge.”

Sims resignation will be effective March 1 — just one week before thousands of out-of-towners are expected downtown for the Big 12 Basketball Tournament. The director historically worked with police and merchants on parking and traffic controls, coordination of staffing at restaurants and clubs and special event festivals.

Brett Hamm, president of Downtown Oklahoma City Inc., said his organization and other downtown "stakeholders” will work with the association so the resignation doesn't detract from the tournament.

"It's tough timing with the Big 12 and centennial celebrations coming up,” Hamm said. "But challenges can provide us with opportunities. I think we will all pull together to make sure downtown is covered overall.”






Hopefully this will be a chance to get some stronger, more forward thinking leadership in place.

Yes, exactly, hopefully someone more forward thinking and open minded will get in there..

Not saying he was terrible at the job, but it would be good to get someone in there that can propel a plan to get more retail, more residential, and some more entertainment anchors. There needs to be something done on the canal level where there are still dirt piles up against some buildings.

JBrown84 & Metro:

You're being pretty tough on Frank Sims, aren't you? Last time I checked, Frank Sims doesn't own any parking lots in Bricktown. He isn't charging $5 to $10 to park there. He's not the city official who leased the vacant land on the north side of Main Street to existing parking lot owners a few years ago so that they could... you guessed it... develop 700 more paid parking spaces. But go ahead, sit there and criticize Frank Sims for not bringing more retail to Bricktown. Oh, and while you're busy criticizing, you might try to figure out a plan to entice clothing stores, furnitures, and other retailers to lease $20-$30 per square foot space in property that's unsupported by free parking. If you can figure it out, then maybe you can become the next Executive Director of Bricktown.

I'm not a fan of posters who only show up because of a personal or financial interest, but anyway...

You can't blame Frank Sims for not bringing in retail or anything else. He's not a Randy Hogan who was given a terrific opportunity to create something special and didn't. Bricktown is dominated by property owners who have their own individual business interests. Bricktown is a living, breathing urban district that's really only made up of parts that make up a whole. There is not as much cohesive activity as you would think; it's not a lifestyle center with one management company.

Safety and marketing are one thing; development is not in the Association's realm, not with one staff member. If any active business development plan for Bricktown were to be drawn up, it most likely would also involve Downtown OKC, the chamber, OCURA and the city. As with the downtown grocery study, it would be DOKC and the chamber taking charge.

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I was simply suggesting we could get someone with more vision.

Actually, IMO that's the problem. I don't think the members of the association want someone to execute a vision. They probably just want a manager. I wish it wasn't that way.

__________________
True greatness requires many fathers.

For a good time, see http://www.okchornets.com/

bricktown life, if you're going to quote and criticize as well, then get your facts straight. I never complained about parking neither lack of or the cost, I also never mentioned anything about anything else you said. like floater said, i'm not a big fan of someone who shows up because they have a personal or financial interest in it. looks like you just joined the site and this is your first post (sure seems like you might have a personal interest to me). the only thing I said, was that I hope they get someone more forward thinking and visionary in there. like floater also said, that's the thing, the Bricktown Association doesn't seem to be forward thinking nor do they seem they have a desire to. they always seem reactive rather than pro-active. and FYI, I have thought about the Exec. Director position. I was previously Exec. Director of another nonprofit downtown organization.

first of all frank and parking...........that is not an issue, he cant control that because the owners of the parking lots have to have a reason to justify their debt...........sometimes people dont understand that this is a business, if you pay a million dollars or three million (which happened a few months ago) for a piece of land you dont just let people park for free to spend their money eleswhere!!!! this is america..........now about frank simms he used bt for his interest w/ the key magazine...............it was a conflict of interest, the property owners should decide the direction bt should go instead of the leasees....dont you agree who is going to be there longer..................leasees come and go owners are there until the sell

I like the Key Magazine for the most part. I'm glad he will still do that.

however he is still doing that out of the br assoc office they rented.........funny he put the lease in his name.............now that is conflict of interest dont you agree...........i am not saying that the publication is bad!!!!!!!!

What's the story with Bricktown leader's resignation?
By Steve Lackmeyer
Business Writer

In its 27-year history as an entertainment district, Bricktown has almost always been a marketplace where competing dreams, ambitions, jealousy, neglect and pure greed made for juicy stories.

This, perhaps, is one of those stories.

The area's merchants, property owners, police — maybe even its dedicated panhandlers — are in rare agreement that Frank Sims may be the one individual who could effectively lead the Bricktown Association as its director.

He keeps day hours, handling matters with property owners, merchants and city officials, and he also is known to work late into the night, ensuring the district's nightclubs don't get too unruly. He's a salesman, pitching both local groups and out-of-towners on the excitement of spending a day in the warehouse district. And he's also a well-known figure in city and state government, and he is a member of the state tourism commission.

So Sims shocked many of the area's merchants when he quit last week, citing a heavy workload.

Some don't believe that. The association was a dysfunctional group throughout the 1990s and was dormant when it was revived with Sims as its director in 2001. From the start of business, he wore two hats: association director and publisher of Key, a tourist magazine.

Most merchants I've spoken to say they've never had a problem with that dual role, because they believe Sims has helped navigate the district through some serious growing pains, including gang violence that erupted last summer. But a segment of property owners wanted Sims to drop the magazine. They simply didn't like the idea that he could be running a profitable operation that benefited from his position in Bricktown.

But the association's directors continued to approve yearly management contracts with Sims that allowed the arrangement, including his lease of space in the Oklahoma Hardware Building for a Bricktown Visitor Center, gift shop and office. But at the latest officers meeting for the non-profit group, members from the merchants' side had a poor showing. By a one-vote margin in this closed meeting, the officers agreed to pay all the association's bills and to delay paying Sims until membership dues started rolling in over the following months.

This account is provided by people who were in the room, people on both sides of the vote. Yet they seem to have genuinely been surprised by Sims' resignation, and they privately acknowledge they don't know what's next for Bricktown.

The search for a replacement is expected to begin this week. The new director will assume Sims' task of ensuring a smooth visit for the thousands of fans expected to attend the Big 12 Basketball Tournament in March, as well as for Centennial festivities that will follow throughout the year. Beyond that, the new director will face increased tension between merchants and property owners, and the emergence of new players who come with their own ideas of what's next for an entertainment district admired by communities across the state.

Bricktown interim director named

By Steve Lackmeyer
Business Writer

Jim Cowan, owner of the Bricktown Brewery, is being named an interim director of the Bricktown Association.
John Allgood, chairman of the non-profit organization, said the veteran Bricktown merchant will work with existing director, Frank Sims, through his departure on March 1 to ensure the entertainment district is prepared the upcoming Big 12 Basketball Tournament.

Allgood said Cowan will stay on as director until a replacement for Sims is hired.

Could you even tell Frank Sims from Adam?

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Yes frank already had the apple.........conflict of interest dont ya think

parking has nothing to do with frank sims, he favored the ones who bought ads in his key magazine,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,as a person and businesss man frank..ok but this is conflict of intrest...........the owners and lessees should work together to make bt a better place

it kills me that you guys keep on bitching about parking, the parking lords will always have the sames bank notes to cover, so things are never going to change period..........lets look at mickey mantles which has made a mint...........or zios......this is not a mall...........there is no garfields

Do I know what he looks like? Not really but what the heck does that matter?

I was actually in Bricktown this afternoon and I met Frank Sims in the Bricktown Visitor's Center. We spoke for a little while on certain topics regarding the state of Bricktown. He is very unyielding in the idea of free parking and more retail for Bricktown and I agreed with him throughout most of our conversation. The only thing I really disagreed with was his approval for the location of Bass Pro Shops.

By the way, if you ever get a chance, stop by the Bricktown Visitor's Center. Be sure to give your ideas and input. I had some suggestions for the place and the clerk listened very receptively. I also put in a word for www.okctalk.com while I was there.

I noticed they now have banners for the Vistors Center on the Oklahoma Hardware Building with big question marks on them. I liked them, and it will help people know it exists.

well used the bt assoc to get the visitors center

huh?

subject + verb + object

johnnyboy your post doesn't make any sense, in fact they rarely ever do.

I agree with metro and jbrown84. Completely incoherent thread, Brett. Truthfully, I can't tell whether you make more sense at 3 a.m. or when you wake up to count your parking $$$ at noon the next day?

well even if i make sense or not, frank still has a conflict of interest......agree..right frank..........you would have never rented a place under your name instead of the bt assoc....