Something about the fact that there had to be a street maintenance package leads me to believe these dams may be in that kind of shape at some point in the future. I guess I am just pessimistic today.
That and I just don't like the idea that we are messing with nature. I'm no tree huger, but this to me adds no real value to anything, and to boot it costs a boat load of money, and does not solve a problem. Heck there really isn't even a perceived problem with the river except that it doesn't look the way people think it should...which is not a real problem.
I live in Bartlesville which was founded along the banks of the Caney river. The river used to be a part of every day life around here (fishing, swimming, etc) until damns started going in upstream. Then downtown started flooding every 20 years (in the 100 year flood plane). Fixing one problem always seems to cause another unexpectedly.
My guess is the "problem" that will be caused by this is that these are supposed to spur economic development, but 10 years from now we will need more taxpayer dollars to actually do so.
Again, me being pessimistic probably.
Last edited by Eric; 04-06-2016 at 04:02 PM. Reason: Thought of more.
I think it a crying out loud shame to dam it up. But my view is a bit skewed. I collect indian artifacts and the river is a great source for recovery. I usually drive once or twice a year and spend the weekend at Sand Springs hunting. IMO, it'd be a shame for some of these relics to be lost forever.
Does anyone know the extent of how much surface (and where) will be covered ?
The river already isn't natural. The Keystone dam makes sure of that with the dam usually being mostly closed except during peak power generation hours. The current irregular flow isn't at all natural.
The first dam just replaces the current Zink dam at 33rd Street, it won't greatly change the size of Zink Lake. The second will impound water for 3-4 miles from 103rd Street to past 71st Street.
The Creek Nation's portion of the funding is for an $18 million endowment for upkeep.
Where did you find that, because this is the last I saw...
Tulsa, Jenks and Creek leaders clarify dam funding plans | FOX23
Arkansas River project: Proposed south Tulsa/Jenks dam could be in limbo due to funding questions - Tulsa World: GovernmentThe Muscogee (Creek) Nation notified city officials in a Feb. 15 letter that it would not commit to providing funding “at the present time” to the river project, which is still pending approval from Jenks and Tulsa voters on April 5. City leaders have asked the Creek Nation for $18 million.
The money was to be used as a permanent endowment for maintenance of two dams proposed on the Arkansas River — a new Zink Dam and one between south Tulsa and Jenks.
The lack of a firm commitment is due to a new Chief being elected. The new Chief and the tribal council have said they will take up the funding request now that the vote has passed.
The Creek Nation has about half a billion dollars invested in developments on the section of the river impacted by the south dam between the Casino, Riverwalk and iFly Golf. The tribe also has a lot of land left to develop on this area of the river. They own the land north of The Riverwalk on the west bank to about 81st and have the land on the east bank south of the Casino to 91st and north of the Casino to about 77th. All of that becomes more valuable with the dam.
Combine everything the Creek Nation has here on the river with The Oklahoma Aquarium and the Simon outlet mall in Jenks on the west bank and this is going to be a good tourist spot. Jenks just gave the final approval for the TIF for the outlet mall last week.
not to derail, but Maps 4 Kids was an OKC city initiative. OKC spans multiple school districts, so schools in those districts that reside in OKC city limits participated/received funding. Maps 4 kids did not fund suburb schools (like Edmond High, for example) that did not reside within the city of OKC limits. ...
just wanted to clarify, all OKC MAPS have been city, not metro.
Oklahoma City, the RENAISSANCE CITY!
Hopefully, this will only affect a small measure of the Vision 2025 initiative which garnered 64% of the vote. It's important that Tulsa keeps the same momentum that Oklahoma City has with MAPS.None of the other local municipal tax measures that were part of the April 5 Vision vote are affected. The unaffected measures include three city of Tulsa propositions that are expected to raise about $800 million for public safety, economic development and public transit. Those taxes take effect Jan. 1.
Our two largest metropolitan areas need local support for initiatives like MAPS & Vision 2025 to keep up with the current trends to make both cities attractive to business & industry seeking to expand into our state. Especially at a time when the State has hit a financial shortfall--making deep cuts to the bone.
Some dates are now being applied to the Vision projects:
The new pedestrian bridge at The Gathering Place will be built in 2018
New Zink Dam at The Gathering Place will be built in 2019
The Convention Center expansion/renovation/conversion of old arena in 2019
Gilcrease Museum expansion built in 2020
Tulsa Zoo Expansion in 2020
South Tulsa/Jenks dam built around 2024
http://kotv.images.worldnow.com/libr...00852ef67d.pdf
Thanks Swake. I spoke with one of the "internal" people at Gilcrease recently and they said the expansion is still in the very early design/planning stages (the renderings we were given beforehand are, of course, not the final product), but they hope to pick things up soon.
Looking at the PDF you provided, if all this follows the reported timelines, it appears over half of all the Vision projects will be completed by 2022. Not too bad.
Just the south dam at 103rd St which won't be built for another 5 years at the earliest. I don't doubt the Creek Nation will financially support the dam they have way too much invested around the river in this area, both on the Tulsa side with their $400 million casino/hotel and on the Jenks side with Riverwalk Crossing and Flying Tee.
Tulsa could probably have funded a streetcar with Vision if they'd combined the funding for the BMX headquarters and various suburban business park incentives.
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