Luncheons ‘map’ out Oklahoma City’s tax plan details
BY JESSE OLIVAREZ
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Published: October 22, 2009
Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett on Wednesday kicked off a series of luncheons designed to inform voters about the MAPS 3 project.
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More events planned
→Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett has scheduled two more Breaking Through luncheons, during which he and other featured speakers will discuss details about MAPS 3. The luncheons will be 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 29 and Nov. 16. Both will be at the Petroleum Club, 100 N Broadway Ave., Suite 3400.
→The cost is $30 for Greater Oklahoma City Chamber members and $35 for nonmembers.
→To register, go to www.okcchamber.com/events.
Cornett launched the Breaking Through luncheon series at the
Skirvin Hilton Hotel. The luncheons are designed to give members of the public an opportunity to learn about the MAPS 3 proposal and ask questions.
The MAPS 3 proposal will ask voters to extend a current penny sales tax in order to pay for $777 million worth of improvements in the city.
The proposal will go before voters Dec. 8.
During his short speech, Cornett revealed details of the proposal and reminded the assembly of the changes the previous MAPS projects have brought to
Oklahoma City.
"The next 10 years in Oklahoma City will be more exciting than the last 10 if we pass MAPS,” he said.
Cornett elaborated on the city’s need for a new convention center and improvements at State Fair Park and along the
Oklahoma River.
Cornett said the
Cox Convention Center does not have the space needed to attract big conventions to the city. He said having a new convention center will allow the city to triple the amount of business it currently attracts from the convention crowd.
Cornett also touched on the need for improvements to the facilities at State Fair Park and how those improvements would be used by everyone during events such as the
Oklahoma State Fair.
He said improvements to the Oklahoma River would include an interactive canoe and kayak facility and a whitewater rafting center. He said having these facilities will help the state retain more of its college graduates and attract well-educated workers from other parts of the country.
"If we’re going to continue to attract our kids and grandkids to live in Oklahoma City you’ve got to come up with some really cool stuff,” he said. "These are some of the amenities that will appeal to that younger generation.”
Cornett closed his address with a plea to those assembled to help get people to vote. He said the biggest issue facing the MAPS 3 proposal is making sure people living in Oklahoma City are well-informed about the MAPS 3 proposal.
"These projects are strong, but we’ve got to communicate them so people truly understand what it is they’re voting for,” he said.
David Thompson, chairman of the
Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, said a lot of work needs to be done in the coming weeks to ensure MAPS 3 succeeds at the polls.
"We have to win this campaign,” Thompson said. "It’s incumbent upon Oklahoma City, if we want to continue to move forward, that MAPS passes. If it does not pass, I say it sets us back 10 years. We cannot let that happen.”
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Jill, as always, hit the nail right on the head. Jill would have been an excellent carpenter. This version eliminates my unnecessary personal recollection as an apprentice carpenter in 1964, 45 years ago, while working my way through OSU in the summer between my junior/senior years. I seemed to have a propensity to hit the wood not the nail. I blame the hammer, to this day.
What MAY BE the secret is that during the MAPS 1 campaign, even though the editorial position of the Oklahoman was pro-MAPS, that fact didn't keep the news "side" of the paper from functioning. Pro/con articles, even an occasional critical article, appeared in the paper. A firewall of some sort must have then existed which kept editorial position and news reporting in separate portions of the Oklahoman's house, which is exactly where they ought to be.
...During his short speech, Cornett revealed details of the proposal...
and the mayor reiterated what he has said many times:
...the biggest issue facing the MAPS 3 proposal is making sure people living in Oklahoma City are well-informed about the MAPS 3 proposal.
"These projects are strong, but we’ve got to communicate them so people truly understand what it is they’re voting for,”
WHERE ARE THE DETAILS that we were told would be coming, "starting in October"? We are 3/4 of the way thru the month.
The Dallas News and the Tulsa World are equal boosters of their central cities.
You make a good point about the audience. The thought is probably to get the supporters to talk up MAPS 3; put on a sticker, so on. Talk with their families and friends. It's a conventional and solid approach.