Tulsa Route 66 Commission starts to get serious with its tasks

The Tulsa Route 66 Commission has met for nearly two years, but the proverbial rubber is meeting the Mother Road with the panel close to finishing its first budget.

The panel’s funding of $262,500 in Vision sales-tax money begins in fiscal year 2019, which means the group must allocate the money by July 1.

According to Public Radio Tulsa:

Initial plans call for $140,000, or 53 percent of the funding, to go toward marketing efforts, including travel to conferences. Commission Vice-Chair Rhys Martin said with growing interest in historic preservation, some conferences offer more than a chance at drawing tourists.

“When I talk about Route 66 to folks that aren’t in the know, they think it’s gone and it doesn’t exist anymore,” Martin said. “And so, when people realize that, you know, over 80 percent of the road is still there and there’s a lot of things to see, you know, the next step is, ‘OK. So, what do we have that needs to be saved?’ And that’s when they get involved.”

The commission’s draft budget includes $30,000 for the placement of 20 large decals, $25,000 for neon sign grants, $20,000 for building facade improvement grants, $13,500 for Route 66 planters and their upkeep, and $4,000 for a strategic reserve.

Another $30,000 goes into a maintenance reserve fund.

Tulsa County has been more aggressive about promoting and improving its Route 66 since voters approved a Vision 2025 sales tax in 2003.

But several of these new items — more marketing, neon-sign grants and building-facade improvements — have a chance to make a dramatic difference in the Tulsa Route 66 corridor’s appearance and viability.

(Image of the Desert Hills Motel sign in Tulsa by gsamx via Flickr)

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