I didn’t realize this was happening until hours ago, but apparently Tulsa Mayor Bill LaFortune wants to piggyback a possible extension of a third-penny sales tax onto Vision 2025 funding to build the proposed Route 66 Interpretive Center.
It’s all there in the city’s news release:
“My river proposal includes using Vision 2025 funds with third-penny funds to create the Route 66 Center and an upscale restaurant opportunity, near 11th Street … “
This is part of a river development plan that totals $19 million. I don’t have a breakdown on the Route 66 portion; I’ll try to get that later.
The proposed third-penny extension, which probably will be voted on in the spring, is a laundry list of public safety expenditures, street improvements and trails that total $437 million.
The package still has to go through the city council, but a Tulsa World report (subscription only) indicates that councilors have given cautious praise to it. And the fact the mayor sought public input on these projects before putting the package together was smart.
If nothing else, this shows that LaFortune has renewed his commitment to the Route 66 Center after several months in which it appeared it was in danger of being placed on the back burner. The center is certainly a more important project for Tulsa and Route 66 than a bunch of streetscaping.
I’ll have more details of this as I get them.