Newswire: June 3-16

The future of the former Turkey Mountain outlet site

The Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition is seeking to raise $3.2 million to purchase the land formerly slated for an outlet mall on Turkey Mountain’s topography. 

After months of increasingly active civic objection to the Simon Properties proposal, the company abandoned the plan; however, the site is still available for commercial development. Simon and the City of Jenks announced May 21 that Tulsa Premium Outlets would instead be built across the Creek Turnpike from the Oklahoma Aquarium on a 300-acre pre-cleared lot.

The mall was originally proposed for 48 privately owned acres near the intersection of 61st Street and U.S. Highway 75 and neighboring Turkey Mountain’s Urban Wilderness Area and the Westside YMCA. As of late May, Simon hadn’t released the property but was expected to within days. 

New TPS exec seeking feedback

To form a five-year strategic plan with Tulsa Public Schools’ board of education, the office of incoming Superintendent Deborah Gist has launched an online survey for area teachers, parents, students and other residents. 

The survey includes potential improvement priorities for classrooms and the district as well as programs or procedures that should be left unchanged under the new administration. It’s available in Spanish and English at tulsaschools.org/survey through June 17. 

2015 legislative session reaches budget deal, wraps a week early 

In the state legislative session’s final week, the two houses reached an agreement on a $7.14 billion budget for fiscal year 2016. Working with $611 million less than the year before, the legislature is pulling $150 million from the state’s “rainy day fund” and another $50 million from the unclaimed property fund.  

Eight agencies, including the Department of Corrections and Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, will get budget increases, and 49 are bracing for cuts of up to 7.25 percent. Despite state Superintendent Joy Hofmeister’s calls for teacher raises, common education is among 12 departments receiving flat funding for 2016. 

Two $25 million bond issues were passed to finance the completion of OKC’s American Indian Cultural Center and Museum and the OKPOP Museum planned at Archer and Boston. Both bond issues failed during the 2014 session, and the House only approved OKPOP on a reconsideration vote during the session’s last day. The measure had failed on May 21 by a 44-49 count after several representatives questioned whether the state should be funding museums.

Approved in 1994, state funding for the OKC museum went on the backburner in 2012 thanks to multiple cost overruns. Since then, the construction site near the intersection of I-40 and I-35 has sat unfinished. The property will be sold to Oklahoma City upon completion.

The OKPOP Museum is scheduled to open in November 2018 under the Oklahoma Historical Society.

Change of counsel

To protect “investigative integrity,” Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler announced May 20 his request to be recused from an inquiry into the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office following the April 2 killing of Eric Harris by a now-former reserve deputy. Kunzweiler opted out to avoid any perception that his previous legal work with the office would taint the investigation. Prior to the request, he publicly announced his support for the inquiry. 

In light of Kunzweiler’s decision, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has appointed Okmulgee County District Attorney Rob Barris to oversee the investigation. 

TCSO’s reserve deputy program remains suspended until at least September while its program records are under review. Sheriff Stanley Glanz told the Tulsa World on May 26 that the office hopes to have the program back up and running in time for the Tulsa State Fair.