Park Department: That's Just Not Cricket

There was a surprisingly interesting exchange between Councilor Roscoe Turner and three employees of the Parks Department who were sent to today's Urban & Economic Development meeting, to address Turner's concerns about a strip of concrete that had been poured in the middle of a baseball field in Maxwell Park.

Turns out the concrete is needed by the local enthusiasts of the British Isle's favorite bat-and-ball sport. Something about needing a consistently hard surface on which to pitch the ball (cricket pitchers bounce the ball to the batter).

Turner wanted to know why the change was made to a baseball field without the public or the council being alerted. The park spokesperson, who seemed perplexed by the whole discussion, explained that the field hadn't been used in over seven years, so in essence, they didn't think anyone would mind.

Turner then explained that the neighborhood kids often liked to use their neighborhood ballpark to play America's past time. This seemed to stump the park people.

What seemed to be at issue, was the definition of the word, "use." Turner defined "use" as kids from the neighborhood playing ball after school or on the weekends, with or without adult supervision. That's pretty much how the kids in my neighborhood (Florence Park) used Florence Park (the park) back in the dark ages of the 1960's.

Increasingly, the professional park people are responding to the change in our culture, which dictates that all activities that kids engage in, must be organized and supervised. You know what I mean. Mom drives "Johnnie" to soccer and then hustles "Suzie" to volleyball and "Becky" to tumbling class.

Our kids' lives have become so structured, that the mere idea of a group of neighborhood kids with a bat, a ball and a smattering of gloves, might want to go to the park down the street to shag some flies without having to contend with a strip concrete in the middle of center field, seems...well...as foreign as cricket.

As Councilor Martinson noted, this situation is "a bit of a sticky wicket."

Randi Miller's Sister Nominated to Oversight Committee

Not editorializing one way or the other, but am simply guessing that no other media outlet will note this fact.

District 2 city councilor Rick Westcott nominated Lugenia Cue to serve on the Sales Tax Oversight Committee. Ms. Cue is the sister of former District 2 councilor Randi Miller, who now, of course, serves as the District 2 county commissioner.

As an added bit of trivia, Rick Westcott, prior to his election as a city councilor, served on the same committee, as one of the two representatives from District 2. I know this, because I nominated him.

Hmmm...maybe if Ms. Cue is elected to be the District 2 councilor in subsequent years, she can name my brother Jeff to the Sales Tax committee. It would be a shame to end a good "cycle."

Mayor Sending Staff to Tout Tax Increase

Mayor Taylor has begun her behind the scenes full-court press to develop support within the City Council for her proposed property tax hike to pay for fire safety.

"Herronner" has instructed policy staffer, Dr. Monica Barczak, to meet with the various counilors to edify them as to why a Fire Protection District in Tulsa is "critically" needed by the city. With a Republican majority on the council, one would normally assume passage of a significant property tax increase would be unlikely, but this council has seemingly preferred commity and decorum over ideology.

Word is, the Fire Protection District is the brainchild of Deputy Mayor and former City Councilor Tom Baker, who is also a former Tulsa Fire Chief. You know it has to be questioned by conservatives when the Tulsa World has begun to heap praise upon the proposal. The editorial writers recently penned,

"Residents might not like the idea of a new tax, even a very
modest one, but the realities of municipal finance in Oklahoma require that
responsible city leaders take on this challenge."

Here we go again. Support a tax hike supported by the Tulsa World, or face being called "irresponsible."

Should the legislature approve this tax district, Tulsans will not only be faced with increased property taxes for Fire Protection Districts, but are also looking at the likelihood of a property tax hike to fund EMSA shortfalls.

Mayor Taylor, who is rumored to be weighing a campaign soon for either John Sullivan's house seat or Jim Inhofe's senate seat, won't be able to garner enough Republican support in a congressional race to win, unless she gets help now, from Republican office holders. She needs to be able to equally lay the blame for tax hikes under her administration in the laps of republicans.

We'll have to stay tuned to see how many of the GOP councilors fall under the say of Dr. Barczak's lobbying.