By KEVIN CANFIELD
The Frontier
The Tulsa City Council’s Arkansas River Infrastructure Task Force this morning agreed on a $298 million proposal to build and/or overhaul four low-water dams in the Arkansas River.
The dams would be built and/or renovated in Sand Springs, Tulsa (Zink Dam), Jenks and Bixby.
Here are the highlights of the proposal:
COSTS
Dams – $238.8 million
Operations and Maintenance – $30 million
Bonding – $25 million
Levee repairs – $4.2 million
FUNDING MECHANISM
Residents of Sand Springs, Tulsa, Jenks and Bixby would be asked to dedicate 0.3 percent of a Vision 2025 sales tax renewal to fund the projects.
The tax would run 11 years beginning in January 2017.
The 0.6 percent Vision 2025 sales tax expires at the end of 2016.
The package would be primarily a pay-as-you-go program with some aspects bonded.
WHAT’S NEXT
Each community will hold public meetings in this summer to discuss the proposal. The River Infrastructure Task Force will incorporate the public’s input into its final proposal before it is voted on in the fall.
Note: Each community will call and conduct its own vote on the dam proposal, but the outcome of the election will be based on the total votes cast.
For example, should the proposal fail in Bixby and Sand Springs but the overall vote count be in favor of the dams, the proposal would pass and the dams would be constructed in all four communities.
TULSA PUBLIC MEETINGS
All meetings begin at 6 p.m.
June 10 – Martin Regional Library, 2601 S. Garnett Road.
June 15 – Hardesty Regional Library, 8316 E. 93rd St. South
June 22 – Rudisill Regional Library, 1520 N. Hartford Ave.
June 29 – Jewish Federation of Tulsa, 2021 E. 71st St.
July 1 – Perkins Family Auditorium, OU-Tulsa Learning Center, 4502 E. 41st St.
TIMELINE
The dams would be built over the next decade, with completion expected in 2025.
The order of work would be Tulsa/Zink dam, Jenks dam, Sand Springs dam and Bixby dam.
