Tulsa City Council members will decide Wednesday, Nov. 18 whether to spend about $6.6 million in surplus sales-tax money. The proposals cover five projects, including a Brookside parking garage, an airport childcare center and afterschool programs.

The money comes from a temporary economic development sales tax Tulsa voters approved in April 2016. That tax, which expires at the end of 2031, has outperformed projections, leaving $18.5 million available for economic development, the Tulsa Flyer reported.

The ordinance would appropriate $6,594,000 from the 2016 Vision Economic Development Capital Projects Sub-Fund. The council held a first reading during its meeting the week of Nov. 4.

The five projects, as described by the Tulsa Flyer:

  • $2 million toward The Irving, a mixed-use development in Brookside with a 235-space parking garage at 3237 S. Peoria Ave.
  • $1.5 million for a childcare center at Tulsa International Airport
  • $1.5 million to close the funding gap on the BOK Eastside Center for Entrepreneurship at Plaza Santa Cecilia
  • $1 million for afterschool programming at Tulsa Public Schools and Union Public Schools
  • $750,000 for a floodgate replacement at Mohawk Park Golf Course

Afterschool plan draws bidding concerns

Two organizations helped shape the $1 million afterschool proposal: The Opp Project, a Tulsa Community Foundation component fund, and the Yes For Tulsa Kids! Coalition. At a Nov. 4 committee meeting, District 7 Councilor Lori Decter Wright pressed Deputy Mayor Krystal Reyes on whether the city would seek competing bids or award the contract directly to those groups.

Both options remained open, the Tulsa Flyer reported. A sole-source contract would still require committee approval, she said. Decter Wright countered that the decision appeared already made, the Tulsa Flyer reported.

District 5 Councilor Karen Gilbert said she wanted to know more about the two groups' funding and how many schools they serve. District 6 Councilor Christian Bengel supported the program but said the public needs a clear accounting of who operates it and who operates it and how the city reports on the work, according to the Tulsa Flyer.

Reyes said the city would spend about $340,000 in the first year. Pilot programs lasting eight or 16 weeks could launch in the spring semester, she said, according to the Tulsa Flyer.

Brookside garage, airport childcare

The Irving would occupy the former Bank of Oklahoma branch site on Peoria Avenue in Brookside. Its 235 parking spaces would be open to the public at no charge, and the city views the project as a public-private partnership because of that parking component, Erran Persley, the city's economic development director, told the committee, the Tulsa Flyer reported. Persley said the development is expected to open in April 2028.

The Tulsa Flyer described the project's total cost as both $59 million and $61 million in different sections of its report.

District 9 Councilor Carol Bush said there has been "no pushback whatsoever" against the project, citing longstanding parking needs in Brookside.

For the airport childcare center, Alexis Higgins, CEO of the Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust, told the committee that airport funds cannot be used to build a childcare facility. She said the $1.5 million in city funds would provide leverage for seeking state matching dollars. District 3 Councilor Jackie Dutton said the project would help address what she called a childcare desert in northeast Tulsa.

Eastside business center, Mohawk Park floodgate

The BOK Eastside Center for Entrepreneurship is a planned business incubator at Plaza Santa Cecilia, at 21st Street and Garnett Road, aimed at immigrant entrepreneurs. Reyes described it as a roughly $4 million project and said she hopes it will open in August 2027, the Tulsa Flyer reported. The $1.5 million in city funds would help close a remaining funding gap.

District 8 Councilor Phil Lakin recused himself from the committee discussion because of his position as CEO of the Tulsa Community Foundation.

Operator Randy Heckenkemper told the committee that flooding from Bird Creek shut down Mohawk Park Golf Course for more than 60 days in 2025, wiping out about $300,000 in revenue, the Tulsa Flyer reported. The proposed $750,000 floodgate is meant to reduce flood-related closures during high water.

The public can comment on the spending plan at the Nov. 18 council meeting, which begins at 5 p.m.