Before the May 3, 1999 tornado, equestrian barns occupied the far northwest corner of Tinker Air Force Base.
After the tornado, a state of the art softball complex was built, and now, some 14 years later, base leadership is turning to Midwest City for help during a time they are seeing funding cuts.
On Tuesday, Jan. 14, Midwest City councilmembers voted to allow city staff to move forward with negotiations with TAFB to eventually take over the operations and maintenance of the complex, located at SE 29th Street and Sooner Road. The city will not buy the complex but instead enter into a long-term lease, possibly 25 years, with the base, according to a memo by Assistant City Manager Tim Lyon.
Vaughn Sullivan, community services director, said in time the city’s current adult softball program in Regional Park will be moved to the base sports complex. He did not know how long the process would take but commented it would not be until all of the necessary public improvements were complete, which could take up to one to two years.
Lyon also wrote in the memo that by approving the softball complex concept, councilmembers would allow for a $30,000 budget transfer so that city staff could start the lengthy lease process that includes costs for appraisals, fence designs and a security study.
All of the information on costs collected will ultimately be submitted for the 2014-2015 fiscal year budget, Lyon wrote.
In order for the complex to have public access, the proposed partnership would require a new perimeter fence to be installed to separate the complex from the rest of the base, and include a new gated road entry.
Sullivan told councilmembers that while the complex was well-built, it has not been properly maintained the last three or four years. He said his staff is excited about the partnership opportunity.
"It’s exciting. These types of partnerships are happening all over the country and Midwest City is on the cutting edge of this."
In other council news, City Manager Guy Henson reported that the city’s sales tax receipts, reported by the Oklahoma Tax Commission, were up for January with a $127,000 increase.
In a more disputed item, the council approved the submitted plat of Caliber Estates, a proposed single family residential development located near 1001 N. Cedar Drive. The item had been discussed numerous times before by councilmembers and included residential protests against the development.
Residents once again voiced their concerns, saying that streets improvements were needed.
In the end, the council approved the plat and agreed not to make the developer pay for half-street improvements and sidewalks.
Finally, councilmembers approved an ordinance regarding animal shelter fees. New fees added included $5 for vaccinations administered by the city for owners reclaiming their animal. Then for animal adoptions, the fee was changed from $10 to $20 and rabies vaccination fees went from $10 to $15.
Fees the remained the same include: $5 for boarding and $8 for the tranquilization (before or during the process of being taken to the shelter) of reclaimed animals. Adoption fees are $30 to sterilize animals and $15 for owners of an unadoptable animal surrendered to the city.
