City to sell parks

[TeeDub]

Apparently the city has found several parks which they may try to sell.   Here is the detail in case anyone likes old parks.

http://www.newson6.com/story/27777989/city-of-tulsa-looking-to-sell-old-unused-parks


Doesn't at least Reed park have a playground, community center and pool?   I know it has a 9 hole disc golf course.

[carltonplace]

Parks or empty lots? The statement is confusing.

I disagree with selling or privatizing a park. Providing and maintaining public green space is one of the core responsiblities of local government.

[LandArchPoke]

Parks or empty lots? The statement is confusing.

I disagree with selling or privatizing a park. Providing and maintaining public green space is one of the core responsiblities of local government.

Hippie 

To Dewey they're just expenses on a spreadsheet he can get rid of so he can tout his economically fiscal conservative super powers. To hell with quality of life and open space. Move to Europe if you want that 

[Conan71]

Some of these properties are literally little more than empty lots.  I’d think those could be turned over to neighborhood associations to maintain if the neighborhood considers it a priority.  Other than mowing and trimming or the occasional coat of paint on playground equipment, there’s really not much to maintain on many of these parks.

[Gaspar]

Some of these properties are literally little more than empty lots.  I’d think those could be turned over to neighborhood associations to maintain if the neighborhood considers it a priority.  Other than mowing and trimming or the occasional coat of paint on playground equipment, there’s really not much to maintain on many of these parks.

We have Helms park in our neighborhood (more accurately, the neighborhood we border with).  It's a city funded park, but beyond the playground equipment an a load of mulch they dump every couple of years, we've never seen the city doing anything to maintain it.  The neighbors take care of mowing, trimming the trees, and repair the equipment.  We plant flowers, paint the grills, rebuild the signs, and even mend the walkways.  Our kids like to play there, so we feel compelled to contribute.

In the back of the park, the neighbors have built a small fenced in community vegetable garden, that unlike what Henderson fears in his district, no one grows pot in.

Community parks must be supported by the communities that value them, public or private.

[carltonplace]

Well sure, community involvement is important. We maintain the highway right of way where it borders us, we landscaped a traffic island, and maintain two little parks in our neighborhood and have a proposal to update a traffic island at the bottom of Cry Baby hill. I plan to plant the new empty lot next door to me this spring (since the new owner states he doesn't care).

Just because you maintain it that doesn't mean that you would want the city to sell it and lose it to another use (like condos) right?

[ARGUS]

Dumb idea to sell parkland.

[Conan71]

Just because you maintain it that doesn't mean that you would want the city to sell it and lose it to another use (like condos) right?

Absolutely not, that was the point I was trying to make.  I really don’t see an issue with maintenance cost to the city on some of these properties.  Don’t sell the property unless the neighborhood residents say they don’t want to maintain it or keep it in the park inventory.

People tend to forget a park is public property which we can either pay for upkeep via taxes or sweat equity.  Sweat equity is the surest way to ensure the parks remain well kept.

Park funding has been an issue in Tulsa for as long as I can remember.  The city fathers don’t see it as an essential priority when we go through a budget crunch so parks usually are the first target for cuts.