Progress Report con’t

I walk approximately 3 miles per day (did no walking between Nov. 5 and Mar. 3, 2006, as I was too busy with OSU meetings/website, etc, but have started walking again). I usually walk in the neighborhood. The summer of 2006, I was impressed that so many were upgrading their homes/rental properties. Since Nov. 5, 2006 of course, that has stopped. I thought, perhaps, I could report what I see happening around the neighborhood at this point.

9/30/09: Everything in the area has been moved, demolished, etc. since before the first home football game. They have taken down the interior chain link fences. The chain link fences around the perimeter have been left in order to close the streets on game days and prevent “free” parking. It COULD look like a very large, beautiful park at this point; however, it is being mowed and maintained to a minimal degree.

7/20/09: Things are moving, so to speak. Gone: 813 Eskridge; 806 & 920 Duck; 402 & 624 McElroy; 913, 916 & 919 West Street; 611, 617, 1001 & 1005 Tyler; 808, 811 & 812 Knoblock, 1012 & 1017 Hester, 903, 915, 916 & 919 Ramsey and 813 Bellis. To be demolished: 1102 & 1119 Ramsey & 819 Knoblock. Ready to move: 924 Tyler. So basically all of West Street, Hester & Tyler are cleared. Remaining: 819 Knoblock, part of 813 Washington, 1102 & 1119 Ramsey, 1105, 1106, 1107, 1111 & 1114 Bellis, 722-728 (apartment building), 802, 810, & 824 McElroy are remaining.

It seems they are clearing & preparing to begin the indoor practice field across from the stadium. It looks to be 2 blocks between Hall of Fame & Cantwell (South to North) and Hester to Ramsey (East to West).

Hear Pickens went to his boyhood home & took a square of concrete from the sidewalk. The square had his name written on it. I understand he is taking the square of concrete to his current residence. Also heard that Boone’s wife is having his boyhood home moved to their current property as a birthday present for Boone. Seems Boone is a sentimental guy. (Remember, the last paragraph is hearsay.)

4/15/09: It’s been a couple months since I have posted to the site. Since the BP fund lost so much value, the outdoor practice field has again been put on hold. Because they are not able to go ahead with the field, they have re-grated & re-graveled the block lot directly West of Bennet Hall for dorm parking. Great help for the students.

Quite a bit has been done, although there are still several properties left in the area. However, most have been prepared to be moved. And many properties have been moved. Demolished yesterday: 813 Eskridge Ave. The following have been moved rather than demolished, I believe:
Bellis: 903 Eskridge: 519 Ramsey: 911 & 1106
Hester: 813, 903, 912, 917, 920, 1012, 1023 & 1112.
Knoblock: 1100 (the 4 large apt. buildings), 907, 916 & 924
West: 807, 813, 823, 901 & 907
Duck: 816

2/9/09: 820 Ramsey, 1005, 1024,1103,1115,1119 (except for 2 large metal sheds), 1120 & 1124 Hester have now been moved.

10/30/08: Walked the area today. Quite a bit has been done. Moved:817 Bellis: 907 Ramsey, 1124, 1108, 917, 821 & 813 Hester: 624 Tyler, 616 McElroy; 902 Knoblock (garage still in place); 820, 824,906 & 916 Duck.

I am putting a link to news about the oil well drilled here in Stillwater. It seems OSU was able to purchase all the mineral rights of property owners in the acquisition area. According to my “source” OSU has 265 acres in the directional drilling area and will receive royalty associated with those acres. Former owners not only sold their property, but mineral rights which would give them a royalty from this directional drilling project. According to rumors, there are to be 7 wells drilled. As far as I know only one has been completed at this point.

10/28/08: 801 & 805 Eskridge were moved last week. May be another one and I will go around the area soon & report back. Looks like most of the Village is in limbo since the fund has lost so much in this economy recently.

9/27/08: There has not been much progress in demolishing or in moving properties. 840 McElroy has been moved. However, I am not keeping up with the progress as regularly now. My allergies really kicked in and I think, possibly, dust/mold activated by the demolition, etc. may have been the cause. I am now walking on the West side of Washington, but do drive thru the area often.

The area for the indoor practice field is being prepared, but I don’t think construction is planned for the immediate future.

Many students are parking in the acquisition area during the week. However, OSU has fenced all of the acquistion area. Each night before a football game, gates are put up to keep people from parking in the area, but are removed the morning after the game. Will Rogers School is now charging for parking there, with proceeds going to their PTA.

I have posted a couple news articles. One dealing with basketball Coach Ford’s contract and the other with the Pickens’ athletic fund. You might want to view those.

8/1/08: Hall of Fame is opened. Big to-do celebration. 917 Washington was moved from the vacant lot at the corner of McElroy & Washington yesterday.

7/29/08: As I walked this am, I decided to try to update my map. It is very difficult for me to keep track when so many of the houses are moved from their original spot to another vacant lot in the area. This is my update. Just don’t hold me to its accuracy. :-)

818, 912, 913 & 919 Knoblock; demoslished. 816 Ramsey; demolished. 912 & 1124 Hester; gone. 1107 Ramsey, gone. In counting, there are actually over 100 shed, unattached garages & houses to still be moved/demolished. Still lots to do before the area is truly cleared.

7/27/08: House moved from vacant lot. I think it’s original location was 923 Washington. Demolished: 702 McElroy, 816, 912, 913 & 924 Hester. 1118 Knoblock is gone. Hall of Fame is still closed. Some mowing has finally taken place. Still approximately 75 houses to be moved or demolished.

7/19/08 I have just returned from a month of travels. Walked the area tonight. Many houses have been moved from their original location, some are gone, but most are “stored” on beams on another vacant lot in the area. Those gone or “stored”: 917 & 923 Washington, 912 Ramsey, 706 McElroy, 816, 820 & 916 Hester, 805 & 923 Knoblock, and 804 West Street. A few lots have been cleared.

Those who thought the neighborhood was ugly before OSU started the project, they should see it now. There are many sheds, foundations, trees & branches down, various debris all around, grass knee high in some areas and some of the sidewalks are over-grown with knee high grass and obsured by over-hanging branches. OSU was pretty good last summer to try to keep the area mowed and cleared, but it seems there is little attention being given to it this summer.

The east 1/2 block between Washington & Bellis is filled with building materials waiting to be used. The entire area is being fenced with temporary chain link fencing. OSU has said that the purpose is to prevent homeless living in the houses and further vandelism. Many of the houses not moved or demolished are being fenced in as well.

When I came back from my travels, I found the OSU fence butted up against my fence. I called and told them that our fence was set back 6 feet from the property line and they were very prompt to remove the posts against my fence. I suppose the intention had been to use my fence as part of their fencing project. However, they were very nice about it and quick to remedy the problem.

Hall of Fame was scheduled to be opened July 15, but it is not quite ready, so is still closed.

6/13/08: 1107 Ramsey was moved East of Stillwater on Hwy 51 (E. 6th Street) today. It will be remodeled and rented.

6/9/08: A little has been done in the last 3 months. The dulpexes at 813 & 815 have been moved and are in place on South Perkins road and have been remodeled and readied to rent. They look good.

Also moved: House south of me, 1011 Washington, although foundation remains. 1106 Ramsey & 424 McElroy have been moved. I understand that 5 houses are scheduled to be demolished. Several houses are on beams to be moved. However, there are still over 75 houses to be moved or demolished.

Hall of Fame is to be opened July 15, I have heard it rumored that the city plans paving work on Hall of Fame, west of Washington so it may be closed longer.

The West end of the stadium is nearing completion. No projects have been started in the village to date.

Posted in *PROGRESS REPORT* | 3 Comments

Eminent Domian legislation

September 15, 2006
Senate has Fourteen days to pass eminent domain legislation
From the Institute for Justice.:

Last week, Senator James Inhofe introduced S. 3873, the “Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2006.” This bill is identical to the House of Representatives’ terrific eminent domain reform bill, H.R. 4128, which has been stuck in the Senate Judiciary Committee since it passed the House last November by an overwhelming majority of 376-38. S. 3873 – which is now the vehicle for eminent domain reform in Congress – will go straight to the floor of the Senate, bypassing the hold-ups other eminent domain bills are encountering in the Senate. However, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist will not put eminent domain reform on the Senate’s agenda, effectively prohibiting the Senate from voting on this bill!

There are only 15 DAYS LEFT (now it’s more like 14 days) before the Senate adjourns. It is more important than ever that you make your voices heard. Call Senator Frist NOW and ask him to put S. 3873, federal eminent domain reform, on the Senate’s agenda and allow a vote. Explain that the American people are strongly opposed to the abuse of eminent domain, both politically and morally – and this opposition will only continue to grow. Then contact your own two senators and urge them to support S. 3873. You can find their phone numbers at the end of this e-mail. If you have the time, we also encourage you to send an e-mail to Frist and your senators by clicking on the following link: https://action.popuvox.com/default.aspx?actionID=286.

Shortcut to link:

http://www.nolandgrab.org/archives/eminent_domain/index.html

Posted in Eminent Domain | Leave a comment

Msg. regarding Washington Post Artilce

Personal Message:
T-Bone’s enterprises are effective at screwing the environment too! He is not mentioned in the article, but has reportedly heavily invested in this mining activity or the oil being produced by it.

Canada Pays Environmentally for U.S. Oil Thirst.

By Doug Struck
(You may want to check this article (Recent News Links.)

Posted in Newpapers | 1 Comment

Progress report

I walk approximately 3 miles per day (did no walking between Nov. 5 and Mar. 3 as I was too busy with OSU meetings/website, etc, but have started walking again). I usually walk in the neighborhood. Last summer I was impressed that so many were upgrading their homes/rental properties. Since Nov. 5, of course, that has stopped. I thought, perhaps, I could report what I see happening around the neighborhood at this point.

A “progress report” of sorts.

3/11/08: I think Flint Co. has decided that they only need 1/2 block for their “lay down” lot. All of the West side of Bellis between McElroy & Tyler is cleared, leveled and it looks as if they will gravel the lot. Using just the east side of the block between Bellis/Washington & McElroy/Tyler, it should not be such an “eyesore”. I am sure OSU will sod the West 1/2 of the block when houses are moved. And even though one will still be able to see the “lay-down” lot, it seems it will look much better. There are still houses on Washington and 824 McElroy remains.

3/1/08: The block between McElroy & Tyler, Washington & Bellis was to have been cleared by last night. However, there are still 3 houses on Washington, 3 on Bellis, none on Tyler, 1 on McElroy & 4 sheds in that area to be moved. I think a little work is beginning on continuing Hall of Fame & some prep work for the indoor practice field. Demolished the past week: 1018 Hester, 923 & 916 West, 824 & 906 Knoblock.

2/27/08: Demolished this past week: 821 & 823 Bellis; 623, 714 & 724 Tyler; 1021 & 1111 Ramsay; 1002, 1006 & 811 Hester; 904 West. The house at 839 Tyler was moved to 1100 blk of Knoblock. The NOC classroom building framing is near completion & the parking garage is getting close to looking finished between Scott & Connell and the 1/2 block from Monroe.

2/18/08: Other demolitions: 811 Washington, 844 McElroy & 821 Ramsey.

2/14/08: Lots of activity in the acquisition area the last couple weeks. Many houses being moved & demolished. 1102 & 1110 Bellis have been demolished this week. Due to cold, flu and jury duty, I have not walked the neighborhood lately. I will try to do that soon and report further activity.

1/25/08: Arc Wrecking has started their demolition of 30 structures north of McElroy with the initial demo being 1111 Knoblock (the Riverside apts.) and 524 Tyler apt. bldgs. 819 West is gone. There are numerous structures marked with an orange “AWC”. Those are structures slated to be demolished.

In addition, by mid-March, the Flintco Laydown area just west of the baseball complex will be moved to the block between Tyler and McElroy and Bellis and Washington. Therefore, all house moving efforts are being concentrated in that block. Twelve structures in that area are to be moved by March and then Wittwer and Flintco are scheduled to get the foundations removed and gravel put down for the new lay-down area.

Athletics is having to move the lay-down area in order to prepare for reconstruction of Hall of Fame. They plan to open Hall of Fame before school starts next fall if at all possible. Parking will begin moving north in the near future and infrastructure (sewer lines/water lines etc.) will be relocated as necessary to allow Hall of Fame to be reconstructed slightly north of it’s previous location.

Wittwer Construction is to “clean up” the north village. They are to begin immediately picking up all piles of debris including concrete, dirt, rock, trash and appliances.

The parking garage is visibly progressing. There are four levels and 3 units almost completed between Scott & Connell, with the NW unit already enclosed. The NOC classroom bldg. is also progressing. It looks as if most of its wall beams are in place.

1/9/08: Houses moved in the last month or so: 902 Duck, 814 Knoblock & 1109 Knoblock. Very little being done. Area looks more like a war zone all the time with siding, etc. off most of the houses, windows broken out, limbs down, steel beams and other moving equipment scattered most everywhere. Not a pretty sight. :-) NOC classroom progressing with some walls going up & the parking garage has some of the basement walls in place.

12/21/07: Not much activity in the acquisition area. The Scholar’s Inn (just South of Gallagher Iba Arena) is gone and the area re-sodded. The parking garage is moving right along and the NOC classroom bldg. at the corner of Monroe & Hall of Fame is going up in a hurry. Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and great New Year.

11/20/07: The eminent domain house on Connell was demolished today. Article from the Tulsa World under “Recent News Links” on left hand side of home page.

11/6/07: Here is some official information regarding current projects in progress that I have received:

1. South of Hall of Fame across the street from the Multimodal facility is the new OSU/NOC Classroom Building. It’s mostly OSU but NOC will have classes there too and they actually own part of the building. Not exactly sure of percentages.

2. We are in a multi-million dollar remodel of Old Central and the construction has started there.

3. We are in a multi-million dollar remodel of South Murray and the construction is well along there.

4. We had the ground breaking for the new addition on the OADDL Oklahoma Animal Disease Diganostic Lab last week.

5. They have (or soon will have) the construction fences up for the multimillion dollar remodel of the Architecture building the Physical Science addition

6. And of course we have one construction project going on for Athletics – West End Zone

It seems like there are another one or two academic projects but they aren’t coming to mind right now.

11/5/07: Things are moving slowly, but thought I’d give a little update. The parking garage is coming along. Infrastructure is almost in place under the proposed building. 812 Ramsey, 924 West Street and 820 Duck are gone. Property for NOC on North Side of H of Fame, West of the power plant (across from the “under construction” parking garage) is cleared and it looks as if construction is getting underway. I’m not sure what is planned for that property, but will ask around & report what I find.

9/25/07: 824 West Street has been moved. As an update: All properties in the acquisition area have been sold to OSU with the exception of three. Those are located at 813 Washington (Rental) that Gary Clark was not able to negotiate and turned over to OSU on July 1, 07. The other two are in the buffer zone and, therfore, not turned over to OSU. They are 809 (rental) and 847 (residence) Eskridge.

9/24/07: 902 Hester was moved today.

9/20/07: 904 Bellis has been demolished & cleared. All of the 500 block of McElroy has now been demolished. 921 & 1112 Hester have been moved.

9/14/07: 1120 Hester has been moved.

9/11/07: West end zone is enclosed, gravel parking lots are finished (two blks. closer to the stadium than my house), Hall of Fame is finished to knoblock. Don’t see any work being done on the multi-level parking garage. Duplexes at 516-524 have been demolished. The asbestos siding has been removed from several properties and readied to move/demolish; some are on beams to move, but have been on beams for quite some time.

8/17/07: The 2 duplexes at 706 McElroy were moved yesterday & today. It looks like Hall of Fame is almost finished from Duck to Knoblock and the new gravel parking lots on Washington/Bellis, Scott/McElroy are basically completed.

8/15/07: 820 & 902 & 923 Ramsey have been cleared. 616 Connell (E.D. house) still stands. Still digging on the lower level of parking garage (1/2 block) 0n Monroe, from Connell to Scott. New gravel lot between Washington & Bellis, Scott & Connell is finished. Still working on new gravel parking lots between Washington & Bellis, Connell & McElroy. They should be finished in plenty of time for the first home game. (Obviously, not in time for student parking, but in time for game parking.) Not really a whole lot of activity.

8/5/07: 818 Hester has been demolished. New gravel parking lots are being completed for three blocks, Between McElroy & Scott & Washington & Bellis. Still digging basement of parking garage.

7/24/07: I went to the OSU vs. McCloskey eminent domain case yesterday. I have posted under “Recent News” (left side of home page) the Tulsa World article regarding the trial. There are also comments from readers regarding the situation.

The home at 830 McElroy has been demolished and the basement for parking garage is still being dug.

7/15/07: Not much visual progress. The basement for the mulit level parking garage is being dug. A few other things of interest: (1) Trial on eminent domain house is scheduled for July 23. (2) Blue Star Land sevices sent letters to OSU for village area & to neighborhoods North of McElroy for possible oil & gas lease. They possibly want to do some directional/lateral drilling in the area. (3) OG&E doing feasibility study to move their lines from McElroy to Eskridge. (4) Individual proposing to rezone SW corner of McElroy & Washington from residential to commercial.

6/25/07: 6/25/07: All properties not yet negotaited by OSU will be turned over from the Foundation, Gary Calrk, to OSU on July 1, 2007. At that point, one will be dealing with OSU, possibly, Randall Elliot. If no agreement is then reached between OSU and property owner, it will go to the Board of Regents to be approved for being placed in Eminent Domain.

6/12/07: The multi-level parking garage lots at Monroe & H of F now have fencing around them and it looks like construction will begin. 812 Bellis was moved today. Blue Star Land Services has contacted neighbors North of Will Rogers School and OSU regarding oil/gas lease of mineral rights. It seems there is to be directional drilling in the area. Don’t know exactly where drilling is to take place. One of the residents was told that drilling would be South of McElroy. Will update this site when/if I know more.
Rumor has it that Boone is buying the property between Duck and Main, Hall of Fame & McElroy. Some said it was Pickens personally, under the name of Texas Group, and that he is planning to build an arena. (NOT for OSU). Some say that it is really being purchased for a Hammons hotel project (friends of Pickens), possibly for a convention center.
I am told to watch for road work on H of F to start within the next 10 days. First phase from Duck to 150 ft. W. of Knoblock. That phase is scheduled to be completed before the 1st home football game.
There is also rumor that there may be possible litigation against OSU regarding the recent flood. Due to the dirt mounds & a drain that drains onto Duck Street, there was possibly some flooding which occurred that would not have happened otherwise.

6/6/07: 913 Connell (West of Washington) has been moved. Not much on the lots for the multi-level parking garage has been done. The curbs have been moved & trees have been cut down. Someone has put a few rows of newspapers, with mulch on top, in the front yard of the E.D. house.
There was an article in the “Daily Oklahoman” on Sunday, June 3, regarding FBI investigation of Oklahoma colleges’ & universities’ (Not OU) use of private financing on housing project and the resulting fees to students. The private financing seems to have increased the cost of each project. Stipe & Mike Morgan apparently profited from these methods of financing. Not illegal, but questionable, according to the paper. Also an editorial regarding this article in the “Oklahoman” yesterday, June 5.

5/29/07: I’ve been out of town for the last week and did walk the area again today. Not much action. Only one pile of debris & the E.D. house remain between campus and McElroy. Looks like the garden at the E.D. house has been idle and possibly not forthcoming. The parking area at Monroe & H of F has a sign that says no parking after May 22. Guess that was the date they intended to start the multi-level parking garage. There is a trailer now parked in the lot next to that area. No work has been done N. of McElroy, that I can see.

5/17/07: I have had a very busy couple weeks and have been negligent in checking things for the site or in reporting progress in the area. There really hasn’t been much being done. The multi-level parking garage constuction(scheduled to begin in Jan.) has not begun, nor has the indoor practice field (scheduled to begin this spring.) Lee Agne sent me this website From You Tube. Title: Our Town- The Bellis Street Story. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXYIESqhNwM.
Interesting. I have also put a link to the You Tube site under “Related Sties & Forums” on the left hand side of our home page. This was a project of a couple students last semester, done for a journalism class.

4/30/07: 624 Bellis has been moved and 622 Bellis is ready for moving. It will probably be moved in the next couple days. That will clear all the area S. of McElroy (except the e. d. house). I hear that as soon as the Bellis houses are moved and land cleared, OSU will take over all the property and begin to demolish streets, etc. and level the area with the mountains of dirt now in place. That area will most likely become temporary gravel parking lots and perhaps the multi-level parking garage construction will begin.

909 & 919 Bellis, N. of McElroy have been cleared of foundations & debris. Three houses N. of McElroy are ready to be demolished.

4/25/07: Large apartment building on Cantwell (near Bellis) was moved yesterday. Now there on only the 2 houses in the 600 block of Bellis & the eminent domain house on Connell that remain, South of McElroy.

4/20/07: The 1/2 house (top floor) of the house at Cantwell & Bellis was moved today.

4/19/07: Still remaining South of McElroy: Apartment building at Bellis & Connell, 2 1/2 houses in the 600 block of Bellis (West side) and the eminent domain house on Connell. North of McElroy: The house at 1011 Ramsey was moved today.

4/16/07: Just wanted to let you all know that another secret meeting was held last week. Allowed participants: Regents, Mr. Pickens & some Stillwater City officials. I understand it was mostly a meeting of regents & Mr. Pickens stating that they wanted to cooperate & “get along”. In my opinion, the translation means, “Might as well do it our way, support it, promote it and accept it, as that IS the way it’s going to be.” Some (including a reporter) were turned away at the door of the meeting by Calvin Anthony (Stillwater resident and the newest Board of Regents member-owner of Tiger Drug)

4/12/07: Letter from Kevin Jobe:
Hello all,

Well, it appears that we’re in business. The topsoil has been cleared in front and back, and we have all the woodchips we could dream of. Immediate tasks include, among others, laying the walkways for the beds and composting – anybody up for a workday this Saturday?

P.S. – If you are one of the persons who has contacted us about donating organic material, and also thinks we could arrange to have it delivered sometime this weekend, send me an email directly. and btw – Thank you!

kevin j

4/11/07: The front of the property of the eminent domain house has been tilled & wood chips piled ready for spreading in the garden. Other than that, nothing to report.

3/26/07: Letter from Kevin Jobe re: Garden.
Hello all,

I hope everyone had a magnificent break. There are several updates here at the garden:

* During the break, we did some major maintanence to the east side of the house; the wire fence on that side was removed, but leaving a small portion closer to the front that still had a good deal of honeysuckle on it. The east side is very cleaned up, and much more open and accessible. The consensus is that it looks much, much better. : )
* The wire fence we removed will be perfect for a compost bin, which will be placed somewhere on the west side of the house; we’re still waiting to hear the exact property lines on that side
* We also began tilling the backyard and the small plot directly in front of the house so we can begin planting. The row up against the front of the house will be ready for planting this week – that means anyone who knows anything about corn and wheat should lend a hand – for one row of corn and one of wheat.
* We now have unlimited access to the straw/manure stash behind the Expo Center on Farm Road. That means we need a generous truck-owner to help us begin transferring this coveted compost. Any takers? Also, anyone with compost material ready to donate, please feel free to drop it off at the site – the backdoor of the garage/storage area is always unlocked, so you may just put it in there. Or, if you prefer, you may call me and I will meet you there.
* Name! Lately I’ve been circulating a name for the garden that has gotten alot of positive response; the name is Colo Vita. Colo Vita is latin for To Cultivate Life, or, To Cherish Life. Keeping in mind that this student garden is going to be a long-term thing, regardless of whether we change sites or not, I wanted this garden to be much more than just a garden that stands in the way of an unnaccountable, private interest athletic expansion project. The premises of Colo Vita would be two-fold: 1) Cultivating life, and 2) Sharing Knowledge. Cultivating life encompasses what we are now only beginning to do: growing fresh, healthy produce to source locally, maintaining a flourishing plant and flower garden, enjoying the fruits of our labor, and each others company. Sharing knowledge, on the other hand, is a very important function that could come about from our efforts. Examples of this are endless – from providing hands-on experience with gardening and organic agriculture, providing information about healthy eating and cooking habits, sharing the benefits of community supported agriculture, to sharing our artistic and creative skills in an open and public way. Anyway, let me know what you think of the name, and more importantly the idea , of Colo Vita. Well, I think thats all for now. In the meantime, enjoy the rain, and the spring weather.
k.jobe@okstate.edu
405-615-2406

3/23/07: Looks like I was wrong again. No multi-level garage construction beginning. Seems like just another graveled parking lot.

3/20/07: It looks as if they are FINALLY beginning on the multi-level parking garage at Hall of Fame & Monroe. The hut on that corner was demolished & land cleared today. The orange “netting” was placed around the area.

3/19/07: I haven’t been posting anything on the site the last week or so because we were in the process of changing servers. Still there is not much “visible” progress in the area. There is a new plan out for the village, changed again.

Two reports on the “E.D. garden” from email I received: (When I walked this am, I did not see any developments there, other than the picket fence in front gone.)

Hi folks
We had a great meeting and quasi-work day last Saturday. 15-20 people showed up, and we made some headway toward building the garden of our dreams. We tore down the old rickety fence that shielded the yard from the street, broke and examined ground in the front yard, and partially planned out a design of the garden. Attached to this email is a tentative map from what we discussed – but again, it’s only a rough outline of the ideas we’ve had thus far. Just for review, this is what we know:

1) The site is without a doubt all ours at least till July, but likely much, much longer than that given the uncertainties of the McCloskey’s court case. The legal matters are such that the property won’t be hastily taken until after the case is over, and that’s not including the appeals process, which is even longer. At the meeting Saturday, Kevin M made it clear that the garden is totally and absolutely separate from the court case – meaning that no matter what happens, from this day forward, there will always be a student-community garden on campus, guaranteed. Kevin M said that he would see to it that such a garden would continue, regardless – and I am fervently committed to that as well.

2) Kevin McCloskey is going to help us out by getting a tractor and blade to remove the topsoil of the front yard, which badly needs it on account of the invasive bermuda grass and gravel scattered throughout.

3) While that work is being done, we are going to start work on the back yard by manually spading and removing the bermuda grass, and preparing the soil. This will likely have to be done to the east side as well.

4) We are also going to be making walkway paths for in between the plots. One person recommended the technique of laying multiple layers of cardboard and newspaper as a base, and then covering with wood chips. This would make a very accessible and natural-looking walkway throughout the garden.

5) That means we need materials! Please see the attached list of needed garden materials, and add more as you think of them.

This saturday I am planning on working at the site on some of these prep projects – if you could, please respond to this email if you are are staying in town and want to help out during the break, or if you plan on dropping by any time during the break. We plan on doing quite a bit of work during the break, so the more the merrier – we will likely even begin planting in the backyard. I will be at the site this Saturday beginning around 1:30pm or so, until about 4pm. I invite everyone who can to stop by. Have a lovely day, and a marvelous Spring break.

P.S.- Are there any other objections to the name “OSU Village Farm”? Other ideas, perhaps?

kevinj

k.jobe@okstate.edu

A report on the McCloskey property student garden.

To Members of the Stillwater Community Garden group;
Nelda and I attended a meeting at the house on Sat, Mar 10, at which about 20 people showed up to plan and work. There were about 6 of us who said they had been involved with the Community Garden at Head Start. (This student garden will in no way replace the Community Garden this year; it will be a separate thing that people may work on if they wish, but is totally different from the garden project we will be doing at Head Start or wherever we get permission to put it.)

We listened to Kevin McCloskey describe at length the situation with the lawsuit concerning the eminent domain action. (See end of this message.) He says they will have possession of the property into July for sure, and then he is confident the judges’ rulings will give them possession for longer than that until the suits are completely settled. [My view is that even if the garden does not last until fall, it is still worth doing. It should be fun working with the students and seeing what we can grow together.)

He does not view the garden and the lawsuit as connected although he knows there will be publicity from each that will spill over to the other. The purpose of the garden is not to help the McCloskeys; the students had been looking for a place to put a garden to grow vegetables–and to create community–and this spot was available. He said that he likes the idea of a garden for students to work and get produce from, and that as long as the property is owned by his brother and him, he is pleased that the land can be used.

We talked about what the garden would grow and how it would be designed. The area in front is about 18 ft by 30 ft. The side yards are about 8 ft wide to the east, and 5 ft wide to the west. In back the yard is about 12 ft by 30 ft. In high summer, sunlight should not be a problem anywhere except on the east where there is a row of old elms & hackberries (or whatever). That side could be perfect for some shade tolerant ornamental plants. The tree roots may cause trouble everywhere; they seem to reach all the way across the front yard.

Tentatively, we talked about a path 3 ft from the front wall of the house, leaving a 3 ft wide bed in which corn could be planted in a narrow line next to the house to grow up in front of the yellow siding, with a strip of wheat in front of that, next to the path (This garden is partly about Agriculture). Then the main part of the front yard, 10 ft by 30, could be planted in various vegetables, in short rows perpendicular to the street, and flowers could be put on the slope closest to the street.

There wasn’t much discussion about the back yard yet. Kevin Jobe is going to post a rough design inside the house so that people can get an idea what to do if they come to volunteer some labor and time.

Kevin McCloskey said, after he heard the plans, and after the workers had removed the rotten wooden picket fence in front, that he would hire someone with a tractor & blade to remove the top layer of soil from the front yard (it has lots of brick and gravel, as well as being full of very healthy bermuda grass) and have a load of topsoil delivered. He said he’d do that this week. After that has happened, volunteers can come by the house and check the map and work schedule and do whatever is needed.

Doug
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The McCloskey’s justification of the lawsuit.

Kevin McCloskey told us a great deal about the finances of their company, their intentions, the reason they bought the house, and why they are annoyed with the University’s treatment of them.

He and his brother needed a certain amount of income to keep an elderly aunt (who has just died) in a nursing home. This house provided part of that. They bought the house cheaply as rental property a year before they found out the university wanted the land. They wanted a price for the house that would allow them to buy another house in Stillwater that would give them an equivalent monthly income. They wanted 89 thousand; OSU’s own appraisers put the house’s fair market value at 84 thousand. But OSU wouldn’t budge from 50 thousand. With that, they couldn’t buy a replacement property. If OSU had split the difference with them, they would have taken it, but the way they were treated, it got personal. Because the University’s offer was a good deal more than they had paid a year earlier, they were accused of simply being greedy kids. Then, when they found that the Board of Regents was not even properly constituted, they decided to dig in and fight. He acknowledged that they came to this realization too late to help others in the neighborhoods who had not wanted to sell at all. Never-the-less, they want to see if they can turn OSU back to the right path: following the constitution, being a leader in agriculture, and treating people fairly.

The state constitution says the Board of Regents should have a majority of farmers and ranchers on it. This is defined as someone who gets the majority of their income from agriculture. That hasn’t been the case for a number of years (currently 3 out of the 9 have connections to agriculture worth mentioning; one of these is a veterinarian). He thinks OSU’s poor support of the college of agriculture is not merely coincidental.

Kevin McCloskey said he loved this town, had happy memories of his time at OSU (though he didn’t graduate… in fact he flunked out), and has always (along with his whole family) been an OSU Cowboys fan. He tries to attend every game. This is not about being against the athletics department or athletic expansion. It’s not even about being against eminent domain. In his job with a billboard company, they deal with eminent domain all the time. A road needs to be widened, their billboards are in the way, a fair price is arrived at, the project goes forward, and they install a new billboard elsewhere. He says that’s the way it should be. He also says the widened highways in Oklahoma City are a good thing; and they required the use of eminent domain. It’s a necessary power of government. He did indicate some slight question about the true public need in this case, but apparently that is not a major problem for him.

One thing he said he is glad about is that the location of this house is not near any of the sites on which OSU plans to build buildings. Therefore the house will not prevent OSU from proceeding with the project while the suit is settled. He doesn’t want to interfere with the project, but also he is sure that since their suit is not truly stopping OSU from proceeding, judges are more likely to give the suit time to play itself out. And he is confident of winning on the question of the Board’s makeup. He knows he will lose the house eventually, but feels that the odds are highly in favor of that happening after this year.

Therefore, he thinks the garden will make it all the way to harvest of the fall crops.

3/6/07: I haven’t reported on progress for quite awhile because there seems to be little activity. However, two houses from between Washington & Bellis, Connell & Cantwell have been moved the last couple weeks. I cannot give an accurate address for those because I think they are houses that were moved from other locations temporairly. 915 Bellis was moved last week.

I understand that the indoor practice field construction is to begin in the spring. I still do not know why the multi-level parking garage constuction has not begun. It was scheduled to begin in Jan., then Feb. & now we are into March & no activity there.

The garden on the eminent domain property has not been started.

I am sure you have read about the new “life insurance” athletic fund raiser. One friend said she was sent the, approximately, 10 pages of forms to be filled out to qualify for the program. When she came to the question of “What is your annual income”, she decided to decline.

1/24/07: Schmidly IS leaving OSU.

1/22/07: 824 N. Duck and 611 W. Tyler are up for bids.

1/11/07: I am hearing “rumbles” that money is not coming to OSU as predicted & that village construction will probably not begin until AFTER the west end of stadium is complete (08). The mountains of dirt, at this point, are to be used to level all the area when the streets are closed. Hall of Fame is still said to be opened again when the west end of stadium is completed. The majority of the propety North of McElroy has been purchased by OSU or is under contract. The multi-level garage construction at Hall of Fame & Monroe, previously scheduled to begin in Jan. of 07, is now scheduled to begin in Feb. 07.

1/5/07: Happy New Year. 1107 Hester is gone as is 924 Duck. The 2 story apartment building at 835 Washington (corner of Washington & connell) was moved Wed. morning (1/3/07).

12/28/06: I was on Monroe this evening and saw that the Diary building is gone. I think I have already reported that the parking lot for the Alumini center at Hester and University has been finished for awhile. Still not much to report.

12/19/06: Still nothing seems to be “progressing”. More dirt mounds have been sprayed. It is almost as if there was a rush to acquire property and the impression given that projects were to begin immediately. Soon lots of action, demolishing & moving properties occured, and property owners who had not sold to OSU began to feel that they needed to negotiate. Now that most of the property has been acquired by OSU, little seems to be happening. The multilevel garage at Hall of Fame & Monroe has been scheduled to begin Jan. of 2007. I’ll let you know when that construction begins. Have a merry Christmas and I will report again when there is something to report or post.

12/6/06: OSU has sprayed some of the dirt mounds between the campus & McElroy with a green substance. Guess it is for asthetic purposes. Three blocks of dirt mounds have been sprayed. Two blocks between Hester & Bellis/McElroy & Cantwell. One block between Bellis & Ramsey/ Cantwell and Connell. Houses at 820 & 924 Duck are ready to be moved, and 912 Duck is gone. Duplex at 823 Ramsey is gone.

12/2/06: There hasn’t been much to report and between my raking leaves & the snowy weather, I haven’t walked the area much in the last week. I’ll try to do that soon & report anything new.

11/20/06: Haven’t been reporting because have neither seen nor heard anything to report. Will let you know if and when anything seems to be “progressing”.

11/8/06: The apartment building from 613 Washington has now been moved & is in place in the 800 block of Jefferson (East of Monore, North of McElroy). What a feat in moving such a large building. It did tie up traffic for a few hours on McElroy and Washington, but it was a very impressive job accomplished. 504 Scott Steet duplexes are gone.

11/7/06: The parking for the Alumni Center, SW corner of Husband and University, has been paved. Today the Ashwood Apts., 613 N. Washington was moved. The process began this morning and as of now, 5:30 pm, is not totally in place. It is being moved to W. McElroy.

11/3/06: Still not much activity, however, 908 Ramsey was moved today.
10/26/06: The work North of the stadium at Knoblock/Scott is NOT the tunnel, but a storm sewer. The tunnel will come from the west end of the stadium, under Hall of Fame, to new indoor practice field. There have been about 25 more negotiations, North of McElroy, either completed or “in the works” since I last reported on that. Another pavement writing (I keep seeing more everyday): At 623 Bellis I found “Sun Cured, April, 1989 and the best yet: “Joe, April 21, 1989″ and little baby feet imprints. Anyone know who Joe is?

10/25/06: I have not been “reporting” due to the fact that there seems to be nothing much to report. There is a little work continuing at the West end of the stadium & some North of the stadium (possible tunnel?). I will try to get an update on negotiation progress soon. I did hear that there was an article related to “The Gift” in the Sports Illustrated this last week, but haven’t seen it and do not have a link to it at this point. If anyone has a URL for that link, you might send me the information so I can get it on the website.

10/14/06: No visible “progress”. Nothing moved or demolished lately. They are working on a road on Scott Street between Knoblock & Bellis (Between the 1st & 2nd tiers of parking lots north of the stadium).

Other pavement “writings”: East corner of McElroy & Bellis sidewalk, GW & A4; At 1812 Hester in the street, BW loves S. G. LilA; West side of Ramsey & McElroy corner, 7-28-64.

10/9/06: Today is the last day of OSU fall break. Therefore, there is little trafic congestion. And the weather is beautiful. One might think it would be a perfect time for construction/destruction in the acquisition area. However, some workers at the West end of stadium, but otherwise it is VERY quiet on the “home front”.

So I thought I would just note some pavement “writings” read along my walk. Does anyone remember these? Midway in the 700 block of Bellis (West side), it says “Twila & Douglas & Marsha & Mark – Bellis Street Gang 12/20/77″. On the sidewalk in the 700 block of McElroy (North side) reads: “CM + DD and DD+CM” (enclosed in hearts) and “RR + SS”. 1100 Block on Washington one finds, “Alfonso, ARENN, Oil Rocks, and Mia H. Pocks.” On my sidewalk very clearly are my daughters’ initials, “CMC & LJC as well as LC +JP. My girls also wrote “REE” (name used for my mother, Marie Bernhardt, by all her grandchildren). In my drive are many names that are so faint I cannot read them clearly, but some of the ones I can still read are: “Wilma, Mar. 1951, Marie, Bob, Patsy, Sally & Jerry” (these are childhood friends & all have been dated 1951). Just a few of the memories I thought I’d pass on to you. They do let us know the date the streets were paved & the date of the paving of my drive:-)

10/6/06: “Mountains” North of OSU campus continue to evolve. More dirt arrives in the blocks between Scott and McElroy. I understand that some of this dirt will be returned to the West End of Stadium project. For now, the view of Picken’s stadium and Gallagher-Iba is almost blocked from McElroy.

According to my map & calculations North of McElroy OSU owns, or has contract pending on, 106 properties. Of those 106 properties, 12 have been demolished & cleared. One has been moved (810 Hester). Demolished: 911 & 817 Washington; 909 & 919 Bellis; 904 & 1017 Ramsey; 921 & 1111 Hester, 813 & 903 Knoblock, 814 & 817 West Street. There are 74 properties yet to be negotiated. My numbers could certainly be off some, but they are at least very close.

9/29/06: Since Wednesday, North of McElroy – Demolished & leveled: 815 & 903 Knoblock, 921 Hester, 1017 Ramsey & 612 Bellis. Ready to move: 624 & 806 Bellis . Moved: 520 Bellis.

9/27/06: 1111 Hester was demolished today.

9/26/09: South of McElroy remains about the same, still working on temporary parking lots and 510 Bellis has been moved. North of McElroy: 909 & 919 Bellis have been demolished as has 817 Washington. It is sad to see 50 yr. old trees being torn to the ground, limb by limb by an M&M wrecking crane.

I talked with Gary Clark today to verify some statements I had heard. The “straight scoop”, according to Gary, is that there are around 30 more negotiations to be completed. He has talked with most of the owners and expects that all negotiations he is doing for North of McElroy should be completed in about 6 weeks. There may, however, be a few “straglers”. If agreement has not been reached on negotiations when Gary is finished, the properties will be turned over to OSU & placed under eminent domain. Gary doesn’t feel that anyone else will have to be forced into eminent domain, though he can’t say for sure. He expects that an agreement can be reached between each property owner and OSU.

9/19/06: Not much activity in the area. About the same as last week. Moving dirt from the West end of stadium to new temporary parking lots. No new parking lots have been finished since 9/2/06. Lots on McElroy are so high, at this point, that Boone’s stadium can’t be seen. Might want to check information on Eminent Domain legislation under Eminent Domain on left side of this page.

9/7/06: This morning it didn’t seem that much had been happening this week. Still doing work on parking lots South of McElroy. North of McElroy, 810 Hester has been moved. This morning 904 Ramsay had been demolished and debris was being cleared. Drove around this evening & found that 911 Washington had been demolished this afternoon and they are clearing the debis. Not sure if I’ve mentioned that 506 & 508 Bellis have been cleared for a couple weeks. {Check out link:Regent’s authority challenged under recent news links on left of page.}

9/1/06: Not a whole lot of activity in the area, but in the last couple days 801 & 809 McElroy have been moved. Yesterday the Polo apts., just North of Wes Watkins bldg., was demolished. (Scott & Washington). The house North of Polo apts. is also down. If you are coming for the game, you might want to check the traffic flow maps on OSU site (athletics).

8/26/06: Not much to report, but thought I would at least check in to let you know I am “still here”. The past week, they have mostly been working on parking lots. Yesterday, they sodded around the lot between stadium & Connell/Knoblock & Hester. This am another large truck load of sod was arriving in the area. Dirt continues to be hauled from West end of stadium work to parking lot areas. Today they are working on raising a couple parking lots on McElroy. Think they are trying to get the area a bit “spiffy” for the game next week end.

I was close to the campus last week and cars are parked all along the side streets, South of campus (and getting tickets). The West side of the 200 block of Hester (South of the Alumni center & Bennett Chapel) is down now. This is they area that OSU says will be a parking lot for the Alumni Center.

8/22/06: Not much was done yesterday, due to the rain. Hester is closed from McElroy to the campus. 502 & 506 Bellis are down now and they are getting ready to move 702 Bellis. Traffic on McElroy is, once again, bumper to bumper most of each day. Some week mornings traffic is backed up from McElroy to Eskridge. They are working on parking lots and those that are finished are not full, so they must be sufficient. Those coming to the football game, Sept. 2, should have plenty of space to park. Those lots are probably reserved for Posse members only.

Read in the Tulsa World this morning that Holder is starting a athlete scholarship campaign with his own donation. Seems he is giving up all his salary from OSU toward that project. (Article linked on left side of home page under “Recent News Links”.

8/18/06: Not much new to report today. Mostly leveling and moving of debris. Cars are parked all along knoblock, the softball parking lot and some have started parking in the lots West of Bennett Hall that look like they are finished. However, each car parked in the “new” lots has a note stating the lot is not finished and their car must be moved ASAP. (At least no tickets issued). The note is signed by Lambert Construction Co…….you know, the company that sponsored the ad, signed by Stillwater’s “elite” (some in duplicate), thanking Pickens for his gift.

8/17/06: There is one article regarding Hall of Fame on link on left side of home page,(under “Recent News Links) today. There were also two other articles in the SNP today,
but not online. They are: “Parking Woes bring changes” and “Boone Pickens Stadium”.
Sorry I cannot provide a link to those two stories.

Traffic on Washington & McElroy is really picking up. I suspect that side streets in the area will soon be closed except for those individuals going to parking lots. Some OSU students are back, such as the OSU band members. Classes start Mon. & as fair warning: Do NOT try to go to Wal-Mart Saturday or Sunday. It will be a zoo!!!

843 McElroy is down today, as is 701 Washington. Everything is cleared from the campus to McElroy, Knoblock to Ramsay; and campus to Cantwell between Bellis & Ramsey. Parking lots are being finished (mostly graveled). We will soon see temporary parking lots from McElroy to the campus. Now won’t that be a pretty sight?

A neighbor (who has been in negotiation with OSU for several months) told me yesterday that they got a call on Tues. from “the lawyer” saying now that they had all of South of McElroy, they were ready to concentrate on acquiring all properties North of McElroy. Soooo…. Ready. Aim. Fire.

8/16/06: More happening today. Duplexs at 711 Washington and apartment building at 721 Washington are down. 712 Bellis is down. They are getting 825 & 843 McElroy ready for removal. The gravel parking lot between Connell & Cantwell/Ramsey & Hester is basically finished. They are leveling gravel (around 616 Connell) on parking lot between Connell/Cantwell & Knoblock/Hester. (Might want to check out the article in USA Today regarding Picken’s $165 mil. gift: Link to article on left side of page under “Recent News Links”)

8/14/06: All properties in the 600 block on the East side of Bellis between Connell & Cantwell are down and the area is being cleared. So the entire block between Connell and Cantwell/ Bellis and Ramsey is being leveled. 722 Bellis has been demolished.

The block between the stadium and Connell has been raised 4-5 feet, and asphalt laid for a new parking lot, from North of the stadium to Scott Street between Knoblock & Hester.(West of Bennett Hall).

There is now a new concrete area on the North side of the stadium where Hall of Fame used to be. This is the division between the stadium and the new parking lot. I believe this new parking lot is to, later, become the site of the indoor practice field.

The block between Scott and Connell/Knoblock & Hester, is also being raised 4-5 ft., and is in the process of being leveled. The house at 616 Connell remains at this time.

Gravel is being dumped and leveled on the block between Connell & Cantwell/ Hester & Ramsey.

There is an article in today’s Tulsa World regarding the project and some aerial photos of the area. I will try to get a link to the story on the website.

8/10/06: 823 Cantwell is now moved temporairily to 600 blk. of Knoblock. Today they are clearing 701-717 Bellis debris & moving right along on the temporary parking lots. More mowing was done in the area N. of McElroy yesterday.

8/9/06: Not much to report. Still working on parking lots and 717 Bellis is down.

8/8/06: No demolition or clearing of debris being done this morning. It seems that they are beginning to concentrate on transforming cleared blocks into parking lots. With rush starting, there is already a parking problem, as there is no parking now across from Bennet Hall. Hopefully, they will have some lots finished before school begins. 611 Bellis is being moved.

8/7/06: Lee Agnew took some pix in the acquistion area on July 29. I thought you might like to see them. You can find them under Misc. (the misc. heading after “lawsuits” on the left side of the home page.) Didn’t walk until evening today. They have started working on getting ready for demolishing the Polo Apts. (Scott & Washington, directly North of Wes Watkins blgd. parking lot). They have also taken down 701 and 711 Bellis. The debris is not cleared. I could smell the cedar aroma from those two houses a block away. I find that interesting, as I have not noticed it with any of the other demolitions.

8/6/06: I’ve been out of town for a few days and did the “walk around” this morning. The only demolishing done since last report is the Anderhaus apartments at the corner of Washington and Cornell. It is now down. All the debris from the Patio Apts. at the corner of Scott & Hester has been cleared. The houses at 618 Knoblock and 622 Hester are now gone & land cleared. The only remaining house between Knoblock & Bellis, Scott & McElroy, is 616 Connell (the house now under eminent domain). OSU is leaving a few trees in the cleared area.

7/29/06: Behind closed doors, an agreement was reached between the City of Stillwater & OSU regarding keeping Hall of Fame open. Also, the regents okayed the use of eminent domain on the one property, South of McElroy, that has not been acquired by OSU. To read more about it, check the links under “Recent News Links” on the left hand side of this page- SNP: “Hall of Fame stays open” & “Regents OK using eminent domain.”

7/28/06: No demo going on today. House at 618 Knoblock is ready to move today. 607 Bellis was moved yesterday. I think E. side of the 600 block of Bellis may be next area scheduled for demo., but think the wrecking crew is going to be working at stadium next week. (not demo, but grading, moving materials, etc.) So clearing in the acquisition area may be more or less on hold for a week. Perhaps the block from Bellis to Washington may not be cleared by the time school begins, but I think all else will be.

The parking lot N. of the stadium is torn up & being leveled. I first thought it was maybe to move Hall of Fame, but now believe it is to be used for “storage” for dirt, asphalt, etc. from parking lots and W. end of stadium. (to be used later)

Right now one has a clear view from McElroy, all the way to the stadium. Guess we can view “Boone Pickens Stadium” quite prominently at this point. However, when they build the indoor football practice field, etc. this may not be the case.

It seems that OSU now owns all the property, except maybe 1 or 2 houses, between knoblock & Washington, from the campus to McElroy.

7/27/06: From the campus to McElroy, between Knoblock & Ramsey, only 3 houses remain. They are 622 Hester, 618 Knoblock & 616 Connell. Also from campus North to Cantwell, between Bellis & Ramsey only the west 1/2 of the block (on Bellis, east side of the street) remain. Little has been done North of campus from Wes Watkings bldg. or in any of the block between Cantwell and McElroy from Washington to Ramsey, at this point.

It is looking pretty evident that all the area between the campus, North to McElroy between Knoblock & Washington, will be cleared and probably become temporary parking lots before school begins.

North of McElroy it seems that several rentals and apartment buildings will remain, likely through the coming school year. Some still owned by individuals and some by OSU. OSU will rent those they own, receiving the income from those rentals.

I will say that it appears, from those who have communicated with me, that of individuals who have settled with OSU some are “thrilled”, some a bit disappointed. But, for the most part, all seem to be at least “OK” with the settlement they recieved. I feel our “fight” gave property owners time to learn how they could best negotiate with OSU. And that it caused OSU to take a step back, rethink, “play nice”, treat owners with more respect and deal with individuals more fairly. If that is the case, it has been well worth all the dedicated efforts of many.

7/26/06: West half of block between Knoblock & Hester is down. Debris being cleared today. Work has begun on West end of stadium.

7/25/06: Still clearing Patio apts. debris, Starting to demolish @ Hester & Cantwell. This morning had demolished 701 Hester and were in the process of demolishing appt. building @ 711 Hester. North of McElroy, one owner who just did work on his property last summer is now “undoing” some of it. He is taking the sheet metal siding off the house. All OSU properties in the area are now being mowed and it looks much better.

7/21/06: 624 Ramsey has been moved. 621 Hester, demolished. Today there seems to be no demolishing taking place. Debris is being cleared. I understand that Monday there will be more homes demolished. Also, you know what they say about what happens when you “assume”. I assumed that dates painted on houses were dates scheduled to be demolished. In fact, they simply are dates that the units were made available for demolishment. Apparently the project is really ahead of schedule.

It seems I missed a couple articles from the SNP while I was out of town. One regarding Habitat’s appreciation for OSU’s cooperation in letting them take what they can use/sell and the other regarding the use of the area for S.W.A.T. teams. If I can get those from the archives, I will post them.

Me speaketh too soon. The mowing crew was VERY busy today in this heat. All OSU owned & OSU controlled yards have been mowed. Pretty soon we may see only some of the original owners, still holding their property, as needing to tend to their lawns. It is hard to get the motivation to continue the yard work, if you know it will be going to OSU.

Ramsey, between the campus & Cantwell has only 1 house (622 Ramsey) remaining. It is scheduled to be moved very soon. Did I mention that I noticed “BOONE PICKENS STADIUM” is now in place on the North side of the stadium. I noticed it 7/9/06. It may have been there before & I just blocked it out.

7/17/06: First, let me suggest you read the article sent with the comment of David. It is VERY interesting and addresses the concerns of “How are we going to maintain this Athletic Village?”

I have been gone for a week and did my walk around this morning. I certainly see what “clout” I have. I think the mowing crew has either quit or been fired, as the yards are looking worse by the day. My lawn mowing report to OSU doesn’t seem to have had any affect. It seems most of the yards that have been tended are still in the hands of the original owners.

Everything North of the campus between Ramsey & Hester has been cleared now. Most between Knoblock & Hester has been cleared to Cantwell. Three houses remain in that block. 1 facing Hester, 1 facing Connell & 1 facing Ramsey. A few more houses have been cleared here & there. As I walked today, I did not see many of the wrecking crew on the job, although some clearing & leveling was taking place. If the dates painted on houses are the scheduled dates for demolishing, it looks like they are running a week or so behind.

7/8/06: A few more houses have been moved & another apartment building demolished. Clearing of debris is being done. In answer to questions I have been asked regarding the new spray painting on properties: It has been done by OSU. 1. The orange house numbers were painted at the request of the fire department since some of the house numbers have been “dislocated”. 2. The big A means the building contains asbestos & must be dealt with accordingly. 3. Dates (mostly in green) I assume signify the date the property is to be demolished. According to some of the dates, they are a tad behind schedule.

7/5/06: Hope everyone had a great 4th celebrating the birth of our nation. I haven’t reported for awhile because mostly preparing houses for moving, clearing & leveling of land has been taking place. Also, very few workers were here for the wk. end through the 4th. A few are back working today. Most debris & clearing is done from the campus on south between Bellis & Ramsey & about halfway to Cantwell. Between Ramsey & Hester from Connell to Cantwell is mostly cleared & leveled. The apartment bldg. A at 613 Hester has been moved & Bob’s Brewhaus was demolished today. 820/822/824 Ramsey are being readied to move.

Last week I talked to Risk & Management at OSU. I mentioned that as much emphasis as OSU had put on the asthetic beauty of the campus during their open meetings, I was surprised that so many of the properties, now owned by OSU in the acquisition area, were in such need of mowing, etc. He was surprised to hear this & asked if I was sure of my information regarding ownership. He asked me to send him a list of properties needing attention. So, I took my little map of the area, w/ properties owned by OSU at this point marked, and did my “walk around”. Not quite as fun as the walk around for homecoming, but interesting. He was correct. Not ALL unkept properties belong to OSU or, in some cases are owned by OSU but not yet released to them. However, I did send him an extensive list. We’ll see how that goes. Perhaps OSU has more property than they can maintain. (As an added extra in the information department: Calvin Anthony, the newest regents member living in Stillwater is an OU graduate.)

6/21/06: I was stopped during my walk by a volunteer from Habitat for Humanity. He asked that I get the word out to everyone how very grateful they are for all that is being donated to them. Many of the property owners have allowed them to come to their property early to let them take anything they might be able to use. OSU is also allowing them to remove anything within a certain time period of demolishing. Habitat is VERY appreciative. So, I am passing that along.

Progress: Both sides of Connell in the 6oo & 700 block have, for the most part, been cleared & leveled. One of the Patio apartment buildings is well along in the process of being demolished. Another house in the 500 block of Connell has been moved. OSU has painted over the grafiti spray painted by vandals.

6/17/06: I have been gone a few days again. Drove around to check the neighborhood and things are progressing rapidly. Connell: South side from Washington to the East through Knoblock, and from Connell South to the campus, is either cleared or in the process of being demolished. The North side of the street from Bellis to near Knoblock is also cleared or in the process of being demolished and cleared.
Also received by email an article regarding T. Boone’s son that was in the Boston Globe 6/16/06. I couldn’t get the Globe article on this site but I have posted a link to Yahoo! News (under Recent News Links), reporting the “incident”. I also heard about it on the radio during my drive home from Texas.

6/12/06: Boy, things are really starting to move (literally & figuritively). Been gone a few days and am amazed at what all has been done since I left. 512 Ramsey is now in a parking lot between apartment buildings A & B of 835 N. Washington. 717 Connell is now in the parking lot of Bob’s Brewhaus. We seem to be having musical houses. Looks like they are storing them in different places to get them out of the way for starting construction and tearing down of large apartments. Hester is closed between Scott & Connell and Bellis is closed from Scott to Connell except for local traffic, in preparation of Patio apts. demo. The orange plastic mesh “fences” surround that area.

Connell: 620, 722, 724 802, 804: All ready for demo. 720 on moving beams. I can hardly keep up with the pace at this point.

The trailers in Cordell N. parking lot are for the West end of stadium construction…NOT Cordell demo.

6/8/06: In answer to the questions “What is the bidding process and to whom are the lists for bidding made available” for houses in the acquisition area: Anyone interested in bidding on a house/unit may call the OSU Assest Management Office (405) 744-8499 and asked for the list to be sent in the mail or faxed. One can also pick up the list at the Assest Mgt. office or at the OSU Risk & Property Mgt. office.
This list will include a line by each listing for a bid and the deadline for bidding. It will also include information regarding Liability Insurance, Property Damage Insusrance, Vehicle Liability Insurans, Contractor’s Property Damage Insurance & Worker’s Compensation Insusrance the “bidder” must have.Then the form must be returned in person or by mail to the Assest Mgt. Office (not faxed).
At deadline, the bids will be opened & sent to the Risk & property mgt. office for the decision to accept a bid or not. When the Asset Mgt. office gets the “okay” from the Risk & Property Mgt. office, the Asset Mgt. office will send a letter of “award” to the higest bidder, as accepted by the Risk & property Mgt. office. Then a deadline will be given for the house to be removed and lot cleared by “new owner”.

6/7/06: There are 4 hugh trailers in the north parking lot at Cordell Hall. Obviously, demolition will begin there soon. Patio apartments have been cleared of all applicances, mattresses, etc. and trailers are to be there today for demolition of those units to begin. Those areas will become temporary parking lots, I believe.
More houses/units are to go out for bids soon.

6/5/06: New list of houses owned by OSU, put up for bids or scheduled to be demolished:
502 Bellis – B ( put up for bid to sell)
510 Bellis – B
601 Bellis – D (to be demolished)
818 Bellis – B
824 Bellis – B
903 Bellis – B
904 Bellis – B
909 Bellis – D
915 Bellis – B
919 Bellis – B
806 Cantwell – B
815 Cantwell – B
823 Cantwell – B
843 Cantwell – B
620 Connell – D
702 Connell – D
706 Connell – D
717 Connell – B
720 Connell – B
722 Connell – D
723 Connell – D
724 Connell – D
802 Connell – D
804 Connell – D
835A Connell – B
835B Connell – B
606 Hester – D
608 Hester – B
614 Hester – D
714 Hester – D
811 Hester – B
818 Hester – B
820 Hester – B
921 Hester – D
1107 Hester – B
1111 Hester – D
712/716 Knoblock – D
723 McElroy – D
802 McElroy – B
825A McElroy – B
825B McElroy – B
841 McElroy – D
843 McElroy – D
845 McElroy – D
512 Ramsey – D
602 Ramsey – D
610 Ramsey – D
611 Ramsey – D
614 Ramsey – B
624 Ramsey – B
702 Ramsey – B
709E Ramsey- B
709W Ramsey- B
715E Ramsey – B
715W Ramsey – B
812 Ramsey – D
908 Ramsey – B
912 Ramsey – D
1102 Ramsey – B
511 Washington – B
911 Washington – D
1101 Washington – B
807 West – B
813 West – B
817 West – B
907 West – B
77 University Circle – D

I have been told that Habitat is being given the schedule for demolishing of each house & can get anything they think they can use. I also asked why the parking garage was not being started until Jan 07. This project is Federal money, as well as OSU and though they have been working on it for quite awhile, bids and contracts have taken longer than hoped.

6/2/06: From another “walker” in the neighborhood. A friend called today and asked if I had seen the OSU guy on tv last nite; round face, orange shirt, saying he had made friends with all the folks in this area and had just moved a large tree for one of the sellers that had been planted in memory of their son. Took a walk this evening on West street and a large tree had been moved from the yard at 814 West Street.
Also someone is now living in 807 West street where a good friend of mine lived before moving to the Links.
I met a couple young men moving into a house in the 1100 block of Ramsey Street. They have a one year lease. They asked me if I had been treated badly by OSU, I said “no”. They said a lot of bad stories circulating on campus. Guess it was time for OSU to do some PR work. These young men were students, so guess some of them are aware.

June 1:
Somewhat “official” list of OSU purchased houses:
1. 815 W. Cantwell——–STI (sold to individual)
2. 720 W. Connell———NP (no purchaser to date)
3. 900 W. Connell———STI
4. 835 W. Connell, Bldg A.——STI
5. 835 W. Connell, Bldg. B——-NP
6. 608 N. Hester——–STI
7. 614 N. Ramsey——-STI
8. 624 N. Ramsey——-STI
9. 702 N. Ramsey——NP
10. 820 N. Duck——–STI
11. 920 N. Duck——–OM (owner moving)
12. 924 N. Duck——–OM
13. 702 W. Cantwell—–NP
14. 708 1/2 W. Cantwell——-NP
15. 1011 N. Ramsey——–OM
16. 1110 N. Ramsey——-STI
17. 622 N. Ramsey——-NP
18. 613 N. Hester——–OM
19. 606 N. Knoblock——–OM
20. 813 N. Knoblock——-STI
21. 907 N. Knoblock——-NP
22. 920 N. Hester———NP
23. 916 N. Hester———NP
24. 1108 N. Hester——-STI
25. 810 N. Hester——–OM
26. 812 N. Bellis——–STI
27. 619 N. Bellis——-NP
28. 621 N. Bellis——-NP
29. 1114 N. Bellis——Owner may move, not decided yet
30. 511 N. Washington———NP
31. 840 W. McElroy——STI

If there are other houses owned by OSU that have been or are for sale, I do not know about those now.

5/24/06: West, across from Bennet Hall, is now cleared. One house South of McElroy (612 Knoblock) is in the process of being prepared for moving, as are 3 houses North of McElroy (840 McElroy, 909 Bellis, 814 Bellis). No other demolitition, preparing for construction, etc. of “the village” is being done…that I see. North stadium is still “in progress”.

According to the Stillwater Newpress the parking garage is not being started until Jan. ’07. With the desparate need for parking spaces, one would have thought that project would have begun immediatley after the spring term ended. I’ll let you know periodically anything I notice taking place, to ready property for the “new village”. (I think all of the above are being moved by owner)

Also, read that AD, Mike Holder, has fired 9 athletic related employees.

5/25/06: This evening’s walk around the neighorhood: 917 Connell (S. of McElroy, W. of Washington) is about ready for removal (think by OSU). It will probably be a temporary parking lot. 717 Connell (S. of McElroy, E. of Wash.) and a little house South behind this property are being readied to move, as well as a small concrete structure there. (probably by OSU and probably for another temporary parking lot.)

Also 1011 Ramsey (N. of McElroy) is just starting the process to move the house (by owner).

5/26/06: A little added information from today’s walk: 820 Duck ( N. of McElroy) is schduled to be moved. They haven’t started, but the moving company’s sign is on the door. (probably by OSU, possible parking lot) 720 Connell also has a sign on the door, but nothing started. I think this is OSU and will probably be used for a temporary parking lot. Other signs of moving company are on the doors of 608 Hester (house) and 613 Hester (2 small apartment buildings). (S. of McElroy). Again, think this is OSU & probably for a parking lot.

There is a sign in the widow of Bob’s Brewhaus, 710 Cantwel,l that says, ” Bob’s has moved to 1016 S. Main. Sincerely, T. Boone.”

5/30/06: There is an aution to be held @ 700 W. Scott (Patio Apts.) on Sat. June 3. There are washers, dryers, furniture, fridges, etc. Even though OSU now owns the property, the contents still belong to the owner & proceeds from the sale will go to the owner. Moving company signs on houses appear now at 614 & 624 Ramsay, and 815 (could be 817) Cantwell. Yellow signs on houses announce house for sale. Those houses have been purchased by an individual and he is planning to sell them.

Posted in *PROGRESS REPORT* | 40 Comments

From Stillwater Journal

The change of City Commission and OSU Coordinating meetings to be held three times per year, rather than quarterly was decided last year. The meeting scheduled for Monday, May 1, was cancelled by OSU with no reason given. OSU is delaying the meeting until the next scheduled meeting, which is Sept. 11.

The meeting to have taken place on May 1, was to discuss the No. 2 fire station, reimbursement for the city’s fire and ambulance runs to campus, the athletic village and the city’s infrastructure such as streets and sewer and water lines that OSU will take over in acquisitions, the future of Hall of Fame and McElroy as well as other joint topics.

At least two letters were sent to OSU asking about the reopening of Hall of Fame and when planning for such opening could begin. There was no response from OSU to either of these letters.

There has also been NO response from the President/CEO regarding discussions of the fire and ambulance service on campus.

At the City Commission meeting on Mon., May 1, Hank Moore said the city needs to pressure the university to “get back on track” with the coordination meetings. Hank said that they should go back to quarterly meetings and with all the issues outstanding, he doesn’t think they should wait until September.

{Is this the manner in which OSU intends to “partner” with the city of Stillwater?}

Posted in Stillwater Journal Articles | 3 Comments

Julie Couch editorial 4/13/06

http://www.stwnewspress.com/column_disp.php?id=19

Posted in Stillwater NewsPress | Leave a comment

Agnew donates rental property to church

- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -

Dr. Theodore L. Agnew Jr., Emeritus Professor of History at Oklahoma State University, will donate his rental property on Bellis Street in Stillwater to the United Methodist Church through the Oklahoma Conference Foundation, his family announced today.

The property will be presented in a brief ceremony on Thursday, April 6, 11:30 am, at the First United Methodist Church, 400 West Seventh Street, in Stillwater. Receiving the gift on behalf of the Oklahoma Conference Foundation will be David Battles, Vice President for Planned Giving. An opportunity for questions and photographs will follow the presentation.

Dr. Agnew’s property consists of a single-story house located in the area to be occupied by the OSU Athletic Village, as designated in the OSU Master Plan approved by the Board of Regents on March 3.

“I am pleased to be able to make this gift as an Agnew Family Endowment which will be available to promote the causes of United Methodism in years ahead,” Dr. Agnew said.

Supporting Dr. Agnew in his gift are his five children, Theodore Lee Agnew III, Susan Elizabeth Agnew, Hugh LeCaine Agnew, Peter Wallace Agnew, and Marion Jeanne Agnew.

Dr. Agnew may be contacted for more information or further questions at 405-372-9404.

-30-

Posted in Misc | 4 Comments

Wall Street Journal

Boone Pickens’s Gift
To Oklahoma State
Sparks Local Rivalry

Some Neighbors Jeer Plans
For Huge Sports Complex;
Lampooning the Largess
By RYAN CHITTUM
March 30, 2006; Page A1

STILLWATER, Okla. — Boone Pickens has seen legendary fights over oil and corporate takeovers. Now, a giant gift to help his alma mater build a huge sports complex — and a winning football team — has plunged him into a different kind of battle, with residents of a low-income neighborhood.

Mr. Pickens’s recent $165 million contribution to build new sports facilities at Oklahoma State University is the largest single donation made to a U.S. collegiate athletic program and more than half the size of the university’s entire endowment.

OSU wants to use the money to expand its football stadium and build an “athletic village” complete with practice fields and new stadiums for soccer, baseball and other sports. But to do so, it will have to clear out a large residential area adjacent to the campus.

The university owns part of the 100-acre tract and is offering buyouts for the rest — deals that have some people balking and refusing to leave. The plan puts Mr. Pickens at the center of a skirmish featuring tenants, property owners and the university.

Last month, community members packed the local library to hear OSU officials present the latest details of the plan, which is backed by the state’s power of eminent domain. Some attendees cried, and others groaned. A question-and-answer session with OSU President David Schmidly drew boos and emotional exchanges from the crowd.

“My house and my home is my special building,” said longtime resident Liz Doyel. “You’re trying to steal it.”

“I’m not a thief,” Mr. Schmidly replied.

Calvin Anthony, a pharmacist and chairman of the local Chamber of Commerce, supports the plan because he believes it will be good for both the school and local business. He told people in the crowd they should thank Mr. Schmidly for meeting with them despite the intense opposition. “He may feel like a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs,” he said.

Here in Stillwater, a city of 39,000, the plan stands to affect hundreds of people — from students to pensioners — who say they can’t afford higher housing costs. OSU says 550 students currently live in the neighborhood, but it is unable to provide total population figures. According to geoVue Inc., a company that culls demographic information for commercial real-estate searches, there were 1,315 people living in 725 housing units in the area as of 2004. The median household income of those over the age of 25 was about $20,000 as of 2000.

Mr. Pickens, 77 years old, isn’t sentimental about razing the neighborhood. “You look at it and think ‘Gosh Almighty, we’ve got to get this stuff out of here,’” he says. “I mean, it’s so bad looking. Those houses are in horrible condition.”

On March 3, the Board of Regents unanimously approved the athletics plan, which calls for the demolition of many properties by year’s end. About one-fifth of the owners, however, still refuse to engage in price negotiations — and some have threatened to stand up to the bulldozers. Mr. Pickens, meanwhile, says he recently met with university officials to discuss how to speed up the process. “It’s gonna get done so we might as well get at it,” he says.

Over the past 25 years, Mr. Pickens has given about $250 million to OSU. The bulk of contributions were in the past three years, with about 80% of the total earmarked for athletics.

Mr. Pickens, whose spokesman says he has a net worth “in excess of $2 billion,” made his fortune running the Irving, Texas-based Mesa Petroleum Co. (now called Pioneer Natural Resources Co. and unaffiliated with Mr. Pickens). In the 1980s, he earned fame attempting corporate takeovers.

An Oklahoma native, Mr. Pickens first attended Texas A&M. The school took away his basketball scholarship — “I wasn’t good enough,” he says — so he went to Stillwater to enroll in what was then Oklahoma A&M. Mr. Pickens tried out, unsuccessfully, for legendary coach Henry Iba’s basketball team. In 1946 it was the last OSU squad to win a national basketball or football championship. He graduated in 1951 with a degree in geology.

A rendering of the expanded OSU Boone Pickens Stadium, now under construction.

Today at OSU, Mr. Pickens’s influence extends well beyond the treasury. Last year, the billionaire recommended the appointments of football coach Mike Gundy and Athletic Director Mike Holder. The latter is a longtime quail-hunting buddy of Mr. Pickens who was formerly the school’s golf coach. While Mr. Schmidly, the university president, says Mr. Pickens has no veto power over any decisions, he acknowledges that the appointments “had a lot to do with Boone gaining confidence” to make his record contribution.

That happened just after Christmas of 2005. Mr. Holder met with Mr. Pickens in his Dallas office to pitch the idea for a sports complex, to be built near Boone Pickens Stadium, the football facility named for him in 2003. Mr. Holder had been angling for a big donation, throwing out numbers Mr. Pickens called “ludicrous.”

A day after the meeting, Mr. Pickens wired $165 million to the university, enough to cover more than half of the $300 million project’s costs. The funds were almost immediately invested in a hedge fund controlled by Mr. Pickens — a move that drew some criticism and was the subject of a New York Times article. Mr. Pickens says the fund has waived all fees.

Chris Stellman, an OSU senior who would be displaced by the project, created an online comic strip lampooning the university as “Boone State” and featuring Mr. Schmidly bowing to Mr. Pickens’s every whim. One strip depicts Mr. Pickens talking about building the football team a day spa.

Although some locals resist the plan on principle, others are haggling over price. Opponents say OSU is offering owners about 70% of the assessed value of their properties. They complain the university has them over a barrel by threatening to use eminent domain, the legal process that allows government-related entities (including public colleges) to appropriate private property for the public benefit.

The university says it doesn’t want to use eminent domain, though will as a “last resort” if property owners refuse to sell, Mr. Schmidly says.

County assessor Jacquie Rose describes OSU’s offers for property in the area, where the median home price is about $70,000, as “low.” Mr. Schmidly counters that the assessed values are too high. Instead, the university’s buyouts prices are equal to 105% of its own appraiser’s estimates. The university is also paying a “longevity bonus” to homeowners based on years of occupancy, plus moving expenses.

If Mr. Pickens’s largess boosts OSU’s football team as he hopes, he and university officials expect other benefits to follow — in both sports and academic programs. At rival University of Oklahoma, about 70 miles south, a national football championship in 2000 spurred a $110 million fund-raising campaign that renovated and expanded its stadium, according to school officials there. Applications for enrollment soared and the school had to turn away students for its incoming freshman classes for the first time.

Ryan Chittum
The Wall Street Journal
200 Liberty St., 12th Floor
New York, NY 10281
212-416-4133
ryan.chittum@wsj.com

Posted in Misc | 9 Comments

Emailed from Hank Moore

Please post this from me on your site. I am not afraid to make my
position known and stand for what is right.

I realize that some in the community have issues with Mayor Bud Lacy,
yet, none should question question his absolute devotion to the City
for the past 15 years. From planning commission, to city commissioner
and now as our Mayor. There is no practical reason to throw that level
of experience and knowledge away. He has done nothing harmful to the
City and has usually made the right decision for the long term of
Stillwater. He brings dialogue to a healthy debate and we, as
Commssioners decide issues and move on. No consequence to opposing
viewpoints!

While some may not like his management style or decision making process
at times, I respect his role as Mayor and one I know he takes seriously
to heart. I am out front trying to get him re-elected. He stood by me
when the commission voted 3-2 to not re-appoint me to the Stillwater
Visitors and Convention Board (because I voiced opposition against the
Stw. Chamber of Commerce). Further, he has allowed me to speak out and
to express my viewpoints, whether he agreed or not.

From my personal and political experience, Roger is both vindicative
and definitely in lock step with the Chamber and the University. If you
disagree with him at all, you become an enemy for life!
That is not how a Mayor should or can operate.

With the appointment of Calvin Anthony to the Board of Regents, those
two will, or should I say will try, to railroad the City Stillwater
policy and finances more to their special interests with no consideration
for the rest of the community. Decisions will be made with disregard to
the city; and the Chamber and University interests will come
first. This has happened with most of the past Mayors who pictured
their support in an ad for Roger. His support is NOT solid and is mostly on appearance (big money and signs in rental properties).

This community needs to look forward and not be operated as the city of
the 60s-70s-80s and early 90s. We should not turn the city back to the
Chamber of Commerce political machine and further allow the
University to further step on our citizenery.

PLEASE HELP – find just 20 people and get them to vote! We can
win! We need to energize the grass roots pockets of different thinkers
to rally around Bud Lacy. He is our the best alternative to standing up
for what is right.

You can vote in person at the Payne County Administration Building on
Friday or Monday prior to the election. We need to get to the 2,000
person level of voter participation. Watch for the papers to publish my editorial and watch the mail for my letter.

I have not changed and I have stood by my principles and goals the whole
year. Now, I need my voice to be carried by helping re-elect Bud Lacy
as our Mayor.

I would appreciate your support with my efforts here.

Thank you.

Hank Moore

Posted in Stillwater Concern | 3 Comments

Cinnabar: Name of sender withheld

Ms. Williams:
I sent this out bcc to a number of people on Faculty Council and to the Boone State guys. I don’t know whether you ever received it. A later story in the Tulsa World stated that Cinnabar’s contract with the Tulsa Airport was terminated with the work done on the noise retrofits resulting in management fees per house of $14,000! I think they are a sleazy, but well-connected, outfit. What is their link to Gary Clark? I wonder if their contract with the Foundation can be accessed or whether it is immune to public records claims because it is with the Foundation, not OSU? I would like to see what their true incentives are for taking advantage of property owners. I think this would refute Schmidly’s claims that the Foundation and OSU had the property owner’s well-being at heart.

I also believe that the Foundation’s reinvestment of Picken’s $165 million in his hedge fund is not sound fiscal management and would not pass any proper financial scrutiny. In the pension fund (including Teacher’s Retirement) story in the Oklahoman over the weekend, the State Treasurer was quoted saying that hedge funds were too risky for public investments. Again, this move may be hidden from public access because it is with the Foundation, not OSU. I think someone should raise the issue of whether this good ol’ boy, sloppy paperwork, and risky investment scheme in one fund(Holder as investment officer!) could impact OSU’s standing for any future bond issues. I can’t believe that it even would meet the rules governing the Foundation at this point. I bet bonds are coming, too.

Cinnabar Services Company, the buyer of homes in the OSU Athletic Village project, seems to have a little baggage. The Tulsa Airport authority cut off its contract for noise abatement projects in neighborhoods around the Tulsa Airport. The company principals, Bacon and Parmele, also are two of the principals in IVI, which proposed the infamous private toll bridge in south Tulsa. They may even have done this after, as Cinnabar, they did a study on the project. The company seems very well connected in Tulsa politics. The stories I have read seem to suggest that Parmele has had posts that could involve conflicts of interest. I am sure there could be more. Please pass this along.

http://www.cinnabar.cc/cschomepage.htm

http://www.urbantulsa.com/article.asp?id=2927

http://www.tulsaworld.cc/cinnabarservice.html

http://www.movethatbridge.com/MoveThatBridgeTulsaWorldArticles.htm

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:GM4QZ24FAe4J:www.tulsaairports.com/taa/documents/lettertonoiseprogramparticipants-10-06-05.doc+Cinnabar+Service+Co&hl=en

http://www.tulsanow.org/forum/topic.asp?whichpage=2&TOPIC_ID=1235奖

http://www.batesline.com/archives/001920.html

http://news.pajamasmedia.com/2005/12/28/6793911_Noise_plan_contr.shtml

http://www.cleanuptexaspolitics.com/images/TollCorridorMoney.pdf

http://www.millproject.org/pdf/forced.pdf

Posted in Cinnabar | Leave a comment