After considerable study, the six determined Tulsa County fell short in three areas: the ability to attract and retain talented employees and the employers of that talent; a strong sense of community; and a sustainable tax base.The solution? Tax breaks to encourage business and investment. Lower taxes, improving the public school system. Ha - I kid. The solution is to build this
Ain't that pretty?Yup - they want to dam the Arkansas at 23rd street, create a lake reaching up to Sand Springs put up some buildings on a 40-acre island in the middle of the channel. All of the low-low cost of $600 million in public financing.
Oh - and they want to use the dam to sell energy from the dam (and wind and solar). This in a place where dams, yes, do generate electricity but their main purpose is flood control. Cause you don't get much energy from a river that doesn't flow so much as mosey.
Don't let the picture fool you - the Arkansas is mud-brown, sluggish and chock full of (treated) waste-water from upstream. Not the kind of thing you'll want to sit next to enjoying the twilight .. smacking mosquitos and shooing away mayflies.
A future taxpayer, stunned at what his $600 million has bought. I'm not sure what this fellow is standing on because he appears to be hovering a few thousand feet in the air over West Tulsa.
Via
