OK C CIVIC LIFE

Quote of the week

“Since the south side has historically had so little representation, I was interested in recommending someone who would be able to facilitate conversations and planning for MAPS 4 with all our neighborhoods but especially with our south side neighborhoods and parks.”

— Ward 6 Councilwoman JoBeth

Hamon, commenting on the appointment of Daisy Muñoz as the Ward 6 representative on the MAPS 4 Citizens Advisory Board. The city council votes Tuesday on Mayor David Holt's appointments to the 11- member board. Muñoz is a graduate student in Regional and City Planning at the University of Oklahoma. “Because MAPS 4 will play out over a decade,” Hamon said ,“I was very interested in ensuring the voices of younger residents were included .”

Rose Crooks leads board

Teresa Rose Crooks i s the first woman to chair a MAPS Citizens Advisory Board i n the 27 years since MAPS was conceived i n the early 1990s. Rose

Crooks i s an attorney and formerly was senior director of community relations and events at Chesapeake Energy Corp. Six of the 10 citizen appointees to the MAPS 4 Citizens Advisory Board are women; the 11th member i s Ward 8' s councilman, Mark Stonecipher. Four women serve on the MAPS 3 board.

Donations benefit parks

Parks Director Doug Kupper says the Energy Assist Foundation, associated with the Energy FC soccer team, i s donating two minisoccer futsal courts and a basketball court, valued at $ 55,000, for Manuel Perez Park on the south side of the Oklahoma River. In a report to the Riverfront Redevelopment Authority, Kupper says the park system benefited from donations i n 2019 from, among others, the Oklahoma City Community Foundation ($ 345,803) and Oklahoma River Horse Experiences Inc. ($ 92,500).

Worth noting: The Trust for Public Land ranks Oklahoma City's parks 97th among l ocal park systems nationwide, unchanged from l ast year. City voters i n March rejected a proposal to i mprove parks and park programs.

Budget woes to hit streets?

Oklahoma City's

Public Works director proposed reducing the department's street resurfacing/ overlay program to“minimal levels” to meet 2021 budget targets set in response to the COVID- 19 pandemic's expected impact on city revenue. The city council begins reviewing the 2020-21 budget on Tuesday with a presentation by Public Works. Public hearing son the budget will continue June 2 and 9. Changes are possible before the final vote, now scheduled June 16. The budget takes effect July 1 and, by l aw, must be balanced.

Worth noting: Dialing backstreet resurfacing done by city crews would save about $ 1.5 million. The poor condition of city streets is a perennial complaint by residents who respond to the city's annual citizen survey.

Present/absent

The mayor and all eight city council members attended the May 12 teleconference meeting.

Calendar

The city council meets at 8: 30 a. m. Tuesday via teleconference. For i nstructions on participating, find the agenda under the Government tab at okc. gov.