A consulting firm will take a deeper look at combining Tulsa’s city and county park systems.
A three-month feasibility study will start by the beginning of June. City and county officials can decide when it wraps up whether to keep going forward.
Terry Simonson with the sheriff’s office has been involved in the consolidation process from the beginning. He said his reading of the laws surrounding a combined park system means a city-county park commission would be created.
"Park operations, financing and everything would be shepherded under this new commission," Simonson said. "So, it wouldn't just be the city park board as it is today or the county park board that they have today."
The commission members would be appointed by the county and the city.
Park board member and city official Dwayne Midget said he supports a big-picture look at the two systems.
"What overall operations can we consolidate to stabilize our park and recreation system, just at the city level and county level?" Midget said. "So, we want to look at all areas of it and then try to pull the best parts of it that we think make sense to consolidate."
Park board chair Dale McNamara said she has some concerns about combining the city’s park system with the county’s.
"Our goals and what we try to achieve with our parks is totally different from the county, which is fine," McNamara said. "But it's so unbalanced. Tulsa is so much bigger and has so many small, neighborhood parks."
Funding is likely to be a major issue. The city relies on sales tax, which can be volatile, while the county is funded by property taxes.
The consolidation study is being privately funded. Tulsa is the only county in the state with its own park system.
