Comments on: A Question of Priorities

By: Pete Brzycki

Pete Brzycki — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:52:34 +0000

According to a revised budget approved by the mayor in July of last year, here are the remaining non-street items to be completed with the remaining P180 funds. As far as I know, none of these have commenced and therefore could be re-prioritized in favor of these pressing street issues:

$5 million for Civic Center Park
$.75 million for climate-controlled walkway through City Center East garage
$1.75 million for pedestrian access east of City Center East garage
$1.5 million for Arts Council Plaza (directly south of the up-in-the-air Stage Center)
$1 million for Arena/Reno Plaza

Total: $10 million

By: andy

andy — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:42:52 +0000

On Wednesday, I had lunch at the Lunch Box. They said if it weren’t for the Devon Tower they would have no business. Then I stopped in the Tinder Box. It is in the First National building. Spoke briefly with the fellow who owns it. He said Project 180 may put him out of business. I know the Trattoria il Centro and the Thai Kitchen were really impacted last year. Wondering about the Museum Cafe.
How are other small businesses fairing?

By: Wylie H.

Wylie H. — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:15:32 +0000

I recently walked the section of Walker in question and came away with the same observations as Steve. What the heck is going on here?

As has been pointed out, this was studied 13 YEARS AGO! Do we have to go into the City and physically drag the responsible employees out to the job site to get them to start work?

By: Larry OKC

Larry OKC — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:09:38 +0000

Unfortunately I have to agree with the above comments re Mr. Wenger. While I don’t doubt that he is a nice guy and all, he is not the right person for the job. Now it might not be all his fault, he may just be following orders from those that he perceives to be his bosses, the City Manager and in the case of the MAPS 3 oversight, the Mayor. I have said for a long time that part of the problem here is with the City Manager. He should have been replaced years ago. He was in charge of the original MAPS and it most if not all of the projects came in years behind schedule and not a single one came in under or on budget. SOme projects came in costing twice as much (we are seeing similar things with Project 180 & MAPS 3), overall MAPS came in 47.75% over what voters were told (not including the $100 million, mol, for the Arena improvements). Then he gets promoted to City Manager? later he hires/promotes Mr. Wenger as the MAPS 3 project manager citing Mr. Wenger’s previous experience with a couple of the original MAPS projects, that he brought those projects in on time and on budget. However, neither of those things happened.

By: GenghisKDuck

GenghisKDuck — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:02:19 +0000

Don Quixote speaks!

By: Steve R

Steve R — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:49:00 +0000

There is at least one instance where the city’s Project 180 map at okc.gov shows a street as converted where it is not. NE 6 W of I-235 is shown as 2-way, when in fact it is one-way westbound. Perhaps someone should walk this whole area and see if the map is correct otherwise.

By: BTDT

BTDT — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:32:13 +0000

Irrespective of whether the comments regarding Wenger are on target or off the mark, the suggestion to send him packing raises some questions:

is such a replacement decision well outside of the council’s purview?

was Wenger not recently promoted by his superior?

is the person who promoted Wenger holding an employment status that is within the council’s purview?

is there a larger problem to address than Wenger’s employment status?

By: MikeN

MikeN — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:41:48 +0000

Amen Dave, Amen.

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:54:25 +0000

Mr. Shadid, I would humbly submit that for the good of the city and the voters, you begin to look for a replacement for Eric Wenger. His leadership on Project 180 has made obvious that he has no understanding of how to manage a municipal project in a way that maximizes value. In your search, the most important things to look for is a track record of delivering projects on time and on budget. To this end, an aggressive cost cutter from the corporate world maybe more desirable than a government bureaucrat, a “professional engineer” like Wenger. He has shown no accountability and this city can do ten times better. Thanks for reading.

By: slackmeyer

slackmeyer — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:02:07 +0000

Ed, I know you’re trying to trust city staff… but stick with me here. Look at Google Earth. I see NO such entrances along Walker Avenue that would be any different than what is currently located along major two-way downtown streets like Broadway, Sheridan, Reno and NW 6. As for Walker Avenue – the only county property I see that fits what you’ve been told is the county parking garage. It has an entrance/exit much like the Santa Fe Garage, which is on a two-way street (E.K. Gaylord).
I again ask – what is the bigger priority? That the Civic Center park be rushed into a makeover in the next 8 months, or the function and safety of two of downtown’s biggest streets?