(August 14, 2004) – MAPS – Oklahoma City’s visionary capital improvements project – comes to a close at 11 a.m. Tuesday, August 17 with the dedication of the Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library, the MAPS Library/Learning Center the City built for the Metropolitan Library System.
Mayor Mick Cornett will host the celebration, which will also include comments by former Mayors Ronald J. Norick and Kirk Humphreys.
“The citizens’ willingness to dream big and pay extra taxes to do each of the nine projects right is what kept us going through the setbacks and challenges involved in this first-of-its-kind undertaking,” City Manager Jim Couch said.
The library is the last of the extraordinary projects that sparked an ongoing downtown renaissance that continues to exceed expectations, and which has drawn the attention of cities across the nation.
It was named for former Mayor Norick, the “father of MAPS,” by vote of the City Council on December 30, 2003.
MAPS was funded by a special temporary dedicated one-cent sales tax approved by voters on December 14, 1993. The tax was later extended by voters to last a total of 66 months, expiring on July 1, 1999. The tax collected more than $309 million in revenue.
Couch said the goal was always to finish MAPS right and without debt.
“We met that goal – thanks to the City Council’s commitment, the public’s patience and the talent and teamwork of everyone involved in taking MAPS from a vision through the crucial planning phase and on to the bricks-and-mortar, financial and quality control phases,” he said.
“I think those of us who participated directly during these past 10-plus years will always look back with a degree of amazement at the total and complete success of MAPS,” Couch said.
The other MAPS projects are:
- The $34 million SBC Bricktown Ballpark, completed in Spring, 1998
- The $23 million Bricktown Canal, which opened in July, 1999
- The $5 million Oklahoma Spirit Trolleys, which began service in June, 1999
- The $60 million renovation of the Cox Business Services Convention Center, completed in August, 1999.
- The $53 million renovation of the Civic Center Music Hall, completed in September, 2001
- The $14 million in improvements to the State Fairgrounds improvements, completed in 1998
- The $89 million Ford Center, largest of the MAPS Projects, which opened in June, 2002.
- The award-winning $53.5 million N. Canadian River development, completed this year.
“When you realize the Murrah bombing happened just as we were getting the projects in gear, and that the F-6 tornado hit during the construction phase, and that we had a couple of our worst budget years in decades during that same time, it makes the success of MAPS all the more extraordinary,” Couch said.
Assistant City Manager Jim Thompson was named MAPS Project Manager by City Manager Don Bown. When Finance Director Glenn Deck was named City Manager following Bown’s retirement, he shifted responsibility for MAPS to Couch. In 2000, Deck resigned to move back to Kansas and Couch was named City Manager. He continued overseeing MAPS but day-to-day operations were handled by Mark Carleton.
