Whoâ€™s Donating To River Development?

Thursday, September 27th 2007, 5:00 pm

By: News On 6

There are more details on the private money pledged to the Arkansas River development project, and new pictures of what's planned for the Arkansas River. The News On 6 learned on Thursday that private donors have a plan for their own oversight committee that would watch over the private donations, in addition to the public oversight committee for the sales tax money. The News On 6â€™s Emory Bryan reports the private backers of the project still won't say who is pledging how much.

If voters approve the river sales tax the flow of private dollars would build new improvements along the shoreline, but so far, only QuikTrip has announced how much they would give and where they would build.

There are three classes of private donors, and The News On 6 has learned the 10 primary donors were asked to pledge at least $5 million each. The rest of the $117 million comes from the seven supporting donors, with all of their money matched by the George Kaiser Family Foundation, which means Kaiser is contributing at least $58.5 million.

The foundation, run by Tulsa's Mayor and her husband, is listed with the top tier of donors, but Kathy Taylor will confirm only a contribution of at least $1 million. Some of the private money pledged by Kaiser in the past is already being spent, the river trail between 21st and 31st is being dug up and replaced with a wider, double trail.

A small portion of the private money would be spent away from the river. Five million dollars has been directed for pools and parks, primarily in North Tulsa. Supporters say the rest of the private, and all of the public money, will be spent on projects along the river.

Thursday, the River Yes! campaign released new animation of their ideas for the river, which shows the pedestrian bridge and low water dam in Sand Springs. Other ideas include a kayaking area and pedestrian bridge over the Arkansas River, but the plans are not final because it will not be designed until the money is in place.

The new river animation shows concepts for what would be built with both private and public money. To see that animation, click here.

Watch the video: River Tax Supporters Show Residents What They're Voting On

For complete coverage of the River Vote, click here.

Related Stories:

2/9/2007 Record Donation Aids Expansion Of River Parks Trail

6/20/2007 River Development Plans

6/21/2007 New Plans For Arkansas River Development

7/17/2007 River Development Reaches Another Landmark

7/18/2007 River Developments Hinges On Vote Of The People

7/18/2007 Arkansas River Development Plan Announced

7/19/2007 Campaign Planned To Push River Development

7/20/2007 River Development Plan Similar To One Already Passed

7/26/2007 City Councilor Has A New Plan To Pay For River Development

7/29/2007 Explaining Development Along The Arkansas River

7/30/2007 River Tax Debate Continues

7/31/2007 River Plan Not Popular With Tulsa County Residents

7/31/2007 River Plan Reactions

8/9/2007 River Development Plans Move Ahead

8/21/2007 River Tax Groups Turn To The Internet For Support

8/22/2007 Republican Group Against Arkansas River Tax

9/4/2007 Our River Yes Kicks Off River Development Campaign

9/5/2007 People For And Against River Tax Begin Campaigns

9/6/2007 Groups Battling For Votes On Arkansas River Tax

9/8/2007 North Tulsa Residents Rally Against River Tax

9/9/2007 River Tax Supporters Face Upstream Battle

9/13/2007 Rock The River Looks For Your Vote With Entertainment

9/16/2007 More People Getting Behind River Tax Plan

9/19/2007 Students Debate River Tax Plan

9/19/2007 City Takes A Stand Against River Tax

9/20/2007 River Development Swing Vote

9/20/2007 QT Unveils Its Plans For The River

9/21/2007 - From Dry River Bed To Lakeside Community

9/23/2007 - 'Run For Our River' Set for October 7th

9/24/2007 Rally Held Against River Tax Proposal

9/25/2007 - River Tax Supporters Reach Out To North Tulsa Community

9/26/2007 - River Opponents Given New Incentive To Pass River Tax