[CPEO-MEF] Spiking Land Giveaway Best for Tinker

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

Oklahoma
Spiking Land Giveaway Best for Tinker
2002-12-05

RESCINDING the proposed land giveaway near Tinker Air Force is best for 
all parties. A legal opinion essentially nixed the idea, and the county 
commissioners, red-faced over two months' worth of controversy, vow to 
drop it. It's a wise move.

The commissioners wanted to give 28 acres near SE 29 and Sooner to Del 
City, over protests led by former Tinker commander Richard Burpee who 
warned of possible repercussions from the Pentagon. The land in question 
is in a so-called "accident potential zone" under the flight path of a 
Tinker runway, and the Air Force frowns on development in such areas.

We think Burpee, now president of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of 
Commerce, won the battle in the court of public opinion. He and his 
allies made a strong case that any kind of development on the property, 
even if ruled legal, would place Tinker in a precarious spot when 
another discussion of military base closures begins in 2005.

An opinion issued Tuesday by the district attorney's office said the 
proposed giveaway violated the purpose of a 1973 bond issue used to buy 
the land. So Burpee and Co. prevailed in the legal arena as well.

Del City officials seemed earnest in their plans to use the property in 
question for development that would dovetail with Tinker's mission. They 
also were rightly puzzled at why Midwest City was able to open an 
industrial park across the street more than a decade ago without near 
the fuss that had ensued this fall.

Truth is, the Midwest City park wasn't on county property, and it came 
to life before the federal government became serious about closing 
military bases. Tinker escaped the initial closures in the mid-1990s, 
but its fate could be in play again in two or three years.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.newsok.com/cgi-
bin/show_article?ID=956418&pic=none&TP=getarticle

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