Latest / The County Line / The County Line Podcast: Ep. 15

Transcript

The County Line Podcast: Ep. 15 · The County Line

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: You're listening to the County Line Podcast, production of the Tulsa County Board of County Commissioners.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: Hello, everybody.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: Kelly Dunkerly County Commissioner joining me today for another edition of the County Line.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: Our podcast is Mark Tedford, State Representative from District 69.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, real quick, I'm gonna say that is where I live.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: So Mark is my state representative in the state house here in Oklahoma.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: And it was just a pleasure to have some time with you, uh schedules aligning and everything to talk a little bit about your service at the state level.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, before we talk about that, let's just talk a little bit about you know your family history and get people a little bit to know you and know your family and the history in Tulsa area because the Tedford name with Tedford Insurance is really something a lot of people know about, but we want everybody to.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for that.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I was raised uh right here in Tulsa County.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'm a second generation independent insurance agency.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: My dad moved to Tulsa um to start the agency uh in 76.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: And so we've been in downtown Jinx on Main Street Jinx since '90, since before I started the agency.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: I went to Jinx High School, um, went then went to Missouri Southern to play football, and then came back and went to the University of Tulsa for MBA, and then joined the agency in '94.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: And so we're already on Main Street Jinx at that time.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: And and uh uh my dad passed away in 2004 and took it over uh from there with my older brother and then uh bought him out in 17.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I've been on Main Street Jinx for a long time, been in this community uh a long time, and you know, love this community, glad to be part of it.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: Well, uh Tedford Insurance has been a big part of Jinx for a long time, but also the Tulsa area.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, I I'd like to highlight, you know, I served on at the Jinx Chamber, the president of the chamber on the board, and you did that, I believe, three times, if not four times, which really highlights your commitment to service because sometimes it's hard to get somebody to take that baton, but you did it four times.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, that's really that's service to Jinx, it's service to South Tulsa and the Tulsa area.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, tell us a little bit about your service with the chamber and what you learned with business leaders.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I've always felt like that um the bit the community leaders uh should be involved in the community, um, they should reinvest in the community and be engaged politically, which for me um in my early and mid-careers was being involved with the chamber.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: So not just the Jinx Chamber, but also the Tulsa Chamber, Small Business Uh, Connect.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, I was the president of the Jinx Chamber.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: And like one of those times somebody uh got elected and then couldn't fulfill their duties, so I was kind of like a last-minute fill-in, but glad to do it.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like it was always it was good, you know.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted to give back to the community.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I love the Jinx community, been there a long time.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, we've always tried to um, you know, help it out.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: We did a business development project uh for their Main Street initiative here, you know, recently.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm really proud where Jinx Main Street is right now, and uh we made a lot of progress there and and happy for the Jinx Chambers made a lot of progress as well.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: So glad, glad to give back.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not just Jinx, it's been the Tulsa community as well, is where we've been engaged.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: So Tulsa in general, but you know, on that Jinx downtown development project, you know, that's a long time coming.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: I know a lot of people know about Jinx downtown.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: It's kind of a special, uh, small town feel, right in the metro area.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: But your investment there really transformed the Main Street.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: Uh what was the total dollars spent there?
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: And tell us a little bit about that reinvestment project in partnership with the city.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um so, you know, uh kind of going back a little bit, uh I I believe that a community can't be a thriving community unless its downtown is also thriving.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: And that's whether it's Tulsa, which is I'm glad to see it's downtown thriving.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I at the time I went to the University of Tulsa, I actually lived at 7th in Denver.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: It was at a time when downtown was really struggling.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: It was completely dead.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so I I contrast that with today, and I'm really happy for Tulsa.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: But the same thing with Jinx, is is you're your downtown, if it's not thriving, you can't say that your your town is thriving.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh, and as you know, cities are only funded by sales tax.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: And so um, in a small um city, you know, sales tax, they're always trying to scratch around to find out where their their sales tax revenue can come.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: So when we were looking to, we had bought the building um next to us, which is the old city hall, we were gonna renovate it anyway, combine the buildings.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: And at the time where the redevelopment project came out, where there was a sales tax um rebate, if you brought in businesses that had sales tax.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: So what we decided to do was double the size of square footage that we had.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: So we built another about 16,000 square feet, and then we're gonna move our office to the second and third floor, uh, and then put uh retail business on the ground floor.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: We're fortunate enough to get two tenants who were restaurants and one a boutique, uh, and they're doing great.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: And it really helped uh the whole uh downtown area.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: We we we sold one of the the or we turned one of the houses behind our office into a parking lot for extra parking for that to facilitate downtown.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: And since that time, there's been a couple other restaurants that have come in, and so now there's a lot of food options along um Main Street Jinx and and the feel of Main Street Jinx is uh as of that it's vibrant and things are happening, and so that really proud to be a part of that.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, really big to have businesses understand that vision, understand how cities work, and you know, a vibrant, you know, core with businesses, all kinds of businesses, uh services, but also restaurants and and things that generate sales tax critical for cities.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, hats off to to Tedford Insurance.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, you have you know that that operation has grown to probably over 70 employees, maybe maybe even more of that.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: Can you talk about how many employees you have in Jinx and then across Oklahoma and other right?
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: So we've gone to about 10 locations.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um are very small, some are in smaller towns, just one or two employees.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: But uh I think the count at the end of this year will be about 92 employees across 10 locations in the state.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so things have we've we've been very successful uh lately.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: And and um, you know, I've got some great employees that are doing good work, and uh and again most of our locations are in smaller towns.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: We're in the main street area and we're engaging in and our community partners with those communities.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: That's kind of the feel of what we want to bring, and it fits real well with the um independent insurance agency, too.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: So um, but again, we want to contribute back to those communities and glad that you know Jinx is the cornerstone for us.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: We want to be sure that what we did there uh was uh, you know, we had very nice, you know, facilities for our for our group.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: It it really is fantastic.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, that that kind of leads us to uh, you know, we're talking about a statewide presence, uh Tedford Insurance as an independent agency with many locations across the state.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, four years ago, you had the opportunity to think about serving in a different way, and that led you to run for the state house.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, like I mentioned at the beginning, you're my state representative '69.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: And tell us a little bit about that journey.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, we started in 22, I believe, and served two two terms.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: Tell us about what you've been working for at the state level.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: And like I said before, I was had always been uh engaged politically in some way.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'd supported a lot of candidates.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: I supported your campaign when you ran for um county commissioner.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I just feel like that's what you should do as a business leader.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: You should be engaged and know your um your local officials.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: And so um Sheila Dills, my predecessor, was looking to retire.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: And she called me and said, Hey, I think you should look at this.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I don't know, Sheila.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: And she's like, Well, I think you'll like it and you'll do good.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: And she was very convincing that it was something that I should do.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh I did it, and I didn't have an opponent either cycle at the state.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I got over there and really liked it.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: I liked policy.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: I liked uh I felt like I was pretty good at it, and um, so and I thought it fit well with what I was doing.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: And so um and that helped the decision for me to run for U.S.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: Congress.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I had a little bit of taste of what uh legislature's like and that look and what crafting legislation is like, and thought, again, I thought I was good at it, I thought I could do it.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: And when I looked around who was running on the Republican um primary side, I thought, hey, I think this is something uh I need to jump in, and this is something I can do and do a good job.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and and you you had all kinds of opportunities to weigh in on policy, like you're talking about at the state level.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: And and one of the things here at the county, you know, we're very dependent upon the state.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: We're really the we're not really state government, but the local branches and funding for roads and and bridges are critical to what we do.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I know the state legislature, you talked about that uh many times.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: And um uh, you know, we've been you all you were part of the process of increasing funding for roads statewide across many counties and and bridges, and you talk about that, and how do you think that moves the state forward?
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: So um just first my philosophy and and being in the legislature was one of very pro-business.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: I I like um thinking of how can um the legislature help business development and the economy in the state.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: And so I do think that there is a role for the state for that.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: And so the things I looked at, um, you know, good good tax policy, um uh and then infrastructure.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if I'm a real big believer, if you build it, they'll come that you, you know, the economy is uh can't outpace the underlying infrastructure for the state and the and or the city or the county.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so um I felt like hey, we have to have good roads if we're if we're and we have to have um uh you know good water infrastructure, we have to have uh good uh utility, you know, power infrastructure uh in order to bring businesses in.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: And so um, you know, I got to to see and see how the state works with that.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: And um, and then, you know, there's you know, this also you have state roads, you have county roads, and and so um, and there uh is a lot of times good partnerships that can be formed there and and a need for a partnership to get things, get roads built and bridges built.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: So you know, and it's uh every level of government in in cities, there's always a competition for resources.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, you've you've been part of the budget-making process at the state level, and you know, as a county official, we're always advocating, hey, more resources for roads, because we all know that the resources are kind of flat.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe sometimes they're they're going up, sometimes down those revenue flows, but the cost of roads is like that.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: So that's why we're always advocating for a reevaluation of that and thankful to you and others to to saying, yes, we do need to put a little bit more priority there, and that that means the state kind of changing some of their flows.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_01: And so we appreciate the additional revenue.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: Things have been tough.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh as you know, um the Oklahoma Department of Transportation has an eight-year plan.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: That plan was uh the plan that's currently in the books was created in an era that preceded the inflation event through COVID.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: And so um the cost for these roads uh probably doubled after that time.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so here you have this um budget that's that's eight years, that's now you can't really build what you thought you were going to build in that eight-year plan.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: You have the counties um who are trying to fund uh, you know, the the counties are funded largely by property tax.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: There's limit, I know people don't like that their property tax uh is goes up, but you know, the counties are paying uh cost that adjusted almost immediately with property tax that's going up uh 5% a year.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: And so that makes it very difficult.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's hard to budget and to to build these roads.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: There's um it puts pressure on everybody to to get some of these facilities.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I came out and toured some of the bridges that were in Tulsa County.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, it's like, hey, uh well, when we when we after the tour, can we can we leave another way?
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: You know, do we have to go back over this bridge, you know, to get home?
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and so you know, there's there's a need, and so there's there's a balance, and I think it it takes creativity sometimes on how to get everything funded.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, again, that's the again, the need for partnership to get that done.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: You know, that I think you know we both are, uh I know you're a big champion of free markets, uh uh free competition as a way of sharpening everybody and and growing the pie economically, keeping taxes low as possible.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: But we just talked about infrastructure, and that's one of the areas of government's responsibility to, you know, create a thriving environment uh that through some of the fundamentals, but let the free market do do its magic as well.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, there's always that tug in policy, but you know, I wanted to thank you and your fellow legislators for supporting uh the levy.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: You know, that was a big thing that the federal government with Senator Inhoff several years ago uh carved out resources from a federal level, but the state stepped in with a major contribution as well.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_01: And these levies, people some people don't live near them, so they don't quite understand, but that flood of of 2019 really showed us how that could impact our region and really put us in a bind economically.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: So talk about the levies.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I I I love talking about the story.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: The story I like to talk about is going out to the Sand Springs area and the one pump station that's out there that still works, and then there's a whiskey bottle hanging by a metal um string.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, okay, well, what's this?
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and they said, well, this is um how the pump turns on, that if the if the water raises that whiskey bottle, then it and I'm like, you know, this is this is pre-war technology here uh that is saving Sand Springs from being flooded, and this is the only pump station that's working.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh people didn't uh I'm people I don't think most people that live in C D1 understood how um in jeopardy we were from another flood over there.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um thank goodness that Senator Enhoff, I think one of his last things that he did was provide uh funding for the levy.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: But it wasn't just hey, the feds are gonna come in and just pay for all this this levy work.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it it required uh matching funds, um, matching funds that outstripped the ability for um Tulsa and the county to completely do it.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: So it needed um state um help in order to get across the line.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh one of the things I was very proud of doing was to advocate along with other members.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: There uh the whole the whole Tulsa County delegation, if you will, was all in on this one.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody um advocated for the project, said we've got to get this done, we've got to get this matching money.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: We if this window closes, we will not be able to get this back, you know.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: And so everybody was in, everybody got it done.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's a huge win for Tulsa County to get that funding in and get this project done.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: Again, I don't think people realize how much work needed to happen over there.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: And so um I'm really proud of that and glad to get that done.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_01: And we're talking big dollars.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: I think that was a$50 million contribution from the state side.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: So it it was something that people had to stretch to to make happen.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: The federal government is more like a you know way over a hundred million dollar contribution.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: And then there's the federal matching, but it's one of those things where the federal government level is key, the state level is absolutely important, and then the local matches is smaller, but it's big for us here.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: And we would never be able to do a levy project like that without that type of partnership.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, you also were instrumental in for a long time.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: We're we live in the south part of the metro area, and we all know that there we need another bridge across the Arkansas somewhere.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: And Bixby, if we if you talk to those residents, they're they're very much uh in need of that bridge because Memorial is just a traffic nightmare, a safety nightmare.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: And so you looked at that, you listened to your constituents, and you all came up with some legislation that opened the doorway for that to be uh a little bit more considered in detail.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: So um again, being on Main Street Jinx as long as I have been, there was there's been a discussion about the Arkansas River Bridge since I've been on Main Street.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so um so the discussion came up again.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: I think it was um Senator Mullen at the time that that brought it up again, who lived in the area.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, hey, we need to we need to look at this once more.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: The the prior authorization for the OTA was very limited.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: It required that the bridge be self-sufficient um on its on the tolls, which would require to make the toll like$12 or something.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then it limited it just a two-mile stretch um, you know, there from like or like Lewis to Yale.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: It was very narrow where the bridge could go.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: And so the thinking was one, let's allow the OTA to cross-collateralize the bridge, uh, which would um let the OTA build the bridge.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: And then so that, and then uh broaden the area and let the local municipalities in the county pick the spot that's best.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's what we did.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: We just changed the language to in the vicinity along the Argus River in the vicinity of Bixby.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: So this giving the uh state, they're giving the local area a lot of flexibility on where to look.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I know um there's some areas they want the bridge very badly.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: There's some areas that um don't want it so much.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and so the idea is there's a balance and we have to pick the you know the place.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: And what I've told people is everybody's got to win for the bridge to go in.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so um there's gonna be the cities are gonna have to chip in, the county's gonna have to chip in, the OTA is gonna put their money in.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I, you know, that at this looking to go into the federal level is something I will look at to say, you know, if there's no federal money, that probably won't happen.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that's discussion before I looked at going into the federal level that Senator Mullen at the time was saying, hey, um, you know, we'll probably need to have some federal money for this project to work.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: But you're right, the so the traffic in Bixby is not going to get better over time.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's going to get worse over time.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's also, it's already an issue for safety for access of emergency vehicles.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, there's that's a flood area down there.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: So um, you know, it, you know, if there was people evacuation, it'd be hard to get everybody out.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: So it's definitely a safety issue, it's a traffic issue, quality of life issue.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_00: And so um, again, having the forethought to get it in now before it's really a crisis, I think would be good.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so um I was really proud proud to get that project done uh along with Senator Haste and Broken Arrow, who's who's the guy you may have noticed that uh that there's not a lot of Senate bills to get passed.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: So um the fact that he took that project, took that bill and made it a priority and got it done early was key because as the Senate was having was was struggling um getting votes passed, he was able to take that one and get it passed.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm grateful for him.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: I you know, hap proud that I filed the bill and got it done on the House side, but then we really needed Senator Hayes to get it done in the Senate.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: Hayes was big with Broken Arrow, Guthrie and Bixby and the former mayor of Bixby helped.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, as you mentioned, that that's gonna be a partnership.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody has to win.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, if it was easy, it would have been done long ago.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_01: But you got the city of Tulsa, you've got Jinx, you got Bixby, you've got Broken Arrow, you've got the Muscogee Nation, the Federal Government, the OTA, a lot of a lot of pieces here.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_01: And what you just said is uh former Senator Mullen, now DHS Secretary, probably said, you know, there's gonna have to be some federal help to to really make this happen.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_01: So a lot of parts there.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, you're you're you're moving in another direction now.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_01: You've got the ability, uh you're running for Congress, and you may be uh our next congressman.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: And so knowing these conversations and how much the federal government can be a partner and understanding the state, it's just really huge.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: And the last thing I want to thank you and also get your thoughts on is you know, we got a big project in in my district, uh Garnet and 101st Street, um, redoing a mile of Garnet, right, and then the bringing an intersection over five feet out of the floodway.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_01: This is a big lift, and for county, that's a$12 million project.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_01: That's a big project for a county.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_01: And we were able to secure a FEMA grant, hazard mitigation grant, and you were a big part in, you know, I would just say uh the county's been working on this for a long time.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I'd been advocating and others to the federal government, but at some point, because we had these federal government shutdowns, the window kept shutting.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: And then it would take a long time for it to reopen.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: I said, I need help.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_01: We need help.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_01: Tulsa County needs help now, and you hand answered the call and helped me uh communicate with your colleagues at the state level to send communications up to Washington, which really, really got this uh over the final hump.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate that.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I've lived along the 101st corridor um since 82.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so anybody that's gone east and west on 101st knows that if it rains, the Garnet floods and it becomes impassable.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so, you know, I think Senator Gillespie said, you know, her she has these images of Cars floating off into the ditch because the water was so deep and things.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Something needed to be done.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: And again, over time, the traffic along 101st is only going to get greater.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: The problem was not going to get smaller.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: It was going to become greater and more expensive.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: And so again, I'm going to give you the kudos of hey, you had the fourth the foresight to say we to put the deal together as this mitigation grant.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: It was brilliant to get it done that way, to find that money.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: That's not a normal area to get road funding from.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, I can't take a whole lot of credit for putting the deal together.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: So good job on you and the county to putting that together.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: But of course, you know, bringing it in to say, hey, here's this project.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: If we if we partner together and say, not just one person going to our federal delegation saying, hey, we need this road, but now the whole um Tulsa County delegation, House and Senate and County saying, we got to get this done.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: And again, thank you to the our federal delegation to saying, yep, we need to get this done and helping push it through.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's a great win for the county, and I we something we need to be talking about, that it took uh partnership and creativity from all of our elected officials to get this done, and we got it done, and it's going to be a big win for the community.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_01: Big win for everybody.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, not only did you, you know, communicate with House members, Senator Gillespie communicated with Senate members, you know, uh Mayor Wimpe from Brook and Arrow and her counselors were involved, the Pixby mayor at the time, Rad Gerard and his counselors were involved, even Glennpool and Jinx uh pitched in.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: And when I called Mayor Nichols, uh City of Mayor uh City of Tulsa, I said, Mayor, we need help.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_01: Uh he said immediately, what can I do?
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: And so it was a regional effort, but you were a big part of that.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, it's just it's testimony that when we act together, we have a good plan, we've worked there done all our due diligence, and we present that to our federal delegation, then they can go to work for us.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so you know, uh that's a a great example of a partnership.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I know that you've you've you've shown this leadership, but we just learned today, you know, as a business owner, someone who's in Jinx and South Tulsa, investing in the community, investing in the chamber there at the state level, you know, you've been doing the same thing, advocating for business and a growing economy.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_01: And and now that you've got had these partnerships with multiple levels of government, you know, understand how the the federal government can partner with us and how important that is for us.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, the last thing I want to say is your accessibility is just you know pretty much off the charts.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_01: I've been seeing you everywhere.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I really hope that you have an opportunity to serve this community at the next level.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_01: And I look forward to working with you, and I really appreciate you carving out a part of your day uh to join us today at the county line.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_01: And with that, I'm gonna I'm gonna raise, you know, I'm gonna bring this to a close and thank everybody for joining us.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, follow us on all our social media, Tulsa County.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, follow, uh we're talking to leaders like Mark Tedford here and others, and we want you to know what's going on in the community and the people who are leading this community.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for joining us, and thank you, Mark, for taking some time.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me out.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: I enjoyed it.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_01: Take care.