A new park could be in the works for south Tulsa

TULSA - A city councilor has some big goals for a plot of empty land in south Tulsa.

Some surplus funding and a positive showing by the city council could kick start progress on a new park.

"I think it will be a drive to destination park in 10 years. Maybe sooner." said District 8 City Councilor Bill Christiansen.

The first phase would include a gravel running trail and a parking lot and other small upgrades. Christiansen says he hopes it will be a jumping off point for private donations, and some serious upgrades.

"There will be a house and a barn and one-room school house, there will be orchards and a corral and livestock," said Eddie Reese, director of the Oxley Nature Center at Mohawk Park.

Reese says Oxley Nature Center Association will likely be in charge of managing the park.

Under conceptual plans, the land will be more than just a destination with running trails but a window into Tulsa's past.

"People can come and see what Tulsa was like, what most people lived like in the early 1900s," said Reese.

The park, which would be located at 121st and Yale, would sit on about 40 acres of land, 10 of which were donated to the city by the Counsins family several years ago.

"They gave that, with the condition that someday it would be turned into a park, called Cousins Park. It's a great piece of land with a lot of wildlife and near the river," said Christiansen.

The remaining land was purchased after Tulsa passed the 3rd Penny Sales Tax in 1996.

"The citizens already invested almost $1 million for the land and it's just been sitting there for the last 15 years," said Christiansen.

Now Christiansen says he hopes the council will pass the budget amendment for the $245,000 to make the property into a park.

The money is surplus from last year's budget.

Councilors will vote on the budget amendment during Thursday night's meeting.

Christiansen says in the conceptual plans, the park would in no way interfere with the possibility of a bridge being built to connect Bixby and Jenks.