Tinker set to rent former GM plant
Oklahoma County: Air Force approves agreement
The property will change hands after commissioners vote today
Tinker set to rent former GM plant

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By Johnny Johnson
Published: September 24, 2008

After months of work on contracts with General Motors and the U.S. Air Force, Oklahoma County commissioners learned Tuesday the Air Force would allow the county to buy the abandoned GM plant for $54 million and lease it to Tinker Air Force Base for $1 a year.

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Commissioners will vote on the contract this morning, and Tinker is expected to take possession of the property later today.

"It all gets really exciting from this point forward,” District 3 Commissioner Ray Vaughn said.

Although the Air Force can buy the plant at any time, it is not required to do so. Vaughn said he thinks using taxpayer funds to support the local base was in taxpayers' best interests.

"The Air Force could not have done it themselves,” Vaughn said. "They could not have come up with the resources to acquire the property.”

When the final agreement is signed, the county will pay $54 million for the 430 acres of land and the 3.8-million-square-foot plant, then turn over the facility to Tinker, which is expected to spend from $50 million to $100 million in improvements. Because of that anticipated investment, Vaughn said he expects the Air Force to buy the plant within 10 years .

"Right now, the Air Force is fighting wars on two fronts, plus maintaining all their other installations. There's just no money to go out and acquire real estate, even by lease,” Vaughn said.

"This lease agreement is a $1-a-year deal that the citizens of Oklahoma County are doing for the Air Force.”

Continuing support
County officials felt confident with the , Vaughn said, because Tinker Air Force Base is the "chief economic engine in Oklahoma County.”

He said the air base is the largest single-site employer in the county, bringing in about $3.4 billion every year.

The initial plant closing,with difficulty finding a buyer and the base nearby, led to what Vaughn said was a perfect solution.

"Oklahoma County, historically, from the day we provided that first acre of land for the air strip at Tinker until today, has made a commitment to the base to support the Air Force and all the military units that work out of there,” he said.


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So, where were all the parents when we were fighting with the OKC Planning commission and council about unrestricted growth at I-240 and Sooner? Within this year, the contruction will be completed that drops another 1,000 families into a school district that is already at 110%. When we called the school board with this question, we were treated like pariahs. "We're aware of it, can I help you with something else? Good day" was the conversation - and it had an arrogant, annoyed tone. Your leaders do not care about the community because their actions have never followed the talk. Sales of land, originally marked for base exclusion areas by council vote, to local developers (who donated things like furniture and money to thier "funds") shows they do not care about you, families, the quality of this community, or Tinker.
James, Oklahoma City - Sep 25, 2008 8:15 AM
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Tinker has 24,000 people working there and half are military. The children of those military, both living on and around Tinker go to Mid-del schools. I support our military and believe has part of that support that this community should provide the children of our military with the best education that this county can afford. I have tried for years to put together a plan that supports Tinker in a way that doesn’t take money away from the schools. If caring about the 15,000 students of Mid-Del schools makes me craze than I am craze. But when our military go off to fight to defend this great county the one thing they should never have to worry about is that there kids are getting a great education. That is what the Mid-Del school system is trying to do. Having the county take money away from the schools is not in the best interest of Tinker or our military.
Mr. G, Midwest City - Sep 25, 2008 7:05 AM
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Tinker has 24,000 people working there and half are military. The children of those military, both living on and around Tinker go to Mid-del schools. I support our military and believe has part of that support that this community should provide the children of our military with the best education that this county can afford. I have tried for years to put together a plan that supports Tinker in a way that doesn’t take money away from the schools. If caring about the 15,000 students of Mid-Del schools makes me craze than I am craze. But when our military go off to fight to defend this great county the one thing they should never have to worry about is that there kids are getting a great education. That is what the Mid-Del school system is trying to do. Having the county take money away from the schools is not in the best interest of Tinker or our military.
Mr. G, Midwest City - Sep 25, 2008 7:05 AM
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Mr. G, you have a choice in this case. Pay $200,000,000 to tear down the buildings and clean up the environemental wasteland ten years after it is abandoned (remember Belle Isle?), or take the hit and bring a couple of hundred more high paying jobs. Had the School District been doing thier job, this wouldn't be a concern. They are just as corrupt and greedy as the Stipe and Rinehart group. Stop whining and get involved. At least someone had the foresight to do something with this property. Letting an industrial complex rot because it generates a small amount of property tax is insane. See a therapist or something.
James, Oklahoma City - Sep 24, 2008 2:45 PM
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We're just cattle, bred to support the ultra-wealthy and multinational corporations---mooooo.
Kevin, Oklahoma City - Sep 24, 2008 12:45 PM
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This month the county will be purchasing the former GM plant. When this happens the county will lose 750,000 dollars in property tax, with most going to the schools .The Mid-Del school system is responsible for all the students on and around Tinker. The Mid-Del technology center has a facility on Tinker and has trained over a thousand people that work there. Rose State trains thousands of people on Tinker and has just opened a 9 million dollar building in part to support Tinker.
Tinker is more than just land and buildings, it is people. The real challenge for this community is not just to be sure that Tinker has room to grow, but more importantly to make sure that Tinker has the best educated people to fill the jobs there.
The county says that the money that the schools lose will be made-up from the state formula. But not all and they do it by taking money from every other school in the state. And the money for the MDTC and Rose will not be made-up at all. The county says that future development will makeup this money, but future development will not pay today’s bills. Before this purchase goes though they need a plan.

Mr. G, Midwest City - Sep 24, 2008 6:58 AM
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