Council approves assessment rule for Kendall Whittier improvement district after mixed public testimony

The Tulsa City Council voted to approve an ordinance amending the annual assessment rule for Kendall Whittier Improvement District No. 1 after a public hearing that included both supporters and critics of the district.

Supporters told the council the district has momentum on beautification and security projects. "We have a lot of momentum going with our main street and improvement with some funds that we're working on for beautification," said Maria Barnes, a member of the Kendall Whittier Main Street board, who urged approval. Jamie Barnes, vice president of the Kendall Whittier Improvement Board, said the board has been building programs and urged the council to "support us in our renewal."

Several speakers said the district has delivered specific services: Derek Mordhorst, identified as the current president of the district board, said leaders have funded security grants, paid for camera and door upgrades for businesses, maintained lighting and performed regular trash cleanup and graffiti abatement. "We've approved and enacted a security grant for the local break ins ... we gave out about 4 to $6,000 worth of approved expenditures," Mordhorst said.

But other residents raised governance and transparency concerns. Smitty Jones, who identified himself as organizer for the Kendall Whittier Residents Association, said residents have been sidelined from board decisions and that meeting minutes were missing for months. "There have not been residents on their board since the end of 2022," Jones said, and he described missed meetings and difficulties obtaining records.

Property owner John Musselman spoke in support of the district, saying he had invested in property because the district's efforts made economic sense: "Everybody gives a little and we all get a lot," he said, describing landscaping, maintenance and lighting work that he said supported property improvements.

The council opened the item for public comment as part of the meeting's public hearings and later included the ordinance among a group of agenda items the council approved by roll call. No council dissent was recorded in the roll call on the ordinance.

The ordinance changes the district's annual assessment rule; the text read into the record cited assessment and boundary administration (full ordinance text was not read aloud at the meeting). Supporters said the assessment funds landscaping, graffiti abatement, lighting upgrades and a small security grant program; critics asked the district to increase resident representation on its board and to publish missing minutes and meeting schedules so residents can reliably participate.

Council members did not take additional amendments on the floor during the vote. The action was approved as part of an omnibus vote of several ordinances and budget items that the council advanced at the meeting.