CITY MANAGER CONFIDENT OUTLET MALL WILL BE COMPLETED
CITY GETS BACK INTO SWING OF THINGS FOLLOWING LOCKDOWN
INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM TAKES OFF AT JENKS HIGH SCHOOL JENKS CITIZENS TO VOTE ON BOND ISSUE AUG. 25
FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020
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Jenks City Manager Confident Tulsa Premium Outlets Will Be Completed By Kyle Salomon Since the COVID-19 pandemic has had its grip on the world, many people in the Jenks area have questioned whether Simon Premium Outlets still plans to build the new outlet mall. Tulsa Premium Outlets will be located in Jenks just south of the Creek Turnpike in the River District area next to the Arkansas River. Simon Property Group, parent company of Simon Premium Outlets, has been working side-by-side with the City of Jenks since the summer of 2015 when Simon informed Jenks it wanted to put an outlet mall in its city limits. Since that time, Jenks has been working on various economic development agreements, including a Tax Increment Finance District (TIF) and sales tax reimbursement for the Simon group. After the Jenks City Council and Simon Property approved all the agreements, Simon moved forward with the project. They purchased the land just south of the Creek Turnpike in July of 2019, began on-site work in December of 2019 and had a groundbreaking ceremony in February of 2020. The structure to the new outlet mall was beginning to take shape, which brought with it a new level of excitement from Jenks citizens, but since late March, no work on the structure has taken place and with equipment being moved off the property, there was an increasing amount of concern from those same citizens. Jenks City Manager Chris Shrout said even though it may not look like work is being done, that is not the case. “Many people believe they stopped construction in late March due to the pandemic because there was no work being done on the structure itself, but they didn’t necessarily stop construction,” Shrout said. “They have been doing a lot of earth work over the past couple of months. We have had many questions from citizens about equipment leaving the site or equipment not being there, but they have continued to do quite a bit of earth work on site.” Shrout said the city has been dealing with people having doubts about the project since it was announced, but the city is confident in its partner. “Simon Property has delivered on everything they said they were going to do, and we have no reason to believe they aren’t going to deliver on everything they say they are going to do,” Shrout said. “People see huge machines dormant or leaving the property and they assume there has been some big shut down when in fact that is not the case.”
Shrout added that on massive complex projects such as this one, when certain situations happen, some things must be potentially adjusted. “This project has around 800 construction jobs associated with it and that takes a lot of scheduling,” Shrout said. “When there is a blip in that schedule, you sometimes need to figure all that out again. We are all confident with this project moving forward. Any specific questions regarding construction or business operations, we refer to Simon.” While the Simon group is working on the actual site, the City of Jenks is trying to do their part in preparing the areas around the outlet mall property. Monday, the Jenks City Council will vote on calling a bond election for Aug. 26. The general obligation bond was supposed to be voted on April 7, but due to COVID-19, it was postponed indefinitely. A part of that bond issue will be the design of the extension of 106th Street from Elm Ave. to the east across Polecat Creek into the southern entrance of River District right by the mall property. The City of Jenks has already provided the frontage road along the south portion of the Creek Turnpike from Elm Street to the River District and the road underneath the turnpike along the Arkansas River on the east side of the property. Also, on the potential bond issue is the widening of Elm Street from 111th Street to 131st Street, which Shrout said will help alleviate pressure off any part of Elm Street, even down near the River District and outlet mall area. Shrout said the City of Jenks could not have a better partner on this project than the Simon Property Group, who also owns Woodland Hills Mall in Tulsa, which just re-opened after being closed due to the Coronavirus epidemic. Simon Property Group is the largest retail estate investment trust and largest mall operator in the nation. “They have been diligent in their planning of this project,” Shrout said. “Despite what is going on with the economy or the COVID-19 issue, I have no concerns about them completing this project. We are in communication with the Simon corporate office on a regular basis and with the general contractor in charge of the project weekly or even daily at times.” Simon Property Group announced in February they plan on opening the new outlet mall in the spring of 2021 and Shrout said he has not heard otherwise. “They have been great partners for the City of Jenks,” Shrout said. “We look forward to continue working with them and look forward to the grand opening.”
FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020
JENKSTRIBUNE.COM
Jenks Fire Department Hosts OSU Fire Training Service Session The Jenks Fire Department hosted a Confined Space Rescue training session this past weekend for the Oklahoma State University Fire Training Service. Photos/Courtesy
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Jenks Residents To Vote On Bond Issue Aug. 25 By Kyle Salomon Citizens of Jenks will get another chance to let their voices be heard Aug. 25 when they say yes or no to the bond issue the city has put before them. The vote was originally supposed to take place April 7, but COVID-19 had other ideas. The bond resolution, which is set at $20,500,000, included five road projects that will have direct impacts with traffic on south Elm Street, Elwood Ave., downtown Jenks, and the incoming outlet mall. All five road project items on the bond will be under one question. Voters will not be able to vote yes on one road project, but no on another. They are all a package deal. Jenks Mayor Robert Lee had this to say in February when the bond resolution was passed by the City Council.
The other $500,000 will be for cost of creating all five projects for the bond issue. The G.O. bond will be a 20-year bond and raise property taxes $75 per $100,000 in property ownership for the first year. However, the property tax hike will level out to a $46 per year raise per $100,000 in property ownership throughout the 20-year span. “We have been working on this since last summer vetting these projects,” Lee said this past winter. “The council has also been working hard to get the citizens’ point of view and we feel like they have done a great job with that. The City of Jenks staff have been a real workhorse in this process. There is no way we could have accomplished this without all their hard work.”
“We are very excited to be at this point,” Lee said. “These are much-needed projects and projects that people wanted to see happen. I couldn’t be happier getting the ball rolling on this. “These are the projects that people have been asking for and we have been wanting to deliver these projects to them. Now, we need their go ahead to finally get them done. We really appreciate the citizens’ support.” Here are the five road projects that will be on the Aug. 25 ballot: -$16 million for construction of south Elm Street from 111th Street to 131st Street. This will make Elm Street all five lanes from 111th Street to 131st Street and add a trail and medians with trees and landscaping -$1 million for design of Elwood Ave. from 111th Street to 121st Street to include landscaping and a trail -$1 million for design of improvements of Elwood Ave. from 91st Street to Main Street with landscaping and trail -$1 million for construction of Main Street from Date Street to the railroad, including drainage going from Birch Ave. all the way to the Veterans Park Pond -$1 million for design of 106th Street going east from Elm Street to the River District area where the outlet mall will be located
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Jenks Graduate Rachel Schaefer Receives Prestigious UCO Scholarship The University of Central Oklahoma College of Mathematics and Science recently awarded a scholarship to Jenks resident Rachel Schaefer in recognition of her academic excellence and outstanding service to the university. Schaefer, a chemistry – ACS certificate and forensic science – chemistry major, received the Dr. Fred Grosz Scholarship for Chemistry. “On behalf of the faculty and staff in the College of Mathematics and Science, I congratulate each of our scholarship recipients,” said Wei R. Chen, Ph.D., dean of Central’s College of Mathematics and Science. “The achievements of these outstanding students reflect the mission of the college and the university. We applaud them for their commitment to academic excellence and exceptional work. We are also grateful to our alumni and the benefactors of our college whose generosity made these awards possible.”
Pets Of The Week Meet Gibson and Fender
Fender is a male golden retriever mix, estimated around 2-years-old. He is already neutered and was picked up as a stray. Fender gets along with other dogs at the shelter and loves people. He is friendly and playful. Gibson is a pittie, estimated 2-years-old. Gibson gets along with other dogs at the shelter and has a huge head with a gentle soul. Gibson was picked up as a stray and would love nothing more than a family to snuggle up to every day. To meet Gibson, Fender or any of our adoptable animals, please email animalcontrol@jenksok.org or call 918-299-6311 option 8. We have so many animals that want nothing more than a family to love. The animal shelter cares for all the animals with love and compassion, but also know our animals deserve a life outside of a cage.
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JENKS TRIBUNE JULY 4 ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITY – “FREEDOM SECTION” As many of you know, the City of Jenks recently announced that it is stepping up to the plate and purchasing the fireworks for the “Boom Fest” July 4 to go along with the Jenks Chamber’s “Freedom Fest” and the Oklahoma Aquarium’s “Fish & Fireworks”. The cost for those fireworks will be between $30,000 and $50,000. The Jenks Tribune wants to do its part in helping fund this event, so are going to run a special “Freedom Section” on July 3. The special edition will be both printed and online and spread throughout the Jenks community. The “Freedom Section” will consist of detailed content about the July 4 events happening in the Jenks community and advertising from local businesses encouraging people to come out and enjoy the festivities. The Jenks Tribune will donate HALF of the advertising revenue generated from the “Freedom Section” to the City of Jenks to help pay for the “Boom Fest”. Each business that purchases an advertisement in the “Freedom Section” will get the ad size they want in the section with half of the money you pay for the ad going to the City of Jenks in your name! Each business will also be recognized in the “Freedom Section” and on the Jenks Tribune’s social media accounts with the amount they are donating to the City of Jenks next to the business’ name! Let’s all come together as one community and do our part in helping the City of Jenks purchase these fireworks! Contact Kyle Salomon at ksalomon@jenkstribune.com or 918-231-0787 ASAP to book your advertisement in Jenks Tribune “Freedom Section”!
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Jenks High School Educators Transform Idea Into ‘First Of Its Kind’ Program
By Kyle Salomon
Several years ago, Jenks High School teachers Justin McCrackin and Kody Engle had an idea to expand the humanities realm within the school district. The two worked on turning the idea into a reality for nearly a year-and-a-half before the Jenks High School International Scholars Program was born. McCrackin and Engle had to jump through the usual hoops and present their idea to the Jenks Public School Board and Administration. Both McCrackin and Engle said they expected to have to address some concerns but were hopeful they would be able to answer any questions thrown their way. To their surprise and delight, they were met with full support and encouragement to move forward with their project. “One thing I noticed when we were talking about doing this program was how many students were interested in the humanities,” Engle said. “We wanted to create a program that was going to set them up for success before they went to college. We based a lot of the desire for the program off the growth of A.P. (Advanced Placement) numbers at Jenks. Those students were excelling very well in the humanities programs and we wanted to be able to compound that and improve that a little more.” McCrackin said once they started contacting other people in the area to get an idea of what they wanted to do, they realized they were blazing a trail. “We came to realize that there weren’t really any other high schools or secondary schools doing what we wanted to do,” McCrackin said. “There were a lot of exchange opportunities and travel programs, but nothing like what we wanted to do with this new program. We wanted to broaden that scope of those other programs.” The International Scholars Program at Jenks High School just completed its first year, which was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ISP is designed for high school juniors and seniors. It is written for students to focus on Asia as juniors and Europe and Latin America as seniors. Since McCrackin and Engle were writing the program from scratch, they said they decided to model it after several prominent universities who had similar departments. “We based the program off what the University of Florida does, Brown University, Notre Dame University and Kansas University,” Engle said. “Oral Roberts University is starting their own program as well. We built the framework based on what the students will experience after they graduate from Jenks. Our administration was on board very quickly and we immediately had support. That has been great to have from the beginning.” McCrackin and Engle both said they anticipated approximately 20 students applying for the program in the first year, but had nearly 50, which around 40 were accepted. They will have close to 100 students in the program this coming school year. Emma Zemanek, who will be a senior at Jenks High School this year, just completed her first year in the ISP program as a junior. “I have always been interested in history and anything on a global perspective and Jenks doesn’t really have a club directed towards that,” Emma said. “This program allows a lot of students to come together and talk about those things and things that happen globally. It has taken some time for it to evolve to what we wanted it to be, but we knew from the beginning what we wanted this program to be, what we wanted to accomplish. We want to bring awareness to the United States that we are not the only country in the world, that there are things outside our little bubble.” Emma said it has been a great experience getting to be one of the founding students in a program like ISP. “It is something I am passionate about,” Emma said. “One of the things I wasn’t expecting was having the opportunity to discuss a lot with other students. I believe that is important. Discussion is important to learning. You can really gain other perspectives and benefit from it. I really like that aspect of the program.” Emma added that she expects the ISP program to help her prepare for life after Jenks High School as she pursues a career in journalism and international studies. “I am really interested in politics and things on a global scale,” Emma said. “We have heard some interesting speakers. We have had some speakers come who are Jenks High School graduates and they are doing some amazing things now. It’s cool seeing how things can really be accomplished and how I can really go out and make a change and make a difference on a global scale.” McCrackin said the students in the ISP program started to really explore and grow and having former students come back to speak has given them even more inspiration for what they want to pursue post high school. “We are there to support and help more than we are there to lead,” McCrackin said. “We want our students to own the process and own their development. We are more mentors and facilitators and guiding them in pursuing their long-term educational path.” One area that has been a struggle thus far has been a financial one, Engle said. He added that with students traveling to other countries and across the United States as a part of the program, it puts a burden on them and their families to pay for everything. Engle said they would like to get to a point with sponsorships and scholarships, where money is not an issue for any of their students. Giving the students an opportunity to hear powerful speakers is one of the areas of the ISP program both McCrackin and Engle say is very important. Through the Tulsa Committee of Foreign Relations, the Jenks High School ISP students were able to hear from some prominent people prior to school being shut down due to the Coronavirus. Here is the list of speakers JHS ISP students got the chance to hear: November 19, 2019 – The Chengdu Faculty from Chengdu 7 High School visited with the Jenks ISP 2021 cohort and spent some time answering questions about their visit to Jenks. January 7 – 2017 Jenks High School graduate Sarah Cameron visited the Jenks ISP Cohort about the experiences she had at Jenks High School as it pertained to her humanities courses and how that benefited her, as she has pursued an economics degree at Yale College, while also participating in a summer study abroad at the London School of Economics. January 13 - Dr. Joshua Landis spoke at the Tulsa Committee on Foreign Relations. Dr. Landis is one of the foremost authorities on Middle Eastern studies and serves as a professor at OU as well as the Director of the Center of Middle Eastern Studies. His talk was over "U.S. and the Middle East: Making Sense of Oil, Regime Change, and Forever Wars." February 17 - 2011 Jenks High School graduate Anita Joshi spoke to our students about her path to a Bachelor's Degree in International Economics (Georgetown 2015) and Master's Degree in Public Policy (University of Chicago 2019). Anita has taken part in multiple opportunities to engage in travel for educational research and study abroad while also engaging in policy endeavors at the local and state level through her studies. February 26 - Ambassador Todd Buchwald spoke to the TCFR on U.S. engagement with the International Criminal Court and where we go from here. Buchwald served formerly as Ambassador and Special Coordinator for Global Criminal Justice (U.S. State Department) under the George W. Bush and Barack Obama presidencies.
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