Bell's cautious, looking at options

We are unable to find anything new written on the Bell's Amusement Park controversy this morning, but there's news on the airwaves, which we'll summarize as best we can.

One radio station reports that Robby Bell said he is in no rush to acquiesce to Randi Miller's demand that the amusement park financials go under scrutiny from a team of "independent" accountants. The report said Bell has been approached by several area cities interested in hosting a relocated Bell's.

Another radio station reported that Bell hasn't ruled out complying with the additional audit request but is making no decision while his lawyers are looking over the Miller "press release."

One of the questions we, and others, have asked is how much revenue for the fairgrounds operation do the other Expo Square tenants generate, either in rental fees or in percentages of tickets, etc.

Turns out KOTV found the answers to these questions a week ago. The Drillers pay a flat $18,000 in rent per year, plus 50 cents per ticket sold. With 70 home games scheduled in 2007, and with a maximum seating of just under 11,000, the upper limit of fees generated is about $385,000. The reality is that the Drillers, since they became a Colorado Rockies affiliate, don't hit capacity that frequently, so the total take to the county is bound to be much less.

(We have no problem with the financial arrangements with the Drillers, by the way. We just wish they were a Saint Louis Cardinal affiliate, and then we'd be at every game, despite those abominable aluminum bleachers.)

KOTV said Big Splash revenues to the county - also on a per ticket basis - run about $110,000 to $120,000 annually.

But you have to wonder how solid those numbers are after Thursday's KOTV report:

... we're trying to learn more about other contracts at the Tulsa County fairgrounds - how much the other tenants besides Bell's pay for the right to be there. Both the Tulsa Drillers and Big Splash lease space, but we're waiting on the county to release the records that show exactly how much they pay.

And we've had several viewers question if there might be a conflict of interest between the operator of the Tulsa State Fair midway - and Commissioner Miller. Miller got a $5,000 campaign contribution in the mayor's race - from Loretta Murphy. She owns Big Splash Water Park at the fairgrounds.

Her husband, Jerry Murphy runs the midway at the Tulsa State Fair, and competes for business with Bell's. He has a contract to run the midway for up to ten years - a no-bid contract awarded to him by the Tulsa County fair board - which includes Commissioner Miller.

Several of our viewers have posted negatively on that "no-bid contract," and we'd have to say that it seems remarkably unbusinesslike for a public entity, whether it's the fair board or the Tulsa County Public Facilities Authority, to issue a multi-year lease like this without competitive bidding. It doesn't feel right, does it? Professing so much love and concern for the taxpayers of Tulsa County, but not even bothering to take bids on a major contract?

Certainly doesn't pass the smell test.

Keep up the clamor (contact list appears in an earlier post on this site).
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Bell's Blog Post Sightings:

TulTellitarian at MeeCiteewurkor in "Bell's Hells."

Tulsa Chiggers says "We Can't Sit Still!"