McAfee & Taft attorney Rusty LaForge is among 11 members appointed to a citizens advisory board that will provide insight and advice for Oklahoma City's MAPS 3 initiative. The $777 million capital improvement program is funded by a seven-year, nine-month one-cent sales tax that commenced April 1, 2010.
LaForge, a corporate lawyer with McAfee & Taft whose practice primarily concentrates on regulatory and transactional
matters affecting financial
institutions, represents Oklahoma City's Ward 8. Advisory board members will serve three-year, staggered terms.
In an article by The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said the advisory board "will review all aspects of the MAPS 3 program, including site selection, contracts, construction updates and expenditures."
"They are there to deal with the many, many issues that will be coming from staff needing opinion and insight so they can give the council direction," Cornett said.
The MAPS 3 initiative includes eight major projects:
- A new, approximately 70-acre central park linking the core of downtown with the Oklahoma River
- A new rail-based streetcar system, plus potential funding for other rail transit initiatives, such as commuter lines and a transit hub
- A new downtown convention center
- Sidewalks to be placed on major streets and near facilities used by the public throughout the City
- 57 miles of new public bicycling and walking trails throughout the City
- Improvements to the Oklahoma River, including a public whitewater kayaking facility and upgrades intended to achieve the finest rowing racecourse in the world
- State-of-the-art health and wellness aquatic centers throughout the City designed for senior citizens
- Improvements to the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds