The Cherokee Nation is looking to improve safety in Tulsa.
At city hall Thursday, Mayor G.T. Bynum and Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. met to announce a $150,000 public safety grant from the Nation to the city. Bynum said the money will be used to buy a new trailer for emergency management purposes.
“We'll also be covering the cost of an incinerator for green waste debris. We’re still in the process of collecting green waste from the Father’s Day storm. We think that’s the greatest amount of green waste of any Tulsa disaster in the history of our city. This will be very helpful for cleaning all of that up,” said Bynum.
The storm that blew through Tulsa in June left hundreds of thousands without power and caused millions of dollars in damage.
Funding will also go to the police for “new technology and training.” The fire department will see money for hearing impaired smoke alarms and for its bike rescue team that works in remote areas, said Bynum.
Chief Hoskin, who referred to Tulsa as “this reservation,” said the grant has a symbolic purpose.
“This is more than the dollars. This is really as much about the substance of reaching out and sharing funds so we can do more to protect the public. It’s as much about that as it is about setting the tone of how we can work together,” said Hoskin.
The partnership comes at an especially sensitive time for both the city and the tribe. The significant case of Hooper v. Tulsa dealing with whether or not the city can enforce laws against tribal citizens is ongoing in district court.
