Tulsa County Commissioners Vote On 99 Year Lease Of Land To Iron Gate

Tulsa County Commissioners give the OK to Iron Gate to lease land near the Tulsa County Jail.

The future location for Iron Gate has been in discussions for quite a while.

In a vote of 2-1, Tulsa County Commissioners voted to enter into a 99-year lease with Iron Gate for land just west of the Day Center for the Homeless.

Commissioner Karen Keith thinks the location is ideal for the food pantry.

"As our Juvenile Center comes on line in the next couple of years, there could be some of our families that could use these services as well,” said Keith.  “I think it is positioned so that it really works for the community."

Commissioner John Smaligo was the only no vote, saying he worries about a lease commitment for such a long period of time – essentially calling it a permanent transfer of the property to Iron Gate.

"In the contract, there is an evergreen clause that allows it to continue its renewal infinitely, without consideration for whatever the board of commissioners 99 years from now would like to do," said Smaligo.

For years now, Iron Gate has been looking for a location to build a new and larger facility than their current location at Trinity Episcopal Church in Downtown Tulsa.

Iron Gate tells News on 6 it recognizes the hard work that Tulsa County leaders have put into this project. Representatives from Iron Gate say “we will review their offer and decide on next steps after we clearly understand the details.  Finding our new location is a priority for us, so we will address this as soon as we can."

Iron Gate says they will make a decision based on what they feel allows them to best accomplish their mission of feeding the hungry every day.