Tulsa County Demands Money Back From Foundation Due To Lack Of Documentation

Tulsa County Commissioners want more documentation from a Tulsa Foundation given $1 million in federal relief money. Half of the award to the Oasis Fresh Foundation was already dispersed, but the County is holding the remainder while the spending is documented and confirmed to meet federal guidelines.

“This has to be wrapped up, i's dotted and t's crossed before that second funding will be allocated," said Tulsa County Commission Chair Stan Sallee.

The award was part of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money that flowed through the County.

Oasis Fresh has already repaid $11,800 in disputed spending, and in November, the County was proposing it pay back another $145,000. The latest proposal has Oasis paying back $40,000, but Attorney Clark Brewster, representing the Foundation, said he believed the spending is proper and can also be documented. He said the foundation will “meet any criteria” required by the County and noted the money was dispersed before federal guidelines were published.

Sallee said the County still has confidence the award from proper.

“We believed in what was presented and still do; we believe that money can do a lot of good,” he said. "Initially, it was a lack of paperwork, as it is with a lot of groups that have gotten funding, and it's our responsibility to get that before releasing more funding, and once the documentation came in, it wasn't sufficient, in our eyes, to meet the treasury guidelines."

The commissioners plan to vote in two weeks on an agreement to resolve the issues, that would send the rest of the money on to the Oasis Fresh Foundation.