Tulsa staff describe $17.6M Tobacco Settlement Trust grant and urgency to start reimbursements

Budget and health-office staff briefed the council on a large three-year award from the Tobacco Settlement Trust (TSET) with a total project design around $17.3–17.6 million; the first-year appropriation under consideration was roughly $7.6 million. Budget staff said the award is reimbursement-based and that delays in executing agreements have strained smaller community partners that began spending or hiring in January. "This 1st one's for 7,600,000, and it's, gonna be appropriated for, for staff overseeing it, for, work on Flat Rock Trail, and for, the community, CCI's, facility design work on that. The total grant is 17,600,000," a staff presenter said.

Officials outlined multiple program components including new primary-care residency positions (six new providers associated with Crossover Health Services), 11 miles of mountain biking and hiking trails at Flat Rock Creek, an urban farm to supply a community grocery source, a sports complex at Hawthorne Park, mental-health programming and 'food-as-medicine' prescriptions. Staff requested prompt authorization to move reimbursements to partners to avoid further financial harm and potential layoffs among subgrantees.