Tulsa World. Nov. 15, 2011.

Tulsa World. Nov. 15, 2011.

Legislator says Oklahoma owns about 9,000 buildings and that’s too many

State Rep. T.W. Shannon, R-Lawton, says that unnecessary buildings ought to be sold off and the proceeds placed in a fund to help pay for repairs to the remaining structures. He points out that the limestone exterior of the Capitol Building, for example, is falling apart in spots and the estimate to fix it is $132 million.

Shannon is on to something. There is no reason for the state to own buildings it isn’t putting to good use.

An orderly process is called for. First, some entity needs to determine that the state does indeed own too many buildings. Just because the number seems high to one legislator doesn’t necessarily make it so. Next, the buildings deemed unneeded should be appraised to determine their value.

Finally, unneeded buildings ought not be dumped on the market at one time. No need to depress the real estate markets in the counties — Cleveland, Oklahoma and Payne — where most of the state-owned structures are located.

Given the state’s ongoing money problems, this kind of review and follow-up action makes sense.