Tulsa Man Told To Stop Mowing City Property

By Dan Bewley & Terry Hood, The News On 6 

TULSA, OK -- A Tulsa man is being told to stop mowing city property.

Darron Dixon has been mowing and planting saplings in a green space behind his home for the past 10 years. But the city says that's a bad idea and wants him to stop so they can remove the trees.

"It's a beautiful spot. It's got a lot of great history," Dixon said. "The people are wonderful; everybody knows everybody up here."

Darron Dixon loves his neighborhood. But, he says, a recent demand from the city over this patch of land has him scratching his head.

"It makes me want to holler and throw up both my hands," he said.

The property is at the base of the Reservoir Hills water tank. For the past ten years Dixon has been mowing a strip of land about 150 feet deep and close to a hundred yards long.

"It looks better, it keeps the bugs down, it's a responsible thing that a citizen should do to help take care of things," he said.

Dixon has also planted more than 40 saplings here to replace other trees that were cut down several years ago. But this is city property and when Dixon told the city it could save money by letting him continue to mow it they told him to stop and the trees need to be removed.

City officials say even though the property around the water tank is not fenced off they want to prevent people from walking around it.

"We have spent a lot of money to protect the facilities and while protecting the facilities, we're protecting not only the drinking water for the city of Tulsa itself but all the other small communities that purchase water from us," Mike Augustine, Tulsa Water Distribution, said.

But Dixon points out the neighborhood is already mowing the land around the new Tulsa Arrow sign which is also at the base of the water tank and simply wonders why he can't do the same behind his house.

"I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do," said Dixon. "I'm hoping that common sense will prevail."

The city has a $109,000 contract to mow that property as well as several others around town.

City officials encourage Dixon to put his mower to use on other property, including parks and right of ways in the city that are underfunded.