You're watching the meeting of the dallas city council with mayor eric l johnson, Mayor pro tem jaime resendez,
deputy mayor pro tem maxie johnson and council members chad west zarin d gracey jessie Moreno gay donnell willis.
laura. Cadena. Adam. Bazaldua. Lori blair. Paula.
blackmon. Cathy stewart. William roth cara mendelsohn.
paul e ridley. City manager. Kimberly bizor tolbert.
city secretary billy ray johnson and interim city attorney bert vandenberg.
all right. Thank you so much, everyone. Good morning. We have a quorum. It's wednesday, june 24th, 2026 times 9:32 a.m..
and I now call this meeting of the dallas city council to order. This morning, We have as our invocation,
speaker, our good friend, great man dallas police chaplain.
he's also the senior rabbi at temple shalom. He's none other than rabbi andrew paley.
I'm going to turn it over him for invocation, And then we'll have our pledge of allegiance. Great. Thank you,
mr. Mayor. Council members. Good morning. Source of wisdom and compassion.
god of many names. We gather this morning, mindful of the privilege and responsibility of Public service as our city council
meets for the final time before a season of recess and renewal, We pause to give thanks for those who have accepted the difficult work of leadership.
we recognize that governing a great city such as ours requires patience amid disagreement.
courage amid uncertainty and a steadfast commitment to the common good.
bless these elected leaders, city staff, and all who serve the people of dallas.
grant them wisdom to discern what is right, humility to listen carefully to voices Different from their own,
and integrity. To place the welfare of this city above personal interest or political Gain.
we recognize that many of the decisions before this body are not merely about policies, Budgets,
buildings, or plans. They are questions, ultimately of stewardship.
they ask how we honor what previous generations have built, While preparing wisely for those who will inherit this city after us.
give these leaders the vision to see beyond immediate pressures and immediate interests.
help them weigh carefully the choices before them. Mindful that the decisions made in this chamber shape the lives of neighbors they may Never meet and generations they may
never know. Remind us that democracy is not the art of getting our own way, But the discipline of building a future together.
in a time when disagreement can come too easily, Become division.
help us remember that we remain bound to one another by a shared responsibility for the City and its people.
as this council prepares for a brief pause in its work, Grant rest to those who are weary.
perspective to those carrying heavy burdens and renewed purpose to all who serve.
may they return refreshed and recommitted to the task of helping dallas flourish.
may this city be blessed with safety and opportunity, Justice and compassion, hope and peace.
amen. If everyone who is able would please rise for our pledge of allegiance, First to the united states flag and then to the texas flag.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for Which it stands.
one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
honor the texas flag. I pledge allegiance to thee. Texas. One state under god, one and indivisible.
thank you very much. You may be seated. Members, Bear with me for one moment. I have several. I think of you who have announcements this morning or special Recognitions.
I don't want to miss anybody, so let's see. First, I'm going to recognize chairwoman willis.
is she? Oh, okay. You want to wait? Do you want me to skip you or are you ready?
okay. All right. We're going to recognize chairwoman willis for an announcement or yeah, A special recognition or an announcement.
is that is that an animal? Okay, I'm not sure what our rules say about that. I'm not. Okay. We're just going to assume that's okay. It is. Mayor, And your children might like this animal.
okay. This is luna. She's four months old, little kitten.
and we've got ruby here, and both of them are available for adoption.
and they're here today because dallas animal services is currently operating well above Capacity and has been for some time,
the shelter continues to care for hundreds of animals while responding to new pets Entering the system.
each day. More pets are coming in than are going out right now.
das has 600 animals and 1000 in foster. And of note, Recent large scale animal cruelty seizures have brought
additional animals into their care, placing further pressure on shelter capacity and Resources.
the fastest way to help right now is through adoption or fostering.
every adoption and foster placement creates space and resources for another animal in Need.
the kitten and puppy here today represent many wonderful animals currently available for Adoption,
their pets of all ages and sizes and personalities waiting to find loving homes.
and I encourage anyone considering a pet to visit and meet the current the animals Currently available.
the success of dallas animal services depends on the support of residents, Volunteers, foster families,
rescue partners and adopters. Community members can also help by volunteering and Supporting local rescue efforts and helping reunite lost pets with their owners
whenever possible. When the community steps up, More animals can leave the shelter and find homes with a new family.
if you've been thinking about adopting or fostering or volunteering, Now is the time. We really need you to take some animals into your home and you can go to be dallas.org.
that's bedallas.org. And some of you may be waiting to speak on items today.
so you've got some time to peruse all the wonderful animals that could be available and Take a new family member home tonight.
so this is luna, four months old, and we've got ruby also available for adoption and many More.
thank you mayor. No problem. Chairman ridley, You take the cat and miss blair, are you taking the dog?
any objection? So ordered. Congratulations. All right, You got you have a cat, mayor.
you have a dog, may I done solved. Mayor, may I speak on behalf of this?
sure. Go ahead. My stormy is my first pet. She is the love of my life.
and I got her from das. I got her when she was six months old.
she's now seven. She is, she's nurturing, she's loving.
and one of the things that I recognize is when you bring home a pet from das and they Realize how much love you give to them,
they give it right back. So I encourage you as well to go to das and when they're in Overcapacity mode,
they're free. Did you hear me? They're free. Did you hear me?
they are free. Thank you. Mayor. Miss blackmon, For what purpose?
oh. Go ahead. I think council needs a support animal, So maybe we should take that sweet little dog.
look how calm it is. Anyway, just a little comment. But I did, too, in february. Thank you. Paul.
I adopted a little pomeranian from das and we named her tank because she runs over Everybody and she loves being wherever she is,
and she is such a sweetheart. And thank you all for what you're doing because these pets, These animals,
these sweet things, they need our love. So yes, Take a dog with you today as a parting gift.
wonderful. Thank you all so much. Paul, go ahead and take your cat.
no, no, no. Okay. All right. Chairman mendelsohn, For what purpose?
well, I would just like to echo sentiments on behalf of murphy and leo.
270 pound dogs adopted from dallas animal services. Thank you. Nice, nice. And I see chairman, mr.
mayor. Oh, I would be remiss in not mentioning my two rescue cats from das and ponder who Looks very much like this one.
and I don't know, we're warming up to each other here, So you never know. We might have a third one.
thank you so much, everyone. All right. So, mr. Mayor. Oh, yeah. Mr.. Bazaldua. Thank you. I wasn't going to chime in, But I can't let dallas and harlem be unrecognized.
so we have our two beautiful beagles that we also got. They were roaming around singleton boulevard, And now they have been great additions to our family and strongly encourage
anyone to do what you can with the animals of das, Whether it's adopting or fostering helping us clear the shelter.
but they will also make a great addition to your family. And I would also second. Council member blackmon.
I think a support animal would be great. This may be the most animal loving council in the City's history.
I'm really proud of all of you guys. That's awesome. All right. Anything else? Chairwoman willis, Before I go to chairman west for an announcement,
chairman west recognized for an announcement. Thank you. Mayor. Today I'm excited to celebrate a big win for oak cliff and for our city.
the common ground soccer plaza. This new $3 million soccer complex in oak cliff brings Much needed green space to a previously underused dart
service parking lot, and was funded by nonprofit gateway community soccer and will be Operated by the puede network.
while our city's bureaucracy often moves a little bit, Slowly dart and the city's planning and development team,
including sam eskander, linda velez and daniel neagoe, Worked very quickly to get this project permitted and under construction in just a few
months because of their hard work. This project was able to come to fruition ahead of the End of fifa.
I will read the special recognition now and just ask that our dart representatives come Down along with our city staff members.
whereas common ground soccer plaza is transforming a long vacant dallas area rapid transit Parcel in north oak cliff into a vibrant community soccer campus with playing
fields, gathering spaces, public art and recreational opportunities for residents of all Ages.
and whereas, through a collaborative partnership among dart, The city of dallas community organizations,
philanthropic supporters, private partners and local leaders, This once unused property has been reimagined as a lasting community asset in an
underserved area. And whereas the project demonstrates how innovative public private Collaboration can expand access to recreation,
green space, youth programing, and community engagement while advancing a signature north Texas world cup 2026 legacy project that will strengthen the social and
economic vitality of oak cliff. And whereas, The dedication, collaboration and perseverance of all those involved helped bring this
vision to life on an accelerated timeline, creating a resource that will benefit dallas Residents for generations to come.
now, therefore, I, chad west, council member for district one, Do hereby extend the special recognition to sam eskander,
daniel. Nico, linda velez, randall. Bryant. Carmen. Garcia. Gary. Slagle. Michelle. Kraus. Patrick.
kennedy. Maureen. Milligan. Roy. Lopez. Delegate. Kaitlin holland and rita ballard in appreciation of their contributions to the development Of common ground soccer plaza and their commitment to strengthening the north oak cliff
community in the city of dallas. I want to thank past dart board chair gary slagle and Board secretary carmen garcia,
who are here today, as well as the rest of your colleagues who approved this innovative Partnership and help see it through.
thank you very much. Mayor. Can we get a picture?
absolutely. Thank you so much. Come on inside the rail, Folks. And I'm right in the center here. So you can just fan out from here and we'll get a nice Photograph.
chairman west, was that all for your. All right.
I'm going to move to miss cadena for an announcement if she's ready. Are you ready? Yes. All right. Go for it. Yes.
so if jonathan maples and anybody else from elm thicket north park will come down.
I can hardly hear you. I'm sorry. Go ahead. Sorry. Let me put it a little closer. So I Want to recognize elm thicket,
north park and elm thicket is a wonderful community if y'all want to come down.
that borders district two and district six. And they presented their second historical Marker a couple of weeks ago
for juneteenth. And so I wanted to read some information about the hilliard golf course.
so whereas hilliard memorial golf course served as one of the only golf courses in the United states open to african americans during the era of racial segregation,
providing a vital space for recreation, competition and community gathering in dallas.
and whereas, the course was established in 1950 on land near love field and was named in Honor of thomas j.
hilliard, whose efforts helped secure the site and expand opportunities for african American residents during a time of limited access to public facilities.
and. Whereas more than 800 people attended the dedication of hilliard memorial golf course On april 16th,
1950, including city officials, community leaders, Members of the dallas negro golf association and visitors from across texas and the
nation, demonstrating the significance of the facility to the broader community.
and whereas the course quickly became a destination for golfers and tournaments, Attracting notable players such as v w ross and ike oliver,
while also hosting community events, including a juneteenth celebration in 1950.
and whereas, despite its growing popularity and importance, The expansion of love field airport ultimately led to the closure and eventual demolition
of hilliard memorial golf course between 1954 and 1955.
and whereas, although the course existed for only a few short years, Its legacy endures as a powerful symbol of perseverance,
achievement, and opportunity for african americans who face the challenges of segregation And discrimination.
and whereas the whereas, the designation of this historical marker ensures that future Generations will remember and honor the contributions of the golfers,
community leaders, and residents who made hilliard memorial golf course a landmark of Black history in dallas.
and whereas, the city of dallas recognizes the importance of preserving and celebrating The stories that reflect the resilience,
determination, and rich cultural heritage of our community.
if you have a chance, I would definitely recommend that our community go and see the the Memorial.
it's at 6700 block of maple avenue. And it's I want to thank definitely elm thicket, North park and the community members there,
but also the staff of love field airport who helped get this project across the finish Line.
and also council member jesse moreno, who also helped with this as well.
jonathan, I don't know if you want to say a couple of words, If that's okay. Go ahead, mr.
maples. Good morning and thank you. Thank you for recognizing hilliard memorial golf Course,
the first golf course for people of color in the southern united states.
that's a big deal for dallas. I'm not sure how many people really understand how important That is.
it was the first in the southern united states, Right here in dallas, right alongside what we know now is love field airport.
and with the expansion and the expansion and in the name of economic development, There went hilliard golf course.
so as you guys are making your decision about this building, Remember, hilliard was a piece of history just 75 years ago that none of you probably even
knew about. What will we be saying about dallas in 75 years?
so make sure you choose wisely when you're making decisions about history, Because that history could have been forgotten if not for our city
manager aviation and the hard work of elm thicket, North park and our residents and our councilman.
thank you jesse. Thank you laura, and we appreciate all that you guys do.
yes. If you want to take a photograph, come on. Inside the rail.
I think we have one more announcement. Chairman moreno, You're recognized for an announcement.
thank you. Mayor. We can have folks from dei come down, Please.
I'm proud to recognize the good work of downtown dallas inc today.
while many know dei as a critical organization, Keeping our downtown clean and activated,
it performs other work as well, including work with the homelessness. Recently, a constituent made us aware of a good deed that dei did to support a separated Family.
a man named curtis had been staying with his friends in dallas for about a year prior to May 10th,
when his family stopped hearing from him. His family, Who lives in california, was very concerned for his safety but could not locate him.
curtis mentioned that he had been using substances which contributed to his state of Homelessness,
and he had been struggling alone for that time. From california, curtis, his brother russell searched apps like next door to locate his Brother and heard slightly accurate reports of his
brother's location here in dallas. Armed with that information, Russell traveled 20 hours to dallas from california in search of his brother.
when russell arrived in dallas, he searched and searched. Dallas was a massive city, and russell became overwhelmed trying to find curtis.
in a last ditch attempt, russell spotted a constituent who was doing animal outreach and One of the city's parks and the constituent contacted dallas
animal services, who then contacted dee dee. Dee dee once dee dee dee received the Information,
the entire field operations team was updated and eventually security officer grayson found Curtis and called russell,
who was already leaving dallas and was eight hours away. Russell immediately turned back around to come to dallas.
through calm, patient and trauma informed engagement, Staff were able to safely reconnect him with his brother russell.
curtis appeared distraught and potentially experiencing mental health challenges.
russell had the following to say. I want to thank everyone for my whole family and me.
I'm sorry I didn't pick up the phone, but I was afraid that would have torn a tiny thread Of trust I had built over the course of the last 20 something hours.
I was able to share memories and create more threads of trust. It wasn't easy. It took half the day for me to trust that he wouldn't run off.
I didn't think we would make it down the street, Let alone back home to california.
I am truly am forever grateful for all of you. From the bottom of my toes to the top of my spirit.
I love you all for what you have allowed me to do. Now the real work begins. Every day, dd engages with the homeless population in dallas, Many of whom are experiencing substance abuse and
mental health challenges and are not adequately addressed by our existing systems of care.
when those gaps form, it is organizations like dd that do the work.
so for dd, swift and caring response to a distraught family seeking their lost son brother Halfway across the country,
I commend downtown dallas, inc. And express my appreciation to their president, Jennifer scripps,
security officer jason, wendy, antonio and all the d I team who made and make miracles Happen each and every single day,
even when no one is watching. Thank you'd d I.
mayor. Can we do a quick picture? Come on. Inside the rail for a photograph, Folks.
okay. I don't see any more announcements. So, Madam secretary, let's move on to our open microphone speakers.
thank you, mr. Mayor. Good morning. The dallas city council will now hear its first five Registered speakers.
I will recite the speaker guidelines. Speakers must observe the same rules of propriety, Decorum and good conduct applicable to members of the city council.
any speaker making personal, impertinent, profane or slanderous remarks, Or who becomes boisterous while addressing the city council will be removed from the room
for those individuals who are in person for those virtual speakers, You will be removed from the session.
individuals are given three minutes to speak. For those in-person speakers, you will notice the time on the monitor at the podium when Your time is up,
please stop. For those virtual speakers, I will announce when your time has expired.
also, speakers, please be mindful that during your public comments, You are not allowed to refer to a city council member by name and to address your comments
to mayor johnson. Only your first speaker, william hopkins.
hey yo, my name is william hopkins. He was talking about the animals and the animal Shelter in west dallas.
we had dogs growing up in my mother's yard at 2011, Lease in west dallas.
all our dogs died. The last dog we had. My mother took him to the doctor, And he had cancer.
he died from cancer. My mother died from cancer. My father died from cancer. I got two brothers, Died from cancer.
I got two sisters, died from cancer, and three uncles and three aunties died from cancer In west dallas.
so in 2012, the dallas morning news came out and tested.
they were saying, william, you was talking about lead and people dying in west dallas for Years and years.
so where is all this lead at? The dallas morning news came out and knocked on my mother's Door.
so I took him around west dallas and they tested for lead. And they told me that they found lead all over west dallas.
no media said nothing. No. John wiley price didn't say nothing.
the dallas, the naacp. I couldn't get nobody to say nothing.
it's been 14 years. People have died. The city sued in 1983, October.
I've been giving y'all this, giving y'all this for probably 29 years.
mr. Johnson, you you already know about it. The city sued and october the 10th, 1983.
and you wrote a letter to the citizens of west dallas saying that y'all wasn't involved, That the city wasn't involved,
and it didn't have nothing to do with the city. You lied. And you've been sitting here for almost 30, 40 years.
the city sued in 83. People have been dying. Thousands of blacks have died in west dallas.
where y'all sit here, all y'all? I'm gonna come down
here 29 years. Mayor johnson trying to help the people that's dying in west dallas.
I've been saying this over and over and over.
ron kirk got the american airlines. You got the convention center.
laura miller built a $500 million bridge going to west dallas.
but you don't know what to do about the city. I don't know where y'all getting all these millions at for the convention center and the Dallas american airlines and half $1 billion bridges.
but you don't know what to do about the city. I think y'all have failed. You let the people die in west dallas for 40 years.
you sued in 83, and you've been sitting here, You, ron kirk, leopard all of y'all sitting here letting the people die.
your mother graduated from pinkston. You've been sitting here. You won't say nothing. I don't know if fred, Byron and bud and russell, bud, dorothy bud of the fred byron and bud law firm is paying
you to let the people die in west dallas. That's your time. See you next. Whenever y'all come back. Thank you.
well. Robert ceccarelli.
good morning, city hall and mayor. I'm only going to talk about one minute because I Thought it was going to be on one minute speech.
district one. District two. District three. District five. District eight. District ten. District 11 and district 13.
you're voting to get rid of city hall. You don't want city hall to be here.
75% of the people want city hall to stay here. And everybody listening to me on tv and behind me, The people in the the people in this district,
the city council members, they either got to quit or they're going to have to be voted Out.
because when you have 75% of the people in the city say something and the city council Members go against their constituents.
that's wrong. I don't want to say everything right now in front of everybody.
you got to come back here every week, every week of these city council members numbers and Talk about how bad it is,
what they did. You got to be consistent about this. I was consistent about my homelessness because I came here every week, County commissioners and city homeless commissioners.
I did it every time I got my housing with no help, A little bit of help.
but when I stayed there and I was consistent and I got it. This is what's going to happen if you do that every week and tell the city council members You're going against us,
the constituents are your boss. You don't boss them.
I know I'm yelling, but that pissed me off when I saw the 75%.
okay. Now, why is that? I don't know, but I'm just telling the people listening on tv and Behind me.
you gotta come down here and bring a crowd every week, Every week, every week, like I did for a long time to get my housing.
but I got it and it worked out. It will work. Don't be afraid of these people. They're going against you.
you are their boss, the constituent. You're their boss. Do it. Show it. I know I'm yelling, but that pissed me off the way you think.
your boss and your constituents. Thank you. Thank you.
rich. I'm going to ask that you refrain from clapping and responding to the
speakers. It's actually not something we do here. Thank you, richard cox.
thank you, mayor city council, for this opportunity to speak on richard cox from district 13.
I'm here in opposition to the zoning request at preston royal.
the development is not about the. The developers are not about the neighborhood.
they're about the investors. The principles of the project include mitchell rozanski, Jerry stool,
leland burke, and mitchell thornburg. This idea is about leland burke openly, He boasted on
tv the other day. This is a project about a legacy for me, My family, and the investors.
since early october 25th, we've had we've heard over and over again.
this is a done deal. A slam dunk. They're defrauding you
saying we're meeting with the neighborhood everybody and getting their input.
yes, we're meeting, but they're not listening.
we are not victims of circumstance. We are victims of a process that feels like it's being Crammed down our throats every time we meet,
the same idea comes back about sb 840 that they can build whatever they want to build.
yeah, they say they can build something that is undesirable in your neighborhood.
if you don't let us build these skyscrapers on this table before you.
now. Now, over 4000 petition signers have signed this petition against this project,
and the developers are not listening and others are not listening.
others are not listening. The preston royal community want something, Develop something special indeed.
we have a desirable option that would meet any reasonable investor's financial goals.
do you have that email? This can be done now with no more delay.
it's a beautiful option. A real picture of what can be done.
stunning and compatible with the neighborhood. We urge you to reject this disastrous, out of scale proposal and uphold the current zoning Laws that we have.
thank you. Thank you. Rebecca. Theresa. Hello.
I'm going to speak up here because I'm being joined by a three year old who does not want To come down.
I'm sorry, miss teresa. Your video must be. I'm up here.
my apologies. Excuse me. Thank you. No, I would love to come down, But my assistants do not want to.
so. Good morning, mayor johnson and other council members. My name is rebecca torrisi, and I am here to speak about dallas tennis and education Academy or dtea and the management of the tennis center
under review and agenda item 60. Along with my husband and our four children, I reside in north oak cliff in district one.
despite being a native dallasite, this is the first time I have ever set foot in city Hall.
I do so today because I feel so passionately about this issue and want you to understand What a jewel of a program we have at keith's tennis center,
and what a loss it would be to our community and our city to let it go when most people Envision youth tennis,
they think of country clubs. They think of kids from neighborhoods with manicured lawns, Luxury cars,
and expensive equipment. Traditionally, tennis is a sport where whose many physical, Social and cognitive benefits are decidedly not available to
everyone. And yet, that is exactly what dte is all about.
every child is welcome. Dte welcomes any child free of cost, Into its entry level program.
you don't even need to send your child in with a racket. This is how my son and later my daughter started in the program and fell in love with the Sport.
I have seen them grow not only physically, but emotionally and in maturity in their time With dte.
it is a program that is about much more than athletics. In fact, I might argue that it is a character formation program that happens to also help You with your serve.
every single player is required to show up, to take responsibility, To be respectful, and to give back,
players have to dedicate at least 60 hours a year to community service. Earlier this year, my son even got to be a ball boy at the special olympics.
every other week, it seems that one of our players is appearing on honor rolls, Winning spelling bees,
school and district awards or medals at chess competitions. At first, I was struck by the comparatively high number of these achievements for such a Small group.
but then I realized it was no coincidence. Dtea not only attracts and retains motivated, Excellent young men and women of character,
but also has a hand in shaping those players into high caliber students.
any of these players could tell you what happens if you show up to practice without your Hat.
coach carroll will have you writing. I will not forget my hat 200 times before the next Practice.
no exceptions. But if you need help to master your backhand, She will also spend two hours at practice making sure you get the support you need.
she'll treat the kids to ice cream after a big tournament. In sum, I hope you agree that it would be a great shame to give a community asset run by a Charity that directly serves lower and middle class dallas citizens to a non dallas based
profit for profit company so that they can maximize profits at the expense of the voters.
I respectfully ask you to remove the question of keystone center's management from agenda Item 60.
thank you. Thank you george.
I'm going to ask you not to do that. I know you're going to want to do it, But I'm going to ask you not to do it. Thank you.
george de burgers.
good morning, honorable mayor and members of the council. My name is george burgess and I'm a resident of district 14.
I'm here to speak personally and as a member of the friends of the dallas public library On behalf of funding for the dallas public library system.
in the current political climate and tough budget situation, I would propose that fully supporting the public library system would
be both popular and a benefit to the entire city. I have a short message. I have four points I want to make.
I want to ask the original budget be restored. The $2.6 million originally proposed for the public library system.
funding to be restored for fiscal years 26, 27 and 28, 2020 728.
I ask that you direct the city manager of tolbert to restore the original budget.
proposed original budget funding proposed for the library in the original budget set out, I think,
last august. I ask that the proceeds from the sale of the skillman southwest library be Used as part of the funding for the library system for
this fiscal year, and ask that the council support funding adequate funding for the Libraries to ensure that we could have the flagship system that's been proposed
without the closing of the of various neighborhood libraries.
so that's my argument and that's my presentation. And I thank you for your time and your attention.
thank you. This concludes the first five registered speakers.
the remaining speakers will have an opportunity to address the city council at the Conclusion of its city business.
mr. Mayor, just looking to see if we had a motion. We do not. So we will move on to our voting agenda.
thank you, mr. Mayor. Agenda item one is approval of minutes of the june 10th, 2026 city council meeting.
I heard a motion and a second. Is there any discussion? Seeing none. All in favor, Say aye. Any opposed?
the ayes have it. Minutes are adopted. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Before we move to your consent agenda, You do have two individuals, have two who have signed up to speak on items on your consent
agenda or other items. Dolores phillips. Miss phillips has signed up to speak on all Agenda items.
miss phillips, dolores phillips, you do have handouts.
I do thank you for allowing me to speak. The handout has everything to do with the viaduct And the future of
city hall. My dad walked these bridges coming to work.
ut southwestern. Lone star gas company, right downtown.
I'm asking you to do the right thing to keep the connections to the viaduct.
no matter what monies it may be, it's more valuable people, Lives and memories of their travels and their journeys in the city of dallas
is more important than a building in this building.
let's talk about the future of city hall. It takes a selfless visionary to go
forth and give a proposal that no one else sees.
this building is dilapidated, outdated, and outplayed.
you heard william hopkins speaking about the lives lost in west dallas.
there's been a lot of tears in this building. It's been a lot of orchestrated, executed plans in this building.
and that's against lives that are black, white, Blue, brown and green poor in the wealthy.
now listen to what I'm saying, because we're beyond this building.
dallas mavericks mega center three, 60 theater at 1500.
marilla. Is the future for dallas. There is no future for dallas
mavericks in valley view. From the aerial view, You get exactly what you see.
the desert. There is no future in collin county for the dallas stars.
the reason this is important to me is when I come before you and I speak to you about my Dad fabricated police report dpd that's still
negatively affecting my life, right? To this very day.
medical gaslighting, you name it, orchestrated and executed from this very building.
now, when you hear me, mr. Hopkins, speak as a black person, It means nothing to you.
but I'm here to remind you that there are white people in my shoes.
the contracts that was rendered and violated in this very building.
you have those white brothers and sisters very angry.
now, when I say that we are beyond this building, We are beyond this building.
I also remind you that we are in the court of law, And that each one of you are witnesses and will be subpoenaed.
thank you. Thank you. Bruce richardson. Mr. Richardson has signed up to speak on
pulled item 49, consent agenda item 76 and individual items 90, 91 and 93.
mr. Richardson, you may come forward. According to the city council rules of procedure, You will be given three minutes to speak on all four items.
good morning. That is a pile of items to speak on.
so let me just sum it up late. Breaking op ed sites, Mismanagement and
lack of transparency. Gosh, when it comes to the city hall questions, Acts, actions
speak louder than words. The consultants did not act independently.
the council rejected pro bono independent expert parallel oversight
twice. Three speakers in january's transportation committee alleged
gross mismanagement. This agenda is packed with money thrown
at mismanagement. Will any actions today speak
louder than words? If not, there's a word for that.
that word is hypocrisy. Hypocrisy.
many, many times throughout this process, we have been told, Even by the consultants who sat at these
tables, that there was no scope attached to their work.
it was a broad, complete replacement plan for all building systems, And it was up to this
council to impose a scope on that work. And you tried some of you did.
some of you did. Yet it was rejected again. Even when you wrote it into a resolution, We never got an
independent. Assessment of repairs necessary to stay here
with economy. We never got it. So let's be clear.
that's hypocrisy. That is hypocrisy. Thank you.
this concludes your speakers on your consent agenda. We'll now move to your consent agenda. There are several last minute changes.
your consent agenda consisted of items two through 77.
agenda item six was pulled by council member mendelsohn. Agenda item seven was pulled by council member mendelsohn.
agenda item ten was pulled by council member mendelsohn and council member johnson.
agenda item 13 was pulled by council member mendelsohn.
agenda item 14 was pulled by council member mendelsohn. Agenda item 15 was pulled by council member mendelsohn.
agenda item 16 was pulled by council member mendelsohn and council member.
I'm sorry, deputy mayor pro tem johnson. Agenda item 18 was pulled by council member Mendelsohn.
agenda item 32 was pulled by council member mendelsohn. Agenda item 33 was pulled by council member mendelsohn.
agenda item 37 was pulled by council member. Mendelsohn.
agenda item 49 was corrected. Agenda item 54 was pulled by council member west.
agenda item 57 was pulled by council member mendelsohn. Agenda item 58 was pulled by council member. Mendelsohn.
agenda item 60 was pulled by deputy mayor pro tem johnson.
agenda item 61 was pulled by council member ridley.
agenda item 65 was corrected and was pulled by council member west.
agenda item 70 was pulled by council member mendelsohn. Therefore, your consent agenda consists of items two through five.
eight. Nine. 11. 12. 17. 19 through 30. One. 34
through 36. 38 through 53. 55. 56. 59.
62. Through 64. 66. Through 69 and 71 through 77.
this is your consent agenda. Looking for a motion? Alright. Wonderful. Is there any discussion? Chairman west, You have five minutes on consent.
thank you. Mayor. I just wanted to highlight a couple of great items for the city in oak Cliff.
number five is donation to the library. $2.8 million anonymous donation to the dallas Public library to to help with system wide
improvements, including preparing branches for flagship services, Furniture replacement, and more.
at a time when dallas is facing serious budget issues. We are lucky to live in a city with such generous philanthropists that want to support us.
also want to point out item 45 and thank staff for.
for this item to get a consultant to help with projects connecting halperin park to oak Cliff.
this item is is, is really helping us with, with ensuring pedestrian safety for this area Which is a fantastic park for the
community. And then lastly item 46 is a traffic study for beckley avenue.
it approves three different studies. The beckley avenue one is in district one and District six.
thank you to director lee for moving this forward in 2024. I set up a task force led by terry lowry to study and make recommendations on improving Traffic safety along this dangerous corridor,
which is rapidly changing as new housing has been built. I look forward to seeing the traffic study capitalize on the task force's recommendations And ultimately seeing this corridor transfer into a safer,
multimodal corridor instead of the speedway that it is today. Thank you. Miss mr. Mayor. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
go ahead. Thank you, mr. Mayor. There are two clarifications on two of your items.
agenda item 26 is clarifying that the funding source for the $200,000 is the animal Control enhancement fund,
not the animal welfare welfare fund in item 44.
clarifying that the amount being funded by the elm road safe routes to school improvements Fund should be 1,784,000
528, instead of $1,784,529.99. Those are your clarifications.
sorry, mr. Mayor. Everybody got that? Okay. That's just a little clarification.
miss kennedy recognized for five minutes on consent. Yes, I want to recognize agenda item number nine.
I want to thank congressman vc for securing this 1 million federal investment for the city Of dallas and the west dallas community.
acceptance of this money will allow the city to move forward with utilizing the federal Funds for the project.
these funds will support key improvements, including reconfiguring the south wing to Improve workspace and service delivery,
enhancing connectivity and accessibility between the center and the west dallas branch, And this investment will help ensure the center remains a strong community asset and
continues delivering essential services to west dallas residents for years to come.
thank you, congressman bc. Agenda item 52 is the replacement of fire station 43.
this was the number two replacement priority in the dallas fire and rescue needs Assessment and was approved with the 2024 bond program.
so we'll be moving forward with this item. And then agenda item 25 is the salvation army Campus project.
it's a new 21 acre social service campus being developed on vacant land at 8625 north Stemmons freeway.
the project is estimated to serve more than 5000 people annually through comprehensive Co-located services,
including an emergency shelter, supporting housing, Case management, health care, job training and child care.
the dallas development fund has approved $8 million in nmtc tax credit allocation to Support the project.
nmtc allocation is leveraging nmtc allocation from one other cde for this project.
between the two cde, approximately 4.4 million of nmtc equity gross will benefit the Project.
thank you, mr. Mayor. Chairwoman willis recognized for five minutes on consent.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry. One second. Mr. Bazaldua, You're recognized for five minutes first.
I didn't see you. Thank you. Mayor. I just want to highlight agenda item number eight.
I want to highlight that this authorizes the acceptance of $2.5 million community project Funding grant secured by congresswoman jasmine crockett.
I want to say a huge thank you to congresswoman crockett for fighting hard to secure these Funds for the community.
we're grateful for her continued advocacy on behalf of south dallas. I also want to thank office of government affairs for working tirelessly through the Application process and to help secure grant funding levels.
these funds will help kick start what I hope will be a large scale reimagining of the mlk Center,
transforming it into a revitalized space for community programs and services.
I also want to highlight number item number 20 for the new market tax credit for fourth Forward through the dallas development fund.
the city is supporting this project with an $8 million new market tax credit allocation.
this investment, alongside an additional cd project, Will generate approximately $5.6 million in equity to help move the project
forward, with a total project cost of about $93 million. These tax credits are critical in addressing rising construction costs and ensuring that The project remains financially viable and done on time.
I look forward to moving this project forward and celebrating its grand opening in November.
also, last but not least at all, I want to highlight items 21 and 23 and give a big kudos To my colleagues in district three and
district five. They're extending the exterior improvement grant program to their district.
I can say that in our district, we have received a lot of interest for our program from Small businesses,
not only from within the district, but from across the city, Who are excited for the opportunities like this to improve their own storefronts.
so, kudos to my colleagues for putting more dollars into impacting the people of our city.
thank you, mr. Mayor. Now chairwoman willis, You recognized for five minutes.
thank you mayor. I wanted to speak on item 19, Which is the park and rec department pursuing an application for the local parks,
urban outdoor recreation grant program for $3 million from the texas parks and wildlife Department.
this is to improve fair oaks park, which did get some bond money in 2024 for a small Sprayground and a small pavilion,
but this would allow them to go bigger and add a playground.
this is an area in vickery meadow with three consecutive arpa qualifying census tracks and Bronx level density 11,000 children,
so I appreciate them bringing this forward because it takes money off of the backs of the Taxpayer to accomplish this.
it pursues outside funds, which I appreciate them doing. And I hope that we get this grant and I'll be happy to come back here and celebrate when We do.
thank you. Chairman gracey recognized for five minutes.
thank you, mr. Mayor. I want to thank city staff economic development for, As my colleague mentioned,
item number 21 is a exterior grant improvement program for retail properties.
and as we said, we had some dollars. So we have a $1.2 million grant that we'll be putting Back into the community for retail properties to improve makes exterior
improvements. We know in district three that it is a beautiful place to live.
again, the outdoor destination of the city of dallas, If you haven't heard. But now we want to make our shopping centers more attractive as well and encourage more People to come out and do their hiking and biking to create a safe and beautiful place for
them. So thank you to the city staff. And if you are in district three and you are have a Retail space please reach out.
this grant will be open soon. Thank you, chairwoman stewart, You're recognized for five minutes.
thank you, mayor johnson. I want to thank the or add my thanks, Actually, to the anonymous donor who made the donation for libraries for
libraries, programing and services. I believe libraries are the lifeblood of the city.
it is definitely how my residents connect with the city is the time and the services that They get from the library,
so I'm very grateful to that donor. I also want to add my thanks with councilmember willis To parks for finding the funds for fair oaks
park. Fair oaks park is our neighbor, and I didn't know there were 11,000 children.
I knew we had a lot. So good to know. It's as many as it is, And I'm very grateful that we will have additional resources and assets for them in that
park. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Mrs blackmon recognized for five minutes.
thank you. I too want to thank the anonymous donor for the library donation.
we had a library close in district nine not too long ago, And so please know that whoever you are out there,
it is much appreciated because when you close a library, As I've said, you rip the soul out of that community.
so many thanks and you are honored and cherished. Also to on item number 42, I want to highlight that this acceptance of a grant from the U.s.
department of transportation to support the planning, Design, and construction of a pedestrian safety zones along our ferguson road corridor
that I share with adam bazaldua and jesse moreno. It is part of achieving vision zero, and we have remained focused on improving safety Along our most hazardous and crash prone roadways.
and this is ferguson road too. Because of the commitment, We have successfully secured a federal grant to support safety improvements along this
corridor. I want to thank the transportation department and public works and our part and Our partners at dart,
who were here earlier today for helping work and securing this grant.
and again, thank you, mr. Moreno and bazaldua, For your continued partnership and commitment for creating a safer ferguson road for
everyone. It is a long stretch of city road that is important to the east far east dallas Community.
and that includes not just cars, but pedestrians and bicycles. So I want to thank everybody for working to make this happen.
that's it, mr. Mayor. Mr. Roth, you recognized for five minutes.
thank you. I wanted to highlight item 17 and thank publicly coca-cola bottling company the Fifa world cup
organizers and their foundation, dallas county and richardson independent school district For facilitating the improvements to a
very much needed area in my district. Esperanza for the installation of a supportive new Soccer
pitch for that facility and for that community.
and appreciate all their diligence, their money, Their activity, and their assumption of of responsibility in helping us develop a great
amenity for the neighborhood that we're serving there. Thank you. Miss blair, you recognized for five minutes.
I know we're adding on to our time today, but I and item number 42, I can't not recognize that this
grant that everyone else has spoken of will take care of our district three and district Eight camp wisdom corridor and the saint augustine
corridor that I share with district five that these corridors have been lacking in Attention for some
time. This grant will better the commute, better the opportunities for our communities to Have safe routes to and from.
thank you, mr. Mayor. Is there anyone else who wants to speak on, For or against the consent agenda?
seeing none. All in favor, say aye. Any opposed? Ayes have it. And consent agenda is adopted, Madam secretary.
thank you, mr. Mayor. Before we go to your pulled items, I will move to agenda item 88.
agenda item 88. Authorize one. Designating approximately 4.43 acres of property currently Addressed as
1445 ross avenue as city of dallas neighborhood empowerment zone number 24 any z.
number 24 and approximately 2.26 acres of property currently addressed as 2401 mckinney Avenue,
2421. Mckinney avenue, 2425 mckinney avenue, 2507 fairmont street and
2515 fairmont street as city of dallas neighborhood empowerment zone number 25 any z.
number 25. Pursuant to chapter 378 of the texas local government code to promote an Increase in economic development in the zone,
establish boundaries for the zone, and provide for an effective date for the zone two.
an economic development incentive agreement with morgan stanley services group, Inc., or an affiliate thereof.
morgan stanley or grantee bpp owner to include a a business personal property bpp tax Abatement for a period of
five years in an amount equal to the city's taxes assessed on 90% of the taxable value of The business personal property
resulting from morgan stanley's phase one project. Be a business personal property tax abatement for a period of ten years in an amount equal To the city taxes assessed on 90% of the taxable value
of the business. Personal property resulting from the morgan stanley phase.
morgan stanley's phase two project. See a chapter 380.
economic development grant in an amount not to exceed $18,500,000, Consisting of one.
an amount not to exceed $10 million for job relocation and or creation to an amount not to Exceed $7,500,000
in lieu of a real property tax abatement, and three an amount not to exceed $1 million to Reimburse actual permitting inspections and
development fees. In consideration of the job relocation, Creation and investment associated with morgan stanley's establishment and
operation of a new temporary regional office at 1445 ross avenue in any z number 24.
phase one project and a new permanent regional office at 2401 mckinney avenue.
2421 mckinney avenue. 2425 mckinney avenue. 2507 fairmont street and 2515 fairmont street In
any z. Number 25 phase two project and three the city's nomination of morgan stanley's Phase one project for designation as
an enterprise zone project and the city's nomination, I'm sorry, and the city's nomination of morgan stanley's phase two project for designation
as a triple jumbo enterprise zone project under the texas enterprise zone act, As amended by the office of the governor economic development and
tourism division through the texas economic development bank in accordance with the city's Economic development incentive policy,
not to exceed $18,500,000. This is your item, Mr. Mayor. Chairman recognized for a motion. Thank you.
mayor. Motion for approval. Second, it's been moved and seconded.
you have five minutes for discussion. Yes, mayor. I am proud to make this motion approving This item.
as chair of the economic development committee, I have seen the hard work dallas has done to support our business community across the
city, from the neighborhoods that have that small city charm, To the world class amenities offered in the heart of the bustling downtown dallas.
our city has everything that a company needs to thrive and for its employees to build a Life here.
that project isn't just about the city, what the city can do for the incumbent companies Like morgan stanley.
it's also about the community benefit, such as a company coming to dallas.
this item can create a minimum of 3800 jobs in dallas by 2035, With the possibility of creating an additional thousand jobs by
2039. With the average annual wage of 128,000.
our team has done excellent work to get this to this point, Leveraging the state of texas enterprise fund award for nomination of the texas enterprise
zone designation. Additionally, our city incentives include our economic development grant And the economic development job grant with
potentials for additional grant opportunities. Those tools create an unparalleled Incentives that create favorable conditions that will support our dallas communities
through job creation and significant economic investment in our city of dallas.
job creation conditions would include 25% of hires being filled by residents that live in The city of dallas currently,
with a plan to achieve 40% employment of the city of dallas residents.
ultimately. Additionally, morgan stanley has exciting internship opportunities and Throughout dallas for college
students from pools of eligible educational institutions. This is a great opportunity that would not exist otherwise for our students and our Communities.
this is not an item we should reject. Dallas is a world class hub for enterprise, And we are uniquely situated to be home for the morgan stanley
that cannot be found elsewhere. And at a time that is changing at the dallas core.
this is a historic investment in our convention center and the approaches that we're Taking to securing a clean and safe downtown.
now is the time to lead in economic development and secure future for our children and our Workforce.
I hope our colleagues can all support this item before us today. Thank you. Mayor. Mr. Bazaldua recognized for five minutes.
thank you mayor. I would like to start by saying my appreciation for staff's work on a Very competitive package
that positions dallas to potentially secure a global financial services hub and thousands Of jobs.
I think that this comes at a very critical time with a lot of critical discussion that we Have on the future of the city,
and we have absolutely experienced ebbs and flows of businesses coming and going.
but I don't believe that that has varied from market trends across the country.
we are still in business and we are still competing with the other cities in the country.
and I want to thank you, mayor, for prioritizing bringing financial institutes to the city Of dallas and creating y'all street.
I do support the overall goal of attracting large scale private investment and long term Job creation to the city of dallas.
however, I do want to emphasize that the success of a project like this should not only be Measured by job numbers,
but by who in our city is able to access those jobs.
I would like to see in the future a stronger and more intentional focus on local hiring Expectations,
and ensuring that dallas residents are positioned to benefit from these opportunities, Especially given the scale of up to 4800 jobs in this particular project.
while I recognize incentives are an important tool for economic development, I also believe that we need to be equally intentional about what it means to truly invest
in people, not just projects and not just corporations.
I will be supporting this item, but I would be remiss if I did not emphasize the Importance of ongoing accountability for ensuring dallas residents are meaningfully
included in the benefits of this investment and others like it.
thank you, mr. Mayor. Chairwoman willis recognized for five minutes.
thank you, mayor. And I just want to be sure that morgan stanley knows that we want you to Be part of the dynamic,
growing portfolio of big names like yours that are making a home in dallas, Goldman sachs,
nasdaq, texas scotiabank, and then new big names like the texas stock exchange.
so you'll fit right in here. You'll be welcomed by our community. This is the place to be. North texas has 380,000 finance professionals, And living in dallas proper is an amazing experience.
whether it is the vibrant urban life or quiet single family neighborhoods.
we would welcome you and you'll fit right in. And I also want to point out that texas does have a very favorable tax situation.
so don't forget that either. Thank you. Chairwoman stewart you recognized for five Minutes.
thank you, mayor johnson. The news that morgan stanley is seriously considering a location In the dallas urban core is an encouraging sign of the
continued strength and the momentum of our city. Attracting a global financial services firm of this caliber will bring high quality jobs, Expand our tax base,
support downtown and uptown businesses, and reinforce dallas's position as a leading Economic center.
while there is still work to be done, we are grateful that morgan stanley is looking at Dallas,
and this is exactly the type of opportunity that demonstrates the long term value of Creating a strong,
competitive urban core in dallas. I also want to tell you, We have great neighborhoods and we have great people.
thank you, mr. Mayor. Chairman gracey recognized for five minutes.
speaking of great people and great neighborhoods, I'm going to come back to that in a second. But first, I want to congratulate the mayor
and all of city staff on their efforts to continue making these type of efforts to bring These type of organizations and companies to the city of dallas.
I know once was said that there are certain cities out in the north that are wolves, But I see that the city of dallas is out here in these entire
united states on the prowl and finding businesses and bringing them here.
so one thank you, mayor, to that vision to to morgan stanley.
welcome to dallas. And two, I want to say this part as far as good people and good Neighborhoods,
if you didn't hear it, I just said that district three is the outdoor destination of the City of dallas.
so as you bring those employees here, I welcome an opportunity to take them on a tour of The district.
and I mean that sincerely. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Deputy mayor pro tem recognized for five minutes. Mr.
mayor, I just want to congratulate you and city manager on this vision. Bringing businesses downtown to our to the city of dallas is what we're doing and what We're trying to do.
and this is very it's going to be exciting to our entire city. And I'm like, councilman gracey. Bring him over to district four so they can get a great Tour of southern dallas and see what we're offering in district four.
so this is awesome and I appreciate your leadership, Both of you guys. Thank you. Mr.
blair, you recognized for five minutes. I want to echo my southern sector partners in Bringing you to district eight.
I'm the most southern district within the district, But I also have uniqueness when it comes down to education.
I have class a high school kathy gilliam, which is right next to a world class
university. Unt dallas. If you need a hbcu experience, I have that as well in paul quinn.
if you need a junior college, I have a world class junior college in cedar valley college.
I also have at rit at the redbird mall. Dallas college that also offers robotics.
so whatever you need to educate your kids, come to district eight and I'll show you.
we also have right now 500 homes that are getting ready to be built.
you get to you get to claim it and name it. So come on out to district eight.
we'll give you a tour, we'll show you opportunity, And we'll show you how to educate your kids.
thank you. Is there anyone else like to speak on for against agenda item 88?
seeing none a record vote. Madam secretary. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Mayor. When I call your name, Please state yes, if you're in favor.
no. If you oppose council member west. Yes. Council member moreno.
yes. Council member. Gracey. Yes. Council member. Cadena. Yes. Council member. Bazaldua. Yes. Council member.
blair. Absolutely. Council member. Blackmon. Yes.
council member. Stewart. Yes. Council member. Roth yee-haw. Absolutely. Council member. Mendelsohn.
yes. Council member. Willis. Yes. Council member. Ridley. Yes. Deputy mayor pro tem johnson absolutely.
yes. Mayor pro tem resendez. Yes. Mayor johnson yes.
with all 15 members of council voting in favor, The item passes. Mr. Mayor. Thank you. Next item please. All right.
your next item against the rules. Your next item is agenda item 90.
june item 90 authorized the implementation of the recommendation by the transportation and Infrastructure committee on may 19th,
2026 to raise the height of the kay bailey hutchison convention center, Dallas back to the original existing height to accommodate the jefferson and
houston viaduct travel you do have 88 individuals who have signed up to speak on this Item.
each speaker will be given one minute to speak. I will call speakers and groups. And when I call your name, I do ask that you come forward and have a seat on these first
two rows of the center section. And for virtual speakers, I do ask that you have your audio and video prepared.
craig davis. Tracy mayer. Chris hinebaugh. Greg white.
laurie. Sprouse. Cynthia. Michaels. Troy. Sims.
laura. Palmer. Phyllis lee. Daniel. Huerta. Kevin.
pfeiffer. Brandon. Williams. Craig. Pierre. Durant.
elena. Stevens. William joy, bob stimson, tiffany brightman, Linda vanderford, debbie
solis, and latricia mcwilliams. Craig davis.
mayor johnson. City manager tolbert. Council members. Thank you for allowing me to speak. I'm craig davis, President and ceo of visit dallas, and I'm here on behalf of the 6000 workers whose
livelihoods depend on what you decide today. Since the convention center closed last july,
dallas has lost $92 million in convention lodging and $13.7 million in local taxes, 1.4 million every month.
last week, we notified over 40 convention organizers that we cannot accommodate them in 2030,
as originally promised. That's nearly $2 billion of spending leaving the city.
here's the irony. As we sit here, fifa is filling our streets, Our restaurants and our hotels,
and with visitors from around the world. Dallas is shining on the global stage in our Collective efforts have made that happen.
this is tourism at its best. December 2030 is on the line.
our reputation is on the line and visit dallas is ready to sell. I'm simply asking dallas to deliver on time by continuing negotiations and not ceasing Construction of the convention center.
thank you, thank you. Tracy mayor. Good morning, Members of the council and mayor.
I'm tracy mayor, executive director for the hotel association of north texas. And we are advocates on behalf of our hoteliers and the people that make them run.
I am here to for those people today, our team members have built a career out of the Hospitality industry.
they've raised families and they are moving forward. And when the convention center closed, our industry understood what was coming.
we expected loss of business. We expected room night cuts and shift cuts, And we took that unwillingly because we believed in the plan and we believed in the
timeline. What our workers cannot absorb is more delay. The recommendation before you will set the project back and another year of reduced hours And uncertainty will have a direct negative impact on our workforce.
these challenges are not small. The struggle is real and deeply felt by the people who Rely on us for their livelihoods.
we urge you to keep this project moving, and thank you for your time and for your service To the city.
thank you chris. Good morning, I'm chris hinebaugh.
I want to thank all my arts colleagues here in the chamber and up in the flag room.
we are asking you to vote no on 90. It will have a negative impact on arts funding.
right now, hotel occupancy tax funds, 45% of arts funding and 55% is from the general Fund,
which we know is extremely stressed. Our hope was when the convention center reopened, The boost and hot would reduce pressure on the general fund.
this pushes us out for at least a year. The convention center is an economic engine.
if we didn't know this already, we do now. The drop in sales tax revenue aligns with the Drop in conventions.
we don't have all those cheerleaders and their moms shopping in our stores. Another year of that means a continued hit to the general fund, Which impacts arts, parks,
potholes, and more. We appreciate the concerns of oak cliff residents and believe that the Current road solutions need more work,
but we believe we can get there without stopping this project.
this makes no sense. Vote no on 90. Thank you. Greg white. Good. Good morning, mayor and city council.
my name is greg white and I am the chair of the dallas tourism public improvement district And also the general manager of the beautiful westin galleria in dallas,
located in district 11 at 1303 40 dallas parkway. I'm here to respectfully urge you to vote no on on item 90.
dallas is already paying the price of the delay. 3000 jobs lost in over 1.4 million in tax revenue lost every month while the convention Center remains closed.
a redesign would push this project further beyond 2030, And with no clear timeline, and every month of delay only increases the damages.
we're not only losing business, dozens of conventions have been relocated and or are at Risk,
and the revenue is going to other cities. But beyond the financial loss is something even More damaging.
and that's the loss of trust in the convention industry. Credibility is everything. And now that we're considering spending nearly 600 million more To delay the project even further,
there is more cost, less certainty, and more lost business. Thank you. Thank you. Lori sprouse. Good morning, Mayor and city council members.
my name is laurie sprouse, and I'm the owner of ultimate ventures, A dallas based destination management company serving major dallas convention clients for
more than 33 years. I urge you to vote no on agenda item 90.
I work directly with clients behind the 4.5 billion in convention pipeline you are hearing About today.
this week I spoke with two major clients convention clients scheduled to return to dallas After the convention center reopens.
one expects approximately 7500 attendees beginning in 2031, With plans to return for at least three years.
another is scheduled to return in 2031, with over 14,000 attendees and plans to return for Five consecutive years.
both reached out after hearing the news because they are anxious. This is not about losing one event or one year, And this affects businesses, small businesses like mine,
transportation companies, florists, all kinds of workers. I passionately urge you to vote no on agenda item 90.
hold the 2030 convention center date. We can get both done. Thanks. Thank you. Cynthia michaels. I'm speaking for
myself as well as heritage oak cliff. You knew when you started this project you were Going to lose money. You knew you were going to lose conventions, but did you know you
were going to be $400 over budget? The voters didn't agree to that. Staff consultants decided to lower the ballroom, Cut off the jefferson viaduct in order to save 500 million.
I guess everyone thought that was okay except the citizens of oak cliff.
over 20,000 cars travel that road daily. It's a great alternate route.
has direct route to methodist hospital. Can be used for downtown if it needs to evacuate.
dallas has ignored and abused oak cliff too long. Treat us like you do. The developers, the consultants in north dallas.
remember you want to connect the core, not disconnect it. Go back to the original plan. Raise the ballroom.
the convention center can be flipped around. You can do whatever you want to. There's a Lot of options.
follow the recommendations of the transportation committee. Thankfully, They realized that the jefferson viaduct was going to be chopped off and taken away just
in a few weeks. When the committee saw that, They said the ballroom should be raised like it was originally planned.
that's. Thank you. Thank you. Troy sims. Troy sims not
present. Laura palmer. Laura palmer. Sorry. Laura palmer.
it's not present. Phyllis lee. Thank you all for this opportunity.
I am phyllis and I do live in the oak cliff area. I am here to remind the council people. That was at the opening of the oak cliff bridge.
oak cliff park that was opening and the words that they said, That bridge and the park was to bring us together from oak cliff
to north dallas, because the 35 bridge has split us. Now, as I'm sitting here listening, and if that bridge is allowed to be closed, That's going to separate us.
so I'm here to remind the council persons and the people that were there that stood up Proudly and said,
we are not cutting the ribbon. We are tying the ribbon. So if you tying the ribbon to bring oak cliff and north dallas together, Do not divide it by stopping the bridge.
do not close the bridge. Thank you. Daniel.
daniel, we're at the district one. I'm also asking that you support the resolution.
street connections are important for downtown cores because they improve accessibility.
it supports walking in transit. It boosts economic activity of more foot traffic.
easier access generally benefits the shops and restaurants and other businesses.
it also helps reduce traffic congestion by spreading out traffic, Enhances safety and vibrancy of the streets,
and promotes community interaction. We do not want jefferson street impacted to where it Impacts our access into downtown for oak cliff
residents. Thank you. Thank you. Kevin pfeiffer.
good morning mayor. We the people, I encourage you to fully consider the long term Consequences.
we are literally thousands of oak cliff residents that use these viaducts to get to work And to return home every day.
additionally, there are city staff members who travel from the dallas municipal center on Jefferson to travel to and from city hall to meet and
strategize in person with our colleagues. The quickest and most direct path between these Two city entities is the jefferson street viaduct.
please consider implementing phased construction over jefferson street bridge.
it can be done. The jefferson. The convention center currently goes over lamar street.
it can easily be built over jefferson street. Look at the relatively minor traffic disruption on I-30 when those bridges were taken Down.
two weekend shutdown and then fully reopened. Slow down. Make a fully coherent plan that saves serves all citizens.
vote yes. Thank you. Brandon. Williams. Craig.
thank you for your time and attention. I'm from district one. I'm supporting item 90. I was born in oak cliff in 1969 to david williams and paula craig.
she was born in oak cliff in 1938. I teach aikido at aikido, Oak cliff and conflict resolution.
the viaducts connecting oak cliff to dallas are vital to both the economy and the Community.
coherence of our city. They represent the memory and current vitality of our connection With each other as neighbors,
starting with our historic city hall. The city of dallas must shift from tearing down our History to profit the few,
to restoring our historic structures to preserve our identity and connection with each Other.
city staff's proposed changes would cause significant delays during construction. Upon completion of the convention center for oak cliff residents to get downtown from Downtown, residents and workers to get to oak cliff.
if we demolish the structure now, it doesn't matter how much community input there is Afterwards.
if all the options will make oak cliff downtown connection worse than it is today. We want access. Oak cliff residents want access to downtown.
that's your time. Thank you. Thank you. Pierre durant.
hello, my name is pierre durant. I moved to dallas, Texas in 2012.
I actually just graduated from ohio state university in economics, And I was hoping to be able to,
you know, find work in dallas. And I feel like a lot of the things that we're doing is Keeping us from me being able to find a job here.
and I think that if we voted no for the issue of 90, It would make it so that we have to wait another year for the job opportunities that the
convention center will bring us. I think that me personally, I just think that we've already voted for the sorry.
thank you. Thank you. Elena stephens.
greetings. My name is elena stephens. I have lived in dallas my entire life, And I've lived in district one for the last 40 something years.
I am I'm asking you to vote yes on item 90 to raise the expanded convention center design Back to its originally planned height to avoid
disrupting two major historic arteries connecting downtown dallas to the southern part of The city.
jefferson boulevard and the houston street viaduct.
I know that we can come up with a better plan than we have right now.
there is no reason to disrupt all of the growth south initiatives that I have seen happen In the last ten,
15 years and have seen such a marvelous expansion of what oak cliff is.
please vote yes. Vote yes on item 90. Thank you, Thank you.
william joy. Hi. I'm on video. Can you see me?
yes. And we can hear you. You may continue. Great. I'm william joy, I'm the president of the bishop arts neighborhood association.
and the reason I'm speaking is because this question really is rhetorical.
should the city of dallas spend money to make sure that bishop arts in oak cliff aren't Cut off from its downtown?
it's honestly laughable when you say it out loud, But if you want to frame it another way, should a city that just lost its signature downtown retailer, Its signature downtown employer,
and both of its downtown sports teams. While cities across our region spend hundreds of Millions of dollars to draw people into their downtowns,
turn around and make it more difficult for its own residents to reach our core.
so the project be delayed a year, or should communities suffer for decades? Any way you frame this question, it's rhetorical.
did the people at this horseshoe exist to serve tourists who pass through a few days a Year,
or the tens of thousands of residents who don't just use that bridge but rely on it every Single day.
if you struggle to answer those questions, you simply don't deserve.
thank you, bob stinson.
good morning. Council members. Honorable mayor. I've come to speak in favor of item number 90.
connectivity, mobility, accessibility are the key for any business or for any community.
and in this case, the oak cliff community has been shorted. It's really due an apology. It's been treated as an afterthought.
and this whole process. And that is not not appropriate for this for this body to be Treating one of its major communities in that fashion.
so I would encourage you, one, to vote for item number 90. It's important that we still have our connectivity from oak cliff and from downtown to oak Cliff.
if you can't do that, there is still time to get this right.
let's go back to the drawing board. There needs to be at least two lanes coming in from Oak cliff to downtown at all times.
even during construction, there needs to be at least two lanes coming out of downtown to Oak cliff at all times,
at least during in during construction. That can be done, But it's going to take somebody with a fresh eye taking a look at this.
and so I would encourage you to, if you cannot vote for item 90.
let's go back and instruct staff to to do this right. Last thing. Okay. Thank you. I'll talk to you later.
you guys got new rules these days. Thank you.
tiffany brightman. Hello. I'm tiffany brightman, A resident
of dallas. And I'm just urging everyone to vote no on item number 90 as it will only Prolong the process.
and also add costs and make it an inconvenience even longer for the residents of the Surrounding area.
thank you. Thank you. Linda. Vanderford. Vanderford.
linda. Vanderford. Not present. Debbie solis.
yes. Can you hear me? Yes. And we can see you. You may continue. The convention center plan is terrible because the plan lacks foresight.
and the design which threatens the oak cliff community and all the people coming from the Northern part of dallas.
the important. It is how we can come to downtown. Stop treating us like. If we do not matter in this process.
who in their right mind would submit such a horrible plan?
fire the project manager because he was not concerned about all the thousands of residents That live in oak cliff and the surrounding
neighborhood. This is a bizarre situation and a lack of logic.
thinking is embarrassing. I am saddened by how we have forgotten why the people in the Horseshoe were voted in.
your loyalty has been seen in all the secret meetings and emails showing some made up Their mind before going to the community for important changes that would affect all of
us that live in dallas. That's your time. Thank you, Thank you, thank you.
latricia mcwilliams. Hello. Thank you for having me.
I'm latricia mcwilliams. We need to vote for a new and bigger, Better, a new and bigger, better convention center that provides jobs for our city.
I vote no for night. I mean, for item 90. Thank you.
I will now call the next group of speakers. When I call your name, I do ask that you come forward and have a seat on these first two rows of this
intersection. And that virtual speakers have your audio and video prepared already.
fernando el, tanika ward holly stubbs is canceled.
christopher wilkins, tanya ross, lashawn virden, Cassandra harris delicia or
delisa hall, crystal. Johnson, desiree. Riley.
chris cook. Amin behbahani. The bahini. Damian.
gray. Autumn. Sims. Dominique. Alexander. Alicia.
evans. Land. Mary. Perez. Ellen herek has canceled.
ozone. Casey. Champion. Teresita. Delgado. Alicia.
quinton. Quinton's. Valencia. Yarborough has canceled.
lakisha foster. Landry cannon and landry cannon.
fernando l. Fernando. L is not in the audience.
not online. It's not present. Tanika ward. Yes.
hello, I'm tanika ward and I'm in dallas and I vote no for the 90 item.
thank you. Thank you again. Holly stubbs is council christopher wilkins.
christopher wilkins is not present. Tanya ross.
hello. I'm tanya ross, and I come to tell you that I vote no on item 90.
thank you. Thank you, lashawn burden.
good morning mayor, city council members and all who is in attendance.
my name is lashawn burden. I am a resident in hacienda ranch community in oak cliff and I Vote no on item 90.
thank you. Cassandra harris. Cassandra harris not present.
felicia hall or delicia hall. Good morning. I'm alexia hall.
I've been a resident here all my life and I vote no for item 90.
thank you. Crystal johnson. Hello, my name is crystal johnson.
I vote no for item 90. Thank you. Thank you. Desiree.
riley. Hello. Coming in here today. I see a lot of papers moving, But not enough
listening. We have so much to worry about. Like the draining on the bridge.
however, how does every storm come in? Texas is drained out.
we all. All our cars sit on the bridge and stuck in the rain. There's so much money that can be spent on other stuff instead of the bridge right now.
we also have potholes that have not been fixed. Last year I spent almost $2,000 on my car getting fixed because of the potholes that are Not being fixed.
they said they was going to get fixed. There's also streets that are cut off because we Can't go a certain way because so much construction.
so I feel like there's so much money that can be spent other ways than actually right now What we got going on because we've already fixed that before.
so I vote no. Thank you. Chris cook. Chris cook is
not present. Amine. Amine behbahani is not present.
damien gray. Damien gray is not present. Autumn sims.
autumn sims is not present. Dominique alexander.
hello. I'm minister dominique alexander, president of the next generation action network. 2512 east overton road,
dallas, texas. 75216. Because I only have a minute and I had a whole line of speech that's Going on.
listen, it's imperative that people come to meetings, Right? Community meetings because y'all are left to vote for critical things, Right?
and these people have meetings so that you can be informed and facts can be there, Right?
there has been public maps shown out that shows all different ports of entries to the Southern sector.
I'm born and raised in seven five, two, one six. One thing I ain't going to do is disenfranchize the people that I'm born, Born, and raised with.
it's clear that the people who have came before you has not looked at the map, That the people who are building the construction for the convention center
vote based on facts, not political games. Thank you.
alicia evans and. Alicia evans. Land is not present.
mary. Paris. Mary paris is not present. Ellen herrick is canceled.
ockz champion. Good morning. I am kasie champion.
I am a resident of dallas. All my life. I have been on boards, Traveled around this country,
and been just amazed at the way and how the cities are drawing and attracting different Groups,
conventions, and conferences. Whenever I would push for dallas, They would always come back to,
nah, you guys don't have enough entertainment, You guys don't have a good downtown, or you're not offering us the kinds of things that
we're looking for. And I just believe that the plan that we have forward should go Forward.
we've had a chance to alter those plans for months.
we would spend millions and millions of dollars that we don't need to spend.
if we delayed this program any further, it would cost us even more money.
that's. Aren't we broke? That's your time. Aren't we broke?
teresita delgado. Good morning. My name is teresita delgado.
born and raised here in dallas, texas. I'm new to oak cliff because I've been in oak cliff Maybe 12 years,
if that. But I feel segregated from north dallas because of the mere fact we receive Things
in north dallas that we don't receive in oak cliff. And that is your consideration. I would like for you to vote no.
it's the right thing to do. For once, do the right thing and vote no.
thank you. Thank you. Alicia. Quinton. This is alicia quinton.
good morning. Good morning. I'm a resident of oak cliff, District four.
the bridge is planned after the flood of 1908. And dallas have been a lifeline for our oak cliff and south dallas communities since the Viaduct has connected to the dallas central business district since
1911 and is listed on the national register of historic places.
that's 115 years of use. Jefferson street viaduct was dedicated in 1973 and has been in Service for 53 years.
it replaced the old trinity streetcar trestle that had been in use since 1887.
a directive to ignore existing contexts and historic connections between oak cliff and Downtown seems to have been given to the design team.
important connections over the trinity river to downtown should be respected in the design Process of any development,
and especially a new publicly funded. That's your time.
thank you. Thank you. Lakeisha foster. And valencia yarbrough
has canceled. Hello. Good morning. I am asking that you guys vote no on item 90 because Dallas residents should not have to sacrifice critical
transportation access and neighborhood connectivity for a convention center expansion.
we need a plan that balances economic development with the needs of people who live and Work here every day.
a convention center can be rebuilt. Community connections, Public trust and taxpayer dollars cannot be easily restored once they're gone.
so again, vote no for item 90. Thank you. Landry.
cannon. Landry cannon is not present. I am told that speaker 18 is
now in the chamber. Linda vanderford.
thank you guys. My name is linda vanderford. I'm an oak cliff resident and a small Business owner in bishop arts.
I understand the importance of a successful convention center, But I think it's important to remember that the infrastructure was built to serve the
jefferson viaduct. Wasn't wasn't built to serve a convention center. It was built for oak cliff. For generations. It's been a direct link between where Residents live,
work, shop and hang out. The convention center serves visitors.
the viaduct serves the residents. As somebody that depends on that connection, Both personally and professionally,
I'm concerned we're being asked to treat that as expendable.
just to accommodate a project that people that are just going to be here for a couple of Days.
I have no doubt the convention center can generate revenue and attract visitors, But a city is more than a convention center.
a city is its neighborhoods. It's small businesses. It's the people who live here every day. If we're willing to weaken a historic connection That thousands of residents rely on in order to make a project work,
that's your time. Okay. Thank you. I will now call the next group of speakers.
when I call your name, I will ask that you come forward and have a seat on the first two Pews in this intersection,
two rows in this intersection, and that virtual speakers, You have your audio and video ready.
curt alexander. Sarah brandon, luke, ashley. Johnson, Rachel.
young, ari. Loewenstein, david. Preziosi sent.
wheat, michael. Amonette, julie. Gutierrez, steven.
callahan, jenna. Brightman, carlos. Quintanilla, Brett.
shipp, alex. Scott, john. Barr, mc barr, john henry martinez, Cassandra gandara,
gabriel brown, rachel rachel dillard, and travis taylor.
travis taylor has canceled kurt alexander. Good morning.
my name is kurt alexander. I'm the president of omni hotels and resorts. I want to share some data from our company and from omni dallas, Which as you know, is owned by the city,
our convention centers, hotels in nashville, Atlanta, orlando and boston.
all cities that we want to compete with here in dallas currently have between 2 and 2 and A half times the business that omni dallas has over the next eight
years. That's $150 million that omni dallas has missed out on.
if this project is delayed or stops, it will cause irreparable harm to this city, Its constituents,
and to the asset which you own. So I would urge you to vote no to item 90.
our city has taken some hits lately, and this is in y'all's control to make sure we put a Win on the board.
thank you. Thank you. Sarah marcaccio.
good afternoon. I'm sarah murgoitio, district one resident. I honestly hate that we're here today. I would have much preferred city staff come up with A solution on their own in the multiple attempts over the last few months.
but here we are. There's a lot of moving parts to consider, So I hope you've taken into consideration one part.
we are now paying attention. Despite every attempt to keep us uninformed.
here we are. When you mention stakeholders in your discussion today include oak cliff and South dallas businesses and homeowners in that term.
we have been tied by these viaducts for over 100 years, Funneling the workers from the southern sectors to the cbd for generations.
you will not chop off our city's vital access points in a committee meeting. If you want to do that, you can do it right here in front of everyone.
I ask that you not be intimidated by numbers and a memo. Residents do not deserve to carry blame or burden for the city's mismanagement and Miscalculations.
as to the importance of these viaducts. That was their miscalculation, Not ours.
thank you. Thank you. Brandon. Luke. Good morning.
my name is brandon luke. I am the business owner of the woolworth and you know, Moss in downtown.
I came here to tell, you know, today, but I can't justifiably say that.
yes doesn't make it right either. But you guys you guys are creating a situation that is Compounding.
stars are leaving, mabs are leaving. At&t is leaving. I heard the good news about morgan. But what you guys are failing to see is this is like a Falling knife,
right? Who's catching one? I live in district 14, And it seems that
we continue to leave the citizen behind in these bigger choices.
as a business owner, I staked my family and choice.
I could have moved up north during the pandemic. I chose to stay here and this is just more nonsense.
that's your time. Thank you, ashley johnson. Good morning.
yes, I would urge for you to vote no because I would like for the convention center to Bring in more jobs for the community and have
easy access for us to get back and forth to where we need to get.
thank you. Thank you. Rachel. John.
good morning. My name is rachel yun. Lowering the convention center means changing the Jefferson and houston street viaducts.
these bridges stand as the last historic pieces of oak cliff. Destroying or altering them will ruin the literal architectural history our city has left.
this will destroy communities. The future of oak cliff will be non-existent if this vote Goes the opposite way.
no one will want to live here. The design will force commuters into a massive bottleneck.
the houston viaduct will be closed to cars to. Jefferson viaduct will route drivers down to hotel street.
this will create crippling congestion. This will delay drivers every day and dart trains And busses.
dart serves as serves. Dart serves as thousands of dallas citizens.
primary travel method. You will punish public transit riders alongside drivers.
dart has already closed a convention center station for three years because of this Construction.
busses routes will detour. More vehicles sitting in traffic will generate more carbon Emissions.
dallas air quality already suffers. Your vote will make our air quality worse.
that's your time. Thank you. Ari loewenstein.
hello. My name is ari loewenstein. I live in district one. I have a business in district six, and I have a business in district 14.
I'm on literally all sides of this. You have a really difficult job, And you've been handed a really bad hand by whoever dealt this beforehand.
history tells us that when we look back in 20 years, This will either have decimated oak cliff or not.
it took rome 40 years to build line c because every three feet they went, They found more archeological sites that they had to uncover.
but they did it right. Vote yes. Even though it's going to cost my pocket for my store Downtown,
because it's the right thing to do. Because it's going to preserve oak cliff. And because While we need the convention center,
the original plan worked around what was there. The streets were there. The original plan didn't say to do this, So do it the way it was drawn originally.
it's going to hurt my pocket, but it's going to be important historically for the city.
that's your time. It'll work. Thanks. Thank you. David preziosi.
david preziosi, a resident of district one in oak cliff. And I'm here to support leaving the convention center design elevated to allow traffic to.
and from oak cliff on jefferson street and houston viaducts to continue to serve as a Lifeline for oak cliff residents to downtown,
which has been for over 100 years. Some fun facts about the bridge.
the concrete and steel houston street viaduct was completed in 1911 in response to the Devastating 1908 flood,
which washed out most of the wooden bridges. In 1984, It was listed on the national register of historic places for its engineering and
construction significance as the longest viaduct of reinforced concrete arches ever built At over 6500ft.
and a fun fact it was designed to accommodate ocean going vessels, As at that time, there was supposed to be a canal that went from dallas all the way to the
gulf. The jefferson viaduct was built in the 1970s, Replacing an earlier bridge that served as an elevated railway connecting.
oak cliff to downtown. Thank you. Thank you. Sent.
wheat. Good morning, mayor,
city council, city manager and everyone seated before me and behind me.
my name is sent wheat and I'm a resident of district seven. I am here today regarding item 90. I just want to say the city has already spent time, Money and resources on expert studies and
plans to move this project forward. Now there are discussions about reversing it and Bringing it back.
I am here to ask that you vote no and stop wasting our valuable time and our taxpayers Dollars.
our city needs the jobs, economy, growth and revenue. That is the project that can bring a revenue that this project can bring.
we should not be moving forward. I mean, we should be moving forward, Not backwards.
also, I would like to say that the jefferson and houston viaducts are not closing.
that is not true. As I as I have heard others say, I respectfully ask the council to vote and keep the project and move.
keep the project moving ahead. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. Michael amonette thank you, mr. Mayor.
please vote yes for item 90. Erecting a building in the middle of a road 7800 people use Each day is ridiculous.
it's insulting how temporary guests seem to be so much more important than permanent Taxpaying residents.
the dallas morning news is correct. This would be a gross error of generational Consequence.
I spent the last two mornings helping pass out fliers to hundreds of drivers at young and Market,
where the jefferson bridge might no longer go. The overwhelming number of people who rolled down their windows and took fliers from me Were black and hispanic.
at least 85%. This is about normal, hard working people who are just trying to go back and Forth to work every day.
they do not need or deserve the additional burden of some convoluted detour, Adding time and stress to their workday for still more endless,
wealth driven convention center fantasies. Thank you. Thank you. Julie gutierrez.
good morning, mayor and city council. My name is julie gutierrez and I'm a local business Owner.
I'm also one of 13 small business owners that make up trinity alliance.
I'm here to share with you what the project has done for workforce development for the Dallas workforce development.
we've worked with recruitment partners, training partners such as dallas college and other Placement programs with organizations such as goodwill.
we are creating an ecosystem, a pipeline for employers so that they can have talent to Support this project.
this delay would not only impact people getting jobs, But it would impact the small businesses who would benefit from from this workforce
pipeline here. We want people to get the jobs. We have people in various stages right now ready and piped up ready for them to get jobs With our project.
so I urge you to vote no for line item 90. Thank you.
steven callahan. Good morning. Resident of oak cliff, Business owner in the heart of bishop arts.
I also operate a second location in downtown dallas farmers market. And I am here to politely disagree with my neighbors who seem to think that we're bombing The bridges.
I think this is good for the long term health of oak cliff. The multi-modal connection for the houston viaduct is good.
I want a streetcar, I want cyclists to come to bishop arts from downtown.
I view this as a good thing. Thank you. Thank you. Jenna brightman. Hello, my name is dawn brightman, And I ask that you guys vote no for item 90.
thank you. Carlos quintanilla. Carlos quintanilla it's not present.
brett shipp.
one minute. We get one minute. One minute. Are you kidding me?
this is an insult. But you know what a bigger insult is?
what? You're telling the people of districts one of districts three of district four and District eight.
you are telling them you don't care. Everybody in here wants this convention center.
we all voted for it. We don't want delays. We want it on time and under budget.
we want all these things. But what we want more than anything else in my 14 seconds is Equity and justice and
dignity and respect for the people of the southern sector of this city.
my time is up. Save city hall, save the bridge.
thank you. All right. Thank you. Alex scott has canceled john barr.
thank you, mr. Mayor. Members of council, my name is john barr.
I don't know why you have to vote for one or the other. If you look at the numbers that they've provided you, The numbers are.
please check them about the expense of delay.
please help us have transportation. There's a way to do this.
we've analyzed the numbers, and if you're interested, We can sit down and give you some more information.
simply not enough time. But I would like to address something. The police officers were moving forcibly. A former council member that was up here talking To you.
the predicates, the predicates that you must have by law to shut a thoroughfare have not Been complied with.
we were first told about this on march the 23rd.
that's when we were first told the numbers that we're talking about expending.
they're not accurate. They're not reliable. Thank you very much. Thank you. Mc barr. Good morning. I'm a resident and business owner in the oak cliff Community,
and I'm speaking today because what is being proposed is not a design decision.
it's not a cost savings measure. It is a generational wound that will be inflicted upon One of dallas most resilient and historically underserved communities.
and I believe the dallas city council must understand plain terms what that wound will Cost us.
these bridges are the veins of our community. Every morning, over 19,000 vehicles cross the colorado and zang boulevard intersection, Moving toward downtown.
workers cross them to reach their jobs. Business owners cross them to make deliveries.
customers cross them to spend their money in our restaurants, Shops and our small businesses.
families cross them to access services, health care and opportunity. The moment that those bridges are compromised, Diminished or eliminated, everything that depends on them begins to deteriorate.
and I know cliff and the southern sector, that is nearly everything city staff has Produced detailed projections of the cost of the convention center project of
preserving the viaducts. What they've sachse your time. Say thank you. John henry martinez.
good morning. My name is john martinez. I'm with the regional hispanic contractors.
I'm asking for your vote. One for the staff of city hall.
I have faith that they're doing the best that they can do for our citizens. They've gotten the message. We want the convention center. I know that they're going to Keep those bridges and things open because they know the importance of jobs.
my second part is I'm asking you to vote for the men and women who actually live in the City of dallas who,
you know what? If there aren't any businesses and jobs for them to go to? Doesn't matter if there's a bridge or a road. We need the convention center to keep those Jobs.
if you don't know what that looks like, how many of us have lost those restaurants and Places that we enjoyed and we loved after covid that never came
back? That's what we're talking about when we're delaying the convention center.
I'm not talking about the business owners. I'm talking about the men and women who work in Construction or will work in construction,
who work in those restaurants, who work at the convention center. Thank you for your Support.
thank you. Cassandra. Cassandra. Cassandra. Gandara.
it's not present. Gabriel brown. Good morning, City manager, mayor and city council members.
my name is gabrielle brown. And I work in the hospitality, Hospitality and convention industry,
specifically in security for true focused hospitality group. I'm here because this convention center delay is already hurting workers and small Contractors.
this is not something that may happen later. We are already losing money now.
security officers, janitors, registration teams. Food and beverage workers, exhibitor services, Event staff and the companies that employ us are all being displaced.
the companies we work for are scrambling to find contracts with hotels, But hotels do not have enough visiting traffic because conventions are not coming in.
please protect hospitality workers. Please protect small contractors. Please move forward in a way that does not leave us behind.
this delay is not about a building. It is already costing workers income, Costing small companies contracts and threatening the survival of hospitality business in
dallas. Thank you, thank you. Rachel dillard.
good morning. I'm rachel dillard. I live in district one at the lake cliff tower Condominiums.
I support the plan to revert to the original design of the convention center, Which raises it above the jefferson
street viaduct so that the jefferson jefferson street viaduct remains
a viable entry into the city of dallas into downtown dallas.
I also incorporate by reference everything that brett shipp said.
I have attended three town hall meetings of different districts in dallas.
there are stakeholders not only in north oak cliff, But in south oak cliff, south dallas,
and in the the cities south of the city limit, Desoto, duncanville, cedar hill, red oak.
all these people are going to have to find a new way into downtown. That's your time. Thank you. Thank you. Travis taylor is canceled.
I will now call the final group of speakers. When I call your name, I do ask that you come forward and have a seat on the first two rows of this intersection
and that virtual speakers, you have your audio and video ready. Stephanie drinka, jim. Foster, kendall. Simms.
kendrick. March. Cirrhosa. Tyler. Shaming. Richardson.
katana. Charleston. Donald. Lampkin, sherry. Edwards.
victor. Tucker. Tiara. Grace, stephen. Edwards, Kaela.
foster, david. Pryor. Tennille. Carter, james.
verdin, la angela. Jones, la feria. Bennett, Deborah.
peterson, gregory cody and wanda. Jefferson. Stephanie.
stephanie drinka virtual. Historian. Doctor michael phillips referred to dallas as a Laboratory of forgetfulness.
some of you seem to have forgotten the 1940s, When frontage roads to central expressway paved over more than 1000 graves of black
residents buried in freedman's cemetery, or I-35, Which demolished homes and businesses in the 10th street historic district,
bounded by formerly enslaved black people, or I. 345, which was redesigned in the 1960s to bypass deep ellum, Decreasing foot traffic to a primarily black owned neighborhood.
or the redlining, redlining maps, and deed covenants that locked black and latino families Out of wealth building in south dallas and oak cliff.
and now this convention center plan would cut them off from downtown even further. We're told the only way to preserve connectivity is to spend half $1 billion from the same Leaders who won't fund repairs to our iconic city hall.
during a recent panel about the future of downtown, Developer mike ablon said the history of dallas is a history of infrastructure.
here you are poised to repeat that history. Perhaps that's why you're working so hard to Erase it.
thank you, jim foster.
hello. I'm your immediate past dallas county judge, And the houston street viaduct was built under
a contract from dallas county. I can find no information whatsoever that indicates that That
viaduct was ever conveyed to the city of dallas. My contention is that the viaduct still belongs to the citizens of dallas county and not To the city of dallas.
and I hope that you understand that you have no authority to restrict the traffic of that Viaduct.
thank you. Thank you. Kendall simms. Good
afternoon. My name is kendall simms and I'm saying vote no for item 90.
thank you. Kendrick. March. Good morning. I'm kendrick
march and I believe. Continuing the build of the
convention center and not delay it would give kids today a good, You know, job because I know they parents didn't tell them about that place because
I know I've had a vast amount of people that come to this city and spend money immensely Amount of money at that place.
and just the history about it. And far as the
it will cause, you know I just vote no for the item 90.
thank you. So, rosa. Tyler. Good morning to the mayor and all the
city council members. My name is tyler, and I'm voting on agenda 90
in the south oak cliff area where I grew up. And I'm a proud graduate of south oak cliff High school.
and I won't vote no for agenda 90. Thank you.
shaming richardson.
good afternoon, mayor and council members. My name is sam richardson.
for this to even be a debate is disheartening to say the least.
don't raise the building back up. Don't go backwards, Move forward, hold the date and vote no to item 90.
thank you. Katana. Charleston. Good morning, Mayor and council
members. The city faces immediate infrastructure and budget needs that should take Priority over this massive funding app.
please reject this proposal and support more cost effective transit solutions instead.
while I have a few more minutes, this is my first city council meeting and I don't know if This is the norm,
but some of you don't even seem like you're engaged in what the people are saying, Like I said,
I know you have a lot on your books and stuff, But it doesn't seem like you're listening to what the people are saying or taking into
consideration. And I also would like to thank mr. Chip for waking up the room and the council. Thank you.
danielle lampkin. Danielle lampkin it's not present.
sherry. Edwards. Sherry. Sherry edwards is not present.
I'm sorry. Sherry edwards. Yes. I'm here. I'm sorry. I have a suffering from a broken ankle. Recovering.
I just wanted to say good morning to the councilman city council. I vote no for item nine. Being a resident of oakland for all my life and my family coming From generations,
we need that jefferson viaduct to remain open even with working downtown.
coming to klyde warren park, working at museum towers.
we need that to stay open again. We say no to item nine.
thank you. Victor. Tucker. Victor. Tucker. Yes, Ma'am.
good morning, city council. I'm just here to say vote no to item 90 and keep it going.
thank you. Thank you. Tiara. Grace. Hi. My name is tiara grace.
and I'm just here to say I am voting no on item 90.
thank you. Steven edwards. Hello, I'm steven edwards.
I vote no on item nine. Thank you. Kayla foster.
kayla foster. It's not present. David pryor. David pryor,
it's not present. Tennell carter.
good afternoon, mayor and council. I'm here to represent district one and I would like to Vote no for item 90.
thank you. James verdin. Hello. How y'all doing?
I'm james verdin, a community activist entrepreneur.
mayor, city council. And I'm here to vote no on item 90.
I stand here. It's a bittersweet moment. It's been a while. I actually grew up watching the council with my mother standing, Doing what I'm doing now.
I believe it should always be people over politics. I believe that people should actually do more research and see that they're not actually Control trying to shut down.
they're just trying to bring more financial benefits to the community and to the people of Our great city.
and I ask and urge you to please vote no. Thank you for your time and consideration.
thank you. La angela jones.
how you doing? Mayor and council member. My name is angela jones, Business owner in dallas.
and I just urge you guys to vote against it. Thank you.
thank you. La bennett. Bennett. It's not.
good afternoon, mayor councilor. How y'all how y'all doing? I've been a resident of dallas all my life, so I'm voting for the item 90.
I vote for no thank you. Thank you, deborah peterson.
deborah peterson okay, it's still morning. Good morning, Mayor and council members.
my name is deborah peterson. I urge urge you to vote no on agenda item 90.
this is a massive financial commitment, and taxpayers are being asked to accept major Costs and risks without enough
transparency or are accountability before committing billions.
the public deserves clear answers about overruns, Debts and who pay if revenue falls
short. Dallas has urgent needs today. Public safety streets, Parks, infrastructure and basic
services. We should not write a blank check for uncertain future benefits.
please slow this process down. Provide full accountability.
that's your time and vote no on agenda item 90. Thank you. Thank you. Gregory. Cody.
good morning. Mayor, city council members, city manager and distinguished guests. My name is gregory cody. I'm president and ceo of gcc enterprises.
I'm one of the members of the trinity alliance, And I'm here today to ask you to ask you to vote no for agenda item 90.
and the reasons behind that is it's just delaying this project is delaying our opportunity To
provide this much needed building and convention center for the city.
so a whole year of this. And another thing is we're not getting we're in a position now That our trade partners are not convinced
that we are moving forward in a manner that they want us to move forward because we can't Get solid answers as we move forward.
our goal is to get solid answers and to keep this thing moving forward. So I ask you, I plead for you to please say no to agenda item 90.
thank you. Thank you. Wanda. Jefferson.
good afternoon. My name is wanda jefferson. I'm been a resident of dallas all my life, And I'm here to just say please vote
no, say the bridge and just vote no. Thank you, Mr.
mayor. This concludes your speakers for this item. Wonderful. All right. The time is 11:51 a.m. On june 24th, 2026.
city council meeting will now go into closed session under section five. 51.07, One of the texas open meetings act on the following matters described on today's agenda
item numbers 85, 86 and 89 and under sections five, 51.07, one and 551.07.
two of the texas open meetings act on the following matter described in today's agenda. Item number 87 will stand in recess until 1 p.m..
thank you. All right. City council meetings completed its closed session under sections 551.071 and
51.07. Two of the texas open meetings act. Nat 2:56 p.m.
on june 24th, 2026, we return to open session. Madam secretary where are we on the agenda? Mr.
mayor, we are still on agenda item 90. We finished the speakers.
we are at the point where we need a motion and a second. Okay. So you read into the record already. Yes.
all right. I'm looking for a motion on from chairman. Mr. Mayor. Deputy mayor, pro tem, mr. Mayor. Yes.
miss blair, I move to deny this item. Is there a second?
it's been moved and seconded. The motion is to deny on item 90. You're recognized for five minutes, miss blair. I don't think that there's a lot that Needs to be said.
we have talked about this. We have gone over this. We have we have moved one way. We have moved another way.
there has been misinformation. There has been information that says that that we're trying To block.
access for the complete southern sector to the north, Which is far from the truth.
it is misfortunate. It's unfortunate that we have to go here, And we have to discuss this again and again and again.
the the truth is raising the raising. Well, the truth is, It doesn't matter whether the whether
the convention center is raised or it's lowered, You will still you will still have access via the viaducts in order to get in and out
of downtown. The only challenge that we will have is during construction, If I remember
correctly, is being asked to travel a couple of extra minutes.
if it is, then once it's once completed, it'll be 42 seconds.
the challenge we also has is that we have fifa here right now with accentuates the fact That we've lost access to griffin.
once fifa is gone, our access up corinth to griffin reopens and it relieves some of the Pressure
off of the viaducts. It is also true that we have that that txdot has dismantled the three Off
ramps or overpasses on I-30, which accentuates the fact that this is a challenge for the Southern
sector. I think there will be a motion coming behind me that will explain it better.
so with that mayor, I just ask that you not to to deny this case, To deny this, to accept my
motion, to deny, and then let's move forward.
miss blackmon, you recognized for five minutes. Thank you.
I have a couple of questions. So my first question is that we've been talking about the Viaducts.
I guess we need to help us. Help me understand what exactly is the viaduct and where does It stop and where does it begin?
because I think there's a lot of confusion on what what it is, Where it isn't.
so I, I'd love for somebody to help explain that.
oh. My time is still going, billy ray, as they're getting situated.
thank you. Not that I need it all. Good afternoon.
director of the department, transportation and public works. So the viaduct, By definition,
is the structure that goes over a a water body or a long stretch over a long stretch.
so the viaducts pretty much, I mean, if you want to call it the definition of viaduct ends Past the northern end of the levee.
and as you start getting into downtown. So that is a small piece of it that is not over The levee.
and it is you're going over the tracks, railroad tracks. And as you're going down into downtown. So the viaduct stops at the tracks or at the at The at the at the garage,
pretty much. I mean, for, for the purpose of the discussion is right, Right around the tracks area.
okay, so the construct, I guess let's go with. There's three stages of this, this discussion, I guess for you have a current.
you have construction, you have day one of convention center and you have a permanent.
correct. There's four stages to this. Correct. Okay. At what point is a viaduct touch in any of those stations, Those stages?
so if we go with the definition that the viaduct extends from the southern end all the way To past the northern
levee then that piece is still intact. So the viaduct itself is going to be intact.
where does any kind of disruption happen after that?
so generally speaking again, this is part of the general location.
it's just north of the railroad tracks to basically the area where it changes from Jefferson
into market, where we're coming back down to grade right around the just before you get to The omni.
okay. And what will happen then? According to the information that I have from the Convention center currently is that that piece is going
to be impacted by the construction of the convention center.
and let me be clear, is that regardless of what option is going to be whether it be in the Building or stays at the elevation where it's at
or it is lowered, that piece was going to be impacted during construction.
okay. So the viaducts are going to stay in place and they will continue to connect the Communities.
it's how it gets when it gets off the viaducts is what's really at at play here or in Discussion,
correct? Okay. Now let's talk about the convention center in january.
or when did we tell y'all that it was too expensive? Go back and redesign. Thank you. Rosa fleming, Director of convention and event services.
so we briefed you in may of 2025 with the first schematic design, And brought that so that we could be able
to ask to go into design and construction. That's when it was decided it was too costly Because we provided you a range of
3.5 to 3.7. So we brought back in january of 2026, The design that now had a
price tag of 3.1 to 3.3. Okay. So now it's at 3.1 to 3.3.
yeah. Right now we are holding at 3.080 zero billion.
but we did tell you a range in case there's those market factors that were in the briefing We provided that day.
okay. And what and then in the it says our fiscal note if we go back is going to be three Is going to add
a certain amount. What is that money going to be used for? What why are we going to have a half $1 billion for redesign?
is it because I assume we're not going to go back to the other design? Right. We would not we would not. Both of those designs actually would require interaction With just as,
as director ken cali said, interaction with that 550ft.
and so because in may of 2025, what we brought you were schematics and we now are in Construction dock phase on the current design.
that is why we tell you we'd have to go back and do a redesign. So you're duplicating the cost of all of the of all of the architectural costs that we Did.
you're going to have to look at some potential replanning. It's basically doing a project over going all the way back pre schematics into then Advancing once accepted into design and construction docs.
so going back to redesign, how much is I mean what does that mean for the project as far As delays.
so you're looking at about a year of redesign maybe a little less, Because we'd have to repeat a lot of the things we've
already paid for. And then that would come back to council and we'd have to then get, Get another approval.
and at that point, start the clock over. But you're looking at at impacts to I think You've heard from some of the speakers today.
impacts to hotel occupancy tax, etcetera. True because when we developed a timeline, We worked very hard with visit dallas and the hotel association of north
texas to plan for a specific period. So they planned their budgets and, And their revenue and their hiring and use of,
of personnel for a certain period after that, There's no guarantee that we could go in and do some infill into the
schedules of clients, etc. In the hotels. Just because it's such a, It's such a close period to be able to do that.
so we couldn't come back and honestly tell you, Hey, we can fill in these 46 clients with another 46.
there's not a guarantee for that. Okay. So when you were doing the redesign was the oak Farm transportation plan evaluated
or considered when you were doing the design? Because I think there's a, it doesn't reconcile or maybe it does.
I mean, and that's the reason why we're in this place. So so I guess I'm trying to understand how did we do a redesign of the convention center Without a transportation understanding when we had the oaks farms transportation plan in
place? I don't. And so that's. Or did it speak to that?
so the oak farms plan and I'll turn that over to deb and to doctor ken, Carly for the transportation perspective.
but from a convention center perspective, it didn't impact that 550ft.
it's, it's further back from there. And so I think that's where the we're left out of the Conversation a little bit.
but deb, so thank you for the question. Related to oak farms.
so oak farms was a study and it was a study done by both the city of dallas and the north Central texas council of
governments and as I understand it, the study was focused on cleaning up some of the the Interactions
on the other side on the west side of the levees to to better align with coming into Downtown.
and so that study was finalized in late 2025.
and it proposed using the the, the viaducts, The jefferson and the houston viaducts
in a different way. So the current configuration of the viaducts is we have two lanes from Downtown going across
southbound. We have one lane of streetcar and we have one lane of pedestrian.
and we currently utilize jefferson with again, Four lanes available to us, one bike lane and three lanes of inbound
traffic coming in northbound into into the city.
what? Oak farms proposed on the north part, which is, You know, as it enters into the city,
that jefferson would become a two way vehicular street, Reducing the number of northbound lanes coming
in to two lanes and maintaining two lanes going out, As well as shifting the bike lane into
onto onto houston, excuse me, and introducing a greenway lane.
so we were going to be taking one of those lanes and, You know, removing it from any kind of transportation consideration.
and so that is the oak farms study and the conclusion of that study.
again, it is a study. It has not been funded, But that was that was the summary of the plan.
so does the current configurations that we've seen in transportation, Does it maintain the spirit of the oak farms transportation plan
and keep the connections between the southern part of our city into downtown?
it does. The presentation to the transportation committee on the 19th provided a ultimate Connectivity
scenario that shows maintaining that configuration up until a certain point where we have To,
where we are making some transitions. It is, You know, what we call the south connector, but essentially we're maintaining that same
that same spirit throughout most of, of, of the project. And what about. Okay. And what about vehicular capacity?
is that still maintained? Because I believe that is kind of what the rub is.
and I don't know, was is that I do believe we need to maintain vehicular capacity.
it may not be in the same detailed as that we've seen in the transportation plan or as It's now,
but I and I guess we need to understand what are those vehicular counts that are current And does it maintain the vehicular capacity?
it does. And I'm talking about the permanent and the construction is construction.
day one is day one, but does it. And so as the final version and can be funded, What the what the final version that we shared with transportation
again, maintain that spirit of two lanes either way on jefferson.
and then we've got an additional lane coming in and off because we've introduced a new Ramp that would connect
jefferson directly into the convention center and so would provide a new access point.
we've also rerouted that ramp that you talked about that's coming off of jefferson, Where it currently is.
and we're, we're basically connecting jefferson to houston. So you maintain that direct connection into downtown.
so you have a couple of ways to get into downtown, But in terms of capacity and the lane capacity that is maintained.
okay. Also to how, how did we get here? It seems like there's a lot of, I guess, misinformation to as well as there's not been a lot of
robust public conversations and, and, and, but correct me if I'm wrong, Because I'm trying to understand,
you know, where we are and why we got here. If this is supposed to be the most valuable Investment in downtown.
why are we here? I'll take that one. I think there have been a number of robust public Conversations,
and I, I am not a traffic engineer or an engineer of any kind. And I think maybe some of our communication issues have been that we've been asking our Engineers to try to explain a very complex construction project.
but as a layperson, I'll just say the number of lanes in and the number of lanes out are Going to be exactly the same.
the access from oak cliff in southern dallas will be the same. It's the same traffic lanes in and the same traffic lanes out.
we're not closing anything. We're not demolishing anything. We're not. There is no closure. We're just rerouting traffic on a detour ramp, Which will still provide the same access into downtown and the
same access out of downtown. And I don't think we've done a fabulous job as a staff of Explaining that in very simple terms.
and have probably over relied on our engineers to try to explain and I'll take, I'll take responsibility for that.
this is a very complicated project and a very personal project, Obviously, to the neighbors who care so much about what's happening.
and I appreciate that. It was hard to listen to some of the comments earlier where people Were talking about the demolition of the historic viaducts.
we're not touching the viaducts. In fact, there's a grant to improve the viaducts. Everyone values the viaducts. We're just talking about how we currently ramp jefferson Into downtown,
changing to a little bit of a different ramp into downtown. And, and so to your point, all of the community meetings and all of the robust Conversation may not have been effective given how complex the project is.
and we haven't bottom lined it for people the way we probably should have. So what has been our investment in the convention center?
what is it's going to be after it's all said and done. The total total we are in the Convention center itself is 3.080 billion
in term, and that's the construction cost. So that includes what we're paying.
trinity alliance, etc.. And then there's about 262 million of soft costs.
so things like environmentals replanting, those type of things that had to be done along The way as we did the project.
so it's about a $4 billion investment. No, that's about 3.2, 3.2.
okay. Yes. And so I mean, that is saying yes to downtown. And I don't see any green shirts around, but this is one of the biggest investments in Downtown happening now.
and but the problem is, is we've seen that we're hitting it right now with, With out of convention ecosystem.
it's hitting our sales tax dollars. I mean, that is real and it trickles around.
but we also cannot forget that we also have residents who live here in businesses.
so I guess my question to you guys is how do we get back on track? You don't have to tell me that now. It's like I I'm hoping somebody has that because we Can't.
I mean, I'm for keeping city hall and but if we don't have a convention center, Then that means we don't have 30 acres.
then why would we get rid of city hall? So I have a vested interest to say, Let's not let's go with the status quo and approve it as.
but I don't want to do that because I understand what it means to our ecosystems, Tourism and for conventions.
but I also know that we cannot cut off half of our city.
so I'm hoping that somebody comes with a really good, You know moment and say, this is the path forward because we can't kill one part of
our of our city for the for the sake of something else, And.
and I don't believe that we I believe we got smart people in the room.
I mean, we've got engineers, we've got architects, And we've got people that can figure it out.
and I may hope that there will be somebody who says, Let's take a time out and figure it out,
but we cannot we can't stall because I think a year will really harm us.
and believe me, I've got a vested interest in it failing. Because if I want to keep this building. But I'm not going to go there because I don't Think that's leadership. And I don't think that's right. But I don't want to harm our
residents that live south of, of, of our downtown. Thank you. Chairwoman stewart, you recognized for five minutes.
thank you, mayor johnson. So as you all have been talking, I've been watching some of our speakers out here and they're shaking their
heads. No, like this doesn't either. It doesn't make sense or they don't agree.
so my question is how are we going to continue to engage this community so that we can Rebuild the trust?
and they do believe you when we say, because I heard on the news last night, One of our local stations said,
we're taking down both viaducts. And I looked at my husband and went, Oh, well, I won't tell you what I said.
you don't want to know. I mean, I couldn't believe that that was being reported as factual When I know that is not
factual, but they don't believe that yet. So I'm going to strongly, Strongly encourage that.
we continue to do community meetings and outreach and the type of community meetings where It's not staff sitting here
and everybody else sitting in the audience. We do lots of those, But I find sitting around a table together with
this right that you all have provided all of us today, And just passing out pens and paper,
and people go around and they get to ask questions. What does this mean? Why did you make this decision?
what if I'm coming from this direction? Whatever it is, Some really just, you know, not fancy,
but just conversational type of community outreach.
and I think one thing I also said earlier is that if we could find a way so that during Construction and maybe even during the period of time when it's all first
opened, that for residents who could point to you and say, You know, that sign doesn't make sense,
or we don't have a sign that says this we're doing this right now.
construction projects are hard on a neighborhood. We have 635 east that is just about to wrap up.
we've changed intersections and I won't even go into all that. It's completely off topic, but we need to engage our residents on that.
they need to have some input because they drive it every day and they can tell you this, That and the other is missing or needs some help.
so that is my first point. And then we now talk about this as a reroute, Which that makes sense to me.
is there anything else about the rerouting that you all want to say? Do you think we've pretty much covered that or.
I mean, it's, it's a reroute that starts about 550ft from yonge street.
is that correct? Yes, that is correct. And thank you for for your feedback on the Community engagement.
it is, it is well received and is certainly the commitment of this team to continue that Robust community engagement that
you've requested or, or do do a better job with the community engagement, But with respect to connectivity.
these are direct connectors. We're going to be you're going to be coming to that same Point.
and instead of going straight, you're going to go across a, A bridge and connect to young and houston,
you have another direct connect route that will take you to hotel off of jefferson and Connect
you directly with the mobility hub right into the convention center.
and you can get in and you can get out. And so you know, This idea that we're eliminating or removing
connection is, is, is really something that we want to correct.
thank you. Okay. Thank you. Let me just wrap up with this statement.
I cannot support returning the convention center to its original height.
doing so would require redesign and additional review, Which would delay construction and increase project costs.
it would also extend the time during which we wouldn't have the convention center, Which would result in lost economic activity and reduced hotel occupancy tax.
our focus should be on delivering the project efficiently and avoiding unnecessary costs And delays,
and I made a list of losses that were noted during the speakers, And they talked about losses to the workers in the hospitality industry.
I assume that's losses of jobs or wages or whatever. And then also the impact of that loss to their families.
that's a huge loss to delay this any further.
it talked about the loss of our trust and credibility. If we delay this and all of the customers who are waiting out there to come and have their Conventions here.
and then finally there was the loss of the arts community because of the hot tax Decreasing.
so the delay will be costly in so many different ways.
that I believe we need to move forward. So I support voting against item 90.
thank you, mr. Mayor. Chairman west, you recognized for five minutes.
thank you mayor. The really unfortunate thing about today is that the way this has been Rolled out by staff has pitted council member
versus council member oak cliff versus the convention center and neighbors versus visit Dallas,
where it all could have been avoided with better community engagement and more Transparency from staff.
I agree with many of the district one residents who showed up today, And the hundreds more who have contacted my office in recent weeks to those who are
here today. Thank you for taking the time off work, Child care duties and other responsibilities to advocate your presence shows just how
important this is for southern dallas. There is an overwhelming consensus in my district That the convention centers development should not come at the expense of oak cliff
residents and our connection to downtown commissioner doctor elba garcia, Representative jessica gonzalez and the dallas morning news editorial board have each
made strong arguments in support of this position in approving item 90.
while I have previously and I still support the convention center and understand its Economic impact,
I cannot support moving forward with a plan that limits oak cliff's connection to Downtown,
especially after decades of this city making decisions that leave southern dallas behind And bridges that have already come down because of the I-30
canyon project. I have some questions. So, rosa, You mentioned in a response to councilwoman blackmon that it was may
2025 that you came up with the cost savings proposal, Right?
that's correct. And we weren't informed as a council until january 2026, Or I think it was actually maybe february 2026 about the
viaduct's impact. That's that's not correct in 2024.
we had a schematic that we showed you and that included a plan to contract with hntb Through an
rfq and rfp process and the, the language in that.
and what we told council at the time through transportation, They were they were acquired for us,
but their work was through transportation and public works was that there would be a Realignment and restructuring of the viaducts.
and so at the time, or of the 550ft after the viaducts. And so that was something that was council approved and we move forward with that.
so we started the conversation about it in 2024.
and I think because this is my opinion and I agree with our assistant city manager robin Bentley,
that maybe because this was in different departments, The idea of it wasn't as clear and we should have maybe followed the model that we did
with the convention center, which is my commitment, Which you all applauded our engagement philosophy and our outreach plan at the time that
went out and really did a, a global look at the project. And so it really started in 2024 with the conversation about interrupting that 550ft.
well, I wrote down what you replied to councilwoman blackmon about the fact that the Viaducts were discussed and the impact was discussed in january of 26,
and there was nothing mentioned about 24 until right now. Well, I don't think that that was her exact question, I apologize.
but I think her question was when we when we brought the schematics back and what that Interim time was.
so specifically as it relates to that 550ft began as a conversation in 2024.
and I can I can turn to director ken corley and talk about that procurement and then the Intention of using hntb for that.
those were both approved at the same time. One gresham, Which was dealing with cadiz and then the one that was to deal with the 550ft after the
viaducts. Okay. Well, I've seen schematics from 2025 that still have the viaducts going Underneath and connecting to young.
so this is all news to me that I've never heard before today. So I it's okay rosa, we can I do want to hear the answer, But I want to get through my time.
absolutely. And I'll give you a chance to respond to that. So the oak farm study, We did talk about that.
and that was a two year study that was done in conjunction with transportation department,
txdot, and also the north central texas council of governments, With michael morris personally being involved.
why why was michael morris in the cog not consulted with the northern connection of the Viaducts as part of the convention center design,
given the fact that the oak farm study was going on during the same time.
so working I mean, we were working together with the convention center on the development Of the,
of the plan. And the initial discussions were to incorporate the findings from the oak Farms into the
into the overall plan for the convention center.
so we've had conversations with the north central council of governments on the progress Of the convention center.
okay, well, it's not exactly what I asked, but my point is, Just to get back to the fact that there was the discussion of the transportation piece
never happened with any of the convention center alignments until this year when we Started asking for information about it.
so on the public meeting piece, we were asking for public meetings.
council member johnson and I called for a public meeting in oak cliff.
we were getting resistance from a public meeting early on, And we were being forced into a virtual meeting.
why was there resistance from staff and having public meetings in the february time frame On this topic?
I don't remember any resistance to public meetings. Council member. In fact, I think we've all spent many of our weekends out in your district Talking about this issue.
and I don't I don't remember there being any pushback on having public meetings.
we know what an important issue this is. It's obviously a very important issue for the Community.
you know, I I've been hopeful that staff would find a solution to get us out of this mess.
I'm disappointed to say that that, you know, The attempts have come up short.
the only decent option that I've seen is the future connectivity option, But that has no funding and no approval from the union pacific railroad.
I can't support that option on a mere promise and hope that it might one day happen.
the option before us will reduce traffic lanes and increase congestion during Construction.
oak cliff drivers would be faced with a ten minute travel delay in the morning, Five minutes in the evening,
and after four years of that headache, oak cliff residents will still face nearly seven Minute delays in the morning and three minutes in the evening.
once the convention center opens. I understand that the construction may lead to temporary Delays,
and that is understandable, but we have to find a better long term solution at a at a time When downtown is struggling.
we shouldn't be cutting off access. We should be improving it to oak cliff.
while I understand and share the concerns that some of my colleagues have about delays to The convention center,
if we rush this and get this wrong, we are making a decision that cannot be undone and Will impact oak cliff for decades.
convention centers are like arenas. They last about 35 years, Whereas these bridges can last hundreds of years.
the worst thing we could do to to to I'm going to skip that.
so my my vote is to approve this item, raise the convention center back up to its original Height,
and give the design team clear direction to maintain viaduct access.
thank you. Councilmember, could I just respond to some of your your comments that I very Much appreciate since
our transportation committee meeting on on the 19th our team has continued to work on Refining our
traffic models, and I'm happy to report that we've reduced the the change in time during The construction scenario,
as well as when the convention center opens with the with the ramp up, We're going to.
in that one hour in the morning, we're going to see that reduction go down 2 to 3 minutes After the ramp is completed,
and we've reduced the the ten minute delay by several minutes also.
and and I and I do think that that it's important to recognize that we have taken the Feedback that you've shared from public meetings very
seriously with respect to the direct connector and have been making progress on the Funding.
you know, we continue to work on making sure that we're able to fund both of those Transportation elements.
you talked about not talking to michael morris. We spoke to michael morris extensively about helping with the funding of these elements, As well as working with the up railroad.
and he has agreed to to do that, to work with us on funding.
I don't know if if rosa or robin want to add some more about other funding opportunities.
so we are making progress to make what you would like to see a reality.
thank you so much. Thank you. Deb, if I could, I could add to the funding component.
and so we have already, if you recall, we asked permission and received resolution to Allow us to submit a state infrastructure bank
loan application to texdot or sablan, as we termed it in the resolution.
and so we are on our second iteration. They'll be making a decision in august, But the priority items that we put in it after speaking to them were
this very thing where for the both the temporary solution, The down ramp and the long term solution.
we then have talked to other partners at the state to talk about next steps in developing A funding plan.
they're amenable to it. And we had a great conversation yesterday with michael morris Committing to the partnership of helping us deliver a solution that works
for both north oak cliff and the rest of oak cliff as well.
and so I think we're that's why assistant city manager rastogi feels confident in that.
okay. Chairman gracey resendez for five minutes. Thank you, mr. Mayor. I will be supporting this motion.
but but I too, wrote a couple of comments in the I think the biggest one that I heard was Many were treated as an afterthought,
and I don't think anybody around here can disagree with how all of this evolved.
so, robin, I want to thank you for taking responsibility and owning how we ended up here.
and then and then thank you for saying the other piece that that I think has gotten lost In a lot of this communication is that,
and I'm going to ask it in a question just so I can make sure before, During and after traffic.
let me start to after construction, after construction, Before construction.
how many lanes are there currently right now that are functioning?
we currently have two lanes that are southbound, And we have three lanes that are northbound coming into into the city.
and after construction, regardless of the routes after construction, How many lanes will we have?
we'll have the same number of lanes coming in and we'll have the opportunity for a third Lane.
going out. Okay. All right. So for me, that was the bigger issue.
and the frustration about a lot of this is being a student of local government, I think there were three opportunities that we could have avoided this when we were
having these discussions. And I think they've already talked about it. The the oak farms Conversation with economic development,
the convention center, and all of the charrettes and everything that we've had out here. And then even with the transportation plan, all of these things, And this is just a real time life case study of what happens when silos
impact the city. You have all of these people. So yes, you said, yeah, we did all of those things, But all of these people, regardless of what side they're on,
don't feel that that happened, took place so much so that there are so many different Narratives out there that it's gotten out of control.
and that's the piece that I really want to bring up in this, Is we've got to start huddling up and rolling these things out in a way that the that the
public understands it. It doesn't feel nefarious. It doesn't there's no room for any accusations.
and everyone feels like they were included in that. So that's the fault here. It's not the solutions.
the solutions are coming. It's how it was rolled out and how it was communicating. Again, it's that ugly silos that were there. And as a result, The narratives got out of control.
so again, I want to thank you all for that for, For doing that, but we need to make sure that we're moving in the right direction.
from the very beginning, my issue was not just about the jefferson and houston bridges, It was about all of them.
so I want to thank you for this because this is what was driving me crazy.
every exit there is, I think I counted at least ten exits coming into downtown from Southern dallas that are under construction.
and that's the piece. So it's yeah, this construction is only going to cost us charge you Ten,
ten minutes this day or this time. But with every one of these things under construction, People are going to be trying to find alternate routes.
so it's going to be bigger than that. And that's the part that I did not appreciate.
when we roll these things out, is understanding the overall impact. Yes, we can get excited about the convention center.
we can get excited about the oak farms, we can get excited about these things.
but we we cannot get lost in the communication and making sure that everyone understands What's happening here.
so if you can, can, can, are you able to walk me through this real quick?
I just want to go through each one of these to talk about how long hotel street looks Like.
it'll be under construction, first half of 2026 to the second half of 2030.
do y'all have that lamar street to bottom? John 2020 second half of 2026 to right second Half.
so to start with, this is a txdot produced document.
and the the schedule is as provided by texdot.
so it's under their purview. So for example, On the first one, what you will see is that both john the
the closure date for the first half. So it's being done in two halves.
so it'll start, it closes on in the first half of 2026.
and then it opens up in the first half of 2030.
and then the second piece is will close on the second half of 2026 at the moment.
and then opens up in the second half of 2027.
but, but basically from 2026 to 2031, basically all of these, All or a portion of
these would be under construction. There will be under construction. So some of the bridges that they're showing on their deal will be completely closed, Like you have,
for example, eckard is completely done. However, For example, lamar and griffin will be done in halves.
so that's what this one is, is showing. So for example, On the griffin street it shows that they closed the bridge in the first half of 2026 and
it should reopen in the second half of 2027 if everything stays on schedule fair, Fair.
and again, I appreciate the fact that the disclaimer is this is tex dot's list. But again, I just want the public to know the very reason they're sitting here.
for many. For some, it's about jefferson, houston. For many, it's about all of these bridges being shut down.
and again, it's progress. So I don't want to knock it like it's not progress. This is a good thing, but it's just how we communicate it to folks and what it can cause We're here now almost having to,
you know, potentially pay more or whatever this outcome is because of the communication Period.
we cannot operate in these silos, and we have to be huddling up and thinking about these Things and rolling them out.
so again, I will be supporting this. But again, I want to thank you all for taking accountability for it,
but also making it clear that the same number of lanes that are currently operating on the Other side of this,
that will be the same number lanes with just some some routes and thank you.
I want to do it so publicly, so bad, but I'm not going to do it. She grew hard. I did it anyway. But but for those for saying that that part though, That the,
the, and I lost my thought the lanes. I'm going to stop. Thank you. I, I'm glad I could make you. Deputy mayor pro tem be recognized for
five minutes. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Thank you. Councilman. Gracey for bringing those points up, Because that's one of the points I wanted to make that before construction.
during construction. That and even after construction, Those points that you made.
but I want to ask mr. Doctor carly, just on record.
I know it may sound a little redundant, but it's important. Will we still have access to downtown from southern dallas during construction?
so during construction, the answer is yes. The during construction, You will have the detour basically from
jefferson onto houston, where we're converting houston into two way with the direct access Into downtown after construction,
will we have the same capacity as before? I know that's what councilman gracey just asked,
but I want to ask that question again. So yes, The number of lanes. As assistant city manager rastogi mentioned, There will be the same number of lanes as currently is.
the reason why I want to ask that, because I made a statement before and I said I would Not support anything that takes away access from southern
dallas. I've been living in southern dallas all my life, And so I know that there has been some concerns of whether it's working in silos or
whatever that may be, but to make sure that we're on record and that it has been said and And clarified that we will southern dallas
will still have access doing construction and after construction.
now, we understand that during the construction piece, There's going to be some delays.
there's going to be some, some frustration and some rerouting because of the, Because of the work that's being done.
that's understandable. I, I, it happens in my district when we're working on streets, We have to go a different route.
but after construction, we will have those lanes. And that's important to me. So the jefferson and houston viaducts are not closing According to the plans,
not political games, not rumors, not falsified information, But according to the plans, statements suggesting otherwise are not true.
that's inaccurate information that has been created unnecessarily and confusion among Residents has happened.
I am I am not sure who created it. The false information.
but if we all look at the maps, we will all see that southern dallas has access to and From downtown even during
construction. So I want to make sure that I'm on record.
and I'm asking you. I see you shake your head, Miss rosa. Is this information factual, what I'm saying?
yes, sir. What you said is factual. So I'm going to support councilwoman blair.
we're. We're from southern dallas. Born and raised. She's from california, but she works diligently in southern dallas been working with us Even when I was on school board.
pastor gracey, I said, we work together in southern dallas. And and I'm born and raised. Cedar crest went to roosevelt.
albert sidney johnston, o.w. Holmes. This is what I know I've done. I've done a lot of work in southern dallas advocating for equity.
and it's not equitable to have our community not have access to to downtown, But it's also not equitable to have people lose their jobs and delay.
so when we use that word, let's use it holistically because I ran on equity, I fight for equity.
and I want to appreciate you, miss rosen, concerning the meeting that count chair west and I had,
I think the pushback was not really pushback. But I believe your son had graduation that night.
is that correct? He had his senior night. Yes, He had a senior night.
I want to appreciate you because you stayed. You was trying to make a tough decision Whether to go to support your son and then come and support chairman,
chair west and myself and our communities. And I had to go to you several times.
say we understand, but please leave to go see your son. And the reason why that's important, because my son, I lost my son.
and I know the importance of being there for your children. So you gave up that night for us. And so I want to go publicly and say, I appreciate you for putting this before your own family.
that's a sacrifice that you made. And so I just want our community to know, When you're hearing all the rumors and all the falsified information,
I know not only do I serve as as a councilman, But I serve this community as a pastor.
and my work extends far beyond this, this horseshoe.
and if nothing else, we have to walk with integrity and accountability. And we have to be honest with everybody, whether we're working in silos or not.
the truth of the matter is we're going to have access. Southern dallas is going to have access during construction and after construction, And we're going to continue to work with our community.
and I don't wait on the administration to call for community meetings. It's my job to call for a community meeting. It's not their job.
it's their job to support to support us. So I want to make that clear.
we're not waiting on staff to do it. We're elected to do this job. So we're going to continue to call for community meetings and be accountable and Transparent. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Miss cadena, you recognized for five minutes. So I want
to thank residents for attending the meeting today. I know you all had to take off time From your jobs.
you know, our city can do community engagement really well. I've seen where we've taken the maps out. We've gotten the markers, We do the sticky notes.
that didn't happen this time. And you know, when they came to my community and I thank you All for showing up.
it was more of telling residents what the plan was and not taking the feedback they gave To try to work it out.
and you know, I'm a new council member, I was here. My, my council member was the chair of transportation, And I don't recall any conversation about any modifications to the jefferson or the
houston viaducts. And I spent part of my childhood in oak cliff and in west dallas.
I grew up in both. Those are my communities. I still have family that live in both areas.
a lot of people that lived in west dallas end up moving to oak cliff and back and forth.
and so, you know, I think where people are concerned is that they want to have the same Access.
but the the concern is the loss of direct access into downtown.
and so you know, I, I'm looking at this map and there's even something new that I've never Seen before,
which is the future ceremonial extension. So can I, I would like to know about that because I,
I've never seen this before. Thank you, council member for, For your question.
the feedback on the on the community meetings the ceremonial extension is part of the Convention center project.
and so you know what that is, is a, a new roadway that is going to connect from lamar over Onto,
onto hotel and through. So it's a direct connector to the property that is, Is there.
and that is, that is part of, you know, some of the transportation elements that are part Of the convention center project.
so does that. So. The houston viaduct, we're not tearing that down, But the portion going into direct access of downtown
during construction. How many lanes will we have going in and coming out of downtown there From the portion from
houston and young up until a part where the where the garage ends, What we'll have is we'll have two way
traffic during construction. And then we would have, We would resume two way southbound traffic and you would have three lanes
coming in. That would reduce down to that one lane. That is that is the direct connector that would happen and would be retained through Construction as well as until we are able to
build the bridge, the direct connector bridge that you see on some of the exhibits.
okay. So the portion that's in downtown, it will retain one road in and one road one one Way out during
construction. Okay. That that is that is the temporary rerouting during construction.
and then I know we're working on the, the up railroad issue.
so if the construction, if the convention center is completed and we don't have the up Railroad bridge,
do we maintain that one road in and one road out or what happens that that is correct.
we would maintain that. And the element that we're going to be adding is the ramp from Jefferson to hotel through the mobility hub.
and so that will be adding that additional lane capacity to enter and and exit downtown.
and how many lanes are on the I guess it's called the new down ramp from jefferson during That period.
there are there are three vehicular lanes to northbound one southbound as well as a bike Lane.
okay. And then we've so I know the north
bridge and then there's the south, right. Are those in compliance with vision zero or will There need to be any modifications.
because I actually drove them quite a bit on I think it was monday.
and so I'm wondering do those comply or would there need to be some modifications with That.
so again, this is we're trying to finalize the traffic control plan, Temporary traffic control plan for the construction condition.
there will be a new traffic control measures that will be introduced to slow down the Traffic and make it safer to make
the turning points from a stop condition. Okay.
which brings me to my next question. Does a fire truck fit on the northern bridge or on The southern bridge?
so this is one of the reasons why we're favoring the southern bridge, Because the southern bridge has the wider turn lanes to allow for busses and potentially
the emergency response equipment. Okay. And so with.
so would we, I know we mentioned dart. Would that, Would they be asked not to I guess, operate on the
bridge until construction is over? What is the plan for that, That the dart busses should be able to continue to operate.
okay. And what about ambulances. I know that's been a concern with the community.
as far as the operation is concerned, they should be able to continue to operate.
okay. When did the conversations with the up railroad begin for the the,
the new bridge. So we've had high level conversations again as part of the convention Center
because union pacific has been talking about looking at the whole area holistically.
and that includes the convention center as well. Any of the bridges in that vicinity, including this connector as well as the bridge?
okay. And do we have a cost breakdown for all of the upgrades that are going to be needed At this point here?
this is super high level, and this is what was presented to the special transportation Committee that shows the total of almost $97
million. That includes the down ramp as well as the potential bridge connector connector.
okay. And then a couple more questions. Has the council adopted the oak farm study?
or will we need to not, not we have not adopted it and brought it to council for adoption Yet.
so it hasn't been funded yet. It has not been adopted.
okay. And then are we still we, there has been conversation of green space.
is that still a part of the plan that might move forward?
there's there's no there's no green space specifically in the plan at this point in time.
okay. And one of my concerns is I actually do have a pedestrian bridge in my district.
I think I may be one of the only ones. And we have quite a few safety concerns because It's not a park,
but it acts like a park and it's under transportation or dallas water.
and so there's a lot of confusion on who has jurisdiction over that.
and it's actually used quite a bit by the community. But can pose some pretty big security issues as well.
I wanted to know how many meetings were held with convention professionals in preparation For the convention center.
in total, from master planning to now 345 meetings.
that's quite a few. And you know, I know we have had some community meetings. I believe there's been 3 or 4. And, you know, I think what concerns me is that we did not see that this was an issue until this year,
and there was nobody from the the community wasn't able to provide input until this came Out.
so thank you. Chairwoman mendelsohn, you're recognized for five minutes.
thank you mayor. You know, I made this motion for it to come to council and return to the Original height,
number one, because we hadn't had any opportunity for the public to come down and have Input because it had only been heard at committee.
and public seems to have a lot to say about this and it's not really positive if you Haven't caught that.
the first I became aware of it, I will tell you is march at the transportation committee Meeting.
and we were presented a series of options. And although I rarely travel on the viaducts Today
and can definitely live an entire life without going on them, Given where my district is,
I'll just tell you, it was very easy to look at it and go, This is a pretty bad idea.
and every single scenario was a pretty bad idea.
and the issue is that as we've asked staff to come back with better ideas, The only thing I've seen happen is the same
ideas be brought forward and an intense lobbying effort of council members to flip them, To agree,
to just let it go forward. And repeatedly, especially over the last year or two, This council has been asked to make a very important
decision, not just about this issue, about many issues. And the question is, do you go with the business and developers, Or do you go with what's best for the residents?
and I guess we're about to see where everybody stands on that.
but we see this time and again about housing issues. We're seeing this about this very building. And so I would say to you, My colleagues,
business matters. We're a business city, but it doesn't matter more than our residents, And cutting off a section
and making it harder for southern dallas to get into downtown after.
there is nobody on this council that hasn't been drilled over and over again about our Needs to be able to serve this part of town.
we literally had people wearing connect the corps buttons about city hall, And we're literally going to make it harder for them to get down here to get to their
jobs. Not just the jobs of the convention center, Their jobs all over downtown.
and by the way, a lot of jobs that are north of downtown for as many bad comments there Are about downtown these days.
I'm going to tell you, uptown is on fire. Have you seen it?
so we'll just have to say staff comes and goes.
council members come and go, but we have different missions and our mission is to Represent the people.
so I hope you won't forget your people. I'd like to know who came up with this idea, Because if you're going to lose 500 million on a project,
there's more than one way to do it. I was expecting to have a little bit less trim, A little bit less flash,
not to have the convention center lowered. How did that idea happen?
absolutely. So we had several meetings. We worked with our design consultants and Architects and our engineers.
we brought in about $3 billion worth of the clients who will be using the building and Generating the revenue that results into hot
over a, I believe it was a three day period and walked through the design of what we could Lose on the building in order to get to the
requested $500 million lowering of cost. And so we did several charrettes with them.
some of our some of our council people were involved in in greeting some of them.
we looked at interaction around the building and how that would result in the future Development to rebuild what you're very talking about,
about developing downtown. And so it was a period of intensely looking at these things.
and in both scenarios, as I said, both in the may scenario of 2025 and the january Scenario,
there was going to be some impact with that 550ft.
but there was a lot of discussion, a lot of looking at how we get rid of some of the Things that you talked about,
some of the flash. So taking out two sets of of escalators, For example, moving some of the elevators around.
those are the kind of things that fundamentally reduced the cost of a of a building of This size.
well, it sounds to me like people who want to come here for tourism decided that they Would like to have the cushy part of the convention center and
not really care about the residents who live here and what their traffic looks like.
you know, we're spending extra money on the for the convention center bird strikes, Making sure we don't have bird strikes.
so we're going to spend money on that, but not making sure our people can get where they Need to go.
so what does it mean when we say construction manager at risk?
what risk is that person taking? So the actual definition for construction manager at risk Means that there's more risk upon the
the contracting agency than upon the city. And there's some shared risk as well.
are they taking though? What risk are they taking that if the cost is beyond the Guaranteed maximum price.
some of that is borne by them. They take on more of the construction risks in the case of Accidents,
etc.. So isn't that what happened then? The price is more than what was expected.
they are not the ones designing it, and at the time you don't pass it over to the Construction manager until such time as you have the design.
so they didn't have it until they no longer have any risk. And then you get it. That's not the case. And so so what will they be at risk for?
councilwoman, I think you're conflating vendors. So the architects works on the design.
the construction manager risk came on later once the design was finalized and packages Were brought to council.
I think we brought three so far for the convention center. That's correct. To guarantee Components of pricing,
but the design was a completely separate process that didn't involve the c ma'am.
and I think that to add to that, that's one of the the reasons back before we started.
while we were still in the master planning phase, There was hearty discussion with the council.
we brought options about whether the city, based on the policy recommendation from this Body,
wanted to do design, build, design, bid, build or cmar. And so it was decided by this body to use a construction manager at risk.
and that is because we would be bringing you those guaranteed maximum prices or gmps as as They're called,
so that you could see as the spend was progressing, If there was something that you would like to push back on.
and so it was for that transparency that that construction manager at risk was selected as The delivery model.
well, I have a whole different issue associated with that.
wasn't this project already behind schedule before this came up?
wasn't there a conversation about placing conventions in houston?
reported by the houston chronicle? That conversation came up just a few months ago when There was a misspeak from the visit
houston equivalent of our craig davis, right, At a council meeting for which he has since apologized to visit dallas because he
misspoke. And to directly answer your question, No, the project has been on track on budget the entire time until this jefferson closure
issue arose. Is the master agreement with hunt a problem?
did you get approval from them about this? We've had communication with with the hunt's Regarding
the reunion master agreement. We've collaborated with the city attorney's office in that Response.
and so we're not at a place in which we need to receive their their approval.
thank you. So you said not. That is correct. The city attorney's office advised we were Not at a place at this point.
we don't have a a finalized transportation plan.
we have had continual dialog with them. We have gotten on bus tours with them, And we've met with them several times to share with them the solutions,
but we are not at a place to formally submit something to them.
and so that's, that was based on guidance from the city attorney's office. Right. But we're in continual meetings with the in fact, They serve on the mayor's task force for the convention center. They're constantly giving
input. And so at the appropriate time, when called for under the agreement, Of course, we'll get the appropriate approvals.
we're just not there yet. When is that time? What is the appropriate time?
because I think it says that they have to approve it before.
we'll have to work with the attorneys on that answer. But essentially it's when we are at A point where we are ready to make a change in the area within a particular box.
and the way that the traffic moves in that area. And we're just not to that point quite yet, since we're having this conversation today, Is the flyover that you're envisioning is that funded the flyover over the
up railroad? I think my time's not being stopped.
the bridge across uprr is not yet funded. That's correct. It is part of our cib loan package. And so if approved in august, We would have sufficient funding to fund both the down ramp and the bridge across uprr.
if our full funding request is approved in august. I'm sorry that funding would be for design and construction.
we have the design funding for the down ramp already. That's part of the convention center construction fund, The construction funding for the down ramp,
and then all of the funding for the bridge across uprr is included in our cib loan Application with the state.
so the bridge across the railroad you're saying is funded.
if that goes through, if that funding design and construction. Correct. And what's that amount? We applied for a 116 million rows, Is that correct.
we applied for 116 million. The total for these two projects with contingency is about 97 Million.
I find that very hard to believe. There's five there's four railroad tracks and then an Extra right of way.
right. I think they told me they're going to build that fifth one. Right. The fifth one is part of their what they call future condition.
and so it's something that they ask us to plan for and they don't have a date certain in The future of whether they will build it or not.
but if we just have to make capacity for it, Should that ever occur.
and what's the timeline for that? Your time for this round. You have to wait for the next One. We're going to go to mr.
roth for five minutes. Thank you. First of all, You all were kind enough to meet with me several times.
I want to publicly appreciate you all for making the time, Trying to explain it to me, and also addressing some of my questions and some of my
concerns. I'm taking up my time, but I want to thank you for trying to to solve my Problems.
I also appreciate the fact that you're coming to the table in a collaborative, More, more simply explaining
position and trying to make sure that we all understand it.
but I am now feeling much more comfortable myself that I wasn't the only one who didn't Understand this deal.
and I think that's the biggest problem here. And, And this is a very, very important project and it affects a lot of people.
the oak cliff community is directly impacted by the, By the, by this, this project, the downtown
community is absolutely impacted by this, this project and the long term success of both Oak cliff and downtown
is vital. I want this project built, but I want it to be built right.
I want this to be the the hub, this to be the anchor for this part of town, To make this area flourish.
and if, if there's any, any restriction in connectivity to oak cliff and into the into the Downtown area,
that's very problematic to me. Anyway, that's that's sort of a statement, But I do have questions.
how long would it take to create a redesign? And I really want a realistic sort of Business.
answer not forever. To redesign the convention center.
I just want to be clear. I'm sorry. Is the question about redesigning the convention?
what would be a reasonable but but business commercially reasonable time period to get These people up to make a new design based on an
elevated building? What would be the time frame?
sure. Thank you for the question. So I we did have this question posed to both our Architects and our construction team.
and so they were comfortable with saying it would take 7 to 7 months to a year.
and that is because, as I said earlier, to a council member, Blackmon and council member.
stewart, it's due. Reduplicating. Some of the things that we've done.
if you're going to reorient a building, there's. We have to go back and light our again, which is scanning what's under there.
go back and work with our permitting office. Look again at how we're plot, Plotting the area,
etc., and do some work in interaction with our partners.
obviously it would. It would require re-engagement with up, Which we talked to frequently.
we talked to them almost on a weekly basis as we work through this project and since 2019.
so reduplicating that redesigning it, making sure getting it verified and doing the cost Verification through the
cmaa would take seven months to a year. Thank you.
the drawings that you gave show two scenarios. The raised up diagram that shows if I, if I'm understanding your drawing, Which I appreciate you're providing,
shows that under that raised up, there would be a 16.5ft clearance above jefferson.
is that correct? Am I looking at the right at the picture properly?
it is. It's not a clearance at that 16.5ft. There's an exhibition hall.
it's about 750,000ft². It is the it is the key thing that keeps us in that tier one Position to compete with the chicago's,
etc. So that is what would sit along that 550 foot area.
I hope that I'm answering. Look at the previous the previous picture.
I want to make sure I'm answering your question correctly.
it is a great home. So if you're looking at at the page that said kb ccd design Considerations.
yes. Correct. So on this what you see under grayed out in the back is, Is the is the viaduct right.
that's what's behind it. It's not a clearance. Those are the great halls and they sit their base is at that hotel memorial street Intersection.
right. What is at the viaduct level if you go up is at the time was just right under there Was the,
was the ballroom. And then you have the pedestrian corridor between there.
I'm sorry, I'm looking at the picture at the one it says raised up kbhc, C d diagram at jefferson viaduct at the bottom.
and I'm looking at the at the elevation drawing.
sure. The elevation drawing at the bottom says ground plane level.
correct. There's then an opening that says 16.5ft.
there's then a structure, mechanical exhibit hall. Are you looking at the same? I am looking at the same.
and it's got a picture of a truck going on jefferson through underneath the building.
is that correct? This is into the. Go ahead. This is.
correct on the original. Original. Yeah. I was wanting to clarify that this was based on The original design when the building was elevated.
that's what I'm trying. That's what I'm trying to clarify because I'd never seen an Original design. This was what the eye.
so there was an idea at one point that there would be vehicles going underneath the Building,
and it would be unimpeded. And at that point in time.
so this drawing is actually you asked us a question a while ago about the original Building.
so if we talk about that, the original building was schematically designed or rendered in 22 following when
we, after we hired the project manager in september of 2023, Immediately thereafter, in october of 2023,
we were contacted by txdot who needed some lay down area.
they also needed to build what's called a shoofly over union pacific.
that's what caused us to have to shift the building over. And so it was no longer feasible to just have it go have that space between there in Either design,
either the one we showed you in 2025 or the early 2026 model to be because we then had Moved the building over.
and if you recall, I think you had just maybe come to council when we started the dialog About purchasing the wfaa parking lot and the back
portion of the dallas morning news site. And so that move over that was precipitated by The
by the need to provide that label over space so that we could build interstate 30 is what Took us closer to the viaduct and having to go across it to
connect with that wfaa site and the dallas morning news site.
I hope that answers your question. Right. So what you're telling me is that there was this Was an early conceptual design,
five years, you know, four years ago. Yes. During the master planning phase, Before we got into implementation.
all right. And so so is this is this the, the design that we would be looking at on Raising if we talked about raising or we would be redesigning
for some kind of a vehicular traffic access. That would be a high enough amount to allow a Car to go through there.
yes. The latter. We would have to completely redesign because moving it back, We provided easements already to texdot to carry out their
construction. So it would be a complete new design. Okay. Second of all, the the connection above the up the the bridge that you're talking About.
if for some reason up holds us up, we can't do it. They're going to give us a hard time physically.
we can't do it. What's plan b? Plan b would be to we would still have the new ramp down From jefferson to
hotel, which provides the exact same lane access that exists today. The bridge if it's unable to be built, wouldn't be built or we would come back to council And brainstorm another alternative path to add more access.
these are not the only two ideas that exist. They're just the best two ideas at this Point, but we've still got a lot of work to do. And if if that bridge doesn't work, We will go back to the drawing board and come back with another plan.
there might be alternatives with the with the garage that's there. There might be alternatives for something else, But we haven't really explored those yet.
but but at least you're open to say it could be. It's not a done deal on the up, but it's. But you're thinking ahead.
okay. Number number three. The last thing and I'm sorry, I'm out of time. Almost. But if we're during the temporary construction period of time and during the Permanent on this,
we have got to get rid of the bikes and we've got to get rid of the of the streetcar.
and we've got to get rid of this pedestrian idea. We have to have vehicular traffic on jefferson and houston.
this is this is too important of two streets to limit and reduce and, And satisfy a, a constituency that's not
that's that's that's not significant to the extent and the, The growth of this project.
so and I'm not saying the person, the people are not important. I and I'm sorry. Yeah. Anyway, I'd like your response to that.
mayor pro tem recognized for five minutes. Thank you, Mr.
mayor. I want to begin by apologizing to the community for not doing more to prevent Inaccurate understandings about what is actually being proposed to fester.
I'm deeply troubled and concerned by the misinformation and confusion I continue to see And hear surrounding this issue.
I'm especially sensitive to discussions about cutting off access or significantly Inconveniencing southern dallas commuters,
given the conversations we've had around this horseshoe about removing I 345 and severing A major connection between large portions of southeast dallas and the central business
district and beyond. I believe some of my colleagues have done a good job of teasing out The facts,
but I want to be as clear as possible. So I just have two questions.
under any circumstance, whether this item passes or fails, Is the city proposing to demolish,
destroy or abandon the houston street bridge or the jefferson viaduct?
no. Okay. Under any circumstance, whether this item passes or fails will direct access Between north oak cliff and downtown
be eliminated or severely restricted. No, it'll be maintained.
thank you. I just think it's really important to get that out there again. I know a couple of my colleagues have have tried to do that.
I it's really concerning. Another thing I want to mention is with regard to temporary Inconveniences during construction,
I think, I think those are, are an understandable part of any significant construction Project.
I believe the real concern is the potential for long term inconvenience to to north oak Cliff residents.
and based on the additional evaluation conducted by city staff, However, I.
it appears that the long term impact could be as little as little as a few minutes of Additional travel time.
somebody stop me if I'm incorrect at any point. That's correct. I'm also sensitive to my colleagues concerns about a process that, From his perspective,
hasn't been ideal. However, I'm not convinced that responding to those shortcomings with a Vote that would ultimately cause greater harm is the wisest course of action.
I believe the community's legitimate concerns can be addressed without unnecessarily Delaying this important project.
for those reasons, I'll be voting yes on the motion to deny item 90. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Okay, I think we're on round two for everyone.
so, miss blair, you're recognized for three minutes. Thank you, mr. Mayor. I have a couple of questions.
you said it for the to redesign that it would take seven months to a year, Correct?
that's correct. What's the cost associated with that redesign and the cost associated with The
convention not having. Well, I should say the timeline of the redesign on the back end.
absolutely. So we have worked with trinity alliance, Which is our cmaa, and we've worked with perkins and will,
our designer. We've looked at it's about $597 million in additional costs.
that includes our, our best estimated look at projections of what materials etc.
would cost in the future. Right? So that that could change. So just let me just make sure that I'm clear very succinctly.
how much money will this redesign cost us? Almost $1 billion.
how much money will it cost us in delay? Will total almost of that almost billion dollars.
about 273 million plus 1.4 million a month in lost customer generated revenue.
how many employees will you time? How many employees do we have that will not be able to Get to hotels in.
and how much in hotel tax? Absolutely. So we're looking at approximately 33000 immediate Employees.
as time persists and it trickles down into employees at different levels.
we're looking at over 6000 employees impacted.
and then the other of those 6000 employees that are going to be impacted.
where do the majority of them come from? The southern sector, Southeast dallas and west dallas.
okay. So let me also say this. We you set you let me confirm when when chair
gracey asked before, there will be two lanes south and two, Three lanes north.
afterwards, it'll be 2 to 3 lanes south and still the three lanes north on the viaduct.
correct? Okay. And when my, my my neighbor here miss luna, Miss cadena
asked. Ceremonial is a different location and has a different timeline, Correct?
yes, that's correct. And they're in the construction and the timeline during construction And after construction
has a different timeline. Correct number of in and out.
correct. On the convention center side. Correct. Before. Okay, so going back to the viaducts before during the construction, How much more time are we actually talking about?
I think you said before, maybe three minutes and getting into downtown during construction In that morning peak.
we have have about an eight minute delay in that one hour period midday.
it's it's, it's practically nothing. And we're reducing the afternoon peak also to a Minute or two after,
after the ramp is built, then morning would be about a three minute delay and virtually No,
no delay in any other time on the northbound side. So let me ask another. Let me look at let me address this a different way.
I'm sorry. This page here that has all of the changes.
if we didn't have this would with with the with the off ramps on the viaducts be as Controversial as
they are now? You know, we, we have you know, We, we believe that as other routes open up,
we haven't, we haven't modeled that scenario. We based it on the, The travel counts that we have with that,
that construction happening. But as doctor carley mentioned, We're going to see two of those bridges online in mid 2027.
so we would expect improvement. So then in 2027, Which is next year, we'll see two of them back on.
we'll have griffin back immediately after fifa correct.
that's correct. It. So that will also. It will also help our
traffic. So basically what I'm trying to say is we are not doing anything to hinder the The getting the the southern area
getting in and out. But we will cost the citizens and the city of dallas multi million Dollars
if we delay the construction of the convention center.
am I correct? You're correct. Thank you. Okay.
chairman, what's your recognized for three minutes. Thank you mayor. And I think I have a Slide coming up. I hope I do. But in the meantime,
did I hear that the delay would cost $1 billion as a response to that question?
so it's 597. She asked me to kind of combine it is what I heard.
and so it is the cost of redesign and reorientation, And then the cost that we've calculated through visitdallas and
through some of their consultants on what it would cost in the loss of revenue earned Revenue based on our clients.
so combining those two, it's 597 plus about 273 million.
I mean, it's, I've been hearing 500 million for a couple of weeks now. It's amazing how it just keeps escalating every time we talk.
if I could correct that, the only cost that I was asked for before was the cost to Redesign and,
and construct. And so that's the cost that we were giving you.
we provided after we realized that our clients were going to, Started to call us based on these meetings.
and some of them were going to start to drop off. That's when we provided information to our city manager about what the loss was in in Revenue,
so that 273 million is lost revenue. Mr. Mayor, I'd like to jump in for just a second, and I want to thank council member west for that
additional question, because I, too, have heard that there's a belief that staff is making Up numbers.
we sent you a memorandum on june the 18th, where we gave a detailed chart that showed the Cost of the redesign,
including the cost of the various conventions that rosa is speaking of now.
so that would be in writing, and that no one would misinterpret any of the conversations Around the numbers.
and so if council needs us to share that with you again, But we did that on purpose because we understood that there were a lot of numbers out
there. And we wanted to clarify for the council exactly what the numbers are that we have Been providing to you.
so that was sent out to the city council in a memorandum from me last week.
thank you. The other issue I wanted to clear up before moving, Moving on to a path forward is you had mentioned in my initial round of questioning,
rosa, that council supported a new design work in 2024 on the viaducts.
is that right? That's correct. And I'll have doctor speak to the hntb procurement.
yeah. And I guess my question is a follow up to that was were was it expected that council Members,
when we approved that resolution, should have anticipated that the viaducts would be Changed or torn down?
my comment on that is that any change as per the city ordinance, Will require a thoroughfare amendment.
so therefore, the council members will have to weigh in on the on any change regarding That impacts any of the viaducts,
whether it be in number of lanes, alignments and anything that is impacting those.
that's a wonderful point, actually. How do we what would happen if council does not Approve a thoroughfare amendment for changing the jefferson viaduct after it's already
been demolished? On the north side. Do we rebuild it?
that will have to be a conversation that we need to have.
with the convention center designers and and the team. I think that's a huge step, right? The thoroughfare plan amendment process.
and I'll have doctor can correct me. Required that we had a recommendation from the Transportation
committee to move forward with the applications, Which we've not received yet.
so that's part of that engagement process that that you all are asking us to do is to work With the community and bring forward something,
an application that you feel that you can support and work with. But once it's demolished, isn't it too late? Are you going to rebuild it?
if we don't like the thoroughfare plan amendment. So if I could if I could clarify. So we're again not demolishing houston or jefferson Viaducts.
it's that 550ft of roadway once you come off the viaducts.
so that's a, you know, a construction, a construction condition that would allow us to Continue demolition,
etc.. So we would work during that time to do the engagement.
and I think we've heard from everyone that and we've, We've, we recognize it and understand that we did not do the level of engagement
that we did with other components of the convention center. And so we're going to come back and and correct that.
and just to make it easier, when I refer to demolition, I'm talking about that last 500ft because it impacts everything else.
but that's what I just wanted to make sure. Thank you. So we had talked about how, you know, the, we were alerted to by, By staff back in 2024 is what I was hearing.
but this slide that I found from the may 21st, First, 2025 briefing is still indicating that the connection for jefferson is going to
yonge street. So how do you reconcile that with staff's representations that we should Have known before that?
council member do you have a I don't know what you're referring to. Is it a the slide. It's on slide 30 from may 21st, 2025, which still connects jefferson to yonge street.
so the question is, you know, if if you're saying we in 2024, We approved a realignment.
you know, why are we still why is staff still presenting this to us? Because I'm hearing everybody thought this was still happening up until the beginning of This year.
excuse me. So the lines that you see on here and sorry for this, My I don't have the best vision.
so on this alignment, this really had to do with our discussion about the, About the dart rail
and being able to go through this. I believe, If I'm remembering correctly, that was when we started the discussions about cocooning the
the dart train. I'll have to go back and look at the entire briefing.
I don't have it with me, but look at that to see what the topic was at the at that time.
well, it's hard to read on. Here is on the bottom. It says jeffersonville viaduct, Two way vehicular.
and it's connecting that blue line all the way to yonge street. So yeah, if you could. It's misleading if that was not the intent of staff to have that on There.
okay. My apologies. But yeah, I think this was trying to show you the impacted pieces and Maybe it's not clear,
and I will accept responsibility for that if it's not clear. But it was showing where the building would sit in correlation to the to the building.
and if I remember, that's when we started our discussions about the things that would have To reorient and change on there.
one was the closure of the temporary closure of the dart station, And then trying to show where the where the streets would sit in connection to the
design. Okay. All right. Well, I'm hearing comments from my colleagues if, If this item is going to get voted down,
if there's going to end up being a vote in support of the motion. You know, I ask that we do push for better options for oak cliff.
and I appreciate you, rosa and deb both saying that you're going to work with michael Morris and come up with some better options,
and we're going to have true community engagement moving forward.
one item that has come up, I have heard from michael morris, Actually, and I've even heard staff mention this is extension from memorial to lamar
street moving past the mobility hub. And I would ask if that would be an item you would Consider and commit to talking about looking into today.
yes, council member, you have our commitment that we'll continue that engagement as well As we've already had michael morris reach out to us to continue to have this
dialog. Thank you. Great. And if my colleagues are not willing to raise the convention Center today I at least ask that we you all support exploring a better option for oak
cliff, including a possible connection to lamar street. Thank you, mr. Blackmon. You're recognized for three minutes.
hi. Okay. Thank you. I'm trying to reconcile what some things have been asked in question,
so kind of help me walk through the timeline. I pulled I went back and looked at legistar, And it looks like on 519 of 2025 in transportation,
we discussed a contract that was coming to 528, 2025 with grisham.
smith. So. Grisham. Smith. I'm sorry about that.
okay. Go ahead. So there were two consultants that were procured under the same Procurement.
we called them phase one and phase two. One was the gresham smith and the scope was to Design the demolition.
and at that time, the potential redesign of the new section.
and then and that was awarded, I think in the may time frame, If I'm not mistaken.
and then the phase two, which was the hntb component, Which will at that time included a potential down ramp from the
jefferson into hotel and, and potential adjustments and refinements to the alignment of Jefferson.
and that was awarded through council approval.
and I think in august of 2025, because it, it sounds right here that you knew that there Was encroachment happening over lamar
street in the demolition of jefferson boulevard viaduct market.
I'm just trying to understand, when did we know? When did you all know how missed how we missed doing any community involvement?
because then you go back and in the january transportation, It says that we're supposed to do community involvement.
so I'm trying to understand the whole sequence of events, When and what and how do we correct it.
right. So back in 2024, we based on the discussions with the convention center team, Basically
they were looking at different options. And when we do procurement, We do procurement based on giving us some flexibility in the scope to allow us
to study the various options that could come up.
and that's how it was procured. Okay. And then when you go back to the january 26th Briefing
to transportation, and it has the next steps, And it says we'll continue coordinating with txdot dart stakeholders to refine how was the
stakeholder happening under that contract since january of this year?
so we have a, a weekly thursday meeting with with stakeholders such as, You know, upea and
dart, etc. They're included so that as we walk through the design, We try not to interact or we're looking for joint funding,
etc. And so we continue those discussions with them. There are several city departments on those. We follow up on a friday early morning call.
we do a 730 and 8:00 call every friday and look at some of the issues that came up on Thursday and how we move forward and try to try to solve
them. And so that's the interaction we have with up with dart, With txdot, etc.
in order to, to answer some of these questions and move forward.
transportation is, is on those as well. Except during those times when it interferes with Rtc.
so, so there was never any robust conversations with the stakeholders in the southern part Of the city.
I guess that's what I'm trying to do. You had immediate stakeholders and I'm trying to and I agree with mr.
west that we need to rectify that. Like we need to flip that on its head and go deeper Into the folks that it.
and I think that's when we all agree on. So I'm just trying to understand. So we don't do This again.
absolutely. How did we miss that component of it? I think that our understanding of the engagement process as it relates to a transportation Issue was that you come to
committee, you get a move forward on the options, And at the time there were several.
you submit the our department would submit the the application, And then we do the engagement so that we then
come to what is the ultimate and final solution through that engagement process.
so it was trying not to get in front of that process and not to get in front of city Council cpc or any of those
involved in that thoroughfare amendment process. So it was never the intent to exclude the community.
we were simply following the process to get to these solutions and the options that the Committee thought best to take
out into the community, so that robust engagement that we did with the other parts of the Convention center,
we believed, came after we had 1 or 2 options that would fit with that engagement process,
and then we were going to go out and do a mass engagement to get to the final solution.
so that's the reason what we saw in may was that the grisham smith final product.
no, that was phase one. No, that was the hntb work. Okay, so when do we get the grisham? In other words, Are they still on contract with this?
when do we get the grisham smith work? The current grisham smith.
work is on the temporary traffic control plan that will be part of the during part of the Construction timeline.
that's the, that's the construction part of it. And that is what is looking at all the Options that are available to us to explore the possibilities and
the art of possible, if you will, for the connect, For the connectivity of the final.
so hntb is the. And that's where mr. Frey came in. That is the person that's responsible for the permanent solution or the group for Exploring the options for the permanent solutions.
that is correct. Okay. Okay, that's it for now. Thank you, miss cadena, you recognized for three minutes.
so it sounds like you all are going to continue to work on this.
so will that come back to, to councils or is this the final.
no, we thought you were absolutely correct. We are going to continue to work on refining The design process,
defining the solution through the design process. What you have in front of you or you know, these are the conceptual level we'll continue To develop details.
we'll continue to have engagement as we discussed with council member west, We're going to continue to explore additional possibilities with michael morse
and have those conversations with you. But essentially those are the core roadway elements That we think are going to be part of that
solution. But we want to listen to the communities and continue to have that dialog.
I am glad that michael morris is a part of the conversation. And also rosa and dev and gus. Robin, I would just want to thank you because, You know, in the beginning there was less access to
downtown. And I see that that has continued to improve. And there has been some changes from when this originally rolled out.
so I am super appreciative of that. You know, And these drawings are really, I think, helpful also I think in seeing this,
you know, this is hard for me because I believe in smart economic development and I love Arts and culture.
and I think having to delay this is hard, you know and I don't mean to keep harping on This,
but we had a real opportunity to have a win win for everybody.
and this project should be something that everybody's proud of. And, you know, I think just not having the community input though, You know, gives me some heartburn,
right? Because I think, you know, that's why I'm, I, that's why I ran, that's why I want to represent my community.
and so that's difficult. But I do hope if this item passes that we're able to maintain Traffic directly,
safely in and out of downtown. We're able to get approval from up railroad.
I really hope that happens. I know I've had projects that have been delayed.
I hope that vision zero is considered on these roadways so that we can also have emergency Vehicles safely access them.
I would like a briefing for the convention center transportation plan and also have a Breakdown of all the transportation costs associated with the project.
you know, this has been hard just because the front of the convention center was so Thoughtful and well planned.
and it just seems like the oak cliff west dallas connection where, You know, yes, we're working on it.
and it has improved from when I first saw it, But it's like we're working on it as we go and it has but I am grateful that y'all are
still working and hoping to engage the community. Thank you. Chairwoman mendelsohn recognized for three minutes.
thank you. Well, I'm just going to have to call out some of the things that were said, Because it's just very difficult to hear things that are documented
be presented in a different way. So there's a kera article published december 11th, 2025wfaa
article published december 15th, 2025, both talking about the move of conventions, Cole sullivan wrote an article.
it says handful of events look to move to other cities as dallas convention center project Faces delay.
again. This is 2025. I'm going to read parts of it to you, It says.
the completion of the massive expansion of the kay bailey hutchison convention center in Downtown dallas faces a construction delay in a handful of previously booked conventions
have asked to move their events to other cities, A project spokesman told wfaa.
officials had most recently said the 3.3 to 3.5 billion project would be complete in march Of 2029.
a spokesperson for inspire dallas, the team in charge of the project management on behalf Of the city.
dallas, said the building would be complete later in 2025 but didn't give specifics.
then the city of dallas, later in the article released a statement, A press release.
the title master plan schedule update. The city, Also with visit dallas at its convention,
said it's assisting those tentatively booked for 2025 and finding alternative tier one Destinations.
I know we received an email like that, or maybe it was a press release, And then you have a statement from jane hamilton,
who again, is saying that a handful of events have been asked to move to other cities for Their 2029 conventions.
when I look at the time frame, the dallas morning news in 2022, Reports that the convention center is going to open in early 2028.
then we have visit dallas on their own website, Saying in late 2023, the convention center is going to open in 2020 9th may 2025.
we're told will be march 2029. So I think there are some inconsistencies on what we're Being told.
and, you know, that we have council members pulling out the maps to show you what we were Shown.
that does not match up with the same time frame you're talking about. We didn't find out about this change until this year.
and frankly, it was at the march transportation committee that I found out about it.
so I'm just going to say I'm not voting to move ahead with this until we get it right.
and that is exactly what the problem was when we even put this to the voters, When we went to a 30% design,
when we didn't have all of the facts. And again, We're doing the same thing, moving ahead too fast without all the information and making
very, very costly mistakes. Thank you. And by the way, The city needs to stop saying things cost $1 billion.
mr. Roth, you're recognized for three minutes. Thank you. Following up on my on my last question that I ran out of time on can you tell Us if there's an opportunity to
cancel the bike lanes, get the, get the the streetcar off of that, Off of that road and make that a traffic lane and somehow
eliminate or expand to get rid of the pedestrian traffic so that we can access more Vehicular traffic on those streets.
so I'll start with the bike lane in the city's strategic mobility plan that was adopted by Council.
we committed to multimodal mobility. So if the question is about potential rerouting or Exploring
another alternative route, that is something that we will be actively doing in order to Ensure that multi modal multi mobility is maintained and
maintained in a safe manner. So that's that question. The other question about the streetcar this is an item that involves texdot and the Federal transit administration in addition to dart.
so this is not something that the city of dallas controls. We have to coordinate with other agencies. And for the record, The city of dallas has a contract or an ila
with the north central council of governments regarding its commitments to operate the Streetcar.
and the north central council of governments has that agreement also with the fta Regarding the operation of the streetcar.
so this item of possibly looking at the streetcar operation and so on, Is something that we have to be
kind of cautious on how we approach that item. Have you all been discussing with with those folks about a temporary stop to the streetcar In order to facilitate the the
construction as one alternative? Number two. Has there been what would be the economic Impact if the streetcar was stopped?
would we have a is there a reimbursement or recapture some kind of financial obligation on The city?
well, again we'll have to follow up on that, But I will note that there are legal requirements
that the city of dallas is obligated to. And also we have in addition to all that, We have the yearly maintenance agreement that we have with dart.
so that basically that item has to be considered as part of the discussion.
so all to say here is that this is a not an easy, Straightforward answer and requires a lot more discussions.
and because of the involvement of the various agencies, This may not be a a feasible item in the time frame that we're looking at for the
construction of the convention center. Is it possible that in a redesign of this building,
that there might be additional saving that so we wouldn't have to spend the complete $500 Million?
but in the event of a redo, a redesign, perhaps there would be some savings that could be Identified also to mitigate some of that,
that that maybe it's not all the savings, but maybe we would get some savings.
even though it takes it takes a, a maybe another year.
and again, I'm, I'm excluding the lost revenue and the lost thing for my calculation.
sure. I mean, that question calls for a lot of speculation, But I can say the revenue sources to fund the convention center are finite.
and if we're called to add another $600 million in cost to the project, Then there will have to be savings in the construction budget because we will have to
build a smaller convention center. We will almost certainly have to reduce the sellable Space to make up for the cost of the redesign.
and so, like I said, a lot of speculation called for in that question.
but yes, we will probably end up building a less expensive and smaller convention center To balance the budget of the cost of the redesign.
how long does it take to get a thoroughfare amendment sort of processed and approved?
so the thoroughfare amendment takes about between 4 to 6 months.
is the the the economic impact fear of losing $500 million in extra
cost. I think over a 20 year, 25 year period, If we do this right, if we provide it right,
if we create the right connectivity certainly there's a an upfront cost now, But the economic impact over a 20 year period on the
redevelopment of oak cliff, on the redevelopment of downtown, On the stimulation of economic development here,
I think is significant and may way outweigh that $500 million over a long period of time.
and I would really suggest that my colleagues consider that this is a big, Big deal.
this is not about one year. This is about 25 years.
and I think it affects a lot of people. And I think that I'm going to vote against the Motion to basically say that we should approve
the the raise and the redesign of the building. Thank you. Council member. I think you have to balance the savings that you're talking About against the loss in revenue.
if we shrink our convention center and go from a tier one convention center to a tier two Convention center,
then the size of the bookings, the number of hotel nights and the overall revenue to the City would be lesser.
and so I would ask not only the consideration you're putting forward, But also consider the loss in revenue from that decision as well.
I appreciate and I appreciate your clarification of that, Because that certainly is an offset.
and obviously we haven't had any economic development responsibilities on that.
thank you. Thank you. Chairman west, you're recognized for one minute.
thank you mayor. If the vote to deny goes through and I hope it doesn't.
but if it does I would ask that councilwoman cardenas request for the briefing to be the Next briefing to go back to tri transportation to talk
about additional mobility options happens soon, And that public engagement accompanies that.
is that something staff can commit to? I'll answer that question.
yes. Thank you, city manager. And then I'll just say this. Just because the streetcar has come up a couple times. I mean, If anything, we should be pulling the streetcar around into the mobility hub so that we
can encourage more ridership on the streetcar instead of trying to decommission it.
you know, if we want to help with the traffic congestion and mitigation, We don't want everybody in the convention center getting in a car.
we would prefer them to ride on the streetcar, To come shop in bishop arts and go to jefferson boulevard and support our small
businesses. So I think if anything, we need to pull it around into the into the middle of The convention center with the other items.
thank you. Chairwoman mendelsohn, you recognized for one minute. Thank you. Well, we don't usually agree about the streetcar, But we do in this point, which is we are spending almost $2.5 million now out of our
general fund on the streetcar. And that it's not stopping at the convention center is just A crying shame.
and if there's a way for you to change that, I hope you do. Council member west and council member nelson.
that is part of the extension plan to bring it around.
I think the connectivity exhibit that you showed included that streetcar stop.
and so those are certainly improvements that we're looking to, To add.
has any grant been submitted. Not yet. Okay. So given how long it takes to apply, Get funded and actually build it
I don't know. None of us will be here. I'll just say that I don't mean electeds.
I mean, none of you will be here either. So 25 years from now, Maybe there'll be a little extension of the streetcar.
so I just think this is not great planning. And the only thing that we have talked about With the streetcar that even makes sense is for it to connect to the other,
for the trolley, for all the other stuff, and to not put it at the convention center as Part of the plan today is just pretty shocking.
anyone else wish to speak on for or against item 90? The. The motion is to deny from. Yeah. Mayor johnson, Parliamentary inquiry.
could we record vote, please? We have we have a record vote requested.
could we restate the. Or rehear the motion. It's been a long afternoon just to refresh.
pretty simple. Go ahead. On item number 19, I move 9099, Zero.
it's been a long afternoon. I'm on item number 90.
I move to deny the request. It was a motion to deny.
mr. Roth. For what purpose? It's a clarification.
so a vote against the. The motion is a vote not to deny.
the motion is to deny the item. So motion. Your question is a vote against.
it would be a vote against the motion to deny.
it's not a motion to approve. It's a motion against the motion to deny. I'm saying it exactly what it is. And is there is there it's not a do we still get a one Minute or are we finished?
we can if you want. If you like your minute, You can. I'd like to have my last minute please. Thank you. I really think that that it's very Important that we do this,
right, that we take the time that we spend the extra money and time to get it done.
I know it's going to be a severe impact initially, But long term, it's the right thing to do.
we have insecurity on the bridge situation, and we have the potential of a huge long term Economic loss for the city if this isn't done properly.
and so I would strongly recommend that we do not approve this motion. Thank you. Anyone else wish to speak on for or against the motion to deny item 90?
seeing none, a recorded vote has been requested. Madam secretary, go ahead and call the roll. Thank you, Mr.
mayor. When I call your name, please state. Yes, If you're in favor. No. If you oppose council member. No. Council member.
moreno. Yes. Council member. Gracey. Yes. Council member.
no. Council member. Bazaldua. No. Council member.
blair. Yes. Council member. Blackmon. Yes. Council member.
stewart. Yes. Council member. Roth. No. Council member.
mendelsohn. No. Council member. Willis. Yes. Council member.
ridley. No. Deputy mayor. Pro tem johnson. Yes.
mayor pro tem resendez. Yes. Mayor. Johnson. Yes.
with nine voting in favor, six opposed. The motion passes. Mr. Mayor. Deputy mayor pro tem. For what purpose?
I have a motion. Go ahead. I move to direct the city manager to engage an independent Transportation consultant.
to support overall delivery of all transportation components related to the kay bailey Hutchison convention center dallas master plan and seek community input and brief
the city council on additional options using the houston and jefferson viaduct to access Downtown.
parliamentary inquiry. It's been moved and seconded. State your inquiry. I'd like to question if the motion is in order.
when we voted on the posted item which disposed of it, And I don't believe there is a item that's been posted that corresponds with a motion
made. Thank you very much. We'll take that under advisement right now.
the permanent inquiry. The answer to your inquiry is that according to the Parliamentarian,
the motion is in order. And can you state which agenda item it corresponds to?
this is for item number 90 and it is merely asking the.
it is asking for future information on this item.
I'd like to continue my parliamentary inquiry. Yes. Continue. Would it have been a. Would it have been appropriate to have amended the motion To include that.
but now not proper, since we have disposed of the item.
we have not moved to another item yet. There is still the opportunity to get the floor by The deputy mayor pro tem.
he was recognized by the mayor. He made the motion. Thank you. We are on the motion that the deputy mayor pro tem made just now related to Item
90. And I'll recognize chairman west for five minutes on the motion by the deputy mayor Pro tem.
did you hear that? You heard the motion, right. Could you repeat it, Please? I'll let him repeat it. Not count against your time.
just go ahead and just reread it. No editorializing. Just the actual language. That's all we're allowing.
I move to direct the city manager to engage an independent transportation consultant, To support overall delivery of all transportation components related to the kay bailey
hutchison convention center dallas master plan and seek community input and brief the city Council on additional options using the houston and jefferson viaducts
to access downtown. That's the motion, sir. Okay.
thank you. Just a I had an amendment that I was going to add in on this if we got to this Point.
is your intention deputy mayor pro tem that the consultant would seek input from city Council before beginning the traffic analysis,
meaning they would seek if you'd want. You can answer the question if you'd like.
it counts against his time. You don't have to. He can't ask you questions. You're not Staffer unless you consent to.
please clarify that. My request is that the consultant would seek input from city council Before beginning the traffic analysis.
no, I would my my motion is to, again, to engage in independent transportation Transportation consultant to support overall delivery of all transportation components
relating to the kay bailey hutchison convention center, Dallas master plan. I want I want to move to direct the city manager to do that.
so I would like to ask the city manager to respond to chair west amendment.
I was just waiting for my turn. Thank you so very much. Deputy mayor pro tem johnson, if I understand correctly councilmember west, What you're suggesting is that for the support of the independent transportation
consultant that I think is included in the motion from the deputy mayor pro tem is to have An opportunity before that consultant begins any work,
to spend time with council, getting a better understanding of what might be potential Considerations,
options that you would like for them to pursue. Did I understand what you're meaning Correctly? You did. Exactly. And my answer would be I would support that.
okay. Thank you, city manager. What I'm trying to avoid is an amendment to the motion so That we don't have two rounds of five,
three, one. So if if the second question I have is would the consultant also would it be Within their scope to do one
public community meeting during this process? Citywide, and especially in north oak cliff. I strongly support that, And I think it would be an opportunity to not only do the community engagement,
but to be able to bring back that result and be able to talk to the council, Whether we do it through the transportation committee,
which I do believe should be the way we continue to move forward and then bring it to the Full body.
so that would be a part of the scope that we would develop for the independent Transportation consultant to support.
so I think it's important if we're going to have an outside company supporting the work That they should be in community meetings where they can answer questions about the work
that they're actually conducting and not have those questions necessarily answered by Staff.
so I support the spirit of it, and I do believe that it allows for us to bring a fresh set Of eyes and perspective to the options that we would like to bring back to the council.
thank you. I and I appreciate all of that. I think it's really important at this point That we build trust with the community and that the city shows that community input is
important and is going to be built into whatever comes from this.
thank you, chairwoman mendelsohn. Recognized for five minutes on the deputy mayor pro tem Motion.
thank you. I'd like to know what the source of funds is for this consultant in the Convention center's budget.
we always had additional work that we knew would need to be done to support the overall Convention center,
with all the transportation components, and it's built into the way we understood a lot of The complexities in and around the convention center.
some of the work that's already happening with txdot, With interstate 30. So it's been a transportation line item in the convention center master plan.
so you have this item in the budget. My answer again is that as part of the overall Convention center master plan budget,
we always included support to have transportation work done in and around the convention Center.
I would like to get a copy of that budget that specifies where these kinds of consultants And transportation line item is.
in fact, I would like to get an answer to the memo I sent about the convention center Finances.
so that's that one. Is there a limit to the dollar amount that you can spend, Or is this another open checkbook item?
as you know. Councilwoman. Mendelsohn. We don't have open checkbooks. I don't have the Number right in front of me,
but it would be within the scope of the budget that we planned for the convention center Master plan. So can you give me an upper limit on what would be spent?
I can answer that. At this moment, it's going to be based on the scope that we develop for The work that we need,
and then have an opportunity for responses to that scope. At that time, we would negotiate what that number is.
if it's under a certain amount that is at the city manager's authority, That item does not have to come to the council.
if it's over a certain amount, we bring it to the council. And I think the number, If I correct me if I'm wrong staff,
is it is it 300 or half a million if it's professional services.
300 so if it's over a $300,000 amount, we would bring it to the council anyway for Approval.
but I won't be able to tell you an answer to that until we develop the scope that's needed To support the work.
I think I understand the motion is to make sure that this is a transportation consultant That can help with all other parts of delivery around transportation for the project.
so let us do the work, and we will bring that back to council or even share with you Through a memorandum of what the potential scope and dollar amount would be.
well, I'm sitting here just thinking about the irony of having to lower the convention Center because of the budget increase and now spending more money on
consultants, and we don't even know how much that will be.
are there already consultants that are involved in transportation in this project.
I think the transportation department, we've had the work that I think was mentioned Earlier that hntb has supported,
as well as I think there was a scope from gresham smith mr.. Thank you, madam city manager. So, yes, there are consultants who are involved in this Project,
but based if I understood the motion correctly, This will have to be a newly procured consultant and precludes those who are currently
affiliated with the work that is ongoing at the moment.
so what is it exactly? We think a different consultant is going to come up with that hntb Didn't.
I mean, they're a very reputable company. I mean, A large, reputable company.
what is it that we think somebody might be able to come up with that hasn't already been Considered?
well, again, I will, as the madam city manager mentioned, Is that I have to we have to develop this scope and look at what is it that is going to be
delivered that is different than what the current consultants are unable to deliver or Have not delivered yet.
so and that's, that's something that we'll have to discuss.
but like I said, if it is independent it will have to be a different consultant that you Know,
that is not affiliated with the current project or current work. Okay. Well, I'm sorry, this just makes no sense to me that we would just hire another one If we don't even know the scope.
why couldn't hntb do this work? Like change the scope and ask them to do the next thing?
so. Council member mendelsohn, you mentioned earlier and so did council member west that You'd like to add a piece like the streetcar extension.
so, you know, the scope, as the city manager mentioned is about the entire convention Center interpretation
plan that is a component that had been contemplated at an earlier point is my Understanding.
so this is, this aligns with being able to perhaps bring some additional ideas to the Table for this particular piece of
transportation. But there are other transportation elements associated with the overall Project.
so are you firing hntb then? No, they are not being fired.
they're they have a scope of work that they're currently working on.
what we're asking for is an independent consultant to come in and, You know, as I understand the motion to come in and perhaps offer
some additional alternatives, but that would not be the sole scope of work.
it would be for all the transportation components. We talked about streets like Ceremonial.
and we talked about connectivity to lamar and we talked about the streetcar.
so there are other transportation components associated with the convention center.
well, this is sort of giving me deja vu about this whole city hall issue that we just Keep.
oh, we don't like this answer. Let's go to another consultant and get even worse answers.
and this is why our budget is blown. We just keep hiring more and more consultants to redo The same work we already know and already have.
thank you. Was that all? I want to make sure, Miss blackmon, you
recognized for five minutes. Thank you. And I want to thank everybody who came today.
I know it's a long been a long day, and I think this is an opportunity to reset the Project and to get it right because it needs to benefit the
entire city. It shouldn't benefit just the people who come to visit or the people who live On the east side or the south side or the southeast side.
it really should benefit the entire district. So instead of putting it in the motion, I kind of just put on the record some guiding Principles that it's important that the viaduct stay in place.
we've heard how it connects the community and they serve our community, And removing them would create more problems than solutions.
and the, the keeping the height of the kbh convention center, Because we know that changing that height would set us back to a tier two,
which means a real hit not only to the the convention and business, But to our budget.
and that includes the arts. And so it really does make a difference in how we we pursue This.
any decisions that are made should honor the spirit of the art oak farm transportation Plan.
the details of that plan are very specific, but it shows multimodal connections, And I think that is what the community's vision is and their desire.
and we should stay true to that. We cannot afford to lose any vehicular traffic capacity.
our streets are busy, and reducing that capacity could have challenges for our residents, Our workers,
and our visitors. Travel times, they should not, You know, 5 to 10 minutes of increase.
that reliable connections are a, a vital part of our community.
and I would say that all the traffic planning should come through the convention and event Services with the whole team looking at it versus in
silos. And I think somebody said it was siloed. And I think that's what got us here. But in all of this, We value community input and now is the time to do it.
but we have got a lot of things that we have to get done in doing this.
and so I think being patient and being understanding and having that ability to sit down And talk to one another and to work through the problems.
I mean, y'all are smart folks. I know, I know you guys from professionally and working.
y'all can figure it out. And I think the time crunch of, You know, you had six weeks and you had two weeks.
it does get complicated. And I do think the community knows best of what they experience, How they feel.
so I think with all of you working together, We can get there. That is the dallas can do spirit. And so I, I challenge you to get together, Work through it.
and I look forward to seeing what comes back because we've seen it done before.
we have two. We have one park over a bridge, Two parks over a bridge.
who thought that was ever going to happen? It can happen. And so I think that we are in a good place, and I hope we get there.
and I do hope that this part of dallas does thrive.
and it was a hard vote for me because I know the connections to this building, But I also know what it means to people who live and work in this environment.
and I can't do that. I cannot cut off an economic engine for this.
for my ego. So good luck and I guess we'll see you back in same time, Same bat channel in two months.
thank you. Miss kidney. Recognized for five minutes. Yes. Well, I heard that there would be one community meeting.
I would hope, miss city manager, that we would have more than one community meeting and Perhaps a charrette style where people are able to show where their concerns are and maybe
we can work to address those. Because I think that would give people an opportunity to Provide input and not just listen to information.
so that's my one request. Chairwoman will is recognized for five minutes.
thank you mayor. So I with the previous motion and passing and then with this amendment, I like this parallel path because we can keep our
convention center on track. We don't need to be tier two. We're not into this to be tier two. But this allows us to continue work on these Alternatives.
and those are the key words, I think, in this motion is community engagement and Additional options,
because we know we want to maintain the multimodal connectivity and the accessibility.
thank you to everyone who came. I think we've lost a few people, But we have to acknowledge that there are businesses at either end of these viaducts and
all of these bridges, and acknowledge the local commuter experience and the local resident Experience,
so you're not left out of that equation. And so taking this step allows us to take this Step forward,
allows us to take a step back and, and participate in some of the community engagement and Use some of the methods that we have found that have been
helpful in making sure people feel heard. So in terms of the vendors, If we want to add to the scope of our contracted professionals
and just evaluate all of that, I would be fine with that. You know the words procurement process. I mean, That just tacks on so much time.
however, if we need to go that route for true larger scope, Look, okay, but I'm, I would be okay with looking at that,
expanding that scope as well. And so I believe it was brought up about, Can we give some direction around this?
and what I've heard today is about the number of lanes coming in and out.
in fact, I heard it confirmed that we were going to be maintaining lanes in and out like Three and with the option for three coming or going back out that we're
not cutting off sections. That's just not going to happen. There's no demolition, You know, all these words that we just need to,
you know, set aside their conscious untruths. How, how much variance of travel time are we willing to tolerate or are residents willing To tolerate?
so I feel like there's some direction that we can get, We can get from residents, but that we can turn around and give so that what our selected
vendor comes back with is is hearing those who have shown up today and who have shared Their concerns.
but while we can continue with this project being on track, Because if you remember right after the kitten mr.
davis spoke and those numbers were really staggering.
so, you know, we can't afford to go backward on that. We're already going to suffer an economic impact.
so I will support your amendment or your motion.
deputy mayor. Deputy mayor pro tem be recognized for five minutes.
thank you, mr. Mayor. I just want to make sure it's clear it is our job as the elected Officials to host community meetings.
that's our job. So, city manager, when we call on you, You will be able to bring the administration
out for our community members, correct? Yes, Sir. We we covered the city on any committees, any conversations that you want to have out in The community.
that is our responsibility, but we definitely like to do that in partnership with the city Council.
so it never appears as if it's staff versus the council or staff versus community.
and so my recommendation would be, as we begin to look at ways to do the community Engagement,
I love the recommendation that councilwoman cadena made about the type and the style that We would still do it in partnership with the council.
so it doesn't look like we're out sharing information and holding meetings, And the council member or the council members are not a part of it.
it just makes it much more effective when we do it together. Thank you. And I want to also say that you're not limiting any council member to only one Meeting.
if we choose to have an additional meeting, that is our choice. Am I correct? Yes, sir. Deputy mayor pro tem, That is your choice.
and if you request staff's presence, it's my responsibility to make sure that staff is There to support your meetings.
thank you. I just wanted to make sure we go on the record, Because it seemed like the narrative that we're looking at the administration and saying,
we want you to host the community meeting, and that's our job as elected officials.
and so I've had several community meetings. As a matter of fact, I'm gonna have one on monday.
and then when we're going to be talking about the bile ducts very soon. It's already already planned in my on my calendar.
talk to my staff today. So it is our job as elected officials to host our community Meetings and invite the staff to come out so that they can bring support and answer
questions to our communities that are needed.
so I just want to make that go on record because it seemed like we're just looking at the Administration and do our job when it comes to community meetings, and that's our job.
thank you. Mayor pro tem recognized for five minutes. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Just briefly want to express my support for this item. Thank you all So much.
anyone else wishing to speak on for or against the motion by the deputy mayor pro tem Seeing none.
is the record vote been requested for this? Okay. Madam secretary, go ahead and call the roll. Thank you, Mr.
mayor. When I call your name, please state. Yes, If you're in favor. No. If you oppose council member west. Yes. Council member.
moreno. Yes. Council member. Gracey. Yes. Council member.
yes. Council member. Bazaldua. Yes. Council member.
blair. Yes. Council member. Blackmon. Yes. Council member.
stewart. Yes. Council member. Roth. Yes. Council member. Mendelsohn. No. Council member. Willis. Yes. Council member ridley.
no. Deputy mayor. Pro tem johnson. Yes. Mayor pro tem resendez.
yes. Mayor johnson. Yes. With 13 voting in favor to oppose the motion passes, Mr.
mayor. Okay, let's move on. We will now go back to our pulled items.
thank you, mr. Mayor. Give me one second.
your first pulled item is agenda item six. Agenda item six is a resolution declaring the Month of july as disability pride month
and directing the city manager to fly the disability pride flag with the city of dallas Seal,
as depicted in exhibit a on the flagpole at city hall plaza in place of the city of dallas Official flag from july 15th,
2026 to july 31st, 2026, and annually thereafter, From july 1st to july 31st to celebrate
disability pride. You do have three individuals who have signed up to speak on the item John connolly.
john connolly okay.
like this. Okay. All right. Good afternoon, honorable mayor johnson and members of city Council.
my name is john connolly. Alongside my seeing eye dog, Mr.
deputy. And I am the chair of the city of dallas commission on disabilities.
thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak, As my comments are reflective both of my role and perspectives.
as a private citizen who strongly believes in the importance of visibility and Representation,
people with disabilities throughout history experienced discrimination, Segregation, prejudice,
marginalization, neglect, and in some cases, Violence and persecution simply for being who they are.
the disability pride flag is a symbol of solidarity, Unity and empowerment, enabling us and bringing people
together, allowing them to express voices. In other words, This flag symbolizes three of those things that I just mentioned
allowing people with disabilities to elevate their voices, Who for many years have been forced to stay silent.
this flag matters because it affirms that all people with disabilities are deserving of Dignity,
respect, and recognition. In addition, it highlights the lived experiences of these Individuals and recognizes their achievements.
moreover, it honors the contributions of these individuals and sheds light on struggles They face
continuously, as well as the determination they hold in overcoming those barriers.
and lastly, it promotes awareness about accessibility, Equal opportunity, and full participation in community life
by raising the disability pride flag. The city of dallas can reaffirm its commitment to Accessibility and inclusion by
fostering that greater sense of belonging. Therefore, I respectfully ask that city council members vote yes on this
resolution, as the more time we devote to listening to people with disabilities and Sharing their truths,
the better force we can be in driving the positive change that everyone so rightfully Deserves.
thank you for your attention. Thank you. Just briefly, Want to remind everyone to please
hold the applause. Thank you so much. Thank you. Candace. Wiggs.
good afternoon, mayor, mayor and members of the city council. My name is doctor candace wicks and I am a resident of district three, A proud lifetime resident of dallas,
texas, former teacher of the year for the dallas independent school district, A member of the dart paratransit advisory group
and a member of the disability commission. I am coming before you today to urge the city Of
dallas to raise the disability flag here at city hall this july.
this isn't just a piece of cloth or fabric. It is about honoring the real, Everyday lives of
thousands and hundreds of thousands of dallas residents living with disabilities.
it is about signaling to the citizens of dallas that people living with disabilities, Neighbors,
coworkers, and friends are seen, valued, and fully belong in our city.
to understand why this matters, we only need to look at community leaders such as myself.
those of us who have given our lives to educating children and then having a catastrophe Illness take
over, but not shrinking into a corner, fighting back fiercely and speaking up, Stepping up
for those who have no voice and feel as though they are unseen and have no hope.
people like me organize and protect dark paratransit riders.
we travel hundreds of miles to fight for voting rights.
and let me remind you that we are voters and our basic access is a civil right that must Be
actively defended every single day right here in dallas, Texas.
so I humbly ask you to do a 15 to 0 vote in affirmation that the
citizens of dallas who are disabled are a full part of this city.
we deserve the same quality of life as each and every member of the city council and all Of the citizens of dallas,
texas. And it is a pleasure to serve the city.
thank you. Melissa collier. Melissa collier it's not present.
there are no further speakers for this item, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Mayor, there are no further speakers for this item.
I'm sorry. Discussion, please. I see cara mendelsohn.
I'm sorry. There you go. Can do I have a motion to approve?
second. Okay, there's a motion in a second. I see miss mendelsohn. Okay. Thank you. I would have liked to have been recognized for the motion.
sorry. And my motion. It would actually be contrary to this.
so I'm speaking now against the motion. I want to say thank you, John. I want to thank you, doctor wicks for coming down.
every single thing you said I 100% agree with except the flag.
I do have a question for staff. I'm not sure who you'd like to have answer it, But do we have a standard that can be applied consistently and fairly,
or do we have or do we just one by one keep considering new flags to add to our Repertoire?
I'll ask thor erickson to take that question. Thank you. Hi. Good afternoon. Thor erickson, Director, office of housing and community empowerment.
it's my understanding that through our different commissions and work the commissioners Will advocate for things that advance their select causes.
in this instance, the commission on disabilities had advocated for this recognition for a Couple of years.
and so following the form of previous recognitions through other communities, We brought this forward through quality of life for consideration,
to recognize the support. So have you considered that adding flags?
not this one in particular, but just any kind of flag could turn city hall into a Battleground for controversial issues that are beyond our own policies.
yeah, I have personally thought of that. And under the purview of our merged department, We bring forward things that come through the commissions of which we are
liaisons for. And so it is our duty to bring that forward to this council for your Consideration.
thank you. So, colleagues, what I'm concerned about is this proliferation of Non-government flags on government property.
government flags provide neutrality, consistency, And they avoid mission creep once we start with adding commemorative
flags. The question is where does it end? There's awareness months for many, Many causes religious and ethnic heritage flags.
we can recognize groups and organizations and issues through proclamations, Ceremonies, educational programs,
lighting up the buildings, downtown, community events and public art for this flag in Particular.
actually enacting the american with disabilities act, Improving sidewalks, park accessibility,
and making city services more accessible seems much more meaningful.
rather than hanging a flag as we have done for many other things.
finally, I will add this and I hope you really hear what I'm saying here.
there's a legislative matter associated with that.
I'm concerned that the state has already cracked down on crosswalks that have a message, And I've heard legislators talk about this
issue of non-government flags. By continuing to approve unconventional flags, We are baiting the state to enact
legislation that will preempt cities from all kinds of non-government flags.
so flags we have today will be put at risk. And I would say to you, Let's find many other ways to celebrate
the disability community. As you know, as my colleagues, That I myself am also disabled.
I feel very strongly about this issue and I appreciate your service on the commission and Any way I can help you.
I would like to, but adding a flag, I think is problematic for our city and frankly Jeopardizes the other flags we already have.
thank you, councilmember willis. Thank you. Well, Thank you to our disabilities commissioners,
miss wicks and mr. Connolly for coming and being so patient today.
I appreciate you coming and representing your perspective and the work of the commission.
thank you. And for pointing out a community that's often overlooked and strives for the Acceptance that so many of us take for granted.
and I think this is an important message to send, And I'm only sorry that should this pass,
it would go up after our fifa visitors are starting to leave dallas because I really like The message it sends about dallas and about texas to people from around the world.
I think it's important. And you know, if someone wants to come after dallas because we're Flying a flag,
recognizing those with disabilities will then game on.
I do want to note what this represents. So the colors of the flag red is physical Disabilities,
gold, neurodiversity, white invisible disabilities, Blue emotional and psychiatric disabilities,
and green sensory disabilities. So I think this is an important message.
this is something that we can do on city property on a city flagpole. It's not a crosswalk. I, I think if we want to examine this and I, I'm sensitive and understand,
you know, the concern about having, many issues brought forth to us.
that's why we have the quality of life committee to consider this, But we can start it after this one.
thank you, mr. Gracey. Thank you, mr. Mayor. I will be supporting this.
obviously, this came through quality of life. And while miss mendelsohn brings up some, Some great,
not great points brings up some valid points. This is the environment that we're in. And just because we're in this environment does not Mean we don't have to recognize some of those folks.
so I will be supporting this. And if it comes, Let it come. It continues to come quite honestly there. So, But that doesn't mean we don't have to stop.
we have to stop doing things to recognize the services. And some of the folks, our other residents that are here who have been serving like miss Wicks and like the chair who have been serving in this capacity for,
for a while. So again, I do support this. This has come through the, Through the quality of life.
and while I do appreciate your concerns, it doesn't mean we don't stop recognizing them.
we continue to do that until we're told to stop. So thank you. Seeing no further. Okay. Mr. Moreno, Thank you.
thank you. Mayor. Can staff remind me how long the flag will fly?
the, the duration of the of the months. And then it was my understanding that it had to Have a city seal like our pride flag.
and so just help me understand if that is a requirement for additional flags.
I thank you for the questions. Yes, this flag has included the city seal in the middle of It.
so there was an updated rendering put out in a friday memo this last friday showcasing the Updated flag.
for this year. It will fly july 15th through the end of the year.
passing of this, we need time to procure the flag in order to, To get it.
so the recognition will be for the second half of july, Which is disability awareness month.
I'm sorry, you said july 5th through the july 15th, I believe is the exact date through the end of july through the end of july.
okay. Thank you. Seeing no further speakers. All those in favor, Say aye.
motion prevails. Next item. Oh. I'm sorry. Say it again.
oh. Any opposed? Me? No. I know two in opposition.
council member, mendelsohn and ridley. Motion prevails. Next item. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Your next item is agenda item seven.
item seven authorized the one acceptance of a grant from tenure, Inc.
for the ten year financial empowerment program in the amount of $20,000 to support Financial empowerment,
community engagement through the administration of a financial stability survey for the Period april 22nd,
2026 through march 31st, 2027. Two. Receipt and deposit of funds in an amount not to Exceed $20,000 in the ten
year financial empowerment grant fund. Three. Establishment of appropriations in an amount not to exceed $20,000 in the ten year Financial empowerment grant fund and for
execution of the grant agreement with tenure, Inc. And all terms, conditions and documents required by the agreement not to exceed $20,000.
this item was pulled by. Council member. Mendelsohn. Mr.. Mayor. Move to deny the item.
is there a second? Is there a second? Hearing.
well, he just said second. Yeah, I heard a second. So, councilmember roth, thank you. Miss mendelsohn, You have the floor.
thank you. This is just a $20,000 grant, and it could easily be overlooked by anyone on Council.
but I'd like to just read to you some of the portions of what the item actually says.
it says this grant will collect resident level data on their employment, Stability and history of job disruption,
their duration and financial impact of past employment.
get this emergency saving levels and saving behavior.
resident level emergency saving levels okay. Cost of high financial tools during income Gaps.
perceived preparedness for future job loss. This is a quote from what the item says.
this survey is intended to capture localized data on income disruption due to employment Volatility.
assess household emergency savings. Do you need the government to assess your emergency Savings and inform dallas financial empowerment policy and
supporting interventions. Y'all. None of this is government's business.
not a single bit of it. Government is stepping way far out of its lane by collecting this Information,
and city hall should do its job. This is not city hall's job.
when we're talking about trying to find spending cuts.
whoever spent their time applying for this grant, Whoever was intended to administer this grant,
this is where we need to cut. Thank you. Any other speakers?
councilwoman willis? Well. We've got to improve our community's economic
mobility. And we've got some folks who've never been exposed to what?
building up finances, taking care of yourself, Taking care of your family is about.
and so this kind of program, the kind of program that we did with wings, With others, I mean,
financial empowerment programs are nothing new at the city of dallas. We have had these, I think, at district eight, I know at the community office was the center of a financial empowerment program.
so while those things sound like if they were in everybody's business yeah, That would be invasive.
but when you are a part of a program like this, I know I've been a financial counselor at interfaith housing coalition.
these are the questions that you have to ask to help someone along the way to help them Plan for safety and security financially for their
family. So while reading it this way sounds very invasive, As if it was blanket.
I think that this is targeted for those who are in need.
I mean, they're going to be identified as qualifying for this kind of program and that It's exactly what some people need to be able to stand up and make a generational
difference with their their children and taking care of their business and their families.
and so I, I see it as the model that others use.
and so I, I don't object to that. And so I won't support the motion.
mr. Ridley? Yes. Question for the city manager. What's the city going to do with this information?
thank you, council member ridley, this is as as stated in the in the eyes and the agenda Information survey information will be used to to advance
financial well-being for those who participate in our financial empowerment programs.
it's a survey that will is going to be, of course, Voluntary by residents who wish to engage in it so that we can have information financial
empowerment programs. We don't have any citywide financial empowerment programs.
we have some that are district specific. I have one in my district, But we don't have a citywide program.
and I'm just wondering why we are going to undertake this survey at a cost of $20,000, Even if it's somebody else's money
from people who if they're interested in our financial empowerment programs on a district Basis,
will already be providing that information to their counselors. And if they're not in a district that has a program, Then we will be gathering this information unnecessarily.
and I'm just concerned about the privacy and the security of this information.
it could contain multiple items of privacy, financial private financial information.
and now we become responsible for the security of that information.
and I can contemplate being liable if any of that information is ever the subject of Inadvertent disclosure.
we're going to get sued over it. So I don't understand why we need to do this.
can you provide some detail as to, for example, What department is going to administer this,
how they're going to protect the security of the information? Yes, sir. And I'll also ask deputy director jessica galicia from the office of community Of housing and community empowerment to join me in explaining more about the
objectives. Et cetera. But certainly we would take precautions to understand what Information is being shared,
not collect information that would put the city at a certain risk and make sure that we're Not collecting private information as stated,
so precautions would be taken to ensure that the data is being used at a level where it Could help inform our efforts to be more data driven,
to understand where there are residents who are needing financial literacy and wellbeing Services.
miss gallishaw, can you elaborate there, please? Yes, sure. So the organization tenure actually has a survey.
we are providing access to it to clients that exist. We're not doing any outreach. We're getting revenue.
if a certain number of them take the survey. The questions in the survey do have Information,
but they're not individually identifiable. The information about savings, About financial information is ranges.
for example, have you what's the longest you've held a job? It's less than 18 months. That's not a specific amounts in terms of the responses to the Questions.
and it's not identifiable for the client. Well, If it's not identifiable by person, what good is it.
it's not going to help council them. What is the purpose for gathering anonymized data?
it's providing information that can be aggregated at a level that we can understand around Different areas and communities.
and so that we can inform our strategy and we earn revenue by allowing the residents the Opportunity to participate if they choose.
and if we don't have residents that want to participate in the survey, Then we simply don't get the revenue.
well, that sounds like a lot of gobbledygook to me. We have we have contractors who provide the financial empowerment counseling.
do we not? We don't do that with city employees. Correct. We have contractors that do that. So how is this survey data going to be conveyed To those consultants?
will it just be passed through the city without our seeing it, Or is it going to go directly to that contractor?
we will get the the summary data from the organization, From the from the responses that are coming.
okay. And so what exactly are we going to do with this summary data?
we can use it to inform our strategy. And we're also able to strategy over what our Strategy for financial empowerment programing.
well okay. Maybe you'd better outline what that financial empowerment programing is, Because I don't know of any city wide program to do that.
we have four partners that do financial empowerment centers programing.
we have partners or contractors, right. Contractors. Correct. So we have the contractor that you referenced that we're working with.
and additionally through community development block grant funds, We're moving forward with three additional partners.
and collectively between those three, those four, Well, three total will be able to serve a large number of residents in sites across the
community. And so these partners are able to serve in home locations, But they're also offering services through locations such as our community centers
and financial empowerment. Coaching can also be provided virtually or via telephonic if Necessary,
so that residents from the entire community can access. So these contractors provide individualized counseling for people who want it.
correct? Correct. So how is someone else's anonymized, Summarized data going to help
individuals who are being counseled? Won't they be more interested in providing their own Information to the counselor?
it doesn't have to be just clients of the program. That was our intended outreach because that's an easy way to do it.
it could be other residents as well that could participate in that survey and provide General information.
it's not linked individually to individual clients. Well, I understand that and that's exactly my point.
why would anyone else provide their data if they're not going through financial Counseling?
the provider does offer them. I believe that they offer them a, A gift certificate for participating.
a gift card for how much? I think $20. Well, I'm more interested in what's going to be done with that data.
and I still haven't heard why the city is interested in gathering this data.
to, I assume, facilitate these contractors in rendering their counseling services when Those contractors are going to
gain the personal information from people who come to them wanting their services.
so it's not it doesn't have to be data just from those individuals who are looking for Seeking services.
it could be anyone. It is a opportunity for the city to generate revenue to support the Cost of implementing or doing outreach for the program.
it's not a large amount of money, but it's also not a large amount of effort. Well, wait a minute. How does this survey generate income for the city?
because if we have 125 residents complete the survey, Then we receive funding.
oh, so if we only get 100 people respond, we get nothing.
correct. And so we've gone through the expense of generating these surveys.
and we don't get to use the 20,000. We have not gone through the the expense of generating Services.
this organization supports financial empowerment work in cities across the country.
and this is a survey tool that they already have that exists. Well, okay, if they have the tool, what's the city doing with this $20,000?
we would use it to support outreach, engagement and other activities in support of our Financial empowerment work.
well, what does that mean? Outreach and facilitate financial empowerment that the city Would use the money for.
if we're working with contractors to provide those services.
so. Well, we can do a whole variety of things with funding that comes to us that is Unrestricted and through a grant revenue opportunity.
it can offset any of our costs in terms of management or oversight, The program, it could allow us to host individual community level educational
opportunities. It could allow us to host events or engagements at community centers, At community at recreation centers or other places to do outreach
and make our residents aware of these. It could provide different cover the cost of Printing fliers.
it could cover the cost of you know, providing drinks at the events when we're providing Education.
there's a variety of things that could be done with it because the funding does not have To be restricted specifically to a certain type of thing.
just generally it's revenue that is earned by generating the the surveys.
so we can use this money for any purpose. We could use it for filling potholes.
I think we theoretically could. I don't know that that's councilwoman mendelsohn, But.
thank you mayor. I need to ask you something because you just reported to council member Ridley that it's
aggregated data, but specifically in the materials, It says it's resident level data.
yeah. Sorry. Yeah. So it is it is resident level. It's not identified. I think maybe that's when I said aggregated.
I think I was just thinking that generally the way that we share information is summarized Because it's kind of easier to summarize is different than resident level,
right? Resident level, you're going to get a spreadsheet. So if you're trying to say it's Anonymous,
right, I'm going to assign you number one and mean number two. And here's the spreadsheet.
but that's not aggregated. Correct. And that is then I, I misspoke.
so it is resident level. It is not identified level.
okay. So wouldn't you just be able to obtain this information from the census from the American community survey?
no, not necessarily. So even without the individualized identifying data for a client, This would allow us to
understand, for instance, how there's a relationship between the length of time that Somebody might have hold a job and or the extent to which they've been
impacted by layoffs to the overall amount or pay that they received in the past term.
we received those in. That's where the resident level factor comes in.
it's multiple factors for the same household or individual.
okay. I think this is way overstepping what government should be involved with.
and it's like when we try to do small business development and the people who are teaching The classes have only ever worked for the government.
it's it's not the right audience and it's not the right leaders. And if people need that kind of coaching, which many do, And I'm supportive of financial literacy and education,
we are not the right ones to be collecting anybody's data.
and I find it, frankly, offensive that we would even do so.
so if we want to host a program because we know there's a need, We fund that program, let them collect data from their own willing participants.
but this is just so out of the range of something that government ought to be doing.
I do not want to accept this grant. I don't want to be involved in this business. And as we have started talking about budget, We're now asking a department to be distracted by working on a $20,000 grant that you get
paid who knows what for 125 participants like.
focus, people. We need to take care of our roads. We need to do public safety. We have very specific things that we ought to be working on, But this is not any of them.
thank you. Any other speakers? All right. Cnn, I just really briefly I'm supportive of this item
for various reasons. In addition to what councilwoman willis mentioned, This is a grant I'm supportive of financial empowerment efforts,
and this is not anything new to the city. So I will be voting no on the motion to deny.
okay, so seeing no further speakers, all those in favor, Say aye.
any opposed? Nay. Sounds like the nays. Got it.
sounds like the nays. Got it. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Second, I heard a motion and a second. Any speakers?
seeing none. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed?
nay. Motion prevails. Next item. Thank you, mr. Mayor. We will move ahead to agenda item 60.
agenda item 60. Authorize a one five year concession contract in the estimated amount of $210,000 for the period
june 24th, 2026 through june 23rd, 2031 with one three year renewal option in the Estimated amount of
$138,000 for tennis center pro manager operational management at fretz tennis center for The parks and recreation department,
and the total estimated amount of $348,000. Two five year concession contract in the Estimated amount of
185,000 $85,000 for the period june 24th, 2026 through june 23rd, 2031,
with one three year renewal option in the estimated amount of $123,000.
tennis center pro manager operational management at samuel grande tennis center for the Park and recreation department,
and the total estimated amount of $308,000. Three a five year concession contract in the Estimated amount of
$150,000 for the period june 24th, 2026 through june 23rd, 2031, with one three year renewal
option in the estimated amount of $102,000. Tennis center pro manager operational Management at l.b.
houston tennis center for the parks and recreation department in the total estimated Amount of $252,000 and for five year
concession contract in the estimated amount of $70,000 for the period june 24th, 2026 through june 23rd,
2031, with one three year renewal option in the estimated amount of $54,000.
tennis center pro manager operational management at tennis center for the parks and Recreation department in the total estimated amount of
$124,000. This item has 30 individuals who have signed up to speak on it.
each speaker will be given two minutes to speak. I will call speakers in two groups. When I call your name, I do ask that you come forward and have a seat on the first two rows,
first three rows of this center section and virtual speakers.
I do ask that you have your video and audio ready.
ines beltran, michael. Alpers. Kimberly. Widget.
gabriel. Beltran. Emiliano. Carranza. Glen. Johnson.
bianca. Beltran. Lonnie. Smoots. John. Wilson.
the fourth. Lisette. Smoots, charmaine. Fletcher, Christina.
flores, josette. Williams, julian. Williams, Stephen.
marley, and stephanie aranda. Ines. Beltran. You may come forward.
good evening, mayor and members of the city council. My name is inez beltran and I am here to speak on what was agenda item number 60.
I am a junior player at keith's tennis center, Which is currently managed by dallas tennis association.
I have been a player for tea at keith's for over ten years.
I want to tell you what keith's tennis center and the people there have meant to me.
the coaches and staff have positively impacted both my tennis journey and my personal Life.
october 3rd, 2022 was a day I will never forget. My father was shot in the face while while stopping a robbery.
when this happened, I was at the center. During this scary time, My family relied on the staff at keast.
my mom made a call to coach sarah and coach craig and with no questions asked, They stayed with me until a family member could pick me up.
the coaches were there for me when I needed them the most. That experience showed me keith is more than just a tennis center.
it is a family. That is why I ask you to keep the tennis center in the hands of the Community,
and not turn it over to a private company with several locations. Decisions like this affect real children and families.
I am one of those children and keith has made a difference in my life.
I am grateful to share that my dad recovered and from my family. This story had a good ending. Places like keith's help children and family get through Some of the most difficult times of their life.
so city council members, when you are ready to make this important decision, I ask you, don't just think about the numbers.
think about the families and kids like me who look forward to coming to keith's every day.
thank you for your time and listening to my story. Thank you. Thank you. Michael all for. Good evening.
my name is michael all for and I'm a resident of district three. I'm speaking here today along with others like inez, To encourage you to vote no on the transfer of control of keith's tennis center.
under the leadership of the dta, keith tennis center has developed many special things in Oak cliff,
but among them are a connected community and a transformative programing for youth, Along with adults and seniors.
my son, like many others, fell in love with the sport of tennis.
excuse me. At least when he was little. He has experienced other programs throughout the Dfw area,
but returns to keith because of how impactful the organization is.
an impact beyond other tennis programs. The engagement at keyes creates a true community That cares about the formation of youth beyond just tennis
skills. The transformative programing at ciis includes community service, Character development,
life skills and experiences outside of dfw that positively impact the lives of those Involved.
we ask for dta to be allowed to maintain control of keys tennis center to continue to Positively impact youth,
adults and seniors. Thank you for your time and your work for our city.
thank you. Kimberly. Widget. Kimberly widget is not present.
gabriel beltran thank you. Good evening. My name is gabriel beltran.
I live in oak cliff, district three, born and raised in oak cliff and still reside there. My kids have been coming to keys tennis center since they were three and five years old.
they are now 13 and 18. Locally and nationally recognized tennis players.
I want to talk about a pattern. Oak cliff has been neglected by this city for decades, And keith's tennis center has been no different.
the city was supposed to come and mow the grass there. They didn't. The parents did. The city was supposed to repair the facility.
they didn't. So the community showed up with their own hands and money and fix it Themselves. Coach craig coal power washed that building himself,
replaced the rotting wood himself because the city couldn't be bothered.
and why dallas forgot about us. Dtea and dtaa nonprofit built something extraordinary.
free tennis, free equipment, tutoring on site kids required to turn in report cards and do Community service hours along with parents.
25 years without the city, without your help. But now you're interested in keith's not to fix it, Not to invest in it, but to hand it to a nonprofit corporation.
for mckinney, giving one private company a monopoly over every single public tennis center In the city of dallas.
and when parents raise concerns, a park board representative told them, If your prices go up,
it keeps tennis center and you can't take your kid there, Then you're going to have to find something else to do. That's not governance,
that's abandonment. With a microphone, your own procurement staff confirmed on record that Nothing in this contract protects these kids.
nothing. You've ignored oak cliff when it was struggling. So don't show up now and take what we've built without you.
please leave keys and remove them from item 60. Thank you. Thank you. Emiliano carranza. Good evening, Mayor johnson and members of
city council. I would like to ask you all to think back when y'all were in middle school. Think about the people, activities, and opportunities that helped shape who you are today.
my name is emiliano carranza. I'm a dallas isd student and a rising eighth grader.
today you will make an important decision about the future of keys tennis center. I'm asking you to please keep the dallas tennis and education academy at keys.
I hope you will think about the kids and families who use keys tennis center every day Before making your decision.
I am here because keith has helped shape who I am becoming. I'm also here because my little brother plays tennis at keith's just like me.
he looks up to me. I want to be a good example for him on and off the court.
before I joined the program, tennis was one of the many sports I've tried, But because of the coaches at keith's,
it became my passion. Now I finished there. Now I practice there every day up to six days A week.
having practiced every day motivates me to finish my homework and to on top of my Schoolwork.
because of that, I was able to succeed academically during my seventh grade year while Also growing as a tennis player.
keith's has become a place where I feel like I belong and a second home to me. My little brother, hundreds of other kids, adults and seniors who play tennis at keith's, At keith's have made new friends,
met coaches that later became mentors who helped me become a better person and learned Important life skills like discipline,
hard work, and never giving up. The program has also helped me gain confidence in myself And believe that I can achieve goals that once seemed impossible.
I'm asking you to please keep the dallas tennis and education academy atkins tennis Center.
thank you for your time and listening to my story. Thank you.
glen johnson. Glen johnson is not present. Bianca beltran.
good afternoon, mayor and city council members. My name is bianca beltran. I'm a resident of district three, A mother of two children who have been playing at tennis center for over ten years and a
volunteer with tennis with dallas tennis and education academy. I'm actually trying to share my screen right now. Can you get it?
okay, I'll just keep going. Something incredible happened over this weekend at keith's Tennis center.
more than 65 volunteers gathered together and contributed over 130 hours of community Service through the realize the dream initiative to reach 100,000,000
hours of service by the 100th anniversary of doctor martin luther king, Jr.
s birthday. Together we planted flowers, trimmed bushes, Cleaned courts, picked up trash and beautified a place that means so much to so many
families. But what struck me the most wasn't what we accomplished that day.
it was who accomplished it. We children, parents, Coaches, neighbors.
what I witnessed on saturday was not just a group of volunteers.
I witnessed a family. I saw children serving alongside their parents, Coaches, coaches guiding the youth and former players returning to give back.
I also witnessed young people, girls on the move, A young player who received a city of dallas love your block grant that grant provided the
flowers and materials used during saturday's beautification project. It's a powerful example of young people taking ownership of their community for decades.
keys tennis center has been more than just a tennis sinner. It's been a place where children are welcomed and encouraged, Mentored and cared for.
it's become a second home for countless children.
there are countless stories of children who've learned confidence discipline at keith's Tennis center.
as you consider, I ask you that you consider item 60 respectfully ask that you look beyond The facility and see the people and see the family.
I also ask that you respectfully ask the council to remove keys from item agenda 60.
thank you. Lonnie. Lonnie. Spots not present.
john wilson, the fourth. Good evening, members of the city council.
my name is john wilson, a fourth. I'm a third generation dallasite. And from oak cliff, texas. I'm urging this council to either amend the resolution to Separate keys tennis center or voted down entirely.
I begin playing at keys tennis center at the age of six. Since then, keys has been managed by a community based partner that has made affordable Access to a country club sport.
eventually, I ended up playing division one college tennis and became an attorney.
this is not unique to me. Thousands of kids from this community have gone to college and Earned scholarships because of what keys tennis center has provided throughout the years.
now let me tell you about impact activities, The for profit organizations trying to take keys tennis center away.
they have no connection to oak cliff and no lived experiences or understanding of what Affordable tennis means to communities like
ours. They have already taken over six other public dallas tennis facilities and at every Single one.
prices have skyrocketed and the community members have been pushed out.
and if mayor johnson was here, he would know exactly how this would affect the members of The south dallas community.
the director of impact activities came from one of the most priciest tennis academies in The world.
he has no connection to the oak cliff community or no connection to what this will.
how this will impact the kids. This vote would hand a for profit company with zero ties to Ties,
a complete monopoly over every public tennis facility in dallas, Texas.
keys tennis center is not a country club. It is a community institution that has put People before profits for generations.
the children of oak cliff are counting on you all. City council, do not let us down. Please vote no or amend the resolution to remove keys.
thank you, thank you, lizette smuts. For that?
yes, I'm the president of the oak cliff community.
can you hear me? Yes. You may continue. Sorry about that.
president of the oak cliff community, the military.
which is also a member of zba. The proposed serious concerns.
program to the participants. For.
nearly two years. The level.
for families to. Supervise the procurement of the.
I respect. People over.
I just. Thank you. Charmaine. Fletcher.
charmaine. Fletcher. Charmaine. Fletcher is not present.
christina. Flores. Hello? Yes, we can hear you.
how of your videos? Yes, we can see you now. Hello. Hi. My name is christina. I'm a dallas resident in district three.
keith is the. Keith's tennis center is the last public tennis center operated for the Community.
the dallas tennis association has been there since the facility opened in the late 1950s.
over 1000 kids a year receive free lessons, free equipment, Academic tutoring and mentorship.
and there is a 100% high school graduation rate, And the program is almost entirely grant funded.
at the may 7th park board meeting, the city's own procurement staff confirmed on record That there is nothing in these contracts that protect the programs mentioned above,
especially. Essentially, nothing is enforceable when affordability was raised as a concern By many residents.
the district one parks board appointee responded, And I quote, whether it is affordable or not,
parents are going to have to decide. The statement alone tells you everything about how This community is being considered in this process.
according to the legislation. Details for agenda item 60 filed 261929, A over half of the revenue from this tennis contract goes into the golf improvement
trust fund, not back into tennis and not back into this neighborhood.
over 2100 residents have signed this petition opposing this, And we ask that you send this item out for a new rfp while allowing the dta to continue on
a one year extension. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Josette williams. Hello? Yes. Yes.
hi. My name is josette williams. I'm a resident of oak cliff in district four, And I'm coming on here as an alumni
parent. My daughter was part of the program and is still part of the program. She came back from college where she goes to clark atlanta hbcu school to, To volunteer with her back with
her home tennis team. She's, she was and still is in the program.
she's been in the program since she was seven years old. I am here just saying, my daughter did not get to the school of her dreams on her own.
she stood on the shoulders of these coaches, Of these programs, of this community to get where she is.
and I'm asking you to separate a line item. Agenda number 60.
thank you. Thank you. Julian williams. I'm here.
good afternoon, mayor johnson and senior council member. I am julian williams, a resident of oak cliff, Texas in district four.
I encourage you to vote no to the transfer. I have been with dta the past.
dta is more than just a program, a tennis program. It has become a family to me and a second home.
not only have they taught me the importance of tennis, But also the importance of community service,
leadership, giving back and life skills. I have also gotten plenty of many lifetime Friends,
mentors, and coaches and associates. Dta dtea atkins tennis center has helped me Throughout my whole college process and
helped me receive plenty of scholarships to go to college. Now, where I play tennis at clark atlanta university in atlanta, Georgia because of dta he's tennis center.
now, every summer I come back to work and volunteer in the same program at tennis center.
that has given me so much, and I want others to have the exact same opportunities as I Did.
so I encourage you to vote no to the transfer of serve case tennis center. Thank you. Thank you, stephen marley. Stephen marley,
it's not present. Stephanie aranda. Hi. My name is stephanie aranda, A district
four resident. I am here to respectfully request to remove the tennis center from agenda Item number 60.
I also have a video I want to share.
dallas tennis and education academy, which is an ngo now. Ngo stands for national junior tennis and learning, Which is a program through the usta foundation that's created to support local
organizations that provide tennis development, Wellness, and educational enrichment to underserved youth.
we do this in the hopes of teaching the kids the importance of character, Getting an education,
and becoming productive members of society. Hi, My name is aiden briggs.
he's means family to me means community. Miss josie salas and my name is william keaton.
and keith means trustworthiness. Hi, my name is elizabeth, And keith means to me friendship.
my name is molly and keith reminds me of friendship.
means connection to me. My name is athena and keith means to me. Friendship. Hi, my name is josue, and keith means opportunity for me.
keith. Keith. And thank you. Especially. And
keith means fun for me and me. My name is evan, And keith means community.
and keith. My name is eliana carranza and his means mentorship.
hi, my name is chris beltran, and to me, keith's means home price.
and keith to me means family. And keith means making friends.
hi, my name is julian and keith means family. Hi, my name is zoe and keith's means family. It's not really gonna kiss me.
I'm gonna spit it up. That's your time. We are.
peace. Thank you. I'll now call the next group of speakers.
when I call your name, please come forward and have a seat on the first three rows of this Center section and virtual speakers.
please have your video and audio ready. Stephanie hurd.
liliana. Hurd. Arshia. Maida. Axel. Stark. Alex scott is canceled.
heather. Dick. Vance, dick kelly. Keaton. Scott whittaker has canceled.
adam dick, kenny lawson, sean teeter, aiden briggs and jayden kirkwood.
stephanie hurd. Good evening. My name
is stephanie hurd. I'm a district one resident, And I'm here as a mother in support of removing keith's tennis center from item
60 and sending it back for separate consideration. My children have participated in tea for about a year and a half, But in that short time it has become a meaningful part of our lives.
keith's is not simply where they learn tennis, It's where they are mentored.
they're encouraged, challenged and welcomed. One of the first things that impressed me was How many young coaches had grown
up in this program. Many as early as five years old, And are now college students who return to coach and mentor younger children.
my children see those young adults and they see possibility.
my daughter, liliana is only 13 and this program has helped inspire her future goals.
college dreams and love of tennis. My son also benefits deeply.
he navigates adhd and dyslexia for his. For him, Dta provides structure, movement, mentorship,
consistency, confidence, and belonging. This program has made strong mentorship,
tennis, education and community possible for my children in a way I could not replace.
I respectfully ask council to support sending he's back for separate review so the city Can fully consider the youth programing,
affordability, mentorship and community impact families rely on.
thank you. Thank you. Liliana heard. Hello. Good evening.
my name is liliana heard. I am 13 years old and will be entering eighth grade this fall at George benjamin international academy.
I have been attending dt at keith's tennis center for the past year and a half.
during that time, I spent four months in the junior development program and one year in The junior competitive program.
I have lived in dallas my entire life, and I've never experienced a community quite like The one at keith's tennis center.
what makes it so special is the sense of belonging it creates. Whether you're new to the program or have been there for years.
everyone is welcomed and encouraged and supported the friendships and connections built There extend far beyond the tennis court.
when I started at dc, I was going through a difficult time with both school and at home.
I was bullied because of the way I looked, the way I dressed, My hair and my race.
I often felt isolated and struggled with my confidence. I needed a safe place where I could feel accepted, Supported and valued, and he's became that place for me.
one of my coaches, sara, comforted me when I needed it most. She listened to me, supported me, and reminded me that I mattered.
there were times when I felt overwhelmed and she was there for me, Not just as coach, but as someone who genuinely cared.
her kindness, compassion, and encouragement made a lasting impact on my life and I will Always be grateful for it.
through dtr, I have not. I've grown not only as a tennis player but also as a person.
I have gained confidence, resilience, integrity, Independence and the courage to believe in myself.
dtr is more than a tennis program. It is a community that changes lives, And I am grateful for everything it has given me.
I hope other young people will continue to have the opportunity to experience the same Support,
encouragement and sense of belonging that I found here.
thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you arshia.
good evening, council members. My name is arshia. I am the national manager at impact activities, The current operator out of frets lp houston and samuel grande.
three out of the four public dallas facilities. We have been operating out of the dallas facility since 2018.
I have been personally managing frets tennis center since 2018 and overseeing houston and Samuel grande.
I just wanted to take this opportunity to clarify a few things, Add more information, and address some of the concerns that have been brought up.
but before I do that, I just wanted to congratulate the current team at keys, The dta well done.
the overwhelming support that you guys have seen today just highlights the incredible work That they do at keast.
we have had the pleasure of working with dta over the last eight years since we've been Working at the city of dallas,
and it's been an incredible journey, and we've tried to grow tennis in every way possible.
but now I wanted to address some of the concerns that have been brought up. One regarding The pricing.
as you guys know, at public tennis facilities, Prices are regulated.
they're monitored and everything is based out of based on the city of dallas fee Ordinance.
we've always followed that. I've been again managing facilities for dallas for eight Years.
every month, every quarter, we are reporting our prices to the city, To the parks board, and everything is always under review and audited.
we do not come in and we do not set the prices. Every facility is a little bit different. It depends on the amenities we have at the Facilities,
the number of courts that we have and the demographic of the population, I guess, around the community outside of that.
another concern that's been brought up a lot has been mandatory drills. We only mandate drills at some facilities based on demand.
and it's really in regards to the outside leagues, I can assure members of the community and the patrons that we will not be mandating any
sort of lessons or drills for any of the teams at keystone. Lastly, I wanted to emphasize that we will continue to work with dta and other nonprofit Organizations such as dallas sport youths,
to continue to grow the sport of tennis in dallas. Thank you. Thank you. Axel stark. He's going to be tough to
follow. Good evening, city council members. My name is axel stark, And I'm the father of a five year old boy who proudly calls oak cliff
home. I'm here today to share what? Keith's tennis center in the dallas tennis and Education academy have meant to my son,
my family, and our community. My son is a wonderful kid. He's bright, curious, funny, and a little quirky.
like many young children, he doesn't always learn at the same pace as everyone else. He asks lots of questions. He sometimes needs extra patience.
he sometimes needs extra encouragement. What has amazed me about the coaches and staff at Kiss is they always have met him exactly where he is.
they have never rushed him. They've never made him feel different. They have been patient, kind, gentle, encouraging.
and he learns not only how to play tennis, but how to be a part of a team in a community.
my son talks about keys. He doesn't just talk about tennis. He talks about his friends. He talks about his coaches.
he talks about the older players he looks up to. He talks about the heritage celebrations, the bouncy houses, The laughter and the memories.
kiss has given him something. Every parent hopes their child will find a place where he Belongs.
the community that exists there today didn't just happen by accident. It was built over many years by dedicated coaches, Family volunteers, players, community leaders who invested their time,
energy, love and to creating something truly special.
today, I respectfully ask the council to allow the dallas tennis and education academy to Continue operating keith's tennis center until a new bid process is completed.
it isn't simply about a facility. It's about our children.
it's about families. It's about community. It's about preserving a place that has already Changed the lives of so many young people,
including my son. Thank you for your time, your service, And your consideration.
thank you. Alex scott is canceled. Heather. Dick.
good evening everyone. I'm here to beseech you to keep the microphone.
can you speak? Good evening everyone. I'm here to beseech you to keep keith's tennis Center in the capable hands of dta.
I am the mother of a. This young man here. He started in dta when he was five years old.
he's now about to turn 18. Our whole family has benefited from this amazing program.
it is a loving community asset that enhances the lives of everyone it touches.
the opportunities are not just on the tennis courts. These kids are given opportunities to give back to the community, To volunteer and to learn important leadership and responsibility values.
another incredible resource dta provides to its students is access to an award winning sat Prep program.
not only that, but then they have coaches who will offer free tutoring sessions on top of That.
now, if that weren't enough we also have local hero dirk nowitzki donating time and Resources.
every year the kids have an opportunity to work at a food bank at thanksgiving, And they get to volunteer alongside dirk nowitzki.
it's just an amazing experience, just one of the amazing experiences these kids get to Have as being members of ht.
so please don't take ht away from center. Center. Thank you. Thank you. Vance. Dick. Hello. My name is vance dick, And I've been a part of
east tennis center and ht for the past 13 years. I was originally going to come up here and tell my story, But instead I wanted to highlight the stories of everyone else.
you've seen middle schoolers come up here and speak better and more eloquently than most Adults can.
that is not normal. Keith's tennis center and dta has created that in the community for Us.
that is something special that I do not want to lose, And I don't want the future generations to lose.
please consider keith's tennis centers separately from agenda 60 or vote no to the entire Thing.
thank you very much. Thank you. Kelly. Keeton.
yeah. Can you hear me? Yes. You may continue.
did the city council get my my graphs? I sent three graphs to the to their if it was sent Through email,
it was distributed. Okay. All right. All right.
a business needs to know its clients. A business needs to know the culture and community In order to succeed.
I'm not sure the new guys know this. Peace tennis center has five unique subcultures not Present in most
tennis centers. African american, hispanic, low income seniors, And gay and lesbian.
we are more like samuel grant than france or elbe, Houston or any of the other facilities
that these outsiders have control of right now.
I wanted to say that I've, I've never done this before. I never spoke at a city council meeting. I, I am a us army disabled veteran and I have Three kids.
two are in this program at ciis tennis center, Eight and 11 years old.
I'm asking the city council to hold off on voting on item 60 today.
just take it off the agenda. So many things have been going on in dallas the last couple Of months,
and a lot of big decisions have been made by you all. Guys, I salute you for keeping the mavericks in dallas.
so many tough decisions to to not just today, But the last couple of weeks.
but this one is not tough. Keith. Center center in oak cliff doesn't need an outside Corporation or entity to come in and be a savior.
take the advice of someone who knows kids. That's the cookie monster.
always stop and think it through. Please. Dallas.
city council, stop! That's your time. Think it through. Thank you. Scott whitaker is canceled. Adam. Dick.
so the the one thing mentioned in agenda item 60 regarding keys tennis center is a dollar Amount.
it's about $15,000 a year. But I think that amount is a pittance compared to all the Benefits to the
community and to dallas that are provided by the dallas tennis association operating at Tennis center.
you've heard a lot about the youth programs that are, That are free and low cost and can create nationally competitive players and also players
that are well rounded in education. But also at keith's tennis center, There are regular community events that are that are widely attended with things beyond
tennis involved in them as well. There's leagues that are welcome that play regularly at Keith's tennis center.
there are community groups that play there because they find that it's the most welcoming Place as well.
it's a, it's a great, it's a great place for the entire community.
and and because of the program for the youth, The participants in it, the parents and the children,
they volunteer and they volunteer at these events that are outreach to the community and That make people value that,
that part of oak cliff and dallas itself. And as just one example of, Of how, of how, how that is valued is a few years
ago I had, we had to move and we had lived about six minutes from keith's tennis center.
and because of dr. A and what it does at at least the one ironclad rule of where we moved Was that we would not move more than a 20
minute drive from the tennis center. And there are other tennis centers. There are places all over the world where you can play tennis, But this place is unique.
it was the place to be. And it is. It is hopping with activity to parking lots, So often full,
that you have to wait for somebody to leave to get a space. They're doing a great job there. Thank you, kenny lawson.
kenny lawson is not virtual. Not in the audience. Not present. Shaun teeter. Shaun teeter is not present.
aiden briggs. Good evening, mayor and
city council members. My name is aiden briggs and I'm here today because keith tennis Center changed my life back in 2020 when covid shut my hometown,
my hometown tennis program down, I lost a place where I trained and competed at. I started taking private lessons, but they quickly became too expensive and not Sustainable for my family.
that's when my private coach at the time told us about dbt at keith's tennis center.
I still remember the day I walked through the gates for the very first time. I was nervous And I didn't know anyone. Before coach could even introduce me, another player came up and
asked me to warm up with him. Within minutes I felt like I belonged and that feeling has Never left me.
I currently reside in mesquite, texas, where I graduated from poteet high school in 2023, And my parents and grandparents drove me to keys four nights a week every week because
they knew how much it meant to me. Keith became my second home. The coaches didn't just teach me tennis. They taught me discipline, Character and how to overcome adversity.
because of keith's I've competed, nationally trained and studied in rome, Italy.
completed two years of college tennis at collin college. Graduated with my associates degree from collin college, And I've earned a $40,000 scholarship to continue my tennis career at austin college.
and keith isn't just important to me. It continues to provide opportunities for thousands Of kids and families throughout our community.
none of that happens without keith's. Today, I have the privilege of returning as a coach to help the next generation the same way my
coaches helped me. My grandfather, john monaco, A former mayor of mesquite, always told me to use my voice for what I believe in.
he believed that when a community speaks up, You listen. That is why I'm here today. Keith's is more than a tennis center.
it creates opportunities, builds character, and changes lives. We are living proof of that. Please vote in favor of not authorizing and removing agenda Item 60.
thank you. Thank you, jaden kirkwood. Jaden kirkwood.
it's not present. Mr. Mayor, this concludes our speakers for this item.
thank you. Council member. Blackmon. I hear a motion to approve. Is there a second? I hear a second. Mr., may I have a motion?
no comments. Council member johnson board. Deputy mayor pro tem johnson.
I move to divide the question to consider. Separately, The king's park tennis center concession agreement.
I hear a motion and a second. So we are moving on to the.
yeah, yeah. Okay, so we got a motion and a second discussion.
deputy mayor pro tem johnson, no discussion. The community said it all.
okay. Council member gracey. I'm sorry. Well, So now we're going straight to the vote.
point of information. This vote is only to divide the question. We're not considering the merits of either item. Correct.
okay. So a yes vote would divide the question. Correct. Thank you. And there's technically no discussion. So we shouldn't even be. So We're just going to go straight to the vote. All those in favor say aye.
aye. Any opposed. Motion carries. So now we're going to focus on since this motion passed The discussion is
on numbers one through three, which are frets samuel grant and lee houston tennis centers.
I see deputy mayor pro tem johnson. Council member.
west. Not on this item. No. Thank you. Move to approve.
second. Well yeah. We we just yeah. So initially there was a motion to approve.
so we're there already. Now we're we divided it. So we're on one through three. Does anyone have any discussion on one through three fret.
samuel grant and lee houston tennis centers. I see a couple names.
I'm just making sure we we know what we're discussing. All right. Councilwoman cadena.
yes. I just want to support this item. The l.b.
houston tennis center is in district six and in impact activities, Has operated there since 2019.
they have successfully managed the tennis center as experts in tennis facility management And programing,
significantly increasing attendance and enhancing programing opportunities that have Strengthened the center's overall success.
the annual city revenue has been about 22000 per year that it's brought to the city, So I wholeheartedly support this for district six.
thank you. Councilwoman. Mendelsohn. Thank you. I just wanted to speak in support of freda's.
this is actually in district 11, but it's the closest thing to district 12.
and a lot of district 12 residents use the freda's tennis center and speak very, Very highly of it.
my son has gone to camp there. He was varsity tennis. So they must do a good job. It also has pickleball, But the programs that you're talking about with keith's.
I'll just tell you, if there was something about closing down freda's, We'd have the same exact situation.
people would come down here and say how life changing it is, How the staff has mentored the students and developed relationships.
everything you said, I'm just going to tell you could also apply for freda's.
so I'm very glad to have this vendor and continue the great work that's happening there.
council member. Gracey. Thank you. I just want to I want to start by just saying one, How proud I am of you all showing up
and representing this isn't about ki stewart. Oh, it's not correct. Yeah, we're on one through three.
freda samuel garin and lv houston tennis center. Oh. Got it. All right. Councilmember roth thank you.
I wanted to just echo councilmember mendelson's.
thanks for the efforts that you make at frats, Which is in my district.
and the good, the good feedback, the, the good value that you all are, Are providing to our,
to our residents of our district and to the surrounding area. Thank you again. And I would ask that you all support this this motion please.
council member ridley, questions for the park department.
so, mr. O'connor, I understand that impact activities is the incumbent vendor for these Three rec centers.
good evening. Yes, sir. That is correct. And what feedback have you gotten about their Performance?
very positive. Successful vendor, very pleased with the results.
and what about the users of their services, the patrons of the tennis centers.
have they provided feedback about or evaluation of the vendor?
again, feedback is is always very positive. I'm not personally familiar with really any Complaints with the service.
it's a it's a valued addition to our tennis centers. Okay. And can you outline the process by which you went through this procurement to Identify impact
activities as the most advantageous proposer?
sure. I would ask miss juanita ortiz to, to go through that technical piece, The procurement.
juanita ortiz, director, office of procurement services.
we issued an rfp for racket sports for the four locations.
and this vendor was identified by the evaluation committee as the most advantageous vendor For all four locations.
so were there four other competing firms that also responded to the rfp for.
there were for me. I'll bring it up because there were different for each location.
so for fritz tennis park, we had two solicitation, Two vendors proposed, and for l.b.
houston we had two. And samuel grand. We also had two. Three. We had three. Okay. And how were they scored in terms of relative
preference? So the evaluation committee looked at the cost or the let's stop right there.
who is on the committee? So the evaluation committee consisted of city staff from the Budget management services office,
parks and recreation, the office of procurement services, As well as emergency management and crisis response.
okay. Proceed. They evaluated all proposals for the capability, Expertise and experience.
the overall approach the revenue to the city and what the capital maintenance plan would Be.
and the vendor that was identified as impact activities was the highest ranked vendor.
okay. Can you disclose the number of points they received from the evaluation?
was there anyone close to their evaluation score.
so for yes we can. So for fretz tennis impact activities received a 75.6 out of
100 points. The next vendor was 20 points away from that.
for keys were not on that one yet for lg houston.
same about 75 and then 20 points less for the second offender.
same for samuel grant. Okay. Thank you. Okay.
seeing no further comments. All those in favor, Say aye.
any opposed? Motion prevails. So just so it's clear, Since this motion passed, whether it would have passed or not,
the remaining motion on the floor is to approve the keys park tennis center concession Agreement.
so that's where we are. Anybody have any comments?
okay. Deputy mayor pro tem johnson, the mayor. I want to thank my community for coming out. The many the meetings that we had speaking With you guys.
and I know we've been talking about this for an entire year. So thank you for coming out. I'm asking my colleagues to vote no on the approval Concerning keith's park,
keith's tennis court. This has been a very emotional for our community.
I see so many kids. I told councilwoman blackmon they're going to make me get some tissue Because it's,
it's important to hear our community and our, Our children. So I'm asking my colleagues to vote no on the approval.
thank you, thank you.
deputy mayor pro tem, are you done? Okay. I'm sorry. Councilwoman. Gracey. All right, thank you. Now, Like I was saying I'm very proud of of everything of this particular group.
I've had some time myself. Chair west. We've we've actually played in the doubles Tournament out there and had some time.
and one of the things that, that I don't know that they, They've captured it really, really well,
but I would encourage you all to come out there on a saturday and experience what they're Talking about to see these students.
it's not just them out there practicing. It's almost it not almost.
it is. It's a community of student athletes that walk with each other, That learn with each other,
that volunteer with each other and the parents and everyone. It is a community. They're in just about every saturday.
every single one of those courts are activated and there's parking. The last time I was there, I had to park across the street in order to do that.
so this is very much a a tennis community, and it's one that could easily be disrupted by Good intentions.
no disrespect to the parks department. They've done a wonderful job in terms of managing The parks and all of that.
but this is just one of those that I'm glad. Mayor pro tem pulled this out.
deputy mayor pro tem pulled this out for separation because of how it impacts the Community.
and this is one of those that I would ask that we continue to support.
the deputy mayor pro tem on this item. So thank you so much. And thank you all for the work and all of the volunteers.
and to all of the students, keep doing what you're doing and come back and give back. Thank you. Council member. West. Thank you. I'll support my colleague on this motion.
thanks to the residents who came out today, especially the kids who set up here.
and I'm really happy. Thanks to the mayor for moving these guys up so we can get the kids Out of here.
so as a tennis player, like, not a very good one, But as a tennis player I it's such an important sport and it's a lifelong sport.
it builds self-confidence, physical fitness friendly competition.
you know, I play at the center occasionally and we played in the juneteenth tournament and Really,
really love the really love the, the center. You know, I think it gets, it gets a little dangerous.
like when we, we just, we start getting into the procurement business.
and it does give me a little concern doing that. But sometimes you have such overwhelming community input and feedback that I think it does Take a,
you know, we do need to reconsider these things sometimes and, And have the park board relook at this and procurement relook at this contract because
there has been such an outpouring of support for this vendor. So that's why I support it. Normally I don't like messing with procurement, But this, this is just too,
too important to the community. I would just encourage the community as this goes back to The park board.
your work is not over here. You've organized, You've gotten together, you've got the shirts.
you know, make sure you let the park board know how important this is to you. And then when budget time comes for the city in the fall we're going to have some serious Budget cuts.
we need you up here advocating for for the tennis center to get funding. So that's all I'll say today. Thank you. Council member ridley.
thank you, mr. Mayor. Could I have park staff come back and procurement.
so for either one of you is there any change in the scope of the contract services that Impact
activities will be providing at the tennis center as opposed to what they're providing at The other tennis centers?
no, sir. Is there any change in the scope of services that impact activities was asked to Provide in the rfp
different from the current vendor at kaist? In other words, Is is there a cutback in the scope of their services?
no. It was consistent amongst the four sites. All right. And could you provide the score that impact activities received compared to its Competitors for keast.
so keast for key center impact activities received 72 points.
there were the next proposal received 63. 57 and then 45.
okay. Which of those scores is the current vendor?
the last score 47. 45. 45. Excuse me. So impact scored 72
points and the current vendor received 45. Right.
last of the five. Yes. Of the four of the four.
is there anything that you have heard from the speakers today that would change that you Anticipate would change the
committee's scoring or evaluation of the various rfp responses.
at this stage, we can't make any changes to the recommendation from the committee.
if we do reject the bids for keys and solicit, We could change the scope and the criteria of what we look at.
but the committee goes based on the proposal that's submitted by the vendors, Not necessarily what they hear outside of the procurement
process. Okay. So if this item gets sent back to procurement for reevaluation, What will your process be?
will you put it out for rfps? Again, a new rfp.
so the it would be up to the department if there's a different procurement method that They want to use.
but if they submit a new rfp to our office, we would put it out to bid the same way that We did this procurement.
okay. But you don't have the liberty to come out with a different recommendation or a Different score.
unless there is a whole new rfp process commenced. Yes. Okay. So, mr. O'connor, how do you anticipate you would proceed if this item is Rejected?
well, we would certainly intend to rebid it. We would work through our park board to Solicit their input on
crafting the scope of the rfp, and then work with miss ortiz's office to put it back out.
okay. Since the scope of services that the prevailing or the highest scored bidder
impact activities is consistent with what the current vendor is providing.
how would you change the scope of the services for the rfp?
well I don't know the answer to that. At this exact moment, We would have to work with the park board,
of course, but really what we were looking at in this rfp was an opportunity to generate Additional revenues as well as reduce our
expenses. Because the the proposers were required to make capital improvements to the Site.
things such as windscreens on the courts court repairs, Etc.. So, so we would have to potentially consider other, Other criteria beyond purely financial.
well what, what would those other criteria be if the scope of services was the same?
I don't have an answer for you off the top of my head, But we would have to we would have to think of some softer,
criteria beyond purely financial. Well, in the absence of anything concrete, I don't understand what the benefit would be of rejecting this
item and sending it back for rescoring in another rfp with likely the same results.
and I think there's value in consistency in vendor services with the other rec centers.
mr. O'connor, was there an effort in this item to have the same scope of services by the Vendors at each of the different rec centers?
yes. Why is that? We like consistency throughout our system.
easier to administer. Of course. And again, one of the, The big impetus of this entire effort was to again,
minimize our expenses and increase our revenue. Okay. Well, I recognize that the people who spoke today who utilized the services of the Keys tennis center
have the best things to say about the vendor, But I didn't hear one word of criticism about impact activities at
key east or any of the other rec centers. So I just don't understand why we would be Considering rejecting this proposal.
council member. Moreno. Thank you mayor. I will be supporting the deputy mayor's motion.
I want to thank him for bringing out and listening to the community.
I and for taking the time to meet with them. Prior to today. You did the work before today's agenda. And so thank you for being ready and prepared and To look forward to having an opportunity to continue the engagement with the community.
thank you. Thank you, mayor. Council member. Cadena. I just want to thank the children and all of the families that came to speak at council.
it's so important that you're involved in government and in you know, In your community and you're the experts in your community.
and so thank you for taking the time to provide your input and, And what you all need and what you want.
so that's all I wanted to say. Thank you. Councilwoman. Blackmon. Just a reminder, what is the motion on the floor?
the motion is to approve. Kiest park, right? Yeah.
okay. So it's the motion to approve. Correct. Thank you. And so just to be clear, if you want to support deputy mayor pro tem, You would vote no.
council member blair. I actually know a family that's here.
they don't even know I know them, but I've heard about them for over a year.
I know their father, their grandfather. He actually works for the city of dallas.
he he loves his family. And he loves what keith park has meant to this.
his family and his grandchild and his, his son and his daughter in law.
to have them come up here and speak so eloquently, To know them for over a year, through the love of their
father and their grandfather. I can't do anything against them.
one of the things we have don't cry, baby. One of the things that we have said all day Long is community
engagement. Well, deputy mayor pro tem did the community engagement and I'm supporting his Community
engagement. I'm supporting one of my my partners in the city of dallas as one of the city Managers
employees. I'm supporting the bill tran family.
I'm supporting what they're asking me for. Your your grandfather already has pictures of You up here supporting what you believe in and what you
love. And I'm going to support you, too. Thank you. Councilwoman. Mendelsohn. Thank you. Did the park board consider this vendor?
was this a discussion item? Yes, ma'am. And can you give us a sense of what that was?
did they vote? Yes, ma'am. Let's see. It was a little bit of a long story, But it was deferred once,
but the contract, the question was divided. Similar motion that took place here today.
but the end result was it was a it was a vote that approved the the recommendation for all Four sites.
so the board voted to approve the same vendor for all four.
yes, ma'am. That's correct. But they divided the question before they did that. Yes, ma'am. And they had the same similar conversation.
yes, ma'am. Exactly. Okay. And on the procurement side, Can I ask you, I've actually never seen this where it
appears to be some sort of vendor selection by popularity.
is that legal? I guess I don't understand your question.
the vendor was selected impact activities was selected based on evaluation committee Scoring.
you looked at technical criteria that was established in advance based on responses to a Procurement.
is that right? Yes. We the evaluation committee rated all the vendors on the same Information on the same criteria and recommended
impact activities for all four locations. And can you tell us the score of this vendor Compared to the others?
yes. This the impact activities that was the vendor that ended up with being the most Advantageous was
70. I just said it. 72.3. And then we had level up 63 toss and spin 57
and dallas tennis association 45. Okay. Well, Those are some very different numbers.
is there a contract administration issue with having multiple vendors?
I mean, is it more efficient for you to have one or it doesn't really matter.
I mean, I think operationally maybe for the parks department, But these were evaluated as four different locations for proposals and impact won all four
locations. And then can you share, ryan, is that an operational challenge or it's not a Big deal or it's,
it's not a big deal. I mean, it, it's it, it'll be fine if it's two separate vendors.
and then are there any cost implications for either one?
cost implications as far as revenues to the city.
yeah. Well, the impact offered more revenue to the city than the other
proposers. Can you give a sense of how much I believe it was?
I believe impact offered 13,000 annually. In addition to that, They were going to take on $20,000 a year of capital improvements to the
courts. And how about the nonprofit? Do you have that information?
I do not have it with me. But I don't, I know that they on revenue was 30 points and that Was the
lowest from the evaluation committee. So I'm assuming it wasn't the similar to, I believe the answer is they didn't offer any revenue or capital improvements.
so $33,000 a year impact difference. Yes, ma'am.
okay. Thank you for that information. Council member.
gracey. Just so I'm clear. So we're talking about these three sites impact.
were they the incumbent on the other two sites already?
yes, sir. The other three, they were the incumbent. Yes, sir. That's correct. Okay. And dta is the incumbent at keast.
okay. All right. And then so do we know what the revenue was at?
keith's. How did the keys tennis center perform? It. They. It's zero revenue. Revenue. Okay. All right.
and then so then impact venture. How did they perform at the other three locations in Terms of revenue?
did they say they were going to get this. Did they meet their revenue goals and things Like that? Yes,
sir. Okay. All right. All right. And if we go back through this, I understood this.
we would have to go back through the procurement, Put it back out for bid.
yes, sir. That's correct. Okay. All right. And they they offered to put capital Improvements.
what capital improvements have they put into the other three centers? That's the other Question. Well none currently,
but in the proposal they did include capital improvements, Which includes things like windscreens on the fences and just generic court in the in the
other other in the previous contract. No other.
oh they have. Oh, okay. Melissa de la cruz has a clarification there.
okay. Hi. Melissa de la cruz, superintendent for golf and racket sports.
so impact activities has made capital improvements at all three locations.
over the life of their contract at fretz tennis center.
they made $81,000 worth of capital improvements at l.b.
houston. They made 56,000. And at samuel grande, 67,000.
de t.a. Has also made capital improvements at keast. And that is 55,000 going back to 2001. Yes. So this is starting at the start of their Contracts,
which began in 2018 for all locations except for l.b. Houston and samuel grande, which started in 2019.
okay. And then have there been any bond programs that have gone through those other Centers that have not gone through keys or gone to any.
I'm just I don't recall any bond program improvements at any of the tennis centers in Recent memory.
okay. And the city has not any any under any of our other funds, The parks department.
we haven't put any. Oh, no. We make we make continual capital improvements at the centers,
but not bond funded. Okay. All right. And then what what capital improvements have been Made at those same.
it's the same thing. Court repairs, windscreens, That sort of stuff. But is that what the city did or is that what the vendors.
that's what we do currently. But with the new contract that will be the responsibility of The vendor.
I guess my question was what has the impact? What have what investments have they put in?
that's the 81, 56, 67, 55. That's right. And then what has the city put in?
yes. So the the contractor impact activities, They have made various improvements through out each location,
either related to court resurfacing. Some things on the pro shop doing painting, The patio area,
repairs to some parts of the building that our budget just didn't allow for.
and then on the city side, we also have made similar capital improvements.
the main thing is court resurfacing that we do at each location. That averages about 10,000 per court at each location.
we try to do it every few years at each location as well. So just the court resurfacing is kind of the primary.
that's the main thing that we spend money on. Yes. Thank you. Deputy mayor pro tem johnson.
thank you, mr. Mayor. Again, I want to thank our community. I don't have a question for you guys. I just want to thank our community for coming out.
I believe that there's an opportunity to strengthen the partnership with the dta and the City of dallas and our,
our strength and our partnership with our community. Concerning this process. I've heard you, I've heard you for a year and we've met.
meant I don't just come and not do the job. We've met, Had community meetings.
I listened to you over and over because that's my job and I and I was appreciative of the Transparency that you gave me.
I was also appreciative of seeing how much the gentleman the coach has invested, Along with the parents,
along with the students, along with the community into keith's tennis center.
so I'm asking my colleagues to support and, and vote no on this.
thank you. Council member moreno. Thank you. Mayor. If I can get the park department back up, please.
while I agree on having consistency and having the same operators at our golf, Golf and tennis centers
currently do our tennis or golf centers have the same management or the same pros?
where are they different throughout the city? City of dallas. They're different at the golf courses, So it's not unusual to have multiple management groups for one sport.
that's correct. Okay. Thank thank you, thank you, Mayor councilwoman mendelsohn.
thank you. Going back to that conversation about consistency, Are the fees the same or the memberships the same at all of these locations?
yes, ma'am. So the court fees are similar at all the sites. And do all of them offer a membership. So only impact activities locations offers a Membership.
court fees are mandated by the city. So there is a range that the contractors have to stay Within.
and then any fees for private instruction lessons, Things like that.
they do vary by location. And are you expecting that the impact ones would all be the Same.
or you're saying that impact is one and keast is a separate.
that's correct. Impact charges differently for private lessons than keast does.
is that more or less. It's a little more. So it's I believe one of them is keith's charges Around $60 and
I think impact around 70 per hour. Okay. But you're saying everything else you think is About the same for court fees.
general court fees, one location dta charges $4 per person.
and impact activities charges $5. That is within the range that the city is has mandated For court fees.
do you have consistent fees on golf or other activities?
they they vary by location for golf. So depending on which golf course the area, You know,
the type. Yeah. Day of day, time of the week.
they vary. Okay. Thank you. Council member. Ridley.
so, ryan, I noticed that this item is for contract period starting today.
does that mean that the current vendor's current contracts expire today?
no, sir. So the contract for kiss goes through the end of the year.
oh, so it's a I believe it's a month to month.
it's a one year, one year agreement through december.
so why would the new contract start today if it were approved?
there is language in their current contract extension that says it's a one year agreement Or until council approves a long,
long term contract. Okay. So if we reject this rfp response today, Will there be any gap in service at the
tennis center because the procurement period takes months, Does it not?
it it does. But since there is the contract through the end of the year and we potentially Have an opportunity to extend for an additional six months,
that should be adequate time to go through the process one more time. All right. Thank you. Okay. Seeing no further comments, Just really quickly, I want to also commend the speakers who came.
each one of you I thought was super impressive. This is how you make change. This is how you get things done in your community.
continue to stay involved. All of y'all are just as capable, If not more than than us sitting around this horseshoe.
so hopefully one day we'll see you. In the future, I will be supporting deputy mayor pro tem,
and we'll be voting no on this. Okay, so all those in favor say aye.
all those opposed? Nay. Sounds like that motion fails.
deputy mayor pro tem johnson. I move to reject the proposal for keith's park and direct The city manager to work with the park and recreation department director to work with the
community and solicit and restart the process for keith's park tennis center.
second, we have a motion and a second discussion. Our community has come out and spoke, and so there's no need to continue to belabor this, And I just asked my colleagues to support it.
thank you so much. Seeing no other comments, All those in favor, say aye.
any opposed? Motion prevails. Noted, mr. Mayor.
next item. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Your next item will be agenda item 89.
motion pass. No, we divide the question. Yes.
your next item is agenda item 89. 89 authorize the acceptance or rejection.
authorize the acceptance or rejection of an offer received from tof hotel lp borrower, A texas limited partnership to one
pay the city $5,707,000 and the city's legal fees upon the sale and title closing of Lorenzo
hotel property located at 1011 south akard street, Owned by borrower.
in exchange for the release of the city of dallas lien on the property and to execute an Agreement not to pursue any additional funds owned by borrower or
lawrence e hamilton, the third as trustee. Of the lawrence e hamilton living trust Guarantor to
the city approved as to form by the city attorney, And three, execute any other documents deemed necessary by the u.s.
department of housing and urban development, Hud and or the city attorney's office.
the execution of all such and aforementioned documents contingent on hud's final approval Of terms.
this is your item, mr. Mayor. Council member moreno. Yes, mayor. I move to reject the offer received from teof hotel l.p.
and consent to the sale of the property, subject to the following conditions.
release of city's lien on the property. Contingent on the borrower realizing its estimated Sale price and payment to the city of all remaining net
proceeds after the senior lien positions are satisfied and reserve all rights of the city As a lender regarding the borrower and guarantor
for any deficiency between the amounts owed owed under the loan documents and the net Proceeds paid to the city in connection with such sale.
second, there's a motion and a second discussion. No discussion. Anyone. All right. I'll do council member.
mendelsohn. I just want to say, I think this entire situation is incredibly shameful.
we should never have allowed. And just to be clear, There's no one on this council today who is involved in this,
but the city allowed for cdbg funds, which are meant to help our most vulnerable Populations,
to be used as an economic development tool to literally not to to strategically not allow A homeless shelter to be built
and instead a trendy hotel. And this should never happen.
this should never happen again. And while I believe this is the last of these kind, We should,
I hope I will send you an official memo, but I hope we will put an fpc in place.
a financial management performance criteria that does not allow that kind of transaction To happen,
so that current or future city managers will never bring that to another council.
thank you, councilmember roth. Could you please restate the motion?
could you please restate the motion?
a copy of the motion is being delivered to you. Mr.. Thank you.
mr. Roth, do you still want the floor? Let me come back to you after I read the motion.
thank you. Any other discussion?
we'll give mr. Roth a second. Thank you. I'm sorry to to
delayed. This just does give us some other alternative.
it gives us the authority to move forward with some authorization. But for the staff to review and and continue some discussions.
is that correct? I don't think they heard the question.
I'm sorry, mr. Roth. What the does this allow some some additional discussions and, And
negotiation with the, the parties with regard to this, This particular transaction.
city attorney's office will be responding. Mr.
mayor, I didn't. I think I heard the entire question and the answer would be yes. Anything Else,
mr. Roth? No, I think that that that. All right.
thank you. I'm seeing no further comments. All those in favor, Say aye.
any opposed? Motion prevails. Next item. Thank you, Mr.
mayor. We will now go back to your pulled items, Beginning with agenda item ten.
agenda item ten authorizes one the second amendment to contract.
number hh00146550001 with the texas department of state health services.
dshs for the texas lactation support after hours hotline program for a no fee assistance Services for lactating
mothers in an amount not to exceed $360,000 from $800,000 to $1,160,000.
two. An amendment to the term of the contract period for september 1st, 2024 through august 31st,
2026 to september 1st, 2024 through august 31st, 2027.
three. The acceptance of additional grant funds from fiscal year 2027.
budget for amendment number two in the amount of $360,000 for the continuation of the Tlsah program for
establishment of appropriations in a new fund in an amount not to exceed $360,000 in the Fy 27 texas lactation
support after hours hotline fund. Five. The receipt and deposit of grant funds in an Amount not to exceed $360,000 in the fy
27 texas lactation support after hours hotline fund, And six execution of the second amendment to the contract in all
terms, conditions and documents required by the contract not to exceed $360,000 from $800,000 to
$1,160,000. This item was pulled by council member mendelsohn and deputy mayor pro tem Johnson.
move. Approval. Is there a. Is there a second?
second. Okay, I heard a motion and a second discussion. I see council member mendelsohn. Yes. I'm not in support of this item.
I am very much in support of lactation services. They are essential. Having a hotline that's available 24 over seven is exactly the right Time of night.
that that a nursing mother needs assistance. Because when you have a screaming, Crying baby and you are up in the middle of the night,
it is very, very frustrating for everyone in the household.
the problem is this program does not belong in the city of dallas.
lactation is a health issue, and we designate our health authority to dallas county.
and this program ought to be with dallas county. So deputy mayor, pro tem, you have said as chair of coj that this is one of your Priorities for government efficiency,
that programs are with the right government entity. This is not the right government entity. And furthermore, I would like to say on the record to the city manager that this is exactly the kind of
thing that if a staff member notices a grant like this, They should alert our partners at the county so they can apply.
but for staff to have spent time applying for this grant, To even work on setting up new accounts,
setting up the program, this is not what we do. And our people have told us over and over and over again.
please do your job and do it well. And I don't know if you've noticed, They don't think we're doing that.
so adding a new program that is truly outside the scope of what we do as a city is just Asking for more distraction,
and it's unnecessary. So we should say no and let the county either apply for this, Work it out between them.
but we've got to stop adding more government programs and services that are not part of What we do.
thank you. Council member gracey. Oh thank you.
I don't disagree. However, this is free money. And this is a one hour. This is a one year extension.
this is not a new contract. I think there are some services that should be considered, But this is one of those where it's grants,
it's not impacting our general fund to an extent from a service hours and things like That.
from a staffing perspective, perhaps. However, This is a grant and when we broke.
I don't understand how broke people say no to free money. Thank you. Deputy mayor pro tem johnson. Thank you mayor.
I 100% agree with chair mendelsohn concerning this matter.
I know that we are having this discussion in our coach meeting as the chair of coach.
and so I also understand what chair gracey is saying as well.
it is a free money. We've had a conversation about it recently to help me get more of Understanding,
but chair mendelsohn is correct. We do support and understand that our community, Especially in district four in the southern part of dallas
needs the wick program. However, this is not our we're, We're not doing what we need to do,
and we need to work with the county to get this done. So I 100% agree with chair mendelsohn concerning this matter, But I also agree with with chair gracey concerning the free money is not affecting our
budget, and we're going to yet bring this conversation back to our coach meeting because That's what we was we're expecting to do so we can bring some resolve to this matter.
thank you so much, councilmember ridley. Question for the city manager.
does this grant cover all of our staff administrative function in administering this Program?
yes. I understand from staff that it does. So do we hire special staff just to administer This,
or is this an extra burden on our current staff? Yeah. Great question. I'm going to ask jessica and thor erikson if they can answer that.
hi. Good evening jessica, deputy director of housing and community empowerment. For this contract, we received the funding from the department of state health services Because of the fact that we are the agency that administers work locally.
a portion of funding that we receive allows us to provide lactation services because the Department of state health services so values the need for
lactation support available 24 over seven, which we've all recognized is critically Important.
they allocate money specifically to us to be able to enter a contract with a provider, To offer those services 24 over seven in multiple languages.
the funding that we receive here is tied to item number 16, Which actually authorizes the contract with the provider to provide those services.
the responsibility that we have is to manage that contract. In both cases, we're actually doing renewals.
so we're renewing and extending this contract for its second. And then the same with the pacify as a contract extension.
and so right now we're in the middle of a multiyear term.
and that term renews on september 1st, which is why we've brought it forward, Is to allow time for those contracts to be able to be authorized,
executed and in place by september 1st so that the agency or so that services are not Interrupted.
so it does cover the entire cost. We are allowed to charge any staff time that goes into Managing or overseeing this contract,
any staff time that goes into the procurement process. Of course, this being a renewal, it didn't require any procurement at this time, But we are able to cover those costs within these funds as well.
so is there any reason why the county isn't administering this program?
so the county would not be able to administer this program because it comes to us because We're in a multi year agreement and commitment to serve as a local agency for the wick
program. If the county or another agency were a wick local agency, It is possible we did not seek or apply for these funds.
they were off. They were actually just given to us to be able to offer after hours Lactation support and thus create a 24 hour support system
for our mothers who are in need of that support. So the county doesn't offer any services. The county does not offer services.
why is that? Do you know? I, I know that we are the local agency and that we have been for 50 years,
but most recently. And of course, we're not talking about the past, But we're talking about the current at this time as it relates to wick,
we are in the third of a five year contract or for first second of a five year contract For wick.
so there's nothing that disqualifies the county from being the wick agent.
it's just that traditionally it's been the city. It's not our decision. Who's the wick agency?
the state, if they were to want to move forward to have a different wick agency, They would have to go through a procurement process which they've stated would take up to
18 months. Okay. Thank you. Council member. Mendelsohn.
I'd like to move to amend the motion to include direction to the city manager to begin Working with the state to remove both wick and this lactation contract.
second. Second. There's a motion and a second discussion. Yes. The codes committee has heard I think we had two briefings now on wick.
I think we might have had a third if we had quorum last week. But this, this is the city of dallas administering offices all over dallas county.
we have no business doing that. We have leases all over the place. There's a lot of staff members, a couple hundred, 210, 220, 260.
and this again, is just not what we're supposed to be doing.
this is the inefficiency of government. This is exactly chair johnson.
what you have said is your priority. And so I think it is time for us, Especially if you're saying it takes 18 months for them to do a procurement,
which is also shocking us that now is the time to tell the manager, You need to start working on this and transferring this off to the proper
entity, which I believe is the county. But if a hospital system or another group wants to Do it,
then they can respond to the state rfp, but it is not the city of dallas that should be Doing this.
thank you. Just want to make one point of clarification, Councilwoman.
your motion has to only apply to the item that's been posted, Not to the entire wick program.
so I just want to make it. I would not have put wick in there except miss gallishaw said That they were connected.
so I'm happy to say just this. I think that it will inform the manager that that must also Include wick and perhaps on the next agenda
for doge, the chairman will put that on there as a directive that can then come back to Council.
thank you. Just to be clear, I don't want to put words in your mouth, But your motion is specific to the item that was posted, not to the work program as a
whole. Correct. Got it. Okay. Deputy mayor pro tem johnson yes.
and just to make clarity it was on the agenda to be discussed and we did not have a Quorum.
and on our next meeting, we will also have this on there to discuss.
it's been discussed. We're waiting on administration to bring us more information Concerning this matter.
so thank you so much. All right. I'm seeing no further comments.
all those in favor of this amendment say aye.
any opposed? The amendment prevails. So now we're back on the main motion, Which is to approve the item.
any other discussion? Seeing none. All those in favor say aye.
any opposed? Motion prevails. Next item. Thank you, Mr.
mayor. Your next item is agenda item 13. Item 13.
authorize the dallas public facility corporation to one acquire, Develop and own epperson,
a mixed income multifamily development that will span four parcels located at 1431 apple Street,
1500 cato street, caddo street, 1526 caddo street and 3910 san jacinto street, Dallas, texas
7520 for the project and to enter into a 75 year lease agreement with slate properties llc And or its
affiliate for the development of the project. You do have one individual who has signed up to speak on this item.
reed buckler. You'll be given three minutes. Your microphone.
there's a button at the base. Yes. Thank you. Mayor. Council members. Staff. My name is reed buckler.
I am with slate properties where the developer on this project and we're here regarding a Pfc to be known as the apperson
in east dallas. This will be a 251 unit mixed income housing project in partnership with The dallas pfc.
it will be our first pfc project, and I believe the first pfc project in east dallas.
so we're really excited about this project. We think it'll help with bringing housing for The missing middle in the east dallas community,
which continues to get more and more expensive. A little bit of background on us. We are purely multifamily developer based in dallas.
the design team. The construction team are all dallas based companies as well.
we've been involved in the development of over 200 townhomes in east dallas and three Other multifamily projects over in that area.
the site is currently an empty warehouse and storage yard that were previously owned by Citywide
mechanical. And then it was an at&t storage yard that had both sent vacant since around 2018.
and if it were not for a program with the dallas pfc the reality is that this project Would not make economic sense right
now. So as I know, y'all have had many folks basically come through here hunting or Basically brought one through back last
year that I believe council member willis said was a master class talking about how the Benefit of the pfc program is
not necessarily just what it is today, but ultimately basically what it ends up doing for The the community in general.
and so that's one of the things that we're looking at is, Yes, there are going to be some forgoing property taxes,
but the benefits through pfc structuring fees, Sales tax fees, ground lease payments, fees on sales of the property,
and ultimately a buyout fee. If somebody wanted to basically buy out of the program Between years 40 and 60 end up generating significantly more
money for the, the pfc that ultimately go back into services than any loss in revenue from Sales
tax or sorry, property taxes. So the project is projected to produce about $464,000 a year In rent,
sorry, in yearly rent subsidies as well. So with that, I hope that you all would support this project.
thank you. There are no further speakers on this item, Mr. Mayor. This item approval second. Okay. I heard a motion and a second.
discussion. Councilwoman. Mendelsohn. Well, this will come as no surprise to anyone here That I am opposed to this item,
which is a 75 year contract. I believe I've heard people say today 75 years is too long For a contract.
it's got 251 units. What's interesting is to hear this discussion that it's for missing Middle when even at 80%
ami, which is the bulk of the units, the rent for an efficiency is
over $1,400 for a one bedroom over $1,800, and for a two bedroom over $2,100.
that's not the missing middle. That's pretty darn expensive. And I know why it's expensive because it's in a very expensive part of town.
and I guess the question I have for you is, do you think giving up over 5.6 million for Just 60 years,
there's another 15 years that hasn't even been calculated. But do you think giving up millions of dollars of tax revenue is required when there are Thousands and
thousands of units available for less than the abated property you're talking about, Meaning they can go pay market rate
for less, but it's not going to be on the street.
and I don't think that it is a good use of our tax authority to give up these necessary Dollars.
like we're scrounging, right? People are really getting down to the bottom of the barrel Here,
and you're going to give it up for 75 years. You're going to handcuff future councils when There are tons of properties in every one of our districts that are much less
expensive than even the abated amount. So there's no way this this is actually
a perfect case. And when I looked on apartments.com, There are more than 17000 units that are one bedroom that are cheaper than
the affordable rate that we're going to offer by giving up property taxes.
there are more than 6800 units of the two bedroom that are cheaper than the subsidized by The tax rate abatement.
I mean, if there's ever a pfc, you're going to vote to say, You know, we're going to pass on this one.
this is the one because the dollar amounts are just too high.
and I'm sorry. It's like if highland park was part of our city.
do you believe everybody deserves to be able to live anywhere they want, And the government should subsidize it?
that's really what you're talking about. So I'm completely opposed to this, And that's all I'm going to say.
I hope that you will not support this deal. Council member west.
thank you. I'm going to invite aaron yaquinto to come down, And I'd just ask that you explain to us the thought
process of our council appointed public facilities corporation board members and what they Considered when
suggesting approval for this item and what the vote count was for this item.
thank you. Thank you, chairman west. Aaron quinto, General manager of the dallas pfc.
so the question was, how did the pfc board come to approve this item?
yes, sir. So they do a pretty thorough vetting of all these projects.
they look at all of the risks and all of the benefits. And, you know, mr. Speaker, laid it out. What you're really giving up in dollar amounts Doesn't really compare with what you're getting in rental
savings, right. But there's more to the picture. They look at the neighborhoods surrounding it. They look at all of the ancillary economic Effects that come with living close to where you want to go to school,
where you work, and all these other things. Let's just focus on this deal because it's Getting late. So not the global,
but this deal, right? This particular deal is in a very high opportunity area of town.
it's close to a lot of job centers. And folks who are low income, Who work in these job centers will provide them a very good opportunity to live very near
where they work, providing a very good benefit to their families and to those who live With them to to be here in near east dallas we heard the rent amount mentioned
in that it was seemingly higher than other parts of town.
can you address that question? Yeah, each location is different. Real estate is very location specific, very. There are micro submarkets in each area of Town.
you all know this, and one location is not comparable to another location. When looking at price, this location is again a very high opportunity area, Close to jobs,
close to schools, close to the center of downtown. So obviously in general, this area is very expensive and it's hard for folks who are of Lower income levels or even middle income levels to live here in an affordable rate.
and what was on the site before this would be built? I think several vacant buildings that have been vacant for several years now, Nothing that was generating any income,
okay, is the foregone estimated tax revenue, If it would be if this was fully built out as a as a multifamily property like at market
rate. Is that where that comes from? That's the projected.
the current forgone taxes for the current year is $34,000 that would be owed to the city Of dallas or that is owed right now over the 60 years of the tax exemption.
and I just want to make clear, the tax exemption authorized by the state is only 60 years.
our lease with this with this company is for 75 years that we're considering.
but the tax exemption has to be renewed at year 60 if they are to continue.
so there's some confusion there. But over 60 years, The city of dallas would stand to forego $5.6 million.
but that's over 60 years. That would be if this site was built out as a market rate Income.
that's not if it was built out, if it were built out as a market rate project, It would be significantly more,
but it has not been able to support that. That's why there's nothing there right now.
okay. Thank you. Council member willis. Thank you.
so that's the thing. I mean, 75 year contracts where you're paying a lot of money out.
you're not getting anything back. Yeah, we don't like those. But in this case what we're Getting is affordability.
and if we want to say don't san francisco, my dallas, We have to think beyond the tip of our nose in 2026 and think towards 60 years hence.
so that we're preserving some affordability, Whatever that may be, you know, decades ahead.
mr. Buckler, you said what did you say the rent was annually?
I mean, it was at 464,000, 24,000 $424,000. So this is not just revenue foregone.
there's $424,000 a year that will be generated to go back into this fund, Which right now generates more affordable housing.
but at some point, we may change the policy and decide we want some of that money diverted Into other things that we need.
so when I look at $93,000 a year, $375 a door to help us with this affordability.
I mean, we know how far behind we are in housing, So it makes this make sense.
and later tonight, if we make it before midnight or beyond, We're going to be hearing zoning cases.
and so that's a way we can offset by growing our tax base and taking a hard look at mixed Use projects and other ones that are also approving or
improving our tax base so that it's an offset here.
so we have to have an open mind when it comes to that part of our docket.
but not to turn our back on the affordable housing we need so much. So I appreciate that this is, you know, right now fairly fallow, It sounds like.
and so we certainly need housing. And it may not be everyone's definition of missing Middle,
but I mean, we don't have a lot of the middle. It's really, really missing. So I'm supportive of this.
thank you. Council member roth. A couple questions.
how much is the total construction budget for your new development?
this construction budget is $50 million, $50.9 million.
and the location of this property is how close is it to central expressway where the Southland tower is now?
is it about a mile two miles from there? About a mile, Give or take.
so that's near the knox henderson development area. It's sort of near baylor hospital. It's sort of in a, An area that is that the development is actually moving towards
at $50 million. What would you figure the annual tax revenue would be for that for the City of dallas?
I mean, it's it's all speculative. No, it's not speculative. It's $50 million development. If it was if it was a full price development.
how much would the taxes be? And if you would like me to, I'll tell you exactly what it is.
it's going to be the city portion of that is going to be $350,000 a year.
and so $350,000 a year is times 60 years is $22 million that we're forgoing.
not $5 million. $5 million is what, based on a current tax value of nothing of $1
million for the property. So again, now what I'm trying to discuss here is not to.
criticize the developer or the development. The economics today may not work, But to give up
$22 million over a period of time to me, is significant money.
7060 years is a long time and they have the right to extend it again.
this is a an area. These this is a great area for future development for it's going to be In the path of growth.
to the, to the credit of the developer, they're trying to get something started in an area That is not right ripe right now,
but we're not talking about 20 years from now that this is going to be the center of the Universe.
and so my, my concern, and I've brought it up several times that a 60 year a or 75 year Tax
abatement is not appropriate. And if we could figure out a way to make those tax Abatements shorter,
to give the developer the opportunity to get the project going, Get it up and running, and then allow the city to recoup some of that value down the road.
it would be a great opportunity and a great economic development incentive for us.
again, I don't know what the rules are, but it seems like to me that the we're I'm telling You folks,
we're giving up a lot of future revenue in, in areas that are really growing.
and again, this is not a hit on the developer. The developers are trying to, to make something economically viable.
but it really does hit our bottom line and we shouldn't be, Shouldn't be encouraging folks to get all through this process,
which takes a year or longer. And then bring it up to us without giving them the heads up Early on that this is not an
economically viable situation for us. I'm really opposed to these these long term tax Abatements.
again, it's I'm not opposed to your development and I'm not opposed to you all.
but this particular one doesn't make any economic sense for the city.
it, it certainly helps affordable housing, but we're, We're, we're sure that $22 million,
we could sure be throwing that money into some other areas where we could really apply That affordable housing in areas that would be more
advantageous for the city. Council member. Moreno.
thank you. Mayor. I will not be supporting the the motion on two reasons.
one is I don't believe that it's preserving affordability. The rents are already at a higher rate, and I don't see the opportunities to spur economic Development on the location that they're going.
it's pretty built out. It's right behind ross avenue. And so I don't see how this project will spur economic development.
thank you mayor. Councilmember ridley. So aaron, What is the comparison of the studio and one bedroom
apartment rents in this proposed project compared to what the market rates are in that Area?
yes. Thank you, chair ridley. So the market rents are significantly higher than what the Affordable restricted rate units would be.
so for an efficiency unit would be about $1,200, Which is about $300 less than what the market would charge.
so those are $300 a month for someone who would be able to live in there.
so significant savings. Same with the one bedrooms. You're about $1,400 a month versus 1900. So that's about a $500 savings.
and then your two bedrooms you're at $1,500 at the 60% level versus $2,900.
so almost double what you would be paying at market. And so although it may not seem quote unquote affordable, It's much more attainable for, for those in the middle who might be wanting to live here,
close to work, close to close to the center of jobs here. And that analysis is why I am Strongly in favor of this project.
my district, as you may know, is a high cost district. Land is very expensive and it's scarce. I can count on one hand the number of affordable New housing in my
district. We need this in district 14 to add diversity to the population, To bring people of low and moderate wage
levels closer to their places of employment, To make it easier for businesses in the district to employ people in service level
jobs because they live near their jobs. It has many intangible economic benefits in that Sense.
so that's why I urge you to vote for this project, Because we need it in district 14, as opposed to adding more
low income housing to areas that are already saturated with it.
okay. Seeing no further comments, the motion on the floor is to approve this item.
a record vote has been requested. City secretary, Please call the roll.
thank you, mr. Mayor. When I call your name, Please state yes, if you're in favor.
no. If you oppose. Council member. West. Yes. Council member. Moreno. Council member. Gracey.
yes. Council member. Yes. Council member bazaldua is absent when vote taken.
council member. Blair. Council member. Blackmon. Yes. Council member. Stewart. Yes. Council member roth.
no. Council member. Mendelsohn. No. Council member willis.
yes. Council member ridley. Yes. Deputy mayor pro tem johnson.
yes. Mayor pro tem resendez. Yes. Mayor johnson is absent and vote taken.
with ten voting in favor, three opposed and two absent.
vote taken. The motion passes, mr. Mayor. Next item.
thank you, mr. Mayor. Your next item is agenda item 14.
agenda item 14. Authorize the dallas public facility corporation to one acquire and Improved property and develop and own
3021 a 86 unit mixed income multifamily development to be located at 3021 martin luther King junior
boulevard, dallas, texas 75215 project and to enter into a 75 year lease agreement with Venetian
development group llc and or its affiliate for the development of the project.
you do have one individual who has signed up to speak on this item, Jay taylor.
good afternoon, councilman and councilwoman. I'll keep it sweet.
I'm speaking in support of this project. I am the designer for the project.
it's a 86 unit multifamily pfc deal. This is meant to poise, To act as a revitalization on the martin luther king corridor.
that focuses on affordability and housing. That hopefully will be a catalyst for change Along that corridor.
thank you. Thank you. There are no further speakers for this item, Mr. Mayor. This item was pulled by council member mendelsohn. Move approval.
there's a motion in a second. Any discussion? Yes, sir. Councilwoman. Blackmon. Thank you. I am repping adam bazaldua for this item that Is in his district.
this has been in the long time making, and we are excited to bring it here today. This project will deliver 86 mixed income multifamily units right on the mlk corridor, Including 39 market rate.
and it's based on a balance of income mix to the area. We support this item as a $20 million private investment that contributes meaningful Economic activity and investment in a corridor that is long overdue for this
type of growth and momentum. I'm particularly encouraged that this development includes Amenities that support a quality of life,
including a business and technology center, a fitness center, A community park space, and direct access to a dart transit system.
transit station. It also advances our mixed income housing goals under the dallas housing Resource catalog while
activating a long time vacant property. We. I will be supporting this item because it Advances the housing supply on a key southern south dallas
corridor and puts investment into a part of the city that desperately needs it.
I hope you will join me in supporting this item. Councilwoman. Mendelsohn. Thank you. Well, given our lengthy agenda and the our and the Fact that we just
debated the concept even of fcs, I think I should just tell you I'm opposed to this.
we need the tax revenue and I'll be voting no. Councilwoman cadena I was glad to see that there are three bedroom units in this project.
that is something rare. I know even my cousins looking for apartments right now and they Are really hard to find.
so the fact that this is seven in the southern sector is a great benefit.
so just want to congratulate my colleague for working on this. Thanks. Council member roth. This one I actually have a different approach on and I would Support this particular project because it really is
in an area that really could benefit by this exact type of a development.
and it's close in, it's close to downtown. It's an area that needs to be developed.
and this is an appropriate type of a use for these kind of credits.
and so again, it's not to upset the situation generally, It's to be specific and to be strategic in trying to figure out where are you
going to help the community, help the neighborhood improve the situation.
and again, this one I would I would support again, I don't like the, the numbers that they show as revenue losses because I don't
think those are those are. Accurate in terms of the actual amounts that are coming in.
and I think we need to be careful about how we evaluate these projects on, On the numbers that aren't really actual losses
in the future. But in this particular case I would, I would support the development in this particular area.
thank you. Deputy mayor pro tem johnson. Thank you mayor.
I will support it. I don't like 75 year leases, Period.
I don't like 75 year contracts without a level of accountability and attached to it Strategically.
but I want to congratulate councilman. Councilman. Adam. Bazaldua the work that he's doing in, in his district to get things done on this Magnitude.
so congratulations to him. And I will support it in spite of the 75 years. I will support this. Council member moreno. Thank you mayor.
I'm going to support this one for some of the same reasons that council member ross Brought up.
I do believe it's an area that can spur some economic development.
so I will be supporting this item. Councilwoman. Mendelsohn. Thank you. I did actually have one question I overlooked, And I don't know if you're going to answer this, aaron, but it looks like this property is
both in a tiff and a pyd. Is that right? And if so, Can you tell me about that interaction?
and are they paying into those, are they receiving services from the pyd but not paying?
how does that work? Yes, ma'am. This particular sorry.
sorry, I thought I heard something else. This particular project will be paying into the Pyd.
the developer actually has been highly active in the community.
he lives in the community, and he is the one who actually set up this pyd. I believe he was. He was part of the committee to put the pit there.
and so this particular project is very important to him. And and for the vision that I believe council member bazaldua has for this area, And they're trying to spur a lot of development along this corridor to really use this as
a catalyst for a new and a bit of a facelift for the neighborhood.
and so this is something that's important to them. And it's also part of a tiff. It is part of the tiff.
and is the psc receiving any tiff benefits? No it's not.
okay. Thank you. Okay. Seeing no further comments, The motion on the floor is to approve this item.
all those in favor, say aye. Any opposed? Noted.
mr. Mayor. Motion prevails. Next item. Your next item is agenda item 15.
item 15. Authorize an amendment to resolution number 26-0510 previously approved on march 25th,
2026 with inner city community development corporation icdc for the final phase of the South dallas greater fair park
community revitalization plan. Spring avenue redevelopment project to construct eight Single family townhomes for families earning up to
140% of area median income. To amend the language to section one to authorize the Execution of a second
amended and restated conditional loan agreement with a two year term for the date of Execution of the second amended and restated loan agreement,
by which date all homes should be constructed and sold.
this item does have a clarification. Item 15 is clarifying where the clarification is, Clarifying that the project is reserved for households
earning at or below 80% of area median income.
this item was pulled by council member mendelsohn. Motion to approve.
I heard a motion and a second. Discussion. Councilwoman blackmon.
yes. Thank you again. This is in mr. Bazaldua district, And this is an item that's primarily an administrative correction to the resolution
adopted of march of 2026, as recommended by the attorney's office.
it helps clarify and strengthen the governing language for the spring avenue redevelopment Project while maintaining council intent.
the project continues to support the construction and delivery of eight single family Homes in the mill city neighborhood under the south dallas fair park community
revitalization plan. The updated resolution established a clear two year term for Completion and sale of the homes,
providing structure and accountability for delivery timelines. I understand the project is currently underway and in the infrastructure and construction Phase,
which reflects meaningful progress towards completion. This effort is part of a long standing revitalization strategy that has helped generate an Estimated 20 million in wealth creation for low to moderate income families through home
ownership opportunities. This is at a no cost consideration to the city and continues to Support neighborhood stability and ownership.
that's a key word ownership in south dallas. I hope you will join me in supporting this.
thank you. Councilwoman. Mendelsohn. Yes. Who's available on staff to answer some Questions?
thank you. The director of the office of housing and community empowerment. Coming up, Thor,
is it correct that 3.1 million was allocated to this project in december 2012?
that's when this project started. Yes. That money was dedicated to the removal, Demolition of 50 homes and preparing site
for future development. The money allocated to it was not related to the townhomes in a Direct manner.
the townhomes came about from a resolution in 2023 as condition for finalizing that work And to see this completion.
the city has put no money into the direct townhome development. That's all been privately raised for that development.
so did the city give the land in 2021? It's my understanding that that was part of the the Deal for the neighborhood revitalization programs.
well, it sounds from from your write up that they were to build cell at 140% ami.
they had five year affordability period. And then they would have loan forgiveness.
is that correct? That's correct. They ran into challenges at the covid era in terms of Completion.
this and putting together the full package for construction as they hired a new executive Director,
stabilize the organization and work to avoid a default of this contract.
they have brought forward this project for the contract extension to to finalize the Project.
so you're saying that the there is another 300,000 that was given in 2013.
so the 3.4 million. You're saying all of that was for demo and none of it was for the Townhomes?
that's correct. We put no money into the direct townhome development.
okay. But we gave them the land and told them they had to build it. Yes. Or they agreed to build it. And so what was the time frame in march of 2023 when the Loan agreement was re
received? I believe they had until 2024 to construct that.
so what's happened since 2024? Since 2024, they've worked on a complete redesign and a Financial package.
so they were able to secure all of their financing needing to go vertical.
they've worked with different foundations and banks to put together all of the funding Needed.
and they sought this extension for contract with us. And in consideration of the extension for us, They have agreed to, instead of selling up to 140% ami,
restrict that to 80% ami home buyers to ensure more alignment with our current policy and Affordable housing for home buyers.
okay. Did they fulfill everything for the 3.4 million?
yes. Okay. And. Have you verified that they have the funding to actually
build this? Yes. And in what method did you use for that?
we reviewed all of their financial package. We have met with the additional lenders.
this is one of the first projects to come out of house debt through the communities Foundation of texas.
who was actually the gap financing for the project, Who also conducted an underwrite with all the other lenders to confirm that they had the
financing needed for the project. And what's the current projected cost to build each Unit?
that's approximately $300,000, and they're 1900ft².
and what would the sales price be? The sales prices are limited.
I don't have that one in front of me. James $250,000.
it was signed to me from behind you. So they're going to build them with expenses of 300 And sell them for 250.
they're expecting to have some down payment assistance for the buyers to offset the full Construction cost,
to be able to make that deal happen. And what happens if they don't meet their deadline?
at that point, then we will entertain a motion to cure of that contract or move to default On contract.
well, since we didn't give them money and we just gave them the land, Are we going to take it back?
that would be part of the review of potentially for curing options and default of the Total contract with this project.
what other options would there be besides taking the land if that's all we've given them?
repayment of the previous funds at some level to offset the investment that we've made.
okay. Thank you. Okay. Seeing no further discussion, The motion on the floor at the moment is to approve this item.
all those in favor, say aye. Any opposed? Nay.
I heard one one member voting no motion prevails.
next item. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Agenda item 16 authorize a one year service price Agreement to provide city residents with
access to 24 hour on demand lactation support through the office of housing and community Empowerment for the period september 1st,
2026 through august 31st, 2027. Pacify health, Inc.
dba pacify sole source. Estimated amount of $174,180.
this item was pulled by council member mendelsohn and deputy mayor pro tem johnson.
is there a motion? Second, I heard a motion and a second discussion.
anyone. I'll just say, since we already had discussion, I don't think it's necessary.
thank you. Okay. The motion on the floor at the moment is to approve this item.
all those in favor, say aye. Any opposed? Motion prevails.
next item. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Your next item is agenda item 18.
item 18 authorize a public hearing to be held on august 12th, 2026, pursuant to chapter 26 of the texas parks and wildlife code
to receive comments on the proposed use of a portion of park land at joy park, Located at 1200 stone mesa
drive, totaling approximately 106,891ft², 2.45 acres of land for one sidewalk easement,
one water and wastewater easement, one detention area easement, One detention area access easement,
one drainage easement and one water easement for the joy, Joy joy park plat as required by plat.
this item was pulled by council member mendelsohn. Is there a motion move to approve?
I heard a motion and a second discussion. Councilmember west. Thank you. This item is to authorize a public hearing to use part of the joey ragusa's Parkland for easements to provide a utility corridor for the wings future practice
facility. It will be at no cost to the city now, Nor for maintenance other than the mowing we already do there.
joey g park is being platted to accommodate future the future wings facility, And there's going to be several easements that we're going to need to be facilitating over
time for this. This item authorizes that the public hearing will be held in august.
thank you. Council member nguyen. Mendelsohn. Thank you. What is the cost for adding these easements?
adding this drainage. This is just the.
good evening ma'am. Your question was what is the cost to record the easements?
well, what costs are associated with this? Costs associated with authorizing the public Hearing for the.
to consider the. To hear public input about the easements.
I'm assuming that there's drainage issues that you need to address. Point of order. Using this, please state your point of order.
this is not germane. This is just the authorization of the public hearing. We're not getting into the cost estimates on everything.
I agree with that. I'm sorry. All right. Go ahead. So I'm not going to be supporting this item because I think this is a terrible location For this wings practice facility.
and the total cost of the projects are obscene. Thank you. Okay. Seeing no further discussion.
the motion on the floor. Okay, mr. Ridley. Thank you.
mayor. So a question, ryan. So why do we have to authorize a public hearing just to create Easements?
anytime we have easement, this is a relatively routine thing, But anytime we have easements in a park,
it has to go through that chapter 26 process, Which is the texas code for parks and wildlife,
which requires the calling of a public hearing and a holding of a public hearing to Receive any citizen feedback about the easements.
okay. And then what happens? What does the public hearing trigger?
it's just a it's just a requirement in the code. The city has to make a finding that there are no reasonable alternatives for the Easements,
and you have to hold a public hearing. It's kind of a two part test.
okay. So after the public hearing, does it come back to council for approval of the Easements?
well, it normally would, but in this case this is be done via plat. So it would be considered by cpc and for approval of the plat and platts.
don't come back to the council. Correct. Okay.
thank you. I will also be opposed to this item for the reasons stated by council member Mendelsohn.
okay. Seeing no further discussion, the motion on the floor is to approve this item.
all those in favor, say aye. Any opposed? Nay.
okay. County three. Council member. Roth. Council member. Mendelsohn and council member. Ridley. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
motion prevails. Next item. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Your next item is agenda item 32. June item 32.
authorize acquisition from carmen jimenez of approximately 5000 489,000ft² of land.
improved with a single family dwelling located near the intersection of mcgowan and nolan Streets for the cadillac heights phase two project,
not to exceed $222,669, this item was pulled by council member mendelsohn.
is there a motion? Move to deny. I think I heard a motion to approve in the second over Here first.
and so obviously we can vote however we want regardless. So the motion on the floor is to approve. Discussion.
mrs mendelsohn. Thank you. If you'll give me the latitude to talk about this item and the Next item together.
they're both cadillac height properties. They're the same thing. And it will save me from talking about the next one.
yeah, I'm good with that. Thank you. The issue is simply that as we have had presentations About cadillac heights,
there's a really neat idea about it, but it's only an idea.
there's no plan. And the idea that we would be purchasing more land when.
miss mendelsohn, I'm so sorry to cut you off, But it might be easier if the city secretary could read the the following item as well.
and that way we can just go ahead and discuss both.
but but vote separately. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Agenda item 33 authorize an increase in the purchase price from jose francisco velasquez Cardona and estefania shamara
deleon mata of approximately 5630 200 zero square feet of land improved with a single Family,
single family dwelling located near the intersection of lloyd and nolan streets for the Cadillac heights phase two project.
not to exceed $15,326.34, increased from $177,273
to $192,599.34. This is your item. Okay, we don't need a separate motion.
we're going to go with the first motion you made. Be able to discuss both items but still need a motion afterward for the second one.
go ahead ma'am. So, you know, as we've talked about police academies long ago, The bond proposition was to actually put the police academy here.
there have been plans, ideas to move the service center in district two over there.
various different ideas have come up. There's not really a plan though.
we don't even know what we're doing there. And there's there's sometimes very long Explanations of the idea people
have, but there's no plan. And even later in the agenda, We're going to talk about one of the service centers and adding on to a very
dilapidated building that maybe that whole thing needs to move, But we don't have a plan.
and so if you haven't noticed, every really big problem that we are addressing at city Hall is because we have no plan,
we just move into these crazy ideas of, oh, let's get rid of city hall, But we don't really have a plan.
oh, let's build the convention center, but we're going to move it and turn it. And we Didn't ask about this and that and the other thing. And now we have a problem.
I mean, we don't know how we're going to do the wings. So now we're going to put them out in west dallas. Even point of order downtown.
I mean, this is very clearly not germane. Sustained. Thank you. The point is there's no plan. And we're going to go ahead and buy even more Property,
which we own a lot of already in in this area, But we don't have a plan and we need to stop and find out what the plan is.
and then we need to work the plan because that's the way big cities are supposed to work.
thank you. Councilmember stewart. Thank you. Mayor.
resendez, could we have someone from staff come up and answer that question?
what we're thinking of doing with this particular land.
excuse me. Both. Both pieces of land. So we're talking about items 32 and 33 together.
yes, ma'am. John johnson, city manager's office. So we're moving forward to complete the voter approved initiative related to a future city Service or maintenance facility.
it is not unusual for us to complete the assemblage or purchase all the parcels necessary In the first phase of a bond funding,
and then at a later date or a later bond program. We would then actually get the money to construct and develop it.
so there is a plan? Yes, ma'am. Okay. Always and always have been in place for a long Time.
I think it's late, and that's all the questions I can think of at the moment. Thank you so Much. Council member ridley. Thank you.
mayor. So what is the cadillac heights phase two project?
so the phase two and three portions are related to the city service and maintenance Center. The phase one was related to the park. So the land acquisition for those pieces.
okay. Has the park been completed? So I would need someone from the parks department to Assist me on that.
since it's their initiative, the parcels have been completed.
yes, sir. But the actual construction of the park. I don't know the status of that. I Believe it started, but I don't know where it is in its face. So phase two is for a city
service center, phase two and three, or for a city service or maintenance facility.
yes, sir. That's what the voters approved. So that will be funded through the 2024 bond.
the 2020. The 2003 and 2006 bond is where the acquisition money is at.
yes, sir. Well, you say acquisition money to acquire the land, Is that right?
correct. And then is the money coming from to build the facility? Yes, sir. So as I mentioned, it would be in a later bond phase or bond program.
so there is only the money to assemble finance. Correct. There's only the funding right now that the voters have approved to assemble all Of the parcels necessary for the site.
and why is the service and maintenance facility necessary at this location?
well, that is part of the master plan that was done a long time ago. And then there's also talk that potentially a better or future development of the canton Service center.
so this would be needed to completely assemble all of these parcels so that we have the Land to potentially consider moving some of those operations over.
so this would replace the canton service center, If that's the will of the council, the city manager and the voters approve it.
yes, sir. And we have the money for it. We have the money to purchase the parcels and Complete the assemblage,
not the actual development or construction. Those would be in a future phase. Okay.
thank you, mr. Roth. How many acres or how much land are you trying to accumulate?
so, ashley, do you know the total acreage? There's 301 parcels total. And if these two items pass today, we'll have 25 remaining.
but we'll see if we have the total acreage. Good evening, Ashley eubanks.
there's a total of 70 acres that make up this cadillac heights area.
and so as john just mentioned, we have 25 parcels remaining. Total parcels was 300. How much how much acreage.
70 acres is what you're trying to accumulate. Correct. Well, no, 70 acres makes up the total of cadillac heights.
how many acres are you trying to accumulate? Not parcels acres.
excuse me. Hold on one second.
I apologize. It's broken down in three phases.
phase one. That made up of 27.5 acres, which we have all acquired.
phase two was 23.6 acres. There are about seven parcels left in that phase that we need to Acquire.
and parcel is about these these are houses. These are little residential. So these are about 5 or 6000ft². You're correct.
so you got about 35,000. You got another acre that you still have to get.
and so you're out of 23 acres. You've already got 22 acres.
so you're only trying to get one more acre. That's correct. So these are the last two acres to get the whole seven, The whole 50 acres done.
correct. Okay. Well, that's what I. Why don't we just tell us that? So so we're just. This is the last acre that we're trying to buy.
correct. We've already bought the other 50 over the phases, But. Yes. Okay. And then and on these 50 acres that you're buying, That's what you're going to try to build a,
a, a, a, a, some kind of a service center at some point. Yes, sir. Okay. Thank you. Councilwoman. Blackmon.
thank. Thank you. Okay. So john. Okay. And ashley, Hold on. Is this the last of the phase two? I'm confused now because I thought you said they had 15 More to go or 12 to go and then.
no, this is the last two. So I'm kind of confused on what. So there are a total of 25 Parcels that remain to be acquired,
in which phase they are over, phase two and phase three. Okay. And so this this these two parcels finish out phase two.
there were a total of seven parcels remaining in phase two.
and then the remaining ones are in phase three. Phase three. Okay. Thank you. Okay. And then in miss mendelsohn.
right. I remember that bond, but it was part of a trinity river discussion.
is this still in the floodplain? Is this area?
I know some of cadillac heights was in the floodplain. If dallas water utilities is here to help us with that, We would have to look that up for you to see. We don't have that information off the top
of our head there. Sarah.
good evening. I am sarah standifer, dallas water utilities. I could share this specific map lines, but in the original planning of the entire area, There were two pieces.
just to make sure we're clear, there was a proposition related to floodway, Which included the cadillac heights levee project.
so we're out acquiring those then. This is a separate bond proposition in two years.
so just to make sure you're clear on those two pieces. As we have implemented about $150 million of the chain of wetlands associated with that Dallas floodway extension,
it has reduced the amount of floodplain and cadillac heights, But there is still floodplain existing within cadillac heights.
and so some of these parcels are in the floodplain. Some are not right now. It has shrunk. But we can get you the exact today, Right.
so it's not as big as it was in 1998, but it is still there. And it still requires the levies. And there are parcels that are still at risk for Flooding.
okay. Thank you. You cleared up a lot because I think I was getting them all confused with That bond with the trinity and then all that discussion.
thank you. That was it. Thank you. Council member ridley. Following up on those questions,
sarah. So if cadillac heights is still subject to being in the floodplain, Why are we thinking of.
why are we acquiring this property in order to develop a city service center there.
so historically, this was all talked about in a larger context.
right. So there were residential properties that were part of this.
these two sections of bond programs that we're talking about, Those homes rested somewhere in a 6 to 10 foot flood when the river came out of bank.
at the time, everybody knew that there would be a funded levee. In the future, when the levee comes into play, There would be no floodplain.
as you move forward with that, it was an acquisition strategy as, As they mentioned, there was a master plan,
I believe that was the 2002 good. Fulton and farrell one right around that time frame that Outlined various service centers and went through sort of what might happen.
and so as we keep moving forward as they mentioned, This is acquisition money, there would be a future allocation and it would hopefully align
with the time in which the levee was in place. Otherwise, You would fill a fill permit for any areas that might still be in the floodplain. So it
could be built on if it's filled to lifted out of the floodplain.
yes, sir. The city would follow the same process that we do on other public and private Properties.
if it was in the fill in the floodplain. And is there construction contemplated to extend The levees in this area?
yes, sir. Part of that dallas floodway extension that was part of the 2018 bipartisan Budget act allocated about $135 million to build out the dallas
extension levees, both the cadillac heights and lamar. So it will wrap around go under Cedar crest at that location,
tie into the central wastewater treatment plant. Then it ties on the backside. So this Area becomes fully protected by that levee.
okay. So that by itself would take it out of the floodplain. Yes, sir. Okay, okay. Seeing no further discussion, The motion on the floor at the moment is to approve item 32.
all those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Nay, no. I noted two voting and voting no. Council member.
mendelsohn. Council member roth. Motion prevails. Now we are on item 33. The item has already been read into the record.
city secretary, I'm not sure if you need to read it again. No, Mr. Mayor. Okay. So is there a motion?
I heard a motion in the second on item 33. Any discussion? Seeing none. All those in favor, say aye. Aye.
any opposed? Nay. I noted two voting no. Councilmember roth council member mendelsohn.
motion prevails. Next item please. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Your next item is agenda item 37. Agenda item 37.
authorize the use of the existing asbestos abatement and demolition services contract to Abate and demolish a city owned property.
improved with commercial structures and supporting facilities. Located at 3023 and 3049 morrell avenue near its intersection with sargeant road for the Dallas floodway extension
project. This item was pulled by council member mendelsohn parliamentary inquiry to state Your inquiry.
I actually pulled it to ask this parliamentary question which I have already been talking To the city attorney's office about.
I don't believe this item is properly noticed, Because there's no financial information for the public or for us to even know how much is
being spent. The item gives enough
information to be noticed. It does say see the fiscal information. And if you look at the fiscal information and the eyes, It does.
and I would defer to staff on this, but it does discuss that it was already encumbered.
the amount. The funds were already encumbered in a previous. So as I have pointed out, there's no dollar amount in there, And it doesn't even note the dollar amount of the contract.
so therefore, we could be voting on something that costs $1 or something that costs $1 Million,
and we don't even know, and neither does the public. And when we approve that, it was an authorization to utilize the contract with a schedule Of services,
but we don't know how many of the services were even asking in this process, Because it's not like demolition of any building cost
$100. It varies by square footage and all those different things.
plus, I don't know that the public would even have access to that schedule.
so I don't think that this is properly noticed. And even if it is, I'm going to say this is very bad form for us and for any kind of Actual transparency on government.
okay. Given the advice from the city attorney's office, The item has been noticed correctly.
and so is there a motion on the item? I heard a motion in a second.
miss mendelsohn discussion. My discussion is not actually about the item itself.
it's just as I was reading it. And this is a very surprising thing to find for such a Sophisticated
city like dallas that we would not be sharing actual information.
when I asked the department about it, they said, Well, we're waiting to get an estimate on what it's going to actually cost.
they don't even know you're literally signing a blank check here. And I guess it could be all the way up to the total amount of dollars remaining in the Contract.
do we know how many dollars that is? I don't care who answers it.
the city manager.
councilman mendelsohn. We will get that question answered for you. I do believe that this Contract rests within the code compliance department.
I'm looking over to the left. Can you all see if our city manager. I'm going to do a point of order on this. I actually appreciate the spirit of the Question.
I just don't think it's an order. I mean, we're talking about using the existing abatement And demolition contract to continue.
I mean, it's extension of the contract period. I don't understand how asking the price is not an order for an item you're asking us to Approve because there's no cost consideration to the city.
that's why, of course, there's the cost. Someone's going to get a check. There's not. So I'll go ahead and just make a ruling.
I think it's relevant. We can try to find out what the cost is. Okay. Do you want to hold this item? Well, I think I think the question I want to make Sure I understand the question because we're trying to get an actual price.
the question I thought is how much is left on the existing contract? So that's the answer that I'm trying to seek at this time.
and the reason I'm asking that question is because if there's $100,000 left, Then I know we're voting on an item that's $100,000 or less.
if there's $1 million left on the contract, we could be voting on $1 million item and Nobody even knows it.
I mean. So I believe we have someone walking up trying to get you an answer.
good evening, assistant city manager, I apologize. What was the question? I'm sorry, I didn't hear the answer.
what was the question? I apologize, councilmember, Do you mind repeating the question? Mr.
mayor, if you'll give us just a minute, let me check. Talk directly to my team to get the answer. Absolutely.
thank you.
so I will say that some of my colleagues have asked this question, And you have heard this answer from staff many times.
we authorized the use of a we authorize a contract, But they tell us, oh, we might not actually spend it.
all right. We're going to get $1 million for brush removal, But we might not need it if there's no big storms.
but does that mean that you don't ever want to know that we're going to spend half $1 Million on brush removal at ti?
I mean, we should still know how the dollars are being spent. That's our job. And so in this case, there was a contract that we approved for demolition.
that's great. But we have no idea how much is going to be spent here. And frankly, neither does the public. And I do not think that is the kind of transparent Government that we say we are.
and I also don't think it's legal, by the way.
while we wait on a response. Can we go ahead and move on to mr. Roth? But we we see you Have three minutes and 17 seconds,
mr. Roth. Thank you. I really appreciate council member.
mendelsohn. Focus on the the wording on this particular deal.
I also note that besides the fact that it doesn't have an amount, It doesn't also refer to the name of the vendor that we're even using now.
maybe that's in the details of the fiscal information, But we don't know the amount or the guy who's doing the work.
so I think, I think we need to, to push this back and have it, Have it be brought back to this group when we've got the information properly,
unless there's some critical reason that it has to be done immediately.
okay. I think we have staff is ready to answer miss mendelson's question and we can put Her time back up.
I believe it was 317. And I do apologize for that. There's a couple of, I think, miss pieces of this that we want to make sure that we Explain there is a existing contract that was already approved by the city council.
there is maximum amounts based on square footage. So we're going to answer that question. And then we're going to tell you how much is left On the contract. There is 2.3 million left on the
contract. The council already awarded the contract.
and so this item is allowing us to use up to. And it was a not to exceed. It wasn't an I'd I.
q so up to that amount we do have as part of the contract a rate sheet.
and so what we will do is once she has authority to go and actually do the the demolition.
then she will get a quote from the vendor for that specific amount. And I think you have an estimate. So the current estimate, Based on what we believe is out there,
is around $1 million on the rate sheet. However, Until we actually get the contractor out there and we're kind of following the
supplemental agreement that was done in march that you all put in place, Said that any city owned property that utilized that contract had to come request your
permission before any demolition activity. So this is the step that was to come to you to Ask to demolish what is technically city owned property.
however, it was property acquired for a capital project that does not house city Employees.
and so this is that step. And then we would use the existing capital budgets that include Authorizations and abilities to demolish and use those funds,
assuming that there isn't an issue with the price. And it is different once we get the Quote. And that's kind of consistent with the master agreement. So I'm just going to say I
asked these questions in advance. This is not today is not the first day you're hearing About this.
and I find this very problematic. I find it problematic that there wasn't even the Estimate of the million dollars,
which I told you I thought it should have been listed. And even if it's an estimate, you know, based on what you know about the contract with Square footage and based on what,
you know, the price sheet that we should have a sense and the public should have a sense That $1 million is being spent here.
because I'm telling you, there's no way to have known that unless you made the call.
and, you know, average person who's looking for an agenda couldn't know it.
and that is why I don't believe it is posted properly. I don't think it satisfies toma because how could the public know we were going to spend $1 million?
so I don't have a problem with the issue with the item. I have a problem that when I read it, I couldn't.
I couldn't see what it was. And I looked at everything provided and I went back to the Contract,
which is where I found the schedule. But how many people are going to do that?
I mean, it takes a special kind of nerd. So thanks, Paul.
okay, so that is my problem. I do not have a problem with spending a million to do this.
it's really about the posting. Thank you. Okay. Seeing no further discussion, the motion on the floor at the moment is to approve item 37.
all those in favor, please say aye. Any opposed?
motion prevails. Next item. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Your next item is agenda item 54. Item 54 is an ordinance amending ordinance number
33230 previously approved on september 17th, 2025.
authorizing one. Certain transfers and appropriation adjustments for fiscal year 2526 for The maintenance and operation of various departments
and activities, and to the city manager to implement those adjustments not to exceed $5,825,626,725.
this item was pulled by councilmember mendelsohn mendelsohn. Is there a motion? I move to approve this item with the following change.
reallocate savings from non-departmental to support texas municipal league fiscal year 2025 to 26.
prorated membership dues in the amount of $27,329.
there's a motion and a second discussion. Council member west.
I think we've talked about this previously at council, So no.
councilwoman. Blackmon. Yes. I'm noticing that there is a addition using the opioid Abatement funds.
I don't know if chief ball is in to. I'm just curious on what we're going to be using that For.
chief ball is actually here. Let me just make sure that he heard the question.
I gave him a heads up. Thank you. I didn't pull it.
I mean, you can get it with me offline, but I'm just curious because I know we've talked About a lot of stuff,
and I'm good evening everyone. Chief paul dallas fire rescue.
what was the question? Under dallas fire and rescue, The texas opioid abatement trust fund for $500,000,
which program are we going to be allotting that to our opioid program?
the one that's in programs. So which one? The one where we go to the residences.
the one you're involved in? Yes. Okay. That's the one we're trying to expand it.
okay, I'm just confirming that. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Councilwoman. Mendelsohn. Thank you.
I would like to correct the record that I did not pull this particular item. So while I did pull almost every other item, I did not pull this one.
and actually I did pull it, but I had put it back. So I just want to say that the budget amendment itself as a whole, I was going to support what I'm having a hard time with is this amendment
to add texas municipal league back in for $27,000.
we had this discussion at budget time and not only did we vote to remove it, I think it was a unanimous decision.
and what's happened is we've actually gotten a lot of traction in austin that we have Removed ourselves as a member.
it's a very controversial membership to the elected officials.
they do not prefer to be lobbied by tml and when they see that not only did we get
rid of taxpayer funded lobbying, but we also ended our membership at tmla lot of doors Open up.
have had multiple state reps not in our area. Say, I will give you my cell phone and you can call me directly because I don't want to Hear from tml,
but I will talk to you. And part of that door being open is because we are not a member.
so why would we spend 27,000 plus dollars to join?
first of all, a group that literally lobbied against us, Against us, we.
a normal membership, I believe, is over 6000 a year and anybody can attend their Conferences.
we pay a little bit of a premium to not be a member and attend, But it's available.
but not very many people have been going. So my understanding is that the interest in the Council amendment is because we have a council
member who's on another board, and without being a member of this one, There's a problem with serving on that one.
I'm not willing to spend $27,000 of taxpayer dollars so that somebody can have it on his Resume.
I mean, that's not what we're here for. We're not here for resume building.
we're here to serve our residents. And this is not just what I'm going to say wasted Dollars.
it's actually going to harm us. So I'm not in support of this.
and you know, please find other interests. Thank you, Council member ridley.
so I'm curious where the 27,000 is coming from in the reallocation of funding.
can anyone answer that? Council member lee, thank you so much for the question.
I thought that I heard in the motion from councilmember west that he wanted that funding To come from non-departmental,
but I'll ask him to affirm what I thought I heard.
okay. What does that mean, non-departmental? I mean, It's coming out of somebody's pocket.
so the non-departmental budget for fiscal year 26 is about $130,000 or $130 million.
sorry it's late. And we have savings in our tiff line items.
so it's just a reallocation from tiff to this particular line item to pay the membership.
so if we don't use it for tml dues, what would the money be used for a year end savings?
if you recall, fiscal year 26 is projected to be over budget.
so any savings that we realize in line items, They offset overages and other line items.
okay. Well, I would be in favor of utilizing that money to meet our deficit.
council member west. Yeah. Thank you. I just wanted to give our director of our government Affairs office an opportunity to explain why this item was brought to the finance
committee and just address that if he's here.
sorry. Good evening. Eric dominguez, director of office of government affairs. And so yes, the item is being considered. Specifically to address also the city of dallas ability to Be a part of a national league of cities member.
in order to be on the national league of cities, One does have to be a part of the texas municipal league through being a municipality in
the state of texas. Okay. Is there any reason why we would not want to be a member of nlc?
is there any detriment to not being a member of national league of cities?
I would always say that being a member does have its advantages of being part of an Advocacy coalition.
I have been assured by t ml that with the city of dallas opportunity to become a member, We would immediately be a member in good standing and have that ability to
engage in that capacity. Can you tell me who brought this item up originally, Because this was recommended or asked to be on the finance committee?
was this from another council member? Was this from your office? Where did this come from? I deferred to the budget office.
mr. Jack ireland, who I worked in collaboration with.
honestly, I don't recall where, if it came from you as chair or from another council Member or from staff.
I apologize, I don't remember. Okay. Thank you. Councilwoman. Mendelsohn. Yes, eric. Could you clarify, Is it that we are not able to be a member of nlc.
if we're not a member of tml, or is it that we can't have a member on the board of nlc if We're not a member of tml?
thank you for the opportunity to clarify. We cannot be a member and of a board, So a board member would have to be.
yeah, I think that nlc accepted our dues when we sent them, And we retain that membership because we do have a more active participation in that
organization, including our dc lobby days, which I think are very valuable.
but what you're really asking, if I can just frame it a little differently is please spend 27,000 this year,
plus the 60,000 that's coming in the next budget so that one council member can be on the Board of nlc.
and so what benefit are we getting as dallas to have someone on that board?
what does our taxpayer getting. It's really. And this is just speaking previously.
the tml is has having that ability to have access of part of the legislative advocacy Committee.
I really look into engaging those opportunities such as tml or any other organization About where we are on particular pieces of legislation or moving particular issues.
I certainly defer well, having participated in two of the tml legislative advocacy Conferences.
so we do not have a matching legislative program with tml so heavily rural.
so I just wanted to jump in because I don't want this to be that this is what staff is Pushing council to do.
this is a policy decision. Either council wants to have a board member who participates in National league of cities or not.
and that's really a decision that you all can make. And if you say that you do not want that, then we go back and we will take the appropriate Action to make sure that we inform the national league of cities of that decision.
but this is really a policy decision for the council. You either want to have that or you don't, but it's not that staff is trying to tell you To do anything other than give us direction.
we were asked about what it would take in order to maintain good standing on the national League of cities board,
because you do have a council member that I do believe has been supported by this body to Participate in that organization at the board level.
once we heard that, that could not happen without the texas municipal league membership, Then we're bringing that to the council.
but this is a policy decision, and you all give us direction on what you would like to do About this item.
well thank you. Then I'll just say as my final comment that when the council member asked For support to be on the nlc board.
absolutely. It's great to have somebody on that board as a member, But at the cost of having to join tml,
it's not it's not a good use of taxpayer dollars. And you've already weighed in on this. You already know tml is not the right thing because You all unanimously voted not to join.
so really, what you're doing is gifting one person membership in an organization by paying For this.
and it's not just the $27,000 for this year, Because that's only taking you through, I think,
november 1st in the write up. November 1st is the beginning of the next fiscal year.
so that means in the next budget, you're going to then allocate another 60,000.
and then we have another year after that. So this is not just $27,000.
but by the way, I believe you said today 34 million is your budget hole.
is that right? City manager. Very close, very close.
okay. Well, this is how you cut down. I think you have not allowed your staff to travel.
we're all cutting back on things and it would really be shocking to me if we're going to Approve this.
thank you. Council member willis. Thank you. If mr.
dominguez could come back. So nlc also has advocacy committees.
I serve on the fair committee, finance administration and intergovernmental relations.
I think we're supposed to be members of tml to for me to serve on that as well.
but they have not as yet kicked me off. And let me come to the the meetings and the calls.
so I don't know what the rule is around that, But I would encourage others to participate.
I mean, we're the ninth largest city in america, And I can tell you some of what they've worked on advocacy wise.
and this is nlc is like keeping our municipal bonds tax exempt.
can you imagine what that would do to us if they weren't? And then also they're doing a lot of preparation work around the census, Which is very important that we make sure everyone is counted because it hurts us if they
aren't. And so when I look at tml, I also wonder about new legislators.
I mean, would you say in your experience or what your thoughts are, Is that there is just this blanket disdain and disregard for the texas municipal league,
or maybe new legislators might might find them helpful in their advocacy work.
and I know sometimes they've been at odds with where we are. So I just would like to learn more about that or hear more from you about that.
now that you've been in the role for a little bit longer. Yes. So thank you for the question. I have reached out to the city of dallas legislative Delegation chair on this issue.
and so, you know, I'll, I'll in confidence what is shared is that they certainly have had A record of working and,
and hearing concerns that are brought before the city of dallas before tml and that those Issues are addressed,
of course, with lawmakers sharing things inside the rail, If you will. There are those relationships that are either hindered or strengthened.
and so certainly t ml has obviously, having the privilege and honor to work for the city Of dallas.
that is something that I certainly will make sure to weigh in on seeing them firsthand.
okay. Well, you referred to it as a tool in the toolbox and we're going into the next Legislative session.
and so, you know, with those that it's meaningful to, Maybe you lead with that, with those that it's not,
maybe you never even mention it. So I don't know if they're going to be checking our Cards,
you know, to see if we're in t ml. I'm just, You know, I'm kind of going either way, but it seems like,
you know, we're a large city in this state and maybe we find a way to bend them to our Will more in some ways.
and so I think we should consider this, I don't know that just withdrawing from this and Just letting the opinions of some dictate what we
decide to do where there could be some value maybe with more people.
so I'd love to hear from my colleagues on that.
seeing no further discussion, the no, go ahead, Miss mendelsohn move to amend the motion to remove the t ml item from
the budget amendment. Second, there's a motion and a second discussion. Miss mendelsohn, I think we've already discussed it.
seeing no further discussion, the motion is to amend the original motion and remove t ml.
all those in favor, say aye. All those opposed.
might need a record vote on that one. Thank you, Mr.
mayor. When I call your name please state yes if you're in favor. No. If you oppose council member west. Council member moreno.
no. Council member gracey. No. Council member cadena council member bazaldua is absent When vote taken.
council member. Blair. Council member. Blackmon. No. Council member. Stewart. No. Council member.
roth. Yes. Council member. Mendelsohn. Yes. Council member willis.
no. Council member ridley. Yes. Deputy mayor.
pro tem johnson. No. Mayor pro tem resendez. No.
mayor johnson is absent when vote taken.
with three voting in favor, ten opposed to absent. Vote taken. The motion fails, mr. Mayor. Okay, So we're back on the original motion as made by council member west.
any further discussion on that motion? Yes, I see miss mendelsohn up first.
well, I'll just say this city manager, I have no idea how you're going to balance this Budget when you can't even get very common sense items put forward on this
council. I really don't know how you're going to do it. And I hope that you will work with Each council member's office so that they can understand what you're actually facing
and the fiscal discipline that's needed to bring our budget under control.
thank you. Councilwoman. Blackmon. Thank you. Eric, are you still here or am I? I want to go with them.
so can you tell me so I understand the tml I've worked at the legislature.
they've changed. They've morphed. I know that there's been some changes even recently is.
I mean, where is that organization moving forward, And is there an opportunity for dallas and maybe some of the big cities,
because I know there's a rural versus suburb versus urban kind of conflict going.
is there an opportunity for us to help shape how they move forward? Because at one time there were a they were a very big powerhouse and they seemed to get Things done.
is there an opportunity there? Yes. To say it and summarize it. Yes, of course. And every session takes its own identity as we step into the 90th Legislative session.
tml is already in that process of working and engaging with lawmakers.
and have they changed their lead lobbyists? Are they still using?
I'm not going to say their name, but they're in. Maybe that's just something to get back At. But I know that they had a couple of lobbyists that weren't necessarily always
welcomed in people's office. And I'm just wondering, Do they still have them? I can find that out to be sure and be transparent.
and do we have any lobbyists right now that the city is down there working for us as our Eyes and ears.
the city of dallas has does not have a lobbyist or lobbyist.
we're flying blind here, and sometimes they do have information. It doesn't necessarily mean you, you, you, you trade on current.
that's the currency. There is information, political capital. And whether it's right or Wrong, it's still information. And and so I mean,
$27,000. And how much is our budget, our general fund budget, Two point something billion.
okay. I'm just kind of trying to reconcile that we're having a conversation 30 minutes on $27,000.
and I appreciate those folks that serve on the boards and that serve on committees.
I don't but they do have valuable information because I do know that there is exchange of That.
and again, information is currency. And and so I, You know, I didn't opt in to doing that and that's fine,
but some folks do opt into it and they take it serious, And I appreciate that.
and so to deny them an opportunity, I think is not fair because they want to serve it.
and I don't necessarily think it is for a resume. I know mr. Bazaldua does serve on the board and he is always giving us information.
he does not allow he does halo and he gives us information that I wouldn't see because I'm Not I mean,
I it's just like I said, information. So for 27,000, I think that if we could shape how tml gets back on track.
and I know that they're doing some. There's been some discussion on leadership changes and That we get more involved in that operation.
I think that may make a better roi on the 27000 investment.
and then if it doesn't look like it's going to work, Then maybe we cut loose. That's just my thoughts. Thank you. Okay. Seeing no further discussion.
all those in favor, say I. Please. Any opposed?
no. I noted two in opposition council member mendelsohn and council member ridley.
motion prevails. Next item three council member roth.
thank you. I said motion prevails. Sorry about that.
I'm just noting the the council members that voted no. Your next item is agenda item 57. Item 57 authorize a one year master subscription or Agreement and service agreement
for internet based electronic payment services. Evolution, llc. Sole source. Estimated amount of $824,749.
this item was pulled by council member mendelsohn. Move to approve. I heard a motion in a second.
discussion. Miss mendelsohn yes, I have a number of questions.
starting with why was this a sole source contract procurement.
sheri kowalski, city controller. The sole source was related to tyler technology and Taking payments at courts.
well, I know what it does, but tyler technology has many competitors.
why was it a sole source? I need someone from it to assist with that.
you got it. Okay. Juanita ortiz, director, office of procurement services.
so is the only payment processor that integrates with tyler technologies or encode, Which is what we're
using. And so if we were to go out, there wouldn't be any other competitors.
so you're telling me that you checked with payette and with invoice cloud and go pay net All these other ones that on their
website say they do this. So we have information from g, Not
gt from cts tyler encode that says that they're only integrated.
they only integrate with government payment processor.
I don't even know what to say. What if you find out that's not true.
so we could always go back and do a procurement if that's the case, But the documentation we had showed that it was.
I actually speechless. And what is the point of changing from our current system.
good evening, jenny kurtzman, assistant director of treasury. Thank you for the question. We have been using resolution for a long time.
the services were under the bank of america merchant services, Bank of america umbrella.
bank of america chose not to continue a partnership with revolution.
so we were given the option to go and find another provider or just contract directly with Revolution.
the reason that we did it just for six months is because we're in the middle of issuing an Rfp for merchant services for all of our locations.
so having the option to go directly to revolution made it a very seamless transition.
so we were able to continue providing the services for the few departments.
not everybody is using resolution, but the departments that we're using it mainly Sanitation,
were able to transition directly from one to the other without really any issues, Because revolution has been providing the services for
us. But this is actually the company that has had a very unsuccessful transition for our Water bills,
correct? No, it's a very different contract. But it's the same company, Right?
no it's not. Pimentos is the provider for dallas water utilities.
this is very different. It has nothing to do with them.
it's pimentos. There's the that provides the services of the billing and the settlement of The transactions.
so why aren't you using one of our current payment processing softwares.
so the city has three large providers for credit cards.
so you have bank of america merchant services. Many of the departments use it. Then we have a couple of other groups that use very Specific processor just because the nature of their business.
so we have bluefin which is used for development for all the permits.
and then water department that uses for payments for their services.
so it sometimes it's very difficult. They have a different one as well, Don't they.
I'm sorry. Who. Parks and rec. Right now they are using bank of america merchant services.
so they we have to unfortunately, sometimes not the same fits all for all the departments.
we try to limit to make sure that we don't have many different providers.
so that's what we have. This just three and now resolution.
once we do the rfp, we're going to include all of the departments with the exception of Water,
because they are under a very large, very long contract with pimentos and then also Development.
so all of the other departments will be part of the rfp, And hopefully we can get them all together.
that will be the goal. Okay. So was it's part of the decision to add
another payment processing organization, company software.
yes. It's actually was agreed to another one.
yes they agree. But as I said, sometimes it's just you just can't have the same for all of The departments.
sanitation has a very specific requirement and how they process their transactions.
so that's why it was selected to continue the process of revolution that has been Performed for
several years. The thing is, we didn't have a contract separate for revolution.
we do now. Did you want to say anything? Yeah.
yes. You got to push the button. Tanisha dorsey, Deputy director for its miss kirkman is correct.
we've been using evolutions for several years, And so we do support continuation with this specific vendor.
we are not adding in a new payment processor. We're continuing the existing service that we already have because who was what department Was on it before.
and we have several departments that's on it. We have sanitation for the landfill. Thank you.
okay. City secretary dallas fire rescue, municipal courts and dallas dpd records.
and so for every one of these payment processing softwares, You have to have someone who's trained and certified and updates that come in for security
or revisions of the software. Somebody has to do that for each different one.
correct. The departments have representatives that are responsible for managing the Payment processor internally for their administrative work and their reconciliation.
we use evolution because it is one of the services that has pci requirements and they meet Our pci requirements.
so we work with each department to make sure that they're following pci compliance.
so are you saying that there's a payment processing that doesn't have pci?
I'm sorry. Would you repeat the question? That there's payment processing companies that Don't have pci? I don't think so.
no, there are not payment processors that don't. But we ensure that we try to keep it consolidated only to a few.
and we ensure that the vendors that are using specific payment processors, That they meet pci requirements as well.
well, I was told. Of course, we're going back a couple of it directors now that we were Going to get down to one.
we are we are definitely doing our best to do that. As we add new systems that have payments, we're trying to keep it consistent with our Payments.
we're not adding additional payment processors.
we are trying to consolidate down to a consolidated here.
I'm sorry. Can you if I could jump in for just a second? I think we've said this and I'll just maybe I'll say it again and maybe it'll be clearer.
this is to allow for us to move to a full procurement. We understand. And I think that's part of why we're here today to with this item.
we're trying to find a way to create more synergy between all of the various departments.
but in order to do that, this is an interim step. That's why it's only for a one year subscription agreement that would allow for us to go Ahead and move forward with the procurement,
that we can come back and be able to share with you how we're looking at trying to get More departments into one platform.
but this is to allow for the collections, for sanitation to continue with no interruption At this time.
and we definitely understand, and I do appreciate the need and we're trying to move in That direction.
I think that's what the staff has already presented. Thank you so much. So are you Expecting to bring this back within that year then?
I believe based on the timeline that staff has communicated, We should be able to have something back to council by next year.
thank you so much. Okay. Well, I just want everyone to remember that because I predict You're going to come back and extend this contract.
thank you, mr. Roff. My my question was really a concern following the disaster that we've Had with the water
billing situation that if we're trying to roll out a project like this across all of the Departments,
I would really want to make sure that in any rfp or any kind of proposal that you all are Thinking about doing that you try to avoid the
absolutely disastrous effect of what we've just experienced and what we're still Experiencing.
so please factor that in to your your ideas of consolidating and just rolling out new Stuff to,
to our citizens. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Yes, sir.
I would like to call the question. Well, I think that mr. Ridley, really quickly. So I'd like to go ahead and give him a chance to speak.
thank you, mr. Mayor. So I have a procedural question. When you said that you considered go evolution a sole source for this contract of $824,000 And not
insignificant amount. Do you just take their word for it that no.
none of their competitors can offer the same service that they do without doing research In the marketplace.
the city controller's office did do some price comparison to see what the rates were for Evolution with bank of america,
and then what they were charging us in this contract and they were comparable.
again, evolution is the only payment processor that tyler incode accepts or partners with.
and how did you make that conclusion from tyler incode providing us that information.
so they said that they only work with go evolution, Notwithstanding that other vendors say they do also.
with a version of the tyler code system that we're on right now, Evolution is the only vendor that works with this version.
oh, so we have a specific version of the go evolution software that is.
is it an old version? I'm just wondering why nobody else services it.
it's tyler. It's a version of tyler that we're on. We're planning to upgrade the tyler system and we can reevaluate the payment system at That time.
okay. But with the version of tyler we have now, It's best that we remain with evolution.
okay, so we have an old version of the tyler software.
are we going to be upgrading that to the more common version, More updated version when we renew the when we consider
this contract after a year. So I, I believe as jenny mentioned, They
are working on a solicitation to have a payment processor.
that's just one that would work with all the departments. And so that's what we're trying to get to. This change from bank of america happened in October.
so we're doing this contract through june 27th, 2027.
and that'll give us about a year to get through a procurement process and re award and Award a new process.
okay. Well, it just seems to me that we're being handicapped by using an old version of Tyler's software that nobody else services anymore,
and that we might get more competitive pricing on this service if we had more up to date Software.
now, hopefully that can be corrected in a year. When you go out with a new rfp and you consolidate other departments, Because that too would probably cut administrative costs,
would it not? That is the goal. Council member really, I think that's why we're trying to,
again, not have any interruptions, do the procurement and come back and see if that's Really the reality,
which is what we hope for, because we understand that we have not just this system, We have many others that we're trying to bring them up to date,
be able to get better pricing. But some of that's going to take time. We have a lot of legacy systems, as you all know, And this is part of the effort that we're undertaking right now to be able to move towards
more consistent platforms and not have to have as many different ones across the entire Enterprise.
so that's the direction that we're headed. Thank you, Mayor, if I may add, just one, one small thing.
as we mentioned earlier, there are five different departments that uses revolution.
the piece the municipal court is using, what tyler is actually very small.
the largest portion of this contract is for sanitation.
so that is the department that of course, we did not want to disrupt.
and definitely was the better option to just running to a contract directly with Revolution to make sure that there was no disruption,
as the notification that came from bank of america was sort of last minute.
as of, you know, we are not going to continue the contract with this provider, But you are welcome to go directly and get a contract with them.
so it's a very small process. Thank you so much. Seeing no further discussion, all those in favor, Say aye. Please. Any opposed?
noted. Motion prevails. Next item. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Your next agenda item is agenda item 58.
item 58. Authorized one. The rejection of proposals received for eviction advocacy program For the office of housing and community empowerment and two
the re. Advertisement of a new solicitation. This item was pulled by council member Mendelsohn.
is there a motion? I heard a motion. A second discussion, Miss mendelsohn.
yes. I'd like to understand why this is being proposed to be rejected.
thank you, director thor, for coming out, and I want you to make sure you refer to the Memo that we provided on this item on june the 18th,
please. Good evening. This item is being rejected due to us needing to strengthen a Solicitation to
provide stronger performance criteria to address the need of providing legal assistance to Residents facing eviction.
how will that wording be changed? We plan to put together parameters around how many People
need to be served each month, making sure that the services are set up within the court Systems.
making sure that we have clarifying language in terms of service is going to be delivered To residents that are in this situation.
so right now, the current solicitation was building on our current pilot.
after reviewing the proposals, we felt that in order to address the need, We needed to provide some stronger performance language.
and how far did this solicitation go?
we are rejecting these items. Because we did go as far as ward recommendations for two Vendors.
and the second vendor did not agree to the terms.
and then we could not reach a a negotiation with the first vendor.
and then that's when we identified that we had some gaps in the solicitation that needed To be addressed.
who identified that there were gaps? Procurement, Housing staff or one of the selected vendors,
the department. Well, after reviewing the proposals that were received and the Recommendations and not being able to reach an agreement they identified that there
were some gaps in, as thor mentioned requiring a certain number of individuals to be Assisted with this program.
but it was the department itself that set up the criteria for the rfp to begin with. Correct. Correct. Correct. Okay. Are we allowed to know what organization was top scoring?
I would ask the attorneys. So once we reject the bids, We don't have access.
we don't report that information to my understanding.
well, we haven't yet done that, have we? Yeah. And we can't talk about it until an action has been taken on the procurement.
you can't talk about it because an action has not been taken. But once we reject it, Then it's subject to open records and we can release information.
okay. Is there is what what are what are the laws involved
with rescinding a procurement because a favored vendor isn't selected?
well, first of all, let me this is a recommendation to reject.
it has nothing to do with a vendor or a particular vendor not being selected.
staff has identified some deficiencies that we realized that we missed in the Solicitation.
and we're asking council today to reject the actual solicitation.
so we have an opportunity to go back and deal with everything from performance measures to Minimum requirements to capacity.
we think that those things are important. And I will say that this is the first time that We've done this particular type of solicitation.
and I think we've learned some things through this process. But this is not about a particular vendor or a favorite vendor from this team, Nor would I be coming to you because of a favorite vendor not being selected.
but there are procurement laws that prohibit that. Is that correct? Yes we are. We are coming to you to reject this item so we could go back Out to bid after we make
updates to the solicitation. I will say I have heard from a couple of non-profits that
are questioning how this is being handled. Thank you. Councilmember willis, can I, can I just mention something to that?
and while we're still in this solicitation, which has not been completed we're still in The process where vendors should not be
talking to council members if they've submitted as part of the solicitation. I just wanted to make sure I say that, councilmember willis.
I'd like to learn more about these deficiencies. I mean, You talked about it a little bit. I mean, the whole intention behind us funding this in
last year's budget was to turn off the spigot. That's part of homelessness. That's feeding it so we could stop that and hopefully catch Up on the population we've currently got.
so tell me a little bit more about what you all are seeing as the gap between, You know, the first try and then that it was so,
you know, that there was such an absence of what we need, That we're now talking about rejecting it.
so what I look at is we're a year out of the marketplace or 9 or 10 months out of the Marketplace of helping people stay in their homes,
or at least have the court system treat them fairly. Yeah, it comes right down to that. Unfortunately, Our solicitation did not set any sort of monthly quotas or service timeframes.
and so we left it up to the proposers to tell us how they would handle that case Management rather than driving it through set criteria to address that need.
and so when we look at the at the opportunity, We want to make sure that it is set up to be as aggressive as the need is and not hope our
vendors can meet that and have the to the city manager's point of view, The capacity and scale to address that need.
so you left it to them to describe. And they did not do a very compelling job of that.
correct. I mean, I just feel like we've got some partners that we're aware of in the Marketplace that are have some pretty strong numbers.
I mean, what is there no way to make that that work? I mean, I don't even know who our top people are, But I mean, I kind of like, I'd almost rather,
you know, keep people in their homes. So we're not disrupting school and workplace and That sort of thing.
I mean, unless it's just so awful that we feel like it would fail. And I certainly don't want to do that. But I believe that trade off at this point, I have more of a concern about the failure of if we were to move forward at
this point and not being able to meet the speed of that need. And so in order to make sure that we get this right, We bring this forward to reject these bids so we can get the solicitation to set up with
the proper performance criteria. So what are the improvements you're thinking of that you Would add in today about being available in the courts at a certain time duration
about providing direct services like on the spot, Being able to have eligibility verification the day of being able to have the
availability each and every day of the week that type of criteria so that we set the tone Of where and when and how we expect people to perform the eligibility and
services. So do you have a draft of that ready to go? We are we have we have started that draft. And thanks to improvements to procurement Through hazel ai,
we're running it through those scripts to make sure it meets all those performance Criterias.
okay, this is really sad. How can we learn from this?
and when we embark on something like this, I mean, Is there a way we can pressure test it better so that we don't go through a months long
exercise when it's something as high touch as keeping people in homes?
yes, of course. And and thanks to director ortiz, You know, learning the, the proper prompts to use with our technology that we have in
procurement is, I think one of the main ways that we're strengthening our procurements to Make sure that we're using the best available technology to to screen and look at all the
procurements and opportunities for tightening those. And so I do look forward to building all of our staff skill set out and utilizing that Tool.
all right. Thank you. Okay. Seeing no further comment. All those in favor, say aye. Any opposed? Noted.
motion prevails. Making progress guys. Halfway through our agenda.
next item please. Agenda item 61. Item 61. Authorize a one three year master agreement for The
purchase of emergency and non-emergency medical supplies for citywide use with bound tree Medical,
llc. In the estimated amount of $6,119,432.32.
life assist inc. Dba life assist in the estimated amount of 6,000,003 in
$3,363,118.18, and henry schein inc., in the estimated amount of
$467,845.45 through the local government purchasing cooperative.
by board agreement and to three year master agreement with the purchase for the purchase Of emergency and non-emergency medical
supplies with medline industries lp in the estimated amount of $1,114,282.86 through omnia Partners
cooperative agreement. Total estimated amount $11,064,678.81.
this item was pulled by council member ridley. Is there a motion?
I heard a motion to approve and a second discussion, Mr. Ridley. Thank you. Mayor. I'd just like staff to explain why we're spending $11 million on Emergency and non-emergency medical
supplies.
good evening. Mr. Ridley why we spend that much money?
we make 300,000 calls a year. It's a lot of medical supplies.
so, is all of this funding just for dhfr? Yeah, It's for our medical supplies.
and you use over $3.3 million each year for medical supplies.
more. More than. I mean, we have different vendors.
oh, so there are vendors above and beyond the ones listed in this item.
what's your total budget for medical supplies? Do you have a c? I'll get that for you. But it's a bit more than that.
but we're not it's not wasted. We're. That's what it takes to respond to 300,000 calls.
that's that's just what it takes. We we shop around, We get the best deal.
and it's there's so much stuff costs. But I'll get you the exact figures.
so she's still looking at the total amount. I'll follow up with you.
yeah, we'll follow up. Okay.
yeah, we'll send that to all, all of you as soon as we get it. Well, if all of this allocation is going to dfr, Why is some of the funding coming from the wick program?
women, infants and children grant d w you in the sanitation and homeland security funds.
why is it going to that now? Why is the money coming from them?
so this is a city wide agreement. So fire in dallas fire rescue is not the only user on This contract.
so we do have fire. I mean, not fire first aid kits and other items that are purchased by Other departments.
and so that's why you see water, sanitation and programs on here as well.
but the majority and the, the majority of the use is for fire rescue.
okay. Thank you. Seeing no further discussion.
all those in favor, say aye. Any opposed? Motion prevails.
next item. Mister mayor, council member west would like to be recognized on agenda item 65.
mister west, I move to defer this item until august 12th, 2026.
is there a second? Second. Got a motion in a second. Any discussion, mister west? It's a request by staff.
thank you. Okay. Miss mendelsohn had he pulled item 65 or.
yes. I'm sorry. Thank you. Okay. Seeing no further discussion?
all those in favor, say aye. Any opposed? Motion prevails.
next item. Agenda item 70. Authorize a five year service price agreement in the
estimated amount of $32,046,741.44 for the period june 24th, 2026
through june 23rd, 2031, with two one year renewal options in the estimated amount of $13,733,936.99,
as detailed in the fiscal information section for janitorial services for citywide use.
ambassador services, llc most advantageous proposal of 37.
estimated amount $45,780,678.43. This item was pulled by council member mendelsohn.
is there a motion? I heard a motion and a second.
discussion miss mendelsohn yes. I pulled this item because it's $45 million.
why do we have one contract for $45 million for janitorial instead of breaking it up, Every single one of the proposers actually put
together a team of people. So there's the lead.
and then they've they've put all these subs together because we're talking about Libraries, field service,
multi-tenant office, police stations service center garages, Street services and public works and training centers.
and so what it looks like is that these groups that they've pulled together, We're going to pay and they're going to admit it out.
that means the taxpayers are paying an additional admin when guess what?
they already pay for 15,000 city of dallas employees, And we can manage more than one janitorial contract.
and so I just think it is completely outrageous when we sit here and say, Well, we got to help the small businesses,
but instead we're we're excluding something that really is not a high skill item.
it's a high labor item and could be a wonderful way for our local residents to promote Their own business with their own city.
but why was why is it sent out at 45 for a $45 million contract?
good evening, council member brian thompson, Interim director of facilities management. Can you repeat the question?
why was it sent out as a $45 million contract? Why wasn't this broken up into multiple different janitorial contracts?
well, council member it was broken up from a facility grouping perspective.
so we had five groups within the solicitation, One being city hall, another group being libraries to concentrate the efforts in a
particular group of buildings. So I would say it was assembled in a dispersal fashion Where there were multiple groupings.
right. But then you have a proposal for the whole thing.
we had multiple proposals for the whole thing.
yes, we had 35. Yes. So we had multiple proposals on the groups that were identified in The solicitation.
ambassador was selected as the most advantageous proposal.
and that was for all the different groups. Well, I'll tell you, every time we've had a contract like this,
we have the same conversation and generally staff says, You know, we're going to do that next time.
we're going to break it up so that we can provide more opportunities to smaller Businesses,
but we never do. This is what we do every time.
and so I don't know if it's convenience. I don't know if you think you're getting a better Deal. I doubt it because again,
I think we're actually going to end up paying this lead agency of the group that's Assembled to,
to essentially administer what should be done by us.
so that's why I pulled it, because I just want all of us to at least recognize how we do Business.
like we sit here and we say small business and let's invest in this small business Program.
and we got to support our small businesses. But what do we do? We do this every time. Thank you. Council member roth.
I was really just wondering, and it sounds like you've already broken this up into Different buckets for different buildings and stuff.
is this is there a is there a common rate based on square footage?
and are all the contract amounts sort of uniform, Or are they all basically specific to a particular departments?
oh, thank you for the question. Council member. So in commercial custodial services, You look at the rate establishment based
on the size of the facility, your location. So in the north texas region, We could expect from a standard level cleaning to a
high level cleaning anywhere from $2 to $3.50 per square foot.
if you look at the current proposed contract, We're at two 60 one on an annual basis per square foot,
so we are within the range for commercial custodial services at an all in rate.
does that include supplies also? It includes supplies, Equipment necessary for advanced level cleaning,
power washing extra services as well. So you're, You're about you're really at about $0.20,
15 to $0.20 per month, which is that's $2, $2 and change.
yeah. So that's on the high side, but unless you're getting special services also
to, to accommodate that typically would be 5 to $0.10 per month, But you're now at 20.
so but that you're saying that's other issues. That's other additional services. Yes. So the, The base contract of 32 million is routine and non routine services that are
incorporated into that. So we can request ad hoc services with this contract.
and so the 32 represents routine about what about $0.14.
no routine routine and non routine. No no no. I'm saying how much is that per year. Two six $2.61 per square foot based on the 32 Million based on 32 million.
okay, so that's that's on the high side, but okay. And then is there any requirement for these folks to be hiring people that have, Do we have to deal with this minimum this mit minimum
wage requirement on the people that they're hiring? Or are we, are we out of that situation? Yes.
so the living wage at the time of the solicitation was 2205.
so they have to pay the floor, which is 2205 and these are to subcontractors.
okay. A contract that's very, very, very expensive for janitorial crews.
but again, look, you all have to solicit it and do it the way you do it, But it seems like there might have been an opportunity to do some savings there.
thank you. Okay. Seeing no further discussion.
all those in favor, say aye. Any opposed? Motion carries.
next item please. Thank you, mr. Mayor. That completes your pulled items.
we are now back at your items for individual consideration, Beginning with agenda item 78.
agenda item 7078 is consideration of appointments to boards and commissions.
today you have nominees for individual full council and city manager appointments.
your nominees for individual appointments to the animal advisory commission.
sana saeed is being nominated by mayor johnson. Miss saeed meets the general public. Special qualification to the arts and culture Advisory commission.
marion l mchale is being nominated by council member moreno mrs.
mchale meets the visual arts professional expertise special qualification and david small Is being nominated by mayor johnson.
mr. Small meets the performing arts professional expertise special qualification to the Citizen homelessness commission.
lester d raiders be nominated by council member ridley. Mr. Raider meets the general public special qualification to the senior affairs Commission.
mike nori is being nominated by mayor johnson. Mr. Nori meets the 55 plus years of age special qualification to the south dallas fair Park opportunity fund board.
leander t johnson is being nominated by mayor johnson.
mr. Johnson meets the loan underwriting expertise, Business development and operations special qualification your nominees for full council
appointment to the arts and culture advisory commission.
adjunct member clyde valentine is being nominated by council members by mayor pro tem Resendez council members,
moreno, council member willis, council member cadena, Council member bazaldua and council member blackmon mr.
valentine meets the performing arts professional expertise special qualification to the Civil service board,
sidney j. Blanche is being nominated by council member willis to the reinvestment zone Nine board,
vickery meadow. L.c. Thurman is being nominated by mayor johnson and to the reinvestment Zone 19 board.
cypress waters, derek j. Sandler is being nominated by mayor johnson.
your nominees for city manager appointment. To the building inspection.
advisory. Examining and appeals. Board. Joseph.
slavinski. Charles. Brandt. Austin. Nixon. Jared.
francoeur. Anthony l finch and frederick tullman is being nominated.
are presented for nomination by the city manager. Mr. Slavinski meets the general building contractor with at least five years of commercial Construction expertise.
special qualification. Charles brandt meets the registered architect with at least five Years experience in the practice of architecture.
special qualification. Mr. Nixon meets the builder with at least five years experience With residential construction.
special qualification. Jared fincher meets the registered architect with at least five Years experience in the practice of architecture.
special qualification. Anthony l finch meets the registered professional engineer with at Least five years experience in the practice of mechanical engineering special
qualification, and frederick toulmin meets the registered engineer with at least five Years experience in the practice of fire protection engineering
special qualification. These are your nominees. Mr. Mayor. Second, I got a motion and a second.
seeing no discussion. All those in favor say aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Next item please.
thank you. Agenda item 79. Authorize the second step of acquisition for condemnation by Eminent domain.
to acquire an access easement containing approximately 137,523ft² of land and a wastewater Easement
containing approximately 48,314ft² of land located near the intersection of stag road and Hoss drive for the fm
015 mile creek interceptor project from flowerdale llc, Not to exceed $97,747.
because this is an eminent domain item and the next four items are all eminent domain Items,
they will require a record vote. Mr. Mayor. Got a motion and a second.
miss dana, do you mind if I ask for item 79 through 82 if the property owner agrees to the Eminent domain?
good evening sarah. Standard for dallas water utilities. In each of these instances, the property owner is not in agreement with the cost.
in particular on agenda item 82. There is some heirship issues within the family, Which is part of what the discrepancy and what is being offered and what they will agree
to, but we'll work through the process. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Seeing. No. Well, miss blair I know I'm supposed to talk about each one Separately,
but I'm going to say the same thing about all district eight five now.
so I'm gonna say it one time. This is to get people off of septic tanks.
thank you very much. Seeing no further discussion.
all those in favor, say aye. A recorded vote. Miss. I'm so sorry. Yeah. Record vote. Thank You, mr. Mayor.
agenda item on agenda item 79. When I call your name, Please state yes if you're in favor.
no. If you oppose councilmember west. Yes. Council member. Moreno. Council member. Gracey. Yes. Council member.
yes. Council member. Bazaldua is absent with vote taken.
councilmember. Blair. Yes. Councilmember blackmon. Yes. Council member. Stewart. Yes. Council member.
roth. Yes. Council member. Mendelsohn. Yes. Council member.
willis. Yes. Council member ridley. Yes. Deputy mayor.
pro tem johnson. Yes. Mayor pro tem resendez. Yes. Mayor johnson is absent. Vote taken with 13.
voting in favor zero opposed two absent. Vote taken.
the item passes, mr. Mayor. Thank you. Next item please. Mr. Mayor, can I request that we combine items 79 through 81 into one motion 82?
I don't think we can, because they're all record votes. According to the city attorney, Individual record votes are required.
okay. And and we just did 79 as well. So yeah, Agenda item 80 authorize the second step of
acquisition for condemnation by eminent domain to acquire a wastewater easement containing Approximately 20,987ft² of land
located near the intersection of river oaks drive and south central expressway for the fm 015 mile creek interceptor project from
julius schepps llc, not to exceed $37,058. Move to approve a motion and a second.
seeing no discussion. City secretary, please call the roll. Thank you, mr. Mayor. When I call your name, Please state yes if you're in favor.
no. If you oppose. Council member west. Yes. Council member.
moreno. Yes. Council member. Gracey. Yes. Council member.
yes. Council member. Bazaldua. Absent. One vote taken.
council member. Blair. Yes. Council member. Blackmon. Yes. Council member. Stewart. Yes. Council member.
roth. Yes. Council member. Mendelsohn. Yes. Council member. Willis. Yes. Council member. Ridley. Deputy mayor.
pro tem. Johnson. Yes. Mayor. Pro tem. Resendez. Yes. Mayor johnson is asked to vote taken with 13.
vote in favor, zero opposed to absent. Vote taken. The item passes. Mr. Mayor. Next item please.
agenda item 81. Authorize the second step of acquisition for condemnation by eminent Domain
to acquire a wastewater easement containing approximately 6186ft² of land located near the Intersection of art and road and south
lancaster road for the fm 015 mile creek interceptor project from blaine rush not to Exceed
$14,662. This is your item, mr. Mayor. Second.
got a motion and a second. Seeing no discussion. City secretary, please call the roll. Thank you, Mr.
mayor. When I call your name, please state. Yes, If you're in favor. No. If you oppose council member west. Yes. Council member.
moreno. Yes. Council member. Gracey council member cadena council member bazaldua is Absent when taken.
council member blair. Council member blackmon.
council member. Stewart. Yes. Council member roth. Yes. Council member. Mendelsohn. Yes. Council member willis.
yes. Council member ridley. Deputy mayor pro tem johnson.
yes. Mayor pro tem resendez. Yes. Mayor johnson is absent.
vote taken with 13. Voting in favor, zero opposed to absent.
vote taken. The item passes. Mr. Mayor. Next item please. Agenda item 82. Authorize the second step of acquisition for condemnation by eminent Domain
to acquire a wastewater easement containing approximately 4443ft² of land from joseph Jones et al.
located near the intersection of south lancaster road and arden road for the fm 015 mile Creek interceptor project,
not to exceed $9,109. This is your item, mr. Mayor.
I got a motion and a second. Seeing no discussion. City. City secretary, please call the roll. Thank you, Mr.
mayor. When I call your name, please state. Yes, If you're in favor.
no. If you oppose. Council member. West. Yes. Council member. Moreno. Yes. Council member. Gracey.
council member. Yes. Council member bazaldua. Absent. One vote taken. Council member. Blair.
yes. Council member. Blackmon. Council member. Stewart. Yes. Council member. Roth. Yes. Council member.
mendelsohn. Yes. Council member. Willis. Yes. Council member. Ridley. Deputy mayor. Pro tem.
johnson. Yes. Mayor. Pro tem. Resendez. Yes. Mayor johnson.
absent vote taken with 13. Voting in favor zero opposed. Two. Absentee vote taken. The item passes. Mr..
mayor. Next item please. Agenda item 83.
is a resolution amending the city plan commission's rules of procedure by updating the Process for the distribution of written communications regarding subdivision
matters, providing that membership on standing committees should reflect diverse Representation.
clarifying that all standing committees shall strive to solicit views from from a variety Of backgrounds.
renaming the comprehensive land use committee to the plans advisory committee, And updating membership requirements and roles of that committee,
and updating the membership requirements and responsibilities of the zoning ordinance Advisory committee.
you do have one individual who has signed up to speak on this item, Brant rubin to be given three minutes.
good evening everyone. Last time when the rules amendments for cpc came before the body, I think there were some council
members who suggested it might be helpful to have the chair here to answer any questions.
so I'm here tonight in case anyone has questions. We've worked long and hard over the past year or so to work on our rules with the Amendments you all saw before,
and these ones as well to make cpc more efficient and effective.
so I'm happy to answer any questions and hope that you all will support the rules changes We adopted.
thank you. There are no further speakers for this item. Mr. Mayor second got a motion and a second seeing no discussion.
well, go ahead, miss mendelsohn. Yes, I move to amend the motion to strike.
quote in 13e2b strike. It is the goal of the city plan commission to.
and replace it with the city plan commission will.
and end the sentence at over representation of any district.
striking the part that says on any one committee.
second. Thank you. Got a motion and a second. Go ahead, miss mendelsohn. So the way it reads one second, Please.
just to be clear, if you change the rules, they will go back to city planning commission To have to be re adopted by city planning commission and then come forward.
okay. That's the first time I've spoken about this. Okay. Thank you. So the way it reads right now is it's the goal.
it would be really nice. We would really aspire to like to do something.
and instead we're going to say, no, this is what we will do.
and what we're talking about is it's the goal to not have overrepresentation by one District.
not. We will not have overrepresentation. Just. It's our goal. And then it's of any one committee.
because what we see is when we look at the committees, There's some districts that are on every single committee and other districts that are on
one position in one committee. And, you know, My my colleagues who are sitting very close to me who are close to
downtown, they're on every committee. If you're not very close to downtown, You're not on every committee.
and the whole city is not being represented. And that is just a fact.
and so we need some definitive language that says, Not that it's a goal that we will have not even equal
representation, just not overrepresentation of, Of one district.
and that is happening. So this is to take away way, The flowery language that says it's our goal and say that we
will do this. My last little comment,
I guess, is just to say that it's like night. Like, just do it. Not say it would be our goal because seven years, I'm going to tell you district 12 has not been represented.
we have one committee with one person. That's it.
many of you have the same exact situation for many, Many years. Thank you, councilmember willis. Thank you, mr.
rubin. Could you respond to that? I know you all have done a lot of work and had a lot of Discussion around this.
was that something that was discussed and debated, Or what is your reaction to this amendment?
yeah, I think we are very mindful of geographic diversity when it comes to appointing These committees including both members of cpc and
public members as well. And, you know, in appointing members over the past year, I have to zoe and other committees I have strove to,
you know, include people who live throughout the city on, On each of the committees in order to reflect that,
you know, various geographic viewpoints. I would say at the same time, You know, those committees are really meant to do deep dives
into particular issues, whether it's, you know, Zoe, which is what I describe as sort of the code nerd committee.
and some people are eminently well qualified for that committee.
other people may not be code nerds, and they may fit on a different committee. And, you know, there are other examples on, you know, Our plans committee.
some people would be a great fit for that. And others strengths may not be, As you know, lent to that.
so we definitely do take into account geographic representation, But ultimately that is one important factor.
but ultimately, I want to assemble the best, And I think cpc wants its committees assembled with the best people possible for each
task. So really just staffing to where the expertise is for the deep dive portion of it.
and then we each get to appoint someone. So that's where it comes back and gets the level View correct.
and everything that comes out of one of our committees goes up through cpc, At which point,
you know, there are 14 single member districts plus the mayor's appointee that weigh in on The items.
and then it typically on the majority of items actually goes up to council.
so the geographic perspective, you know, definitely gets taken into account, You know, in the process that counts cpc and council.
and there's certainly thought given to geographic diversity as well and committee Appointments.
so the district leveling could happen more if we all really went and found those code Nerds or people who are just.
I mean, we had a level of expertise. It might be easier to do that kind of distribution, But if you've got people weighing one,
you know, more in one area and maybe not as much in another, It might be harder.
I mean, I know from what you're telling me, I would rather have the expertise in those Work sessions to come up and really discuss and debate and then
bring it to the body where every there is equal representation because we've all got one Appointee.
and so I, I believe I'll respect the work of the committee and stick to the language you All proposed.
thank you. Councilwoman blair. Hey chair, how are you today?
doing well. I understand. I was just there for six years.
is it not accurate that as our appointees, most of us have jobs.
yes. Is it not fair to to say that those that had jobs, They participate as much as their jobs,
will afford them the opportunity to participate in committees, Especially committees that are very entrenched?
yes, definitely. Different members have different bandwidths. I'm fortunate to have an employer that allows me to juggle cpc and work, But not everyone has that.
is it not fair to also say that you get to appoint the members of committees with, Because you are the chair of
cpc? Yes. Subject to approval of the cpc. Absolutely.
is it not fair to also state that as a committee member and those of us that are or those Of them that have jobs that they also had the
opportunity to participate virtually. Yes. So is it not fair to also say that there has Been
times when people have been appointed and just were unable to participate, As one would wish them to be able to participate?
having served on cpc for over six years now, I don't want to denigrate anyone's service, but some people have,
based on bandwidth and other things, you know, Lived up to the demands of the position on committees or cpc better than others.
so it is always your goal to provide leadership as well as to, To appoint people who have the bandwidth
to serve in, in committees that can do justice to each one of those committees.
yes. And I'll say that sometimes people approach me and say, I don't think I can serve on committee x,
y, or z because the lift is too heavy. And between my regular cpc work, I don't think I can serve on x committee.
and is it not also fair, especially at this time of the season when you're looking at code Reform?
zoe has had heavy lifts. Yes. So has a heavy lift coming up for sure as it's the vice Chair of zoe.
I understand the commitment. I didn't have a job, So it was easy for me to serve.
and there are some that have very intense employment that that is not as easy.
so I am going to stick with what is what is prescribed by cpc, And let it be
your goal. And not that you will, because if you say that you will and you can't because You cannot get the
participation that we need. Then we're left with a big hole. It's not not correct. Thank you, council member roth.
thank you for being here. I'm sorry it's so late, But but this this document, I have some problems with a couple of the items,
and I really need some clarification. In your I want to understand in section £0.07 when You've added
that, that what, what is the explanation of if a member receives an ex parte communication To a subdivision matter
that they. Point of order, mr. Mayor. Yes, sir. That addresses the underlying motion, not the amendment.
oh. I'm sorry. Sustained. Let's stick to the amendment.
okay. I'm sorry. We'll. So we'll have an ability to approve this later on a different Amendment.
okay. I'll I'll, I'll, I'll save my comment. Okay.
seeing no further discussion on the amendment. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed?
nay. Sounds like the nays. Got it. So now we're back on the main motion.
seeing no further discussion. Now I have some discussion. Okay. Go ahead, mr. Roff. Get back now. I'm now.
thank you for. I'm sorry. I was clumsy in my question. Good. In in exhibit in section £0.07 would you please explain to me what what contemplated Discussions are are
involved in that ex parte communication and who does it apply to?
sure. And this may be a question that the city. I will do my best to feel that I apologize. I did not get to print a copy of our the Amendments.
but our subdivision matters. Plots and the like are quasi judicial, Which means all the discussion needs to happen at the
horseshoe. And we had an issue where people would be emailing members of cpc and we would Have to disclose that.
so we did want to find an orderly way to get public comment on subdivision items when Someone wouldn't be able to attend the meeting.
so the way that we do that without having inappropriate ex parte communications is to have All of those funneled through our cpc secretary,
and then the secretary provides those to us at the public hearing.
so so I'm trying to understand how does this work in reality?
I mean, if people are are concerned about a zoning case, They're concerned about something or they're and they're talking to a cpc member that
that's in their district or that's involved with something that's not they have to, You have that person has to disclose it or you can't talk to that person.
this does not apply to regular zoning cases. It only applies to plats because our zoning Cases are discretionary.
we can have communications for the horseshoe at the horseshoe, You know, outside of the public meeting about a zoning case.
but because our plats are quasi-judicial and I don't know if miss morrison can as an Assistant city attorney,
mr. Mayor, if I might go ahead, because platting and subdivision is a quasi judicial Function of the city planning commission,
there can be no ex parte communication. The practice has always been that if someone does Have ex parte communication,
because it does occasionally happen, sometimes by accident, Someone sends you an email, you don't know what it is. You open it to cure that,
that to cure the the issue. It is then distributed to everybody.
so everybody gets the communication and it's not just given to one member.
this just appears to just codify the practice that we use to court that we use to cure That,
because a quasi judicial function cannot have any.
it's like a judge in the court. You can't have any ex parte communication with the judge.
this is how we cure it at the city plan commission. I think this is a problematic deal. And I think this opens us up to a lot of.
it really chills the ability of people to to talk to, To their to their representatives.
it, it chills the ability for, for people to innocently you know, Try to get information.
and again, I'm, I, I think it's, it's a stumbling block into creating conflicts or to Creating violations unintentionally.
if I may, again, this only applies to subdivision. It does not apply to all the zoning. This is no different than the board of adjustment, Which has quasi judicial authority.
in that case, you can only make your case at the hearing. The same thing with subdivision. You make your case at the hearing.
okay. I'm sorry, I don't agree with that. The second thing is that you've got a definition In in that the,
on the the committees that I'd like a clarification on.
it says that at least two residents possessing expertise relevant, I'm sorry, two residents who qualify as neighborhood advocates
that that qualification is located in a couple definitions of committees that that the Chairman can appoint.
what what is the qualifications for a person who is a neighborhood advocate?
what does that mean? It's not a defined term, But I would just say it's someone who has experience advocating for neighborhoods on
zoning related issues. You know, there are people who we see down at the horseshoe on a Regular basis on zoning cases,
and they're the vicinity of their neighborhood who, You know, speak up and advocate for the neighborhood concerns.
and that's someone who has a sort of expertise that I think is really important to have On.
and, you know, under the previous zoe composition, That wasn't in there at all, it was just nine people.
my, my difficulty here is, is words matter. Clarification matters.
and, and the chair is, is got a lot of power to, To appoint people.
and if you don't know what the definition is, If we don't know what the qualifications are,
it doesn't say a particular neighborhood. It doesn't say what a neighborhood advocate Means.
it really is sort of a open ended, silly type of a of an explanation and description.
to me, this is not a good drafting of an ordinance.
and to me, I think that that's something that should be changed or should be at least Revisited.
and again, look, I'm not trying to, to to kill a, A, an ordinance.
what I'm trying to do is make sure that it can be enforced, That it's transparent, that if somebody who you're a good guy,
but your successor may not be. So I just want to make sure that who's ever investigating This stuff can use this document effectively and is
not using it improperly. And so I wouldn't I'm not approving this.
I don't think this document is ready for approval yet. Thank you, councilmember west. I'm just going to ask the chairman how many how long did You guys work on this as a body?
we had our rules committee take a look at it first, And they gave it a good scrub and made several tweaks to it,
and then it went to the cpc. I believe we took it up at a single meeting there, But there was robust discussion,
including on the neighborhood advocate point.
and, you know, the body discussed that and ultimately, I believe, unanimously agreed to it.
I kind of, you know, hate to use the potter stewart example, But we all know a neighborhood advocate when we see it at the cpc.
you know, it is those people who have shown up and have been an influential voice on Zoning cases on behalf of neighborhood.
and that's a new addition. I just want to emphasize, You know, there was nothing in there about neighborhood advocacy,
neighborhood representation on cpc or on zone before this latest round of code rules, Amendments.
well, and and in terms of passing the rules, What was the vote from cpc?
unanimous, unanimous support from our appointed body by the 15 of us.
thank you for your hard work. Thank you staff, For your hard work on this. I support this item fully. Thank you. Okay. Seeing no further discussion.
thank you so much, mr. Rubin, for being here so late in your capacity as a volunteer. We really appreciate your work. All those in favor, Say aye.
any opposed? Yes. I'm opposed. Absolutely. Motion prevails.
thank you. Noted. Mr. Mayor. Next item, please. Agenda item 84. Authorize a professional services contract with hewitt dollars inc Approved as to form by the city
attorney for architectural, engineering and construction administration services for a new Vehicle maintenance facility at southeast
service center, located at 2761 municipal street, Not to exceed $1,026,908.
this is your item, mr. Mayor. Is there a motion?
I heard a motion and a second. Seeing no discussion.
okay. Go ahead, miss mendelsohn. Thank you. Could you explain the current state of the Building?
good evening. Yes, miss mendelsohn, the current state of the building is in a great state Of disrepair.
it's very old. It's been under water, I think, A couple times.
so. So when I was there and you gave me a tour, Literally part of the building was flooded.
we couldn't even go into the conference room because there was standing water. Yes, Ma'am.
there was a bathroom that was broken out of order you couldn't go into.
yes, ma'am. There's another bathroom where sewage was coming back into the building.
yes, ma'am. Paint's peeling all through the building.
yes, ma'am. And there's no air conditioning? Yes, Ma'am.
and even the box fans in the window don't seem to be air conditioning. They're just a fan, right? Correct. But we did put.
we did put fans in. There are fans at the base for for the technicians for some relief.
yes. But no air conditioning? No, ma'am. So this money isn't going to fix any of those Things,
is it? No, ma'am. This money and this this bond package that we're after would be to build A standalone building and not address any of those issues.
and why do you need the standalone building? Currently, About 60 of the vehicles that we have do not fit inside this building,
and some that do barely fit inside the building. So in order to get staff inside off the gravel out of the parking lot, Out of the rain and out of the wind to service these vehicles correctly,
we need to get them inside the building. So the staff's been working on big trucks out in The parking lot,
either in the full sun or the one shade structure that's been built.
is that right? Yes, ma'am. But we're going to put money into adding is it four new bays or Six new bays?
no, ma'am. The concept was a stand alone structure that we could add.
and you're the discussion when you came out there was beneficial and how we might view it,
but it was always a stand alone structure. And when they said four bays, What they meant was four drive through bays so that we could have a total of eight bays.
and I've got dimensions for everything that we would, And also be able to move the parts room into that same new construction.
so so this is the super important question. Yes, Ma'am. So we just went through that. The current service center building where you're working on The vehicles is in terrible shape.
yes, ma'am. I mean, honestly, it's the worst building I've seen in the city.
and that's saying something. Yes, ma'am. Are you moving the people out of that building to Move to the new eight bays?
we would move all the all the all the two thirds of the staff would be able to come out of There,
including the part staff. The small segment to the where the most of the squads are Operated would still be intact based on what
we have in terms of the bond money available to build. So there's roughly another 8 to 10 bays on the smaller on the light vehicle side, That's class zero through three zero through two vehicles.
so so we would move like your police cars. That's your code compliance cars, Transportation cars.
that's, that's what you're going to still have people work on in these terrible Conditions.
and you're going to build the taller bays, eight stations, Correct.
for driveways for, I don't know, drive thrus, Pull thrus.
correct. But more than half the people are actually going to stay in the old building.
not it's probably slightly less than half that facility there. About 60% of its work is heavy duty work. They do, We do do a lot of police at that.
there's two districts of police there as well. So there are a lot of light duty vehicles there, But a little more than half that staff would get to move out of that building.
so I know I asked you this question previously, Could the taller buildings actually the taller,
trucks, could they just be serviced at a different service center? We have four, right? Correct. Not from a distance perspective, You know, and I and I and I've heard this it's really not convenient.
I, I don't want to say convenient. It creates a lot of what we call deadhead time Transportation costs and staff associated with moving vehicles throughout the city.
central cannot take any more heavy duty trucks. In terms of, from a repair perspective we might be able to do some more up at the Northeast service center,
but that's through town. That's probably, I'm guessing 8 to 10 miles of travel time where Staff now begins just driving vehicles around the city.
and the assignment of the vehicles is, is unique to the department's sanitation, Decides dpd decides what they need to service the residents.
so those vehicles being parked are very deliberate. Well, I'm just going to say I don't necessarily have a problem with building these new Bays,
but I have a huge problem with allowing people to continue working in the conditions that They are in your old bays.
and I would rather build a new building and totally either, I mean, code compliance shouldn't even let that building stand.
if this was a private business, that thing be shut down. It doesn't meet any of our codes. You can't you can't operate a business without air Conditioning.
I mean, this is it's a it's a hazard. And we have employees there, And it's only a testament to,
frankly, your charming personality that your people have stayed with you because anybody Else would leave.
these are terrible working conditions. And so I don't know how it needs to be managed, Whether the big vehicles need to go to another service center and you need to
just replace the bays you have now, whether it needs more money to actually solve this Issue.
but it's not enough. And it's not okay to just say, Let's add these eight new bays.
it's not understood. I find this proposition completely unacceptable.
I think after, you know, after looking at what exists out there and talking with my peers And professionals,
I think there's ways to phase in a solution to this. But I recognize and understand. Absolutely. We want to get that staff out of those Buildings as quick as possible.
but can we phase in the heavy stuff, the parts then be able to and as funding becomes Available,
then move the rest of the and then and then remove the whole facility.
I think that's well, I would just say to you that I came to visit for the first time.
I don't think you get a lot of council members coming out there to visit.
you're not going to be the highest priority. You're totally behind the scenes, And I don't know how many people have even seen the other service centers,
but I know that should not be happening in our city.
and it's not okay for our our employees. For every person on this council that sits there And is pro labor,
how do you let this be okay? I don't know. I, I'm not okay with this item because we're missing the mark.
we're solving the wrong problem here. We didn't we've never been okay with this as a, You know,
but in the pool of time that we've been here and given credit back to three years ago, We really dug this out of the mothballs.
we had group meetings here, you know, with staff down there, Found out what a lot of the pain points were.
we looked at old building plans. We looked at the northwest service center, Some of the footprints that exist.
what was a good solution? Well, I was hoping this item would change.
I'm going to post pictures from my visit, which I haven't done previously, But I'm not supporting this item because this is the wrong item.
the service center needs something different and it needs that building to not flood.
I mean, there's like mosquitoes that are trying miss mendelsohn. If I could, mr. Mayor. Sure. Go ahead. I just wanted to make a couple of comments, And I do want to thank councilwoman mendelsohn for her comments.
I've been to the service center several times and we're very well aware of the conditions.
I think that's why I was extremely important during the 2024 bond program discussion, When staff presented several critical facility needs.
whether we're talking about the maintenance facilities, We're talking about the current animal shelter,
we know that there are serious deficiencies across our portfolio of facilities.
this item is to move something forward that actually should have been done a long time Ago.
and we're not saying that it's the all in fix, But it's a start. And I think as we continue to look at overall facilities, As we're working now to get to the real estate master plan,
the work that we're trying to do and how we look at our general fund, We know that we've got to continue to look for resources to begin to do better and
continue those improvements. And so I want to applaud the staff for continuing to push for Us to at least start and not wait until we have a full blown solution,
because it will never do anything. And we'll be talking about this ten years from now, Which is how we got here today.
so I wanted to thank the team for bringing this item forward, And I do hope council will support us at least starting and let us continue to work on
ways that we can even make better improvements in what we know those conditions are for Those employees in that particular department.
so thank you so much for your efforts. Council member stewart.
thank you. Mayor. I too have had the tour. And it's it's hard to describe.
I mean, it is truly awful. The paint peeling on the ceiling is in very large, You know, large pieces and I,
I won't walk through. I think council member mendelsohn has walked us through what the Issues are.
but what I will say is you've put a lot of time and effort into this, Thought it through,
worked with your employees, worked with other resources in the city and you have a plan.
and I think at this point in time, what we can do is stand behind this man and support him In this plan.
I think it's probably the best next step. Is it the perfect step? No. Does it address all of the needs? No. Is there more to do there?
absolutely. And I would ask each one of you to remember that at 1018 on the night that we Were here till probably midnight,
we. We noticed. We stopped for a minute. We paused and we went, Oh my goodness, we are asking people to come to work in this in these
conditions. And I mean to tell you, if you want to go to lunch, If you want to meet me out there,
I mean, it's, it's not good. It is not good. But this is a step forward.
how can we say no to a step forward? Right? This is a plan. This is not a half baked plan. This is a plan that's been thoroughly thought through with The resources that we have and the moment.
so I completely support this item. But this is not the last piece of this.
there is more to go and we need to remember that. Thank you. Council member west. Thank you. I mean, We are we all have been talking about the city hall discussion for months now,
and they're at each other's throats over it because of the predecessors of our past and Past city managers not putting money into the
facilities. And so we're faced with a massive amount that we're trying to have come up With to fix this building.
so this is a step in the right direction for this facility.
you know that we're trying to take today, if we don't do it, It's just going to compound the problem later.
so I commend you and your team for putting this together. City manager for taking steps in the right direction.
thank you. Council member mendelsohn. Okay, so I'm going to go back to this.
yes, ma'am. The real issue here is that the current building needs to be condemned or Repaired.
and it's just as simple as that. Like, I don't think anyone should be there at work Tomorrow.
it's that bad. And if we were anything but the city, We would have the city go out and they would shut it down.
you would absolutely shut this down. And yet we're not fixing this building.
we're just going to keep adding more stuff on that. We're then going to need to repair and maintain, But we're not repairing and maintaining the thing we have.
so if it's not worthy of repairing and maintaining what we have now, Why are we building something new?
why are you adding on something new that will now add another thing that we have to Maintain in our portfolio.
when we have something so bad that the city would immediately shut it down?
code compliance would not allow this to be open.
like be shocked. But yet we're going to allocate money to crazy things like tml so that Someone can be a board member.
and this is where our priorities are 100% wrong.
so okay, you know, I'm mad that we are not doing something about this current building.
should you have one that has eight new bays and it's tall. Sure. I don't know if you're going to rotate people back and forth, But if I can find a way to condemn that building,
I would do it. Understood. I mean, there's a lot there's almost 50 vehicles that pass Through there a day to make two districts of police
run. Public works, snow operations, you name it, Through that city.
and you're right. It's worth the investment and the crew and the tools to take care of This stuff.
yeah, but the answer is not. It's too far away to go to one of the other service centers.
like maybe the whole service center should just be shut down. That is a solution. And I'm sorry if you want to say 8 to 10 miles is too much, Because I drive more than that every single day to come here.
well, I know what it is. It's it's a way of moving inefficiencies around.
all you do is take not having that location and then turn it into police officers driving Vehicles all over the city instead of getting them serviced
and returned on a daily basis. And so you know, That location is strategic and it's valuable,
and it has the size and capacity to service the mccomas landfill every morning.
there's a, there's a line of vehicles that come out of that landfill needing service of Some measure.
and so I think there's just a lot of things that happen automatically.
and maybe we don't do a good job of telling you about the things that we do, Do the successes that we have,
but but we do do it. You did. I think you actually did a beautiful job at that.
I'm talking about the conditions that people are working in. Sure. And it's just as simple as that. And I, like I said, I'm just going to post the pictures online and we'll see what people think.
councilwoman. Blackmon. Okay, so I'm looking at the item and reading the resolution.
okay. Is this are we are we just doing maintenance or is this a new vehicle maintenance Facility?
ma'am, this would be a new we have a patch of area that we call the rock lot Affectionately.
and that area would be the new standalone building that we would move.
ideally these eight bays, some parts rooms or the parts room, Some office and then have it built so that when we can afford to add the
automotive component and the funding's available, We can then add that component to it.
but at least once we got the eight bays in place and the parts in place, We could fit all the large class seven and eight vehicles into that building for service.
so that would cure the guys working in the gravel lots, Crawling around on the gravel, lots to fix vehicles.
and and then we could also move the parts, and it would allow you to condemn and remove Almost two thirds of the existing building.
okay, so it's only going okay, two thirds comes down, One third gets renovated. Now the two thirds that would remove are not really something that's part of this bond Proposal or,
or, you know, but if we vacated them like we're talking about, They become fair game to remove as funding becomes available.
one thing to add, I'm jenny and I just wondered the bond office and something that we put In the june 5th friday memo that was talked about this item is that we do recognize
that this would be the first phase for this southeast for the fleet, The southeast service center.
and so one of the things that we're looking at is, Is getting a plan, I wouldn't call it a master plan because it's just for this particular
section for these four buildings to see how we can phase the last third of that building Out and what that would look like.
so we would be set up for the next bond program to finish out and get everybody out of That building.
so. So is that part of this? No, that's the second part. Second the second part. This is the initial start to be able to build the base that They've identified.
because we know that that's not going to be enough. And we need to have additional resources to be able to do the second part.
okay. Then we can actually do tear it down and do the very things that I know that Councilwoman mendelsohn is talking about,
but this is the start. Okay. To get there because it says that there was 90% schematic Design in 2012.
in 2012. Yes. And so this was originally part of the 2006 bond program.
I believe it was probably funded towards the end. The design came in and and they were able to get to about 90% of the schematic design.
and, and I think we expended about 100,000 $160,000 of the original contract.
so there has been work on it and we can see if there's anything that we can, You know, utilize or expand from.
but yes, there was work done in 2012. And so when we talk about this plan, Do we have this is going to be the plan to get us the plan.
what we're doing right now will be, yes, it'll be the plan. So they'll take that concept. And if it if it works, Then that's great.
we can build on it. But if not, we we're certainly scoped so that we can start a brand new Look at it as well.
so we're just waiting for that notice to proceed so we can get into the room and talk to His staff and see what's the best step forward.
well, and it looks like the next bond won't be till like 2030 anyway.
so okay. Thank you. Can can I just jump in one more time, Mr.
mayor? And so I do want to be clear. There is no excuse why this had not happened already.
when we think about bonding bonding funds that were available 2006, I can't explain it.
I've asked for information. I think none of the people that are standing up here before You were responsible for it not being done.
but what I can tell you is, over this last year, We've been trying to figure out how to get this across the finish line.
and that's why this item is here. Don't have any explanation for why this didn't happen Already.
and so it's unfortunate, but this is what we have. And we're continuing trying to move this forward so we can get to a better place and be Able to come up with the additional funding to do much more than what we're doing today.
so we hope that council will support the item. All right. Seeing no further discussion. All those in favor, Please say aye.
any opposed? Motion carries. Next item please.
agenda item 91. Authorized one. Supplemental agreement.
number two to the professional services contract with m arthur gensler, Jr and associates,
inc. Dba gensler for architectural and engineering services to provide for a change in Scope to meet the time constraints related to the city's
construction obligation for the secondary facility in an amount not to exceed $379,885, And to a decrease to
the original award amount for supplemental agreement number one in an amount not to exceed $1,100,393.40.
to eliminate any further design services for the secondary facility total not to exceed $720,508.40,
from $30,639,241 to
$29,918,732.60. The two registered speakers have already addressed the city council.
therefore, there are no speakers for this item. Mr. Mayor. Is there a motion? Yes. I move to approve this item with the following corrections.
a decrease to the original ward award in an amount not to exceed $918,828.49, With a
total contract amount not to exceed $30,100,297.51, And with a total reduction in the
not to exceed amount for the overall contract of $538,943.49.
is there a second? Okay, we have a motion and a second discussion. Anyone mr. West. Yes. One second. All right. Just for my colleagues
information, this is a small decrease in funds for the joey g facility.
the gensler team. Let's see here. Basically, We changed our scope
with the developer for the site. The new contract has gensler doing a little bit.
a little bit different work. Scope of work. Which is why this contract amount was reduced.
if you have any deep dive questions on this, I'm going to defer to staff. Thank you. Sounds good. Seeing no further discussion.
all those in favor, please say aye. Any opposed? Nay. Nay. Noted. Two mr. Mayor. Motion carries.
next item please. Agenda item 92 is an ordinance authorizing one the issuance
and sale of city of dallas, texas. Waterworks and sewer system revenue refunding bonds.
series 2026 a in a principal amount not to exceed $205 million to establishing parameters Regarding
the sale of the bonds. Three approving the execution of agreements in connection with the Sale of the bonds and for all other matters related thereto.
not to exceed $660,000. This is your item, mr. Mayor. Second, we got a motion and a second. Seeing no discussion.
all those in favor, please say aye. We already started voting.
okay. All right. Sounds good. All those in favor, Please say aye.
any opposed? Motion carries. Next item please.
agenda item 93. Authorize the city manager to prepare and present at the august 12th, 2026,
city council meeting. The actions necessary to call a november 2026 bond election for the Issuance of one public safety general obligation
bonds and two pension obligation bonds for the dallas police and fire pension system.
the registered speaker for this item has already addressed the city council. Therefore, There are no speakers for this item, mr. Mayor. Do we have a motion?
we got a motion and a second. I see miss mendelsohn. Go ahead. I have some questions, please.
I think they might be for jack.
so there's a number of items. There's a number of items that are listed to be included in Here.
are you expecting each one would be a separate proposition or would they be rolled Together?
I believe at this point we were thinking that the public safety facilities would be one Proposition,
and the pension obligation bonds would be a separate proposition. And what about the fire station? Part of a, I guess, Public safety proposition, all part of one proposition,
but I'll let jenny also. So the public safety propositions
typically include police, fire and emergency facilities. And so we'd have the same type of language that would cover police and fire.
and one proposition. And are we able to make a motion to ensure that each of those items Are separate and not rolled together?
you mean separate proposition might actually be a legal question?
could you repeat the question, council member, If it's proper to make a motion to require that each of the public safety facilities be
presented as individual propositions? So I would have my answer would have been that we Would be working with
our bond counsel, julie partain, to figure that out over the next several weeks.
we really wanted this item today to get direction from council as to whether you wanted a November election or not,
and for us to bring back to you on august the 12th, The propositions, the ordinances, all the things that we needed,
but we needed some direction before we went off and worked on that.
and part of that work would be working with our bond council to set up the actual Propositions.
we are actually trying to see if our bond council is online. We're checking the the computers right now. Okay.
well, I'd like to give this feedback first. A law enforcement training complex and a Public safety training complex don't have specific enough
names for anyone to understand what the difference is between the two.
and I would like for there to be some understanding that that is confusing to a voter on What that
even is. We generally call it a police academy. There's obviously two locations, and I understand you're trying to distinguish them, But calling one law enforcement training complex and the other public safety training
complex doesn't hit the mark on that. Number two, The 911 center is a poison pill for this entire proposition.
if it goes in together, this bond will not pass.
and I personally will vocally try to kill the bond, Not like the convention center where I never did a single interview.
I will talk to every single person and say I am the number one public safety supporter in This city,
and I will not support this because it's going to move. 911 center out of this building. And we all know exactly what that's about.
and it's purposeful that you're putting it in with the police academy, And that's shameful.
so I'm happy to make a motion to remove it all together, Or to only be considered if it could be a standalone item.
we need this police academy built. It is the number one project for the city.
it's not the convention center. It's not this building. It is the police academy. You think downtown would be lost because they don't get 12 acres In this building?
no downtown will be lost if we don't have our public safety under control.
we have got to get this thing built. And you're playing games by putting the 911 center on The same ballot.
mr. Mayor, if I could just jump in, please. I do appreciate the feedback.
number one, we don't play games. Number two, Whichever direction that council would like for us to proceed.
the answer that mr. Ireland gave is that we will be working with the council to determine The way to best ensure that the public understands what these items are.
but the continuation of the comments as if staff has done something wrong by bringing this Item today and that we're playing games with the city council is unacceptable.
and it's not fair. And I will not continue to sit and let those comments be made as if We're doing something intentionally.
we have talked about the public safety academy. We have talked about the other opportunities that we have with this potential bond Program.
we're asking council for direction and whatever direction that you give us tonight is how We will proceed.
but it is not a game that is being played by me or this staff.
I will just remind that I am not an employee here.
I'm an elected official. We don't play games. This is a game that is being played and I'm sorry if you don't recognize it as such.
my feedback is that these items should not be together, Not as determined by bond council that is paid by the city that you hire.
but I'm saying as an elected official, we have a city very divided on very specific Questions here.
and if you put them together, this will not pass.
so that is my input. The fire station, I think.
why is that not included in new park? Wasn't that part of the plan that they were going to Build a fire station?
with the development south here? Weren't they supposed to build a fire station?
we all heard new park. I don't know what that is. Is that what we're trying to figure out? You said new park.
the hoke property just south of city hall with a giant abatement.
aren't they supposed to build a fire station? I'm not aware of hogue building. Any fire station.
why wasn't fire station number four included in the bond?
in the last. The last bond? Yeah, we already had station 43 in the bond.
and as we begin to talk about building a new convention center it was recognized that fire Station.
well, I'll let the fire chief talk about it, But I'm going to I'm going to go ahead and stop that because this that's not what this
item is about. So I want to make sure we stop. Station number four is one of the items we want.
I just want to make sure that we're discussing what is posted. I believe that this was already going to be paid for by a development that we had Previously agreed to.
I'm not aware of that. Go ahead and continue.
is robin bentley available?
good evening. I understand the question is, did the new park developer agree to pay for a New fire station as part of the complex?
no, there's no fire station as part of that development. And have you heard of anybody building a new replacement station for number four?
no, no. Replacement station plan for number four.
the new park development wraps around the station for site, But it's not part of that development.
I am very surprised to hear you say that. What can you tell us about the property room and Vehicle storage item?
what is the question about the property room and vehicle storage? What is the exact question? Do you have a site located?
so I think we've had several conversations with council as this body is very well aware.
in closed session we've given some potential options that we have.
this item is not what those options are. This item is to get direction that over the Course of the next few weeks as council is on recess.
would you like for us to begin to work on the deliverables for a potential bond program?
this is not about picking the site. This is about do we want to move forward in this Direction.
and that's why this item is on for your consideration on this agenda.
is it your opinion that we would ask people for $150 million for those buildings without Giving them full
details? As this council is well aware, we've given several discussions.
we've had several discussions in closed session. You've given direction to go do some additional due diligence, And we've communicated publicly in the last two meetings that we'll be bringing that
information back to the city council. So you're in a better position to make a decision.
and so that work is underway, as council has already directed.
okay. Well, then I'm not in favor of moving forward with those items, Even though the property room is the second worst property I've ever been in for the city
of dallas. Because how could we possibly ask somebody to vote for giving us their tax Dollars,
allowing us to have more debt when we're not even willing to be transparent with them About what's happening.
so that leaves me saying, I would like to see a proposition that solely one item funds Both academy locations
and the fire station. I guess that'll wait for the next bond along with all these other Things.
and if we don't have information to share in a property room and a vehicle storage place, I guess we'll have to wait until we have that information.
and I'm definitely not in support of dollars to move the 911 center, Although I would be if it was only for renovation of our current.
and I'm 100% opposed to the to the pension obligation bond, Which is solely about moving
this from a general fund item to debt. This will be a massive tax increase for dallas.
council member. Blackmon. Thank you. So in the resolution it says at the actions necessary To call a
november 2026 bond election. Can you tell me what actions we anticipate in receiving when We come back on the 12th?
excuse me. On the 12th we would have the proposition language ready for council to review.
and that would be your opportunity to call for the election at that time on the 12th.
all we're going to receive on the 12th is just the language. Yes, ma'am. Like on the like the 2024 bond program would be the same thing.
the resolution with each of the propositions and the dollars. And so at that time, we can say, no, we don't want to do this at all.
yes. But we can also say today that we don't because if you don't do the preparation, You can't come on the 12th.
that's. That was the point. Councilwoman blackmon is to make sure that if council wanted To move in that direction,
we wouldn't be able to wait until you return from recess to get that general feedback.
and so this would give us an opportunity to to do the work. And in august, you might say you don't want to do it at all, Which is fine, but we did not want to not give you the opportunity to share your direction
with us now. And it's, it's not a vote to say you're doing it. It's to give us kind of direction to go ahead and begin to prepare.
okay. And so it's 941 million will be the total number that we're going to ask the voters To put on the credit card.
right. To, to, to borrow between those two propositions. Yes. Are those two groups of. Yes. And I know, Refresh my memory.
what. Because what is our capacity? I think we did pobs we left a a smidgen for the pobs.
right. Yes, ma'am. In our planning, we have assumed that we would have about $500 million Of pension
obligation bonds. If the council chose that course we also, As we've talked about in previous briefings we only have about
250 to $300 million of capacity each year. So when you make a decision, If you do and the voters approve to put more
funding into the two police academy facilities, And it is your priority to do those sooner than the impact could be that some of the 24
bond projects get pushed out. It's all about prioritization and which project you want to Go first versus which one second.
but again, as miss tolbert has mentioned today, Is just to tell us if you want us to keep going forward or not.
and so what happens? Or how do we know which projects projects get pushed?
so that would be something that we would come back to you with depending.
so far, you've not told us to move forward like the 12th is in six weeks and we're gone For four of those.
so I'm wondering, when do we get that project list? Yes, ma'am. If we are moving forward in the direction of having an additional bond Election for the police academy,
and that, we believe is your priority, then we would need to make room for that in the 27 Budget.
and so there would be some reshuffling of the 24 projects to accommodate that.
but again, that is something we have 6 or 7 weeks to get that done.
and so understanding your direction today is important to us on timing and p o b's.
we and I mean we've exhausted every other way, But to borrow the money to pay for these or,
and I understand, I know I was at the council, I was at the briefing where just because you authorized it doesn't mean you have to pull
the trigger. But I do believe politically doing anything in november is really a shot in The dark.
I mean, it's going to be a crazy election. And usually you don't go out for these kind of Things unless,
you know, the predictability of the electorate. So that's just my political opinion. So my question is, You know, to look at the the voters and to say,
we've exhausted everything and this is our only way.
and we can and as we know, somebody said, you can't put good money after bad money after a Bad investment.
so I don't know if we're ready, if we may pull the trigger. I don't know if we're ready to actually go sell the bonds, Because I don't feel confident that we are there with our pension.
and so if I may add to it, we do not need to issue pension obligation bonds to fix the Dallas police and fire pension system.
the police and fire pension system has a funding plan that has been approved.
it is perfectly acceptable to the state as a joint plan. Thank you all for your approval of it. Thank the board for their approval of it.
we will fully fund in 30 years, as we're required to do if the market changes.
if market conditions are different, there are advantages and potential benefit from Issuing pension obligation bonds,
but it is a condition of the market. Rates for borrowing need to come down and rates for Investing need to go up,
and you need that difference. And so if if the timing is right and we can get lower prices To borrow and they are able to invest and get a better rate
of return, it will save us money. In addition to moving more of the contribution to the Debt service fund,
it would have a net savings. But how much net savings? It depends on what the difference is in the cost to borrow and the rate of return.
so I can't really give you an exact answer. I understand that we have the fix, But the problem is now we need the money for the fix.
and I know that you and miss mendelsohn's. Right. You've got to take it off of the general fund and put it on in this.
put it on a on a debt service and this is it. Or we just keep making contributions out of the general fund, Which we're planning to do.
that's why we had the five year step up, because we wanted to kind of manage that with $20 Million incremental increases each year.
and so that's helping us mitigate that. And I'm hoping that we have somebody that's Working with us to making sure that investments at the pension fund are working.
you approved an agenda item earlier today for that pension advisor, And that will be working with us.
perfect. Then also to on I just lost it. Dadgummit.
I guess that's it. I had it up and I, I had my resolution up. Thank you. Council member ridley. So. Jack proving in august the issuance.
well, the ballot to approve these bonds will automatically if the voters approve the
bond issue will automatically defer the 2024 bond program. Is that correct? Not automatically, but there will probably have to be some give.
I believe in the presentations, the two presentations I gave before on this, We talked about spreading the 24 remaining projects out over four years
instead of three. So most likely there is going to be an impact to. 24. And you said that it doesn't make sense to issue the pension obligation bonds unless There is a greater spread between
the income received by the pension investments and the interest rate that we will have to Pay on the bonds,
correct? Yes, sir. And actually, interest rates are going to be trending up this year Because of higher inflation.
so I don't see in the near future it being economical for us to issue pension obligation Bonds.
we could defer that consideration of doing that bond issue for say a year and take it up When we see that
conditions are trending in the right direction to issue those bonds and not have to pay More interest than we're receiving in income,
isn't that correct? That is correct. And we would not recommend for you to issue those Bonds this year.
and you get the authorization, whether you get the authorization this november or if you Choose to do it next november or some future november.
we still want to have outlined what we want those triggers to be.
we want the the borrowing costs to be x and expectations on earnings to be y, Etc.
we would want some of those things to be in place, But you don't want the market to change.
and then you're like, oh, I've got to wait until next november before I can have an Election.
so at some point you will want to consider having an election and setting triggers for When we actually work with our financial advisors who are here
to go out and actually issue those bonds. If the electorate did approve bonds in november,
is there a time limit on when we would have to start issuing those bonds under that Authority from the voters?
no, sir. And you may recall that I probably said previously it was ten years.
our bond council has recently corrected me and said, As long as we continue to demonstrate to the attorney general that that is still part of
our plan, that it doesn't expire at ten years. So there is not a. You. You have to borrow the money within 5 or 10 or you lose the Authorization.
we just have to continue to communicate with the the a g. S office of our plans. Well, I'm opposed to this item because I don't think we're ready to Issue these bonds.
certainly it makes no sense to issue the pobs in 2026, As jack has just confirmed.
we can do that later. I think we're facing an uphill battle with the electorate over the Issue of closing our $31 million
deficit in the current year budget, the $50 million deficit in the planned budget, And the perception that
we are not being fiscally wise at city hall. And I think rather than
risk this being defeated at the polls, that we would be wise to defer it to a later time If we find that necessary.
I don't think that pension obligation bonds are ever going to be necessary, Since we already have a 30 year amortization schedule that jack has just
confirmed we can pay from general funds. And so I'm opposed to the staff spending a lot of Hours getting ready for a bond
election that is doomed to failure. Council member willis.
thank you. So, jack if we were to. If the voters were to pass pension
obligation bonds and we never exercised that opportunity, Does that improve our rating in any way or our financial
status? Just to know that we have the ability to use it as a financial tool, Or do we have to actually use actually enact that?
I don't think it has a positive impact of not using it and having the authorization.
so no, I don't think I think the answer is no. So really when we discuss this at committee, It was about having financial flexibility.
and we've talked about that because right now those escalating amounts come out of the General fund.
and if there's a way to offset and be able to put it into debt service, I mean, it's not the most ideal picture.
but we're also looking at all of these other expenses bearing down on us. So it's really just to give us flexibility that we may never use.
I mean, I'm not a big fan of them, but if it's opening up a financial tool that we could Use,
and you certainly don't have to do the whole 500 million either.
you know, I'm open to that. But today is not really about getting into whether we want to Do it or not.
that's what will come in august. I think we need our city manager.
are we planning a briefing on the items and then have them on the agenda on the 12th?
thank you for the question, councilwoman willis. That would be the plan to come and do the Work over the summer.
jack has mentioned the work that we would have to do with bond council, And then we would bring that back to the full body.
and then I think august the 12th would be when council would need to decide how you would Like to proceed.
okay. Because there's definitely some strategy to think about here because we've got a List one through five of various complexes and training centers,
etc. And then we've got the pension obligation. Bonds is totally separate. So, you know, that's its own animal.
but on these others, I mean, I don't know. On 911 operations center, I think the public gets that one is linked to the other when it comes to public
safety. So I don't I'm not sure where this focus group of one is coming from or where the Data is that says that would take a whole bond election that also has a police training
facility and public safety facility on it. I just I completely disagree with that.
however, I do think we need to think about how we bundle these.
and if we bundle these. So that is something I would expect to take place over the next Few weeks,
is to really think about that and understand with some, Some kind of you know, less than subjectivity on,
on how that would be. And that might not just come from bond council, But I mean, there are, there are other aspects that would go with this, How this is packaged, how we educate our electorate even on what these things are.
and to the point, very good point on. Two of these items sound very much alike.
so we need to work that out as well. And we would this with bond council over the next Month.
we we will understand better of whether we have to bundle, Whether we separate what our options are.
I just can't give you those options today. Well, We've had another big issue around this poured concrete building.
and it's usually about people wanting more information. And sometimes the pursuit of more information gets blocked, Which is crazy.
but I think what this is, is this is a mode of information putting it together.
what's the language? What are the legalities? How do you bundle it? What's the strategy? How do you educate?
and I think that's got to happen over the next few weeks. And then we will make the go no go when we come back in august.
and so I think that at this point, you all need to be free and able to pursue all of the Information that we need to,
to present us with the options so we can make the best decision. So I am supportive of pursuing whatever we need to to start putting that language Together.
council member. Stewart. Thank you mayor. I'll try to make this very brief.
I believe our residents do understand our budget pressures. They've certainly we've certainly talked about it in the context of our city hall repairs.
and it just it's just ever present to me right now when when I'm in a community meeting or A coffee meeting.
it's just explaining that. And one of the pressures is the increasing cost on the pension.
I completely support the plan and am relieved and actually proud of the fact that we were Able to get this resolved,
that we have this funding agreement in place. But I also know it's a long term plan, and this pressure will therefore be there, Be with us for a long time.
having a planning tool like the pension obligation bonds in our back pocket, If in fact they make sense and we realize that we are really draining
our general fund every year with this payment, There may be a time that this makes sense.
that's probably not this year, maybe not next year, But it will be something that we will want to have this tool accessible and available,
and I think our residents will understand that. I, I really do. They've, they've been walking this walk with us right, For the past several months on what these pressures are and what is going on with our
decision making with respect to our budgets and repairs and just future projections.
so I think we'll have their support. So I'm I'm glad that we're going to vote on this Today.
but again, the vote is just to explore, just to look at how we might bundle it and look at It,
make sure it makes sense. It will take a second look, A third look, and maybe a fifth look before we really know if we want to move forward.
thank you. Council member cordano. I don't know if somebody if anybody asked this, But how do we compile this list
and can anything else can anything be added or changed or deleted, I guess.
so. I will say, and then if miss tolbert wants to add to.
but when we were having conversations about the shortfall in funding for the police Academy,
then the question was, are there other urgent.
time sensitive, if you will, public safety facility needs.
and this was the list that was put together once we asked that question.
there's other needs that are on the needs inventory. I want to thank public safety had a $600 million or so needs inventory.
when the 24 bond program was put together and only 90 million got included in the 24 bond Program.
so there's a lot of needs that we do not have funding for, For public safety. And so since we were having the conversation about the academy, The question was asked, is there anything else that we need to look at right now?
and, miss tolbert, is there anything else that I should add? No. That's correct. And I just wanted to say again, We shared several different times the recommended items that we felt could be a part of
it. Again, it's still subject to what council wants to do. And we've definitely worked with both the police chief, The fire chief and this entire team to come up with a list that we believe really does
address some of those unique issues that we have right now and what we're looking at. We talked about the property room. We've given examples of potential locations in closed Session about the property room.
we talked about the auto. I mean, we've gone through extensive conversations about it.
and again, today is really about do we want to go ahead and do the preparation and then Come back in august so council can give us further direction at that time?
this is us trying to prepare proactively so you can make a decision.
okay. My other question is, did we look at possibly possibly using tif for fire station Four if it's within a tif?
and I say that because perhaps another fire station could be put into the bond and tif Money be used for this.
especially with all of the development that's happening in downtown.
yeah, we've looked at all options and I don't I don't think there was money in the tif for It.
so we're looking at in the bond package. Okay.
for station four. And then if we don't do the bond now, When would be the next opportunity to do so?
so normally elections are either in may or november.
I think the body made a decision not to hold may elections. So november's every november there's a uniform election date and you have to call the Election by about mid august.
so if we didn't do it this august and it would be may. And so if y'all go ahead. Well, I was going to say one of the things that we were asked to Do,
and I think this has again, been part of the broader public safety conversation, Is when we actually need funding to be able to move the public safety
academy forward. We've laid out the schedule. We've talked about how much we have, how much is coming, How much is committed, and we've kind of shown where we would need to have that funding
available. So that was one of the reasons why we were talking about november. So we would have the money available. I think dave has showed a whole timeline for when That funding would need to be available for us to keep going.
I think we're still planning to break ground in september, But then we're going to we're going to need to know that we've got the money to be able to
keep the project going and not stop. Okay. I think my last comment would just be that I Think we do seriously have to consider the bundling,
because I remember the last time we had a bond, There were some things that I think we would have liked to have passed,
but because it was bundled a certain way, then that item failed.
I can think about it a couple of things. So I think we do need to make sure that we Consider that carefully because some of these items we,
we do need them to pass and they're important. But I think because of some of the discussions that have been going on in the, In the city,
I would just caution about putting everything together.
thank you. Council member gracey. Thank you, Mr.
mayor. I will be supporting this, but I do have some questions. Just a point of clarity, jack, and I want to make sure if we have the the pension Obligation bonds and the general obligation bonds,
and we're saying if I understood everything, We wouldn't necessarily issue the pension obligation bonds.
we would just have them just in case things get tight. Is that what I understand you understood correctly that we would go ahead and get the Voter authorization for pension obligation bonds,
but not actually borrow the money, not actually issue the bonds until the market was Better,
right. Which might be a year, 24 months. I don't, I don't know, three years.
the next question is in the event if the market turns and it's right, Would we I'm because I'm trying to stay
between. So the pension obligation bonds. If the market is right, Just because the market is right doesn't necessarily mean we would issue the bonds.
it was just only if we need them. I'm trying to get that clarity to. Because one side is we issue them. If we need them, Then the other side is we would issue them if we if the market condition presents itself,
so is it that if the market presents itself, We will issue or we can issue.
I'm just trying to. So I think that's something that we will want defined.
okay. So we need to make that decision. And that can be part of what we bring back to you In august,
is a recommendation on exactly how that would work, What those triggers would be.
okay. And the reason I'm asking that is because if, If if that is the trigger.
and again, I think I caught this the last time too, If those bonds, pension obligation bonds are issued,
that would put the 2024 bond program, I guess, Delay it some of those projects.
so not necessarily it depends on how much we issue in the pension obligation bonds.
when I briefed you last on when was that. June the 10th.
we, we proposed that maybe we would issue the pension obligation bonds in smaller tranches Instead of just one 500 million.
so it wouldn't hurt. Right. Right. So it wouldn't have as big of an impact. Fair. But if we do that then we come with the general obligation bonds and we do the Public safety.
that then puts another piece that could potentially delay to. Right. Yes, sir. Okay. So whenever I briefed you on june the 10th and laid out what a Schedule would look like having $166 million a year
for three years for the pension obligation bonds, Front end loading. Because their priority to do the public safety bonds, It required us to stretch the 24 bond program from three years to four years remaining.
okay. So that was the total impact of all of those things added together.
okay. And I know miss blackmon already asked these questions too, But this is something I'd be willing to come back and,
and know in august as well is what would be the methodology for delaying projects if these Bonds are issued.
you don't have to answer it now, but that's something that I want to make sure we address. Yeah, that would be a june thing that dev and jenny would come up with.
absolutely. Yeah. So I support this, but I do have those concerns. Thank you. Council member roth. I think I understood the answer, But I need a clarification of november is,
is the, is our sort of official election date, But can we request or can we shoot for a may date?
or is that completely off the table for an election date?
so for a bond election, there's two uniform election dates a year, One in may and one's in november.
I think the body had conversation at one time about not doing may elections.
billy ray, you might have to answer. Help me on that.
well, the city council moved their general elections from may to november, But special elections can be in may or november.
so yes. So we could have we could have a may bond election if we wanted to. Yes. Mayor bond election. Mayor remember, your two uniform election dates are in november,
may and november, right? And so my my question is, Is would there be any is, is the pressure then is not so much for
november except to the fact that you're trying to meld these, These amounts of money to the september
groundbreaking. I mean, in other words, if we change that date to may rather than then fix It as november,
that would take pressure off of everybody to get the information to sort of figure out What we would want to put in the bond package.
it would it wouldn't cross over with our budgeting season here.
I mean, it just seems to me that we're trying to jam a lot of stuff into a 6 to 8 week Period here on something that's very
important and needs a lot of strategy. And quite frankly, I don't know that that everybody's got enough bandwidth to,
to really do all this stuff in, in, in eight weeks. So again, I would like to to pursue getting the information, But I think the pressurization that we're putting on,
on everybody to get it done by october or august is not necessarily definitive and it's Not
necessarily required. So if we want I'm my suggestion would be that we change or amend This to say that you would be shooting for a may election,
potentially. Council member roth, the impact to the public safety training academy would Be there because the,
the november election date is to maintain that project schedule and have the funding Available to keep that on schedule.
so we would have to wouldn't impact the groundbreaking and the, The work that we would be able to begin,
but it would delay the opening of the complex.
well, that's only if we need that money to spend to use, But we do.
there is a shortfall in the full funding for that particular project, As we've briefed in the past.
well, there is now. And but there. And and if we don't have the funding, Regardless if we don't approve it,
we're still going to have to come up with the money or pare down the project or whatever It is. But my point is, is that this is not just for that.
it would be for more if we're talking about you know, Beyond the 500 million.
so I mean, beyond the, it's, I don't know how much you're talking about, But it seems to me that we're pressuring ourselves to get on the ballot.
and, and it's a, to me, it's a very political. And it's going to take a lot of strategic time to really figure out if we can get it Passed.
and look, I'm in favor of getting it on the ballot and I'm in favor of see if we can get It done.
but I don't want to go to the expense and the, And the effort to try to do something.
if we don't have a, you know, a concerted effort, We don't have the staff that can handle it in a,
in a, you know, not in a timely manner, but in a open in a easy manner.
that's not conflicting with all the other stuff that we're having to do in the next six Weeks and eight weeks.
so I just think it's a, it's a, it's a real it's a real push and it's going to be Difficult to get all the,
the things lined up that fast. But you know, If you all want to explore it, that's great,
but it's six more weeks of stuff that we don't have.
we're doing a lot of other stuff in this next six weeks. Deputy mayor pro tem johnson thank you, mr. Mayor.
I agree with chair stewart. Our community understands the need and what we are Experiencing.
and, and I support this moving forward. Some of the things that I'm hearing is we one Minute we tell our
staff to plan and move at the speed of business.
then we tell them they're moving too fast. Then we have several conversations about public Safety needs,
and the list has been provided and shared with the council multiple times.
and so I believe we need to give the city, the city manager direction and honestly stop a Lot of the attacks that I've been seeing on different,
different subject matters over and over and over again. It's really ridiculous, in my opinion, when we see what's going on.
I've been down to 911. Kevin, I need can I call kevin mayor?
is it okay if he come? Thank you. I went down to 911 and.
and I saw some things. Tell tell me how this would help with the things that you guys are Trying to do and,
and meet the need that we're trying to get done here. Yeah. So kevin oden, director of emergency management and crisis response.
so I appreciate the question. And certainly if the council chooses for us to do more Research and come back at the august date with very specifics on who,
what, when and where as it relates to the eoc and 911 will certainly be appreciative to Provide that.
generally speaking, both eoc and 911 takes up the same space it did when we moved down There 50 some odd years ago.
there's technology needs. There's space needs. We're just not designed to operate in the way that a modern big city is.
and some of the challenges we have we're seeing right now coordinating through some of the Pressures that,
that the world cup has put on us. We certainly would be prepared to have a longer and more Nuanced conversation with council if it
is decided on this item to, to bring back in in august for the potential of a bond to move Those functions to a separate facility.
thank you. What does the technology. I know you said fifa. How is that working with technology and some of the challenges that you guys are having?
thank you for the question, robert. Assistant director, Dallas police department. I oversee the 911 bureau.
so on the technology end today, we have some modernization needs, Obviously as the technology has expanded,
we've maintained our same footprint over the years. Ultimately it is important for us as the ninth largest city in the nation to do better by Our citizens with our 911 center.
and oh, I believe that all the executive staff have given some great answers on what Direction we would like to take,
but ultimately, we're, we're just standing by for your direction.
thank you. And I know city manager moves at the direction of this council.
she can't just wake up one day and say this is what she's going to do. And she's been very Transparent and,
and I went down to 911 and I took a tour because I want to see the conditions that our Employees are working in.
and I saw one individual or one desk where it looks like an exhaust pipe coming out of a Car.
and that's what they consider to be a heater. Then they had the a c on top of the desk and it was not working.
and then they are afraid to put the bags on the floor because they don't know if a rodent Going to run in it. So these are the conditions that I've actually seen when we go down
there. I went to 911 and saw what our firefighters was in in the kitchen.
can you explain the kitchen. I cannot, but I want somebody to explain the kitchen.
gotcha. James russ, assistant chief of communications.
currently, our kitchen is in need of repair. It's been delayed because right now we're Trying to decide what's going to happen with everything that's going
on. We have areas where it has raised floors and things run underneath.
so those are on the targeted for getting improved.
and so we're asking the city manager with what this agenda says is prepare and present Yet.
and still we're, we're making it seem like, and I'm just going to use the language that I Know how to use running game as if she just
not trying to be honest or transparent. When I've seen what's going on. I've talked to the workers down in 911 and I've asked the police chief, I've asked the the fire firefighter chief and some of the workers how y'all actually doing
this here when it looked like the floor is about to cave in.
like it's absolutely deplorable. And so big mama said wait and made the wagon break.
so we keep waiting. And that's the problem that we had with city hall. We waited, waited, waited, waited. Now we have a one plus billion dollar bill because we Just kept waiting and end up doing nothing while we're waiting,
right? So I'm gonna support this because we don't need to wait and keep waiting and keep Waiting.
we need to do something and then go out to our communities and explain to them and educate Them and let them see,
actually, maybe we need to bring some of them down here so they can see how you guys are Living and how you working, and see if they want to work in these conditions.
I believe people will have a change of heart when they see what you guys are going Through. But we say we support our first first responders. We're saying we support you,
but we're fighting every time. It's time to go forward and get some changes done. So I'm gonna support this city manager. I'm gonna support it because our citizens need to Know what's going on, and we need to move in the right direction and get things taken care
of. Thank you. Councilwoman blair. I am also going to support this, But and I also actually,
when we left here at 130 in the morning, the next morning, I got up and I went to 911311,
the eoc and I took a tour. I almost fell, you know, I always almost fell because the floor ain't even.
floor ain't even. And I don't have to have a community meeting because I also met some of My my residents guess where they were working
down in hill two. They know what it's like because they work there.
they know what it's like because they they showed me. I saw some of the same things. And I heard about the rodents.
they're rodents. I know we don't have. We can issue bonds, But I know.
I mean, we can we can go to and vote for a bond, But we don't have to issue them.
what we're asking and I let me say this to before I say go to the bonds.
I support my police. I support my fire department.
heck, I feed them on my at station 40. I know, I know, I know, I'll feed you too.
but here's the thing that I'm trying to say. We say we support safety, But then we say in order to
get you to the place you need to be, we ain't going to support.
so if you say you support safety, you've got to support safety. From the time I pick up the phone and say 911 until you get where I need you to be, Whether it's 911 because I need I need
fire rescue, I need emergency services. I need 911 because I need a police call.
I don't have to be on safety to support you. But I do need to be here to say that we have Spent an
exorbitant amount of time talking about where 911 should and should not be.
I know it shouldn't be down where it is. I don't care where we take it.
it should not be down there. And if we need to issue bonds in order to get it there, Let's get it there.
I don't think the city manager is sitting here playing tiddledywinks.
it's 1130. This is going to pass one way or another.
so why are we sitting here? Because at the end of the day, Come august, we have a decision to make.
why are we tying your hands to make that decision in august?
I call the question. Is there a second? Second.
okay. I mean, you've got a two thirds record vote, Please.
yeah, we got a record vote. Thank you, mr. Mayor.
when I call your name, please state yes, if you're in favor. No. If you oppose. Council member west. Yes. Council member. Moreno.
yes. Council member. Gracey. Yes. Council member.
yes. Council member. Bazaldua. No. Council member.
blair. Council member. Blackmon. Yes. Council member. Stewart. Yes. Council member roth. No. Council member.
mendelsohn. No. Council member willis. Yes. Council member ridley.
yes. Deputy mayor pro tem johnson. Yes. Mayor pro tem resendez.
yes. Mayor johnson is absent. Taken. With 11 voting in favor, Three opposed, one absent, one vote taken.
the motion passes. Mr. Mayor. The call passes, Mr. Mayor. All right. So no further comment. Okay.
record vote has been requested. Call the roll. Thank you, mr. Mayor. An agenda item 93. When I call your name, Please state yes, if you're in favor.
no. If you oppose, can you say that? Point of order.
point of order. Can you repeat the motion on the table, Please?
it's just a motion to approve. Just making sure. It's been a while.
thank you. When I call your name, please state. Yes, If you're in favor. No. If you oppose councilmember west.
yes. Councilmember moreno. Yes. Councilmember gracey. Yes. Councilmember cadena. Yes. Councilmember bazaldua.
no. Councilmember blair. Yes. Councilmember blackmon.
no. Council member. Stewart. Yes. Councilmember roth.
no. Councilmember mendelsohn. No. Councilmember willis. Yes. Councilmember ridley. Deputy mayor. Pro tem johnson.
yes. Mayor pro tem resendez. Yes. Mayor johnson is absent.
vote taken. With nine voting in favor, five opposed.
one councilman vote taken. The item passes, mr. Mayor. Thank you. Next item. Thank you, mr. Mayor.
we are now at your zoning and public hearing agenda.
before we move to your zoning consent agenda, Mr. Mayor council member moreno would like to be recognized on item z five council member Moreno.
thank you mayor. I move to remand this item back to the city planning commission. Second. Got a motion and a second. Any discussion?
no. In the interest of time. No discussion. I see two people on the queue.
I'm not sure if y'all are intending to be. Okay, So seeing no further discussion.
all those in favor, please say aye. Any opposed?
motion carries. Next item please. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. At this time, council member blackmon would like to be recognized on item z 16 Council member blackmon.
thank you. I move to defer this item until september 23 of 2026.
second. Got a motion and a second. Any discussion? Anyone. No, sir. Seeing none. All those in favor, Please say aye.
any opposed? Motion carries. Next item. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. We will now move to your zoning consent agenda.
your zoning consent agenda consisted of item z one through z 15.
item z five was previously deferred. Item z seven is being pulled by councilmember blair.
item z ten is being pulled by councilmember blair. Therefore, your zoning consent agenda consists of item z one through
z4z6z8z9 and z 11 through z 15. I'll read those items
into the record. Item z one is a public hearing and an ordinance granting a new specific Use permit for vehicle display.
sales and service on property on the south line of cf han freeway frontage road northwest Of ellinwood street.
item z two is a public hearing regarding a city plan commission's authorized hearing to Determine the proper zoning on property generally bounded by redmond drive to the north
hampton road to the east. The alley west of walter drive between city blocks 7/4809 and 5/4808 with city blocks
1/6166 and 3/6166 on the west and a portion of west colorado boulevard city blocks 7/4, Eight,
zero nine and 1/6167. Along with the alley south of west colorado boulevard, Splitting city block 6/472,
six and a portion of city block 1/4724 to the south and containing approximately 01,729,562.29ft²,
or 39.70 acres, more or less, and an ordinance granting the amendments.
item z three is a public hearing and an ordinance granting a new specific use permit for a Private school on property on the north line of forest lane,
west of hillcrest road. Item z four is a public hearing and an ordinance granting a new Specific use permit for an open enrollment charter school on property on the
west line of cheyenne road, south of rockingham street.
item z six is a public hearing and an ordinance granting a new planned development District for wr3 walkable urban district on property on the north line
of east overton road and east illinois avenue.
item z eight is a public hearing and an ordinance granting one a new subdistrict for oh Two office subdistrict uses and two a
resolution accepting determination of deed restrictions on property bounded by allen Street,
cole avenue and sneed street. Item nine is a public hearing and an ordinance granting an Amendment to and an expansion of specific use permit number
275 for an electric substation on property on the west line of south hampton road and the East line of south franklin street,
north of gibbs williams road. Item 11 is a public hearing on an ordinance granting an Amendment to a specific use permit
number 2439 for commercial motor vehicle parking on property on the southeast line of Telephone road and west of west line of bonnie view road.
item 12 is a public hearing on an ordinance granting an amendment to a specific use permit Number 2184 for a mini warehouse on property on the south line of lake june road
and the west line of north saint augustine drive. Item c 13 is a public hearing on an ordinance granting an amendment to specific use permit Number 2494 for the sale of alcoholic beverages on property on the southeast
corner of southampton road in burlington boulevard.
item z 14 is a public hearing and an ordinance granting an amendment to a development plan For subarea b within planned development district number
811 on the south line of interstate highway 30 between west colorado boulevard and north Cockrell hill road.
and item z 15 is a public hearing and an ordinance granting a new subdistrict for ir Industrial research uses within plan development district number
307, on the west line of ford road, south of christian parkway.
you do have several individuals who have signed up to speak on a few of your zoning Consent agenda items.
your first speaker? Alberto sodano. Sodano will be speaking on consent item z one.
alberto sedano. It's not present. You have several speakers signed up to speak on item z Two.
each speaker will be given three minutes. David preziosi.
thank you very much. I'm david preziosi. I've been in the neighborhood. Stevens park village for 13 years now, and I've served on the neighborhood committee, Which has been working for two and a half years to establish a
conservation district for our wonderful neighborhood. We've had 15 public meetings through this process, As well as 71 brochures, emails, and handouts throughout this process to the
neighborhood to make sure everyone knew about what the neighborhood was doing with the Conservation district and to get everybody's input in it.
this ordinance does a great job of threading the needle between protecting the existing Character of the neighborhood while allowing sensitive changes to occur.
it also allows expansion of existing houses or new construction that is compatible with The existing houses in the neighborhood.
so we believe that we've done a great job of communicating with everybody and working to Get folks on board with this conservation district that we're very excited about and
hope that it will get passed today. And I believe the other speakers I'm going to be I'm Speaking for all the other ones to save you all some time tonight.
thank you. Thank you. Trudy newton. Trudy newton is not present.
donovan. Westover. Donovan westover is not present.
jen. Lychner. Jen lychner is not present. Abby hayles, Abbey hills not present.
john mccall. John mccall is not present. Alice zuccarello.
alex zuccarello is not present. Renato wells.
renato wells is not present. Chanty mayfield.
chanty mayfield is not present. Denise garza.
denise garza is not present. Noble hetherington.
noble hetherington is not present. Cathy chandler or chandler.
cathy chandler is not present. Corey. Terrell.
corey terrell is not present. Sue alvarez. Sue alvarez is not present.
justin house. It's not virtual. And not in the audience.
not present. Robert smith.
hello. I'm a long term resident of this neighborhood. I've owned a home in this neighborhood for about 15 years.
I deeply oppose this measure. I think you're being told that this is an effort by rooted Members of the community to.
to keep and preserve the integrity of the neighborhood. This is a roster of the people That are leading this effort.
has anybody looked at this because some of these people don't own their own home in this Neighborhood? I was in the community meeting. They admitted they don't own a home in this
neighborhood. They said it. They're not married to anybody in this house or anything. Look at the tax rolls, all those things. They don't own a home in this neighborhood. They Don't own a blade of grass in this neighborhood.
look at this. This list here. Some of these people, This effort started in 2024.
they didn't even live in this neighborhood when covid started. They moved here in 2020, 2021,
2023. Look it up. But now they're vested members of the community.
I keep hearing about preserving the integrity of this neighborhood. Really? What about the starbucks that opened two weeks ago? What about the sprouts open across the Street from that? All this is 100 yards from my neighborhood. The 24 hour fitness,
the. The boutique bakeries. You don't seem too stressed about those changes, Because I see you in there buying lattes and danishes and working out.
where was all this concern for the integrity of the community when they knocked down cliff Manor?
the the low income development across the street. I didn't hear any of that. I was on that call with leshaun watson, Some of the city's attorneys,
you applauded that. I guess we only care about preserving the integrity of neighborhood.
if and if, you know, you got a little bit of money. Now, if you're a low resident not if you got low income.
that's cool. You know, I don't know about the the. Oh, I think this is an opaque process. We were giving these ballots to turn in to vote for This process.
some of these people were going around the neighborhood collecting these internal men. They said, robert, we'll turn in your ballot for you.
trust us. I wonder if they would have turned that ballot in.
it makes me think. I think you think you're hearing from the accurate representation in The neighborhood,
but you're hearing from older people. More affluent people. Right. They were here earlier than not. Now it's a little bit late, So that might be part of it.
I was in the city planning meeting. I was told by these people, I asked him, I said, if you could create a conservation district,
then you have to have a committee that opposes ordinance and maintains it.
I said, what stops anybody from amending the ordinance? Then they said, it can still be changed, but we'll have control of it.
we'll we won't change it, robert. Don't worry. We got you. We'll we'll we'll do what's best for you.
lastly to me, I've been in this meeting for hours.
I've heard a lot of people talking about moving the city of dallas forward. This doesn't Move it forward. It doesn't allow people to create solar panels, expand their homes for
their families, any of those things. It just keeps the neighborhood looking like it's 1950s or something like this.
we live in a city. I bought a house in the city, Not a time capsule.
we have the right to make changes to our home. Thank you. Thank you. You do have one individual who has signed up to speak on item z 14.
chris walton. I'm here. Chris walton, can you hear me?
yes. I'm here. Okay. I'm speaking about item z 14.
case number z 26000075. Amendment to I believe it's pd 311.
it's for a randolph brooks federal credit union bank project.
I am the applicant. And the basic use has already been approved.
and essentially what this amendment it's a site plan amendment that we've applied for to Build a slightly larger building due to the
addition of a workroom or conference room and a enlarged data room, Along with some other minor site plan changes.
so it's just a amendment to a development plan for a use that's already been approved.
thank you. Thank you. Those are your registered speakers for your zoning consent agenda.
are there any individuals in the audience that would like to address the city council on Any of the zoning items that were just read into the record?
I don't see any. Mr. Mayor, there are no further speakers for your zoning consent agenda.
second. Got a motion and a second. Mr. West discussion? Yes. Thank you. I want to first say thank you.
I'm going to talk about zoning case two. I want to thank mr.
smith for being here today. And mr. David preziosi and and many of the neighbors who were Kind of filling up this area over here where the tennis group was.
at first they were all kind of together over there. Z2 is a very important neighborhood led initiative to create the stevens park village Conservation district.
this will be the ninth conservation district in oak cliff out of the city's 19 overall Districts.
and it's the second we've passed in district one that I've had the opportunity to pass Since I've been here.
I'm also excited that once this item is approved, The next three conservation districts in the city.
q are also in district one. Oak cliff is lucky to have some of the oldest neighborhoods in District one,
and I'm proud of the work we have done and the work ahead to protect our history.
if you haven't been. Stevens park village is made up of 139 houses, 132 of which were built in the 1940s,
seven in the 1950s and only two since 1961. 130 of the homes are built in the minimal Traditional architectural style.
this conservation district process started in 2022 and kicked off in full force in the Early 2024.
in 2020, five, residents submitted signed petitions from 76% of property owners to Formally initiate the rezoning process.
after that, there were nine community meetings over the next year to work through a plan To get input from neighbors.
I want to commend trevor brown and the preservation team in the city's planning and Development department for doing a remarkable job on this initiative,
working to engage as many neighbors as possible and create protections in line with the Neighbors requests.
and thank you to the city attorney's office for seeing their work through. I, of course, have to thank donovan westover, David preziosi, and trudy newton and the many neighbors who have worked tirelessly on this
effort. While I have heard concerns from mr. Smith today and have met with other neighbors Who've come to me previously after the plan commission,
I believe that this compromise is the best possible outcome where no one is getting Everything they want.
I have heard from mr. Smith and others that there is a concern about expansion of homes.
what I understand from the compromises that the neighbors will be able to expand their Homes just in a way that aligns with the current homes that are in existence.
of the 239 notices that were sent to property owners, 86 replied in favor and 36 in opposition.
this is a big win for stevens park village, oak cliff and for preservation.
thank you. Councilwoman. Mendelsohn. Thank you.
I want to say thank you for sharing with us. This meeting's agenda of zoning items.
wondering if staff could explain why z one was originally submitted august 14th, 2024 and why we're just seeing it.
I'm also going to ask about z two. Originally filed august 29th, 2022.
although chairman west explained that one as well.
so. Megan weimer, assistant director, planning and development.
so item z one. Yeah, it looks like it was originally submitted in 2024.
I believe it sat for various reasons. And then in 2025, I think that's when it
was converted. The applicant wanted to move forward and it was converted to a electronic Application in dallas now.
so I don't know various reasons. Was it it was lost in the conversion.
is it? It was deferred by a council member. I mean, Like, I don't think it was deferred.
and I'm sorry, I don't have a better answer for you right now. I don't know if andrea Knows.
I have to send from staff. And thank you so much for the question, That there was a change in representation with the applicant,
and they went through some internal changes. So does it set dormant from the applicant Side for a little bit.
and then they took it over and they restarted again. Is the applicant here for z one or anyone representing them?
no.
and the survey you do of. Satisfaction. Will they be getting a survey?
we don't have an automatic way of asking. Okay. Thank you for your business with us. Please fill in a survey.
we don't have that. But they. Obviously everybody is open to reach out to us or to anybody To give us criticism or.
yes. Did you have information on z2? Yes, and thank you so much for the question.
item. Z2 is actually conservation district. It does.
it is an authorized hearing, but it is a conservation district conservation district, As I explained last time.
and authorized hearings are a different type of cases. These are community driven. They take a little bit longer.
I do appreciate staff's a candor to put in the august 29th, 2022.
initial it. That's the date when the a member of the community reached out to us to Inquire about,
okay, we want to start this. And you can see on page two of the staff report everything That happens.
there are a lot of steps that need to happen for the petitions to be valid.
so we can actually start the process. So the actual process started on february 26th, 2025,
which is only a year ago. I would say that I would give a big kudos to the community, Especially for conservation districts.
you may all remember we had a different one in district nine for lakewood that took also a Little bit of time.
and it usually is pretty controversial because the communities place on themselves Restrictions.
so I will give a big kudos to the community for taking so long with so little community Meetings to actually create this conservation district.
so I would say that I would celebrate that this was a fast one. So you would say that four years is something to celebrate.
I would say this is not four years because between 2022 and 2025, It was a lot of back and forth for the community together,
their signatures to decide what they're going to put in the petition. So it was a lot of work on the community. It's not on the staff side.
the second we received everything, as you can see on page two, When the city staff verified signatures and it met the threshold,
we started to work with them. I will also make a comment that the conservation districts Are a dedicated team,
and they do take them one by one, and we do have a queue.
so I would just like to say very specifically, I've asked for this information.
I had said I would always ask for it. So I do appreciate just getting the report instead Of having to ask for every case.
but asking for it is not recognizing that it is all staff that has delayed, And I don't think that's the case.
and I would say that about this conservation district as well.
the point is, how long does it take that if somebody wants to pursue a conservation District?
what I heard you say, and that's what I'm trying to confirm, Is that, oh, you're actually pretty happy that it was almost four years.
and so that maybe, maybe it takes even longer than that. I don't know, it depends. Trying to understand that I don't have any conservation Districts.
I've never worked on it. I did hear from my neighbor here about the efforts that went into It,
but would you say that is a typical thing that one should expect for conservation?
I would say that I would never if somebody would come and ask us, I would say, do not expect probably less than two years.
and it's because it's such a laborious work with the community and because it also needs All this prep work.
it's not like, okay, I want to create a conservation district, But the code requires us, one,
to make sure that your petitions are valid and you gather all of those and it's a Threshold.
and then the second in your in initiation of the process, You have to state what is the intent.
so there is that has to have a little bit of a scope. And that takes a little bit as well. Okay. Thank you.
thank you. Seeing no further discussion. All those in favor, Please say aye.
any opposed? Motion carries. Next item. Thank you, Mr.
mayor. We'll move ahead slightly on your agenda.
your next item will be ph four. Oh. Yeah.
ph four is a public hearing to receive comments and an ordinance amending chapter 51, A dallas development code,
ordinance number 19455, as amended, of the dallas city code by one amending section 518-3.1022.
amending chapter two administrative procedures for the construction codes of the dallas City code by three.
amending sections two, zero seven and 306 related to the denial or revocation of a Certificate of occupancy for
a use operating without a required license permit or registration for providing a penalty Not to exceed $2,000.
five providing a saving clause six providing a severability clause and seven providing an Effective date.
you do have three individuals who have signed up to speak on this item stephanie keller Hudiburg.
yes, miss huda burgess virtual. Stephanie keller.
heidelberg. Yes. Yes. I'm here. You may. You may continue.
good evening. My name is stephanie keller heidelberg, And I'm here on behalf of the deep ellum foundation in support of pf for deaf,
recently released the deep ellum community safety plan 2.0. And our number one recommendation from that plan was policy reform that improves Accountability,
coordination and consistency across city departments. Pf four offers exactly that type of reform. Today, A business can fail to obtain a required lose a required permit,
or operate outside the activity was approved for and yet still continue to operate under a Certificate of occupancy.
because city departments are not aligned between permitting, Planning and enforcement, a ceo should not become a shield that allows a business to
continue operating after a city department has determined it is no longer authorized to Conduct that activity,
or, more commonly, that it was never conducting under their approved activity in the first Place.
what pf four does is simple. It's an administrative alignment measure that closes a Loophole in existing policy intent and enforcement.
and it's a loophole the size of about a mack truck. That's been a problem for years. Our business is in deep ellum, Get frustrated and often ask,
why is it that I have to follow certain rules and standards and my neighbor doesn't, Even though they're doing the exact same type of activities that I do in deep ellum,
we've had businesses get their bar sup denied due to persistent criminal activity and open Back up with a restaurant ceo in a matter of weeks without changing how they operate at
all. And because this issue has persisted so long, Most commonly we actually see bars and clubs simply get the wrong ceo to begin with
because all their neighbors did, because it's less costly and administratively burdensome To do so,
and because city enforcement teams can't effectively do anything about it when the Loophole exists. This is not because city staff are not doing their jobs,
but because some departments actions are being undermined by another's required processes.
ph for improves that coordination. It supports accountability, It supports consistency, and it helps ensure that businesses operating responsibly are not
disadvantaged by those who do not choose to follow the same rules. Yes, it is more onerous to become a bar or commercial amusement establishment than a Restaurant,
and that's exactly as it should be. Everyone should be operating to the same standard that Use really requires to keep employees in the public safe.
when large quantities of alcohol are consumed late at night. Ph four doesn't create new requirements or new permits.
it does not create a new ability to revoke a coe. That ability already existed at the staff level.
ph four only impacts a business once their ceo has already been revoked or denied. In most cases. This comes after enforcement agents have done multiple successive rounds of Education warnings and citations.
that process typically takes a long time. It's not a surprise. So this item shouldn't be conflated with entertainment licenses or zoning reform.
those conversations are critically important, And we must continue to advance them. We need a cohesive strategy around how we support,
uplift and regulate nightlife in dallas. But in advance of that today. This is just a necessary procedural step in a cleanup.
I want to thank council, city staff and deputy mayor pro tem moreno for the tremendous Amount of work that has gone into improving public safety,
while also making dallas a better place to do business. And thank you all for continuing to be with us this late into the evening.
we're grateful. Thank you. Alan faulkner.
thank you. There's a button at the base of your.
can you hear me now? Thank you. Okay. My name is alan faulkner. I am the vp of the deep ellum community association.
I'm an owner of the charlie starr lounge, which is a dive bar in east dallas. And I'm also the owner and operator of the nines in deep ellum, Which is a hip hop nightclub.
I'm here in support of pf four. I do not have a prepared statement, So I'm just going to speak from my gut and from my heart.
here's the thing. I've been a member of deep ellum since 1985.
I have owned and operated a nightclub in deep ellum for over 12 years now. I've watched it ebb and flow. Currently, I see more police, More security, more officers more compliance.
just the area is completely filled, but we're still having problems.
the problems is not that we don't have enough boots on the ground. The problem is code. The problem is the rules and the regulations.
I personally feel that in my support of pf four, It will help clean up some of these loopholes.
we currently we have we're the only club in deep ellum that has a dance hall license.
we have the proper co, we have an sup, we have a liquor license.
we have everything that we need to operate. It is not that difficult.
it is expensive. It is time consuming. These things are correct, But it's not that difficult for other owner operators to do it.
so I'm just here just to speak my mind and say please help us out.
we've had we had a terrible shooting last august. We had another terrible shooting happened on cinco de mayo.
I'm not here to throw anybody under the bus, But if some of these owner operators weren't down there causing these problems,
we wouldn't have these problems. Deep ellum would be safer. Dallas would be safer. Right now we're in the middle of fifa.
we have all these fifa fans running around dallas. I lose sleep every night because I think something's going to happen, And it's going to put dallas in a negative light on the world stage.
that needs to not happen. So I'm just here to ask you please support ph four.
thank you. Thank you. Jonathan hetzel. Hello.
jon hetzel, managing partner of madison partners, President of deep ellum foundation and chair of the deep ellum tif board.
I'll try to keep it brief. We're all up really late. I got to be up in five in the morning myself.
I'll just say, we wouldn't all still be here this late.
and it's not just alan, stephanie and I, we have brittany, The president of deep ellum community association.
we got chris dalton up there with asana partners. If we didn't think this was both critical and absolutely urgent, We have been screaming from the rooftop for three plus years for policy
change. We're finally here. We had the cinco de mayo shooting, But some of you might remember last 4th of july,
we had massive shootings. There was a huge neighborhood meeting after that, Well covered by the press.
the number one thing the neighborhood demanded, Including the restaurant and bar operators,
was enforce the rules on the books. This is how we enforce the rules on the books.
this is a rule that already exists. It just needs a little bit of administrative cleanup.
we need a backstop for the extreme, egregious situations that destroy neighborhoods.
this is that backstop for people that just absolutely refuse to follow the rules despite Repeated warnings,
citations, just paying the fines because they know they'll never be held accountable Otherwise.
this is critical not just for deep ellum, for the entire city.
this has been a problem where the largest property owner in lower greenville, I remember we had the problem there.
councilman stewart probably remembers when she was president of udi or executive director About the problem in uptown that they had there.
this moves around design district could be next. Bishop arts could be next. This is not just a deep ellum thing.
unless we can enforce the rules on the books and have real consequences for actions.
we're never going to solve these problems. It's in deep ellum now. It'll move. Please help us. We're going to continue working on the entertainment license.
it's a separate issue with a little bit of overlap, But that's not going to solve it by itself.
thank you all. Thank you. Those are your registered speakers. Are there any individuals in the audience that would like to address the city council on Item four?
I have a speaker coming forward. We'll be given three minutes. Please state your name and address for the record.
good evening, city council. My name is brian lee. My address is outside of the city of dallas. I have been a resident of the suburbs of Dallas for most of my life.
I was born in the city of dallas at a time when my father served on the dallas police Department.
I serve as the president of the community association. I'm also a working photographer, artist and arts organization organizer in the district.
I have been a regular patron of deep ellum businesses since I discovered art galleries, Music venues,
and coffee shops in my early teens. I have devoted my adult life to projects like the deep Ellum arts festival,
the deep ellum community center, and the deep ellum community arts fair. The past few years marked the only period I have ever felt concerned for my safety and the Safety of those around me.
all because a few bad businesses have figured out how to exploit a massive administrative Loophole.
I am here today in support of pf four. As someone who spends much of my time in deep Ellum,
I care deeply about preserving the unique culture that makes this neighborhood special.
that culture depends on vibrant businesses, thriving arts venues, And public spaces where people feel safe to gather.
for years, I have witnessed the same frustrations from responsible business owners.
they invest the time and money to obtain the proper permits, Comply with regulations, and operate responsibly,
while others are allowed to conduct the same activities without meeting the same Standards.
that's not fair. It's not fair to businesses.
it's not fair to residents, and it's not fair to the artists and cultural organizations Which depend on a healthy district to do their work.
ph four is not a new regulation. It's not an attack on nightlife.
it's not a change to zoning or to the future entertainment license. It is a common sense administrative fix. If a business is required to have a permit or License to conduct an activity and that permit is
denied, revoked or never obtained, it should not be able to continue operating through a Loophole in their certificate of occupancy process.
the community safety plan 2.0 calls for greater accountability and better coordination Between city departments.
ph four moves us in that direction. As someone who has devoted my life to helping bring People together through art,
culture and community events, I believe strong neighborhoods require both creativity and Accountability.
those values are not in conflict. They support each other. Ph four helps ensure that everyone plays by the same rules, And that responsible operators are not disadvantaged by those who choose not to play by
the rules. I respectfully ask for your support. Thank you. Thank you. Are there any other individuals in the audience that would like to Address the city council on ph four?
no further speakers, mr. Mayor. Mr. Moreno thank you. Mayor. I move to approve this item. Second. Got a motion and a second discussion, Mr.
moreno. Yes, mayor. Thank you. Colleagues, this is one of the biggest and most critical Vote that I will be taking as my time on this dallas city council.
this item has received its fair share from business owners, Residents, various city departments,
including dpd and dfr. I want to thank dpd, our chief, For still being here.
he knows how important this vote is today to our city manager's office.
thank you for making today happen. This item has received.
as I said, a lot of input. This item is really just a technical cleanup to a document Similar to many that we consider as council throughout the year.
our certificate of occupancy process is designed to function in specific ways, And it is my opinion that our efforts to enforce the provisions of our code
for ceos are insufficient for the benefit of our communities.
additionally, our current method of operation is a disservice to our business owners who Do the right thing,
who struggle to navigate an ambitious code. It's not fair for businesses to be held Accountable to an unclear and insufficient process,
and that confusion creates real problems that impact our community members.
it is a disservice to the community at large who cannot identify the process themselves, To hold us and our staff accountable.
staff should have a very clear set of codes to operate from, And it is our responsibility as a city council to make this happen.
discussions about the entertainment permits have also come up in this discussion.
I'm supportive of that conversation and expect that staff will work quickly to provide an Update on that issue.
however, this cannot wait for an entertainment permit to go into effect.
the coe process involves issues beyond entertainment permits.
I recognize that this is an issue that's important to many community members and Businesses.
so I do have I'll stop there on this round. But again colleagues, I know it's late.
it's, we're going into midnight and these are the times that we need ordinances like this In place to be
updated. This is the real work that's being done. And so I just want to thank city manager your entire team for bringing this.
I had multiple meetings with you and your team on how important it was to bring policy Changes,
and so I just want to thank you for making today happen. And again, colleagues, I hope that I can gain your support on this. Thank you. Council Member roth, thank you.
I really am sensitive to the fact that bad actors need to be punished.
they need to be stopped. They need to be out of business. And the this ordinance seems to address those things.
in reading it. I'm not it's not really clear to me though what the appeal process is.
if somebody is, is revoked, gets their, their co revoked.
we had talked about this, I think in committee but there's been an addition to this Ordinance that,
that seems to indicate to me that the revocation authorization comes from the, Or the, the
city staff. And that there is no appeal under certain circumstances to the, To the, the
revocation of the certificate of occupancy. Could you please explain to me in, In regular terms how this really works practically?
I'm, I want to make sure that we're that we're taking care of getting the bad actors out.
but I also don't want to allow the city staff to weaponize this against any particular Operator or not allow an
operator to have a legitimate legal recourse to seek an appeal if there is a dispute or if There's a an honest
question of, of compliance. Could you so please run me through how we could fix this to Make sure it's enforceable.
sure. Thank you. Council member our good morning council member, Robin bentley with the city manager's office.
and I'm joined by sam eskander, deputy director and our building official.
as council member moreno. And some of our speakers mentioned, We already have in the city code the authority for the building official to revoke a coe.
if a business does not have a proper permit, License or other required you know, documentation that they're supposed to have.
that's not changing. What is changing is the appeals process, As you mentioned, and I'm going to give this a crack,
sam, and then you jump in and correct me if I say it wrong, Because it's very late right now.
if the building official revokes a coe because a business does not have the proper permit Or license,
the appeal will go to the board of adjustment or bia.
thank you. What we are trying to change here is to say instead, That the appeal would go to whichever body governs the missing permit or license.
so if you're missing a dance hall license, for example. Then your appeal would need to go to, I guess dpd issues those licenses.
so it's the. Thank you. The permit and license appeal board governs dance hall licenses, So you would need to appeal to whoever is the governing body for your missing
documentation. And it wouldn't be appealable as an error of the building official, Which doesn't make a lot of sense.
so it's just a technical cleanup on the appeals process to to make sure people are getting The proper paperwork.
so very administrative. The authority is already there. We're just cleaning up the administration. Did I miss anything, Sam?
okay. Listen, I appreciate the explanation. I don't think that's what this ordinance
says. And again, I'm not trying to to to deep six the ordinance.
I want to make sure it's enforceable because you're preparing something here that that That you may not be able to get the results that you want.
so anyway, I would encourage if I don't understand it, I don't know that it's, it's real clear.
so if, if that's the intent is to have a non compliance appeal, Go to a particular appeal department.
that's not clear to me. If it's not to, if it's to only go back to the, To the enforcement of facility of,
of the, of the building inspection department, The same person who revoked the license is your appeal board.
that's not appropriate either. I don't think so. Again, if it wasn't clear and I didn't read it in depth, I'm sure the legal counsel is has vetted it,
but I want to make sure that that you all that you all have something that's that's Enforceable.
yeah. And to be clear, we're sam would never be the person to review anyone's appeal.
what we're trying to do is make sure that the appeal is tied to the issue.
and so by tying the appeal to the missing piece of paper, Then that's where you go to find out if you actually did have the correct permit.
and, and we were wrong. Or rather than saying sam made an error in a determination, It's just a logical cleanup on the appeal process.
but sam himself will never be reviewing anyone's appeal and bert or sam jump in if if we Need any clarification there and during the appeal
or if there is an appeal, it should be clear that that certificate, Once it's revoked, that the occupancy stops
until the appeal or something. I guess there was a gap there. And we talked about this in the committee, but I guess it wasn't it wasn't fleshed out Sufficiently.
anyway. I think that the devil is going to be in the details. I hope that you all don't get any conflict and, And, and bad response, but you'll see on your first cup test cases.
and I hope that that it that it's effective. Council member. Gracey. Thank you. I am supporting this. Originally I was going to defer this, And the
reason I was going to defer it was to align with the license entertainment.
and I know these are separate items, but they're not. There is some overlap. And I think that overlap is what could create some problems here.
so I do have some concern about this. I can appreciate what it what what its intended Purpose for and everything that some of those businesses have been going
through. You hear about it all the time, been around it, Grew up around it.
but some of the concerns I'm hearing as of recent is how this is how is it monitored and Managed and,
and regulated like. Who's, who's, who's responsible for just managing this.
if somebody is out of compliance, one, how do you find out about it? And then who is responsible for doing is that code or is that police?
yeah. Great question. And this is another clarification in the code amendment is to make Clear that the building official can rely on a determination by dpd by dfr
by code compliance. So if code goes out and does a full investigation and determines that There's a missing license,
sam doesn't need to do his own separate investigation. He can rely on the investigation from chris christian or from chief cuomo or from another Agency within the city that's done the investigation and and revoke
a co based on their determination. And how do they get out there? That's I'm still not clear on that. And have any of have any code been revoked yet?
and then if so, how many where, who, whatever.
if you don't have that report, I'd love to see that because I have asked for that. But then the other piece is how do they find out if there's a bad performer?
I'm still trying to get my head around that because that's where my heartburn lies a Little bit.
and not to say anything with these, these folks or anything, But if I'm a competitor and I decide I don't like this one and I'm,
hey, I'm going to go here and call, make a call right quick and do that. And you start Having all of that. And pretty soon what you're going to have is an empty deep ellum or an
empty bishop arts or an empty this because of that. So I'm trying to make sure we don't over regulate.
and somebody said, you know, dallas is the fun police. They want to take everything away. And that hurt me a little bit to hear that.
and I need you all to know that that's some of the, The, the issues and concerns.
well, I did know that there are some bad behaviors. I just have some real heartburn about inconsistencies on how this is managed.
sam, just let me know. In his two years as our building official, He has never revoked a ceo under this code.
this existing code provision, because it has been so onerous on the personal liability of The building official and so unclear as to how to make
the determination. And so I think that's that's the direction we're trying to head, Is to make it a simpler process for him to do enforcement action based on the
investigations of our partners. And then you didn't answer. So how how is it how are these businesses identified?
thank you so much for your question. So like you alluded earlier, We do get complaints.
so code compliance would respond to those complaints. If it's not a valid complaint then there is no enforcement.
if there is a valid complaint then we just go through the process to address it.
and just to build up on what acm robin bentley said this would provide more consistency And clear guidelines,
even for our code compliance officers. So yes.
all right. Well, I yeah. So and you said you don't have any any reports of any violations Or anything as of yet.
I don't necessarily see oh revocations, but any fines, Fees or anything related to some of these restaurants around this industry.
I do not have that data with me, but we can follow up with that. Okay. All right. Thank you, miss mendelsohn. Thank you.
well, I'm just going to start off by saying congratulations to council member moreno.
I know you've worked so hard on this, and although it's a zoning agenda with an ordinance Change for me,
it's public safety policy. And I look forward to seeing some of our crime issues in deep Ellum be addressed.
really think about it with, with this kind of an amendment.
I think it's a very welcome change and I don't see dvd as the fun police.
I see them as needing to do more enforcement, And I think other departments need to do more enforcement.
and when we have clarity on what the rules are and what our laws are, Then we can do that.
but it's when we write things that are not buttoned up, That that confusion leads to inaction and paralysis,
because nobody wants to be on the wrong side of it, And we don't want to get sued, and no one else wants to get sued.
and this is how we have bad actors. So I really welcome everybody's work and making this Happen.
I'm 100% in support. Thank you. Deputy mayor pro tem johnson.
thank you, mr. Mayor. Congratulations. Councilman you said earlier about doing the work And you've done the work.
you've you've been in the community, working with your community, Having meetings.
and this is what this is what it takes, you know, And, and I'm going to support you because we see that you've done the work and,
and city manager, thank you for working with council member. Moreno. This is I know this is what he said. This is one of the biggest votes he's taken Since since he's been here.
so who I understand, I understand the work. I understand how passionate you are concerning This and,
and many meetings you you've had. And so I'm honored to go ahead and support this and make Sure that it's safe.
I, I have friends down there. I have band members that play at freeman.
and so I understand I'm there a lot. My wife and I, As one of our date spots.
so I understand what you're trying to do and what, And we need it to be safe down there for everyone.
so I definitely will be supporting this. Thank you, Councilmember west. Thank you.
I was hopeful at the beginning of the process when the city manager did a great job of Partnering up with the community to to launch the
nighttime entertainment task force. When we were having some confusion about, Well, there was an enforcement of the rules that I think we didn't even know
were rules at the time. And there were some businesses getting shut down that we were not Intentional bad actors for,
per se. My hope and expectation was that this ordinance would be worked on in conjunction With the nighttime entertainment permit,
which would allow music to take place in restaurants without a bunch of hassle that I Think somewhat got done.
but this piece has moved forward a little faster because it's been worked on longer for a Couple years,
as john has said. And so I was a little hesitant when I saw this on here to support it.
I know that some of the restaurant folks who've been working on the, The, the entertainment permit piece are disappointed that this is going forward,
but I understand how important it is for deep ellum. I'm going to support it. My hope, and as we move forward, Is that the task force will continue to meet with the restaurant association and with all
those restaurants that are trying to figure out a way to operate legally by having Musicians be in the restaurant and not be accused of being the the
bottle service kind of party zone that are causing the problems with dpd and deep ellum.
and so we got to find that happy medium. But at the end of the day, I do support this.
I know that, you know, I, I feel your challenges and we see a little bit of the challenges Of deep ellum creeping into bishop arts.
and so I'm glad this ordinance is coming forward. And I look forward to reviewing it in a few months to make sure it's being applied Adequately.
thank you, mr. Moreno. Council member. Gracey.
I can't remember if I said it. I am proud of the work and I don't want to gloss over that,
and I did. So I did publicly want to shout out jessie for the work that he's done, And I don't want to discount any of that work.
and that was not my intent. It was just making sure to, To chad's point that we could roll these out together.
so that some of those things could all be factored in together. So again, I don't want to discount you. Great job on the work.
great job to city staff and all of that. And great job. Again, it wasn't a just concerns that needed to be voiced.
so thank you. Congratulations mr. Moreno. Thank you mayor.
I do want to call chief combs since he's been here all day, And just ask him if he's in support of this ordinance.
I think we need a gorilla. Come on. Chief. Good morning.
don't. Don't be a good morning, preacher. I got here at 9 a.m. And it's 1220. It's morning again. Thank you for giving us an extra tool in our toolbox to Keep everyone safe in dallas.
thank you chief. Guys. Dallas is the the ninth largest city.
I want to make sure that we have a vibrant, thriving nightlife, But it has to be a safe one.
and so I please urge my colleagues to support this ordinance.
thank you mayor. Seeing no further discussion. All those in favor, please say aye. Any opposed?
motion carries. Next item please. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. We'll now go back to your first pulled zoning item.
item z seven, item z seven is a public hearing and an ordinance granting a new planned Development district for mha manufactured
home. And see our community retail uses with consideration for mh a manufactured home and See our community retail districts on
property on the east line of haymarket road and the south line of hazel crest drive.
mr. Mayor, we sent 88 notices to property owners within 500ft of the area of request.
we received four replies in favor and three replies in opposition.
you do have one individual who has signed up to speak on this item, Jonathan vincent.
thank you, mr. Mayor. Council members, my name is jonathan vincent. 2323. Ross here representing the applicant. 1916 club development.
this is about a 99 acre site at the lbj service road and haymarket in the far south east Dallas in district
eight. It's currently zoned partially r ten partially ag.
we're asking for a new pd with two subdistricts. The top subdistrict on the north side is the smaller one.
it's going to have a cr base for some community serving retail.
on the bottom part will be a first class recreational vehicle park with provisions made For cottages also.
this is for people who want to come to town for a convention or, You know, an athletic event. Things like that gives them a really nice place to stay.
it's got a 26 acre pond. It's got a walking trail. It's the former. Most of it's the former ruby balds landscape nursery, Growing area and storage area.
it's currently all vacant land. So we're asking for your approval of this new pd for the 99 acres with the two subdistricts.
I want to give several people. Thanks. First of all, Council member blair has been super collaborative on this.
she's worked really hard and given us some great input and I think has made it a better Project,
really has safeguarded the community, eliminated some uses that might have been of concern And done some other things that we think has made it a better project.
commissioner franklin on plan commission. Same thing really helped us out a lot, Made it better.
and city staff doctor mona hashemi and megan, Who you just saw and city attorney's office all worked really hard on it.
we all worked together to make this a better thing and define some things. It's kind of a New type of project,
sort of outside the box. So we all had to do some serious thinking about how do you define Some of these uses?
include some exclude others. Applicant already owns the property, So they're ready to go.
as megan said, the cpc recommended approval unanimously.
the staff is supporting this. You know, I think it's a great project. And without belaboring this any further we have an alternative ordinance because we did Some more work on it after cpc.
and I believe council member blair has an alternative motion, Which we are in support of and would respectfully ask for your approval and happy to
answer any questions you might have. Thank you. Thank you. Are there any other individuals in the audience that would like to address the city Council on item z seven?
no further speakers, mr. Mayor. Is there a motion? Yes, sir. Thank you, mr. Mayor. I move to approve the zoning.
the zoning request with changes as recommended by the city planning commission with the Following changes.
animal production, commercial stables and private stables are uses are permitted by right In subdistrict one or I
two. Or equipment rental furniture stores and household equipment and appliance repair or Uses are prohibited.
define small box discount store to mean a general merchandise or food store.
3500ft² or less that offer food, beverages, household products, Personal grooming and health products and other items,
and does not sell gasoline and prohibit that. Use. A maximum of two restaurants with drive ins or drive thru services are permitted and May only be located in a multi-tenant
building with two or more separate suite. Financial institutes with drive in windows and Beauty or barber supply shops are not
prohibited. Use are not prohibited. Uses. Maximum number of stories is two.
transient stands are not considered. Parking spaces for purpose of electric vehicle Charging requirements in the landscape
buffer adjacent to residential zoning district. At least one large or medium tree with a three inch caliper is required at least every 50 Linear feet.
maximum number of cottages permitted is 90 minimum for area of a cottage is 200ft².
we have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Yes, sir. One of the things that I noticed in the city of dallas is that we do not have The opportunity for
our fees that are actually moving houses to come into the dallas and park.
we have a convention center, we have fair park, And we have the a center.
they all do entertainment, but there's nowhere for entertainers who do not fly but drive To come in and park.
this opportunity provides that service. They give them a gives someone who wants to come In an entertainer and have services
available to them. The next thing is when covid hit and our house, Our
hotels were closed and people wanted to visit their families that were in hospitals.
they had no way to get there and stay. If we had had this service, Someone could have driven their rvs.
and when we're talking about rv, we're not talking about a dinky rv.
we're talking about these. Some of these rvs cost more than a house, And they don't have any place to park.
they'll come in, they want to they want to entertain themselves.
they want to visit family, but they have nowhere to park. I have friends who have rvs that they have to take their rvs and they have hotel, They have restaurants,
and they have to take their rvs and park them outside of the city because there's nowhere To park their rvs.
well, here's the opportunity. We now have the first. This will be the first rv in the southern area of dallas that provides residents as well To park their rvs for a limited period of time.
it also provides people who are transcending the southern area to come in and travel with Their rvs,
have a place to park, come in and visit the city, Spend their money in the city, pay their taxes,
I mean their sales tax in the city. So I ask that you guys vote yes on this.
thank you. Seeing no further discussion. All those in favor, Please say aye.
any opposed? Motion carries. Next item please. Thank you. Item ten. Item ten is a public hearing and an ordinance granting a new specific Use permit
for a temporary concrete or asphalt batching plant, Limited to a temporary concrete batching plant on property on the south line of east
wheatland road, west of south lancaster road, Right mr.
mayor. We sent one notice to the property owner within 400ft of the area of request.
we received zero replies in favor and zero replies in opposition.
you do have one individual who has signed up to speak on this item david pitcher.
david. Mr. Pitcher. Yes. Yes. My name is david.
we can hear you. However, your video is not displaying. Okay. Okay. You may continue. Hi, my name is david pitcher.
I'm with cfm engineering and I'm here with the applicant to answer any questions you may Have.
thank you. Are there any individuals in the audience that would like to address the city Council on item z ten?
no speakers, mr. Mayor. I have a motion. Yes. I move to approve the zoning change as recommended by city planning commission with the Following.
change the specific. The specific use permit expires on december 15th, 2027.
got a motion and a second. Seeing no discussion or do you want.
I mean, I have real quick I normally I would not do a batch plan.
this is a temporary batch plant because in order to bring in the concrete or that is Needed to build 500 houses,
they need somewhere close to bring in to, to lay the concrete for the streets, The paths for the houses.
and this is the only way to get it done. I changed the date so that the presence of Getting it done quickly
is evident, and it's not going to extend period over a year.
thank you. Seeing no further discussion. All those in favor, Please say aye.
any opposed? Motion carries. Next item please.
we will now move to your individual zoning items beginning with c 17.
item c 17 is a public hearing and an ordinance granting an amendment and an expansion of Specific use permit number 129 for electrical substation uses on
property on the west line of calumet avenue between meredith avenue and garfield avenue.
mr. Mayor, we sent 39 notices to the property owners within 400ft of the area of request.
we received zero replies in favor and zero replies in opposition.
there are no registered speakers for this item. Are there any individuals in the audience That would like to address the city council on item z.
17. I see a speaker coming forward.
you'll be given three minutes to speak. Please state your name and address for the record. Yes,
ma'am. Ashton miller, 777 main street, fort worth, Texas.
762. Four. Seven. I'm primarily just here in the in the spirit of time, Just to answer any questions that you may have.
thank you all. Thank you. Are there any other individuals in the audience that would like To address the city council on item z 17?
no further speakers, mr. Mayor. Do I have a motion? Yes. I move to approve the zoning change as recommended by the city planning commission.
second. Motion and a second. Any discussion? Very briefly, Mr. West. Thank you. Just a quick question for ashton. If you can come back up, Please. Can you just confirm that oncor is going to be working on a sidewalk for the
dallas portion of your property. Yes, council member west encore is committed to working With the city staff and everybody necessary to make sure
that sidewalk is built. That's it. Thank you.
seeing no further discussion. All those in favor, Please say aye.
any opposed? Motion carries. Next item. Item z 18 is a public hearing and an ordinance Granting a specific use permit for an open
enrollment charter school on property on the northeast line of harry hines boulevard and Southeast of wadley lane.
all right, mr. Mayor, we sent nine notices to property owners within 300ft of the area of Request.
we received two replies in favor and one reply in opposition.
you do have one individual signed up to speak on this item. Brandy shot is not present. Are there any other individuals in the audience that would Like to address the city council on this item?
item z 18 no, no speakers mr. Mayor. Is there a motion?
got a motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing none. All those in favor, please say aye. Any opposed?
motion carries. Okay, we got one. Nay. Noted. Motion carries. Next item please. We've got two nays.
two. Thank you. Item z, item z 19. Is a public
hearing and an ordinance granting a new specific use permit for a tower antenna for Cellular communication limited to a monopole,
monopole, cellular tower or property on property on the northeast corner of pastor bailey Drive and west camp,
wisdom road. Mr. Mayor, we sent 27 notices to property owners within 500ft of the area of Request.
we received one reply in favor and zero replies in opposition.
you do have two individuals who have signed up to speak on this item, Ari ortiz.
good evening or good morning? I'm just here to answer questions, But the main purpose of this tower is to enhance the capabilities of the communication for
the community and first responders. Thank you.
thank you. Jason riggs. Jason riggs. Yeah. Is this going to be me?
thank you. Jason riggs is not present. Are there any other individuals in the audience That would like to address the city council on item c 19?
no further speakers, mr. Mayor. Move. Approval. Second. Got a motion and a second. Any discussion?
anyone. Seeing none. All those in favor, please say aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Next item. Item one.
is a public hearing to receive comments regarding a proposal to change the name of Woodbine avenue between morrell avenue and renner road to doctor
david henderson junior avenue and an ordinance granting the name change.
you do have one individual who has signed up to speak on this item. Item david henderson. The third is not present.
are there any individuals in the audience that would like to address the city council on Item h one?
no speakers, mr. Mayor. Is there a motion? Yes, I move.
I move to not follow the city planning commission recommendation. Instead, approve the street name with a waiver of section five.
51. A 9.304 a five, which provides that a street name may not contain more than 14 Characters.
section 51. A 9.304 b one which provides that a roadway must have only one name.
section 51 a 9.304 c two, which provides that a street name can commemorate a person, Is prohibited unless at least two years after the death of a
person to be honored in section 51. 51. A 9.304 d three which provides that no street name May have more than two
labels before the street type designation. We got a motion and a second.
any discussion? Second, pastor henderson has served the community 40 plus years.
80 years old has done so much for the community. Families in that in the area. And this was asked by by a lot of the community members.
and we bring it forth. Thank you. Seeing no further the discussion.
all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Next item please. Thank you. Item two is a public hearing to receive Comments regarding a proposal to change the
name of east and west davenport road between preston road and north and south davenport Road to brentfield drive,
and an ordinance granting the name change. There are no registered speakers for this item.
are there any individuals in the audience that would like to address the city council on Item two?
I have a point of order. I'm not sure it was read incorrectly.
so the name change is only for the east west portion. I'll reread the item. Thank you. A public hearing to receive comments regarding a proposal To change the name of east and west davenport road
between preston road and north and south davenport road to brentfield drive and an Ordinance granting the name change.
there are no speakers for this item, mr. Mayor. I move to follow the city planning Commission recommendation and approve the street name change.
got a motion and a second. Any discussion? The quickest thing I'm going to tell you is we Actually have a part of the road called davenport that has the cotton belt,
silver line going through it. And then there's another section called davenport with the Cotton belt,
silver line running through it. And the safety problem is, God forbid, there's an accident.
our first responders don't even know which way to go. So one of them is called davenport, And then it turns into the other davenport.
but the rest of it's brownfield. So we're just going to call the whole thing brentfield. So thank you.
all right. Seeing no further discussion. All those in favor, Please say aye.
aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Next item please.
item ff three one a public hearing to receive comments regarding an application by Fairfield affordable housing fund.
tranche 15, llc and or its affiliates, collectively referred to as applicant to the texas Department
of housing and community affairs. Tdhca for 4% noncompetitive low income housing tax Credits for hall street apartments,
a 354 unit multifamily residential development for persons of low and moderate income, To be located at 1823 north hall
street, dallas, texas. 75204. Project two pursuant to section 394.9025
of the texas local government code regarding bonds to be issued by the city of dallas Housing finance corporation to finance the project and three at the close of the
public hearing, authorize a resolution of no objection for applicant acknowledging the Project's location within one mile of another development serving
the same target population, which received a housing tax credit allocation in the three Year period preceding the date the
application round began, related to its upcoming application to tdhca for the development Of the project.
you do not have any registered speakers. Are there any individuals in the audience that Would like to address the city council on item ff three?
no speakers, mr. Mayor. Is there a motion? Move. Approval. Second. Got a motion and a second. Any discussion?
no seeing. No discussion. All those in favor, Please say aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Next item please.
mr. Mayor, this concludes your items for this agenda. However, we do have open microphone speakers.
I will recite the speaker guidelines. Speakers must observe the same rules of propriety, Decorum and good conduct applicable to members of the city council.
any. Any speaker making personal, impertinent, Profane or slanderous remarks, or who becomes boisterous while addressing the city council
will be removed from the room. For any individuals who are in person for those virtual Speakers,
you'll be. You will be removed from the session. Individuals will be given three minutes to speak.
for those in-person speakers, you'll notice the time on the monitor at the podium. When your time is up, please stop. Virtual speakers.
I will announce when your time has expired. Also, Speakers, please be mindful that during your public comments,
you are not allowed to refer to a city council member by name and to address your comments To mayor resendez.
only your first speaker, barrett johnston, is not online not present.
jessica stewart is not online, not in the audience, Not present.
barry hawkins brown is not online. Not in the audience, Not present.
gregory demas is not online. Not in the audience.
not present. Kayne vincent may come forward.
hi. Hello, council. Thank you all for writing this out. Thank you. For those of you who didn't get up and run off as soon as the words public open Microphone were said.
my name is kayne vincent. I'm a district resident of district six.
sorry. I'm also tired. Been here for a while. In west dallas. I'm a member of the democratic socialists of america.
and a citizen concerned with the recent treatment of groups distributing aid to our Unhoused neighbors on the streets of our city.
back in april, dallas sandwich sundays, a mutual aid organization, Was stopped during its regular free food distribution on cadiz street,
right here behind city hall by several officials, Including a constable code enforcement and a representative from the city attorney's
office, and told to pack up and leave again in may. Dallas street feeders, another mutual aid group, Was issued a citation for distributing free food in the same area.
I'm aware of at least one other group recently cited as well. Both groups already follow every food safety practice the city claims to care about Certified handlers,
temperature checks and gloves. They are fully compliant with the code that explicitly Governs free food distribution.
so what is the city citing them over subsection 50?
I'm sorry, section 50, subsection 158 of city code, A provision aimed at people intending to sell food on streets and sidewalks,
not to those giving it away. The violation in question. The groups were using tables with legs that touch the ground as a condition with zero Safety rationale.
groups have since started serving out of rolling carts instead of tables to satisfy the City's demands.
I have to ask the council plainly how is that really any safer?
the city tabled a proposal from earlier in the year to amend city code chapter 17 and 50, Which would require permitting for free food,
free food distribution. And now it seems there has been a change in tactics.
maybe these fines that are levied at mutual aid organizations over tables versus carts, Dallas sandwich sundays and
similar groups operated with with tables for five years since 2020, Up until 2025, without a single citation or warning.
that change only that change only as the city seemingly began seriously preparing for the Fifa world cup.
is it. If this were truly a food safety issue. Why was it never raised until now? Am I crazy for feeling that the city seems more Concerned with hiding the reality of homelessness in dallas from world visitors than with
feeding the people living in it? So why in the middle of an affordability crisis, A housing crisis,
and an opioid epidemic, are we bothering throttling access to food and harm reduction for The most vulnerable in our population?
for optics, I asked the city council and city manager to do two things immediately direct Code enforcement and other departments to stop the over enforcement and harassment of
groups distributing food and bring the amendment proposal regarding chapter 17 and 50 back Up for consideration.
thank you. Thank you, tatiana james. It's not present.
linda ferguson is not online. Not present to corey mckinney is not present.
joyce winston is not present. Trevor dominguez not present.
duane peoples is not present. Tom dupree is not present.
winter smith is not present. Dustin gadberry has canceled.
dominic grayson is not present. Dolores phillips not present.
nor wati will be virtual. Nor wati. I'm here.
your camera is not displaying. Let me see. Yes, You may continue.
okay. The people of heaven are those who give food despite their desire for it.
to the poor, the orphan and the captain. Captives saying to themselves, We feed you only for the sake of allah,
seeking neither reward nor thanks from you. Let's put on chapter 76, Verses eight through nine.
for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.
I was a stranger and you invited me in. That's matthew chapter 25, Verse 35.
if there is a needy person among you, one of your kinsmen, And any of your settlements in the land that the lord your god has given you,
do not harden your heart and shut your hand against your needy kinsmen. Rather, you must open your hand and let him sufficient whatever he needs.
that's deuteronomy chapter 157 through eight.
finally, the buddha says, in giving food, one gives five things to recipients.
one gives life, beauty, happiness, strength, And mental clarity.
my name is. I'm an attorney and an organizer with the bay power alliance. We're an organization that seeks to establish justice through faith, And I open with these verses and sayings from various faith practices to ground us in the
fact that feeding our hungry neighbors is a sincerely held religious tenet that the city Is currently substantially burdening through the unlawful reimagining of section 50,
subsection 158, and I'm urging the city to direct code compliance to stop unlawfully Enforcing the section against people giving
free food distributions, and to place this item on the agenda for a full public hearing And the opportunity for democratic participation on the issue.
in april, the city council recognized serious issues with the proposed permit requirement For feeding the unhoused in our city.
it sent the issue to the quality of life committee for instructions to workshop the Language further.
since that meeting, instead of workshopping the language and addressing the concerns, Code compliance attended the june quality of life meeting to present a summary of unlawful
enforcement actions. Specifically, they were proud to present that they obstructed 65 Street vending interactions providing verbal education during these interactions,
issuing 12 notices of violations, eight citations to sidewalk and street obstruction, And illegal land use and vending related activity.
code compliance is essentially acting as though the april 2022 or the april 22nd meeting Directed them to start shutting down food distributions as though you all had voted to
implement a permit requirement when that permit requirement was punted for future Consideration.
they're issuing citations under the street vendor code, Despite the street vendor code only applying,
by definition to those who are selling or offering for sale goods and services.
people distributing free food are not selling. This is a gross manipulation and reimagination of the code.
it's going to result in costing the city hundreds of thousand dollars in a lawsuit Settlement,
just like in the big heart case. And so we're demanding that you not wait till after fifa To address this.
our unhoused neighbors will starve until then, And we need you guys on the next. That's your time to place things forward for us to participate.
thank you. Thank you. Ariana fellows has canceled.
tara xyzal is not present. Mr. Mayor. This concludes your agenda for this meeting.
thank you so much. There being no further business to come before the council, The time is now 1248.
in this meeting of the dallas city council is adjourned. Adjourned.