- Meetings of Interest
- Posts
- Meetings of Interest 12: March 31, 2024
Meetings of Interest 12: March 31, 2024
Meetings of Interest: Austin Keeps It Weird 🧳
Sunday, March 31, 2024
Good evening:
Austin is keeping the Dallas city manager soap opera weird.
The Austin City Council is expected to vote this Thursday to
. Meanwhile, a Dallas City Council committee has set a Tuesday meeting to, "Deliberate employment of City Manager T.C. Broadnax and effective date of appointment of Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert."
That sounds a lot like Broadnax could be headed out of Dallas sooner than his originally planned June 3 departure. And as he puts his Austin team together, it would be little surprise if at least some top Dallas officials follow him south on Interstate 35E.
We've got an interesting few months ahead.
Read on for more on this and:
The latest on plans to install digital kiosks in the public right of way across the city.
City preparations for the April 8 total solar eclipse.
How the City plans to reduce traffic fatalities to zero by 2030.
⚡ Highlights From Last Week's Meetings of Interest:
🏡
: Officials acknowledged the need to dedicate resources to house people experiencing homelessness in Downtown Dallas. "We see it over and over again that our Downtown suffers at the expense of our wanting to be a good regional partner," said Council member Chad West. "We've been a fantastic regional partner, but we also need to take care of Dallas and especially our Downtown core."
🚌
Committee Chairman Omar Narvaez stressed the need to hear from stakeholders in the coming weeks about a plan to install digital kiosks in the public right of way in Downtown and across the city, with the goal of restarting a new RFP process in the coming months. The City scrapped a prior contract before it came for a vote after DDI, Uptown Dallas Inc., the Dallas Arts District, and several other groups raised concerns about a lack of public input on where the kiosks would go, and how neighboring property owners could provide input, among other issues. "There is significant concern, particularly in my district which I know will be a target for these kiosks," said Council member Paul E. Ridley, whose district includes parts of Downtown and Uptown.
⚽️
This meeting offered an early look at planning and logistics for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is expected to bring hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact to our region.
.
🚴🏼
: A proposal for a new bike lane that would connect Harwood Park to AT&T Discovery District was met with generally positive feedback. Discussions are ongoing about this key piece of a complete and connected multimodal network throughout Downtown.
Commissioners voted to recommend doubling City Council member annual salaries to $120,000 and setting the mayor's pay at $140,000. Commissioners also recommended
, and they
. Check out the status of proposed amendments
. The commission meets again this week.
Dallas City Council Meeting (Annotated Agenda); The following items were among those approved:
Item 20 Approval of an expanded scope of a contract for more public engagement on the Dallas Bike Plan update, as was requested by City Council members. The contract with Gresham Smith will grow from a little over $817,000 to about $1.3 million.
Item 22 Directs the City's portion of Farmers Market Public Parking Garage revenues -- an estimated $53,000 annually -- to the Farmers Market Tax Increment Financing District for area improvements.
Item 35 Accepted a $10 million state grant for design and construction of a planned new Dallas Police Department regional law enforcement training facility at the University of North Texas at Dallas in southern Dallas. This is the first tranche of $20 million allocated by the Texas legislature last year. DDI is among many organizations across Dallas in support of the new academy.
Item 44 Increased numerous Dallas permitting and development fees to generate an estimated $22 million in annual revenues to support the Development Services Department operations. The fees take effect on May 1.
Item 45 Congratulations to Downtown resident Randall Bryant, who was appointed to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Board to replace outgoing board member Jon-Bertrell Killen.
Thanks to DDI's Nikia Summerlin, Urban Planning Manager, for monitoring hours of meetings every week and contributing to the above summaries.Questions? Nikia can be reached at [email protected].
📝 Memos of Interest:
-- Downtown hotels are reportedly 99% sold out for solar eclipse weekend next week. The Office of Emergency Management is coordinating the City's preparations for the April 8 event, with many thousands expected in town to experience the event. Perhaps most significant, all garbage and recycling collections will be delayed by one day next week because of expectations for major traffic problems.
.
-- Transportation officials are proposing "very minor" changes to the City's shared electric scooter program, as outlined in
. A public hearing on the changes is scheduled for the evening of Wednesday, April 10, at City Hall.
-- In preparation for the fiscal 2025 budget, City departments will present to the City Council committees that best align with their strategic priorities, as detailed in
. The annual resident budget survey is live through July 30. Take it
.
-- Check out all the latest City Hall memos
and
.
Meetings of Interest: April 1 - 5, 2024
Monday, April 1
🏞️
Dallas City Council Parks, Trails & the Environment Committee, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
🏛️
Landmark Commission, 10 a.m. Briefing, 1 p.m. Public Hearing, City Council Briefing Room, 6ES, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
-- This agenda includes a courtesy review of a request from representatives of Downtown's Katy Building at 701 Commerce Street to create a new sign subdistrict in the West End Historic District to ultimately allow for supergraphic advertising signage on the building.
🤑
Dallas City Council Economic Development Committee, 1 p.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
📜
Charter Review Commission Teletownhall, 6:30 p.m., Register here or by clicking the image below
Tuesday, April 2
✌️ City Council Ad Hoc Committee on Administrative Affairs, 10 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
-- The committee is meeting to, "Deliberate employment of City Manager T.C. Broadnax and effective date of appointment of Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert." As mentioned above, this likely means Broadnax could be leaving Dallas sooner than originally planned.
📜
Charter Review Commission, 6:30 p.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
-- The commission is expected to finish its work in the coming weeks and send recommendations for changes to the City's foundational document to the City Council as soon as May 1. Among agenda items this week are a few amendments that would eliminate some of the mayor's already limited powers, including allowing City Council committees to elect their own chairs and vice chairs (the mayor currently sets all committee positions) and a requirement that the mayor receive two council member co-sponsors for board and commission chair appointments. There are also two proposals to enhance mayoral powers. Check out the complete list of proposed amendments
.
Wednesday, April 3
🗣️
Dallas City Council Briefing Meeting, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
-- The City of Dallas hopes to achieve zero traffic fatalities and a 50% reduction in severe injuries by 2030, according to
. The presentation includes a wealth of interesting information on Dallas crashes, including causes, locations, planned and completed safety improvements, and future action items.
-- Also on the agenda is discussion of a draft Historic and Cultural Preservation Strategy, summarized in the above slide. Read the complete briefing
.
Thursday, April 4
🗺️
City Plan Commission, 9 a.m. Briefing, 12:30 p.m. Public Hearing, Council Chambers 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
-- Items 17 - 20 are for approval of illuminated signs for the Public Storage at 2425 Canton Street, near Barry Annino Bark Park.
💸
City of Dallas Economic Development Corporation, 9 a.m., Cedar Crest Community Center, 1007 Hutchins Rd, Dallas, TX 75203
-- This agenda includes discussion in executive session about "contract details and process for the position of Economic Development Corporation Chief Executive Officer." The search for the nonprofit's first permanent leader started last fall.
🏞️
Dallas Park & Recreation Board, 10 a.m., 6FN Conference Room, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
👋
Austin City Council, 10 a.m., Austin City Hall, Watch Live Here
-- The Austin City Council is scheduled to vote on
appointing a city manager -- expected to be T.C. Broadnax -- and authorizing Austin Mayor Kirk Watson to execute a contract with him.
Did we miss anything? Do you have any questions? Just want to talk about meetings?
.
Were you forwarded this newsletter?
.
Have a great week.
Best,
Scott Goldstein
Downtown Dallas, Inc.
Reply