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- Meetings of Interest 15: April 21, 2024
Meetings of Interest 15: April 21, 2024
Meetings of Interest: 🏀 Downtown Gets Its Wings?
Sunday, April 21, 2024
Good evening:
Downtown Dallas could be home to a professional sports team again for the first time in 25 years.
The Dallas City Council will vote on Wednesday on
with "a professional sports team"
. The team would move from Arlington to the Dallas Memorial Auditorium, which is being redone as part of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center redevelopment. The venue is expected to be renovated by 2026 and the team may start playing there that same year.
"The possibilities of relocating to Downtown Dallas are boundless," the team said in
. The statement also noted that in addition to the City Council vote, the team must win approval from the WNBA's Board of Governors to move.
Needless to say, this would be another big win for Downtown, drawing fans and foot traffic to a relatively sleepy section of the Central Business District, outside of convention center activities. DDI enthusiastically supports this proposed move and looks forward to welcoming the Wings to Downtown Dallas.
Read on for more on the Wings and:
How to weigh in on the City's plan to install digital advertising kiosks on sidewalks in Downtown and across Dallas.
The latest on a potential City ban on horse-drawn carriages and who on City Council is against it.
Why the City of Dallas could lose its majority hold on the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Board.
⚡ Highlights From Last Week's Meetings of Interest:
🐴 A City Council committee recommended banning horse-drawn carriages in Dallas, a move opposed by Council member Paul E. Ridley, whose district includes portions of Downtown. Council members discussed potential alternatives, including electric "horseless" carriages. The full City Council must vote for a ban to take effect.
and
reported on the ongoing debate.
📚 City Council members were briefed on the Dallas Public Library draft strategic plan, which calls for major renovations of Downtown's J. Erik Jonsson Central Library. The proposed overhaul aims to address maintenance needs, enhance the building's performance, and modernize its services to align with strategic goals. The full City Council is expected to vote on the plan this week. Read more from the Dallas Business Journal.🚌 The City of Dallas is facing a future without a majority hold on the Dallas Area Rapid Transit board, writes D Magazine and The Dallas Morning News. Dallas will likely go from eight to seven seats on the 15-member regional board if population trends continue.
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 summerlin@downtowndallas.com.
📝 Memos of Interest:
-- The Dallas police and fire departments are expected to spend more than $97 million in overtime this fiscal year, with both departments citing elevated attrition as the key driver,
, which includes the above chart. The overtime expenditure is nearly $25 million over the original adopted budget for this year.
-- Council member Jesse Moreno, whose district includes parts of Downtown,
numerous key questions he has about the building the City purchased last year to house its permitting department, only to shut it down earlier this month because of fire code violations and other serious problems. "I am deeply concerned about the developments at 7800 North Stemmons Freeway," Moreno writes. "City facilities should be a safe and welcoming environment for all our employees." The City Council Ad Hoc Committee on General Investigating and Ethics has set a meeting for Thursday to discuss the matter,
.
-- Want to share your security camera feed with the Dallas Police Department? Now you can!
about DPD's new camera-sharing platform "to increase trust and reduce violent crime."
-- Dallas residents can share what they'd like to see in the next city manager through two upcoming surveys. More information is expected soon, with survey results available in June.
.
-- City staff
answers additional questions raised during last week's briefing
.
-- Check out all the latest City Hall memos
and
.
Meetings of Interest: April 22 - 26, 2024
Monday, April 22
🏨
Dallas Convention Center Hotel Development Corporation Board, 2 p.m., Omni Dallas Hotel, 555 S. Lamar St. Deep Ellum B, 2nd Floor; Watch live on Webex here
-- This agenda includes updates on the Downtown convention center redevelopment, high-speed rail projects, and the new Visit Dallas branding.
🚷 Virtual Public Hearing: Installation of Interactive Digital Kiosks in the City's Right-of-Way, 6 - 7 p.m.
-- Dallas Director of Public Works Ali Hatefi made his debut in
The Dallas Morning News
Sunday political cartoon section today (above), thanks to a controversial plan from his department to install digital advertising kiosks on sidewalks in Downtown and other neighborhoods. Much of Downtown is already saturated with large circular kiosks under a 20-year contract approved by City Council in 2006. The City will host a virtual public meeting on the proposal tomorrow night. Anyone wishing to speak or ask questions must
. An in-person public hearing on the matter is also
. Read more on the plan from
.
Tuesday, April 23
🏘️
City Council Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
-- The White House last year selected Dallas as one of six regions to participate in a first-of-its-kind initiative to address unsheltered homelessness. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development team lead for Dallas, Rachel Wilson, will brief the committee on the initiative's progress to date.
.
🤑
City Council Government Performance and Financial Management Committee, 1 p.m., Council Briefing Room, 6ES, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
-- Discussions continue on potential redevelopment of City-owned properties, including three in Downtown.
that the Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization department has "identified a potential use" for the 5th floor of the Downtown Municipal Courts Building. No further details are included in the memo. The other two Downtown properties up for potential redevelopment are the former Family Gateway Building on South Saint Paul Street and a building at 606 South Good Latimer Expressway.
--
is a budget geek's dream (Chad West?), including details on numerous proposed mid-year budget amendments and reallocation of millions of dollars in federal pandemic relief money.
Wednesday, April 24
💼
Dallas City Council Meeting, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
--
is a 40-year private license to install an awning and sign at Santander Tower on Elm Street, near Akard Street.
--
is the aforementioned $19 million, 15-year use and incentive agreement for the WNBA's Dallas Wings to move to Dallas Memorial Auditorium in Downtown as soon as 2026.
--
is adoption of the Dallas Public Library Strategic and Facilities Plan, which calls for major renovations of Downtown's J. Erik Jonsson Central Library.
--
formally moves incoming Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert's start date to the close of business on May 2. City Manager T.C. Broadnax is leaving sooner than originally planned to start his new job as Austin city manager.
--
is a public hearing for and ordinance granting renewal of Downtown's Pegasus City Brewery's Specific Use Permit to continue operating at Commerce and Browder streets. DDI team members strongly support this renewal. 🍻
Thursday, April 25
🕵️♀️
Ad Hoc Committee on General Investigating and Ethics, 3 p.m., Council Briefing Room, 6ES, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
-- City Council member Cara Mendelsohn, who chairs the committee,
she called the meeting to discuss details surrounding the City's purchase and use of a building found earlier this month to be in violation of fire code and lacking approvals to be fully occupied. The City has already spent at least $21 million to buy and renovate the 11-story building at 7800 N. Stemmons Freeway. The committee will consider calling for an audit of the "City's due diligence process for the purchase of the 7800 N. Stemmons Freeway office building and subsequent improvements, inspections, and permitting activities completed before the decision to start moving employees into the building, including comparing the practices observed to industry practices."
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.
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