Sunday, April 28, 2024

Good evening:

The Dallas Department of Public Works is on a mission to install money-making digital advertising "kiosks" (mini-billboards) on Downtown and Uptown sidewalks -- public opinion be damned.

And the public opinions are damning

.

Among the organizations and property owners opposed to the proposal in its current form, in addition to Downtown Dallas, Inc.: Uptown Dallas Inc., the Dallas Arts District, The Real Estate Council, Downtown Dallas Parks Conservancy, Oak Lawn Committee, Granite Properties, Pacific Elm Properties, Lincoln Properties, Crescent Real Estate, and Stream Realty Partners.

DDI has

shared concerns and questions about the proposed plan

with City staff and Council members for about a year.

Among them is how and whether nearby property owners would be engaged when billboard locations are chosen; how the City will ensure our

sidewalks are not overwhelmed with advertising clutter

, especially given that hundreds of large static circular advertising kiosks are remaining in place through at least 2028; how local organizations would be able to access the boards to display community content; and what responsibilities DDI and other Public Improvement District management entities would have to maintain the structures when they are damaged or destroyed.

Rather than baking the terms of the program into a contract that would be negotiated between the City and the chosen vendor, DDI has offered to help develop a companion ordinance to outline the terms of the program. That could ensure true community engagement and transparency. Otherwise, it is unlikely the public will know what a contract with a chosen vendor looks like until after the City Council approves it.

City officials have shown little indication that the feedback is being taken seriously. In fact, the planned City Council briefing to be delivered this week on public engagement does not mention much of our feedback from the past year. The briefing was also completed and posted online

before

tomorrow's scheduled in-person public hearing on the kiosks.

At a virtual public meeting on the proposal last Monday night, nearly 20 people spoke against the plan, including Billy Prewitt of

Pacific Elm Properties

in Downtown.

"It's a bit disingenuous to sort of sell this as a public benefit for wifi or wayfinding since wifi is irrelevant if you don't have a smart phone and if you have a smart phone then the wayfinding is irrelevant," Prewitt said. "We don't see any public benefit to this. It's just an effort to increase revenue by auctioning off our sidewalks."

DDI and our partners will have more to say on this in the coming days.

Read on for more on the briefing and:

• New plans for the 5th floor of the City-owned municipal courts building on Main Street.

• Another top secret sports-related deal under consideration at City Hall.

• Next steps in the process to consider changes to the City Charter, the foundational document that outlines the structure, powers, and functions of our city's government -- including how much we pay our City Council members.

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⚡ Highlights From Last Week's Meetings of Interest:

-- The 5th floor of the Downtown municipal courts building on Main Street is being considered for potential veterans housing, according to new information shared during the City Council Government Performance and Financial Management Committee last week. Committee Chair Chad West said he is interested to learn more soon.

-- On Wednesday, the

Dallas City Council

:

• Approved Item 7, a 40-year private license to install an awning and sign at Santander Tower on Elm Street, near Akard Street.

• Enthusiastically approved a $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. The WNBA must still approve the move. Read more from KERA.

• Adopted the Dallas Public Library Strategic and Facilities Plan, which calls for major renovations of Downtown's J. Erik Jonsson Central Library. Downtown Council member Jesse Moreno encouraged engagement with DDI on what's next for the Downtown library.

• Moved incoming Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert's start date in her new role 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.

• Signed off on Item Z10, 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.

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:

🛑 A planned City Council committee meeting to discuss the City's opening--and abrupt closure--of a new permitting building at 7800 N. Stemmons Freeway that lacked permits has been rescheduled for this Thursday, May 2,

The Dallas Morning News reports

. Ahead of that meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on General Investigating and Ethics,

this memo includes answers to some of the 11 questions asked by Council member Jesse Moreno

about the situation, including confirmation that employees for months were accessing floors that had not been cleared for occupancy "despite being notified on [sic] staying only on their assigned floor."

📚 The City has nearly 500 security cameras across 30 library branches,

according to this memo sent in response to questions at a City Council briefing last week

. More cameras and key card access for staff spaces will be added beginning this summer.

-- Check out all the latest City Hall memos 

here

 and 

here

.

Meetings of Interest: April 29 - May 4, 2024

Monday, April 29

🚷 Public Hearing: Installation of Interactive Digital Kiosks in the City's Right-of-Way, 6 - 7 p.m., L1 FN Auditorium, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

-- This is the second of two public meetings hosted by the Department of Public Works, supposedly to incorporate public input into the process.

Wednesday, May 1

👀

 Special Called Meeting of the Council Ad Hoc Committee on Professional Sports Recruitment and Retention, 8:30 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

-- The committee is meeting to discuss the mysterious "Project X" that many thought referred to the Dallas Wings deal that was already approved last week.

Maybe D Magazine was onto something with this theory?

💼

 Dallas City Council Briefing Meeting, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

-- Among the Charter Review Commission recommendations headed for City Council discussion this week: hefty pay raises for City Council members and the mayor, enhanced powers for City Council, fewer restrictions on how Council members interact with the City Manager's subordinates, and an easier process for residents to file petitions for ballot initiatives. Check out the

briefing

and the complete

report here

.

-- Here's another look at one of the most aggressive sales pitches by a City of Dallas department in recent memory. Much of what the Department of Public Works is

pitching to City Council members in this briefing

sounds strikingly similar to promotional materials for the company that has been lobbying Dallas officials for the contract since at least 2022,

IKE Smart City

. Ike was set to win the contract earlier this year until several City Council members ordered staff to scrap the program and gather more public input. The new Request For Proposals period would last just a few weeks, with the City Council voting on a contract as soon as June, according to the briefing.

Thursday, May 2

📄

 City Plan Commission, 9 a.m. Briefing; 12:30 p.m. Public Hearing; Council Chambers 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

🏞️

 Dallas Park and Recreation Board, 10 a.m., 6FN Conference Room, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

🕵️‍♀️

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,

previously told The Dallas Morning News

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.

Saturday, May 4

-- It's

Election Day

. Go out and vote on that 2024 Bond Program and I promise not to write about it again until at least June (that's probably a lie). You can't vote "Yes!" like the signs say, but you sure can vote "FOR!"

Learn more here

.

Did we miss anything? Do you have any questions? Just want to talk about meetings?

Let me know

.

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.

Have a great week.

Best,

Scott Goldstein

Downtown Dallas, Inc.