Meetings of Interest 17: May 5, 2024

Meetings of Interest: Big Bond Energy 🎉

May 05, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

Sunday, May 5, 2024

Good evening:

Dallas voters on Saturday ran up the score in support of the $1.25 billion bond package.

None of the ten propositions for streets, parks, arts, libraries, housing, flood control, public safety, and more were anywhere close to defeat.

Tomorrow, construction kicks off on all of the bond projects… Just kidding!

It will be a long road ahead, with many of the projects not coming to fruition for years.

The Dallas Office of Bond and Construction Management is working on a five-year prioritization plan. That process will involve more public engagement and a focus on how to improve based on lessons learned from prior bond programs, according to city officials.

DDI will be pushing for Downtown infrastructure projects to get moving as soon as possible. It is critical that the City do its part to support the billions of dollars in planned and ongoing private development within the core.

If you have questions or suggestions about bond implementation, you can email [email protected].

Read on for more on:

  • Why the new boss at City Hall is slowing down a controversial plan to install digital advertising boards all over Downtown sidewalks.

  • The familiar local CEO set to be hired this week as the first leader of the Dallas Economic Development Corporation.

  • Another mystery sports team coming to a stadium near you.

⚡ Highlights From Last Week's Meetings of Interest:

— Interim Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert is tapping the brakes on a plan to install digital advertising boards on sidewalks all over Downtown and Uptown. In the above video clip taken from last Wednesday’s City Council briefing, Tolbert promised Downtown Council member Paul E. Ridley that the City will not move forward in seeking new vendor proposals until community input is incorporated into a manual guiding where the boards would potentially be put around town. This is a welcome change that comes after nearly a year of DDI and other groups advocating for such a step, and sharing numerous other concerns and questions. DDI one day earlier shared our opposition to the plan as it was previously proposed.

— Also Wednesday, the Charter Review Commission formerly handed off its recommendations to the City Council. Council members now have until May 17 to submit their own amendments in writing, though they can make further amendments from the floor during future meetings after that date. The City Council is expected to take non-binding straw votes at upcoming meetings, with a goal to finalize the proposed Charter changes and call a November election on June 26. Read more in this memo.

— On Thursday, Assistant City Manager Majed Al-Ghafry told a City Council committee the new Dallas permitting building was shut down last month because a few workers were “wandering around” in restricted areas that were not permitted for occupancy, reports The Dallas Morning News. As noted above, Al-Ghafry is no longer in charge of the permitting department.

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:

— Tolbert did not waste any time shaking up the City Hall org chart on her first official day in her new role. On Thursday morning, she issued this memo to staff along with the revised staff assignments above.

She elevated two strong City Hall veterans, Robin Bentley and Donzell Gipson, to interim assistant city manager roles. Bentley, most recently the economic development director, keeps that department in her portfolio, and will also now oversee the convention center, housing, and permitting, among other departments.

Tolbert also shifted Assistant City Managers Robert Perez and Majed Al-Ghafry to new roles. Both men could be on their way out, as Perez is a finalist to be the Topeka city manager and Al-Ghafry is a finalist for the top job in Desoto.

The interim city manager also published a 25-page “100-Day Transition Playbook,” vowing to focus in her first few months on the above listed priorities. She promises to bring a sense of urgency, collaboration, and communication (LOTS of communication). DDI is especially happy to see her focus on homelessness, which continues to be a challenge for us in parts of Downtown.

— Here’s a breakdown of millions in fiscal 2025 federal community project funding requests made of Dallas Congressional representatives.— Check out all the latest City Hall memos here and here.

Meetings of Interest: May 6 - 10

Monday, May 6

🏞️ Dallas City Council Parks, Trails, and the Environment Committee, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

🤑 Dallas City Council Economic Development Committee, 1 p.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

—The City Council will soon vote whether to designate Dallas as a “Media Production Development Zone,” which could unlock state tax exemptions for designated film production facility construction projects. The first proposed project is a redo of South Side Studios Dallas, south of Downtown. The facility was used in recent years for filming Queen of the South, The Chosen, the Dallas reboot, and Prison Break. Read more.

— The agenda also includes briefings on the fiscal 2024-25 planned $138 million Convention & Event Services budget and $7.8 million Planning & Urban Design budget.

— This memo to committee members notes Downtown’s JW Marriott at Dallas Arts District was recently honored as D CEO’s “Best Hospitality Project” of the year. Downtown developer Jack Matthews took home the “Pioneer Award.”

Tuesday, May 7

🏛️ Dallas City Council Ad Hoc Committee on Legislative Affairs, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— The committee will be briefed on proposed 2025 federal legislative priorities. Briefing materials are not yet available.

💰Dallas Economic Development Corporation, 9 a.m., River Edge, 155 Riveredge Drive, 2nd Floor, Dallas

— The nonprofit EDC is set to hire its own board Vice President Linda McMahon as its first CEO following a six-month national search. McMahon has led The Real Estate Council (TREC) for the past 13 years. Read more on the imminent hire in The Dallas Morning News. If approved as expected, McMahon will start in her new position on July 1.

Wednesday, May 8

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

— Item 12 is a $294,000 contract for a traffic study along Cesar Chavez Boulevard in Downtown. Speeding motorists frequently plow through what is now the thriving Farmers Market neighborhood. DDI has been working with residents who are desperate for relief. Read more from D Magazine’s Matt Goodman.

— Item 30 is another sports ball mystery. It is a $592,000 incentive package for a “professional sports team to conduct their season league game play at the Cotton Bowl Stadium.”

Thursday, May 9

🚍 Regional Transportation Council, 1 p.m., North Central Texas Council of Governments, 616 Six Flags Dr., Arlington

— Here’s an update on a federal transportation grant that includes $20 million for the planned expansion of Klyde Warren Park and $20 million (plus new RTC funds) for potential deck parks over Interstate 30 south of Downtown.

— Also in the agenda packet is this letter from Washington on the pending environmental review of the proposed Dallas-to-Fort Worth high-speed rail line.  

💸 Dallas City Council Ad Hoc Committee on Pensions, 3 p.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— Dallas Police and Fire Pension System: Funding Soundness Plan Update briefing materials are not yet posted.

📃 City Plan Commission Special Called ForwardDallas Public Hearing, 6 p.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— The agenda includes this briefing of potential edits to the City’s land use plan, followed by the hearing to take more public input. Godspeed to my friend, CPC Chair Tony Shidid.

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

Were you forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here.Have a great week.Best,Scott Goldstein

Downtown Dallas, Inc.

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