Sunday, August 25, 2024

Good evening:

Have you ever dreamed of working for 15 elected bosses, each with their own (unique) personality and priorities?

Do you like being on call at all hours of the day and night for endless emergencies including routine water main breaks, natural disasters, and police officer-involved shootings?

Are you excited by the prospect of reporters and former reporters-turned-sarcastic-newsletter writers questioning your every decision and prying into your personal life?

If you answered a resounding “yes!” to these questions then you just might be crazy enough to apply to be the next Dallas City Manager.

Dallas City Council members are close to finalizing a recruitment brochure for the position being filled on an interim basis by Kimberly Bizor Tolbert (who is still being coy about whether she wants the job for real). Luckily, the City hired professionals at Baker Tilly and not me to draft the brochure, which you can review here.

The brochure says they’re looking for a city manager to “lead a new era of service delivery excellence, effectiveness, and a brighter Dallas for all.” This also means they’re looking for someone who loves platitudes and does not value the grammatical concept of parallelism.

The City is still aiming to fill the position by the end of the year, The Dallas Morning News reports.

Read on for more on:

• A pause on plans to shift alley trash and recycling pickup to curbside.

• A City Council vote this week on a troubled Downtown property that once served as a homeless shelter.

• A big step forward for a $200 million historic Downtown hotel redo.

⚡ Highlights From Last Week’s Meetings of Interest:

— Dallas police and fire officials told City Council members last week their departments’ high overtime costs may only decrease once they boost staff, The Dallas Morning News reports.

— The City Plan Commission approved a code amendment that could strip residents of the ability to apply for a scheduled closure, or amortization, of a property, KERA News reports. The City Council has final authority on the code change, which officials say is needed to put the City in compliance with a new state law.

Thanks to DDI's Nikia Summerlin, Urban Planning Manager, for monitoring hours of meetings every week and contributing to these summaries.Questions? Nikia can be reached at [email protected].

📝 Memos of Interest:

— Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert is putting a pause on plans to shift alley trash and recycling pickup to curbside, according to this memo. The decision follows City Council members’ concerns about a lack of community engagement and proper planning, The Dallas Morning News reports. Surprise! Dallas folks love their alley trash pickup almost as much as they love a good Mambo Taxi.

— Here’s a friendly reminder to City Council members, City officials, and employees on the dos and don’ts related to campaigning for or against measures in the November City Charter election.

— City Council members have until Friday to submit proposed budget amendments if they want them included in the next budget workshop on September 4, according to this memo, which includes the above timeline. Amendments can be made from the floor up to and including the day of the scheduled budget adoption on September 18.

— This memo offers answers to 21 budget-related questions City Council members asked in recent weeks, including how the City plans to use Artificial Intelligence to help capture more than 100 different types of Code violations.

—  The proposed Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget includes $4 million in bike lane funding, a 60% increase over the current year, according to this memo. Updates to the 2011 Bike Plan are expected to be completed near the end of this year.

— Check out all the latest City Hall memos here and here.

Meetings of Interest: August 26 - 30, 2024

Watch City of Dallas Meetings Live

Monday, August 26

City Council Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— Have you ever wondered what the Dallas Public Facility Corporation does? Here’s your chance to learn about this state-authorized entity that owns and develops primarily mixed-income/workforce housing.

— Dallas Housing Policy 2033, approved by City Council last year, “has shifted Housing’s approach on implementation actions to be more proactive to achieve greater opportunity and equity for Dallas residents,” according to this update memo. Next up, a citywide strategic plan to say the same things with fewer words.

City Council Ad Hoc Committee on Administrative Affairs, 11:30 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— This committee meets again to discuss and finalize the previously mentioned city manager applicant brochure. Here it is again.

City Council Government Performance and Financial Management Committee, 1 p.m., Briefing Room, 6ES, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport projects a record 92.7 million passengers in the next fiscal year (see above), according to this briefing on the airport’s $1.3 billion budget. Here’s an executive summary of the budget, which must be approved by both Dallas and Forth Worth city councils.

— Here’s another update on how the City (mis)manages some of its real estate, including a Downtown property at 711 South St. Paul Street that formerly served as a homeless shelter (noted above). That’s the one Council Member Jesse Moreno raised concerns about earlier this year after finding terribly unsanitary conditions inside. City Council is expected to vote on Wednesday to allow for it to be sold at auction later this year.

Also in this briefing is the City permitting building at 7800 N. Stemmons Freeway that was shuttered for lack of proper permitting. Next steps on that one remain unclear.

— Interesting update here on how the City is spending $355.4 million in state and local pandemic recovery funds. As noted above, staff is recommending City Council reallocate significant funds to meet a September 30 federal deadline for the money to be “obligated.”

Tuesday, August 27

City Council Public Safety Committee, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— Dallas Police report overall violent crime is down more than 13% as compared to the same time last year, with hefty reductions in aggravated assaults (18%) and homicides (21%), according to this update. Business robberies across the city are up nearly 21 percent, as noted in the above graph.

Not included in this presentation, but worth noting that overall crime in Downtown Dallas is down by more than 7% as compared to last year, according to Dallas police statistics through July.

***

— Delve deeper into police statistics in the latest Public Safety Dashboards, which show overall crime in Dallas is down by nearly 8% as compared to last year.

— Dallas Police leaders want City Council permission to increase the data retention period on license plate reader cameras from 30 days to one year, according to this memo. “An increased retention period is needed for long-term investigations and serial offenses, which may last six months or more, and offenses where suspect vehicles are identified late in the investigation process,” the memo says.

Special Called City Council Economic Development Committee, 11 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— The purpose of this special-called meeting is to discuss the City’s proposed update to its land-use plan, known as ForwardDallas 2.0. DDI supports the proposed update, as detailed in this letter to City Council sent last week. Some neighborhood advocates across the City are concerned the plan could make it easier to develop multiplex projects in single-family neighborhoods.  

Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Committee-of-the-Whole at 2 p.m., Board of Directors at 6 p.m., DART HQ, 1401 Pacific Ave., Dallas; Watch Live Here

— DART outlines continued investments in safety and security in this briefing, which includes the above slide.

Wednesday, August 28

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

Item 7 would authorize the City to sell at public auction the former homeless shelter at 711 South St. Paul Street in Downtown that fell into unsanitary conditions on the City’s watch.

Item 18 is an ordinance to establish a street topper program to honor Dallas police and firefighters killed in the line of duty. The first street toppers are expected to be put in Downtown next month, according to the agenda material.

Item 25 is a resolution to support the Comprehensive Environmental Climate Action Plan (CECAP) recommendations through implementation of the 2024 Bond Program. “The financial commitment may include additional upfront project cost for design and construction, including projects that seek LEED Gold, Envision, or SITES certification,” according to agenda materials.

Item 52 authorizes a required public hearing to be held on September 18 to receive comments on the proposed $0.7047 per $100 valuation tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year that begins on October 1.

Item 56 is a closed session deliberation on “the purchase, exchange, lease, or value” of what was supposed to be the City’s permitting building at 7800 N. Stemmons Freeway. It abruptly closed earlier this year after it was found to be operating without proper permits.

PH 1 is a public hearing to receive comments on the proposed Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget.

PH 4 is an annual public hearing to receive comments regarding the proposed 2025 assessment of $0.139 per $100 valuation on Downtown property owners to fund the Dallas Downtown Improvement District, managed by Downtown Dallas, Inc. (DDI), for more than 30 years. This assessment is what funds DDI’s supplemental services, including the nonprofit’s Security, Clean, Homeless Outreach, and Ambassador teams, as well as marketing, events, and economic development initiatives. This assessment also includes the cost for DDI to plant approximately 500 new trees throughout Downtown. Following the hearing, City Council will vote on whether to approve the assessment and service plan.

Similar hearings are being held for the 12 other Public Improvement Districts, as detailed in this memo.

Thursday, August 29

Special Joint Meeting of the Downtown Connection Tax Increment Financing District and Downtown Dallas Development Authority Boards of Directors, 11 a.m., 6DN Conference Room, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— These two bodies will vote on a $40 million Tax Increment Financing District deal to supplement a reported $200 million redevelopment of the historic Magnolia Building at 1401 Commerce Street. The building is currently home to the Magnolia Hotel but The Dallas Morning News reported last year that the owners were in talks with five-star hotel operators including Hilton’s Waldorf Astoria to manage the remodeled building.

The DDI team has been assisting throughout the project development and fully supports this TIF request. The redevelopment of this hotel just across from AT&T Discovery District will be another major boost for the Downtown economy.

Happy Birthday, Mayor Mike!

Happy birthday today to my former boss, Mike Rawlings, a man who has had a profoundly positive impact on my life. I’m blessed to continue to receive his wise “coaching,” usually when I don’t even ask for it.

Pictured from left above with Mike is his son, Gunnar, me, and our friend and former Park Board President Bobby Abtahi at an event honoring Mike last year.

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

Best,

Scott Goldstein

Communications & Government Relations Consultant

Downtown Dallas, Inc.