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- Meetings of Interest 6: Feb. 11, 2024
Meetings of Interest 6: Feb. 11, 2024
Meetings of Interest: š Super Bond
Sunday, February 11, 2024
Good evening:
I have a confession to make. I've been tracking the 2024 Dallas Bond Program as closely as some of you have been tracking Taylor Swift's whereabouts this weekend.
And with the City Council set to take a "Super Bowl" of municipal votes Wednesday on whether to send a $1.25 billion bond program to voters in May, we're offering the option of a Valentine's Day text update on the big decision.
Click the below button to opt-in for occasional updates on major public policy items of interest, including this week's vote. You can of course opt out at any time.
Last week's City Council briefing meeting was light on bond discussion and not much has changed since our last update. The below breakdown is
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The final two propositions are posted with $0 presumably in case the City Council has a change of heart and decides to move money around to fund those staff priorities. City Manager T.C. Broadnax has asked for nearly $30 million for major maintenance and renovations to Dallas City Hall, which would be Proposition K. It is unclear how much bond money City staff would like for Proposition L, Development Services & Public Works.
As currently drafted, voters will be asked to vote "FOR" or "AGAINST" each of the propositions below.
Read on for more on:
Why key Dallas transportation funding is being held up over Downtown high-speed rail plans.
The future of Dallas Area Rapid Transit's Downtown headquarters.
Another community fight brewing over continued operations of the historic Aldredge House on Swiss Avenue.
ā” Highlights From Last Week's Meetings of Interest:
-- City Council members offered a strong show of support for the Dallas Zoo's $100 million transformation plan, to be funded by a mix of private donations and 2024 bond dollars, should voters approve.
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-- Interviews continued with CEO candidates for the City's Economic Development Corporation. A hiring decision is expected soon.
-- Convention center redevelopment plans are being adjusted to stretch further west toward the old
Dallas Morning News
site, in part to avoid conflicts with the Texas Department of Transportation reconstruction of the Interstate 30 canyon, and Union Pacific Railroad property.
of the Economic Development Committee meeting, including an interview with DDI President and CEO Jennifer Scripps. Read more from
and explore the briefing
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-- The Charter Review Commission advanced several proposed amendments to the City's constitution, including one that would allow non-citizens to serve on certain city boards and commissions,
. Commissioner David de la Fuente, who represents Council member Chad West,
for his amendment to move City Council elections from May to November of odd-numbered years, a change the State Legislature would also need to approve. That amendment is expected to be voted on next week. The Commission meets a few more times before sending its recommendations to the City Council. Voters will have the final say on any amendments in November. Learn more at the
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-- Debate continued last week over the location of the Downtown portion of a proposed high-speed rail line from Dallas to Fort Worth, a leg of a larger vision for a Dallas-to-Houston line. The North Central Texas Council of Governments' Regional Transportation Council (say it three times fast!) meeting "devolved into a series of conflicting motions during a presentation on 2024ā²s transportation priorities,"
. At issue was approval of more than $100 million in funding for regional projects largely contingent āon the City of Dallasā approval of the āone-seat rideā concept and Union Station siting plans for high-speed rail.ā Some believe the Downtown portion of the rail line ought to run underground.
-- The Landmark Commission approved a Certificate of Appropriateness for signage for The Perfect Place event space at 1511 Main St. in Downtown.
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].
š Memos of Interest:
-- The City's draft curb lane management policy looks to address our ever-evolving uses of the curb adjacent lanes throughout the Central Business District, and other urban neighborhoods.
tracks extensive work done to date, including possible variable parking rates, policies on autonomous vehicles, and other technological updates. The policy remains on track for full City Council adoption in the spring. Learn more on
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-- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded $27 million in annual funding to Dallas area homeless aid organizations, a recognition of continued success tackling homelessness in our community, according to the
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-- City staff provides an update in this memo on community outreach efforts tied to a proposal to allow child and adult day care facilities to more easily open and operate in residential neighborhoods. Those efforts include this
and a
. The matters is back on the Wednesday City Council agenda this week after being delayed in December.
-- City Hall is launching a new online payment platform, DallasGO, in late March for paying water and other City of Dallas bills,
. Anyone enrolled in autopay on the existing ePay platform will have to re-enroll on DallasGO.
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on a forthcoming small business microgrant program coming to City Council for approval later this month.
-- Check out all the latest City Hall memos
and
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Meetings of Interest: February 12 - 16, 2024
Monday, February 12
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City Council Workforce, Education, and Equity Committee, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
-- Committee members will get an update on implementation of Dallas Housing Policy 2033, approved by City Council last year.
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-- The City Council will vote on Wednesday on a $700,000 agreement with Staples "to provide critical non-food items, such as period products, diapers, adult diapers, and other hygiene items for distribution in high needs communities,"
. A portion of the funding comes from federal pandemic relief dollars. And because nothing happens at City Hall without an acronym, this initiative is called "PAD" for "
."
-- The City's new College Advisory Commission (CAC) will "advise Dallas City Council on topics impacting college students, review local policies, propose and support collegiate engagement in city programs, and provide opportunities for students to contribute to the city's culture, economy, and character," according to
. City Council will vote on the first seven appointees to the commission on Wednesday.
-- The Committee may create a Human Rights Commission to focus "across multiple human rights areas, including but not limited to non-discrimination (LGBTQIA+), workerās rights, and womenās rights," according to
.
š
City Council Public Safety Committee, 1 p.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
-- Violent crime is down by 29% through the first month of the year, though there is a reported spike in business robberies, according to this
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-- The
and
report on their recruitment efforts.
-- Dallas police are launching a pilot program to make it easier for sexual assault victims to report the crime from the hospital,
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-- The Communities Foundation of Texas pledged $10 million toward a new $150 million Dallas Police Academy, expected to open at the University of North Texas at Dallas campus in 2027. The state previously pledged $20 million and the proposed Dallas bond package will likely include another $50 million.
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-- Dallas Fire-Rescue will no longer respond with lights and sirens to "welfare check" call types. That is because those calls led to emergency hospital transports in less than 2% of cases over the past three years (see above).
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š“š¼
Design District Tax Increment Financing District Board of Directors, 2 p.m., 6N Conference Room, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
-- This meeting includes review and discussion of the final stage of design of the Trinity Strand Hi-Line Span Project.
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Tuesday, February 13
š
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Committee-of-the-Whole Meeting, 3 p.m., DART Conference Room C - 1st Floor, 1401 Pacific Ave.; Watch live here
-- DART is reporting light rail and bus ridership growth so far this fiscal year (see above). Read more in
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-- The board will discuss a potential revamp of the agency's Downtown headquarters, including a possible DART Experience Center (concept pictured).
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-- Also up for discussion is a two-year agreement for DART to fund $400,000 annually for the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority (MATA), which operates the McKinney Avenue Trolley in Uptown and Downtown. DDI is also among the MATA funders.
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ā¤ļø Wednesday, February 14 ā¤ļø
Dallas City Council Meeting, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
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would authorize an optional tax exemption of 50% for qualifying child-care facilities as defined in the Texas Tax Code beginning with the 2024 tax year in October.
includes details on the recently approved State constitutional amendment that allows for the City to adopt the exemption.
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authorizes the issuance and sale of up to $55 million in bonds to pay Trinity East Energy, LLC. The gas drilling company successfully sued the city after paying $19 million for the right to drill on Dallas parkland only to later be denied the permits to do so.
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amends the City's "anti-litter regulations" to reduce redundancy of two existing codes use for litter violations on private property.
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is approval of a mixed-income multifamily housing development backed by state tax credits at 805 Elm Street in the West End. The $92 million multi-building project from Sycamore Strategies, LLC, is expected to include 160 units, with 48 studios, 64 one-bedroom, 42 two-bedroom, and six three-bedroom units.
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is a $3.1 million contract to reconstruct traffic signals at
that were damaged in the October 2019 tornado. "What has taken so long?" A reasonable person might ask. Perhaps we will find out on Wednesday.
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is the previously noted $700,0000 contract with Staples for period products and other hygiene items for people in high needs communities.
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is a development agreement with the nonprofit Dallas Wetlands Foundation for the Dallas Water Commons project in the Cedars neighborhood south of Downtown. DDI has long supported the project, funded in part by $7.4 million in 2017 bond funds.
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is the biggest one of the day, the order for a $1.25 billion May bond election.
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extends the City's contract with HR&A Advisors, Inc., through June 30, 2025, for consulting tied to implementation of the Economic Development Policy. The extension increases the contract from $2.3 million to $3.8 million.
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is a hearing on a proposal to allow child and adult day care facilities to more easily operate in residential neighborhoods. This item was originally heard in December, when City Council punted it by two months,
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Thursday, February 15
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City Plan Commission, 9 a.m. Briefing; 12:30 p.m. Public Hearing, Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
-- Discussion continues on proposed updates to the
comprehensive land use plan.
-- The nonprofit that runs the beloved and historic Aldredge House on Swiss Avenue is
to continue operating as a museum, meeting, and fundraising space for extended hours. Years of community division over use of the venue for rowdy wedding parties preceded an ultimately harmonious SUP renewal in 2018 that limited the types of events that can be held there, as
. When the renewal request was first brought to CPC last month City Plan Commissioner Melissa Kingston, who represents the area where the home is located, asked questions about compliance and community opposition. "There's clearly something that's still very wrong in this community about this property," Kingston said. The matter was punted at Kingston's request to this week's meeting. Read more about the current case,
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Did we miss anything? Do you have any questions? Just want to talk about meetings?
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Have a great week.
Best,
Scott GoldsteinChief of External Affairs& Government Relations
Downtown Dallas, Inc.
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