Meetings of Interest: Molding Cops 👮

Good evening, friend,

Private fundraising is temporarily halted and at least $5 million in promised state funds are frozen for the long-planned and badly needed new Dallas police training academy.

Until recently, it was widely believed that a $140 million basic training academy for new recruits would be housed at the University of North Texas at Dallas and would open as soon as 2027. That is what voters were sold when they approved $50 million toward the project as part of a bond program last May.

It is what Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick apparently thought when he pledged an additional $5 million for the academy during a visit to UNT Dallas to kick off the design phase last year.

The Dallas Morning News first reported last month that the new academy was unlikely to host new recruits. Reporters Devyani Chhetri and Kelli Smith have continued to break academy news since then, with Patrick noting he only found out about the change of plans from their good reporting.

City Council members aired their frustrations during a briefing on Wednesday on the project, which officials say will now cost $150 million. Several raised concerns that the $80 million first phase at UNT Dallas apparently would not include instruction for new police recruits. The recruits would start by continuing to train at “the current mold-infested facility in the Red Bird area,” The Dallas Morning News noted.

By Friday, plans had shifted again. Two members of City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert’s leadership team said by memo to City Council members that they will work with college officials to incorporate “basic training classroom components on the UNT Dallas campus.”

“The modified conceptual plan will provide DPD recruits classroom training as they begin their career on day one and will provide DPD officers with a place for in-service training,” the memo said.

Another briefing to City Council members is expected on the modified plan next month.

📖 Table of Contents

• 🗳️ Candidates of Interest

• 📰 Highlights From Last Week's Meetings

• 📝 Memos of Interest

• 🤝 Meetings of Interest: March 10 - 14

  • Monday, March 10

    • North Central Texas Council of Governments

  • Thursday, March 13

    • Regional Transportation Council

• ✍︎🏖️ Spring Break Programming Note

🗳️ Candidates of Interest

Our special series on candidates in the upcoming May City Council elections continues with a focus on two more races.

📰 Highlights From Last Week’s Meetings of Interest

• Members of a Dallas City Council committee recommended approval of a resolution of support for fully funding Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), The Dallas Morning News reports. The vote is in response to two bills at the state legislature that could substantially defund the agency. The full City Council is expected to vote on the resolution later this month.

• Downtown’s Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center will be home to the FIFA World Cup 2026 International Broadcast Center, officials confirmed at a City Hall press conference on Wednesday. “From January 2026 to August 2026, the IBC will be the nerve center for TV, radio, and new media operations and will house about 2,000 broadcast media representatives,” NBC 5 reports.

📝 Memos of Interest

• City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert is on track to hire a new police chief and a new fire chief within the next 45 days, she says in this memo. She is also planning to fill other senior leadership positions within 30 to 90 days.

• Most of a remaining $10.2 million in 2006 and 2012 economic development and housing bond funds are expected to be spent on Downtown and Cedars housing projects, according to this memo.

• The first round of budget town halls will be held from March 24 - 27 across Dallas. This is an opportunity to provide input before City staff begin drafting the proposed fiscal 2025-26 budget. Check out the full schedule.

• The 2025 Community Survey will launch this month to assess resident perceptions of Dallas and city services. Participants are randomly selected and surveyed by mail. Results will be available in June.

• Check out this handy dandy dashboard showing last year’s survey results, plus a few answers to recent questions City Council members posed about the survey.

• Here’s the complete City Manager memo packet for Friday, March 7, 2025.

🤝 Meetings of Interest: March 10 - 14

Monday, March 10

North Central Texas Council of Governments Transportation Public Meeting, 12 p.m., 616 Six Flags Drive, Arlington, TX 76011

• Presentations include Mobility 2050, the region’s next long-range transportation plan.

Thursday, March 13

Regional Transportation Council, 10:30 a.m. Ruthe Jackson Center, 3113 S. Carrier Parkway, Grand Prairie, TX 25052

• RTC members will discuss the threat to regional transportation should state legislators approve bills to substantially defund Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). The body will consider whether to formally oppose any legislation that reduces DART funding. RTC officials are also helping mediate between DART and a few member cities that have questioned the value of DART services.

• Members will also consider funding priorities including about $24 million for transportation and infrastructure for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

• This meeting may include discussion on the most recent correspondence from billionaire oilman Ray L. Hunt’s attorney to RTC officials regarding their opposition to a proposed high-speed rail alignment through Downtown. The correspondence includes a new economic impact study from The Perryman Group.

🗣️ Quote of Interest

✍︎🏖️ Spring Break Programming Note

The Dallas City Council is on recess for the next two weeks, so meetings will be limited. I will be taking next Sunday off too. Rest assured, I will still be thinking about meetings and memos — and you!

Did I miss anything? Do you have any questions? Just want to talk about meetings and memos and other fun stuff? Hit me up.