Glencoe Project Scrapped, But Funding For Dallas Skate Parks Remains in Board’s Bond Proposal
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It’s back to the drawing board for the Dallas Park and Recreation Department and council-appointed advisory board as they shuffle projects in anticipation of a bond issue in May or November. At least one project — an addition to the Dallas skate parks lineup near the Glencoe Park neighborhood — is off the table, board member Rudy Karimi told CandysDirt.com last week.
The Park and Recreation Board is still asking that $2.5 million be allocated specifically for skate parks in the 2024 bond, but the $500,000 originally slated for Glencoe will go to a skate park in another district.
“After several community town halls, tons of advocacy, and weeks of thinking about what to do next, the Dallas Park and Recreation Department and I have decided to eliminate the Glencoe skate amenity from the recommendations proposed for the 2024 bond,” Karimi, who represents D14 and the Glencoe area, wrote on Facebook Thursday night regarding Dallas skate parks. “The $500,000 that was recommended for this small skate amenity will remain for a skate amenity, but moved to a park outside of council District 14 to be named later.”
Dallas Skate Parks in The 2024 Bond
The Community Bond Task Force recommended $350 million for parks, but city staff suggested the amount be lowered to $225 million. It’s a major point of contention in bond deliberations that could come to a head at the next special council briefing on the topic, set for 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19.
Revised recommendations released Friday show staff’s recommended bond allocation changed to $250 million for parks and recreation.
The Dallas Park and Recreation Board has been working off the $350 million figure but anticipates having to make cuts.
Large items that have been heavily advocated for, including $20 million worth of dredging at White Rock Lake, could potentially be on the chopping block.
There wasn’t much of a bond briefing at the Jan. 11 Park and Rec board meeting. The advisory panel is basically waiting to see what the council does at its special briefing on Friday. Community Bond Task Force chair Arun Agarwal, who also leads the Park and Recreation Board, encouraged members to attend the council’s bond briefing.
“I urge all Park Board members to please come and … make remarks,” he said. “Our energy was lacking in the last briefing and we need to show up this time.”
Once they know how much bond money they have to work with, they can begin the process of making cuts as needed, officials said.
“Senior leadership and I are confident that no matter what the final number is, and this is important, at least for skaters, $2.5 million will stay $2.5 million,” Karimi said, referring to the allocation for skate parks.
What Happened to the Glencoe Skate Park?
A large pro-skate community exists in Dallas, and there is only one existing Dallas skate park in the city, at Lakeland Hills in District 7. Another is set to open this year at Bachman Lake. Advocates have been fundraising for a skate amenity at Westmoreland Park in Oak Cliff, and funding is also proposed in the bond for that project.
The plan for a skate amenity at Glencoe had a lot of support from the skate community and “citywide folks,” but even more opposition from residents in the immediate area, Karimi said.
“We miss all the shots we don’t take, and this was a shot we needed to take at Glencoe,” he said. “Even if we put it in the bond at Glencoe and it passed in the bond, it could’ve gotten killed down the road based on community feedback. We’ve got to listen to the community.”
The District 14 Park Board member held town hall meetings late last year, saying if the project died, it wouldn’t be without a fight.
“While we may have failed in bringing a skate amenity to District 14, we failed in the most daring and gutsy way — and that is the best way to fail if you ask me,” he said on social media. “The bright side is we followed the process, we listened to our constituents, produced a tremendous amount of advocacy (RADvocacy) for skate parks, and we are still pushing for three of them in the 2024 bond, which is absolutely unprecedented in any previous city bond. That is still a heck of a lot to be proud of.”
