‘The Lemon on Stemmons’: Employee Emails Allege Fraud, Safety Concerns, Oppressive Work Environment at Stemmons Freeway Building 

An investigation into why 70 Dallas Development Services employees were forced to work in a building with three dozen fire code violations is underway, and city officials responsible for the building purchase and occupancy have said there were no “life and safety” matters to be concerned about. Employee emails obtained last week by CandysDirt.com tell a different story. 

Dallas City Council members requested the emails during a May 2 meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on General Investigating and Ethics. More than 5,600 emails were scanned last month in an effort to determine whether DSD employees were concerned for their safety while working at the $14.2 million Stemmons Building from December 2023 to April. 

Just five emails were flagged using keywords like “unsafe,” “hazard,” “welfare,” “hostile,” “migraine,” “plumbing,” and “unsafe building conditions,” among others. A May 24 staff memorandum reviewed the results of the email audit. 

Three high-ranking city officials were in the hot seat at the May 2 committee meeting: Assistant City Managers Majed Al-Ghafry and Robert Perez, and DSD Director Andrew Espinoza. Al-Ghafry and Perez departed recently for better jobs in other cities. Espinoza — the subject of heavy criticism in the employee emails — remains on the job. 

Espinoza did not respond to a request for comment on this story. The chief building official said during the May 2 committee meeting he’s sensitive to the stress caused by the move and has personally apologized to employees.

“We want to be sensitive and we want to provide a good working environment for our team members,” he said. “We’re happy to adjust our process however our leadership team and this council body wants us to.” 

Employee Emails 

We’ll let you read the emails for yourself, but here’s a summary. 

Senior plans examiner Tyrus “Eddie” Small, a frequent commenter on CandysDirt.com stories, blew the whistle in February, reaching out to Councilman Jesse Moreno’s office to allege “fraudulent dealings” and inspectors who are suffering from lack of support and “dropping like flies.” 

Moreno represents the area that houses the Stemmons building, or “the lemon on Stemmons,” as it’s referred to in employee emails. 

“We have so many issues with this building that I think city council should know about,” Small wrote in his email. “It was purchased for $14.1 million and according to the building engineer we will need another $25 million to put it in shape for us to occupy it. The major fault is that the fire sprinkler and the fire alarm systems have not been working since we bought the building. We have at [least]] two floors occupied with no life safety.”

Another email, dated March 18, is from a member of DSD’s “Q-Team,” asking for hazard pay for having to work in a building that had no certificate of occupancy for the floor on which employees were assigned. 

“It had been previously stated that the building was not safe for the public by management knowing we were going to move into a building that was not ready for occupancy,” the email states. “During the meeting it was my understanding that there is only one certificate for the elevators, and they have not been inspected. There has also been no personal protective equipment provided to the employees who are working under the unsafe building conditions.”

More Employee Emails on Stemmons Building Concerns

Another series of emails began in November 2023 and is related to whether the parking garage is in violation of city code. 

A fourth email exchange shows Espinoza, the department director, asking for clarification on electrical molding that was reportedly prohibited from use and receptacles that were not properly disconnected. 

The fifth email, written in February by United Steel Workers union representative Lou Luckhardt, advises District 14 Councilman Paul Ridley that USW members have been placed in “unsafe working conditions.” 

“It is our understanding that no certificate of occupancy has been secured but city employees are working at this site,” Luckhardt wrote. “The elevators have not been certified in years and don’t function properly. USW Local has set up an Action Day for 3/11/2024 for informational picketing at that site. We will protect our workers from unsafe working environments that city administration has required they work.” 

Dallas Economic Development Corporation to Investigate

Dallas City Council members were concerned by the allegations discussed in the May committee meeting but several thanked Espinoza and others involved in the building purchase and move for their transparency. 

District 12 Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn, who chairs the Ad Hoc Committee on General Investigating and Ethics, said the city has purchased other buildings that can’t be occupied for a variety of reasons and she wants to ensure it doesn’t happen again. 

Assistant City Manager Taps Economic Development Corporation to Investigate Stemmons Building Debacle

In a memorandum filed in late May, Interim Assistant City Manager Robin Bentley said staff has enlisted third-party expertise from the Dallas Economic Development Corporation  to develop a “go-forward strategy for the City-owned property at 7800 N. Stemmons Freeway.”

“Last week, the EDC announced the hiring of its Chief Executive Officer, Linda McMahon, an executive with expertise in commercial real estate development,” Bentley wrote in her memo. “Given the scope of the [City’s existing interlocal agreement with the EDC] and Ms. McMahon’s relevant knowledge and expertise, the EDC is a natural partner to take on this important work.”

The Office of Economic Development will pay up to $100,000 for services provided by the EDC. A report is due to Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert by July 31, with a City Council briefing on the matter scheduled in August.