City Hall Roundup: Don’t Even Say the Word Tariff
Share News:
Let’s all try to keep our minds off our 401Ks and the impending resurgence of inflation this Sunday and check in on what’s been going on at Dallas City Hall this past week and what’s coming down the pipeline. How does that sound?
We’ll leave covering the potentially catastrophic implications of President Donald Trump’s trade war on the entire world for another day, however “short term” they may be.
Police Academy Hiccups
On Wednesday, Dallas City Council got briefed on the preparations being undertaken for FIFA World Cup 2026, which will hold several games in D-FW. While that part of the meeting was a good look for officials, a discussion over a planned training center for the Dallas Police Department at the University of North Texas at Dallas put staff in the hot seat.
A report by The Dallas Morning News last month revealed that staff at City Hall were changing up the original plan to build a facility on 7 acres at the university campus. New plans, however, called for only an in-service training facility at UNT Dallas and an additional 60-acre site for a public safety complex at a different location.
The dramatic changes called into question the availability of millions of dollars in state funding, which was reportedly contingent on the academy for recruits being located at the university.
Staff showed council members the latest plans for the two-site project:
What staff didn’t have, however, was a site selected for the public safety complex or a solid cost estimation for either build. This prompted some consternation from Council Members Adam Bazaldua (District 7), Paula Blackmon (District 9), and Paul Ridley (District 14), all of whom felt the city was getting ahead of itself and not being realistic considering the current number of unknowns.
Council members raised issues like anticipated increases in building costs, the wisdom of two sites instead of a consolidated facility, and lack of clarity on funding.
“I’m hoping that something this large would be something that is obtainable without so many caveats and what ifs,” Bazaldua said. “I’d like to see us approach this like we do any other investment with the return … This is a priority for our city, but how we do it should be done to the best of our ability. That’s not what y’all have in front of us.”
City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said she appreciated the concerns but noted that the city still needs actual guidance from council members on what they want to see.
“Until we get to what we’re trying to build and what we’re trying to deliver, it is difficult for us to come back and give any concrete numbers,” she said.
Dallas Is Hot, Hot, Hot
On Thursday, city staff released the results from its latest heat island study, identifying the parts of Dallas where people would be most vulnerable to extreme heat events. Some of the hot spots include places like the Central Business District, Bishop Arts District, Westmoreland Heights, and Oak Lawn.
CandysDirt.com will dig into the results and how the city went about the study in an article this coming week. For now, see if you live in or frequent the hottest parts of town, as listed by the city in a press release:
- District 1, District 4 – Oak Cliff
- Bishop Arts
- South Oak Cliff/South Dallas
- Glendale Park
- Wynnewood Heights
- District 2 – Love Field West
- District 2 – Medical District
- District 5 – Pleasant Wood
- District 6 – West Dallas
- Ledbetter Gardens
- Westmoreland Heights
- Frederick Douglass
- Brookhollow PID
- District 6 – Gribble
- District 7 – Claremont Addition
- District 11 – Preston Hills
- District 12 – North Dallas
- Old Mill Court
- Near Timberglen Park
- Highlands
- District 14 – Oak Lawn
- District 14 – Harwood
- District 14 – Downtown
Meetings Coming Down the Pipeline
On Monday, April 7, the Parks, Trails, and the Environment Committee will convene at City Hall to hear about the results of the heat map study. The committee will also get briefed on its greening initiative and citywide trail initiative.
That same day, the Economic Development Committee will be meeting to consider revising the city’s permitting fee schedule to correct an error that made its way on the books and cost the municipality considerable revenue. The committee will also get a briefing on the City Plan Commission’s parking reform proposal.
Dallas City Council meets on Wednesday, April 9. Two weeks prior, council members tabled the acceptance of the parcel of land that was allegedly behind Saks Global’s decision to shutter Neiman Marcus Downtown.
Council members will also convene in closed session to discuss the “purchase, exchange, lease, or value of” two downtown properties. One of them is the former Dallas Morning News headquarters owned by developer Ray Washburne. The other is an industrial property located at 1607 Commerce St.
