Dallas Bond Office Maps This Year’s Timeline But Some 2017 Projects Are Still Incomplete

Did you vote for a bond project seven years ago and wonder why it’s not finished yet? There’s an app for that.

Well, actually there’s a dashboard for that.

Director of Bond and Construction Management Jenny Nicewander briefed the Dallas City Council this week on which projects approved earlier this year are at the front of the line and how to track the status of all bond projects, including those approved in 2017.

Dallas Bond Project Prioritization List Slated For Release in June

A five-year plan is posted on the Dallas bond website. Although voters approved a $1.25 billion bond in May, just $250 million will be released annually over the five-year period due to bond capacity. In the past the funds have been spread out over time to ensure there is no negative impact on the city’s pension fund, Nicewander said, noting that’s not an issue with the 2024 bond. 

Over the next fiscal year, the bond office has allocated:

• $93.9 million to 196 streets and transportation projects
• $69.4 million to 73 parks and recreation projects
• $50.2 million to two public safety facilities projects, including the much-anticipated Dallas Police Regional Training Facility.
• $5.3 million is allocated in year one for housing
• $3.8 million is allocated for homelessness initiatives

Watch the Aug. 21 Dallas City Council briefing and view Nicewander’s slide presentation. Search specific projects on the Dallas bond dashboard. 

2017 Bond Projects

Nicewander explained that some of the 2017 projects aren’t finished — or started — for various reasons such as escalating construction costs. 

We’ve also become aware in recent months of unforeseen changes with service providers or a change of plans for an approved facility. For example, voters approved $20 million in 2017 for five homeless assistance facility projects. But the dashboard shows that zero of those projects are started and zero are completed.

2017 bond package funds are committed to homeless assistance facility projects at:

• 1950 Fort Worth Ave.
• 2949 S. Hampton Road
• 4150 Independence Drive
• St. Jude Center-Park Central project
• “homeless assistance facilities” category

The Fort Worth Avenue project stalled because an operator pulled out and there were procurement problems that caused a design contract to be voided. Additionally, Zarin Gracey, the council member who oversees Hampton Road and Independence Drive, has said his constituents don’t want a homeless facility on Hampton and would like the city to sell the property and use it for another public purpose. Council members have dragged their feet on the sale of Hampton Road, citing the encumbered bond funds.

Other 2017 bond projects, such as a street upgrade in Tennell Atkins’ district, are awaiting certificates of obligation funding to get started. When Atkins asked about it in Wednesday’s council meeting, Nicewander said she’d speak to Transportation and Public Works to get more information.

“I’ll confirm, but I’m sure it’s going to be in the queue for some time between now and the end of the year to get that project started,” she said.

Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn pointed out that it appears there’s no end in sight for some of the 2017 bond projects. 

“My recollection is we were told these would all be done in five years, and of course, it’s been seven [years], and it doesn’t seem to be that there’s an end date on the horizon,” she said. 

Nicewander again referenced escalation costs and delayed certificate of obligation funds. 

“I can get you some more detail on that,” she said. 

2024 Bond Projects

Councilman Jesse Moreno said he was concerned about putting $10 million and $15 million projects in year five of the bond program, by which time construction costs may have escalated. It makes more sense to “front load” the more expensive projects, Moreno said.

“Will we be able to afford those projects in year five when right now they’re estimated at $10 million or $15 million?” he asked. 

Nicewander said all projects had an escalation factor built in, and projects in years one and two may have savings that could be used in years four and five. 

Housing doesn’t have any specific projects outlined yet, but that department will go through its traditional Notice of Funding Availability procurement process, Nicewander said.

“It would just be supplemented with bond funds,” she said. 

Environmental Concerns, Equity, and American Disabilities Act Accessibility 

Nicewander said that 2024 bond was the first bond program that had an equity lens applied to project selection at the development level. The city committed to investing 30 percent of bond dollars in Areas 3, 4, and 5 outlined on the map below. 

“We will continue to focus on equity during project execution as we go through the design and construction, utilizing the city’s [Minority/Women Business Enterprise] program,” Nicewander said. 

Director of Environmental Quality and Sustainability Carlos Evans answered questions from council members about meeting sustainability goals and ensuring that environmentally friendly construction materials and practices are utilized.

Several council members, including Gay Donnell Willis, expressed concern about fast-tracking ADA compliance at public facilities. 

“If there’s an imperative around safety or compliance, I would like to see [us] move those forward on the list,” Willis said. “For instance, I see the Dallas Museum of Art fire suppression program in year two, and that seems like it would be a year one item.” 

Nicewander and Evans agreed to return to brief the council on bond projects regularly and publicly review the results of a community survey.