State Rep. Yvonne Davis to Dallas Council ‘I Don’t Apologize for Expecting Staff to Do What They Say’ 

About $20 million in federal funds slated for park upgrades, housing, and economic development in Dallas’ southern sector will disappear at the end of the year, city officials announced last week. The reason those funds haven’t been allocated is subject to debate, but we do know that District 111 State Rep. Yvonne Davis secured a grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and wants to direct how the funds are spent. 

A memorandum penned by Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert and Park and Recreation Director John Jenkins — outlined in an Oct. 7 Dallas Morning News report — implies that Rep. Davis micromanaged the procurement process, causing delays and difficulties through her “atypical involvement” in distributing the American Rescue Plan Act funds. 

Here’s the Tolbert/Jenkins memorandum, dated Oct. 7 and obtained by CandysDirt.com on Thursday. 

Rep. Davis showed up at Dallas City Hall on Tuesday and addressed the memorandum publicly during a council meeting. 

“Government ought to be formed by the people,” Davis said. “I am somewhat in awe of programs that don’t work that way. I don’t apologize for expecting staff to do what they say.” 

Watch the Oct. 8 Dallas City Council meeting here. Public comments related to the ARPA funding item begin around the 23-minute mark. A briefing update on the matter is scheduled for the Oct. 16 City Council meeting. View the presentation here.

What Happened?

Davis secured the ARPA grant funding in 2021 and it was accepted by the council the following year. 

Money was divided into three categories, and a majority of proposed projects were in Dallas City Council Districts 3 and 8, represented by Zarin Gracey and Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins. 

The Dallas Park and Recreation Department was reportedly given $10 million for parks and trails, including athletic field improvements. About $3.5 million was slated for a “digital board” at Fair Park. According to the memo, a project manager completed design work, but Davis later directed staff to cancel the contract and not spend any more money. 

The remaining $6.5 million could have been used for additional projects including much-needed housing in the southern sector. The City has to obligate the funds by the end of the calendar year to meet requirements set forth by the U.S. Treasury.

Tolbert and Jenkins detailed in their memo an effort to spend the money but claimed they were thwarted at every turn by Davis. A specific legal process must be followed in the disbursement of such funds and concerns arose that perhaps Davis was not familiar with it.

“In April, Davis told city officials that she wanted to create a grant program for handpicked projects in her district to disburse the rest of the $6.5 million, according to the memo,” the DMN reported. “City officials asked for supporting documents to gauge the eligibility and expenses. Davis’ office gave the required documentation in June, but city officials did not move forward as they said the contracts may not comply with regulatory requirements on all levels of government.”

Parks Are in Disrepair

Davis said at Tuesday’s council meeting that parks in her district are in disrepair and there are not adequate restrooms or lighting. 

“I brought the funding because I believe that we ought to show our values by our actions,” she said. “I wanted to improve the parks. I gave money to the parks.” 

She said she went directly to the Park and Recreation Department. 

In the Tolbert/Jenkins memo, officials said Davis ‘blindsided (parks) staff at what was supposed to be an internal meeting by bringing members of the public who demanded a change in designs after they had already been 85% crafted and despite indicating no public input was needed,” according to the Dallas Morning News article.

“After multiple revisions and a public meeting later, Davis’ office still has not approved the design plans, and on Oct. 1, the lawmaker’s office told park officials not to use any more of the money,” the memo states. 

Jenkins told the local newspaper it was “very challenging administering the ARPA funds received from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department,” and added that it was “unfortunate a former Assistant City Manager misinformed Representative Davis on how the funds could be administered.”

Holding Staff Accountable

Davis pleaded with the City Council to “keep staff accountable,” saying she was presented some expenditures she couldn’t agree to, including a proposal to spend $300,000 on a bathroom. 

“We build homes for $300,000,” she said. “They wanted me to allow you to spend $152,000 for swing sets. Yeah, I’m going to object to that. You’re gouging my community from needed resources to do meaningful things. I know everything is up in the air. I don’t want to deal with that. I’m going to submit to you the records that I have because you need to see what they presented to me.”

She again asked that city staff be held “accountable and responsible for these dollars.”

“They were not secured easily,” she said. 

The grant funding was intended to fill gaps in the community, and the council unanimously approved a resolution supporting it, Davis explained. 

“I’m told now that the City Attorney says we did it all wrong, that we have to do it differently,” she said. “You’ve got to have the facts … Me and my staff met with city staff on an ongoing basis trying to make this work. We have had four different things presented to us. Every time we reached one hurdle, it changed to another and it changed to another. I welcome the council’s involvement. Keep your staff accountable, make them accountable. Our money is too precious not for them to do what we expected them to do and not get gouged.” 

‘We Need Help’ 

District 111 resident Charles Beasley criticized the council for neglecting the southern sector. 

“When we have our elected officials go to the mat and secure funding for the southern sector to have improvements, it’s unconscionable to think that it would be gummed up in bureaucracy so that it doesn’t reach the areas that it is tasked to reach,” Beasley said. “The southern sector needs partnership, we need help, and we don’t need obstruction.” 

Beasley was one of 10 residents who spoke about the ARPA funds at Tuesday’s council meeting.

Former District 3 Council Member Vonciel Hill urged the council to support Rep. Davis. 

“Twenty million dollars is real money, and to have a dispute about using that money in District [8] and District 3 is an idea whose time has not come,” Hill said. “To not move forth in accordance with a resolution that this council unanimously passed is ludicrous. To give any credence to sending the money back without using it as intended is criminally insane. I am offended as a former member of this body, and I ask this body to ensure that the $20 million is spent as the representative intended.” 

Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Adam Bazaldua called for an audit into Davis’ involvement in the grant fund, filing an Oct. 7 memorandum obtained by CandysDirt.com on Thursday.

“In government, our biggest priority is maintaining public trust,” Bazaldua said. “In all we do, we must lead with ethics and integrity in order to adequately represent and deliver results for the residents whom we serve.”