You're watching the meeting of the Dallas City Council with Mayor Eric L.

Johnson, Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Moreno, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Gay Donnell Willis, City Council members Chad West, Zaren D.

Gracie, Maxie Johnson, Jaime Ricendez, Laura Cadena, Adam Basildua, Laurie Blair, Paula Blackman, Kathy Stewart, William Roth, Cara Mendelson, Paul E.

Ridley, City Manager Kimberly Beiser Tolbert, City Secretary Billy Ray Johnson, and interim city attorney Bert Vandenberg.

All right, good morning.

We have a quorum, and today is Wednesday, June the 10th, 2026, times 9 32 a.m.

And I'll call this meeting of the Dallas City Council to order.

Our invocation this morning can be given by one of our colleagues, Zaren Gracie, who represents District 3.

Is he here?

I'm right here.

Ah, there we are.

Oh, so we're we're here today.

Throw me off too.

All right, Chairman Gracie.

You're um we're gonna ask you to do our invocation, then we'll have our pledges of allegiance.

Thank you, sir.

Good morning.

Let us pray.

Gracious and almighty God, we come before you today with grateful hearts, mindful of the sacred responsibility you have entrusted to this city and to this council.

As Nehemiah stood before a broken Jerusalem and declared, come let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem that we may no longer suffer derision.

So we stand today committed to building, restoring, and strengthening the great city of Dallas.

Lord, we lift up our downtown business district.

As Nehemiah rallied merchants, priests, and gatekeepers, each laboring on the section before them.

We ask that you rally every business owner, developer, entrepreneur, and worker in our downtown core.

Breathe new life into our corridors of commerce.

Let creativity flourish, let investment flow, and let opportunity be accessible to every Dallasite who walks those streets.

And Father, we are on the world stage.

We pray over FIFA and the beautiful game coming to Dallas.

As Nehemiah built gates that would welcome all who came in peace.

We ask that our city be a gate of welcome.

To teams, players, coaches, and staff from every nation, protect them, inspire them.

Let the joy of sport build bridges across language, culture, and background.

We pray for every worker and volunteer who will serve this city during this historic moment.

Those who will rise before dawn and work past sunset, who will direct traffic and staff stadiums and greet strangers with a smile.

Honor their service, Lord, and keep them safe.

We pray for our visitors and guests that when they arrive in Dallas, they experience the warmth of a city that is proud to receive the world.

May they leave with a piece of our spirit in their hearts.

And above all, Lord, keep this city safe.

As Nehemiah posted watchmen on the walls, we ask that our that your protection surround every neighborhood, every venue, every street corner, and every soul who calls Dallas home.

Guard our residents from harm.

Give wisdom to our first responders, our public safety officers, and all who stand watch.

God, as you gave Nehemiah a favor with the king and provision for the work.

Give this council wisdom, unity, and courage for the work before us today.

Let the good hand of the Lord be upon us.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

If everyone who's able to please rise, we're gonna have our pledges of allegiance to the United States flag first and then the Texas flag.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Honor the Texas flag.

I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state, under God, one and indivisible.

Thank you very much, everyone.

You may be seated.

I don't see any announcements or special presentations this morning, so we will move on to our open microphone speakers.

Madam Secretary, good morning.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor, and good morning.

The Dallas City Council will now hear his first five registered speakers.

I will recite the speaker guidelines.

Speakers must observe the same rules of propriety, decorum, and good conduct applicable to members of the city council.

Any speaker making personal, impertinent, profane or slanderous remarks, or who becomes boisterous while addressing the city council will be removed from the room for those individuals who are in person for those virtual speakers.

You will be removed from the session.

Individuals will be given three minutes to speak.

I'm sorry, correction, two minutes to speak.

For those in-person speakers, you'll notice the time on the monitor at the desk, and the podium has now changed.

It's to my left and your right.

For those virtual speakers, I will announce when your time has expired.

Also, speakers, please be mindful that during your public comments, you are not allowed to refer to a city council member by name and and to address your comments to Mayor Johnson only.

Your first speaker.

Honorable Ron Kirk.

You may begin.

So it had to be something extraordinary to bring me here today, and it is, because I frankly am excited about the opportunity before this council to reimagine, reenvision, and reinvest in the central core of our city.

But the only way that we can do that is if we deal with the harsh reality of what it would take to bring this building just up to code, not to make it functional, not to make it workable for those dedicated public servants who work here and citizens who come, just to bring it up to code.

And I have a unique perspective, perhaps shared by council woman blackman, of not just having worked in this building as mayor, but I was here seven years as assistant city attorney.

And notwithstanding the emotion around the history of this building, it's just not a functional workable building.

And so I hope you will set aside that emotion and just make a sound business decision.

If you're gonna spend probably a half a billion dollars just to bring this to code, look at the opportunities instead of spending of investing that money in a new vision and a new plan for this area.

With the investments you've made in the K Bailey Hutchinson Center in the Southern Gateway Park, once you tear down K.

Bailey Hutchinson in this, this is a unique opportunity to have a 40 50 acre footprint in the city that we rarely get.

I hope you'll take advantage of that and make a wise decision to go forward and let's re envision, reimagine, reinvest in our urban core.

Thank you.

Thank you.

This is a good time for me to remind everyone uh that we will not be having outbursts, and there won't be applause and all that because what we're trying to make sure we do is have a very uh efficient and respectful discussion today, and they will belabor things quite a bit if we have outbursts and responses to every speaker.

So we're gonna ask you it's it's actually our rules.

So we're asking if everyone would refrain from applause or or the opposite, I guess, either, during the course of the day.

So thank you very much for that.

Madam Secretary.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Honorable Tom Leppard.

Good morning, Mayor and members of the city council.

I too like Ron, this is the first time that I have been on this side of the horseshoe.

But I do want to thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today.

Uh, the council makes many decisions, but very few over the course of decades truly define a city's future.

You will be making one of those decisions.

The options are stark, they're clear, and they'll have enormous generational consequences for this city and its citizens.

In the face of the burden of hundreds of millions of dollars to address the issue, we can drain resources in a building that subtracts from our tax base, provides no economic boost, and little impetus for a dynamic downtown.

Or we can retain that capital for public safety, for parks, for libraries, new technologies, and developing the southern part of our city, all of which will serve all the citizens of this city rather than the few who frequent this place.

In the face of communities all around us, attracting new investments, creating stronger fiscal footings and economic opportunities, we can retreat or we can compete and bring to bear the innovation, collective and entrepreneurial spirit that has served this city for well over a century, and building a growing, not receding tax base, economic strength, and sustainability.

In the face of a declining downtown, we can now stick our head in the sand and ignore reality, or we can look to the future by gaining a once-in-a-generation blank canvas to architect a vibrant, dynamic epicenter that adds to our tax base and draws people to our city.

In the face of problems not addressed, we can kick this down the road again.

Or we can put the people and their future ahead of walls and buildings and establish a path forward that provides opportunities rather than obstacles.

Thank you, Mayor Johnson, for your stand.

As you pointed out, a former mayor, one that all mayors have sought to emulate, once said to create and shape the future instead of being run over by it.

I'm confident where he would be on this issue.

And 50 years later, that's where we are.

Today we'll define the next generation in Dallas, the very land that we're standing on can be a cornerstone to a great downtown.

Choose wisely.

Thank you.

Amy Amy Hofflin.

Amy Hofflin is not present.

Brad Cheeves.

Good morning, Mayor Johnson, members of the city council.

Brad Cheeves and president and CEO of the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce.

I'm here because what happens in this chamber will shape this city for generations.

Hi everybody.

Yeah, go ahead, Brad.

I'm sorry, I have no idea what that was.

That's all right.

It's probably my wife.

I'm here because what happens in this chamber will shape this city for generations.

And I want you to hear directly from the business community and those that we represent.

The DRC believes in redeveloping the City Hall site, and we believe it's the right path forward for Dallas.

As the voice of the broader regional business community, we know what happens in the city, sets the tone for everything around it.

And downtown Dallas is on the cusp of a defining chapter.

The companies already here, and the companies considering Dallas are paying attention to what happens in this horseshoe.

They aren't just evaluating sites and incentives.

They're evaluating whether this is a city that thinks boldly and acts decisively.

Whether Dallas earns that reputation has consequences for our competitiveness, and that is always the DRC's business.

I want to be direct about something.

The business community is watching not just the decision, but also the process.

Dallas has always been at its best when leaders come together around a shared vision for the future.

Even when the path to get there isn't perfectly smooth.

When the process itself becomes the stories, companies notice.

They need to trust that when Dallas sets its sights on something, it follows through.

And the spirit of alignment is part of what makes this city, this region competitive.

The business community wants to lock arms with this city and build that future together.

We can disagree on the pathway forward, that is healthy and appropriate.

What we can't afford for this moment is to signal that Dallas cannot move decisively when it matters most.

The opportunities like this are rare.

The convergence of a once-in-a-generation site and urban core ready for investment and reimagining that whole area and business community aligned behind a shared vision doesn't happen often.

When it does, cities that seize the opportunity pull ahead.

Redevelopment of the city hall site represents a concrete near-term opportunity for real momentum.

On behalf of the DRC and the business community, I urge the council to vote no to the item before you today if that comes up, and then move towards casting a unified prison for the next generation.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Dupree Squaville.

Thank you.

Mayor, members of the city council.

My name is DuPree Scoval.

I'm the managing partner of Woodbine Development Corporation.

I'm a lifelong resident of Dallas, and for generations, my family has been invested in the future of this city.

And over the last several years, I've had the privilege of working with many of you on bond campaigns and propositions and referendums and the convention center and Dallas ISD bond campaign too.

And so I've learned something that you're often faced with.

You're often faced with making difficult decisions long before they are popular decisions.

And I'm here because uh I think City Hall is one of those decisions.

Now, my career has been spent developing and redeveloping and preserving historic buildings all over the country, all over the state, and right here in downtown Dallas.

And what I've learned about preservation is actually pretty simple, is that sometimes preservation is about saving a building, and that can be a really good thing.

But sometimes preservation is a catalyst for something much bigger, and I actually think City Hall can be that.

But right now, the question is whether or not City Hall in its current form as a government office building is the highest and best use for this site.

And I think right now, as a developer, I can tell you this with certainty.

I know that the future of this building uh is something we don't know.

No one knows what that could be.

It could be an office building, it could be a museum, it could be a hospital, it could be a hotel.

But whatever that is, the fact is is that as long as it is a government office building, then the future of this site is sealed.

And frankly, the future of this region is sealed as well.

And so I will tell you this.

If the city moves, I do think it is the right thing for the taxpayers.

But more importantly, I think it's the right thing because it opens the door for preservation, it opens the door for redevelopment, it opens the door for private investment to come and reimagine what this building can be and what this region can be.

And so I'll end with this as a member of a younger generation of civic leadership.

I think I think we are watching this moment carefully because I think Dallas is best when we do have one vision.

That's it, and one view for what Dallas can be, and I think that's when we think about it better than we found it.

So thank you today.

Thank you.

Honorable Duane Caraway.

Honorable Mayor and City Council.

I've said here before.

The one on Maple and Oakland.

So I was born before all of you guys here.

I've seen this city, Dallas and downtown.

We used to want to come here every Saturday to go to H.L.

Greens to get our popcorn peanuts and just visualize Dallas.

Downtown is the most important area of this city.

Downtown belongs to everybody.

Doesn't belong to north, east, south, or West.

Downtown Dallas, and every city is where folks want to be.

When we look at this building, and we looked 50 years ago when City Hall was on the corner of commerce in Harwood.

To move from there to build this building, it is now time for us 50 years later to realize that it is time for us and you to make a decision for the future.

It's not a future, it's not a decision for us.

It's a decision that you must make for the future of your grandchildren of downtown and what they're going to be.

We got 16,000 people that have moved downtown.

Is it going to be a dead downtown for them?

Fort Worth is kicking our behind.

Let's just be real, because they have a vibrant downtown.

New York has a vibrant downtown.

Everyone has a vibrant downtown.

We can ill afford to realize that it is your decision today that's going to affect the folks tomorrow.

Don't leave the crumbs on the table.

You're talking about while the cake is sitting up there by itself.

Let's let's go to work.

Your time.

All my mayor, they know how I am.

I'm getting ready to move.

But I want you all to know make the decision immediately today for the future of tomorrow.

That's your time.

Thank you.

Honorable Janie Schultz.

Jamie Schultz.

Apologize, thought it started at 10.

Thank you all.

Thank you for allowing me to speak today.

I want to bring three words to this table.

Three words I've not seen on a single agenda in any report or in any conversation about this decision.

Transparency, accountability, and honesty.

Transparency.

So, what's the urgency here?

Why now?

What clock is ticking that the public cannot see?

Because from where we stand, no one's told us.

Accountability.

Think about this.

No person of sound mind gives away the most valuable real estate asset in their portfolio without knowing what they receive in return.

This decision is presented to the people of Dallas as a giant scale with a giant unknown on the benefit side.

What do the citizens get?

What do the employees get?

What does Dallas get?

If there is an answer, and I believe there is, then the people of this city have an absolute right to know what it is before they suffer the consequences, whether that be disruptions to operations, enormous and dangerous landfill costs, or a new global reputation as the city of destruction.

Honesty.

Just tell us the truth.

In four years of sitting in these chambers, I never once heard a word about a crisis at City Hall.

No emergency, no failing infrastructure driving a deadline, no bold vision for this site.

Nothing except a few half-hearted line items in bond elections, which many of you voted against.

So what changed?

Who changed?

I'm hoping that there'll be good intentions.

That's how the astronauts got through their latest mission when asked how they got through those tight quarters.

So we may not have, I know I'm out.

I realize the time just got shut.

Um, the audacity to think that you can ask the people of this city to accept a transformation of their own city hall without transportation, without accountability, without a single answer.

That's your time.

Has moved too far.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mayor, members of the council.

This concludes your beginning of the meeting speakers.

Mayor.

For what purpose?

I move to suspend the rules to allow additional Dallas speakers until 10 a.m.

and hear the remaining speakers after the adjournment of the special called City Council meeting.

Second.

Is there an objection?

I object.

There's an objection, so we'll proceed to a vote.

Let's have a roll call on everything today.

Thank you, Mr.

Beer.

When I call your name, please state yes if you're in favor, no if you oppose.

Councilmember West?

Yes.

Councilmember Gracie.

Yes.

Councilmember Johnson?

Yes.

Councilmember Ascendez.

Yes.

Councilmember Kadena?

Yes.

Councilmember Basil Dewey?

No.

Councilmember Blair?

Yes.

Councilmember Blackman?

Oh.

Councilmember Stewart.

Yes.

Councilmember Roth.

No.

Councilmember Mendelson?

No.

Councilmember Ridley?

No.

Deputy Mayor Pro Tim Willis.

Yes.

Mayor Pro Tim Moreno.

Mayor Johnson.

Yes.

With 10 voting in favor, five opposed.

The motion passes, Mr.

Mayor.

Okay.

So this is where we understand what's happening that we're going to hear as many open microphone speakers as we can till 10 o'clock.

And then we'll take the rest of them when we come back into regular session again.

Okay.

Thank you.

The rest of the motion was Dallas speakers.

Is that what it was?

Dallas.

Okay.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Honorable Balletta Forsyth Leal.

Good morning.

It's been a disorienting and disappointing few weeks.

I sat in your chair in May of 2001 when Boeing told Dallas we're just not that into you and sailed their corporate headquarters off to Chicago.

We were told we had a dead downtown.

Then months later, we all watched as the planes hit the Twin Towers.

That future was uncertain.

It was all sobering, but we got to work to prove we were a big city.

Rain Asher built the Nasher Sculpture Center.

We built the Latino Cultural Center.

We planned for the ATT performing arts center.

The vision of Clyde Warren Park solidified.

We opened a new police headquarters.

We used every economic tool in the book to put bring online historic buildings downtown.

We adopted a new downtown park plan and we established UNT Law School in downtown.

Successive councils have supported those plans and those buildings.

Now is the time of opportunity.

Now is the time to plan and recruit and collaborate.

There are knowledgeable and seasoned volunteers and donors and citizens out there who want to help.

Build a vision, build a plan.

You have spent 23 million on this building since 1998.

Your consultants created a recommendation that you asked for.

You know you can create a plan that is not a Ferrari, which is one of the ways your consultants referred to this building.

You need better estimates, and I do not mean going back to one consultant.

You need a plan, and you need a plan that is carefully thought out and is one that you can do, not that you dream of.

Okay.

Thank you.

State Representative Benton Jones.

Thank you.

When we look at 1500 Marilla Street, we are not just looking at concrete, steel, and glass.

We're looking at a physical monument to Dallas's resilience.

Designed by the legendary architect I am paying.

This building was constructed at a time when our city needed to show the world that we were forward-thinking, bold, and a unified community.

It is iconic brutalist masterpiece that has served as the anchor of our municipal government for nearly half a century.

It is a historic treasurer, and any conversation regarding its future must be approached with the highest degree of sensitivity, dignity, and institutional respect.

But true leadership requires us to balance our profound appreciation for history with our sacred everyday responsibility to the working families and taxpayers of Dallas.

The economic and structural reality we face inside these walls is undeniable.

This building is nearly 50 years old.

It's core infrastructure, it's is operating far past its intended lifespan.

The electric grids, the plumbing, the roof, the massive HVAC systems require structural overhauls, not simple repairs.

Just last week, an independent consultant brought new hard data that we can't simply ignore.

That just restoring just to basic safety codes requires 500 to 600 million dollars.

And when you add in other soft costs, including interior updates, new equipment, and other factors, that price climbs to over a billion dollars over the next two decades.

As public servants, we have to look at those numbers with clear eyes.

Every single dollar we are forced to sink in maintaining an increasingly obsolete energy inefficient footprint is a dollar we cannot spend on our neighborhoods, our infrastructures, our public safety, and our housing stability in communities who need it the most.

So I am asking us to think, let us honor the history of this building.

Let us vote to explore the numbers, protect our taxpayers, and ensure the future of Dallas is just as bold as its history.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Roland Parrish.

Roland Parrish is not present.

Mark Scholkoff.

One of the most powerful scenes in this mini-series comes at the end when Shaka is sitting alone in his tent, and the conqueror comes in and speaks to him.

At that point, the king turns to him and says, Tell me, Fabana, how do you trap a monkey?

The colonizer says to him, a gourd is used with a narrow neck, and the bait, a piece of fruit on perhaps something shiny, is dropped into the gourd.

The monkey puts his hand in, grabs the bait, and then he's trapped because he can't get his hand out.

Shaka says, Tell me, Fay Bana.

Once the monkey knows he's trapped, why doesn't he open his hand and drop the bait?

The colonizer says, because his greed makes him blind.

Shaka then says, tell me, Fabana, what new bait do you have for this monkey today?

Something shiny.

Now, before you flip out and think I'm calling you monkeys, I'm nodding, you know that I'm asking you not to engage in monkey-like behavior.

I am asking you to vote to save this iconic building, and in the process, do not ruin your reputation.

Call into question your integrity and perhaps for all time and your political career.

Save City Hall.

Thank you.

At this time, this is conclusion of your open microphone speakers.

The remaining speakers will have an opportunity to address the city council later in the meeting.

All right.

Well, it is 10 02 a.m.

and we'll now recess this regular agenda meeting to call the special call meeting to order.

And we're going to hear um briefing item A, and then items number five and six in closed session.

And then we'll return from closed session and call this regular meeting back to order and then go into executive session to hear items numbers 24 and 25.

So we will uh recess the regular agenda meeting for, let's say until um 1103, which is about, yeah, I'm not sure where that voice came from, but I'm gonna take advantage of it and assume it's official.

Okay, so it's now 24 p.m.

And the regular, you you can't.

My microphone's green, it's on.

I don't know why.

Maybe they can turn up the volume.

Um, but thank you.

I appreciate the audience feedback.

Um it is now nine uh two forty-four p.m.

and the regular city council agenda meeting is now called back to order.

Um we're gonna go into executive session on the two agenda items that we have.

So I need to read this language into the record.

It is to 44 p.m.

on June 10th, 2026.

The city council meeting will now go into closed session under section 551.071 of the Texas Open Meetings Act on the following matters described on today's city council agenda.

Item number 24 and 25.

So with that, we are going into executive session and we will reconvene when we are done with those items.

The city council meeting has completed its closed session under section 551.071 of the Texas Open Meetings Act, and at 3 19 p.m.

on June 10th, 2026.

We've returned to open session, and now it being 3.19 p.m., and the city council voting agenda meeting is hereby recessed until the conclusion of the special called city council meeting, and we need to pause here to allow us to flip over to the special call meeting technology wise.

So we are at recess from the regular meeting as of 3 19 it was, and we are waiting the technology flip over so that we can call to order the special call meeting again.

Okay, it's 7 54 p.m.

in the regular city council agenda meetings call back to order.

Madam Secretary, let's go back to our open microphone speakers who are from Dallas, which is what the motion was.

That's correct, Mr.

Mayor.

Members who are in the gallery and participating in conversations in the gallery.

If you could come back to work, that'd be great.

And members of the public, if you could keep your voices down or leave the gallery, that would be appreciated.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

I will quickly recite the speaker guidelines.

Speakers must observe the same rules of propriety, decorum, and good conduct applicable to members of the city council.

Any speaker making personal and pertinent, profane or slanderous remarks, or who becomes boisterous while addressing the city council will be removed from the room for those individuals who are in person.

For those virtual speakers, you will be removed from the session.

Individuals will be given two minutes to speak.

For those in-person speakers, you'll notice the time on the monitor at the center podium.

And also the podium is now to my left and your right.

For those virtual speakers, I will announce when your time has expired.

Also, speakers, please be mindful that during your public comments you are not allowed to refer to a city council member by name and to address your comments to Mayor Johnson only.

First speaker, Catherine Seal, Catherine Seal is not online and not in the audience, not present.

Kirk Presley.

Javon Gonzalez.

Okay.

So what I'm gonna do now, I'm gonna call a group of speakers, and I'm gonna ask that they come forward and have a seat on this first three rows in the center section.

And virtual speakers, if I call your name, please have your video and audio ready.

Peter Brotsky, Ted Ellis, John Putnam, Damien LeBec, Nicholas Quintanilla, Abigail Clausen, Rachel Deering, Greg Johnston, Michael Thomas, Varie Brown.

Peter Brodsky.

Not present.

Ted Ellis.

Ted Ellis is not present.

John Putnam.

Are we doing two minutes?

Two minutes.

Awesome, thank you.

My name is John Putnam.

I'm a resident of District 10, and I'm representing El Movimiento and the Democratic Socialists of America today and other coalition partners concerned about ice air activity on city property.

Residents today have shown up to save this building by an incredible contribution by Chinese immigrants IMP.

But immigrants today are currently under attack in Dallas, and we need to show up for them.

In 2024, Ice flew 15 times out of Dallas Left Field.

In 2025, that number increased to 159.

This year it is 24.4 flights a month.

That is on pace for 293 flights in 2026.

We have evidence that six of those flights are have gone to direct deportations, five to Mexico, one to Honduras in April and May.

Love Field Airport is city property.

The people being trafficked on these flights are your residents, primarily from Pleasant Grove and Bachman Lake.

But even white communities like mine and Lake Highlands have not been immune to ICER.

According to the Dallas Morning News, over 72% of the people on these flights are not criminals.

These are families, these are workers that they're going after.

So we have three demands because silence is an action, is in action.

One is to terminate the lease of Love Field with Atlantic Aviation Shell Shady Shell Corporation, MLT development company.

The second is to investigate every flight that ICE has flown out of Atlantic Aviation's hangar at Love Field to make sure they're not illegally trafficking those with valid asylum claims or habeas claims or those with visas, green cards, or citizenships, because ICE has been known to deport even U.S.

citizens.

And finally, require the Department of Aviation to have regular meetings with public comment so that this kind of scandal can never happen again.

We need to show up for our residents.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Damien LeBec.

I'm sorry, Damian LeBec canceled.

Nicholas Quintania.

Nicholas Quintania is not present.

Abigail Clausen.

Hi, Mayor Johnson and members of the city council.

Um I'm just gonna say what I didn't say in my one-minute edited speech.

Um, I've been coming to these meetings for a few months now.

I have three kids in three different schools.

I work, but I've been coming and I've learned a lot about our city.

I've learned about Robert's rules, I've learned about how to be a uh representative of the people, and I feel like what I'm hearing is people asking for more information, but no one is giving that information, and people are voting to not get more information.

It's very puzzling as a member of or one of your constituents, a person who votes, and that just seems ludicrous.

Why would you not want to learn more about this decision?

It's insane.

It literally is insane, and I'm talking about this with my teenagers at home, and they think it's insane.

It's not just me.

So why are you voting to not learn more about this huge decision?

I mean, people lost their minds when they painted over the whaling wall.

This building, can you imagine?

When people find out what's happening in this city council.

Why are you guys avoiding that?

Why are you not wanting to find out more information?

Why?

I mean, literally, this is your job.

Why are you not wanting to find out more information?

It's the same people not wanting to find out the information.

People where it affects their constituents constituents, the pollution, the dust.

You guys were so worried about the asbestos and the meetings I've been at.

You're gonna this this building, this concrete, is not like the convention center.

It's gonna be a lot of dust.

It's gonna be a lot of pollution, but you don't care, and it doesn't make sense.

Make it make sense.

It does not make sense.

That's your time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Rachel Deering.

Rachel Deering is not present.

Greg Johnston.

Greg Johnston.

It's not virtual.

Greg Johnson is not in the audience, not present.

Michael Thomas.

Michael Thomas is not present.

Verie Brown.

Verie Brown is not present.

I'll call the next group of speakers.

And again, I ask that you come forward when you hear your name and have a seat on the first three rows of this intersection.

And virtual speakers, please have your audio and video ready.

Anna Rose, Jessica Sanchez, Stephen McEwen, Meredith Burke, Jamar Jefferson, Terry Wraith, Joe Joe Trezila, Sylvester Hayes, Gregory Evans, Sharon Shepard, Erica Huddleston, David Lowry, Camille Cross, Tammy Pierce, Brian Carter, Joe Tave, George Aranda, and Sean Todd.

Anna Rose.

Hello, thank you for letting me speak.

My name is Anato Science, District 5, Pleasant Grove, Home Gardens, Brunei Terence.

I have two homes.

In Pleasant Grove, residents are beginning to recognize a pattern when infrastructure is neglected.

Homeowners are left to bear the cost of repairing.

Pleasant Grove survived redlining.

We survived decades of dismissed expectations.

We observe the losses and carry the burdens for years.

Residents deserve information about development in our neighborhoods.

When those same neighborhoods become more stable and desirable, developers and investors often are positioned to capture the benefits of value, residents help preserve.

Knowing that redevelopment often brings significant financial opportunities.

Jessica Sanchez is not present.

Stephen McEwen.

Stephen McEwen is not present.

Meredith Burke.

Hi, this is Meredith.

Can you hear me?

Yes, we can hear you.

You may continue.

Wonderful.

Hi, my name is Meredith Burke.

I was born and raised in Dallas, and for 20 years, I have proudly called this city home.

One thing I've learned growing up here is that once something is torn down, it's gone forever.

Dallas has lost way too many historical home and building because decisions were made before the public fully understood what would that say?

Information is power.

Transparency is power.

When citizens have access to information, they can participate in meaningful discussions about the future of their city.

When decisions are made openly, people gain confidence that their voices matter.

And when we preserve historic places, we preserve tangible evidence of our shared history.

Something future generations can see, touch, and learn from.

As someone who has five degrees from SMU, including engineering, art, and MPA, the decisions are made.

We understand both the cultural value and the practical value of what comes before us.

I also believe in putting my money where my mouth is.

I purchased a home designed by renowned Dallas architect Charles Bill that Charles Dilbeck built in 1942.

I invested in that home and saved it from builders because I believe historic historic architecture matters.

These places tell stories, they provide context, they help us understand who we are as a city.

The same is true of City Hall.

This is the people's house.

It belongs to the citizens of Dallas, not just to the present generation, but to future generations as well.

Before we make irreversible decisions about places that define our civic identity, the public deserves transparency, open discussion, and access to the information needed to understand the consequences, including the demolition or uh any of the other types of costs.

Information is power, transparency builds trust, and the trust is the foundation of a good government.

Dallas has the opportunity to check your time.

Thank you.

Jamar Jefferson.

Jamar Jefferson.

Your audio, please unmute your audio.

Mr.

Jefferson, we cannot hear you.

Okay.

They have muted me.

I didn't mute myself.

Whoever's working your back end.

First, I want to thank the creator y'all for the life that we all have.

And before I begin, I want to ask for the record.

How much time am I being given here today?

Two minutes.

Okay.

If I'm being limited to two minutes instead of the normal three minutes, I'm objecting.

The city knew before this meeting that there were many speakers.

Some people were giving three minutes.

You know, former mayors, elected officials, Vin Jones, um, former council people.

I think y'all are in violation of the open acts request.

I'm asking that you give me three minutes or don't count this time against me because I've been here since nine o'clock, and I've saw you personally violate potentially uh Judge uh Moye's TRO because I saw people uh giving for or against against the um item three, I believe.

So I I think if I was Adam Baza Dudes, I'd go in and put a contempt because they want some point of order.

State your point of order.

You're not supposed to mention council members by name.

That's true.

You're not supposed to do that, Mr.

Jefferson.

Please refrain from for any council members by name, even in passing.

Yeah, gotcha.

Uh I think he's a weenie for saying that, but you know, that's the rules.

District 7, we don't even have water founds at Skyline Library.

I was over there, they don't have them.

They give bottled water.

We have a horrible council person.

I mean, this city is riddled with corruption.

Everybody up there know it, right?

You shouldn't be there, Eric.

You know what you did, right?

But you know heaven gonna judge both of us.

But I don't think y'all should be limiting people to three, two, one minute while giving former elected officials, then Jones, an elected official, uh, the former city councilwoman from I think 12.

Uh Schultz, she got three minutes.

I didn't see any rules that the body agreed to limit it to two minutes or one minute or three minutes.

That's your time.

Thank you.

That's your time.

Thank you, Terry Wraith.

Terry Wraith is not present, Joe Tresilla.

Joe Joe Trazilla is not present.

Sylvester Hayes.

Sylvester Hayes is not present.

Gregory Evans.

Gregory Evans is not present.

Sharon Shepard.

I'm here.

I'm present.

You're Sharon Shepard.

The one and only the building.

I need to see our ID.

Oh, I'm here.

As a request.

I think people think because I'm disabled, I'm an imbecile.

I went to SMU.

I worked on my master's in divinity.

I sent a letter out to the chief of police.

My items were stolen at Planet Fitness.

It was only four people in the building.

Wouldn't allow me to use the phone to call the police, but I did.

It took the police five hours to come out to Planet Fitness on Skielman.

When she arrived there, she pretended like the young man had not been there.

Then she gave me a police report.

The police report said, Detective Heel.

Well, I got the looking at Detective Heel.

There's no such thing as Detective Hill.

And then she gave me a bogus phone number.

I sent it to the chief asking and requesting him to give me more information with an affidavit.

And I think I sent one of those letters to one of the members here on the council to let you know I'm not stupid.

On top of that, somebody attacked me again and stole my phones.

I called the police department only for a hotel six to tell me that I was banned.

I couldn't get my stuff back.

He was aware that the person stole my stuff.

I even sent an email where the person told me she had my phone.

What do I have to do for the police to do his job?

Corruption is on the rise.

That's the reason the people don't want to be in Dallas.

These companies are tired because the police are the problem, some of the police, not all, but there is a problem in Dallas County with the police.

I was here when there was a great problem and they got rid of everybody.

It's time to investigate the chief to see if he's over here.

That's your time.

That's your time.

Thank you.

And I oppose to the time of two minutes because with Robert's rules of order, it's three minutes.

Y'all do what y'all want to do when y'all want to do it to whomever.

Thank you.

Erica Huddleston.

Hello.

Thank you so much.

I'm Erica Huddleson.

I live in District 14.

Um, I want to come before you today because a few years ago you asked us to tear down part of the convention center.

And your citizens and residents are not unreasonable people.

We said that's fine.

And I don't know how that actually happened, but from what I understand, people agreed and moved forward on that, and you have moved forward on that.

But at the time, there were articles about a big park coming in that area.

There are articles about all sorts of urban improvements and vision.

And in two years we really haven't seen anything.

And I do think that good governance is goodies, right?

So now you're asking us to demolish City Hall.

I came here in high school for my driver's license.

I mean, this is first of all, cast concrete.

If you go to the Jackson Hole, Wyoming Airport, it's all cast concrete and it's brand new.

It's in style aesthetically right now.

Young, I mean, all ages like it, but I get it.

Like I actually have a different opinion than some people who love this building.

I think that the employees really need a better kind of office space.

I don't like the idea that council members have partitions, and I don't like the idea that the HPAC comes from the ceiling.

I think you conduct it.

I think you can create conference rooms.

I think you can create a South Security entrance.

I do think work culture matters.

I think a cafeteria may not work.

Maybe a cafe is better.

But we've agreed to demolish infrastructure like the convention center, and two years later, we don't have any goodies.

There's no vision of a park, and for what I understand, the parks department and the transportation department and the planning department and the convention events services department are not working together well.

I urge you, Mayor Johnson, to convene meetings on a daily basis with those four departments and work on a plan for the South of Young Street area.

We do not want to pay taxes.

You know, the nerve center of our city.

That's your time.

Thank you.

David Lowry.

David Lowry is not online.

Not in the audience.

It's not present.

Camille Cross.

Camille Cross is not present.

Tammy Pierce.

Tammy Pierce is not present.

Brian Carter.

Brian Carter's not online.

Not in the audience, not present.

Joe Tave.

Joe Tave is not present.

George Aranda.

George Arenda's not present.

Sean Todd.

Sean Todd is not online.

Not in the audience, not present.

I'll call the final group of speakers.

When I call your name, please come forward and have a seat on the first three rows of the center section.

And virtual speakers, please make sure you're you have your your audio and video is ready.

Betty Neal, Mary Sue Foster, Gabriel Staminets, William Turner.

I'm calling names.

One second.

William Turner, Christopher Edgeman, Eduardo Castaneda, Jean Lamberti, Jade Hernandez, Reagan Rothenberger, Noelia Estrada, Katherine Guerra, Sarah McCarty, Veronica Arendando, Karen Newbank, and Diane Benjamin.

Betty Neal.

Betty Neal is not present.

Mary Sue Foster.

Mary Sue Foster is not present.

Gabrielle Stominitz.

Present.

Okay.

You may begin, Ms.

Deminitz.

My name is Gobi Stominich.

I live in District 14.

Um I am here for date saving Dallas City Hall.

This masterpiece of a building was specifically designed for the function of our Dallas government.

And more importantly, it was designed for the people.

I am Pay said it himself that this building was designed for the people.

It is the people's house.

This icon purposely leans forward towards the people it serves.

It's a nod to Dallas moving forward after after the assassination of JFK.

In an interview with Diane Sawyer, Pay spoke about what a city like Paris is, why a city like Paris is so beautiful.

It's beautiful because they built buildings that are meant to last.

Century after century.

People who live there nurture, care for, and are stewards of the building in their city.

Why?

Because they hold history.

They hold meaning.

Texas, and specifically Dallas, has historically beautiful links to Paris, like Stanley Marcus hosting hosting Christian Dior in Coco Chanel after World War II, and the architect of Dallas City Hall who designed the Louvre in Paris.

My wonderings are how on earth could such a gift to Dallas be so mismanaged?

How on earth could anyone want to discard such a masterpiece that is solid as a rock?

It might need restoration in areas, but that is at the fault of our city leaders throughout the past 47 years.

This building is only 47 years old, and it was built to last at least a thousand.

It's incomprehensible how Dallas does this over and over again.

The Frank Lloyd Wright Theater rotting, the whale wall painted over, Dallas City Hall being threatened, downtown Eamon Mark is closing.

The list goes on and on.

It's no coincidence this building was under threat right after our current president said he hated brutalist architecture.

That's your time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Eduardo Castaneda.

It's not present.

Jean Lamberti.

It's not present.

Jade Hernandez.

It's not present.

Reagan Rottenberger.

It's not online.

Not in the audience, not present.

Noelia Estrada.

It's not present.

Catherine Guerra.

It's not online.

She's not online.

Not in the audience.

Not present.

Sarah McCarty.

Not present.

Veronica Arendondo.

Not present.

Karen Eubank.

Not present.

And Diane Benjamin.

It's not present.

Mr.

Mayor and Council.

This concludes your remaining Dallas open microphone speakers.

The remaining speakers will have an opportunity to address the city council at the conclusion of its city business.

Alright, let's move on with our voting agenda then.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Agenda item one is approval of minutes of the May 27, 2026 City Council meeting.

Is there a second?

All right, it's been moved in second.

Is there any discussion?

Seeing none, all in favor say aye.

Any opposed?

Ayes have it.

Minutes are adopted.

Let's move on.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Before we move to your consent agenda, you do have two individuals who have signed up to speak on items.

Your first speaker is Delores Phillips.

Who has signed up to speak on all agenda items?

Dolores Phillips is not present.

Carol Bell Walton.

Carol Bell Walton is not present.

Therefore, we will move to your consent agenda, Mr.

Mayor.

There are no speakers.

Your consent agenda consisted of items two through 17.

Agenda item four has been corrected.

It's also been pulled by Councilmember Mendelssohn.

Agenda item five has been deferred by Councilmember Mendelson in accordance with your council rules of procedure section 7.11.

Agenda item nine has been pulled by Councilmember West.

Agenda item 10 was corrected.

And agenda item 14 has been pulled by Councilmember Roth.

Therefore, your consent agenda consists of items two, three, six through eight, ten through thirteen, and fifteen through seventeen.

This is your consent agenda, Mr.

Mayor.

Is there a motion?

Move to approve.

Is there?

All right, it's been moved in seconds.

Mayor.

This is Bill Roth.

Yes.

I'd like to uh I'd like to uh withdraw my uh I'm sorry, I can hear you.

You'd like to do what?

I'd like to uh withdraw my pulling of uh item fourteen.

Oh, you want to put it back on consent?

Okay, so I'm gonna let the city secretary restate the consent agenda.

So we're gonna um if there's no objection, we'll we'll pull back the motion in the second to approve the consent agenda that was read so she can read it again with Mr.

Roth's putting 14 back.

So is there any objection to that?

All right, hearing none, so ordered.

Okay, so if there's no objection, we'll ignore the you're gonna stay with that one, though, right?

Okay, so madam secretary.

If you could just restate the consent agenda with the with nine and fourteen added back.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Your consent agenda consisted of items two through seventeen, agenda item four was corrected and has been pulled by council member Mendelson.

Agenda item five was deferred by Councilmember Mendelson.

Agenda item 10 was corrected.

Therefore, your consent agenda consists of items two, three, six, through seventeen.

This is your consent agenda, Mr.

Mayor.

Alright, her motion to approve.

Is there a second?

All right, it's been moved and seconded.

Any discussion on the consent agenda?

Seeing none, all in favor say aye.

Any opposed?

Ayes have it.

The consent agenda is adopted.

Madam Secretary, let's move on.

Thank you, Mr.

Mirror.

We'll now move to your pulled item, agenda item four.

Agenda item four.

Authorized supplemental agreement number one to the construction services contract with Brown and Root Industrial Services LLC, Phoenix One, Restoration and Construction LLC, RS Commercial Construction LSC, Gilbert May, Inc., DBA Phillips May Corporation, Adept Facilities and Design, and Big Sky Construction Company Inc.

for job order contracting services at the K Bailey Hutcheson Convention Center Dallas, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Union Station, Reunion Parking Garage, and other city facilities.

Not to exceed 1,750,000 from $7 million to $8,750,000.

This item was corrected and it was pulled by Councilmember Mendelssohn.

Is there a motion on four?

All right, so moved and seconded.

General Minsley, you pulled it, so you have five minutes if you'd like it.

You recognize for five minutes.

Thank you.

Well, I pulled this item because it's adding 1.7575 million dollars to a contract associated with the convention center.

It also does work for Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station as well as a reunion parking garage.

But the problem is I can no longer vote for anything that has to do with the convention center because I can't seem to get an answer on what the budget is.

I sent a memo that was received by the city secretary January 29th with a series of financial questions, and I guess it's just been ignored.

And so for that reason, every item that's associated with the convention center, I intend to pull, and I intend to repeat the fact that our residents are paying for a convention center of which we have no published budget.

We have an estimated amount, we have all sorts of words, but the things that I specifically have asked for include the answer to the question, what is it really gonna cost us?

And by that I mean an all-in capital cost.

I asked for an itemized budget of direct project cost of construction, meaning base plus escalation, design engineering, owners' rep, insurance, bonding, commission, fixtures, furniture and equipment, public art, permitting and inspection.

I asked for this to include indirect costs of all land acquisition, site prep, demolition, utility relocation, street, pedestrian, transit closure, and opening costs, parking, environmental remediation, and finance costs.

I asked who is paying for this to show us an itemized list of which costs come from taxpayer sources and the amounts by putting them in three specific buckets, direct taxpayer revenue, dedicated tax revenue, and additional sources.

I went through the whole list.

You can find this memo on the city secretary's website.

I asked about the financial risks, including escalation assumptions, contingency size, and who controls it, change order authorization, an authority, scope creek controls, convention demand assumptions, hotel room night capture assumptions, expected maintenance costs, and major system replacement accruals.

Seems ironic to talk about that.

Um I asked what happens if the bookings are 20% lower than projected for five consecutive years.

If pledge revenue is lower than expected, and what funds are used to pay debt operations and maintenance.

I asked what changes have been made since the project was first approved.

I wanted to understand value engineering.

I wanted to see the value engineering log, the scope trade-off history, so that we can understand what got added and cut and why, and also a schedule, a cash flow schedule of when the funding will be needed.

So for that, I'll be voting no, and truly our residents deserve much more transparency than what we've received.

Thank you.

If I may respond, you sure may.

Thank you, sir.

Jack Ireland, Chief Financial Officer.

Uh, just wanted to correct something that was said that a response was not provided.

We may not have provided a response to every single thing you just read, but we received your memo on January 29th.

Ms.

Tolbert replied to you by memo on February 2nd, stating that we would respond at the finance committee on March the 24th.

We provided a presentation to the Finance Committee on March the 24th.

It does also online that addresses many of your questions.

It may not have addressed all of them.

It does not address all of them.

Thank you.

But it did address several of the things that you just mentioned that we did respond to your memo.

We did prepare and provide the presentation to the finance committee and hadn't heard anything since then.

So I I thought that we you were satisfied with the presentation.

Well, I guess with the rest of how I'll say I'm not satisfied.

I actually wanted the answers to the questions I asked, and the same thing about the pension memo.

So thank you for the response of a pension memo, but it did not actually answer the questions that I posed.

Thank you.

Mr.

Mayor, I just wanted to comment that if there are questions that we did not answer, Councilman Middleso, we will work to answer those questions and then offer to meet with you to make sure that there's feedback on any of the responses that we can receive that from you.

Thank you so much.

Chairman Ridley, you recognize for five minutes.

Thank you, Mayor.

So what is the budget for the convention center?

Rosa Fleming, Director of Convention and Event Services, and thank you for the question.

So we briefed this several times to council and to committee.

It is 3.080.

The number has a billion.

That number has not moved.

That is the construction cost.

The soft costs are 262 million.

We explained in that briefing that our CFO just referred to where we itemized how that came from our capital construction fund at the convention center as we managed our operating budget and our capital construction budget before we took out any debt.

So are those is that a GMAX number?

That is.

So that number is fixed.

It's not going to change except by change order.

It would change by change order, or if something, and we did in that presentation, I don't know if you remember, and we can provide that again.

We provided the contingencies, the things that could change that could impact cost, including tariffs, including changes in the market, some volatility in the local market, etc.

So we can provide that to you as well.

We also talked about how some of the stakeholder interactions with Union Pacific, Text Dot, etc., could have some impact on cost.

Those have not happened yet, but we would come to council before we made any adjustment on those costs and obviously brief that.

What is the justification for the supplemental agreement number one?

For the job order contracting, is a mechanism that we use in most of the capital and construction departments around the city, and it allows us the flexibility of getting some pricing ahead of time for vendors that provide services like HBAC or floor repair, elevator repair, escalator repair, et cetera, to keep a building going without us having to come out every time and rebid everything.

And so we've on ours we have six vendors that we approved.

And so we're adding capacity to the contract because we will be keeping post FIFA A, B, and C open to continue servicing clients until uh late 2028 or early 2029.

We'll come back with that construction schedule and let you know when we are taking that down.

We do have currently booked customers, and so we need to be able to respond quickly if there's an HVAC problem quickly if there's an escalator elevator problem, and this allows us to do that.

We also provide some of our capacity to other departments as necessary if there is something that's needed that's needed in an emergency basis, or they need something done quickly, and then they're able to tap our job order contract as well.

So this is not a fixed price contract.

This is just to authorize up to this amount to use for the purpose of maintaining the convention center and the other buildings if repairs become necessary.

Correct.

So I'll give you a great example.

A lot of times at Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station, we'll have either plumbing problems that'll come up in the middle of the night, and we're able to have one of our job order contractors come out and fix it before the morning, or we'll have a lot of it's an older building with a lot of a lot of problems with doors, etc.

So we'll have someone who can come out and respond super quick to get those repaired.

Are there specific expenses that you're or items of repair that you're anticipating coming up in the near future for which you need this increased funding?

Um some of the items that we have that may come up is that continued probleming problem at union station, for example, that's caused by people usage, right, rather than something that's systemically wrong with the system.

That's something that I don't know.

We'll have to respond to frequently inside the convention center because we are disconnecting from the other portion of the building.

There may be some HVAC things that we'll need to respond to quickly.

In the case of the IBC being in the building right now, if there's any kind of outage of anything, we'll need to respond by contract as quickly as possible.

And this is the quickest way to do that.

Thank you.

Or is there anyone else who wants to speak on for against agenda item number four?

Seeing none, all favor say aye.

Any opposed?

No.

I have it.

Next item.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

We will now move to your items for individual consideration, beginning with agenda item 18.

Agenda item 18.

Is consideration of appointments to boards and commissions.

This evening you have individual full counsel, a city manager, and a chair appointment.

The chair appointment will be by separate vote to allow the mayor to abstain.

Your nominees for individual appointment to the city plan and zoning commission.

Lauren Gilbert Smith is being nominated by Councilmember Johnson.

To the Community Police Oversight Board, James P.

Hawk is being nominated by Councilmember Johnson.

To the Dallas Public Facility Corporation, John Botifer is being nominated by Mayor Pro Tem Moreno.

Mr.

Botifer meets the General Public Special Qualification to the Youth Commission.

Naomi M.

Nyarinda is being nominated by Councilmember West.

Your nominees for full council appointment to the reinvestment zone six board, farmers market, Jose M.

Avila is being nominated by Mayor Pro Tem Moreno.

To the reinvestment zone 20 board, mall area redevelopment.

Oscar Jorner is being nominated by Mayor Johnson.

Your nominee for your city manager nominee.

The city manager is presenting David Barkin to the building inspection advisory examining and appeals board.

Mr.

Parkin meets the registered engineer with at least five years' experience in the practice of structural engineering.

These are your nominees, Mr.

Mayor.

Is there a motion?

All right, I heard a motion in a second.

Is there any discussion?

Seeing none all in favor say aye.

Any opposed?

Eyes have it.

Your chair appointment, Oscar Jorner is being nominated chair of reinvestment zone 20 board mall area redevelopment by Mayor Johnson.

This is your nominee, Mr.

Mayor.

Is there a motion?

Is there a second?

It's been moved to say.

Any discussion?

Seeing none, all in favor say aye.

Any opposed?

Noted.

Agenda item 20.

Authorize the one application and acceptance of a grant from the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service FWS through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department TPWD for the Dallas Park and Recreation Samuel Farm Archery Project in the amount of $225,500 for the planning and design of an archery range at Samuel East Farm, located at 100 U.S.

80 Highway for the period August 1st, 2025 to June 30th, 2028, to establish of appropriations in an amount not to exceed 200,250 in the TPWD Samuel Farm Archery Planning Design Grant Fund.

Three receipt and deposit of funds in an amount not to exceed two hundred thousand two hundred fifty dollars in the TPWD Samuel Farm Archery Planning Design Grant Fund for cost share in an amount not to exceed $22,250 from the Samuel Park EXP trust fund and five execution of the grant agreement with TPWD and all terms, conditions, and documents required by the agreement not to exceed 222,500 dollars.

This is your item, Mr.

Mayor, agenda item 20.

Okay.

I heard a motion and secondary discussion.

Chairman Weiss recognized for five minutes.

Thank you, Mayor.

I was not, I think I had stepped out during the conversation when this came up, and I appreciate the great questions from my colleagues of last agenda.

I also appreciate staff getting back with me on this item.

This is just um just a really really cool opportunity for Samuel Farms to get a archery range planning grant.

And I really wanted to take a minute just to give staff kudos for um uh seeking out this grant, following through with it.

Um, and if at some point it does come through, I'm really excited to come out and check it out.

I think a Samuel Farm is one of those places I had the opportunity to tour as a bond task force appointing back in 2017, and um it's not in a council district, so it often gets overlooked, it doesn't make it into bond programs, and it has to rely on its volunteers and park staff to really advocate for it.

And I want to just give you guys a shout out for doing that, even though you don't have a council champion.

So uh maybe all of us can help help be the champions in the future.

Thank you.

Anyone else want to speak on for against agenda item 20?

Seeing none, all in favor, say aye.

Any opposed, eyes have it agenda item 21.

Authorize a supplemental agreement number one to the professional services contract with MEP Consulting Engineers Inc.

for additional architectural and engineering services for the schematic design, design development, construction documents, bidding and negotiation, and construction administration for the replacement of indoor pool mechanical system for the Bachman Recreation Center, located at 2750 Bachman Drive, not to exceed 120,000 dollars.

This is your item, Mr.

Mayor.

The conform motion.

Anyone there you go, okay.

I heard a motion and a second.

Any discussion?

Seeing no, in favor, say aye.

Any opposed?

Eyes have it.

Next item.

Agenda item 22 authorize supplemental agreement number four to increase the two-year master service price agreement with Kerasoft Technology Corporation for the purchase of various software, including perpetual fixed term subscription and software as a service, software maintenance, support, implementation, and other services not to exceed $3,378,672.81 cents from $15,146,691.20 to $18,933,364.01.

This is your item, Mr.

Mayor.

Move to approve with the following condition that the city manager provide us with uh overall software plan that includes all software applications and the number of licenses for each application and the purpose for each software item.

Second, it's been moved and seconded.

You recognize for five minutes on agenda twenty-two as you made your motion.

Thank you.

At pretty much every single agenda meeting, we are approving item after item of very expensive software.

And many of them actually are purchased through Kerasoft, which I think is just a distributor, not related to me, even though it says CARA.

Okay.

Um I don't know what all these softwares are for, but every single one is urgent and necessary because that's what every department says.

And we just can't live without them.

But boy, we have a lot of software.

We don't even understand how many licenses we have.

And I can't imagine that if we really understood what was happening, there wouldn't be some efficiencies happening.

So I appreciate that we recently were provided with a list, but it didn't include things like the licenses.

So more information and transparency needed around software.

Thank you.

Chairman was recognized for five minutes.

Thank you, Mayor.

I've been uh I'm at I'm in support of this motion, and um my I've been trying to dig in myself to to our software licenses.

Staff's been very responsive to me on it, but I mean we're talking tens of millions of dollars in licenses, and um my question to procurement and to staff is are we are we going in and asking for discounts as we increase our authority here by three million dollars?

How aggressively are we pushing for this third-party Kerasoft company and other third party vendors to actually give us the discounts we need to make our budget work in the fall?

And so I think having that come to finance or even um uh government efficiency would be a good place for that to land um before we get to the budget season.

Thank you.

Anyone else was just speaking on for against agenda item twenty-two?

Chairwoman Mendelson, you recognize for three minutes.

I'm not looking to put staff on the spot, and I didn't ask this question in advance.

But does anyone know how much money we have spent with Kerasoft?

So far this fiscal year, last fiscal year.

I mean, do we have any sense of this?

Because it's so much money.

If we don't have the answer right in this moment, we'll definitely get it for you, Councilwoman.

And of course, just so the public knows, you can always go on the financial transparency website and look it up, and I will do that.

I should have done that earlier.

It the point is that we just need um the motion was to approve.

I'm not trying to stop it, but I will just say this needs better oversight than what I think we have been doing, me included.

Councilman Middleso, we will get a memo out.

I'm looking at the staff.

We'll have something that gives you the total amount and what those actual amounts have been for, since that is a contract that's utilized across it's an enterprise, so it's for the entire organization.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I was done and my motion was to approve.

I'm ready to vote.

Thank you.

Is there anyone else wants to speak on for against agenda item twenty-two?

Seeing none, all in favor say aye.

Any opposed?

Ayes have it.

Next item.

Agenda item 23.

Authorize of professional services contract with Kimley Horn and Associates Inc.

for architectural engineering and construction administration services for a new vehicle maintenance facility at the Southeast Service Center, not to exceed 1,046,500.

This is your item, Mr.

Mayor.

Looking for a motion on item 23.

Question to approve.

I heard a motion to approve and a second.

Second.

What?

I was just trying to get it in because uh nobody was doing that.

I heard a motion in a second, so is there any discussion, Chairwoman Mendelssohn?

Yes.

You're recognized.

I'm so confused.

I had I heard a motion.

Oh, you when you locked eyes.

I'm sorry, I thought you were gonna acknowledge me.

So did you want to speak for five?

You can you can go for five minutes unless we it's been moved in seconds, so it's on the floor.

Do you want to speak for five minutes first?

Correct.

Okay, you recognize for five minutes.

Yes.

Um I would ask that the uh maker of the motion uh withdraw the motion because this was actually requested to be um uh rejected.

This uh bid was asked to be rejected.

So I do have a motion.

Is there any objection to who made the motion?

Does it matter?

Do we are they gonna object to us withdrawing it?

I mean, we can do it by acclamation.

Is there any objection to withdrawing the motion?

No.

Any objection?

Hearing none, it's so ordered.

The motion's withdrawn.

Mayor Abdul, you're recognized for a motion.

Thank you.

I move to reject this item because Kimley Horn and Associates Inc.

has withdrawn its proposal.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded.

Is there any discussion, Mr.

Basildua?

No, sir.

It discussion chairwoman Mendelson.

Well, I recognize that it's 8 46, but I'm just gonna say this.

Okay, you recognize for five minutes to say that.

Thank you.

If you didn't get a chance to go visit the service center, it looks like you have more time to go see it.

I highly recommend you do it.

If you're in the media, I really think you should go take a look.

There's lots and lots of buildings.

So if you wonder if where do the transportation folks live, there's a whole big building for transportation, there's a whole big building for DWU.

This is where they do the street signs, but it's also where they're repairing a lot of vehicles.

But we have other service centers.

This service center is in terrible, terrible condition.

Paints coming down from the paints peeling.

They showed me water in the conference room, like we literally couldn't walk in there.

Toilets that are overflowing sewage, no air conditioning, it wouldn't even get a permit from our city.

But the money that we're being asked for isn't to make these repairs, and it isn't for the people to be able to leave this building and go to what we're gonna construct.

Oh no, people are still gonna work in this terrible condition.

This is just to add four bays that are taller, so for every person that has talked about the terrible conditions that city hall that workers have to endure, I guarantee you there's not sewage overflowing, water in the conference room, paint coming from the ceiling, and no air conditioning.

So I would say, why would we spend a million dollars to add four more bays just because they're taller?

There needs to be a much better plan here.

It could be that that entire building just needs to be taken down, and the trucks need to be and and vehicles need to be repaired somewhere else, but that should be shut down by code compliance.

So I'd I am shocked that we ask people to work there.

No wonder they have so many job openings.

Again, we wouldn't provide a CO to any other business to operate like this.

So I'm glad Kimley Horn backed out.

We'll be saying no on this, but again, I highly recommend go see this yourself.

You won't believe it.

Anyone else wishes to be gone for against the motion on agenda item 23?

Seeing none, all in favor say aye.

Any opposed?

Ayes have it.

Next item.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Your next item is agenda item 26.

Item 26 is election of officers to the city council for one.

Mayor pro Tim and two, Deputy Mayor Pro Tim to each serve a one-year term beginning Monday, June 15th, 2026 and expiring on the day the new the new city council takes office.

Mayor, Mr.

Mayor and Council.

Uh my staff has distributed um a QR code.

I would like to kind of outline exactly what's going to happen, Mr.

Mayor, if you don't mind.

Each council member has been provided a QR code.

Councilmember Roth, please check your email for the QR code.

I will ask once you scan in the QR code to please enter your your first and last name.

And then you'll see we will we're gonna begin with the mayor pro tem position, but once you scan the QR code and place your name on the on the document, you will receive, you will see a ballot.

The ballot will list all 14 members of council.

I will call each name and when I call your name I will be asking you if you choose to stay on the ballot or be removed again this is for the mayor pro Tim position and then we'll the deputy mayor pro temp position will follow once we have determined which members of council will remain on the ballot Mr.

Mayor I believe we are allowed for discussion and I will wait for the disc for the discussion to end and for you to notify me to the ballots will be locked and when the Mr.

Mayor when you um are ready to begin voting you would just let me know and we will unlock the ballots and the individuals each council member will select the remaining will select one member that's on the the ballot okay I miss I miss a good part of that so what do you need me to do what do you need me to do what do you want me to do you can call each member of council and ask if they want to stay on the ballot yes Mr.

Mayor that's what I'll do okay I just want to make sure I don't I don't want to be uh the reason why this process isn't proceed to be as fair so I'm just gonna go through my numerical order sheet by district number and ask who would like to stay in or who wants to either remain or or however you want either stay on the ballot or to remove themselves from the ballot in or out in or out yes Mr.

Mayor and I will also ask it takes a few seconds for us to we will be um adjusting the ballot removing the names so it takes a few seconds um so I will ask as we go through the names to give a few seconds so we can remove names if if individuals want to remove their name everybody knows their district number so I'm just gonna do the by district number district one in or out district two in or out district three in or out district four in or out district five in or out in district six in or out district seven in or out district eight in or out district nine in or out district ten in or out district eleven in or out district twelve in or out district thirteen in or out district fourteen in or out thank you mr mayor give us a second to update that ballot I can't see I got you um the ballot for the 2627 mayor pro tem or Jesse Moreno and Time Ricendez I would want to make sure all members of council on your device you do see just those two names on your ballot okay council member Roth yes okay thank you Mr.

Bear yes sir I'm sorry um I see that on my phone is in is that is that fully clear just two names yes just thank you Mr.

Mayor's previously stated the ballots are locked until you um ask me to release them okay let's release them let's I mean let's let's commence the voting and move forward okay the ballots are unlocked and you may vote.

Thirteen have voted.

I'm having trouble.

Fourteen have voted.

Fourteen have voted.

Oh, all have voted.

Sorry.

With Jesse Moreno receiving, no, fourteen have voted.

We should have fifteen.

Councilmember Roth.

I'm having trouble um manipulating the uh the vote.

I'm sorry.

We have to be able to see your face anyway to participate.

Councilmember Roth, will you turn your video on, please?

Yes.

I'm sorry, thank you.

Councilmember.

I'm happy to vote, you know, orally if that's permitted.

Councilmember Roth, yes.

I can.

Mayor Johnson said that I could accept a voice vote.

Uh Jesse Moreno.

Thank you.

Send us receiving ten.

I may recendez have been duly elected Mayor Pro Tem for the twenty-six twenty-seven term.

Okay.

Give us a few seconds to bring up the Deputy Mayor Pro Tem nomination ballot.

Mr.

Mayor only will work the same way.

If you're ready to be here.

The ballot is not up yet.

Okay, miss.

Okay, Mr.

Mayor.

Okay, same process.

Uh District one, in or out.

District two, in or out.

District three, in or out.

District four, in or out.

In District Five, in or out.

District six, in or out.

Out.

District seven, in or out?

Out.

District eight in or out.

District nine, in or out.

Out.

District ten, in or out.

Out.

District eleven, in or out.

Out.

District 12 in or out.

Out.

District 13, in or out.

In.

District 14, in or out.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Give us a few seconds to create your ballot.

Thank you.

I don't see it on the screen, but Council members.

Mayor and Council, will you please check to make sure you're your thank you?

It's updated on our on our monitor.

Your Deputy Mayor Pro Tim nomination ballot should be updated to reflect Maxie Johnson and Gay Donnell Willis as your nominees.

Everyone can see that on your ballot, on your device.

I'm sorry.

Mr.

Mayor, whenever you're ready.

I'm ready if you are.

Okay.

Please unlock the ballot, please.

10 have voted.

Eleven have voted.

Fourteen have voted.

Fourteen have voted.

Councilmember Roth.

Yeah, okay.

Yeah, we'll do yes, we'll do the same thing.

You may you're allowed to.

I'm sorry.

Maxie Johnson.

Thank you.

With Maxie Johnson receiving 11 votes.

Gay Donnell Willis receiving four.

Maxie Johnson has been duly elected.

Deputy Mayor Pro Tim for the 2627 term.

That's your item.

I would like to note before we move on, Mr.

Mayor, officer positions take effect on Monday, June 15th.

All right, Mr.

Mayor.

May I just have a moment of privilege to speak to the city manager on this item, please?

On which item?

This item that we just voted on.

On 20 okay, okay, you need to ask for a question.

Yes, I was just gonna ask because of our new election date, if we could um have an item for the administrative um ad hoc to consider so that we can uh more align the next um leadership election to coincide with the inauguration like we had previously.

Thank you, Councilmember Basildue for the for the question.

Yes, sir.

I think that that would that would be something that we could get done for you.

Thank you.

And we could bring that so the council could engage and give us final direction.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Next item.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Agenda item 27.

Item 27 is a resolution authorizing the preparation of plans and the payment of potential future costs and expenses for the issuance of waterworks and source system revenue refunding bonds, series 2026A in an amount not to exceed 205 million dollars.

This is your item, Mr.

Mayor.

Is there a motion?

Twenty-seven item 27.

Thank you.

Is there a second?

Second.

All right, it's been moved in second.

A discussion.

Seeing none, all in favor say aye.

Any opposed?

The ayes have it.

Next item.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

We will now move to your zoning agenda.

Before we move to your zoning consent agenda, one second, Mr.

Mayor.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Before we move to your zoning consent agenda, Mr.

Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem Areno would like to be recognized on item Z2.

Mayor Pro Tem you recognize.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor.

I move to defer this item till August 12th, 2026.

Is there a second?

It's been moved to seconds or any discussion.

Discussion anyone?

Seeing not all in favor, say aye.

Any opposed?

Ayes have it.

Deferred prevails.

Mr.

Mayor.

Councilmember Gracie would like to be recognized on item Z6.

Chairman Gracie, you recognize.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

I move to defer this item until June 24, 2026.

It's been moved in second aid discussion.

Any discussion, anyone?

Seeing not all in favor say aye.

Any opposed?

Ayes have it.

Next item.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

We will now move to your zoning consent agenda.

Your zoning consent agenda consisted of items Z1 through Z 10.

Item Z1 has been pulled by Councilmember Basildua.

Item Z2 was previously deferred.

And item Z6 was previously deferred.

Therefore, your zoning consent agenda consists of items Z3 through Z5 and Z7 through Z10.

That is your zoning consent agenda, Mr.

Mayor.

Thank you, Madam City.

Secretary.

There's a motion and a second.

Okay.

One second.

I need to there's been a last minute change to the zoning consent agenda, Mr.

Mayor.

Let me restate it.

Your zoning consent agenda consists of items Z1 through Z 10.

Item Z1 has been pulled by Councilmember.

Basil Dewey item Z2 was previously deferred.

Item Z6 was previously deferred.

Item Z7 has been pulled by Councilmember Johnson.

Therefore, your zoning consent agenda consists of items Z3 through Z5 and Z8 through Z10.

That's your zoning consent agenda, Mr.

Mayor.

Thank you.

Is there a motion for the consent agenda?

Motion and a second.

Any discussion?

Seeing none, all in favor.

Any opposed?

Motion carries.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

We'll now move to your first pulled zoning item.

Item Z1.

Item Z1 is a public hearing regarding a city plan commission authorized hearing to determine the proper zoning on property in an area generally bounded by the Union Pacific Dart Railroad, the Southern Pacific Railroad, CF Han Freeway, the DPL Company Easement, Central Expressway, SM Right Freeway, the Southern Pacific Railroad, the Santa Fe Railroad, RL Thornton Freeway, 2nd Avenue, Perry Avenue, Robert B.

Cullum Boulevard, Fitzwood Avenue, Yatesford Street.

And the common line between city blocks 1820 and D1821 and containing approximately 3,335.8 acres and an ordinance granting the amendments.

Mr.

Mayor, we sent 8,886 notices to property owners within 500 feet of the area of request.

We received 87 replies in favor and 72 replies in opposition to the request.

You do have one individual who has registered to speak on item Z1.

Pierre.

Are there any individuals that would like to address the city council?

You're coming forth on Z1.

Please state your name and address for the record.

My name is Tabitha Wheeler Reagan.

I want to express my strong support for the amendments to the South Dallas Fall Park Special Purpose District, PD595.

21 years ago, the community leaders of the residents of South Dallas were deeply concerned about the decline of a neighborhood they once proudly called home.

Incompatible zoning and land uses contributed to the decline.

In response, they helped formulate Article Article 595, which served as the protective measures by eliminating uses that were negatively and negatively impacting their community.

PD 595 was an aggressive and necessary step accomplishing its intended goals.

However, as South Dallas faces the new opportunities and challenges, is clear that some modifications were required.

These include new permitted uses, removal of certain SUPs, updated housing design standards, and the incorporation of a historical destination to honor our rich heritage.

It is important to recognize that South Dallas proper is a destination within our city and a community with a distinct identity and vital role in Dallas overall fabric.

I want to sincerely thank our councilmember for entrusting the community with the forming of a task force composed of genuine stakeholders.

And I'm grateful to chair our chair Scotty Smith for steadfast and guiding through guiding them through the process and to the honorable Diane Ragsdale, not only as the co-creator of PD 595, but also patient supporter of the current task force as they build upon the foundation.

I also want to acknowledge our city staff, Patrick Blaze, Lindsay Jackson, Sandra Bowie, and a former Deputy Director Andrea Gilles for vital assistance for in developing the area plan and advancing it to the authorized hearing phase.

I respectfully urge the Dallas City Council to follow through on the decision made last June, approving the South Dallas Park Park Area Plan and to approve the amendments to PD 595 today.

Doing so will ensure that South Dallas proper grows, thrives, and remains a community they all that we've all are proud to call home.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you.

Are there any other individuals that would like to address the city council on item C1?

Mr.

Mayor and Council members.

Oh, my name is Diane Ragstill, 3611 Dunbar Street Dallas, Texas.

Uh I would like to first and foremost thank Councilmember Adam Basadua, City Plan Commission, Tabata Wheeler, and serving the co-chair of Scotty Smith for their leadership in initiating, guiding, and advancing this planning process to improve PD 595.

I want to also express my appreciation to the staff for their hard work, dedication, and consistency throughout many years.

The proposed zoning changes establish necessary design standards for single-family homes and duplexes that are intended to preserve the character and appearance of the community while creating additional housing opportunities.

We have consistently had problems, or should I say most recently, with grossly incompatible houses.

In addition, the zoning changes encourage economic development along key areas.

Martin Luther King Boulevard, LC Fay Higgins, Robert B.

Cullum, and Malcolm X Boulevard.

It is also important that the zoning regulations continue to be reviewed and monitored to ensure that future economic development complements and strengthens adjacent residential neighborhoods as intended.

Overall, I sincerely feel that these zoning changes represent a significant step forward for both the present and future of the South Dallas Fair Park community.

To maximize the plan's success, however, I strongly recommend establishing a dedicated implementation entity and identify and identifying a reliable funding source to coordinate efforts, facilitate projects, and to ensure the successful realization of the plan's goals and vision.

Thank you so very much for your consideration.

Thank you.

Are there any other individuals that would like to address the city council?

Good evening.

Um my name is Scotty Smith.

I'm at 2500 Peabody in Sunny South Dallas, District 7.

And it's late, y'all.

I appreciate you guys.

To the Mayor, uh council people, thank you so much for this opportunity to speak.

It felt like around this time last year where we adopted the South Dallas Fair Park area plan.

And one of the, excuse me, one of the call-outs in that plan was to ensure that this authorized hearing, excuse me, it's late.

I haven't had any coffee tonight to ensure that this authorized hearing got done.

And initially we thought about trying to push it another two weeks to hear this thing.

But I say we've waited uh five, six years, so what's another couple of hours?

And so at this point, the PD 595, what the community has come together to put together and to include and to ensure it's included in this thing is exactly what we heard over the past five or six years uh during the author uh during the area plan task force uh meetings.

Uh almost 200 meetings, uh a lot of community effort, a lot of community input.

Um we much like uh Miss Ragsdale said, we are really uh looking for uh entity to help to create a funding source, but also to help ensure that the things in our area plan and in this authorized hearing in this new zoning gets implemented in South Dallas.

That was one of the call-outs that I made certain that I said uh in my letter in the opening pages of the area plan is this isn't going to be a plan that just sits on a shelf.

We want to ensure that the things that the community asks for and has asked for time and time again get implemented, and we really need you guys' help to do that.

And so I implore you to of course support this, but even more so, make certain that we have the necessary mechanisms to ensure that these things continue to progress in our communities.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Are there any other individuals in the audience that would like to address the city council on Z1?

No further speakers, Mr.

Mayor.

Thank you.

Do we have a motion?

I move to approve the zoning change as recommended by the City Plan Commission with the following changes.

For liquor store in the CMU community mixed use subdistrict, delete in the CCE enhanced only.

Agricultural uses are permitted by right in all subdistricts.

Add the definition of restaurant without drive-in or drive-through service from chapter 51A and provide that commercial amusement inside is allowed as an accessory use in the NMU neighborhood mixed use, CMU community mixed use and RMU regional mixed use subdistricts, hotel and motel use is allowed by right if over 60 guest rooms are provided.

Otherwise by SUP only.

Thank you.

Second.

There's a motion and a second.

Uh any discussion, Councilmember Basildale.

Yes, thank you so much.

Um, first I want to say thank y'all for coming out.

Um, this is probably the most consequential vote I am having the opportunity to take as a council member.

It was six years ago when we started this process, almost the exact amount of time that I have served as a council member for District 7.

One of my earliest memories while running for office in the first place is when our current City Plan Commissioner, Tabitha Wheeler Reagan, came up to me and asked, What are you going to do about PD 595?

And I asked her, What is PD 595?

I like sharing that story because I think it displays a very real and inevitable fact about public office.

We can't know everything.

During our time in office, we can strive to know everything.

But starting out, you need the voice and the support of the community to guide you on where those priorities are.

That one small moment set in motion a chain of extraordinary events that brought us to where we are today.

This is one of the most meaningful zoning items that I've had the opportunity to work on during my time on the Dallas City Council, and probably my biggest accomplishment as a council member.

This moment has been years in the making.

The effort that ultimately became the South Dallas Fair Park Area Plan began more than six years ago in January 2020, when I first brought an authorized hearing forth via five signature memo.

However, shortly thereafter, the COVID-19 pandemic put those efforts on hold.

But the community never gave up on this vision.

When engagement resumed, residents, property owners, neighborhood leaders, business owners, advocates, and city staff all came together and spent years building a plan for the future of South Dallas.

This was not a process that happened to the community.

This was a process built by the community.

Through countless, through countless meetings, workshops, conversations, and public hearings, residents told us what they wanted to see.

Walkable corridors, neighborhoods serving businesses, better connections to transit, housing options, preservation of historic neighborhoods, thank you, and development that reflects the character and the values of South Dallas.

Today, we are making the community's vision a reality.

This zoning update update creates opportunities for a reinvestment along major corridors like Martin Luther King Jr.

Boulevard, LC Faye Hagin Street, Botham Boulevard, and Robert B.

Cullen Boulevard.

It encourages walkable mixed-use development, supports small businesses, and creates new opportunities for housing and economic growth.

Just as importantly, it provides greater certainty that predictability for residents, property owners, and future development.

One of the accomplishments I am most proud of that this planned development district now includes design standards, ones that will help protect and preserve neighborhoods in South Dallas.

For the first time in South Dallas, we are pairing growth with thoughtful design expectations that help ensure that future development respects and complements the historic fabric of South Dallas neighborhoods.

This area plan and zoning will put us closer to ensuring that no more developments are, as Miss Ragsdale likes to say, grossly incompatible.

Too often communities are told they must choose between preservation and investment.

Today we are demonstrating that we can do both.

We can welcome new investment while protecting the character and the history that makes South Dallas so special.

We can create opportunities for future generations while honoring those who built these neighborhoods in the first place.

On a personal level, it is difficult to put into words what this moment really does mean to me.

This has been one of the longest running projects I have worked on as a council member, and I have had the privilege of watching so many people pour their time, energy, expertise, and passion into this effort.

I want to first start by thanking the honorable Diane Ragsdale, who created PD 595 more than 20 years ago.

Even then, Ms.

Ragsdale knew that the land use would dictate the future of South Dallas, and we're so grateful for her foresight and action.

I want to thank every member of the South Dallas Fair Park Area Plan Task Force.

A special thank you goes to Tabitha Wheeler Reagan and Scotty Summer.

Do you want to take your uh three minutes and keep going?

If I may.

I want to thank every member of the task force special thank you to Tabitha Wheeler Reagan and Scotty Smith, who started as co-chairs of this task force.

This entire task force was the driving force and the driving voice behind the area plan that you see today.

I want to thank the community leaders and the advocates who never stopped showing up, speaking up and pushing us to get this right.

I want to thank our city plan commissioner, Tabitha Wheeler Reagan for helping guide this effort through the through an incredibly complex process.

This process unified the community like I have never seen before.

For years, the community remained ununified.

No, remained unified and consistent to bring us to this moment.

This area plan process was the test for our community as to whether we could settle our differences and understand that the only way this authorized hearing would make it to the end is if we work together.

Now at the finish line, I'm proud to say that during this process, I saw South Dallas work together like never before.

I will hold the rest of my comments for the second round that I'm on now.

My remarks would not be complete without thanking all the people behind the scenes that worked to make this moment possible.

I want to thank the planning and development staff for their work throughout the entirety of this process.

Specifically, I want to highlight your approach.

Throughout this process, you didn't present a topic and bring it to the community hoping for buy-in.

You came to the residents of South Dallas, understanding that they would be the agents of change in this process, not the city.

To Lindsey Jackson and Patrick Blades, you showed up for South Dallas day after day, week after week, and over 200 weeks in that work.

You heard the community incorporated their feedback and worked to ensure that the South Dallas area plan was a collective a collection of generations of voices.

I want to thank you.

Thank you as well to Miss Sandra Bowie, who played a large part in these efforts when she was still with planning and development services.

And through and though she is now in a different department, she's still an active advocate for South Dallas.

To our planning department leadership, former Director Gillis, Andrea Gillis, with efforts uh continuing under Emily Liu and Deputy Director Andrea Udrea, Arturo Del Castillo, and Lawrence Agu, thank you for investing, investing in South Dallas and pushing for change at every opportunity.

Thank you to Seth, J.P.

and John Cervantes for your work during the authorized hearings, quarterbacking the zoning and getting this across the finish line.

There are so many people who touched this project, from the planning staff who had to mail over 54,000 individual sheets of paper to the attorneys who made sure our legal language was intact.

Thank you to Planning Zoning, GIS, CAO, Preservation Planning Department, Front Office Staff, Housing, Transportation, Economic Development.

One more minute.

Yes, please.

You all stayed committed through this countless meetings, revisions, presentations, and community conversations because you believed that this community deserved a plan that reflected its vision for the future.

We are deeply grateful for your work and your partnership.

Today is not the end of the process.

It is the beginning of a new chapter, the South Dallas Renaissance.

A chapter where the zoning framework better reflects what residents have told us they want their community to become.

A chapter that creates opportunities for walkability, inclusive development, preservation, economic growth, and neighborhood stability, and a chapter that proves what can happen when a community comes together and decides to shape its own future.

For those reasons, I'm extremely proud to support this item and hope we can have a unanimous approval.

Thank you.

Chair Middleton, five minutes.

Thank you.

Um actually, Councilmember Basildo, I think we can see what this means to you.

And I want to say thank you for leading this process in exactly the way it should be led, right?

With the people and for acknowledging all of them.

And you know, y'all stayed so long, so amazing.

Um it's a good day for Dallas.

But my question is gonna be less about the content of the item and more about why it took three years, seven months, and 29 days from the day it was submitted for it to come here.

I'm wondering if staff might be able to answer that.

Thank you so much for the question.

So I'm gonna say the same.

This is a big authorized hearing.

We needed to work very close with the community.

As you heard Councilmember saying there were a lot of community meetings, we wanted to get it right.

Um yeah, we wanted to have a staff aligned.

I think as Councilmember Basaldua said, I think it's probably 20 staff behind this effort.

It is significant, and we need to make it thoughtfully.

I'm also super proud of the content, and that takes time.

But again, this is uh the communities plan and working with the community uh takes a little bit of time, and I think it's better to have it right than rushed.

I think everybody would want it to be done right, and everybody would want it to be done inclusively.

Do you think that three years, seven months, and 29 days is an acceptable time frame to get something like this done?

It happens with big community it would be authorized hearings.

That's I don't have a different answer for you.

It happens with uh conservation districts, it happens and with something of this magnitude.

I read there were over 8,000 property owners notified, but in actuality we're talking about 11,000 properties is the biggest area we have in the city under one single PD.

It it does take time.

Uh the the staff report, as you can see, is 500 pages.

It takes time.

Uh and no, we do not sacrifice uh content.

Well, I don't know what to do.

I would submit that anything like this shouldn't take more than one year.

And when we talk about the competition of other cities, I would bet you that it does not take three years, seven months, and 29 days, not to mention the years before it was even filed.

So if Councilmember Basildew is talking about the started when he was in office, this is really shocking.

And you know, again, to the community, thank you for sticking with it.

And I can only imagine what you think.

Well, we do care, and we're really glad to see this happen.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh Chair West, five minutes.

Thank you, Chair.

And I I love seeing my my colleague get choked up on this.

Um it's in the passion for this kind of item.

Y'all bring some more stuff up here because it keeps them a little quieter over there.

We like that.

Uh also continue to be impressed with Commissioner uh Reagan Wheeler and and your passion for your community and and your proactive approach to land use planning.

I really I've been advocating for that, and that's been something that's giving me a lot of gray hairs in my district of going through and getting the war wounds on on land use planning, but I think the city's better for it, and I know your community appreciates it, even though you probably got some war wounds uh, you know, going to all those meetings for three years.

Um I really love what Honorable Diane Ragsdale said about, you know, this plan has design standards that preserve the character of the neighborhood while allowing for additional housing options.

Um sometimes, you know, a lot of times density gets a bad bad rap, right?

But um allowing for ADUs and duplexes, but putting in the design standards can make them really fit into the community.

And we see that in our neighborhoods like Winneka Heights and Lake Cliff, where you walk down and you can't tell a difference between a fourplex and a regular, you know, single family home.

It's about the what neighbors get upset about is when you have these modern things that just don't fit in the neighborhood and they stick out like a sore thumb, right?

That's what my neighbors get really upset about versus just okay, well, that's there's three families living there instead of one, you know.

Um, so I love it that you know, balancing preservation with new housing options.

We we've got to be creative like that in these in these older neighborhoods.

And um uh staff told me a statistic that I just wanted to put out there.

This is the largest PD in the city now that allows accessory dwelling units by right, which is so important for aging seniors who need housing, kids coming home who who maybe can't afford a traditional apartment, they can live in the backhouse till they can get on their feet.

This is this is what we need in Dallas.

Thank you for doing this.

Uh Councilmember Kadena.

I just want to commend to every uh member of the community for working on this.

Um West Dallas has a lot of similarities to D7, and we have an authorized hearing happening right now.

So I know how much work that it takes.

Um I want to thank the staff for working with the community and getting it just right.

I see all of y'all just happy and I know how much work that y'all put into it.

And I also want to commend uh council member Basil Dewey for advocating for your community, and I know it wasn't easy because it takes a long time to get through it and get it just right, but I'm very happy for y'all and just want to thank y'all all for your work and for for making your community better.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh Councilmember Blair.

I also want to thank staff, but more importantly, I want to thank my friend um Tabitha Reagan Wheeler for the work that I know she does.

And if you think this, um, I know how she fights hard for sunny South Dallas, and I know how she fights to get it right.

But if you think three years is a short period of time.

Wait until my six-year ones come are coming up.

I got three, they're six years old.

They started when I started as a CPC, and they still haven't got to the table yet.

But I know what it takes to do an authorized hearing correctly.

I know the work that it takes for staff to deal with community, to talk to community, to talk to a commissioner and community, and then to talk to city council.

It's a daunting task.

And our staff, although we butt heads all the time when we work on things of this this magnitude, the fact that they have the stick-to-it-ness to get it right, to get it the way that the community wants, and more importantly, the community needs it so it can be about the people and not about a book.

Um, this is commendable, and I thank you, Tabitha, for all that you've done.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Desenders.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

I also just want to join the uh colleagues and groups congratulating you, Councilmember Basildua, congratulating the residents, uh the neighborhood leaders, business owners, and everyone else who who helped make this day possible.

Uh area plans don't happen overnight.

Uh they require countless meetings, difficult conversations, community engagement, and a shared commitment to creating a vision for the future.

Today's vote represents the culmination of years of work by people who care deeply about South Dallas and its future.

And as a side note, the census tract I live in is impacted by this area plan.

Uh I know it sounds strange, but you know, I live in Southeast Dallas, but the census tract I live in includes uh Bonton and include and it includes Dixon Circle.

Um so just want to congratulate everyone once again.

Uh, this is a significant accomplishment for South Dallas and for our city as a whole.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Thank you.

Uh Councilmember uh Chair Johnson.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Congratulations to Councilmember Basador.

Uh, it is also wonderful when South Dallas wins.

And this is another win.

And so uh man, this is gonna be great, and just congratulations to the uh the work that you guys are doing community work, especially to uh our dear honorable Diane Raxdale.

She knows our office love her, our community loves her.

Her picture's in my office right now.

All that, and never come down.

So we love you and we thank South Dallas and thank you, Councilman Basil, for this work.

Chair Gracie.

Not to belabor it, but congratulations to everybody.

Basil, congratulations to the work uh to the community.

Uh I see y'all and thank y'all for representing and saying enough.

I see our congratulations and to the honorable Miss Ragsdale, always.

Congratulations.

Chair Stewart, five minutes.

Just very briefly, congratulations.

And I'll just put it on the record that I've asked for his help.

So he's coming to Hamilton Park soon, so we can try to figure out how to replicate some of what of the take some of the hard work you've done and apply it to another neighborhood.

So thank you.

Seeing no further speakers, uh, there's a motion and a second.

All in favor?

Any opposed?

Motion carries.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Your next item is item Z7.

Item Z7 is a public hearing regarding an application for and an ordinance granting a new specific use permit for a handicap group dwelling unit on property on the southeast line of Prosperity Avenue, west of Stanley Smith Drive.

Mr.

Mayor, we sent 51 notices to property owners within 300 feet of the area of request.

We received zero replies in favor and one reply in opposition to the request.

You do have one individual who has signed up to speak on this item, Philip Bangs.

Philip Baines is not online, not in the audience.

All right, hello.

I'm here.

Hello.

Okay, Mr.

Baines.

Hello, how are you doing?

I'm Philip Bain.

11818 Dallas, Texas.

I would uh I would I agree with the approval of the five-year uh plan uh for renewal.

Um this property belonged to my grandmother in 1974, thermal Boston opened the thermal foster home for handicapped children located at the 2826th prosperity avenue in Dallas, Texas.

Knowing there was a void to be filled in foster care.

She devoted all her love and compassion to foster kids and the community because her tireless efforts she was also inducted into the Texas Women Hall of Fame.

In memory of my grandmother in Boston, I'm a grandson.

I decided to utilize the property as a residential care for individual disabilities.

Another disability.

The goal of continuing this commitment is providing a much needed service to our community.

Let me bring it back to the community.

So that is uh the reason why we need the SUP to be in compliance.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Are there any individuals in the audience that would like to address the city council on item Z7?

No further speakers, Mr.

Madam Mayor.

All right.

Thank you.

Um okay.

Do we have a motion?

Yes, I want to.

But I'm gonna move to defer this item until August in our next uh meeting.

Do we start that and that's and the re yes, do I have a we have a second?

All right, any discussion?

Yes, I would like to see.

I'm sorry, I don't wait.

We need a date.

We need a date.

August August 12th.

August 12th is fine.

All right, any discussion?

Yes, I would like to know more about what's going on in this particular property.

Um, I just built before I got here a 50 million dollar school, and that's one of the toughest areas, probably the toughest area in my district, and I want to make sure that we're doing the right thing in this community and speak with the community concerning this particular uh project.

So I will move to defer it until August 12th just to get more information.

Alright, do we have any further discussion?

All right, all in favor say aye.

Any opposed?

All right, the motion carries.

Thank you.

The next item.

Item PH1 is a public hearing to receive comments on an application for and a resolution granting a variance to the alcohol spacing requirements from a private school, Annie W.

Blanton Elementary School, as required by Section 6-4 of the Dallas City Code to allow a wine and beer retailers off-premise permit BQ to chapter 26 of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code for a general merchandise or food store greater than 3,500 square feet in a D1 liquor control overlay district on the north line of Bruton Road and east of McKim Drive.

There are no registered speakers for this item.

Are there any individuals in the audience that would like to address the city council on item pH one?

No speakers, madam mayor.

Because this is an alcohol variance, it will require a motion in two seconds.

Alright, do we have a motion?

Yes, I move to approve this item.

Second.

Need another.

Second.

Alright, any discussion?

Councilmember?

No discussion.

All right.

All in favor say aye.

Any opposed?

All right.

Next item.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Item PH two is a public hearing to receive comments on the proposed FY 2026-27 US Department of Housing and Urban Development Consolidated Plan Budget Grant Funds.

You that's your item, Madam Mayor.

We have a motion.

Move to close the public hearing.

Second.

We have a motion and a second.

Any discussion?

Seeing none.

All in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed?

Seeing none, motion carries.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

This concludes your items for the agenda.

However, we do have remaining open microphone speakers.

I will recite the speaker guidelines at this time.

Speakers must observe the same rules of propriety, decorum, and good conduct applicable to members of the city council.

Any speaker making personal and pertinent, profane or slanderous remarks, or who becomes boisterous while addressing city council will be removed from the room for those individuals who are in person for the virtual speakers.

You will be removed from the session.

Individuals will be given two minutes to speak.

For those in-person speakers should notice the your time on the monitor at the center podium.

Also, the podium is to my right and your my left and your right.

Virtual speakers, I will announce me your time has expired.

So speakers, please be mindful that during your public comments, you are not allowed to refer to a city council member by name and to address your comments to Mayor Moreno only.

Your first speaker, Gloria Carbajall.

Thank you for this opportunity.

I'm humbled again, once again, it's been a long day.

First thing I want to bring up is the fact that uh just yesterday another horse drawn carriage died in New York City.

Um I realize that is not Dallas, Texas.

However, that doesn't mean that that uh is not gonna happen here.

Uh just uh uh this past weekend.

Uh two horse carriages were out there in the sour uh soaking uh the in water.

It was raining, it was uh heavy storms.

Uh, it did not stop these horse carriages from being out there.

Um also within recent times.

I've noticed uh a couple of very agitated horses.

Uh it's just a matter of time.

Uh so once again, we're asking for council to be proactive in making the compassionate uh common sense uh legislation.

Philadelphia uh tomorrow will most likely pass the ordinance finally.

Uh they have stopped uh they no longer have horse carriages out in their city because uh compassionate uh advocates got out there and put a stop to it, but tomorrow it will be official.

I'm almost certain that it will.

Uh, six years ago, as you know, uh, as you probably know, uh Chicago made that compassionate decision.

Uh, even San Antonio, who has uh who's had a lot of carriages out there, have made that transition as well.

So Dallas needs to get on board.

Um it's not difficult.

Uh this company is not even Dallas space.

Uh so again, thank you again for this opportunity, and I am humbled to be here, and we'll see you in August.

Thank you.

Nicole Micah.

I'm here.

Hang on, yeah.

Yes, we can hear you and see you.

You may continue.

Okay, perfect.

All right.

Uh good evening, Mayor and City Council members.

I'm here to urge you to finally ban horse drawn carriages on the city streets.

As Dallas continues to grow into a modern world class city, it is time we phase out this outdated and hazardous practice.

Downtown Dallas has become extremely congested, fixing heavy, unpredictable traffic, uneven asphalt, and loud construction with a thousand two hundred pound easily spooked prey animal is a public safety risk.

Furthermore, focusing, focusing this animal to walk, forcing this animal, sorry, to walk on hard, unforgettable payment during or spaltering Texas summers is an ongoing animal welfare concern.

Cities like cities cities like Chicago, Salt Lake City, and even destinations like Montreal has successfully banned these horse dog carriages while supporting their local tourism.

Dallas should do the same.

We should support operations by transporting to modern safe and eco-friendly alternatives, electric like electric or motorized classic carriages.

We can honor our city's heritage without compromising the safety of our drivers, pedestrians, and animals.

Please support the ban on horse-drawn carriages and bring Dallas into the 21st century.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Marisol Ramirez.

Marisol Ramirez is not online, not present, Andrea Pearson Haas.

Andrea Pearson Haas is not present.

Ella Hag.

Or Haig is not present.

AM Garcia.

AM Garcia is not present.

Jessica Delaspor.

Evening now.

So I'm Jessica Dellasborough, representative of the Black Police Association of Greater Dallas.

Cities tell us what they value, not but what they say, but what they prioritize.

The good news is that Dallas has already made the decision to invest in a new police academy.

The voters have spoken, the need has been identified, and the vision has been laid out.

Now comes the most important part, the follow-through.

Because for more than 35 years, officers in the ninth largest city in America have trained in a facility that was never intended to be permanent.

We all agree that Dallas deserves better.

The question is whether Dallas is willing to act like the world-class city it says it wants to be.

As we discuss the future of City Hall, downtown development, and how to keep businesses and investments in our city.

We cannot forget that public safety is the foundation upon which all of these things depend.

The Dallas Police Department is doing its part.

Officers continue to serve, response times have decreased.

Crime is consecutively lower.

Recruiting and retention continues.

The voters have demonstrated their commitment to public safety.

Now the city must demonstrate the same commitment.

This is not a request to start a new conversation.

It's a reminder to finish the one we've already had.

Let's keep the academy projects moving forward.

Let's honor the commitment that has been made, and let's build a future that reflects the city that Dallas aspires to be.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Senjay Sai.

Senji Sai is not present.

Benjamin O.

Benjamin O is not virtual.

It's not in the audience, not present.

Mr.

Mayor, this concludes your open microphone speakers for this meeting.

Okay.

Do we have any further business?

There's no further business, Mr.

Mayor.

The time is 9 48 and we are adjourned.