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

Johnson.

Mayor Pro Tem Jaime Recendez.

Deputy Mayor Pro Tem, Maxie Johnson.

Council members Chad West, Zaren D.

Gracie, Jesse Marino, Gay Denell Willis, Laura Cadena, Adam Basildua, Laurie Blair, Paula Blackman, Kathy Stewart, William Roth, Cara Mendelson, Paul E.

Ridley, City Manager Kimberly Meiser Tolburn, City Secretary Billy Ray Johnson, and Interim City Attorney Bert Vandenberg.

All right.

Thank you so much, everyone.

Good morning.

We have a quorum.

It's Wednesday, June 24th, 2026, times 9:32 a.m.

And I now call to meet the Dallas City Council to order.

This morning, we have as our invocation speaker, our good friend, great man, Dallas Police Chaplain.

He's also the senior rabbi at Temple Shalom.

I'm going to turn over him for our invocation.

Then we'll have our pledges of allegiance.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Council members.

Good morning.

Source of wisdom and compassion, God of many names.

We gather this morning, mindful of the privilege and responsibility of public service.

As our city council meets for the final time before a season of recess and renewal, we pause to give thanks for those who have accepted the difficult work of leadership.

We recognize that governing a great city such as ours requires patience amid disagreement, courage amid uncertainty, and a steadfast commitment to the common good.

Bless these elected leaders, city staff, and all who serve the people of Dallas.

Grant them wisdom to discern what is right, humility to listen carefully to voices different from their own, and integrity to place the welfare of this city above personal interest or political gain.

We recognize that many of the decisions before this body are not merely about policies, budgets, buildings, or plans.

They are questions ultimately of stewardship.

They ask how we honor what previous generations have built while preparing wisely for those who will inherit this city after us.

Give these leaders the vision to see beyond immediate pressures and immediate interests.

Help them weigh carefully the choices before them, mindful that the decisions made in this chamber shape the lives of neighbors they may never meet and generations they may never know.

Remind us that democracy is not the art of getting our own way, but the discipline of building a future together in a time when disagreement can come too easily become division.

Help us remember that we remain bound to one another by a shared responsibility for the city and its people.

As this council prepares for a brief pause in its work, grant rest to those who are weary, perspective to those carrying heavy burdens, and renewed purpose to all who serve.

May they return refreshed and recommitted to the task of helping Dallas flourish.

May this city be blessed with safety and opportunity, justice and compassion, hope and peace.

Amen.

If everyone who is able, would please rise for our pledges of allegiance first to the United States flag and then to 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.

You may be seated.

Members bear with me for one moment.

I have several, I think, of you who have announcements this morning or special recognitions.

I don't want to miss anybody.

So let's see.

First, I'm gonna recognize um Chairwoman Willis.

Is she?

Oh, okay.

You want to wait?

Do you want me to skip you?

Or are you ready?

Okay, all right.

We're gonna recognize uh Chairwoman Willis for an announcement or um uh yeah, special recognition or an announcement.

Is that is that an animal?

Okay, I'm not sure what our rules say about that.

I'm not okay.

We're just gonna assume that's okay.

It is mayor, and uh your children might like this animal.

Okay, this is Luna.

She's four months old, little kitten, and we've got Ruby here, and both of them are available for adoption, and they're here today because Dallas Animal Services is currently operating well above capacity and has been for some time.

The shelter continues to care for hundreds of animals while responding to new pets entering the system each day.

More pets are coming in than are going out.

Right now, DAS has 600 animals and 1,000 in foster.

And of note, recent large-scale animal cruelty seizures have brought additional animals into their care, placing further pressure on shelter capacity and resources.

The fastest way to help right now is through adoption or fostering.

Every adoption and foster placement creates space and resources for another animal in need.

The kitten and puppy here today represent many wonderful animals currently available for adoption.

They're pets of all ages and sizes and personalities waiting to find loving homes.

And I encourage anyone considering a pet to visit and meet the current the animals currently available.

The success of Dallas Animal Services depends on the support of residents, volunteers, foster families, rescue partners, and adopters.

Community members can also help by volunteering and supporting local rescue efforts and helping reunite lost pets with their owners whenever possible.

When the community steps up, more animals can leave the shelter and find homes with a new family.

If you've been thinking about adopting or fostering or volunteering, now is the time.org.

That's B-E-D-A-L-L-A-S.org.

And some of you may be waiting to speak on items today, so you've got some time to peruse all the wonderful animals that could be available and take a new family member home tonight.

So this is Luna, four months old, and we've got Ruby also available for adoption and many more.

Thank you, Mayor.

No problem.

Uh Chairman Ridley, you take the cat.

And uh Miss Blair, you're taking the dog.

Any objections?

So ordered.

Congratulations.

All right, you got you have a cat.

Yeah, you have a dog.

Done.

Solved.

May I speak on behalf of this?

Sure, go ahead.

My stormy is my first pet.

She is the love of my life, and I got her from DAS.

I got her when she was six months old.

She's now seven.

Um, she is she's nurturing, she's loving, and one of the things that I recognize is when you bring home a pet from DAS, and they realize how much love you give to them, they give it right back.

So I encourage you as well to go to DAS.

And when they're in overcapacity mode, they're free.

Did you hear me?

They're free.

Did you hear me?

They are free.

Thank you, Mayor.

Miss Blackman for Purpose.

Uh, go ahead.

Uh I think council needs a support animal, so maybe we should take that sweet little dog.

Look how calm it is.

Anyway, just uh a little comic, but I did too uh in February.

Thank you, Paul.

Uh I adopted a little Pomeranian from DAS, and we named her tank, because she runs over everybody, and she loves being wherever she is, and she is such a sweetheart.

And thank y'all for what you're doing because to these pets, these animals, these sweet things, they need our love.

So, yes, take a dog with you today as a parting gift.

Wonderful.

Thank you all so much.

Um, Paul, go ahead and take your cat.

No, no, no, okay, all right.

Um, Chairwoman Mendelssohn for what purpose?

Well, I would just like to um echo sediments on behalf of Murphy and Leo, two 70 pound dogs adopted from Dallas Animal Services.

Thank you.

Nice, nice.

And uh let's see.

Um, Chairwoman Mr.

Mayor.

Oh, I would be remiss in not mentioning my two rescue cats from DAS uh Suga and Ponder, who looks very much like this one.

And um, I don't know, we're warming up to each other here, so you never know.

We might have a third one.

Thank you so much, everyone.

All right, so Mr.

Mayor.

Oh, yeah.

Mr.

Basildua.

Thank you.

I wasn't gonna chime in, but I can't let Dallas and Harlem uh be unrecognized.

Um we have our two beautiful beagles that we also got.

They were roaming around Singleton uh boulevard, and now uh they have been uh a great addition to our family, and strongly encourage uh anyone to do what you can with uh the animals of DAS, whether it's adopting or fostering, helping us clear the shelter, uh, but they will also make uh a great addition to your family.

And I would also second Councilmember Blackman, I would I think a support animal would be great.

This may be the most animal loving council in the city's history.

I'm really proud of all of you guys.

That's that's awesome.

All right.

Um, Chairwoman Wills, before I go to Chairman West for an announcement.

Chair Wallace, you recognize for an announcement.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh, today I'm excited to celebrate a big win for Oak Cliff and for our city, the common ground soccer plaza.

This new three million dollar soccer complex in Oak Cliff brings much needed green space to a previously underused Dart service parking lot and was funded by nonprofit Gateway Community Soccer and will be operated by the Puede Network.

While our city's bureaucracy often moves a little bit slowly, Dart and the city's planning and development team, including Sam Escander, Linda Velez, and Daniel Nygo worked very quickly to get this project permitted and under construction in just a few months.

Because of their hard work, this project was able to come to fruition ahead of the end of FIFA.

I will read the special recognition now and just ask that our Dart representatives come down along with our city staff members.

Whereas Common Ground Soccer Plaza is transforming a long vacant Dallas area rapid transit parcel in North Oak Cliff into a vibrant community soccer campus with playing fields, gathering spaces, public art, and recreational opportunities for residents of all ages.

And whereas through a collaborative partnership among Dart, the City of Dallas, community organizations, philanthropic supporters, private partners, and local leaders, this once unused property has been reimagined as a lasting community asset in an underserved area.

And whereas the project demonstrates how innovative public private collaboration can expand access to recreation, green space, youth programming, and community engagement, while advancing a signature North Texas World Cup 2026 legacy project that will strengthen the social and economic vitality of Oak Cliff.

And whereas the dedication, collaboration, and perseverance of all those involved help bring this vision to life on an accelerated timeline, creating a resource that will benefit Dallas residents for generations to come.

Now, therefore, I Chad West, Councilmember for District One, do hereby extend the special recognition to Sam Eskander, Daniel Nygo, Linda Velez, Randall Bryant, Carmen Garcia, Gary Slagle, Michelle Wonkraus, Patrick Kennedy, Maureen Milligan, Roy Lopez, D.

Leggett, Caitlin Holland, and Rita Ballard, in appreciation of their contributions to the development of Common Ground Soccer Plaza and their commitment to strengthening the North Oak Cliff community in the City of Dallas.

Mayor, can we get a picture?

Absolutely.

Thank you so much.

Come on inside the rail, folks, and I'm right in the center here, so you can just fan out from here.

Chairman Wes, was that all for your move to uh Miss Kadena for an announcement?

If she's ready, are you ready?

Yes, all right, go for it.

Yes, so if Jonathan Maples and anybody else from Elm Thicket North Park will come down.

I can hardly hear you.

I'm sorry, go ahead.

Sorry, let me put it a little closer.

So I want to recognize Elm Thicket North Park and Elm Thicket is a wonderful community.

If y'all want to come down, uh that borders district two and district six, and they um presented their second historical marker um a couple of weeks ago for Juneteenth, and so I wanted to read um some information about the Hilliard Golf Course.

So, whereas Hilliard Memorial Golf Course served as one of the only golf courses in the United States open to African Americans during the era of racial segregation, providing a vital space for recreation, competition, and community gathering in Dallas.

And whereas the course was established in 1950 on land near Love Field and was named in honor of Thomas J.

Hilliard, whose efforts helped secure the site and expand opportunities for African American residents during time of limited access to public facilities, and whereas more than 800 people attended the dedication of Hilliard Memorial Golf Course on April 16th, 1950, including city officials, community leaders, members of the Dallas Negro Golf Association, and visitors from across Texas and the nation, demonstrating the significance of the facility to the broader community, and whereas the course quickly became a destination for golfers and tournaments, attracting notable players such as B.

W.

Ross and Ike Oliver, while also hosting community events, including a Juneteenth celebration in 1950.

And whereas despite its growing popularity and importance, the expansion of Lovefield Airport ultimately led to the closure and eventual demolition of Hilliard Memorial Golf Course between 1954 and 1955.

And whereas, although the course existed for only a few short years, its legacy endures as a powerful symbol of perseverance, achievement, and opportunity for African Americans who face the challenges of segregation and discrimination.

And whereas the designation of this historical marker ensures that future generations will remember and honor the contributions of the golfers, community leaders, and residents who made Hilliard Memorial Golf Course a landmark of Black History in Dallas.

And whereas the city of Dallas recognizes the importance of preserving and celebrating the stories that reflect the resilience, determination, and rich cultural heritage of our community.

If you have a chance, I would definitely um recommend that our community go and um see the the memorial.

It's at 6700 block of Maple Avenue, and it's uh I want to thank definitely Elm Thicket North Park and the community members there, but also the staff of Lovefield Airport who helped get this project across the finish line, and also um Councilmember Jesse Moreno, who um also helped with this as well.

Jonathan, I don't know if you want to say a couple of words if that's okay.

Go ahead, Mr.

Maples.

Good morning, and thank you.

Um thank you for recognizing Hilliard Memorial Golf Course, the first golf course for uh people of color in the southern United States.

That's a big deal for Dallas.

I'm not sure how many people really understand how important that is.

It was the first in the southern United States, right here in Dallas, right alongside what we know now as Love Field Airport, and with the expansion and the expansion and in the name of economic development, there went Hilliard Golf Course.

So, as you guys are making your decision about this building, remember Hilliard was a piece of history just seventy-five years ago that none of you probably even knew about.

What will we be saying about Dallas in seventy-five years?

So make sure you choose wisely when you're making decisions about history, because that history could have been forgotten if not for our um city manager, aviation, and the hard work of Elm Thicket North Park and our residents and our councilmen.

Thank you, Jesse.

Thank you, Laura, and uh we appreciate all that you guys do.

Yes, if you want to take a photograph, come on inside the rail.

Chairman Moreno, you recognize for an announcement.

Thank you, mayor.

We can have folks from DDI come down, please.

I'm proud to recognize the good work of Downtown Dallas Inc.

today.

While many know DDI as a critical organization keeping our downtown clean and activated, it performs other work as well, including work with the homelessness.

Recently, a constituent made us aware of a good deed that DDI did to support a separated family.

A man named Curtis had been staying with his friends in Dallas for about a year prior to May 10th, when his family stopped hearing from him.

His family who lives in California was very concerned for his safety, but could not locate him.

Curtis mentioned that he had been using substances which contributed to his state of homelessness, and he had been struggling alone for that time.

From California, Curtis's brother Russell searched apps like Nextdoor to locate his brother and heard slightly accurate reports of his brother's location here in Dallas.

Armed with that information, Russell traveled 20 hours to Dallas from California in search of his brother.

When Russell arrived in Dallas, he searched and searched.

Dallas was a massive city, and Russell became overwhelmed trying to find Curtis.

In a last ditch attempt, Russell spotted a constituent who was doing animal outreach in one of the city's parks.

And the constituent contacted Dallas Animal Services, who then contacted DD DDI.

Once DDI received the information, the entire field operations team was updated, and eventually, Security Officer Wrayson found Curtis and called Russell, who was already leaving Dallas and was eight hours away.

Russell immediately turned back around to come to Dallas.

Through calm, patient, and trauma-informed engagement, staff were able to safely reconnect him with his brother, Russell.

Curtis appeared a distraught and potentially experiencing mental health challenges.

Russell had the following to say, I want to thank everyone for my whole family and me.

I'm sorry I didn't pick up the phone, but I was afraid that would have torn a tiny thread of trust I had built over the course of the last 20-something hours.

It wasn't easy.

It took half the day for me to trust that he wouldn't run off.

I didn't think we would make it down the street, let alone back home to California.

I am truly am forever grateful for all of you from the bottom of my toes to the top of my spirit.

I love you all for what you have allowed me to do.

Now the real work begins.

Every day, DDI engages with the homeless population in Dallas, many of whom are experiencing substance abuse and mental health challenges, and are not adequately addressed by our existing systems of care.

When those gaps form, it is organizations like DDI that do the work.

So for DDI's swift and caring response to a distraught family seeking their lost son, brother, halfway across the country, I commend downtown Dallas Inc.

and express my appreciation to their president Jennifer Scripps, Security Officer Wreyson, Wendy, Antonio, and all the DDI team who made and make miracles happen each and every single day, even when no one is watching.

Thank you, DDI.

Mayor, can we do a quick picture?

Come on inside the rail for a photograph, folks, yes.

Okay, I don't see any more announcements.

So, Madam Secretary, let's move on to our open microphone speakers.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Good morning.

The Dallas City Council will now hear its 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 are given three minutes to speak.

For those in-person speakers, you will notice the time on the monitor at the podium when your time is up.

Please stop.

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.

Your first speaker, William Hopkins.

Hey, Mark.

We had dogs growing up in my mother's yard at 2011, least in West Dallas.

The last dog we had, my mother took him to the doctor and uh he had counsel.

He died from cancer.

My mother died from cancer.

My father died from counsel.

I got two brothers died from cancer.

I got two sisters died from counsel, and three uncles and three aunties died from cancer in West Dallas.

So in two thousand twelve, the Dallas Morning News came out and tested.

He was saying William U was talking about lead and people dying in West Dallas for years and years.

So where is all this lid at?

The Dallas Morning News came out and knocked on my mother's door.

So I took them around West Dallas and they tested for lead and they told me that they found lead all over West Dallas.

No media said nothing.

No uh John Wiley Price didn't say nothing.

The Dallas, the uh NAACP, I couldn't get nobody to say nothing.

Uh it's been 14 years.

People done died.

Uh the city sued in 1983, October.

I've been giving y'all this, giving y'all this for probably 29 years, Mark Johnson.

You you already know about it.

The city sued in October the 10th, nineteen eighty three.

And you wrote a letter to the citizen of West Dallas saying that y'all weren't involved, that the city wasn't involved, and it didn't have nothing to do with the city.

You lied, and you've been sitting here for almost 30 40 years.

The city sued in 83.

People been dying.

Thousands of blacks have died in West Dallas where y'all sit here.

All of y'all.

I've been coming down here 29 years, Mr.

Johnson, trying to help the people that's dying in West Dallas.

I've been saying this over and over and over.

Ron Kirk got the uh American Airline.

You got the convention center.

Uh Laura Miller built a 500 million dollar bridge going to West Dallas.

But you don't know what to do about the city.

I don't know where y'all getting all these millions at for the convention center and the Dallas American Airline and half a million dollar bridges, but you don't know what to do about the city.

I think y'all have failed.

You let the people die in West Dallas for 40 years.

You sued in 83, and you've been sitting here.

You, Ron Kirk, Leopard, all of y'all sitting here letting the people die.

Your mother graduated from Pinkston.

You've been sitting here, you won't say nothing.

I don't know if uh Fred Byron and Bud and Russell Bud, Dorothy Bood, or the Fred Byron and Bud Law Firm is paying you to let the people die in West Dallas.

Thanks for talking.

I'll see you next whenever y'all come back.

Thank you.

I've only gonna talk about one minute because I thought it's going to be on one minute speech.

District one, district two, district three, district five, district eight, district ten, district eleven, district thirteen.

You're voting to get rid of the city hall.

You don't want City Hall to be here.

75% of people want City Hall to stay here.

And everybody listening to me on TV and behind me, the people in the people in this district, the city council members, they either gotta quit or they're gonna have to be voted out.

Because when you have 75% of people of the city say something, and the city council members go against their constituents, that's wrong.

I want to say everything right now, in front of everybody.

You gotta come back here every week, every week of these city council members' numbers and talk about how bad it is what they did.

You gotta be consistent about this.

I was consistent about my homelessness because I came here every week, county commissioners and city homeless commissions.

I did it every time.

I got my housing with no help.

Well a little bit of help, but well, I stayed there and I was consistent and I got it.

This is what's gonna happen if you do that every week and tell a city council members you're going against us.

The constituents are your boss.

You don't boss them.

I know I'm yelling, but but that pissed me off.

When I saw the 75%, okay.

Now, why is that?

I don't know, but I'm just telling the people listening on TV and behind me.

You gotta come down here and bring a crowd every week.

Every week, every week, like I did for a long time to get my housing, but I got it and it worked out.

It will work.

Don't be afraid of these people.

They're going against you.

You are their boss.

You're their boss.

Do it, show it.

I know I'm yelling, but that pissed me off the way you think it your boss and your constituents.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Rich.

I'm gonna ask you that you uh refrain from clapping and responding to the speakers.

It's actually not something we do here.

Thank you.

Richard Cox.

Thank you, Mayor, City Council for this opportunity to speak.

I'm Richard Cox from District 13.

I'm here in opposition to the zoning request at Preston Royal.

The development is not about the developers are not about the neighborhood, they're about the investors.

The principals of the project include Mitchell Rosanski, Jerry Stoole, Leland Burke, and Mitchell Fraunberg.

This idea uh is about Leland Burke.

Openly he boasted on TV the other day.

This is a project about a legacy for me, my family, and the investors.

Since early October 25, we've had we've heard over and over again this is a done deal.

A slam dump.

They're defrauding you, saying we're meeting with the neighborhood, everybody, and getting their input.

Yes, we're meeting, but they're not listening.

We are not victims of circumstance.

We are victims of a process that feels like it's being crammed down our throats.

Every time we meet, the same idea comes back about SB 840 that they can build whatever they want to build.

Yeah, they say they can build something that is undesirable in your neighborhood if you don't let us build these skyscrapers.

On this table before you now, now over 4,000 petition signers have signed this petition against this project.

The developers are not listening, and others are not listening.

Uh others are not listening.

The Preston Royal community wants something develop, something special indeed.

We have a desirable option that would meet any reasonable investors' financial goals.

You have that email.

This can be done now with no more delay.

It's a beautiful option, a real picture of what can be done, stunning and compatible with the neighborhood.

Thank you.

Rebecca Teresi.

Hello.

I'm going to speak up here because I'm being joined by a three-year-old who does not want to come down.

I'm sorry, Ms.

Teresa, your video must be there.

I'm up here.

Excuse me.

Thank you.

No, I would love to come down, but my assistants uh do not want to.

So good morning, Mayor Johnson and other council members.

My name is Rebecca Teresi, and I am here to speak about Dallas Tennis and Education Academy, or DTEA, and the management of the Keys Tennis Center under review and agenda item 60.

Along with my husband and our four children, I reside in North Oak Cliff in District 1.

Despite being a native Dallas site, this is the first time I have ever set foot in City Hall.

I do so today because I feel so passionately about this issue and want you to understand what a jewel of a program we have at Keith Tennis Center and what a loss it would be to our community and our city to let it go.

When most people envision youth tennis, they think of country clubs.

They think of kids from neighborhoods with manicured lawns, luxury cars, and expensive equipment.

Traditionally, tennis is a sport where whose many physical, social, and cognitive benefits are decidedly not available to everyone.

And yet that is exactly what DTEA is all about.

Every child is welcome.

DTEA welcomes any child free of cost into its entry-level program.

You don't even need to send your child in with a racket.

This is how my son and later my daughter started in the program and fell in love with the sport.

I have seen them grow not only physically but emotionally and in maturity in their time with DTEA.

It is a program that is about much more than athletics.

In fact, I might argue that it is a character formation program that happens to also help you with your serve.

Every single player is required to show up to take responsibility, to be respectful, and to give back.

Players have to dedicate at least 60 hours a year to community service.

Earlier this year, my son even got to be a ball boy at the Special Olympics.

Every other week it seems that one of our players is appearing on honor rolls, winning spelling bees, school and district awards, or medals at chess competitions.

At first, I was struck by the comparatively high number of these achievements for such a small group, but then I realized it was no coincidence.

DTEA not only attracts and retains motivated, excellent young men and women of character, but also has a hand in shaping those players into high caliber students.

Any of these players could tell you what happens if you show up to practice without your hat.

Coach Carroll will have rewriting, I will not forget my hat 200 times before the next practice, no exceptions.

But if you need help to master your backhand, she will also spend two hours at practice making sure you get the support you need.

She'll treat the kids to ice cream after a big tournament.

In sum, I hope you agree that it would be a great shame to give a community asset run by a charity that directly serves lower and middle-class Dallas citizens to a non-Dallas-based profit for profit company so that they can maximize profits at the expense of the voters.

I respectfully ask you to remove the question of Keys Tennis Center's management from agenda item 60.

Thank you.

Thank you, George.

I'm gonna ask you not to do that.

I know you're gonna want to do it, but I'm gonna ask you not to do it.

Thank you, George DeBurgers.

Good morning.

Uh, mayor and members of the council.

My name is George DeVergis, and I'm a resident of District 14.

I'm here to speak personally and as a member of the Friends of the Dallas Public Library on behalf of funding for the Dallas Public Library system.

In the current political climate and tough budget situation, I would propose this, fully supporting the public library system would be both popular and a benefit to the entire city.

I have a short message.

I have four points I want to make.

I want to ask the original budget be restored, the 2.6 million dollars originally proposed for the public library system funding to be restored for fiscal years 26-27 and 2020 2728.

I said you direct the uh city manager of Tolbert to restore the original budget proposed, mutual budget funding proposed for the library in the original budget set out.

I think last August.

I asked that the proceeds from the sale of the Skillman Southwest Library be used as part of the funding for the library system for this fiscal year.

And I asked the council support funding, adequate funding for the libraries to ensure that we could have the flagship system that's been proposed without the closing of the of various uh new neighborhood libraries.

So that's my argument, and that's my presentation, and thank you for your time and your attention.

Thank you.

This concludes the first five registered speakers.

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

Mr.

Mayor.

I was just looking to see if we had a motion.

We do not, so we will move on to our voting agenda.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Agenda item one is approval of minutes of the June 10th, 2026 City Council meeting.

All right, motion and a seconds or any discussion.

Seeing that all in favor say aye.

Any opposed?

Eyes have it.

Minutes are adopted.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Before we move to your consent agenda, you do have it.

Two individuals have two who have signed up to speak on items on your consent agenda or other items.

Dolores Phillips.

Miss Phillips has signed up to speak on all agenda items.

Miss Phillips.

Dolores Phillips, you do have handouts.

I do thank you for allowing me to speak.

The handout has everything to do with the viaduct and the future of City Hall.

My dad, walk.

These bridges come into work.

UT Southwestern.

It's more valuable.

People, lives, and memories of their travels and their journeys in the city of Dallas is more important than a building.

In this building, let's talk about the future of City Hall.

It takes a selfless visionary to go forth and give a proposal that no one else sees.

This building is dilapidated, outdated, and outplayed.

You heard William Hopkins speaking about the lives lost in West Dallas.

There's been a lot of tears in this building.

It's been a lot of orchestrated, executed plans in this building.

And that's against lives that are black, white, blue, brown, and green, pour in the wealthy.

Now listen to what I'm saying because we're beyond this building.

Dallas Mavericks Mega Center 360 Theater at 1500 Marilla is the future for Dallas.

There is no future for Dallas Mavericks in Valley View from the Aerial View, you get exactly what you see.

The desert, there's no future in Collin County for the Dallas stars.

The reason this is important to me is when I come before you and I speak to you about my dad, fabricated police report, DPD, that's still negatively affecting my life right to this very day.

Medical gaslighting, you name it, orchestrated and executed from this very building.

Now when you hear me, Mr.

Hopkins speak as a black person, it means nothing to you.

But I'm here to remind you that there are white people in my shoes.

The contracts that was rendered and violated in this very building, you have those white brothers and sisters very angry.

Now when I say that we are beyond this building, we are beyond this building.

I also remind you that we are in the court of law and that each one of you are witnesses and will be subpoenaed.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Bruce Richardson, Mr.

Richardson has signed up to speak on pulled item 49, consent agenda item 76 and individual items 90, 91, and 93.

Mr.

Richardson, you may come forward.

According to the City Council rules of procedure, you will be given three minutes to speak on all four items.

Good morning.

That is a pile of items to speak on.

So let me just sum it up.

Late breaking op-ed sites, mismanagement, and lack of transparency.

Gosh.

When it comes to the city hall questions, actions speak louder than words.

The consultants did not act independently.

The council rejected pro bono, independent, expert, parallel oversight, twice, three speakers in January's Transportation Committee.

Alleged gross mismanagement.

This agenda is packed with money.

Thrown at Miss Management.

Will any actions today speak louder than words?

If not, there's a word for that.

That word is hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy.

It was a broad complete replacement plan for all building systems.

And it was up to this council to impose a scope on that work.

And you tried, some of you did.

Some of you did.

Yet it was rejected.

Again, even when you wrote it into a resolution, we never got an independent assessment of repairs necessary to stay here with economy.

We never got it.

So let's be clear.

That's hypocrisy.

That is hypocrisy.

Thank you.

This concludes your speakers on your consent agenda.

We'll now move to your consent agenda.

There were several last minute changes.

Your consent agenda consisted of items two through 77.

Agenda item six was pulled by councilmember Mendelssohn.

Agenda item seven was pulled by councilmember Mendelssohn.

Agenda item 10 was pulled by councilmember Mendelssohn and Councilmember Johnson.

Agenda item 13 was pulled by councilmember Mendelssohn.

Agenda item 14 was pulled by councilmember Mendelssohn.

Agenda item 15 was pulled by councilmember Mendelssohn.

Agenda item 16 was pulled by councilmember Mendelson and Councilmember.

I'm sorry, Deputy Mayor Pro Tim Johnson.

Agenda item 18 was pulled by Councilmember Mendelssohn.

Agenda item 32 was pulled by Councilmember Mendelssohn.

Agenda item 33 was pulled by councilmember Mendelssohn.

Agenda item 37 was pulled by Councilmember Mendelssohn.

Agenda item 49 was corrected.

Agenda item 54 was pulled by councilmember West.

Agenda Item 57 was pulled by Councilmember Mendelson.

Agenda Item 58 was pulled by Councilmember Mendelson.

Agenda Item 60 was pulled by Deputy Mayor Pro Tim Johnson.

Agenda item 61 was pulled by Councilmember Ridley.

Agenda item 65 was corrected and was pulled by Councilmember West.

Agenda item 70 was pulled by Councilmember Mendelssohn.

Therefore, your consent agenda consists of items two through five, eight, nine, eleven, twelve, seventeen, nineteen through thirty one, thirty-four through thirty-six, thirty-eight through fifty-three, fifty-five, fifty-six, fifty-nine, sixty-two through sixty-four, sixty-six through sixty-nine, and seventy-one through seventy-seven.

This is your consent agenda.

Looking for a motion, all right.

Wonderful.

Um, is there a discussion, Chairman West?

Yeah, five minutes on consent.

Thank you, Mayor.

Just wanted to highlight a couple of uh great items for the city in O'Cliff.

Uh, number five is donation to the library, a $2.8 million dollar anonymous donation to the Dallas Public Library to help with system wide improvements and including preparing branches for flagship services, furniture replacement, and more.

At a time when Dallas is facing serious budget issues, we are lucky to live in a city with such generous philanthropists that want to support us.

Also, want to point out item 45 and thank staff for for this item to get a consultant to help with projects connecting Halper and Park to Oak Cliff.

This item is is really helping us with ensuring pedestrian safety for this area, which is a fantastic park for the community.

And then lastly, item 46 is a traffic study for Beckley Avenue.

It approves three different studies.

The Beckley Avenue one is in district one and district six.

Thank you to Director Kinkarley for moving this forward.

In 2024, I set up a task force led by Terry Lowry to study and make recommendations on improving traffic safety along this dangerous corridor, which is rapidly changing as new housing has been built.

I look forward to seeing the traffic study capitalize on the task force's recommendations and ultimately seeing this corridor transfer into a safer multimodal corridor instead of the speedway that it is today.

Thank you.

Ms.

Cadeney recognized first.

Mr.

Mayor, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry, go ahead.

Thank you, Mr.

There are two clarifications on two of your items.

Agenda item 26 is clarifying that the funding source for the $200,000 is the animal control enhancement fund, not the animal welfare fund.

And item 44 is clarifying that the amount being funded by the Elam Road Safe Routes to School Improvements Fund should be 1,784,528 instead of 1,784,529.99 cents.

Those are your clarifications.

I'm sorry, Mr.

Mayor.

Everybody got that.

Okay, that's just a little clarification.

Um Ms.

Kennedy, recognize for five minutes on consent.

Um yes, I want to uh recognize agenda item number nine.

Um I want to thank Congressman BC for securing this one million federal investment for the city of Dallas and the West Dallas community.

Acceptance of this money will allow the city to move forward with utilizing the federal funds for the project.

These funds will support key improvements, including reconfiguring the South Wing to improve workspace and service delivery, enhancing connectivity and accessibility between the center and the West Dallas branch, and this investment will help ensure the center remains a strong community asset and continues delivering essential services to West Dallas residents for years to come.

Thank you, Congressman BC.

Um agenda item 52 is of the replacement of fire station 43.

This was the number two replacement priority in the Dallas Fire and Rescue Needs Assessment and was approved with the 2024 bond program.

So we'll be moving forward with this item, and then agenda item 25 is the Salvation Army campus project.

Um it's a new 21-acre social service campus being developed on vape vacant land at 8625 North Stemmings Freeway.

The project is estimated to serve more than 5,000 people annually through comprehensive co-located services, including an emergency shelter supporting housing, case management, health care, job training, and child care.

The Dallas Development Fund has approved eight million in NMTC tax credit allocation to support the project.

DDF's NMTC allocation is leveraging NMTC allocation from one other CDE for this project.

Between the two CDEs, approximately 4.4 million of NMTC equity growth will benefit the project.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Chairwoman Willis, recognized for five minutes on consent.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

One second.

Mr.

Basildua, you're recognized for five minutes first.

So I didn't see you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um I just want to highlight um agenda item number eight.

I want to highlight that uh this authorizes the acceptance of two and a half million dollar community project funding grant secured by Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett.

I want to say a huge thank you to Congresswoman Crockett for uh fighting hard to secure these funds for the community.

We're grateful for her continued advocacy on behalf of South Dallas.

I also want to thank Office of Government Affairs for working tirelessly through the application process and to help secure uh grant funding.

Um, any levels these funds will help kickstart what I hoped will be a large-scale reimagining of the MLK Center, transforming it in uh into a revitalized space for community programs and services.

I also want to highlight number uh item number 20 for the new uh market tax credit forward through the Dallas Development Fund.

The city is supporting this project with an eight million dollar new market tax credit allocation.

This investment alongside uh an additional CDE project will generate approximately five point six million dollars in equity to help move the project forward with a total project cost of about 93 million dollars.

These tax credits are critical in addressing rising uh construction costs and ensuring that the project remains financially viable and done on time.

I look forward to moving this project forward and celebrating its grand opening in November.

Also, last but not least at all, I want to highlight items 21 and 23 and uh give a big kudos to my colleagues in District 3 and District 5.

Um they're extending the exterior improvement grant program to their district.

I can say that in our district we have received a lot of interest for our program from small businesses, not only from within the district, but from across the city who are excited for the opportunities like this to improve their own storefronts.

So uh kudos uh to my colleagues for putting more uh dollars into uh impacting the people of our city.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Now, um Chairwoman Willis recognized for five minutes.

Thank you, Mayor.

I wanted to speak on item 19, which is the park and rec department pursuing an application for the local parks urban outdoor recreation grant program for three million dollars from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

This is to improve Fair Oaks Park, which did get some bond money in 2024 for a small spray ground and a small pavilion, but this would allow them to go bigger and add a playground.

This is an area in Vickery Meadow with three consecutive ARPA qualifying census tracks and bronx level density, eleven thousand children.

So I appreciate them bringing this forward because it takes uh money off of the backs of the taxpayer to accomplish this.

It pursues outside funds, which I appreciate them doing, and I hope that we get this grant, and I'll be happy to come back here and celebrate when we do.

Thank you.

Chairman Gracie, you recognize for five minutes.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

I want to uh thank city staff, economic development, uh, for as uh my colleague mentioned item number 21 uh is uh uh exterior grant improvement program for retail properties.

Uh, and as we said, we had some dollars, so we have a 1.2 million dollar grant that we'll be putting back into the community for uh retail properties to improve, makes exterior improvements.

We know in district three that it is a beautiful place to live.

Uh again, the outdoor destination of the city of Dallas.

If you haven't heard, but now we want to make our shopping centers more attractive as well and encourage more people that come out and do their hiking and biking to create a safe and beautiful place for them.

So thank you to the city staff, and uh if you are in district three and you are have a retail space, uh please reach out.

Uh this grant will be open soon.

Thank you.

Chairwoman Stewart, you're recognized for five minutes.

Thank you, Mayor Johnson.

Um, I want to thank the um add my thanks actually to um the anonymous donor who made the donation for libraries for libraries programming and services.

I believe libraries are the lifeblood of the city.

It is definitely how my residents um connect with the city, is the time and the services that they get from the library.

So very grateful to that donor.

I also want to add my thanks with uh councilmember Willis to parks for finding the funds for Fair Oaks Park.

Fair Oaks Park is our neighbor.

And um, I didn't know there were 11,000 children.

I knew we had a lot, so good to know it's as many as it is, and I'm very grateful that we will have additional resources and assets for them in that park.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Ms.

Black may recognize for five minutes.

Thank you.

I too want to thank the anonymous donor for the library donation.

We had a library close in District 9 not too long ago.

And so please know that whoever you are out there, it is much appreciated because when you close a library, as I've said, you rip the soul out of that community.

So many thanks, and you are honored and cherished.

Also, too, on item number 42.

I want to highlight that uh this acceptance of a grant from the U.S.

Department of Transportation to support the planning design and construction of a pedestrian safety zones along our Ferguson Road corridor that I share with Adam Basildua and Jesse Moreno.

It is part of achieving vision zero, and we have remained focused on improving safety along our most hazardous and crash prone roadways.

And this is Ferguson Road, too.

Because of the commitment, we have successfully secured a federal grant to support safety improvements along this corridor.

I want to thank the Transportation Department and Public Works and our part and our partners at DART who are here earlier today for helping uh work in securing this grant.

And again, thank you, Mr.

Moreno and Basildua for your continued partnership and commitment for creating a safer Ferguson Road for everyone.

Um it is a long stretch of city road that is important to the East Far East Dallas community, and that includes not just cars but pedestrians and bicycles.

So I want to thank everybody for working to make this happen.

That's it, Mr.

Mayor.

Mr.

Roth, you recognize for five minutes.

Thank you.

Um I wanted to highlight item 17 and thank publicly uh Coca-Cola Bottling Company, the FIFA World Cup uh organizers and their foundation, Dallas County and Richardson Independent School District for facilitating the improvements to a very much needed uh area in my district, Esperanza for the installation of a uh supportive uh new uh soccer pitch uh for that facility and for that community uh and appreciate all their diligence, their money, their activity, and their assumption of responsibility in helping us develop a great amenity uh for the neighborhood that we're serving there.

Thank you.

Ms.

Blair, you recognize for five minutes.

I know we are adding on to our time today, but I and item number 42.

I can't um not recognize that this grant that everyone else has spoken of.

We'll take care of our district three and district eight Camp Wisdoms Corridor and the St.

Augustine corridor that I share with uh District Five.

These corridors have been lacking in attention for some time.

This grant will better the commute, better the opportunities for our communities to have safe routes to and from.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Is there anyone else who wants to speak on for against the consent agenda?

Seeing none, all in favor say aye.

Any opposed?

Ayes have it.

Consent agenda is adopted, Madam Secretary.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Before we go to your pulled items, I will move to agenda item 88.

Agenda item 88, authorized one, designating approximately 4.43 acres of property currently addressed as 1445 Ross Avenue as City of Dallas Neighborhood Empowerment Zone number 24, NEZ number 24, and approximately 2.26 acres of property currently addressed as 2401 McKinney Avenue, 2421 McKinney Avenue, 2425 McKinney Avenue, 2507 Fairmont Street, and 2515 Fairmont Street as City of Dallas Neighborhood Empowerment Zone Number 25, NEZ number 25.

Pursuant to chapter 378 of the Texas Local Government Code to promote an increase in economic development in the zone, establish boundaries for the zone, and provide for an effective date for the zone, to an economic development incentive agreement with Morgan Stanley Services Group Inc.

or an affiliate thereof, Morgan Stanley or grantee BPP owner to include a business personal property BPP tax abatement for a period of five years and an amount equal to the city's taxes assessed on 90% of the added taxable value of the business personal property resulting from Morgan Stanley's phase one project, be a business personal property tax abatement for a period of 10 years in an amount equal to the city taxes assessed on 90% of the added taxable value of the business personal property resulting from the Morgan Stanley phase Morgan Stanley's phase two project.

See a chapter 380 economic development grant in an amount not to exceed 18,500,000 dollars, consisting of one an amount not to exceed 10 million dollars for job relocation and or creation to an amount not to exceed 7,500,000 dollars in lieu of a real property tax abatement, and three an amount not to exceed one million dollars to reimburse actual permitting inspections and development fees in consideration of the job relocation creation and investment associated with Morgan Stanley's establishment and operation of a new temporary regional office at 1445 Ross Avenue in NEZ number 24 phase one project, and a new permanent regional office at 2401 McKinney Avenue, 2421 McKinney Avenue, 2425 McKinney Avenue, 2507 Fairmont Street, and 2515 Fairmont Street in NEZ number 25 phase two project, and three, the city's nomination of Morgan Stanley's phase one project for designation as an enterprise zone project and the city's nomination.

I'm sorry, and the city's nomination of Morgan Stanley's phase two project for designation as a triple jumbo enterprise zone project under the Texas Enterprise Zone Act as amended by the Office of the Governor Economic Development and Tourism Division through the Texas Economic Development Bank in accordance with the city's Economic Development Incentive Policy not to exceed $18,500,000.

This is your item, Mr.

Mayor.

Thank you, Mayor.

Motion for approval.

It's been moved and seconded.

You have five minutes for discussion.

Yes, Mayor.

I am proud uh to make this motion approving this item as chair of the economic development committee.

I have seen the hard work Dallas has done to support our business community across the city from the neighborhoods that have that small city charm to the world-class amenities offered in the heart of the bustling downtown Dallas.

Our city has everything that a company needs to thrive and for its employees to build a life here.

That project isn't just about the city, what the city can do for the incumbent companies like Morgan Stanley, it's also about the community benefit, such as a company coming to Dallas.

This item can create a minimum of 3,800 jobs in Dallas by 2035, with the possibility of creating an additional thousand jobs by 2039 with the average annual wage of 128,000.

Our team has done excellent work to get this to this point, leveraging the state of Texas Enterprise Fund Award for nomination of the Texas Enterprise Zone designation.

Additionally, our city incentives include our economic development grant and the economic development job grant with potentials for additional grant opportunities.

Those tools create an unparalleled incentives that create favorable conditions that will support our Dallas communities through job creation and significant economic investment in our city of Dallas.

Job creation conditions would include 25% of hires being filled by residents that live in the city of Dallas currently with a plan to achieve 40% employment of the city of Dallas residents ultimately.

Additionally, Morgan Stanley has exciting uh internship opportunities and uh throughout Dallas for college students from pools of eligible educational institutions.

This is a great opportunity that would not exist otherwise for our students in our communities.

This is not an item we should reject.

Dallas is a world-class hub for enterprise, and we are uniquely situated to be home for the Morgan Stanley that cannot be funded found elsewhere and at a time that's changing at the Dallas core.

This is a historic investment in our convention center and the approaches that we're taking to securing a clean and safe downtown.

Now's the time to lead in economic development and secure future for our children in our workforce.

I hope our colleagues can all support this item before us today.

Thank you, Mayor.

Mr.

Basil, do you recognize for five minutes?

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, I would like to uh start by saying my appreciation for staff's work on a very competitive package that positions Dallas to potentially secure a global financial services hub and thousands of jobs.

I think that this comes at a very critical time with a lot of critical discussion that we have on the future of the city, and uh we have absolutely experienced ebbs and flows of uh businesses coming and going, but I don't believe that that has varied from market trends across the country.

Uh we are still in business and we are still competing uh with the other cities in the country.

And I want to thank you, Mayor, for prioritizing uh bringing financial institutes to the city of Dallas and creating Yall Street.

I do support the overall goal of attracting large scale private investment and long-term job creation to the city of Dallas.

However, I do want to emphasize that the success of a project like this should not only be measured by job numbers, but by who in our city is able to access those jobs.

I would like to see in the future a stronger and more intentional focus on local hiring expectation and ensuring that Dallas residents are positioned to benefit from these opportunities, especially given the scale of up to 4,800 jobs in this particular project.

While I recognize incentives are an important tool for economic development, I also believe that we need to be equally intentional about what it means to truly invest in people, not just projects and not just corporations.

I will be supporting this item, but I would be remiss if I did not emphasize the importance of ongoing accountability for ensuring Dallas residents are meaningfully included in the benefits of this investment and others like it.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Chairwoman Willis recognized for five minutes.

Thank you, Mayor.

And I just want to be sure that Morgan Stanley knows that we want you to be part of the dynamic growing portfolio of big names like yours that are making a home in Dallas, Goldman Sachs, Nasdaq, Texas, uh Scotiabank, and then new big names like the Texas Stock Exchange.

So you'll fit right in here, you'll be welcomed by our community.

This is the place to be.

Thank you, Mayor Johnson.

The news that Morgan Stanley is seriously considering a location in the Dallas urban core is an encouraging sign of the continued strength and the momentum of our city.

Attracting a global financial services firm of this caliber will bring high quality jobs, expand our tax base, support downtown and uptown businesses, and reinforce Dallas's position as a leading economic center.

While there is still work to be done, we are grateful that Morgan Stanley is looking at Dallas, and this is exactly the type of opportunity that demonstrates the long-term value of creating a strong competitive urban core in Dallas.

I also want to tell you we have great neighborhoods and we have great people.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Chairman Gracie, you recognized for five minutes.

Speaking of great people in great neighborhoods, I'm gonna come back to that in a second, but first I want to congratulate the mayor and all of city staff on their efforts to continue making these type of efforts to bring uh these type of organizations and companies to the city of Dallas.

I know once was said that there are certain cities out in the north that are wolves, but I I I see that the city of Dallas is out here in these entire United States on the prowl and finding businesses and bringing them here.

So one, thank you, Mayor, to that vision to Morgan Stanley welcome uh to Dallas.

Uh and to uh I want to say this part as far as good people in good neighborhoods.

If you didn't hear it, I just said that district three is the outdoor destination of the city of Dallas.

So as you bring those employees here, I welcome an opportunity to take them on a tour of the district, and I mean that sincerely.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Deputy Mayor Pro Tembi recognized for five minutes.

Mr.

Mayor, I just want to congratulate you and city manager on this vision bringing business downtown to our to the city of Dallas, is what we're doing and what we're trying to do, and this is there is it's gonna be exciting to our entire city, and I'm like uh Councilman Gracie, bring them over to district four so they can get a great tour of Southern Dallas and see what we're offering in District 4.

So this is awesome, and I appreciate your leadership, both of you guys.

Thank you, Ms.

Blair.

I want to echo my um southern sector partners in bringing you to District 8.

I'm the most southern district within the district, but I also have uniqueness when it comes down to education.

I have class a high school, uh Kathy Gilliam, which is right next to a world class university, UNT Dallas.

If you need a HBCU experience, I have that as well in Paul Quinn.

If you need a junior college, I have a world-class junior college in Cedar Valley College.

I also have it at the Red Bird Mall, Dallas College that also offers robotics.

So whatever you need to educate your kids, come to District 8 and I'll show you.

We also have right now 500 homes that are getting ready to be built.

You get to you get to claim it and name it.

So come on out to District 8.

We'll give you a tour, we'll show you the opportunity, and we show you how to educate your kids.

Thank you.

Is there anyone else like to speak on for against agenda item 88?

Signal the record vote, Madam Secretary.

Thank you, Ms.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

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

Councilmember West.

Yes.

Councilmember Moreno.

Yes.

Councilmember Gracie?

Yes.

Councilmember Kadena?

Yes.

Councilmember Basildua.

Yes.

Councilmember Blair.

Absolutely.

Councilmember Blackman.

Yes.

Councilmember Stewart?

Yes.

Councilmember Roth.

Yeeha.

Absolutely.

Councilmember Mendelson.

Yes.

Councilmember Willis?

Yes.

Councilmember Ridley.

Yes.

Deputy Mayor Pro Tim Johnson.

Absolutely, yes.

Mayor Pro Tim Recendez.

Yes.

Mayor Johnson.

Yes.

With all 15 members of council voting in favor, the item passes, Mr.

Mayor.

Thank you.

Next item, please.

All right.

Your next item.

Your next item is agenda item 90.

Gen item 90 authorized the implementation of the recommendation by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on May 19th, 2026 to raise the height of the K.

Bailey Hutcheson Convention Center Dallas back to the original existing height to accommodate the Jefferson in Houston Viaduct Travel.

You do have 88 individuals who have signed up to speak on this item.

Each speaker will be given one minute to speak.

I will call speakers and groups.

And when I call your name, I do ask that you come forward and have a seat on these first two rows of this intersection.

And for virtual speakers, I do ask that you have your audio and video prepared.

Craig Davis, Tracy Mayer, Chris Heinbaugh, Greg White, Laurie Sprouse, Cynthia Michaels, Troy Sims, Laura Palmer, Phyllis Lee, Daniel Werta, Kevin Pfeiffer, Brandon Williams Craig, Pierre Durant, Elena Stevens, William Joy, Bob Stimson, Tiffany Brightman, Linda Vanderford, Debbie Solis, and Latricia McWilliams.

Craig Davis.

Mayor Johnson, City Manager Tobert, Council members, thank you for allowing me to speak.

I'm Craig Davis, President and CEO of Visit Dallas, and I'm here on behalf of the 60,000 workers whose livelihoods depend on what you decide today.

Since the convention center closed last July, Dallas has lost 92 million dollars in convention lodging and 13.7 million dollars in local taxes.

1.4 million every month.

Last week we notified over 40 convention organizers that we cannot accommodate them in 2030 as originally promised.

That's nearly two billion dollars of spending, leaving the city.

Here's the irony.

As we sit here, FIFA is filling our streets, our restaurants and our hotels, and with visitors from around the world.

Dallas is shining on the global stage, and our collective efforts have made that happen.

This is tourism at its best.

December 2030 is on the line.

Our reputation is on the line, and visit Dallas is ready to sell.

I'm simply asking Dallas to deliver on time by continuing negotiations and not ceasing construction at the convention center.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Tracy Mayer.

Good morning, members of the council and mayor.

I'm Tracy Mayer, Executive Director for the Hotel Association of North Texas, and we are advocates on behalf of our hoteliers and the people that make them run.

I'm here to for those people today.

Our uh team members have built a career out of the hospitality industry, they've raised families, and they are moving forward.

And when the convention center closed, what our industry understood what was coming.

We expected loss of business, we expected room night cuts and shift cuts.

And we took that on willingly because we believed in the plan and we believed in the timeline.

What our workers cannot absorb is more delay.

The recommendation before you will set the project back.

And another year of reduced hours and uncertainty will have a direct negative impact on our workforce.

These challenges are not small, the struggle is real and deeply felt by the people who rely on us for their livelihoods.

We urge you to keep this project moving and thank you for your time and for your service to the city.

Thank you.

Chris Heinbaugh.

Good morning.

I'm Chris Heinbaugh.

I want to thank all my arts colleagues here in the chamber and up in the flag room.

We are asking you to vote no on 90.

It will have a negative impact on arts funding.

Right now, hotel occupancy tax funds 45% of arts funding and 55% is from the general fund, which we know is extremely stressed.

Our hope was when the convention center reopened, the boost in hot would reduce pressure on the general fund.

This pushes us out for at least a year.

The convention center is an economic engine.

If we didn't know this already, we do now.

The drop in sales tax revenue aligns with the drop in conventions.

We don't have all those cheerleaders and their moms shopping in our stores.

Another year of that means a continued hit to the general fund, which impacts arts, parks, potholes, and more.

We appreciate the concerns of Oak Cliff residents and believe that the current road solutions need more work.

But we can believe we can get there without stopping this project calling.

That's your time?

This makes no sense.

Vote no on 90.

Thank you.

Greg White.

Good morning good morning, Mayor and City Council.

Uh, my name is Greg White, and I am the chair of the Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District, and also the general manager of the beautiful Weston Galleria in Dallas, located in District Eleven at 13340 Dallas Parkway.

I'm here to respectively urge you to vote no on it on item 90.

Dallas is already paying the price of the delay, 3,000 jobs lost and over 1.4 million in tax revenue lost every month while the convention center remains closed.

The redesign would push this project further beyond 2030 and with no clear timeline, and every month of delay only increases the damages.

We're not only losing business, dozens of conventions have been relocated and or are at risk, and the revenue is going to other cities.

But beyond the financial loss is something even more damaging, and that's the loss of trust in the convention industry.

Credibility is everything.

And now that we're considering spending nearly 600 million more to delay the project even further, there is more cost, less certainty and more business.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Laurie Sprouse.

Good morning, mayor and city council members.

My name is Lori Sprouse, and I'm the owner of Ultimate Ventures, a Dallas-based destination management company serving major Dallas convention clients for more than 33 years.

I urge you to vote no on agenda item 90.

I work directly with clients behind the 4.5 billion in convention pipeline you're hearing about today.

This week I spoke with two major clients, convention clients scheduled to return to Dallas after the convention center reopens.

One expects approximately 7500 attendees beginning in 2031 with plans to return for at least three years.

Another is scheduled to return in 2031 with over 14,000 attendees and plans to return for five consecutive years.

Both reached out after hearing the news because they are anxious.

This is not about losing one event or one year, and this affects businesses, small businesses like mine, transportation companies, florists, all kinds of workers.

I passionately urge you to vote no on agenda item 90.

Hold the 2030 convention center date, then we can get both done.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Cynthia Michaels.

I'm speaking for myself as well as Heritage O'Cliff.

You knew when you started this project you were going to lose money.

You knew you were going to lose conventions.

But did you know you were going to be 400 over budget?

The voters didn't agree to that.

Staff consultants decided to lower the ballroom, cut off the Jefferson Viaduct in order to say 500 million.

I guess everyone thought that was okay, except the citizens of O'Cliff.

Over two thousand twenty thousand cars travel that road daily.

The developers, the consultants, and North Dallas.

Remember, you want to connect the core, not disconnect it.

Go back to the original plan, raise the ballroom.

The convention center can be flipped around.

You can do whatever you want to.

There's a lot of options.

Follow the recommendations of the Transportation Committee.

Thankfully, they realized that the Jefferson Viaduct was going to be chopped off and taken away just in a few weeks.

When the committee saw that, they said the ballroom should be raised like it was originally planned.

That's right.

Thank you.

Troy Sims.

Troy Sims.

Not present.

Laurie Palmer.

Laura Palmer.

Sorry.

Laura Palmer.

It's not present.

Phyllis Lee.

Thank you all for this opportunity.

I am Phyllis Lee and I do live in the Oak Cliff area.

I am here to remind the council people.

There was at the opening of the uh Oak Oak Cliff Park.

That was opening and the words that they said, that bridge and the park was to bring us together from Oak Cliff to North Dallas because the 35 bridge has split us now.

As I'm sitting here listening, and if that bridge is allowed to be closed, that's gonna separate us.

So I'm here to remind the council persons and the people that were there that stood up proudly and said we are not cutting the ribbon, we are tying the ribbon.

So if you tying the ribbon to bring Oak Cliff and now of Dallas together, do not divide it by stopping the bridge.

Do not close the bridge.

Thank you.

Daniel Werta.

And you were to district one.

I'm also asking that you support the resolution.

Street connections are important for downtown courts because they improve accessibility.

It supports walking in transit, it boosts economic activity of more foot traffic, easier access, generally benefits the shops and restaurants and other businesses.

It also helps reduce traffic congestion by spreading out traffic, enhance the safety and vibrancy of the streets, and promotes community interaction.

We do not want Jefferson Street impacted to where it impacts our access into downtown for O'Cliff residents.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Kevin Pfeiffer.

Good morning, Mayor.

We the people, I encourage you to fully consider the long-term consequences.

We are literally thousands of Oak Cliff residents that use these viaducts to get to work and to return home every day.

Additionally, there are city staff members who travel from the Dallas Municipal Center on Jefferson to travel to and from City Hall to meet and strategize in person with their colleagues.

The quickest and most direct path between these two city entities is the Jefferson Street Viaduct.

Please consider implementing phase construction over Jefferson Street Bridge.

It can be done.

Make a fully coherent plan that saves serves all citizens.

Vote yes.

Thank you.

Brandon Williams Craig.

Thank you for your time and attention.

I'm from District 1.

I'm supporting item 90.

I was born in Oak Cliff in 1969 to David Williams and Paula Craig.

She was born in Oak Cliff in 1938.

I teach uh Ikeido O'Cliff and conflict resolution.

The viaducts connecting Oak Cliff to Dallas are vital to both the economy and the community coherence of our city.

They represent the memory and current vitality of our connection with each other as neighbors.

Starting with our historic city hall, the city of Dallas must shift from tearing down our history to profit the few to restoring our historic structures to preserve our identity and connection with each other.

City staff's proposed changes would cause significant delays during construction upon completion of the convention center for Oak Cliff residents to get downtown from downtown residents and workers to get to Oak Cliff.

If we demolish the structure now, it doesn't matter how much community input there is afterwards.

If all the options will make Oak Cliff downtown connection worse than it is today, we want access, Oak Cliff residents want access to downtown.

That's your time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Pierre Durant.

Hello, my name is Pierre Durant.

I've moved to Dallas, Texas in 2012.

I actually just graduated from Ohio State University in economics.

And I was hoping to be able to, you know, find work in Dallas.

I feel like a lot of the things that we're doing is keeping us from being able to find a job here.

And I think that we voted no for the issue of 90.

It would make it so that we have to wait another year for the job opportunities that the commission center would bring us.

Me personally, I should think that we've already voted for the um, sorry, thank you.

Thank you.

Greetings.

Uh, my name's Alana Stevens.

I have lived in Dallas my entire life, and I've lived in District 1 for the last 40-something years.

Uh I'm asking you to vote yes on item 90 to raise the expanded uh convention center design back to its originally planned height to avoid disrupting two major historic arteries connecting downtown Dallas to the southern part of the city.

Uh Jefferson Boulevard and the Houston Street bioducts.

Um I know that we can come up with a better plan than we have right now.

Uh there is no reason to disrupt all of the Grow South initiatives that I have seen happen the last 10 15 years and have seen such a marvelous expansion of what Oak Cliff is.

Please vote yes.

Vote yes on item 90.

Thank you.

Thank you.

William Joy.

Hi, I'm on video.

Can you see me?

Yes, and we can hear you.

You may continue.

Great.

I'm William Joy.

I'm the president of the Bishop Arts Neighborhood Association.

And the reason I'm speaking is because this question really is rhetorical.

Should the city of Dallas spend money to make sure that Bishop Arts in Oak Cliff aren't cut off from its downtown?

It's honestly laughable when you say it out loud, but if you want to frame it another way, should a city that just lost its signature downtown retailer, its signature downtown employer, and both of its downtown sports teams, while cities across our region spend hundreds of millions of dollars to draw people into their downtowns, turn around and make it more difficult for its own residents to reach our court.

So the project be delayed a year, or should communities suffer for decades?

Any way you frame this question, it's rhetorical.

Do the people at this horseshoe exist to serve tourists who pass through a few days a year, or the tens of thousands of residents who don't just use that bridge but rely on it every single day.

If you struggle to answer those questions, you simply come to us.

Thank you.

Bob Stemson.

Good morning, Council members, Honorable Mayor.

I've come to speak in favor of item number 90.

Connectivity, mobility, accessibility are the key for any business or for any community.

And in this case, the Oak Cliff community has been shorted.

It's really due in an apology.

It's been treated as an afterthought in this whole process.

And that is not not appropriate for this for this body to be treated in one of its major communities in that fashion.

So I would encourage you one to vote for item number 90.

It's important that we still have our connectivity from Oak Cliff and from downtown to Oak Cliff.

If you can't do that, there is still time to get this right.

Let's go back to the drawing board.

There needs to be at least two lanes coming in from Oak Cliff to downtown at all times, even during construction.

There needs to be at least two lanes coming out of downtown to Oak Cliff at all times, at least during in in during construction.

That can be done, but it's going to take somebody with a fresh eye taking a look at this.

So I would encourage you to, if you cannot vote for item 90, let's go back and instruct staff to do this right.

Lastly, okay.

I'll talk to you later.

You guys got new rules.

Thank you.

Tiffany Brightman.

Hello, I'm Stephanie Bryman, a resident of Dallas, and I'm just urging everyone to vote no on item number 90, as it will only prolong the process.

And also add costs and make it an inconvenience even longer for the residents of the surrounding area.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Linda Vandingford.

Vanderfort?

Linda Vandenford.

Not present.

Debbie Soliz.

Yes.

Can you hear me?

Yes, and we can see you.

You may continue.

The convention is terrible because the plan lacks foresight in the design, which threatens the Oak Cliff community and all the upcoming from the northern part of Dallas.

The biojects are important.

It is how we can come to downtown.

Stop treating us like if we did not matter in this process.

Who in their right mind would submit such a horrible plan?

Fire the project manager because he was not concerned about all the thousands of residents that live in Oak Cliff and the surrounding neighborhoods.

This is a bizarre situation, and a lack of logic thinking is embarrassing.

I am saddened by how we have forgotten why the people in the horseshoe are voted in.

Your vote has been seen in all the secret meetings and emails showing some made up their mind before going to the community for important changes that would affect all of us that live in Dallas.

That's your time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Letricia McWillions Hello, thank you for having me.

I'm Letricia McWilliams.

We need to vote for a new and bigger better, new and bigger better convention center that provides jobs for our city.

I'll vote no for 90.

I mean for item 90.

Thank you.

I will now call the next group of speakers.

When I call your name, I do ask that you come forward and have a seat on these first two rows of this intersection, and that virtual speakers have your audio and video prepared or ready.

Fernando L.

Taneka Ward, Holly Stubbs is canceled, Christopher Wilkins, Teriah Ross, LaShawn Verden, Cassonia Harris, Delecia or Delissa Hall, Crystal Johnson, Desiree Riley, Chris Cook, Amin Bibahani, Babahani, Damien Gray, Autumn Sims, Dominique Alexander, Alicia Evans Land, Mary Paris, Alan Herrick has canceled, OCKZ Champion, Teresita Delgado, Alicia Quintans, Valencia Yarbrough has canceled, Lakeisha Foster, Landry Cannon, and Landry Cannon.

Fernando L.

Fernando L.

It's not in the audience, not online, it's not present.

Taniqua Ward.

Yes, hello.

I'm Tonika Ward, and I'm residents in Dale East, and I vote no for the 90 item.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Again, Holly Stubbs is counsel.

Christopher Wilkins.

Christopher Wilkins is not present.

Tariah Ross.

Hello, I'm Sarah Ross, and I come today to tell you how that I vote no on item 90.

Thank you.

Thank you.

LaShawn Burden.

Good morning, Mayor City Council members and all who's in attendance.

My name is LaShawn Burton.

I am a resident in Hacienda Ranch community in Oak Cliff.

And I vote no on item 90.

Thank you.

Cassonia Harris.

Not present.

Delecia Hall or Delisha Hall.

Good morning.

I'm Dalicia Hall.

I've been a residence here all my life, and I vote no for item 90.

Thank you.

Crystal Johnson.

Hello, my name is Crystal Johnson.

Um I vote no for item 90.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Desiree Riley.

Hello.

Coming in here today, I see a lot of papers moving, but not enough listening.

We have so much to worry about, like the draining on the bridge.

However, how does every storm come in Texas is drained out?

We all all our cars sit on the bridge and stuck in the rain.

There's so much money that can be spent on other stuff instead of the bridge right now.

We also have potholes that has not been fixed.

Last year I spent almost $2,000 on my car getting fixed because of the potholes that are not being fixed.

They said they was going to get fixed.

There's also streets that are cut off because we can't go a certain way because so much construction.

So I feel like there's so much money that can be spent other ways than actually right now what we got going on because we've already fixed it before.

So I vote no.

Thank you.

Chris Cook.

Chris Cook is not present.

Amin Babahani.

Amy Babahani is not present.

Damien Gray.

Damian Gray is not present.

Autumn Sims.

Autumn Sims is not present.

Dominique Alexander.

Hello, I'm Minister Dominic Alexander, President of the Next Generation Action Network 2512, East Overton Road, Dallas, Texas, 75216.

Because I only have a minute, and I had a whole line of speech that's going on.

Listen, it's imperative that people come to meetings, right?

Community meetings.

Because y'all are left to vote for critical things, right?

And these people have meetings so that you can be informed and facts can be there, right?

There has been public maps shown out that shows all different ports of entries to the Southern sector.

I'm born and raised in 75216.

One thing I ain't gonna do is disenfranchise the people that I'm born uh born and raised with.

Has not looked at the map that the people who are building the construction for the convention center.

Vote based on facts, not political games.

Thank you.

Alicia Evans Land.

Alicia Evans Land is not present, Mary Paris.

It's not present.

Ellen Herrick is canceled.

OCKZ champion.

Good morning.

I am OCKZ champion.

I am a resident of Dallas all my life.

I have been on boards, traveled around this country, and been just amazed at the way and how the cities are drawing and attracting different um groups, conventions, and conferences.

Whenever I would push for Dallas, they would always come back to, nah, you guys don't have enough entertainment.

You guys don't have a good downtown, or you're not offering us the kinds of things that we're looking for.

And I just believe that the plan that we have forward should go forward.

We've had a chance to alter those plans for months.

We would spend millions and millions of dollars that we don't need to spend.

If we delayed this program any further, it would cost us even more money.

Aren't we broke?

That's your time.

Aren't we broke?

Terracita Delgado.

Good morning.

My name is Teresa Delgado.

Born and raised here in Dallas, Texas.

I'm new to Oak Cliff because I've been in Oak Cliff maybe 12 years of that.

But I feel segregated from North Dallas because of the mere fact we receive things in North Dallas, that we don't receive in Oak Cliff.

And that is your consideration.

I would like for you to vote no.

It's the right thing to do.

For once, do the right thing and vote no.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Alicia Quinton's Mr.

This is Alisa Quinton.

Good morning.

Good morning.

I'm at 35th resident of Oakland, District 4.

The bridges planned after the flood of 1908 in Dallas has been a lifeline for our Oak Cliff and South Dallas.

And it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

That's a hundred and fifteen years of the Viaduct was dedicated in 1973 and has been in service for 53 years.

It replaced the old Trinity Seat cards that had been in use in 1887.

A directive to ignore existing contact and historic connection between Oak Cliff and downtown.

Things that have been given to the design team.

Important connections over the Trinity River to downtown could be reflected in the design process.

And especially a new publicly funded time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Lakeisha Foster.

And Valencia Yabro has canceled.

Hello, good morning.

I am asking that you guys vote no on item 90 because that is residential.

I have to sacrifice critical transportation access and neighborhood connectivity for a convention center expansion.

We need a plan that balances economic development with the needs of people who live and work here every day.

A convention center can be rebuilt.

Community connections, public trust, and taxpayer dollars cannot be easily restored once they're gone.

So again, vote no for item 90.

Thank you.

Landry Cannon.

Landry Cannon.

It's not present.

I am told that Speaker 18 is now in the chamber.

Linda Vanderford.

Thank you guys.

Um my name is Linda Vanderford.

I'm an Oak Cliff resident and a small business owner in Bishop Arts.

I understand the importance of a successful convention center, but I think it's important to remember that the infrastructure was built to serve.

The Jefferson Viaduct wasn't uh wasn't built to serve a convention center, it was built for Oak Cliff.

For generations, it's been a direct link between where residents live, work, shop, and hang out.

The convention center serves visitors, the viaduct serves the residents.

As somebody that depends on that connection, both personally and professionally, I'm concerned we're at we're being asked to treat that as expendable.

Um just to accommodate a project that people that are just gonna be here for a couple of days.

Um I have no doubt the convention center can generate revenue and attract visitors, but a city is more than a convention center.

A city is its neighborhoods, it's small businesses, it's the people who live here every day.

If we're willing to weaken a historic connection that thousands of residents rely on in order to make a project work, that's your time.

Thank you.

I will now call the next group of speakers.

When I call your name, I will ask that you come forward and have a seat on the first two pews in this intersection, two rows in this intersection, and that virtual speakers you have your audio and video ready.

Kurt Alexander, Sarah Margusio, Brandon Luke, Ashley Johnson, Rachel Yon, Ari Loenstein, David Preziosi, St.

Wheat, Michael Aminette, Julie Gutierrez, Stephen Callahan, Jerna Brightman, Carlos Quintanilla, Brett Schip, Alex Scott, John Barr, MC Barr, John Henry Martinez, Cassandra Gondara, Gabriel Brown, Rachel, Rachel Dillard, and Travis Taylor.

Travis Taylor has canceled.

Kurt Alexander.

Good morning, my name is Kurt Alexander.

I'm the president of Omni Hotels and Resorts.

I want to share some data from our company and from Omni Dallas, which as you know is owned by the city.

Our convention centers hotels in Nashville, Atlanta, Orlando, and Boston, all cities that we want to compete with here in Dallas, currently have between two and two and a half times the business that Omni Dallas has over the next eight years.

That's 150 million dollars that Omni Dallas is missing out on.

If this project is delayed or stops, it will cause irreparable harm to this city, its constituents, and to the asset which you own.

So I would urge you to vote not no to item 90.

Our city has taken some hits lately, and this is in y'all's control to make sure we put a win on the board.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Sarah Marguccio.

Good afternoon.

I'm Sarah Marguchio, District One resident.

I honestly hate that we're here today.

I would have much preferred city staff come up with a solution on their own in the multiple attempts over the last few months, but here we are.

There's a lot of moving parts to consider, so I hope you've taken into consideration one part.

We are now paying attention.

Despite every attempt to keep us uninformed, here we are.

When you mentioned stakeholders in your discussion today, include Oak Cliff and South Dallas businesses and homeowners in that term.

We have been tied by these viaducts for over 100 years, funneling the workers from the southern sectors to the CBD for generations.

You will not chop off our city's vital access points in a committee meeting.

If you want to do that, you can do it right here in front of everyone.

I ask that you not be intimidated by numbers and a memo.

Residents do not deserve to carry blame or burden for the city's mismanagement and miscalculations as to the importance of these viaducts.

That was their miscalculation, not ours.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Brandon Luke.

Good morning.

My name is Brandon Luke.

I am the business owner of the Woolworth and Uno Moss in downtown.

Um I came here to tell you no today, but I can't justifiably say that.

Yes doesn't make it uh right either, but you guys um you guys are creating a situation that is compounding.

Stars are leaving, Mavs are leaving, ATT is leaving.

I heard the good news about Morgan, but what you guys are failing to see is this is like a falling knife, right?

Who's catching one?

I live in District 14.

And it seems that we continue to leave the citizen behind in these bigger choices.

As a business owner, I staked my um family and choice.

I could have moved up north during the pandemic.

I chose to stay here, and this is just more nonsense.

That's your time.

Thank you.

Ashley Johnson.

Um good morning.

Um, yes.

I would urge for you to vote no because I would like for the convention center to bring in more jobs for the community and have easy access for us to get back and forth to where we need to get.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Rachel Young.

Good morning.

My name is Rachel Yoon.

Lowering the convention center means changing the Jefferson and Houston Street viaducts.

These bridges stand as the last historic pieces of Oak Cliff.

Destroying or altering them will ruin the literal architectural history our city has left.

This will destroy communities.

The future of Oak Liff will be non-existent if this boat vote goes the opposite way.

No one will want to live here.

The design will force commuters into a massive bottleneck.

The Houston Viaduct will be close to cars to Jefferson Viaduct will route drivers down to Hotel Street.

This will create crippling congestion.

This will delay drivers every day, and Dart trains and buses.

Dart serves as serves Dart serves as thousands of Dallas citizens' primary travel method.

You will punish public transit riders alongside drivers.

Dart has already closed a convention center station for three years because of this construction.

Buses, routes will detour, more vehicles sitting in traffic will generate more carbon emissions.

Dallas air quality already suffers.

Your vote will make our air quality worse.

That's your time.

Thank you.

Ari Loenstein.

Hello, my name is Ari Lowenson.

I uh live in District 1.

I have a business in District 6 and I have a business in District 14.

Uh I'm on literally all sides of this.

Uh you have a really difficult job, and you've been handed a really bad hand by whoever dealt this beforehand.

History tells us that when we look back in 20 years, this will either have decimated Oak Cliff or not.

It took Rome 40 years to build Line C because every three feet they went, they found more archaeological uh uh sites that they had to uncover, but they did it right.

Vote yes, even though it's going to cost my pocket for my store downtown uh because it's the right thing to do because it's going to preserve Oak Cliff.

Uh, and because while we need the convention center, the original plan worked around what was there.

The streets were there.

The original plan didn't say to do this.

So do it the way it was drawn originally.

It's gonna hurt my pocket, but it's going to be important historically for the city.

Um, that's your time.

It'll work.

Thanks.

Thank you.

David Preziosi.

David Preziosi, a resident of District 1 in Oak Cliff, and I'm here to support leading the convention center design elevated to allow traffic to and from Oak Cliff on Jefferson Street and Houston viaducts to continue to serve as a lifeline for Oak Cliff residents to downtown, which has been for over 100 years.

Um, some fun facts about the bridge.

The concrete and steel Houston Street Viaduct was completed in 1911 in response to the devastating 1908 flood, which washed out most of the wooden bridges in 1984.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its engineering construction significance as the longest viaduct of reinforced concrete arches ever built at over 6,500 feet.

And a fun fact it was designed to accommodate ocean-going vessels, as at that time there was supposed to be a canal that went from Dallas all the way to the Gulf.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good morning, mayor, city council, city manager, and everyone said it before me and behind me.

My name is Scent Wheat, and I'm a resident of District 7.

I am here today regarding item 90.

I just want to say the city has already spent time, money, and resources on expert studies and plans to move this project forward.

Now there are discussions about reversing it and bringing it back.

I am here to ask that you vote no and stop wasting our valuable time and our taxpayers' dollars.

Our city needs the jobs, economy growth, and revenue.

That is the project that can bring our revenue that this project can bring.

We should not be moving forward.

I mean, we should be moving forward, not backwards.

Also, I would like to say that the Jefferson and Houston viaducts are not closing.

That is not true, as I've as I have heard others say.

I respectfully ask the council to vote and keep the project and move, keep the project moving ahead.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you.

Michael Amanette.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Uh, please vote yes for item 90.

Erecting a building in the middle of a road, 7800 people use each day, is ridiculous.

It's insulting how temporary guests seem to be so much more important than that tax-paying residents.

Dallas Morning News is correct.

This would be a gross error of generational consequence.

I spent the last two mornings helping pass out flyers to hundreds of drivers at Young and Market where the Jefferson Bridge might no longer go.

The overwhelming number of people who rolled down their windows and took flyers from me were black and Hispanic.

At least 85%.

This is about normal, hardworking people who are just trying to go back and forth to work every day.

They do not need or deserve the additional burden of some convoluted detour, adding time and stress to their work day for still more endless wealth-driven convention center fantasies.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Julie Gutierrez.

Good morning, Mayor and City Council.

My name is Julie Gutierrez, and I'm a local business owner.

I'm also one of 13 small business owners that make up Trinity Alliance.

I'm here to share with you what the project has done for workforce development for the Dallas workforce development.

We've worked with recruitment partners, training partners such as Dallas College, and other placement programs with organizations such as Goodwill.

We are creating an ecosystem, a pipeline for employers, so that they can have talent to support this project.

This delay would not only impact people getting jobs, but it would impact the small businesses who would benefit from it from this workforce pipeline here.

We want people to get the jobs.

We have people in various stages right now ready and piped up, ready for them to get jobs with our project.

So I urge you to vote no for line item 90.

Thank you.

Stephen Callahan.

Good morning.

Resident of O'Cliffe, business owner in the heart of Bishop Arts.

I also operate a second location at downtown Dallas Farmers Market.

And I am here to politely disagree with my neighbors who seem to think that we're bombing the bridges.

I think this is good for the long-term health of O'Cliff.

The multimodal connection for the Houston Viaduct is good.

I want a streetcar.

I want cyclists to come to Bishop Arts from downtown.

I view this as a good thing.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Darnay Brightman, and I ask that you guys vote no for item 90.

Thank you.

Carlos Quintanilla.

Carlos Quintanilla.

It's not present.

Brett Chip.

One minute.

We get one minute.

One minute.

Are you kidding me?

This is an insult.

But you know what a bigger insult is?

What you're telling the people of Districts One, of Districts Three, of District Four, and District Eight.

You are telling them you don't care.

Everybody in here wants this convention center.

We all voted for it.

We don't want delays.

We want it on time and under budget.

We want all these things.

But what we want more than anything else in my 14 seconds is equity and justice and dignity and respect for the people of the southern sector of this city.

My time is up.

Save City Hall, save the bridge.

Thank you.

All right, thank you.

Alex Scott has canceled.

John Barr.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor, members of the council.

My name's John Barr.

I don't know why you have to vote for one or the other.

If you look at the numbers that they've provided you, the numbers are please check them about the expense of delay.

Please help us have transportation.

There's a way to do this.

We've analyzed the numbers, and if you're interested, we can sit down and give you some more information.

Simply not enough time.

But I would like to address something.

The police officers were moving forcibly, a former council member that was up here talking to you.

The predicates, the predicates that you must have by law to shut a thoroughfare have not been complied with.

We were first told about this on March the 23rd.

That's when we were first told the numbers that we're talking about expending.

They're not accurate, they're not reliable.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

MC Barr.

Good morning.

I'm a resident and business owner in the Oak Cliff community, and I'm speaking today because what is being proposed is not a design decision, it's not a cost savings measure.

It is a generational wound that will be inflicted upon one of Dallas' most resilient and historically underserved communities.

And I believe Dallas City Council must understand plain terms what that wound will cost us.

These bridges are the games of our community.

Every morning, over 19,000 vehicles cross the Colorado and Zane Boulevard intersection, moving toward downtown.

Workers cross them to reach their jobs, business owners cross them to make deliveries.

Customers cross them to spend their money in our restaurants, shops, and our small businesses.

Families cross them to access services, health care, and opportunity.

The moment that those bridges are compromised, diminished, or eliminated, everything that depends on them begins to deteriorate, and I know Cliff and the southern sector.

That is Mary, everything.

City staff has produced detailed projections of the cost of convention center project of reserving the viaducts.

That's your time.

Thank you.

John Henry Martinez.

Good morning.

My name is John Martinez.

I'm with the Regional Hispanic Contractors.

I'm asking for your vote.

One for the staff of City Hall.

I have faith that they're doing the best that they can do for our citizens.

They've gotten the message.

We want the convention center.

I know that they're going to keep those bridges and things open because they know the importance of jobs.

My second part is I'm asking you to vote for the men and women who actually live in the city of Dallas.

Who you know what?

If there aren't any businesses and jobs for them to go to, it doesn't matter if there's a bridge or a road.

We need the convention center to keep those jobs.

If you don't know what that looks like, how many of us have lost those restaurants and places that we enjoyed and we loved after COVID that never came back?

That's what we're talking about when we're delaying the convention center.

I'm not talking about the business owners, I'm talking about the men and women who work in construction or will work in construction who work in those restaurants who work at the convention center.

Thank you for your support.

Thank you.

Cassandra Kandara.

It's not present.

Gabrielle Brown.

Good morning, City Manager, uh, mayor, and city council members.

My name is Gabrielle Brown, and I work in the hospitality hospitality and convention industry, specifically in security for true focus hospitality group.

I'm here because this convention center delay is already hurting workers and small contractors.

This is not something that may happen later.

We are already losing money now.

Security officers, janitors, registration teams, food and beverage workers, exhibitor services, event staff, and the companies that employ us are all being displaced.

The companies we work for are scrambling to find contracts with hotels, but hotels do not have enough visiting traffic because conventions are not coming in.

Please protect hospitality workers.

Please protect small contractors.

Please move forward in a way that does not leave us behind.

This delay is not about a building, it is already costing workers income, costing small companies contracts, and threatening the survival of hospitality business in Dallas.

Thank you.

Thank you, Rachel Dillard.

Good morning.

I'm Rachel Dillard.

I live in District One at the Lake Cliff Tower condominiums.

Jefferson Street Viaduct so that the Jefferson Jefferson Street Viaduct uh remains uh a viable entry into the city of Dallas and to downtown Dallas.

I also incorporate by reference everything that Brett Schips said.

Uh I have attended uh three town hall meetings of different districts in Dallas.

There are stakeholders not only in North Oak Cliff, but in South Oak Cliff, South Dallas, and in the the cities south of the city limit, DeSoto, Duncanville Cedar Hill Red Oak all these people are going to have to find a new way into downtown that's your time thank you thank you Travis Taylor is canceled I will now call the final group of speakers when I call your name I do ask that you come forward and have a seat on the first two rows of this intersection and that virtual speakers you have your audio and video ready Stephanie Drenka Jim Foster Kendall Sims Kendrick March Sarosa Tyler Shaming Richardson Katana Charleston Donald Lampkin Sherry Edwards Victor Tucker Tiara Grace Stephen Edwards Kiella Foster David Pryor Tanil Carter James Verdon La Angela Jones La Ferio Bennett Deborah Peterson Gregory Cody and Wanda Jefferson Stephanie Stephanie Drinka is virtual historian Dr.

Michael Phillips referred to Dallas as a laboratory of forgetfulness some of you seem to have forgotten the 1940s when frontage roads to Central Expressway paved over more than 1,000 graves of black residents buried in Freedman Cemetery or I-35 which demolished homes and businesses in the 10th Street Historic District founded by formerly enslaved black people or I-345 which was redesigned in the 1960s to bypass deep album decreasing foot traffic to a primarily black owned neighborhood or the redlining redlining maps indeed covenants that locked black and latino families out of wealth building in South Dallas and Oak Cliff and now this convention center plan would cut them off from downtown even further we're told the only way to preserve connectivity is to spend half a billion dollars from the same leaders who won't fund repairs for our iconic city hall during a recent panel about the future of downtown developer Mike Adwon said the history of Dallas is a history of infrastructure here you are poised to repeat said history perhaps that's why you're working so hard to erase it Jim Foster hello I'm your immediate past Dallas County judge and the Hirster Street Vile dock was built as under a contract from Dallas County I can find no information whatsoever that indicates that that viaduct was ever conveyed to the city of Dallas my contention is that the viaduct still belongs to the citizens of Dallas County and not to the city of Dallas and I hope that you understand that you have no authority to uh restrict the traffic of that viaduct thank you thank you Kendall Sims good afternoon my name is Kendall Sims and I'm saying vote no for item 90 thank you Kendrick March good morning I'm uh Kendrick March and um I believe continuing the build of the um convention center and not delay it would give kids today a good no job because I've no parents and told them about the place because I know I've had a vast amount of people to come to this city and spend money, a missing amount of money at their place, and um just the history about it, and for as the uh vatican.

Um it will cause you know, um, I just vote no for the item 90.

Thank you, Sarosa Tyler.

Uh good morning to the mayor and all the city council members.

My name is Sarosa Tyler, and um I'm voting on um agenda 90.

Um in the South Oak Cliff area where I grew up, and I'm a proud uh graduate of South Oak Cliff High School, and I won't vote no for uh agenda 90.

Thank you.

Shaming Richardson.

Uh good afternoon, mayor and council members.

My name is Sham Richardson.

Um for this to even be a debate is disheartened, to say the least.

Don't raise the building back up, don't go backwards, move forward, hold the date and vote no to item 90.

Thank you.

Katana Charleston.

Um, good morning, mayor and council members.

Um the city faces immediate infrastructure and budget needs that should take priority over this massive funding app.

Please reject this proposal and support more cost-effective transit solutions instead.

Well, I have a few more minutes.

This is my first city council meeting, and I don't know if this is the norm, but some of you don't even seem like you're engaged in what the people are saying.

Like I said, I know you have a lot on your books and stuff, but it doesn't even seem like you're listening to what the people saying or taking in consideration.

And I also would like to thank Mr.

Bridge for waking up the room and the council.

Thank you.

Danielle Lampkin.

Danielle Lampkin, it's not present.

Sherry Edwards, Sherry Edwards is not present.

I'm sorry, Sherry Edwards, yes.

I'm here.

I'm sorry, having suffering from a broken ankle recovering.

I just wanted to say good morning to the councilman, City Council.

I vote no for item nine, being a resident of Oak Cliff all my life, and my family coming from generations.

We need that Jefferson Vida to remain open, even with working downtown, coming to Clyde Warren Park, working at uh museum towers.

We need that to stay open again.

We say no to item nine.

Thank you, Victor Tucker.

Victor Tucker.

Good morning, City Council.

Uh I'm just here to say vote no to item 90 and keep it going.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Tiara Grace.

Hi, my name is Tiara Grace, and I'm just here to say I am voting no on item 90.

Thank you.

Stephen Edwards.

Hello, I'm Steven Edwards.

I'll vote no on item nine.

Thank you.

Kiela Foster.

Keela Foster.

It's not present.

David Pryor.

David Pryor.

It's not present.

Tanil Carter.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council.

I'm here to represent District 1, and I would like to vote no for item 90.

Thank you.

James Verden.

Hello, how y'all doing?

I'm James Burden.

A community activist, entrepreneur, uh, mayor, City Council.

I'm here to vote no on item 90.

Uh, I stand here is a bittersweet moment.

It's been a while.

I actually grew up watching the council with my mother standing doing what I'm doing now.

I believe it should always be people over politics.

I believe that people should actually do more research and see that they're not actually control, trying to sit down.

They're just trying to bring more financial benefits to the community and to the people of our great city.

And I ask and urge you to please vote no.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you.

La Angela Jones.

How you doing, mayor and council member?

Um, my name is La Angela Jones, business owner in Dallas, and I just urge you guys to vote against it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

LaFerio Bennett.

LaFerio Bennett.

It's not.

Good afternoon, Mayor, Councilor, all y'all.

How y'all doing?

Um, I've been a resident of Dallas all my life, so on uh voting for the item 90.

Uh vote for no.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Deborah Peterson.

Deborah Peterson.

Okay, it's still morning.

Good morning, Mayor and Council members.

Uh, my name is Deborah Peterson.

I urge urge you to vote no on agenda item 90.

This is a massive financial commitment, and taxpayers are being asked to accept major costs and risks without enough transparency or accountability.

Before committing billions, the public deserves clear answers about overruns, debts, and who pay if revenue falls short.

Dallas has urgent needs today, public safety, streets, parks, infrastructure, and basic services.

We should not write a blank check for uncertain future benefits.

Please slow this process down, provide full accountability.

That's your time and vote no on agenda item 90.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Gregory Cody.

Good morning, Mayor, City Council Member, City Manager, and distinguished guests.

My name is Gregory Cody.

I'm president and CEO of uh GCC Enterprises.

I'm one of the members of the Trinity Alliance, and I'm here today to actually ask you to vote no for agenda item 90.

And the reasons behind that is uh it's just uh delaying this project is delaying our opportunity to provide this much needed building and convention center for the city.

So a whole year of this, and another thing is we're not getting uh we're in a position now that our trade partners are not convinced that we are moving forward in the manner that they want us to move forward because we can't get solid answers as we move forward.

Our goal is to get solid answers and to keep this thing moving forward.

So I ask you, I plead for you to please say no to agenda item 90.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Wanda Jefferson.

Good afternoon.

My name is Wanda Jefferson.

I've been a residence of Dallas all my life, and um I'm here to just say, please vote no, say the bridge, and just vote no.

Thank you.

Mr.

Mayor, this concludes your speakers for this item.

Wonderful.

All right, the time's eleven fifty-one a.m.

on June 24th, 2026.

The city council meeting will not go into closed session to section 551.071 of the Texas Open Meetings Act on the following matters described on today's agenda.

Item numbers 85, 86, and 89, and then sections 551.071 and 551.072 of the Text Open Meetings Act on the following matter described in today's agenda.

Item number 87 will stand at recess until 1 p.m.

Thank you.

All right.

City Council meetings completed its closed session of sections 551.071 and 551.072 of the Texas Open Meetings Act and at 256 p.m.

on June 24th, 2026.

We've returned to open session.

Madam Secretary, where are we on the agenda?

Mr.

Mayor, we are still on agenda item 90.

We finished the speakers.

We at the point where we need a motion in a second.

Is he read into the record already?

Yes.

All right, I'm looking for a motion on um from Chairman or Death Mayor Protectivity.

Mr.

Mayor.

Yes.

I move to deny this item.

Is there a second?

It's been moved and seconded.

The motion is to deny on item 90.

You're recognized for five minutes, Ms.

Blair.

I don't think that there's a lot that needs to be said.

We have talked about this.

We have gone over this.

We have we have moved one way, we have moved another way.

There has been misinformation.

There has been information that says that we're trying to block access from the complete southern sector to um the north, which is far from the truth.

It's unfortunate that we have to go here and we have to discuss this again and again and again.

Well, the truth is it doesn't matter whether the by whether the convention center is raised or it's lowered, you will still you will still have access via the viaducts in order to get in and out of downtown.

The only challenge that we will have is during construction, if I remember correctly, is being asked to travel a couple of extra minutes.

If it is, then once it's once completed, it'll be 42 seconds.

The challenge we also have is that we have FIFA here right now with accentuates the fact that we've lost access to Griffin.

Once FIFA is gone, our access of Corinth to Griffin reopens, and it relieves some of the pressure off of the viaducts.

Um my first question is that we've been talking about the viaducts.

I guess we need to help us help me understand what exactly is the viaduct and where does it stop and where does it begin?

Because I think there's a lot of confusion on what uh what it is, where it isn't.

So I I'd love for somebody to help explain that.

My time is still going, Billy Ray, as they're getting situated.

Thank you.

Not that I need it all.

Good afternoon, Guskin Carly, director of the Department of Transportation and Public Works.

So the uh viaduct by definition is the uh structure that goes over a an a uh a water body or a long stretch over a long stretch.

So the viaduct's pretty much you mean if you want to call it the definition of viaduct, ends past the uh northern end of the levee, and as you start getting into uh uh downtown.

So that is a small piece of it that is not over the levee, and it is uh you're going over the uh tracks, railroad tracks, and as you're going down into downtown.

So the viaduct stops at the tracks or at the at the at the at the garage.

Pretty much, I mean, for the purpose of the discussion, this right right around the the tracks area.

Okay, so the construct I guess let's go with there's three stages of this this discussion.

I guess four.

You have a current, you have construction, you have day one of convention center, and you have a permanent correct.

There's four stages to this.

Correct.

Okay, at what point is a viaduct touch in any of those stations, those stages.

So if we go with the definition that the viaduct um extends from the southern end all the way to past the northern uh um levee, uh then that piece is still intact.

So the viaduct itself is gonna be intact.

Where does any kind of disruption happen after that?

So generally speaking, again, this is part of the uh general location, it's just north of the uh railroad tracks to basically the uh area where it changes from uh Jefferson into market where we're coming back down to grade uh right around the uh just before you get to the omni.

Okay, and what will happen then?

According to the information that I have from the convention center uh currently is that that piece is going to be uh impacted by the construction of the convention center.

And let me be clear is that uh regardless of what option is gonna be uh whether it be in the the building stays at the elevation where it's at or it is lowered, that piece was gonna be impacted during construction.

Okay, so the viaducts are gonna stay in place and they will continue to connect the communities.

It's how it gets when it gets off the viaducts is what's really at at play here or in discussion.

Correct.

Okay, now let's talk about the convention center.

In January, or when did we tell y'all that it was too expensive?

Go back and redesign.

Thank you.

Uh Rosa Fleming, director of convention and event services.

So we briefed you in May of 2025 with the first schematic design and brought that so that we could be able to ask to go into design and construction.

Um that's when it was decided it was too costly, because we provided you a range of 3.5 to 3.7.

So we brought back in January of 2026 the design that now had a price tag of 3.1 to 3.3.

Okay, so now it's at 3.1 to 3.3.

Yeah, right now we are holding at 3.080 billion.

Um, but we did tell you a range in case there's those market factors that were in the briefing we provided that day.

Okay, and what in and then in the it says our fiscal note, if we it go back, is going to be three, is gonna add a certain amount.

What is that money gonna be used?

What why are we gonna have a half a billion dollars for redesign?

Is it because I assume we're not gonna go back to the other design, right?

We would not we would not both of those designs actually would uh require interaction with just as as Director Ken Carly said, interaction with that 550 feet.

And so because in May of 2025, what we brought you were schematics, and we now are in construction dock phase on the current design.

That is why we tell you we'd have to go back and do a redesign.

So you're duplicating the cost of all of the um of all of the architectural costs that we did.

You're gonna have to look at some potential replatting, it's basically doing a project over going all the way back pre-schematics into then advancing once accepted into design and construction docks.

So going back to redesign, how much is I mean uh what does that mean for the project as far as delays?

So you're looking at about a year of redesign, maybe a little less, because we'd have to repeat a lot of the things we've already paid for, and then that we'd come back to council and we'd have to then get another approval, and at that point start the clock over.

But you're looking at at impacts to, I think you've heard from some of the speakers today, impacts to hotel occupancy tax, etc.

Because when we developed a timeline, we worked very hard with Visa Dallas and the Hotel Association of North Texas to plan for a specific period.

So they've planned their budgets and and their revenue and their hiring and use of personnel for a certain period.

After that, there's no guarantee that we could go in and do some infill into the schedules of clients, etc.

in the hotels, just because it's such a it's such a close period to be able to do that, so we couldn't come back and honestly tell you, hey, we can fill in these 46 clients with another 46.

There's not a guarantee for that.

Okay, so when you were doing the redesign, um, was the oak farm transportation plan evaluated or considered when you were doing the resign?

Because I think there's a it doesn't reconcile, or maybe it does.

I mean, and that's the reason why we're in this place.

So I'll so I guess I'm trying to understand how did we do a redesign of the convention center without a transportation understanding when we had the Oaks Farms transportation plan in place.

I don't and so that's or did it speak to that.

So the Oak Farms plan, and I'll turn that over to Deb and to uh Dr.

Kinkarley for their transportation perspective, but from a convention center perspective, it didn't impact that 550 feet.

It's a it's further back from there, and so I think that's where the we're left out of the conversation a little bit, but Jeff.

So thank you for the question related to Oak Farm.

So Oak Farms was a study and um was a study done by um both the city of Dallas and the North Central Texas Council of Governments, and um as I understand it, the study was focused on cleaning up some of the um the interactions on the other side on the west side of the levees to um to better um align with coming into downtown.

And so um that study was finalized in late 2025, and um it proposed using the um the the viaducts, the Jefferson and the Houston Viaducts in a different way.

So the current configuration of the viaducts is we have two lanes from downtown going across southbound.

We have one lane of streetcar and we have one lane of pedestrian, and we currently utilize Jefferson with um again four lanes available to us, one bike lane and three lanes of inbound traffic coming in northbound into the city.

Um, what Oak Farms proposed on the north part, which is, you know, as it enters into the city, the Jefferson would become a two-way vehicular street, reducing the number of northbound lanes coming in to two lanes, and maintaining two lanes going out, as well as shifting the bike lane into Jeff onto Houston, excuse me, and introducing a greenway lane.

So we were going to be taking one of those lanes and you know removing it from any kind of transportation consideration.

And so that is the Oak Farms study and the conclusion of that study again.

It is a study, it has not been funded, but that was that was the summary of the plan.

So does the current configurations that we've seen in transportation, does it maintain the spirit of the Oak Farms transportation plan and keep the connections between the southern part of our city into downtown?

It it does.

The presentation to the transportation committee on the 19th provided a ultimate connectivity scenario that shows maintaining that configuration up until a certain point where we have to where we are making some transitions, it is you know what we call the south connector, but essentially we're maintaining that same that same spirit throughout most of the project.

And what about okay, and what about uh vehicular capacity?

Is that still maintained?

Because I believe that is kind of what the rub is, and I don't know what is that I do believe we need to maintain vehicular capacity.

It may not be in the same detailed as that we've seen in the transportation plan or as it's now, but I and I guess we need to understand what are those vehicular uh counts that are current, and does it maintain the vehicular capacity?

It does.

And I'm talking about the permanent.

I am the construction is construction, day one is day one, but does it and so as the final version and can be funded?

What the um what the final version that we shared with transportation again maintained that spirit of two lanes either way on Jefferson, and then um we're we've got an additional lane coming in and off because we've introduced a new ramp that would connect Jefferson directly into the convention center, and so we provide a new access point.

We've also um rerouted that ramp that you talked about that's coming off of um Jefferson, where it currently is, and we're we're we're basically connecting Jefferson to Houston, so you maintain that direct connection into downtown.

So you have a couple of ways to get into downtown, but in terms of capacity and the lane capacity, that is maintained, okay.

Um also to how how did we get here?

It seems like there's a lot of I guess misinformation too, as well as there's not been a lot of robust public conversations and and I'm but correct me if I'm wrong, because I'm trying to understand you know where we are and why we got here.

If this is supposed to be the most valuable investment in downtown, why are we here?

Um I'll take that one.

I think there have been a number of robust public conversations, and I I am not a traffic engineer or an engineer of any kind, and I think maybe some of our communication issues have been that we've been asking our engineer to try to explain a very complex construction project.

But as a lay person, I'll just say the number of lanes in and the number of lanes out are gonna be exactly the same.

The access from Oak Cliff in Southern Dallas will be the same, it's the same traffic lanes in and the same traffic lanes out.

We're not closing anything, we're not demolishing anything, we're not there is no closure.

We're just rerouting traffic on a detour ramp, which will still provide the same access into downtown and the same access out of downtown, and I don't think we've done a fabulous job as a staff of explaining that in very simple terms, and have probably over-relied on our engineers to try to explain and it it I'll take responsibility for that.

This is a very complicated project and a very personal project, obviously, to the neighbors who care so much about what's happening, and I appreciate that.

It was hard to listen to some of the comments earlier where people were talking about the demolition of the historic viaducts.

We're not touching the viaducts.

In fact, there's a grant to improve the viaducts.

Everyone values the viaducts.

We're just talking about how we currently ramp Jefferson into downtown, changing to a little bit of a different ramp into downtown.

And so, to your point, all of the community meetings and all of the robust conversation may not have been effective given how complex the project is, and we haven't bottomlined it for people the way we probably should have.

So, what has been our investment in the convention center?

What is going to be after it's all said and done, the total?

Total, we are in the convention center itself is 3.080 billion in terms and that's the construction cost.

So that includes what we're paying Trinity Alliance, etc.

And then there's about 262 million of soft costs.

So things like environmentals, replatting, those type of things had had to be done along the way as we did the project.

So it's about a four billion dollar investment.

No, that's about 3.2.

3.2.

Okay.

And so I mean, that is saying yes to downtown, and I don't see any green shirts around, but this is one of the biggest investments in downtown happening now.

Okay.

And but the problem is is we've seen that we're we're hitting it right now with with the out-of-convention ecosystem.

It it's hitting our sales tax dollars.

I mean, that is real, and it trickles around.

But we also cannot forget that we also have residents who live here in businesses.

So I guess my question to you guys is how do we get back on track?

And you don't have to tell me that now.

It's like I am hoping somebody has that because we can't, I mean, I'm for keeping City Hall.

And but if we don't have a convention center, then that means we don't have 30 acres, then why would we get rid of City Hall?

So I have an invested interest to say let's not let's go with the status quo and approve it as, but I don't want to do that because I understand what it means to our ecosystems, tourism, and for conventions, but I also know that we cannot cut off half of our city.

So I'm hoping that somebody comes with a really good, you know, aha moment and say this is the path forward, because we can't kill one part of our of our city for the for the sake of something else.

And um, and I don't believe that we I believe we got smart people in the room.

I mean, we've got engineers, we've got architects, and uh we've got people that can figure it out, and I may hope that there'll be somebody who says, let's take a time out and figure it out, but we cannot uh we can't stall because I think a year will really harm us, and believe me, I've got a vested interest in it failing because if I want to keep this building, but I'm not gonna go there because I don't think that's leadership, and I don't think that's right, but I don't want to harm our residents that live south of of our downtown.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor Johnson.

Um, so as you all have been talking, I've been watching some of our speakers out here, and they're shaking their heads no, like this doesn't either it doesn't make sense or they don't agree.

Um, my question is how are we going to continue to engage this community so that we can rebuild the trust and they do believe you when we say because I heard on the news last night, one of our local stations said we're taking down both viaducts.

And I looked at my husband and went, Oh, well, I wouldn't tell you what I said, you don't want to know.

Um, I mean, I couldn't believe that that was the being reported as factual when I know that is not factual, but they don't believe that yet.

So I'm going to strongly strongly encourage that we continue to do community meetings and outreach, and the type of community meetings where it's not staff sitting here and everybody else sitting in the audience.

We do lots of those, but I find sitting around a table together with this, right?

That you all have provided all of us today, and just passing out pens and paper and people go around and they get to ask questions.

Well, what does this mean?

Why did you make this decision?

What if I'm coming from this direction?

Whatever it is.

Some really just you know, not fancy just conversational type of um community outreach.

And I think one thing I also said earlier is that if we could find a way so that during construction, and maybe even during the period of time when it's all first opened, that for residents who could point to you and say, you know, that sign doesn't make sense, or we don't have a sign that says this.

Um we're doing this right now.

Uh construction projects are hard on a neighborhood.

We have 635 East that is just about to wrap up.

We've changed intersections, and I won't even go into all that, it's completely off topic.

Um, but we need to engage our residents on that.

They need to have some input because they drive it every day, and they can tell you this, that, and the other is missing or needs some help.

Um so that is my first point.

And then we now talk about this as a reroute, which that makes sense to me.

Um, is there anything else about the rerouting that you all want to say?

Do you think we've pretty much covered that or I mean that it's it's a reroute that starts about 550 feet from Young Street, is that correct?

Yes, that is correct, and and um thank you for for your feedback on the community engagement.

Um, it is it is well received, and um is certainly the commitment of this team to continue that robust community engagement that you've requested or do do a better job with the community engagement.

But um, with respect to connectivity, um, these are direct connectors.

We're going to be you're going to be coming to that same point, and instead of going straight, you're gonna go across a bridge and connect to Young and Houston.

You have another direct connect route that will take you to hotel off of Jefferson and connect you directly with the mobility hub right into the convention center, and you can get in and you can get out, and so um, you know, this idea that we're eliminating or removing connection is um is is really something that we want to correct.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you.

Um let me just wrap up with this statement.

Um, I cannot support returning the convention center to its original height.

Doing so would require redesign and additional review, which would delay construction and increase project costs.

It would also extend the time during which we wouldn't have the convention center, which would result in lost economic activity and reduced hotel occupancy tax.

Our focus should be on delivering the project efficiently and avoiding unnecessary costs and delays.

I made a list of losses that were um noted during the um speakers, and they talked about losses to the workers in the hospitality industry.

I assume that's losses of jobs or wages or whatever, and then also the impact of that loss to their families.

Those that's a huge loss to delay this any further.

Um, it talked about the loss of our trust and credibility if we delay this, and all of the customers who are waiting out there to come and have their conventions here.

Um, and then finally, there was the loss of the arts community because of the hot tax decreasing.

So the delay will be costly in so many different ways that I believe we need to move forward, so I support voting against item 90.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Chairman West regulars for five minutes.

Thank you, Mayor.

The really unfortunate thing about today is that the way this has been rolled out by staff has pitted council member versus council member O'Cliff versus the convention center and neighbors versus Visit Dallas, where it all could have been avoided with better community engagement and more transparency from staff.

I agree with many of the district one residents who showed up today and the hundreds more who have contacted my office in recent weeks.

To those who are here today, thank you for taking the time off work, child care duties, and other responsibilities to advocate.

Your presence shows just how important this is for Southern Dallas.

There is an overwhelming consensus in my district that the convention center's development should not come at the expense of Oak Cliff residents and our connection to downtown.

Commissioner Dr.

Elba Garcia, Representative Jessica Gonzalez, and the Dallas Morning News Editorial Board have each made strong arguments in support of this position in approving item 90.

While I have previously and I still support the convention center and understand its economic impact, I cannot support moving forward with a plan that limits Oak Cliff's connection to downtown, especially after decades of this city making decisions that leave Southern Dallas behind and bridges that have already come down because of the I-30 Canyon project.

I have some questions.

So Rosa, you mentioned in a response to Councilwoman Blackman that it was May 2025 that you came up with the cost savings proposal, right?

That's correct.

And we weren't informed as a council until January 2026, or I think it was actually maybe February 2026 about the viaducts impact.

That's that's not correct.

In 2024, we had a schematic that we showed you, and that included a plan to contract with HNTB through an RFQ and RFP process, and the the language in that and what we told council at the time through transportation, they were they were acquired for us, but their work was through transportation and public works, was that there would be a realignment and restructuring of the viaducts and so at the time or of the 550 feet after the viaducts, and so that was something that was council approved, and we moved forward with that.

So we started the conversation about it in 2024.

Um, and I think because this is my opinion, and I agree with our assistant city manager uh Robin Bentley, that maybe because this was in different departments, the idea of it wasn't as clear, and we should have maybe followed the model that we did with the convention center, which is my commitment, which you all applauded our engagement philosophy in our outreach plan at the time that went out and really did a uh a global look at at the project, and so it really started in 2024 with the conversation about interrupting that 550 feet.

Well, I wrote down what you replied to Councilwoman Blackman about the fact that the viaducts were discussed and it and the impact was discussed in January of 26, and there was nothing mentioned about 24 until right now.

Well, I don't think that that was her exact question.

I apologize, uh, but I think her question was when we when we brought the schematics back and what that interim time was.

So specifically as relates to that 550 feet began as a conversation in 2024, and I can I can turn to Director Ken Carley and talk about that procurement and then the intention of using HTB for that.

Those were both approved at the same time, one Gresham, which was dealing with Cadiz, and then the one that was to deal with the 550 feet after the viaducts.

Okay, well, I've seen schematics from 2025 that still have the viaducts going underneath and connecting to young.

So this is all news to me that I've never heard before today.

So I it's okay, Rosa.

We can I do want to hear the answer, but I want to get through my time.

Absolutely, and I'll give you a chance to respond to that.

Um the Oak Farm study, we did talk about that, and that was a two-year study that was done in conjunction with Transportation Department, Text Dot, and also the North Central Texas Council of Governments with Michael Morris personally being involved.

Why would why was Michael Morris in the COG not consulted with the Northern Connection of the Viaducts as part of the convention center design, given the fact that the Oak Farm study was going on during this same time?

So working, I mean, we were working together with the convention center on the development of the uh of the plan.

And the initial discussions were uh to incorporate the findings from the uh oak farms into the uh into the uh overall uh plan for the convention center.

So uh we've had conversations with the North Central Council of Government on the progress uh of the convention center.

Okay, what it's not exactly what I asked, but I I my point is is just to get back to the fact that there was the discussion of the transportation piece never happened with any of the convention center um alignments until this year when we started asking for information about it.

Um so on the public meeting piece.

We were asking for public meetings.

Councilmember Johnson and I called for a public meeting.

Um in O'Cliff, we were getting resistance from a public meeting early on, and we were being forced into a virtual meeting.

Why was there resistance from staff in having public meetings in the February time frame on this topic?

I don't remember any resistance to public meetings, council member.

In fact, I think we've all spent many of our weekends out in your district talking about this issue, and I I don't I don't remember there being any pushback on having public meetings.

We know what an important issue this is.

It's obviously very important issue for the community.

You know, I've I've been hopeful that staff would find a solution to get us out of this mess.

Um, disappointed to say that that you know the attempts have come up short.

The only decent option that I've seen is the future connectivity option, but that has no funding and no approval from the Union Pacific Railroad.

I can't support that option on a mere promise and hope that it might one day happen.

The option before us will reduce traffic lanes and increase congestion.

During construction, Oak Cliff drivers would be faced with a 10-minute travel delay in the morning, five minutes in the evening, and after four years of that headache, Oak Cliff residents will still face nearly seven minute delays in the morning and three minutes in the evening once the convention center opens.

I understand that the construction may lead to temporary delays, and that is understandable, but we have to find a better long-term solution.

We should be improving it to Oak Cliff.

While I understand and share the concerns that some of my colleagues have about delays to the convention center, if we rush this and get this wrong, we are making a decision that cannot be undone and will impact Oak Cliff for decades.

Convention centers are like arenas, they last about 35 years, whereas these bridges can last hundreds of years.

The worst thing we could do to let to I'm gonna skip that.

So my vote is to approve this item, raise the convention center back up to its original height, and give the design team clear direction to maintain viaduct access.

Thank you.

Councilmember, could I um just respond to some of your your comments um that I very much appreciate um since um our transportation committee meeting on um on the 19th, um our team has continued to work on uh refining our traffic models, and um I'm happy to report that we've reduced the change in time during the construction scenario as well as uh when the convention center opens with the with the ramp.

Uh we're we're going to um in that one hour in the morning, um, we're gonna see that reduction go down to to three minutes after the ramp is completed, and um we've reduced the the 10-minute delay uh by several minutes also and um and I and I do think that that it's important to recognize that we have taken the feedback that you've shared um from public meetings very seriously with respect to the direct connector and um have been making progress on the funding you know we continue to work on um making sure that we're able to fund both of those transportation elements um you talked about not talking to michael morris we spoke to michael morse extensively about helping with the funding of these elements as well as working with the UP railroad and um he has agreed to um to do that to work with us on funding um I don't know if um if Rosa or Robin want to add some more about other funding opportunities so um we are making progress to make what you would like to see a reality thank you so much thank you Deb I if I could I could add to the funding component and so we have already if you recall we asked permission and received resolution to allow us to submit a state infrastructure bank uh loan application to TechSot or SIB loan as we termed it in the resolution and so we are on our second iteration they'll be making a decision in August but the priority items that we put in it after speaking to them were this very thing we're for the uh both the temporary solution the down ramp and the long-term solution we then have talked to other partners at the state to talk about next steps in developing a funding plan they're meanable to it and we had a great conversation yesterday uh with Michael Morris committing to the partnership of helping us deliver a solution that works for both North Oak Cliff and the rest of Oakliff as well and so I think we're that's why uh assistant city manager with Stogie feels competent in that okay chairman Gracie Rose for five minutes thank you mr mayor uh I will be supporting this motion um but but I too wrote a couple of um uh comments and the I think the biggest one that I heard was uh many were treated as an afterthought and I don't think anybody around here can disagree with how all of this evolved so Robin I want to thank you for taking responsibility and owning how we ended up here and then and then thank you for saying the other piece that that I think has gotten lost in a lot of this communication is that and I'm gonna ask it in a question just so I can make sure before during and after traffic let me start to after construction after construction before construction how many lanes are there currently right now that are functioning.

We currently have two lanes that are southbound and we have three lanes that are um northbound coming into into the city and after construction regardless of the routes after construction how many lanes will we have we'll have um the same number of lanes coming in and we'll have um the opportunity for a third lane going out okay all right so for me that was the the bigger issue and the frustration uh about a lot of this is uh being a student of local government I think there were three opportunities that we could have avoided this when we were having these discussions and I think they've already talked about it the the Oak Farms conversation with economic development the convention center and all of the surrettes and everything that we've had out here and then even with the transportation plan all of these things and this is just a real time life uh uh case study of what happens when silos impact uh uh the city you have all of these people so yes you say yeah we did all of those things but all of these people regardless of what side they're on feel that that happened took place so much so that there's so many different narratives out there that it's gotten out of control and that's the piece that I really want to bring up in in this is we've got to start huddling up and rolling these things out in a way that the com that the that the public understands it it doesn't feel nefarious it doesn't there's no room for any accusations and everyone feels like they were included in that so that's the fault here it's not the solutions the solutions are coming it's how it was rolled out and how it was communicating again it's that ugly silos um that were there and as a result the narratives got out of control.

So again I want to thank you all for that uh for for doing that but we need to make sure that we're moving in the right direction from the very beginning my issue was not just about the Jefferson and Houston uh bridges it was about all of them so I want to thank you for this because this is what was driving me crazy every exit there is I think I counted at least 10 exits coming into downtown from southern Dallas that are under construction and that's the piece so it's yeah this construction is only going to cost us charge you 10 10 minutes this day or this time but with every one of these things under construction people are going to be trying to find alternate routes so it's gonna be bigger than that and that's the part that I did not appreciate when we roll these things out is understanding the overall impact yes we can get excited about the convention center we can get excited about uh oak farms we can get excited about these things but we have we cannot get lost in the communication and making sure that everyone understands what's happening here so if you can can are you able to walk me through this real quick I just want to go through each one of these to talk about how long uh hotel street looks like it'll be under construction first half of 2026 to the second half of 2030 do y'all have that Lamar Street to Botham John 2020 second half of 2026 to second half of so uh to start with this is a uh tech stock produced document and the uh the schedule is as provided by text dot so uh it's under their purview um so for example on the first one what you will see is that uh bothham john um the uh uh the closure date for the first half so it's being done in two halves so it'll start it closes on um uh in the first half of 2026 and then uh it opens up in the first half of uh uh 2030 and then um the second piece is will uh close on the uh second half of 2026 at the moment and then um opens up in the second half of 2027 but but basically from 2026 to 2031 basically all of these all or a portion of these would be under construction there will be under construction so some of the bridges that they're showing on their deal will be completely closed like you have for example acord right is completely done however uh for example Lamar and Griffin will be done in half um so that's what this one is uh is showing so for example on the Griffin Street uh it shows that they closed the bridge in the first half of 2026 and it should uh reopen in the second half of 2027 if everything stays on schedule fair fair and again I I appreciate the fact that the disclaimer is this is Text Dots list but again I just want the the public to know that the very reason they're sitting here for many for some it's about Jefferson Houston for many it's about all of these bridges being shut down and again it's progress so I don't want to knock it like it's not progress.

This is a good thing but it's just how we communicate it to folks and what it can cause we're here now almost having to you know potentially pay more or whatever this outcome is because of the communication period we cannot operate in these silos and we have to be huddling up and thinking about these things uh and rolling them out so again I will be supporting this but again I want to thank you all for taking accountability for it but also making it clear that the same number of lanes that are currently operating on the other side of this there will be the same number of rain lanes with just some some routes and thank you uh I want to do it so publicly so bad but I'm not gonna do it she grew hard I did it anyway um but um but for those uh for saying that that part though that the the and now I lost my thought like the the lanes I'm gonna stop thank you.

I'm glad I could fight you.

Deputy Mayor Protevi recognized for five minutes.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Thank you uh councilman Gracie, for bringing those points up because that's one of the points I wanted to make that before construction, during construction uh that and even after construction, those points that you made.

But I'm gonna ask Mr.

Dr.

Concarley on just on record.

I know it may sound a little redundant, but it's important.

Will we still have access to downtown from Southern Dallas doing construction?

So during construction, the answer is yes.

The during construction, you will have the detour uh basically from Jefferson onto Houston, where we're converting Houston into two-way uh with the direct access into downtown.

After construction, will we have the same capacity as before?

I know that's what Councilman Gracie just asked, but I want to ask that question again.

So, yes, the number of lanes as uh uh assistant city manager uh Stogie mentioned there will be the same number of uh lanes as currency is the reason why I want to ask that because I made a statement uh before, and I said I will not support anything that takes away access from Southern Dallas.

I've been living in Southern Dallas all my life, and so I know that there's been some concerns, uh, whether it's working in silos uh or whatever uh there may be, but to make sure that we're on record and that it is being said and clarified that we will southern Dallas will still have access during construction and after construction.

Now, we understand that during the construction piece, there's gonna be some delays, there's gonna be some some frustration and some rerouting uh because of the because the work that's being done.

That's understandable.

I I it happens in my district when we're working on streets, we have to go a different route.

But after construction, we will have uh those lanes, and that's important to me.

So the Jefferson and Houston viaducts are not closing according to the plans.

Not political games, not rumors, not falsified information, but according to the plans, statements suggesting otherwise are not true.

That's inaccurate information that has been created unnecessarily, and confusion among residents has happened.

I am I am not sure who created it, uh the false information, but if we all look at the maps, we will all see that southern Dallas has access to and from downtown even during construction.

So I want to make sure that I'm on record, and I'm asking you, I see you shaking your head, Ms.

Rosa.

Is this information factual?

What I'm saying, yes, sir.

What you said is factual.

So I'm going to support Councilwoman Blair.

We're we're from Southern Dallas, born and raised.

She's from California, but she works diligently in Southern Dallas, been working with us even when I was on school board.

Uh Pastor Gracie, I said we work together in Southern Dallas, and and I'm born and raised Cedocrest, went to Roosevelt, Albert Sydney Johnson, OW Homes.

This is what I know.

I've done great, I've done a lot of work in Southern Dallas, advocating for equity, and it's not equitable to have our community not have access to to downtown, but it's also not equitable to have people lose their jobs and delay.

So we when we use that word, let's use it holistically, because I ran on equity, I fight for equity.

And I want to appreciate you, Ms.

Rosa, concerning the meeting that uh Count Chair West and I had, I think the pushback was not really pushback, but I believe your son had graduation that night.

Is that correct?

He had his senior night, yes.

He had a senior night.

I want to appreciate you because you stayed.

You was trying to make a tough decision whether to go to support your son and then come and support Chair West and myself in our communities.

And I had to go to you several times and say we understand, but please leave to go see your son.

And the reason why that's important, because my son, I lost my son, and I know the importance of being there for your children.

So you gave up that night for us.

I want to go publicly and say I appreciate you for putting this before your own family.

That's a sacrifice that you made.

So I just want our community to know when you're hearing all the rumors and all the falsified information.

I don't not only do I serve as as a councilman, but I serve this community as a pastor.

And my work extends far beyond this this horseshoe.

If nothing else, we have to walk with integrity and accountability, and we have to be honest with everybody, whether we're working the silos or not.

The truth of the matter is we're gonna have access.

Southern Dallas is gonna have access during construction and after construction, and we're gonna continue to work with our community, and I don't wait on the administration to call for community meetings.

It's my job to call for a community meeting.

It's not their job, it's their job to support to support us.

So I want to make that clear.

We're not waiting on staff to do it.

We're elected to do this job, so we don't continue to call for community meetings and be accountable and transparent.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Ms.

Cadena, you recognize for five minutes.

So I want to thank residents for attending the meeting today.

I know y'all had to take off of time from your jobs.

Um, you know, our city can do community engagement really well.

I've seen where we've taken the maps out, we've gotten the markers, we do the sticky notes.

That didn't happen this time, and you know, when they came to my community meeting, I I thank y'all all for showing up, it was more of telling residents what the plan was and not taking the feedback they gave to try to work it out, and you know, I'm a new council member, I was here.

Um my council member was the chair of transportation, and I don't recall any conversation about any modifications to the Jefferson or the Houston Viaducts, and I spent part of my childhood in Oak Cliff and in West Dallas.

I grew up in both, um, those are my communities.

I still have family that live in both areas.

A lot of people that lived in West Dallas end up moving to Oak Cliff and back and forth, and so you know, I think where people are concerned is that they want to have the same access, but the concern is the loss of direct access into downtown, and so um you know, I'm looking at this map, and there's even something new that I've never seen before, which is the future ceremonial extension.

So can I, I would like to know about that because I I've never seen this before.

Um, thank you, council member for for your question and the feedback on the on the community meetings.

Um the ceremonial um extension is part of the convention center project, and so um, you know, what that is is a a new roadway that is going to connect from Lamar over um onto um hotel and through, so it's a direct connector to the property that is there, and that is that is part of you know some of the transportation elements that are part of the convention center project.

So does that so the Houston Viaduct, we're not tearing that down, but the portion going into direct access of downtown during construction, how many lanes will we have going in and coming out of downtown there?

From the portion from Houston and Young, up until a part where the where the um garage ends, what we'll have is we'll have two-way traffic during construction, and then we would have we would resume two-way southbound traffic, and you would have three lanes coming in that would reduce down to that one lane.

That is that is the direct connector that would happen and would be retained through construction as well as until we are able to bring build the bridge, the direct connector bridge that you see on some of the exhibits.

Okay, so the portion that's in downtown, it will retain one road in and one road one way out, right?

During construction, okay.

That that is that is the temporary rerouting during construction, and then I know we're working on the the UP Railroad um issue.

So if the construction if the convention center is completed and we don't have the UP Railroad bridge, do we maintain that one road in and one road out, or what happens?

That is correct.

We would maintain that, and the element that we're going to be adding is the ramp from Jefferson to hotel through the mobility hub.

And so that will be adding that additional lane capacity to enter and um an exit downtown.

And how many lanes are on the um I guess it's called the new down ramp from Jefferson?

During that period, there are there are um three vehicular lanes, two northbound, one southbound, as well as a bike lane.

Okay, and then um we've so is I know the north um bridge and then there's the south, right?

Are those uh in compliance with vision zero, or will there need to be any modifications?

Because I actually drove them quite a bit on I think it was Monday, and so I'm wondering do those comply or will there need to be some modifications with that?

So um again, this is we're trying to finalize the traffic control plan, temporary traffic control plan for the construction uh uh condition.

There will be uh a new uh uh traffic control measures that will be introduced to slow down the traffic and uh make it safer to make the uh uh uh turning points uh from a stop condition.

Okay, which brings me to my next question.

Does a fire truck fit on the northern bridge or on the southern bridge?

So this is one of the reasons why we're uh favoring the southern bridge because the southern bridge has the wider turn lanes to allow for uh buses and potentially the uh emergency response uh equipment.

Okay, and so with so would we um I know we mentioned DART.

Would that would they be asked not to um I guess operate on the bridge until construction's over, or what is the plan for that?

That the the dark buses should be able to continue to operate.

Okay, and what about ambulances?

I know that's been a concern with the community.

Well, as far as the operation is concerned, they should be able to continue to operate.

Okay.

Um when did the conversations with the UP Railroad begin for the um the new bridge?

So uh we have had uh high-level uh conversations again as part of the convention center because Union Pacific has been talking about looking at the whole area holistically, and that includes the uh convention center as well as any of the bridges in that vicinity, including this connector as well as the KDIS bridge.

Okay, and do we have a cost breakdown for all of the upgrades that are going to be needed?

At this point here, this is uh super high level, and this is what was presented to the special call transportation committee that shows the uh total of almost 97 million dollars that includes the down ramp as well as the potential uh bridge connector connector.

Okay, and then a couple more questions.

Has the council adopted the Oak Farm study um or will we need to?

Not uh not um uh we have not adopted it and brought it to council for adoption yet.

So it hasn't been funded yet.

It has not been adopted.

Okay, and then um are we still we there has been conversation of green space, is that still a part of the plan that might move forward?

There's um there's no um there's no green space specifically in the plan at this point in time.

Okay, and one of my concerns is I actually do have a pedestrian bridge in my district.

I think I may be one of the only ones, and we have quite a few safety concerns because it's not a park, but it acts like a park and it's under transportation or Dallas Water, and so there's a lot of confusion on who has jurisdiction over that.

And there's it's actually used quite a bit by the community that can pose some pretty big security um issues as well.

Um I wanted to know how many um meetings were held with convention professionals in preparation for the convention center.

In total from master planning to now, 345 meetings.

That's quite a few, and you know, I know we have had some community meetings, I believe there's been three or four, and you know, I think what concerns me is that we did not see that this was an issue until this year, and there was nobody from the the community wasn't able to provide input until this came out.

So thank you.

Chairwoman Mendelson, you recognize for five minutes.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, you know, I made this motion for it to come to council and return to the original height.

Number one, because we hadn't had any opportunity for the public to come down and have input because it had only been heard at committee, and um public seems to have a lot to say about this, and it's not really positive if you haven't caught that.

Um the first I became aware of it, I will tell you, is March at the transportation committee meeting, and we were presented a series of options, and although I rarely travel on the viaducts today, and can definitely live an entire life without going on them given where my district is, I'll just tell you it was very easy to look at it and go, this is a pretty bad idea, and every single scenario was a pretty bad idea.

And the issue is that as we've asked staff to come back with better ideas, the only thing I've seen happen is the same ideas be brought forward and an intense lobbying effort of council members to flip them to agree to just let it go forward, and repeatedly, especially over the last year or two, this council has been asked to make a very important decision, not just about this issue, about many issues, and the question is do you go with the business and developers, or do you go with what's best for the residents?

And I guess we're about to see where everybody stands on that, but we see this time and again about housing issues, we're seeing this about this very building, and so I would say to you, my colleagues, business matters.

We're a business city, but it doesn't matter more than our residents, and cutting off a section and making it harder for Southern Dallas to get into downtown after there is nobody on this council that hasn't been drilled over and over again about our needs to be able to serve this part of town.

We literally had people wearing connect the core buttons about City Hall, and we're literally gonna make it harder for them to get down here to get to their jobs, not just the jobs of the convention center, their jobs all over downtown, and by the way, a lot of jobs that are north of downtown for as many uh bad comments there are about downtown these days.

I'm gonna tell you uptown's on fire.

Have you seen it?

So we'll just have to say staff comes and goes, council members come and go, but we have different missions, and our mission is to represent the people.

So I hope you won't forget your people.

Um, I'd like to know who came up with this idea.

Because if you're gonna lose 500 million on a project, there's more than one way to do it.

I was expecting to have a little bit less trim, a little bit less flash, not to have the convention center lowered.

How did that idea happen?

Absolutely.

So we had several meetings, we worked with our design consultants and architects and our engineers.

We brought in about three billion dollars worth of the clients who will be using the building and generating the revenue that results into hot over a uh, I believe it was a three-day period, and walked through the design of what we could lose on the building in order to get to the requested $500 million uh lowering of cost.

And so we did several charreds with them.

Some of our uh some of our uh council people uh were involved in greeting some of them.

We looked at interaction um around the building and how that would result in the future development to rebuild what you're very talking about about developing downtown, and so it was a period of intensely looking at these things, and in both scenarios, as I said, both in the May scenario of 2025 and the January scenario, there was going to be some impact with that 500 and and 50 feet, but there was a lot of discussion, a lot of looking at how we get rid of some of the things that you talked about, some of the flash, so taking out two sets of escalators, for example, moving some of the elevators around, those are the kind of things that fundamentally reduce the cost of uh of a building of this size.

Well, it sounds to me like people who want to come here for tourism decided that they would like to have the cushy part of the convention center and not really care about the residents who live here and what their traffic looks like.

You know what we're spending extra money on the for the convention center?

Bird strikes, making sure we don't have bird strikes.

So we're gonna spend money on that, but not making sure our people can get where they need to go.

So, what does it mean when we say uh construction manager at risk?

What risk is that person taking?

So, the actual definition for construction manager at risk means that there's more risk upon the contracting agency than upon the city, and there's some shared risk as well.

What risk are they taking though?

What risk are they taking?

That if the cost is beyond the guaranteed maximum price, some of that is borne by them.

They take on more of the construction risk in the case of accidents, etc.

So, isn't that what happened then?

The prices more than what was expected?

They are not the ones designing it, and at the time, you don't pass it over to the construction manager until such time as you have the design, so they didn't have a design.

So they no longer have any risk, and then you give it.

That's not the case.

So, what will they be at risk for?

Councilwoman, I think you're conflating vendors.

So the architects works on the design, the construction manager at risk came on later once the design was finalized and packages were brought to council.

I think we brought three so far for the convention center that's correct to guarantee components of pricing, but the design was a completely separate process.

It did involve the CMARM.

And I think that to add to that, that's one of the reasons.

Back before we started, while we were still in the master planning phase, there was hearty discussion with the council.

We brought options about whether the city, based on the policy recommendation from this body, wanted to do design build, design bid build or CMAR, and so it was decided by this body to use a construction manager at risk, and that is because we would be bringing you those those guaranteed maximum prices or GMPs as as they're called, so that you could see as the spend was progressing if there was something that you would like to push back on, and so it was for that transparency that that construction manager at risk was selected as the delivery model.

Well, I have a whole different issue associated with that.

Wasn't this project already behind schedule before this came up?

Didn't wasn't there a conversation about placing conventions in Houston?

Reported by the Houston Chronicle?

That conversation came up just a few months ago when there was a misspeak from the visit Houston, equivalent of our Craig Davis, right, at a council meeting for which he has since apologized to visit Dallas because he misspoke.

To directly answer your question, no, the project has been on track on budget the entire time until this Jefferson closure issue arose.

Is the master agreement with Hunt a problem?

Did you get approval from them about this?

Um we've had communication with um with the hunts regarding the uh reunion master agreement.

We've collaborated with um the city attorney's office in that response, and so um we're not at a place in which we need to receive their um their approval.

Thank you.

So you said not?

That is correct.

The city attorney's office advised we were not at a place at this point.

We don't have a finalized transportation plan.

Um we have had continual dialogue with them.

We have gone on bus tours with them, and we've met with them several times to share with them the solutions, but we are not at a place to um formally submit something to them.

Um and so that's that was based on guidance from the city attorney's office.

Right, but we're in continual meetings with the hunts.

In fact, they serve on the mayor's task force for the convention center, they're constantly giving input and so at the appropriate time when called for under the agreement.

Of course, we'll get the appropriate approvals.

We're just not there yet.

When is that time?

What is the appropriate time?

Because I think it says that they have to approve it before.

Okay, we'll have to work with the attorneys on that answer, but essentially it's when we are at a point when we are ready to make a change in the area within a particular box and the way that the traffic moves in that area, and we're we're just not to that point quite yet since we're having this conversation today.

Is the flyover that you're envisioning is that funded?

The flyover over the UP Railroad.

Um, please wait.

My time's not being stopped.

The bridge across UPRR is not yet funded, that's correct.

It is part of our sibling package, and so if approved in August, we would have sufficient funding to fund both the down ramp and the bridge across UPRR.

If our full funding request is approved in August.

I'm sorry, that funding would be for design and construction.

We have the design funding for the down ramp already.

That's part of the convention center construction fund.

The construction funding for the down ramp, and then all of the funding for the bridge across UPRR is included in our sibling application with the state.

So the bridge across the railroad you're saying is funded if that goes through.

Correct.

And what's that amount?

We applied for 116 million, Rosa, is that correct?

We applied for 116 million.

Um the total for these two projects with contingency is uh about ninety-seven million.

I find that very hard to believe.

There's five there's four railroad tracks, and then an extra right-of-way, right?

I think they told me they're gonna build that fifth one, right?

The fifth one is part of their what they call future condition, and so it's something that they ask us to plan for and they don't have a date certain in the future of whether they will build it or not, but if we just have to make capacity for it should that ever occur.

And what's the timeline for building?

Um we're gonna go to Mr.

Roth for five minutes.

Uh thank you.

Um, first of all, uh, you all were kind enough to meet with me several times.

I want to publicly appreciate you all for making the time trying to explain it to me and also addressing uh some of my questions and some of my concerns on taking up my time, but I want to thank you for trying to to solve my problems.

Um I also appreciate the fact that you're coming to the table in a uh collaborative, more more simply explaining uh position and trying to make sure that we all understand it.

But I am now feeling much more comfortable myself that I wasn't the only one who didn't understand this deal.

And I think that's the biggest problem here, and and this is a very very important project, and it affects a lot of people.

Um the Oak Cliff community is directly impacted by the by the by this project.

The downtown community is absolutely impacted by this project.

I want this project built.

I but I want it to be built right.

This to be the anchor for this part of town to make this area flourish.

And if we if there's any any restriction and connectivity to O'Cliff and into the into the downtown area, that's very problematic to me.

Anyway, that's that's sort of a statement, but I do have questions.

Um how long would it take to create a redesign?

And I really want a realistic sort of business uh answer, not forever.

To redesign the convention inner, I just want to be clear.

I'm sorry.

Is the question about redesigning the convention interesting?

Yeah, what would be a a reasonable but but business commercially reasonable time for you to get these people up to make a new design based on an elevated uh uh building.

What would be the time frame?

Sure.

Thank you for the question.

So I we did have this question posed to both our architects and our construction team, and so they were comfortable with saying it would take seven to seven months to a year, and that is because as I said earlier to uh council member blackman and council member stewart, it's duplic reduplicating some of the things that we've done.

If you're gonna reorient a building, there's we have to go back in LIDAR again, which is scanning what's under there, go back and uh work with our permitting office, look again at how we're platting the area, et cetera, and do some work in interaction with our partners.

Obviously, it would it would require re-engagement with UP, which we talk to frequently.

We talk to them almost on a weekly basis as we work through this project and since uh 2019.

Um so reduplicating that, redesigning it, making sure getting it verified and doing the cost verification through the CMAR would take seven months to a year.

Thank you.

Um the drawings that you gave show two scenarios.

The raised-up diagram, uh that shows if I if I'm understanding your your drawing, which I appreciate your providing, shows that under that raised up there would be a sixteen and a half foot clearance above Jefferson.

Is that correct?

Am I looking at the right at the picture properly?

It is it's not a clearance at that 16 point five feet uh there's an exhibition hall, it's about 750,000 square feet.

It is the it is the key thing that keeps us in that tier one position to compete with the Chicago's etc.

So that is what would sit along that uh 550 foot area.

I hope that I'm actually look at the previous the previous uh picture.

I want to make sure I'm answering your question correctly.

So if you're looking at at the page that said KBH C C D design considerations, yes.

Correct.

So on this, what you see under great out in the back is is the is the viaduct, right?

Uh that's what's behind it.

It's not a clearance, those are the great halls and they sit.

Uh their base is at that hotel memorial street uh intersection, right?

What is at the viaduct level if you go up is uh at the time was just right under there was the was the uh ballroom and then you have the pedestrian corridor between there.

I'm sorry, I'm looking at the picture at the one that says uh raised up KBH C C D diagram at Jefferson Viaduct.

At the bottom.

Flip map.

And I'm looking at the at the elevation drawing.

Sure.

The elevation drawing at the bottom says ground plane level.

Correct.

There's then an opening that says 16 and a half feet.

There's then a structure mechanical exhibit hall.

Are you looking at the same?

I am looking at the same thing.

And it's got a picture of a truck going on Jefferson through underneath the building.

Is that correct?

This is into the what did you go ahead?

Correct.

On the original original.

Yeah, I was wanting to clarify that this was based on the original design when the building was elevated.

That's what I'm trying.

That's what I'm trying to clarify because I'd never seen an original design.

This was what the I so there was an idea at one point that there would be vehicles going underneath the building, and it would be unimpeded access at that point in time.

So this drawing is actually you asked us a question a while ago about the original building.

So if we talk about that, the original building was uh schematically designed or rendered in 22.

Following in when we after we hired the project manager in September of 2023, immediately thereafter, in October of 2023, we were contacted by Text Dot, who needed some lay down area.

They also needed to build what's called a shoe fly over Union Pacific.

That's what caused us to have to shift the building over, and so it was no longer feasible to just have it go have that space between there in either design out of the one we showed you in 2025 or the early 2026 model to be here because we then had moved the building over, and if you recall, I think you had just maybe come to council when we started the dialogue about purchasing the WFAA parking lot and the back portion of the uh Dallas Morning News site.

And so that move over that was precipitated by the by the need to provide that label over space so that we could build Interstate 30 is what took us closer to the viaduct and having to go across it to connect with that WFAA site and the Dallas Morning News site.

I hope that answers your question.

Right.

So what you're telling me is that there was uh this was an an early conceptual design to five years, you know, four years ago.

Yes, during the master planning phase before we got into implementation.

All right, and so is this is this the design that we would be looking at on raising if we talked about raising, or we would be redesigning for some kind of a vehicular uh traffic access that would be sort of a high enough amount to allow a car to go through there.

Yes, the latter we would have to completely redesign because moving it back, we provided easements already to uh Text Dot to carry out their construction, so it would be a complete new design.

Okay.

Uh second of all the the connection uh above the UP, the the bridge that you're talking about, if for some reason UP holds us up, we can't do it, they're gonna give us hard time physically, we can't do it.

Uh, what's plan B?

Plan B would be to we would still have the new ramp down from Jefferson to Hotel, which provides the exact same lane access that exists today.

The bridge, um, if it's unable to be built, wouldn't be built, or we would come back to council and brainstorm another alternative path to add more access.

Um, these are not the only two ideas that exist, they're just the best two ideas at this point, but we've still got a lot of work to do, and if if that bridge doesn't work, we will go back to the drawing board and come back with another plan.

There might be alternatives with the with the garage that's there.

There might be alternatives for something else, but we haven't really explored those yet.

But but at least you're open to say it could be that's not a done deal on the UP, but it's but you're thinking ahead.

Okay.

Number number three, the last thing, and I'm sorry I'm out of time almost, but if we're good during the temporary construction period of time and during the permanent on this, we have got to get rid of the bikes, and we've got to get rid of the of the streetcar, and we've got to get rid of this pedestrian uh idea.

We have to have vehicular traffic on Jefferson and Houston.

This is this is too important of two streets to limit and and reduce and and satisfy a con a constituency that's not uh that's that's that's not uh significant to the extent and the growth of this project.

So and I'm not saying the person the people are not important.

I and I'm sorry, yeah.

Anyway, I'd like your response to that.

Mayor protect reglass for five minutes.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Uh I want to begin by apologizing to the community for not doing more to prevent inaccurate understandings about what is actually being proposed to fester.

I'm deeply troubled and concerned by the misinformation and confusion I continue to see and hear surrounding this issue.

I'm especially sensitive to discussions about cutting off access or significantly inconveniencing Southern Dallas commuters, given the conversations we've had around this horseshoe about removing I 345 and severing a major connection between large portions of Southeast Dallas and the Central Business District and beyond.

I believe some of my colleagues have done a good job of teasing out the facts, but I want to be as clear as possible.

So I just have two questions.

Under any circumstance, whether this item passes or fails, is the city proposing to demolish, destroy, or abandon the Houston Street Bridge or the Jefferson Viaduct.

No.

Okay.

Under any circumstance, whether this item passes or fails, will direct access between North Oak Cliff and downtown be eliminated or severely restricted?

No, it'll be maintained.

Thank you.

I just think it's really important to get that out there again.

I know a couple of my colleagues have tried to do that.

Um I it is really concerning.

Another thing I want to mention is um with regard to temporary inconveniences uh during construction.

I think I think those are an understandable part of any significant construction project.

I believe the real concern is the potential for long-term inconvenience to long to North Oak Cliff residents, and based on the additional evaluation conducted by city staff.

However, I it appears that the long-term impact could be as little as little as a few minutes of additional travel time.

Somebody stop me if I'm incorrect at any point.

That's correct.

I'm also sensitive to my colleagues' concerns about a process that from his perspective hasn't been ideal.

However, I'm not convinced that responding to those shortcomings with a vote that would ultimately cause greater harm is the wisest course of action.

I believe the community's legitimate concerns can be addressed without unnecessarily delaying this important project.

For those reasons, I'll be voting yes on the motion to deny item 90.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Okay, I think we're on round two for everyone.

So Ms.

Blair, you recognize for three minutes.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Um I have a couple of questions.

Um you said it for the to redesign that it would take seven months to a year, correct?

That's correct.

What's the cost associated with that redesign and the cost associated with the convention not having I should say the timeline of the redesign on the back end?

Absolutely.

So we have worked with uh Trinity Alliance, which is our CMAR, and we've worked with uh Perkinson Will, our designer.

We've looked at it's about five hundred and ninety-seven million dollars in additional cost that includes uh our best estimated uh look at projections of what materials etc would cost in the future, right?

So that that could change.

So just maybe just make sure that I'm clear very succinctly, how much money will this redesign cost us?

Almost a billion dollars.

How much money will it cost us in delay?

Well, total almost of that almost billion dollars, about 273 million, plus 1.4 million a month in lost uh customer generated revenue.

How many employees will you time?

How many employees do we have that will not be able to get to hotels and how much in hotel tax?

Absolutely.

So we're looking at approximately three uh three thousand immediate employees as time persists and it trickles down into employees at different levels.

We're looking at a over six thousand employees impacted, and then the uh those six thousand employees that are going to be impacted, where do the majority of them come from?

The southern sector, southeast Dallas and West Dallas.

Okay, so let me also say this.

We you said you let me confirm when we um when Chair Gracie asked before there will be two lanes south and two three lanes north, afterwards it'll be two to three lanes south and still the three lanes north on the Viaduct, correct?

Okay, and when um my my neighbor here, uh Miss Luna and Miss Cadina asked ceremonial is a different location and has a different timeline, correct?

Yes, that's correct.

And there in the construction and the timeline during construction and after construction has a different timeline, correct?

Number of in and out, correct?

On the convention center side, correct?

Before, okay, so going back to the viaducts, before during the construction, how much more time are you we actually talking about?

I think you sit before maybe three minutes in getting into downtown.

During construction in that morning peak, we have um have about an eight-minute delay in that one hour period, uh, midday.

It's um it's it's practically nothing, and we're reducing the afternoon peak also to a minute or two after after the ramp is built, then morning would be about a three-minute delay and and virtually no no delay in any other time on the northbound side.

So let me ask another let me look at let me address this a different way.

This case, I'm sorry.

This page here that has all of the changes.

If we didn't have this, would with the with the off-ramps on the viaducts be as controversial as they are now?

Um, you know, we we have um you know we we believe that as other routes open up, we haven't we haven't modeled that scenario.

We based it on the the travel counts that we have with that have that construction happening.

But um, as um Dr.

Carly mentioned, we're gonna see two of those bridges online um in mid-2027.

So we would expect improvement.

So then in 2027, which is next year, we'll see two of them back on.

We'll have Griffin back immediately after FIFA, correct?

That's correct.

So that will also it would also um help our traffic.

So basically what I'm trying to say is we are not doing anything to hinder the the getting the southern area getting in and out, but we will cost the citizens and the city of Dallas multi-million dollars if we delay the construction of the convention center.

M I correct?

You're correct.

Thank you.

Okay.

Um, you recognize for three minutes.

Thank you, Mayor.

And I think I have a slide coming up.

I hope I do.

But in the meantime, did I hear that the delay would cost one billion dollars as a response to that question?

So it's 597.

She asked me to kind of combine it, is what I heard.

And so it is the cost of redesign and reorientation, and then the cost that we've calculated through Visit Dallas and to uh some of their consultants on what it would cost in the loss of revenue, earned revenue, uh, based on our clients.

So combining those two, it's 597 plus about 273 million.

I mean, it's I've been hearing 500 million for a couple of weeks now.

It's amazing how it just keeps escalating every time we talk.

If I could correct that, the only cost that I was asked for before was the cost to redesign and re- and construct.

And so that's the cost that we were giving you.

Um, we provided after we realized that our clients were going to started to call us based on these meetings, and then some of them were gonna start to drop off.

That's when we provided information to our city manager about what the loss was in revenue.

So that 273 million is lost revenue, Mr.

Mayor.

I'd like to jump in for just a second, and I want to thank council member West for that additional question because I too have heard that there's a belief that staff is making up numbers.

We sent you a memorandum on June the 18th, where we gave a detailed chart that showed the cost of the redesign, including the cost of the various conventions that Rosa is speaking of now, so that would be in writing, and that no one would misinterpret any of the conversations around the numbers, and so if council needs us to share that with you again, but we did that on purpose because we understood that there were a lot of numbers out there and we wanted to clarify for the council exactly what the numbers are that we have been providing to you.

So that was sent out to the city council in a memorandum from me last week.

Thank you.

The other issue I wanted to clear up before moving uh moving on to the path forward is um you had mentioned in my initial round of questioning, Rosa, that um council supported um a new design work in 2024 on the viaducts, is that right?

That's correct, and I'll have uh Dr.

Kincarly speak to the agency B procurement.

Yeah, and I guess my question to as a follow-up to that was were was it expected that council members when we approved that resolution should have anticipated that the viaducts would be changed or torn down.

My comment on that is that any change uh as per the city ordinance will require a federal fair amendment, so therefore the council members uh will have to weigh in on the uh on any change uh regarding uh that impacts any of the viaducts, whether it be in uh number of lanes, alignments, and um anything that is impacting those uh that's a wonderful point, actually.

How do we what would happen if council does not approve a thoroughfare amendment for changing the Jefferson Viaduct after it's already been demolished on the north side?

Do we rebuild it?

That will have to be a conversation that we need to have with the convention center uh designers and and the team.

I think that's a huge step.

Right?

The thoroughfare plan amendment process, and I'll have Dr.

Kinkarley correct me, uh, required that we had a recommendation from the transportation committee to move forward with the applications, which we've not received yet.

So that's part of that engagement process that that you all are asking us to do is to work with the community and bring forward something that application that you feel that you can support and work with.

But once it's demolished, isn't it too late?

Are you gonna rebuild it if we don't like the thoroughfare plan amendment?

So if I could, if I could clarify, so we're again not demolishing Houston or Jefferson Viaduct, it's that 550 feet of roadway once you come off the viaducts.

So that's a you know actu a construction a construction condition that uh would allow us to continue demolition, etc.

So we would work during that time to do the engagement, and I think we've heard from everyone that and we've we've we recognize it and understand that we did not do the level of engagement that we did with other components of the convention center, and so we're gonna come back and correct that.

And just to make it easier, when I refer to demolition, I'm talking about that last 500 feet because it impacts everything else, but that's what I just wanted to make sure.

Thank you.

So we had talked about how you know the count we were alerted to by staff back in 2024 is what I was hearing, but this slide that I found from the May 21 1st 2025 briefing is still indicating that the connection for Jefferson is going to Young Street.

So, how do you reconcile that with staff's representations that we should have known before that?

Council member, do you have a I don't know what you're referring to?

Is it a this slide?

It's on slide 30 from May 21st, 2025, which still connects Jefferson to Young Street.

Um so the question is, you know, if if you're saying we sh in 2024 we approved a realignment, um, you know, why are we still why is staff still presenting this to us because I'm hearing everybody thought this was still happening up until the beginning of this year.

Um excuse me.

So the lines that you see on here, and sorry for this.

My I don't have the best vision.

Um so on this uh alignment.

This really had to do with our discussion about the about the Dart rail and being able to go through this.

I believe if I'm remembering correctly, that was when we started the discussions about cocooning the uh the DART train.

I'll have to go back and look at the entire briefing.

I don't have it with me, but look at that to see what the topic was at the at that time.

What's hard to read on here is on the bottom it says Jefferson via what viaduct two-way vehicular and it's connecting the blue line all the way to Young Street.

So yeah, if you can see it's misleading if that was not the intent of staff to have that on there.

Okay, my apologies, but yeah, I think this was trying to show you the impacted pieces, and maybe it's not clear, and I will accept responsibility for that.

If it's not clear, but it was showing where the building would sit in correlation to the to the building.

And if I remember, that's when we started our discussions about the things that would have to reorient and change on there.

One was the closure of the temporary closure of the Dart station, and then trying to show where this where the streets would sit in connection to the design.

Okay, all right.

Well, I'm hearing comments from my colleagues if if this item is going to get um voted down if there's gonna end up being a vote in support of the motion.

You know, I ask that we do push for better options for Oak Cliff.

Um, and and I appreciate you, Rosa and Deb both saying that you're you're gonna work with Michael Morris and come up with some better options, and we're gonna have true community engagement moving forward.

Um, one item that has come up I have heard from Michael Morris actually, and I've I've even heard staff mention this is extension from Memorial to Lamar Street, moving past the mobility hub, and I would ask if if that would be an item you would consider and commit to to talking about looking into today.

Um, yes, council member, you have our commitment that we'll continue that engagement as well as um we've already had Michael Morris reach out to us to continue to have this dialogue.

Thank you.

Great, and if my colleagues are not willing to raise a convention center today, um I at least ask that we you all support exploring a better option for Oak Cliff, including a possible connection to Lamar Street.

Thank you.

Ms.

Blackman, you recognize for three minutes.

Hi, okay, thank you.

I'm trying to reconcile what some things have been answered in question.

So kind of help me walk through the timeline.

I pulled, I went back and looked at Legistar, and it looks like on 519 of 2025 in transportation, we discussed a contract that was coming to 528-2025 with Grisham Smith.

So Gresham Smith.

Oh, sorry about that.

Okay.

So there were two consultants that were procured under the same procurement.

Uh we called them phase one and phase two.

Uh one was the uh Gresham Smith, and the scope was to uh design the demolition, and at that time the potential uh redesign of the new section, and then uh and that was awarded.

I think in the May um uh time frame, if I'm not mistaken, and then the phase two, which was the HNTB component, which will at that time included a potential down ramp from the uh uh Jefferson uh into hotel and and potential uh adjustments and refinements to the alignment of uh Jefferson, and that was awarded uh through council approval um uh in uh I think in August of 2025.

Because it it sounds right here that you knew that there was encroachment happening over Lamar Street in the demolition of Jefferson Boulevard Viaduct Ceph market.

I'm just trying to understand when did we know?

When did y'all know?

How missed how we missed doing any community involvement because then you go back and in the January transportation, it says that we're supposed to do community involvement.

So I'm trying to understand the whole sequence of events, when and what, and how do we correct it?

Right.

So back in 2024, we based on the discussions with the uh convention center uh uh team, basically, they were looking at different options, and when we do procurement, we do procurement based on uh uh giving us some flexibility in the scope to allow us to study the various options that could come up, and that's how it was procured.

Okay, um, and then you go back to the uh January 26 briefing to transportation, and it has the next steps, and it says we'll continue coordinating the text stakeholders to refine.

How was the stakeholder happening under that contract since January of this year?

So we have a weekly uh Thursday meeting with uh with stakeholders, such as you know UP and Dart, et cetera.

They're included so that as we walk through the design, we try not to uh interact or we're looking for joint funding, etc.

And so we continue those discussions with them.

There's several city departments on those.

We follow up on a Friday early morning call.

We do a 7 30 and an eight o'clock call every Friday and look at some of the issues that came up on Thursday and how we move forward and try to try to solve them.

And so that's the interaction we have with UP with Dart, with uh Text Dot, etc.

in order to answer some of these questions and move forward.

Um transportation is is on those as well, except during those times when it interferes with RTC.

So there was never any robust conversations with the stakeholders in the southern part of the city.

I guess that's what I'm trying to do.

You had immediate stakeholders, and I'm trying to, and I agree with Mr.

West that we need to rectify that.

Like we need to flip that on its head and go deeper into the folks that it and I think that's one we all agree on.

So I'm just trying to understand so we don't do this again.

Absolutely.

Is how did we miss that component of it?

I think that our understanding of the engagement process as relates to a transportation issue was that you come to committee, you get a move forward on the options, and at the time there were several.

You submit the our department would submit the application, and then we do the engagement so that we then come to what is the ultimate and final solution through that engagement process.

So it was trying not to get in front of that process and not to get in front of City Council, uh CPC or any of those involved in that thoroughfare amendment process.

So it was never the intent to exclude the community.

We were simply following the process to get to the solutions and the options that the committee thought best to take out into the community.

So that robust uh engagement that we did with the other parts of the convention center, we believed came after we had one or two options that would fit with that engagement process, and then we were gonna go out and do a mass engagement to get to the final solution.

So that's the reason.

What we saw in May was that the Grisham Smith final product.

No, that was phase one.

No, that was the HNTP work.

Okay, so when do we get the Grisham?

In other words, are they still on contract with this?

When do we get the Grisham Smith work?

The current Gresham Smith um work is on the temporary traffic control plan that will be part of the uh uh the uh during part of the construction.

That's the convert that's the construction part of it, and then H and T B is what is looking at all the options that are available to us to explore the possibilities and the art of possible if you will for the connect for the connectivity of the final.

So HNTB is the and that's where Mr.

Fry came in.

That is the person that's responsible for the permanent solution or the group.

For exploring the options for the permanent solutions, that is correct.

Okay, um, okay, that's it for now.

Thank you, Ms.

Cadena.

You recognize for three minutes.

Um, so it sounds if y'all are gonna continue to work on this.

Um so will that come back to to council, so or is this the final?

Um no, we um that you're absolutely correct.

We are going to continue to work on refining the design process, defining the solution through the design process, which you have um in front of you, or you know, these are the conceptual level.

Um, we'll continue to develop details.

Um, we'll continue to have engagement as we discuss with um council member West.

We're gonna continue to explore additional possibilities with Michael Morris and have those conversations with UP.

But essentially, those are the core roadway elements that we think are going to be part of that solution.

Um, but we want to listen to the communities and continue to have that dialogue.

I I am glad that Michael Morris is a part of the conversation and also Rosa and Deb and Gus, um Robin, I would just want to thank you because you know, in the beginning there was less access um to downtown, and I've seen that that has continued to prove.

I there has been some changes from when this originally rolled out, so I am super appreciative of that.

Um, you know, and these drawings are really, I think helpful also.

Um, I think in seeing this, you know, this is hard for me because I believe in smart economic development, and I love arts and culture, and I think having to delay this is hard.

You know, and I don't mean to keep harping on this, but we had a real opportunity to have a win-win for everybody, and this project should be something that everybody's proud of, and you know, I think just not having the community input though, you know, gives me some heartburn, right?

Because I think, you know, that's why I'm I that's why I ran.

That's why I want to represent my community, and so that's difficult.

But I do hope if this item passes that we're able to maintain traffic directly safely in and out of downtown, we're able to get um approval from UP railroad.

Um, I really hope that happens.

I know I've had projects that have been delayed.

I hope that vision zero is considered um on these roadways so that we can also have emergency vehicles safely access them.

I would like a briefing for the convention center transportation plan and also have a breakdown of all the transportation costs associated with the project.

Um, you know, this has been hard just because the front of the convention center was so thoughtful and well planned, and it just seems like the Oak Cliff West Dallas connection, where you know, yes, we're working on it, and it has improved from when I first saw it, but it's like we're working on it as we go, and it has um, but I am grateful that y'all are still working and um hoping to engage the community.

Thank you.

Chairwoman Middleton you're recognized for three minutes.

Thank you.

Well, I'm just gonna have to call out some of the things that were said because it's just very difficult to hear things that are documented be presented in a different way.

So there's a KERA article, published December 11th, 2025.

WFAA article published December 15, 2025, both talking about the move of conventions.

Cole Sullivan wrote an article.

It says, handful of events look to move to other cities as Dallas Convention Center project faces delay.

Again, this is 2025, and I'm gonna read parts of it to you.

It says the completion of the massive expansion of the K.

Bailey Hudson Convention Center in downtown Dallas faces a construction delay in a handful of previously booked conventions have asked to move their events to other cities.

A project spokesman told WFAA officials had most recently said the 3.3 to 3.5 billion project would be complete in March of 2029.

A spokesperson for Inspire Dallas, the team in charge of the project management on behalf of City Dallas said the building would be complete later in 2025, but didn't give specifics.

Then the city of Dallas later in the article released a statement, a press release, the title, Master Plan Schedule Update.

Also with Visit Dallas at its convention and said it's assisting those tentatively booked for 2025 and finding alternative tier one destinations.

I know we received an email like that, or maybe it was a press release, and then you have a statement from Jane Hamilton, who again is saying that a handful of events have been asked to move to other cities for their 2029 conventions.

When I look at the time frame, the Dallas Morning News in 2022 reports that the convention center is going to open in early 2028.

Then we have Visit Dallas on their own website saying in late 2023, the convention center is gonna open in 2029.

May 2025, we're told it will be March 2029.

So I think there are um some inconsistencies on what we're being told, and you know, that we have council members pulling out the maps to show you what we were shown that does not match up with the same time frame you're talking about.

We didn't find out about this change until this year, and frankly, it was at the March Transportation Committee that I found out about it.

So I'm just gonna say I'm not voting to move ahead with this until we get it right, and that is exactly what the problem was when we even put this to the voters when we went to a 30% design when we didn't have all of the facts.

And again, we're doing the same thing, moving ahead too fast without all the information and making very very costly mistakes.

Thank you.

And by the way, the city needs to stop saying things cost a billion dollars.

Mr.

Roth, you're recognized for three minutes.

Uh thank you.

Um, following up on my on my last question that I ran out of time on.

Um, can you tell us if there's an opportunity to um cancel the bike lanes, get the tr get the uh the streetcar off of that off of that road and make that a traffic lane and and somehow eliminate or expand to get rid of the pedestrian traffic so that we can access more vehicular traffic on those streets.

So uh I'll start with the bike lane.

In the city's strategic mobility plan that was adopted by council, we committed to multimodal uh uh mobility.

So uh if the uh question is about potential rerouting or exploring uh another alternative uh route, that is something that we will be actively doing in order to ensure that multi-mod uh multimobility is maintained and maintained in a safe manner.

So that's that question.

Uh the other question about the streetcar.

Uh this is an item that involves uh tax dot and the federal transit uh administration in addition to Dart.

So this is not something that the city of Dallas controls.

We have to uh coordinate with other uh agencies.

And for the record, the city of Dallas has a contract uh or an ILA with the North Central Council of Governments regarding its commitments to operate the streetcar, and the North Central Council of Governments has that agreement also with uh the FDA regarding the operation of the streetcar.

So this item of uh possibly uh looking at the streetcar operation and so on uh is something that uh we have to be uh kind of cautious on how we approach that item.

Have you all been discussing with uh with those folks about a temporary uh uh stop to the streetcar in order to facilitate the construction as one alternative number two?

Uh, has there been what would be the economic impact if the streetcar was stopped?

Uh would we have a is there a reimbursement or recapture, some kind of financial obligation on the city?

Well, again, uh uh we'll have to follow up on that, but uh I will uh um note that uh there are legal requirements uh that the city of Dallas is obligated to.

And uh also we have uh in addition to all that we have the uh yearly uh maintenance agreement that we have with Dart.

Um so that basically that item has to be uh considered as part of the discussion.

So all to say here uh uh is that this isn't not an easy straightforward answer and requires a lot more uh discussions, and because of the involvement of the various uh agencies, this may not be uh a a feasible item in the time frame that we're looking at for the construction of the convention center.

Is it possible that in a redesign of this building that uh there might be additional saving uh that so we wouldn't have to spend the complete 500 million dollars, but in the event of a redo uh redesign, perhaps there would be some savings that could be identified also to mitigate some of that that uh that see, maybe it's not all the the savings, but maybe we would get some savings, uh, even though it takes it takes uh maybe another year.

And again, I'm I'm excluding uh the lost revenue and the lost thing for my calculation.

Sure.

I mean, that question calls for a lot of speculation, but I can say the revenue sources to fund the convention center are finite, and if we're called to add another 600 million dollars in cost to the project, then there will have to be savings in the construction budget because we will have to build a smaller convention center, we will almost certainly have to reduce the sellable space to make up for the cost of the redesign, and so like I said, a lot of speculation called for in that question, but yes, we will probably end up building a less expensive and smaller convention center to balance the budget of the cost of the redesign.

How long does it take to get a thoroughfare amendment sort of processed and approved?

So the thoroughfare amendment uh takes about between four to six months, is um the the uh economic impact in for of losing five hundred million dollars in extra um cost, uh I think over a twenty-year, twenty-five year period, uh, if we do this right, if we provide it right, if we create the right connectivity, uh certainly there's a an upfront cost now, but the economic impact over a 20-year period on the redevelopment of Oak Cliff, on the redevelopment of downtown, on the stimulation of economic development here, I think is significant and may outweigh that 500 million dollars over a long period of time.

And I would really suggest that my colleagues uh consider that this is a big big deal.

This is not about one year, this is about um 25 years, and I think it affects a lot of people.

And I think that uh I'm going to vote uh against the motion to basically say that we should approve the the raise and the redesign of the building.

Thank you.

Councilmember for May, I think you have to balance the savings that you're talking about against the loss in revenue.

If we shrink our convention center and go from a tier one convention center to a tier two convention center, then the size of the bookings and number of hotel nights and the overall revenue to the city would be lesser, and so I would ask not only the consideration you're putting forward but also consider the loss in revenue from that decision as well.

I appreciate and I appreciate your clarification of that because that certainly is an offset, and obviously we haven't had any economic development uh responsibilities on that.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Chairman West, you recognize for one minute.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, if the vote to deny goes through, and I hope it doesn't, but if it does, um I would ask that councilwoman Kadena's request for the briefing to be the next briefing to go back to TRI transportation to talk about uh additional mobility options happens soon, and that public engagement accompanies that.

Is that something staff can commit to?

I'll answer that question.

Oh yes, thank you, City Manager.

And then I'll just say this just because the street cars come up a couple times.

I mean, if anything, uh we should be pulling the streetcar around into the mobility hub so that we can encourage more ridership on the streetcar instead of trying to decommission it.

Um, you know, if we want to help with the traffic congestion and mitigation, we don't want everybody in the convention center getting in a car.

We would prefer them to ride on the streetcar to come shop in Bishop Arts and go to Jefferson Boulevard and support our small businesses.

So I think if anything, we need to pull it around into the middle of the convention center with the other items.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Well, we don't usually agree about the streetcar, but we do in this point, which is we are spending almost two and a half million dollars now out of our general fund on the streetcar, and that it's not stopping at the convention center is just a crying shame.

And if there's a way for you to change that, I hope you do.

And council member West and Councilmember Melinson, um, that is part of the extension plan to bring it around.

Um I think the connectivity exhibit that you showed um included that streetcar stop, and so um those are certainly um improvements that we're looking to add.

Has any grant been submitted?

Not yet.

Okay, so given how long it takes to apply, get funded, and actually build it, um I don't know.

None of us will be here.

I'll just say that.

I don't mean electeds.

I mean none of you will be here either.

So 25 years from now, maybe there'll be a little extension of the streetcar.

So I just think this is not great planning.

And the only thing that we have talked about with the streetcar that even makes sense is for it to connect to the other for the trolley for all the other stuff, and to not put it at the convention center as part of the plan today is just pretty shocking.

Anyone else wish to speak on for against an item 90?

The motion is to deny from yeah, Mayor Johnson.

But parliamentary inquiry, could we re record vote, please?

We have we have a record vote requested.

Could we restate the or rehear the the motion?

It's been a long afternoon.

Just to refresh.

Pretty simple, go ahead.

On item number 19, I move 90.

90, 9 zero.

It's been a long afternoon.

I'm on item number 90.

I move to deny the request, it was a motion to deny it.

Mr.

Roth, what purpose?

It's a clarification.

So a vote against the motion is a vote not to deny, right?

The motion is to deny the item.

So a motion.

Your question is a vote against it would be a vote against the motion to deny.

It's not a motion to approve.

It's a motion against the motion to deny.

I'm stating it exactly what it is.

And is there is there not it's not a joint.

Do we still get a one minute or are we finished?

Um we can.

If you want if you like your minute, you can.

I'd like to have my last minute, please.

Thank you.

Um, I really think that uh that it's very important that we do this right, that we take the time that we spend the extra money and time to get it done.

I know it's going to be a severe impact initially, but long-term, that's the right thing to do.

We have insecurity on the bridge situation, and we have the potential of a huge long-term economic loss for the city if this isn't done properly.

And so I would strongly recommend that we do not approve this motion.

Thank you.

Anyone else wish to speak on for or against the motion to deny item 90?

Seeing none of record vote's been requested, madam secretary.

Go ahead and call the roll.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

When I call your name, please state yes.

If you're in favor, no.

If you oppose, Councilmember West.

No.

Councilmember Marino.

Yes.

Councilmember Gracie.

Yes.

Councilmember Kadena?

No.

Councilmember Basildua?

No.

Councilmember Blair.

Councilmember Blackman?

Yes.

Councilmember Stewart?

Yes.

Councilmember Roth.

No.

Councilmember Mendelson?

No.

Councilmember Willis.

Yes.

Councilmember Ridley?

No.

Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Johnson.

Yes.

Mayor Pro Tem Recendez.

Yes.

Mayor Johnson.

Yes.

With nine voting in favor, six opposed.

The motion passes, Mr.

Mayor.

Um, mayor Pro Tem.

For what purpose?

I have a motion.

Uh go ahead.

I move to direct the city manager to engage an independent transportation consultant to support overall delivery of all transportation components related to the K.

Bailey Hutches Convention Center, Dallas Master Plan, and seek community input and brief the city council on additional options using the Houston and Jefferson Baudas to X access downtown.

Parliamentary inquiry.

It's been moved and seconded.

State your inquiry.

Um I'd like to question if the motion is in order when we voted on the posted item, which disposed of it, and I don't believe there is a item that's been posted that corresponds with a motion made.

Thank you very much.

We'll take that under advisor right now.

The parliament inquiry, the answer to your inquiry is that according to the parliamentary, the motion is in order.

And can you state which um agenda item it corresponds to?

This is for item number 90, and it is merely asking the it is asking for future information on this item.

I'd like to continue my parliamentary inquiry.

Yes, continue.

Would it have been a would it have been appropriate to have amended the motion to include that, but now not proper since we have disposed of the item?

We have not moved to another item yet.

There is still the opportunity to get the floor by the deputy mayor pro tem.

He was recognized by the mayor, he made the motion.

Thank you.

And I'll recognize Chairman West for five minutes on the motion by the Deputy Mayor Pro Tem.

Did you hear that you heard the motion, right?

Uh could you repeat it, please?

I'll let him repeat it, not count against your time.

Just go ahead and just reread it.

No editorializing, just the actual language.

That's all we're allowing.

I move to direct the city manager to engage an independent transportation consultant to support overall delivery of all transportation components relating to the K.

Bailey Hutchins Convention Center, Dallas Master Plan, and seek community input and brief the city council on additional options using the Houston and Jebson viaducts to access downtown.

That's the motion, sir.

Okay, thank you.

Just a I had an amendment that I was going to add in on this if we got to this point.

Is your intention, uh Deputy Mayor Pro Tim, that the consultant would seek input from city council before beginning the traffic analysis?

Meaning they would seek it if you'd want.

You can answer the question if you'd like it, Council gets his time.

You don't have to he can't ask you questions.

You're not a staffer, unless you consent to at least clarify that.

No, I would my motion is to again to engage an independent transportation consultant to support overall delivery of all transportation components relating to the K Bailey Hutchins Convention Center Dallas Master Plan.

I won't I want to move to direct the city manager to do that.

So I would like to ask the city manager to respond to Chair West's uh amendment.

I was just waiting for my turn.

Thank you so very much, uh Deputy Mayor Pro Tim Johnson.

Uh if I understand correctly, um uh council member West, what you're suggesting is that um for the support of the independent transportation consultant that I think is included in the motion from the Deputy Mayor Pro Tem, is to have an opportunity before that consultant begins any work to spend time with council getting a better understanding of what might be uh potential considerations, options that you would like for them to pursue.

Did I understand what you're meaning correctly?

You did exactly.

And my answer would be I would support that.

Okay, thank you, City Manager.

What I'm trying to avoid is an amendment to the motion so that we don't have two rounds of 531.

So if if the second question I have is um, would the consultant also um would it be within their scope to do one public community meeting during this process citywide and especially in North Oak Cliff?

I strongly support that, and I think it would be an opportunity to not only do the community engagement, but to be able to bring back that result and be able to talk to the council, whether we do it through the transportation committee, which I do believe should be um the way we continue to move forward and then bring it to the full body.

So that would be a part of the scope that we would develop for the independent transportation consultant to support.

So I think it's important if we're gonna have an outside um company supporting the work that they should be in community meetings where they can answer questions about the work that they're actually uh conducting and not have those questions necessarily answered by staff.

So I support uh the spirit of it, and I do believe that it allows for us to bring fresh set of eyes and perspective to the options that we would like to bring back to the council.

Thank you.

I uh and I appreciate all of that.

I think it's really important at this point that we build trust with the community and that the city shows that community input is important and is going to be built into whatever comes from this.

Thank you.

Chairwoman Mendelssohn, you recognize for five minutes on the death mayor pro temp's motion.

Thank you.

Um I'd like to know what the source of funds is for this consultant.

In the convention center's budget, um, we always had additional um work that we knew would need to be done to support the overall convention center with all the transportation components and it's built into the way we understood a lot of the complexities in and around the convention center, some of the work that's already happening with Text Doc with Interstate 30.

So it's been a transportation line item in the convention center master plan.

So you have this item in the budget.

My answer again is that as part of the overall convention center master plan budget, we always included um support to have transportation work done in and around the convention center.

I would like to get a copy of that budget that specifies where these kinds of consultants and transportation line item is.

In fact, I would like to get an answer to the memo I sent about the convention center finances.

So that's that one.

Is there a limit to the dollar amount that you can spend, or is this another open checkbook item?

As you know, Councilwoman Middleton, we don't have open checkbooks.

Um I don't have the number right in front of me, but it would be within the scope of the budget that we planned for the convention center master plan.

So can you give me an upper limit on what would be spent?

I can answer that at this moment.

It's going to be based on the scope that we develop for the work that we need, and then have an opportunity for responses to that scope.

At that time, we would negotiate what that number is.

If it's under a certain amount that is at the city manager's authority, that item does not have to come to the council.

If it's over a certain amount, we bring it to the council.

And I think the number, if I correct me if I'm wrong, staff is it is it 300 or half a million?

If it's a professional services, 300.

So if it's over a $300,000 amount, we would bring it to the council anyway for approval.

But I won't be able to tell you an answer to that until we develop the scope that's needed to support the work.

I think I understand the motion is to make sure that this is a transportation consultant that can help with all other parts of delivery around transportation for the project.

So let us do the work and we will bring that back to council or even share with you through a memorandum of what the potential scope and dollar amount would be.

Well, I'm sitting here just thinking about the irony of having to lower the convention center because of the budget increase, and now spending more money on consultants, and we don't even know how much that'll be.

Thank you, Madam City Manager.

So yes, there are consultants who are involved in this project, but based if I understood the motion correctly, this will have to be a newly procured consultant and precludes those who are currently affiliated with the work that is ongoing at the moment.

So what is it exactly we think a different consultant's gonna come up with that HNTB didn't?

I mean, they're a very reputable company.

I mean, a large reputable company.

What is it that we think somebody might be able to come up with that hasn't already been considered?

Well, again, I will as the Madam City Manager mentioned, is that I have to uh we have to develop the scope and look at uh what is it that is gonna be delivered that is different than what the current uh consultants are unable to deliver or have not delivered yet.

So uh and that's that's something that we'll have to uh discuss.

But uh, like I said, if it is independent uh it will have to be a different consultant that um you know that is not affiliated with the current project or current work.

Okay, well, I'm sorry, this just makes no sense to me that we would just hire another one.

If we don't even know the scope, why couldn't HNTB do this work?

Like change the scope and ask them to do the next thing.

Uh so council member Melison, you mentioned earlier and and so did um Councilmember West that you'd like to add a piece like the streetcar extension.

So, you know, the the scope as the city manager mentioned, is about um the entire convention center transportation um plan.

That is a component that had been contemplated at an earlier point, is my understanding.

So this is this aligns with being able to perhaps bring some additional um ideas to the table for this particular piece of transportation, but there are other transportation elements associated with the overall project.

So are you firing HN TV then?

No, they are not being fired.

There they have a scope of work that they're currently working on.

Um what we're asking for is an independent consultant to come in and you know, as I understand the motion to come in and perhaps offer some additional alternatives, but um that would not be the sole scope of work, it would be for all the transportation components.

We talked about streets like ceremonial, um, and um we talked about connectivity to Lamar, we talked about the streetcar, so um, there are other transportation components associated with the convention center.

Well, this is sort of giving me deja vu about this whole city hall issue that we just keep oh, we don't like this answer.

Let's go to another consultant and get even worse answers.

And this is why our budget's blown.

We just keep hiring more and more consultants to redo the same work we already know and already have.

Thank you.

Is that all?

I just want to make sure.

Miss Blackman you recognize for five minutes.

Thank you, and um, I want to thank everybody who came today.