City News Roundup

Controversial Oak Lawn park gets another new name and more Dallas news

It's a pretty park no matter what you call it.

Courtesy photo

A park in the Oak Lawn neighborhood gets yet another new name, while a board designed to oversee the Dallas Police Department is in line for a makeover.

Here's what happened in Dallas news this week:

Oak Lawn Park
A park that's been at the center of controversy for two years has another new name.

Previously known as Lee Park, the name of this 14-acre community park along Turtle Creek Boulevard between Hall Street and Lemmon Avenue was changed in 2017 to its original name, Oak Lawn Park, after a Confederate statue of Robert E. Lee was removed.

But the nonprofit Turtle Creek Conservancy proposed that the name be changed again, this time to Turtle Creek Park. The group has managed the park for more than 20 years, renting out Arlington Hall and garden space for weddings and events. But according to Conservancy members, a new identity was needed to bring a fresh start to marketing for event rentals.

The decision was up to the Park and Recreation Board, who voted on April 4 to rename Oak Lawn Park to Turtle Creek Park.

A community group called Take Back Oak Lawn made a last-ditch effort to preserve the name Oak Lawn Park, but organizers failed to gather enough signatures on a petition.

The Park and Recreation Board's decision immediately renamed the park, with no new names considered for at least 60 days, in accordance with a Park Board policy.

Police board
A citizen board charged with overseeing police officer behavior and misconduct is about to get a makeover.

The Citizens Police Review Board has been involved in a year-long process to increase transparency and accountability. The board was instituted as a way for citizens to voice their concerns about police behavior to city officials. But it's been dogged by criticism.

On April 3, Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall presented a plan to add funding, staff, and authority to the existing board. Her proposal creates the Office of Community Police Oversight with a paid staff of three people to investigate critical police incidents and citizen complaints. A director would work in the City Manager's office outside of the DPD and be hired by the city manager and the board's president.

The renamed Citizen’s Police Oversight Board would still be made up of 15 residents appointed by the mayor and City Council. This group would hear cases brought forward by DPD or the oversight office and make recommendations to Chief Hall. The police chief would still make the final determination and discipline decisions.

The council is expected to consider the changes at its April 24 meeting.

I-35 closures
There will be full night-time closures of north- and southbound I-35E for work on the new Beckley bridge through April.

One is coming up next week: All lanes of northbound I-35E at Beckley Avenue will be closed overnight through an extended weekend of April 10-13. Hours of the closure will be 9 pm to 5 am April 10-12, and 9 pm to 10 am April 13.

Traffic will be diverted to the Zang Blvd./Beckley Ave. exit.

Appraisals are out
Dallas County Appraisal District begins sending out property appraisals on April 12, and will send out its last batch on May 29. The deadline to file a protest is June 13.

Politics News

Dallas narrows down field for new city manager to 4 candidates

Photo by R K on Unsplash

This is an Dallasite's sign to launch that small business they've been dreaming of.

After six months without a city manager, the city of Dallas has narrowed down the field of replacements to four semifinalists including one serving as current interim city manager, plus candidates from Fort Worth, Michigan, and Georgia.

Dallas has been without a city manager since May, when previous city manager T.C. Broadnax left to take a job with the city of Austin. Since that time, Broadnax's former chief of staff Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has served as interim city manager.

The city retained Baker Tilly, a consulting firm, to recruit and compile candidates. (Baker Tilly famously erred in the brochure it created for the position by featuring a photo of the Houston skyline instead of Dallas; they've since replaced it with Dallas.)

A spokesperson for Baker Tilly did not respond to inquiries but according to D Magazine, an email listing the candidates has been sent to the Dallas City Council.

The semifinalists include:

Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Dallas’ current interim city manager
William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth
Mark Washington, the city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Zachary Williams, a county chief operating officer in Georgia

All have more than 25 years' of public administration experience and have worked in similar capacities in their respective cities.

Before working in Fort Worth, Johnson was Baltimore’s transportation director and Atlanta’s deputy chief operating officer and public works commissioner.

Washington worked in Fort Worth and Austin before becoming Grand Rapids’ city manager.

Williams has mostly worked in Georgia at the county level, including serving as county manager in Fulton County and chief operating officer in DeKalb County.

Tolbert began working for the city in 1998, first as the city manager’s assistant and later in the aviation department. Broadnax hired her as his chief of staff in 2017.

Unlike the Mayor and the Dallas City Council, the city manager position in Dallas is not elected but is instead appointed by the city council, and is tasked with executing policies, overseeing the annual budget, and managing staff at city hall.

The council’s Ad Hoc Committee will choose finalists, introduce them to the public, and make an offer in early 2025.

politics