City News Roundup

Fair Park and State Fair of Texas revelations rule Dallas news this week

Who will rule Fair Park?

Photo by Conner Howell

Dallas is chattering about two favorite topics: Fair Park and the State Fair of Texas. Later in the week, there'll be a protest. Here's what's happened in Dallas news this week:

Fair Park rule
In May, the Dallas City Council will vote on what to do about Fair Park, and the Dallas Morning News has done some great scrutiny of that situation.

Right now, Fair Park is under the authority of the city. Mayor Mike Rawlings is pushing for privatizing it via a nonprofit foundation to be led by retiree Walt Humann.

Humann is demanding oodles of money: at least $25 million for operations, plus borrowing another $100 to $125 million for repairs.

But before moving forward, the News suggests first deciding on the goal. Would fixing up the buildings and adding a five-acre park really make people want to go there?

And if we're willing to give that money to Humann, why not just give it to Willis Winters, director of Dallas Parks & Recreation who has actually written a book on Fair Park (called Fair Park)?

State Fair of Texas fog
If Mayor Rawlings gets his way and Humann gets his foundation, the State Fair of Texas will get a seat on the board. The State Fair is the biggest tenant and wants to keep the status quo. Which means it will keep being grabby about the park. Which makes it getting a seat on the board seem like a bad idea.

That's even more true given the SFOT's lack of accountability. The State Fair claims it adds $300 million to the economy. But it has no way to prove that.

For one thing, the fair doesn't track attendance figures. Here's an amazing quote from State Fair president Mitchell Glieber: "Accounting for the accurate number of people is not critical to us," he said. "If somebody wants to say it’s 2.3 million or if someone wants to say it's 3 million, it doesn't really impact us."

One way to see if the fair brings positive economic impact might be hotel rooms. The Dallas Morning News compared nights during the fair to other times of the year, and found an average increase from 67 percent to 71 percent. That would be a measly 4 percent. No wonder the State Fair isn't into that whole accountability thing.

Making it rain
The city council approved two stupid and horrible expenditures this week.

The first was more money for outside lawyers on the city's lawsuit with Exxxotica. That brings the total to $245,000 in 60 days, which council member Philip Kingston points out amounts to $4,000 a day.

To make sure Dallas stands firm in its resolve against this soul-corrupting event, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the ladies of the Dallas Citizens Council have filed an amicus brief. A judge will review the case on April 17.

The council's second waste of money was to approve $2 million on a study of which city of Dallas buildings need to be fixed. As council member Scott Griggs notes, this money was supposed to be spent on improvements, not on studies. But city manager A.C. Gonzalez said the staff is so busy that it would take six years to figure out which buildings are in bad shape. So now we're spending $2 million to figure out where to spend more money.

Clarendon Drive protest
There's an event organized by Eric Willams and Ipayton magazine to protest the evictions taking place on Clarendon Drive.

These are the houses in bad shape that became a pet project of council member Carolyn Arnold. The council will be briefed on April 18. Dallas attorneys will go to court on April 21 and ask a judge to evict the tenants under the pretext that the houses are unlivable.

The protest will be on April 20, at 1320 E. Clarendon Dr., at 4 pm.

city-news-roundup state-fair

Train News

Dallas transportation advocates rally to encourage support of DART

Photo courtesy of DART

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Dallas transportation advocates are rallying in support of Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), the public transportation system that provides accessible transportation including buses and trains, to Dallas and surrounding cities.

It's a pushback against four Dallas-area cities that are discussing withdrawing their support. Highland Park, Farmers Branch, Plano, and Irving are all dissatisfied, claiming they don't receive enough service for what they invest.

Pulling out of DART means they would stop all service in those cities. In addition, DART’s yearly budget would decrease by millions, which would have a negative effect on the entire system.

The decision would affect more than train routes — it would impact how people across the region move, connect, and access opportunity including working people who use transit to commute. For some residents, it's their only source of transportation.

At least two of the cities — Irving and Plano — are both considering elections. Both state they'll "explore" replacement mobility solutions.

When DART was formed, the federal government required local cities to buy into the project in order to keep highway funding coming to the region. If cities are successful in pulling out of DART, that will endanger future funding opportunities.

A majority of DART’s revenue comes from a one-cent sales and use tax that its member cities pay.

Some cities, including Garland and Richardson, have expressed their support of DART.

Public transportation advocates like BikeDFW note that "when we weaken transit, we weaken connection — between neighborhoods, opportunities, and people."

Their post notes that "DART isn’t perfect — no large system is — but it’s one of the few truly regional transit networks in Texas. It connects 13 cities through rail, bus, and paratransit service. Every day, thousands of people use DART to get to work, school, and essential appointments. Pulling out of DART would not just remove train and bus routes. It would also weaken bike-to-transit connections that make multimodal trips possible, trail and sidewalk funding that often comes through DART partnerships, and regional collaboration that helps us plan safer streets and reduce congestion."

And a release from The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) stressed the importance of public transit for the future, when the region will grow to 12.4 million residents by 2050.

"It is also important that those who live, work and go to school in cities that are members of a transit system today are provided with a seamless transit service that works for them," the statement from NCTCOG said.

The four meetings are as follows:

Highland Park's meeting was on November 4 at 8 am.
Farmers Branch is November 4 at 6 pm, at Farmers Branch City Hall.
Plano is November 5 at 5 pm, at Plano City Hall.
Irving is November 6 at 7 pm, at Irving City Hall.

Advocates also recommend contacting city council members of all four of these cities to persuade them to continue their support of DART.

transportation