Park News

Dallas' Crawford Memorial Park receives $1.5M grant for upgrade

Crawford Memorial Park

dallasparks.org

A park in southeast Dallas received a million-dollar-plus grant from the state of Texas: Crawford Memorial Park, located at 8700 Elam St., was awarded a $1.5 million Urban Recreation Grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), which will go towards a comprehensive improvement project executed by the city of Dallas.

The Dallas Park and Recreation Board voted to accept the funding at a meeting on November 7. It will help fulfill a plan to improve the park that has been on the city's agenda since at least 2018.

Established in 1964, Crawford Memorial Park currently includes gardens, paved trails, a playground, athletic fields, and courts. It's also a part of the City of Dallas trails system. Its unique environmental characteristics include 266.2 acres with 27 acres of black land prairie, 49 acres of post oak savannah, a 1.4 mile-long Prairie Creek, and an Austin chalk escarpment area with exposed outcroppings.

The park is also designated as a "signature park" — a regional attraction and landmark that's part of the city's park system.

Improvements will include an all-abilities inclusive playground; picnic sites with shade; exercise complex, restrooms, outdoor furnishings, signage, and parking lot resurfacing at Prairie Creek Drive.

A 12-foot-wide, 0.95-mile hard-surface trail will connect the new amenities to existing pathways that feature two pedestrian bridges, one of which spans Elam Road.

The total budget for the project is $7,632,933, which includes funding from the grant and the 2017 bond program. Dallas Park and Recreation will oversee the design and construction.

“We are thrilled to receive this grant. It will not be used to just fund a project. It’s an investment in this park and our entire park system. Parks bring people from all walks of life and from all areas throughout the city to get fit, stay healthy, socialize, and relax," said Dallas Park and Recreation Department director John D. Jenkins.

“This grant from Texas Parks and Wildlife will help provide these additional amenities that will not only serve the local community, but the city as a whole," said Dallas City Council Member Jaime Resendez of District 5, in whose district the park is located.

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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.

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