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[Special Called Transportation and Infrastructure on February 28, 2023.]
MORNING EVERYONE.THE TIME IS NOW 9 0 7 AND I CALLED TO ORDER THE FEBRUARY 28TH, 2023 TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE AND DART BOARD SPECIAL CALLED JOINT MEETING ON BEHALF OF THE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE CHAIR.
IT IS 9 0 7 AND, UM, THE DART, UM, BOARD OF DIRECTORS CALLS ITS JOINT, UH, MEETING WITH THE CITY OF DALLAS TO ORDER.
UM, COLLEAGUES WE'RE, THIS MORNING WE HAVE TWO ITEMS, OUR THREE ITEMS ON THE AGENDA.
TWO OF THEM ARE GONNA BE TOGETHER, WHICH IS A AND B.
THEY'RE GONNA BE PRESENTED, UM, BACK TO BACK, UM, 10 MINUTES EACH MAX.
UM, THEY ALREADY KNOW, KNOW WHAT THEY, WHAT THEY CAN.
IF YOU CAN DO IT LESS GREAT, THEN WE'LL OPEN UP TO QUESTIONS.
WE WILL HAVE ONE HOUR ONLY FOR THIS SPOT.
SO BE VERY MINDFUL OF YOUR QUESTIONS.
WHAT YOU'RE GONNA ASK, UM, DART BOARD MEMBERS, YOU'LL PROBABLY BE RESPONDING MAYBE TO CERTAIN THINGS, MAYBE NOT.
IF YOU NEED TO INTERJECT, UM, JUST HIT YOUR LIGHT SO WE CAN, UM, WE KNOW YOU WANT TO SPEAK.
JUST BE MINDFUL THAT ONCE YOU PUSH IT, YOU'RE LIVE.
SO IF YOU WANT TO NOT BE HEARD, UM, IF YOU'RE HAVING A SIDE CONVERSATION, HIT THE, YOU HAVE TO HOLD THE MUTE BUTTON HERE IN, IN OUR BUILDING.
SO JUST, JUST IN CASE YOU, YOU NEED TO KNOW THAT.
UM, THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE.
AND THEN, UM, AFTER THE ONE O'CLOCK HOUR, WE WILL BE DOING THE 2020 POOR BOND PROGRAM REVIEW AT THAT.
BEFORE WE DO THAT PART, WE'LL LET THE DART, UM, CHAIR CLOSE THE DART MEETING.
AND IF YOU WANNA STAY FOR THAT PORTION, YOU'RE MORE THAN WELCOME, UM, BECAUSE IT IS A PUBLIC MEETING, BUT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO, THERE'S NOTHING HOLDING YOU BACK OR TANYA YOU TO YOUR CHAIR FOR THAT.
UM, SO WE'LL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
UM, THE PRESENTERS WE WILL START WITH, UM, ARE GONNA BE NADINE LEE, THE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT, AS WELL AS DR.
ROBERT PEREZ, THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, AND GUS CON CARLI, WHICH ARE, IS THE DIRECTOR OF DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.
I'M NOT SURE HOW Y'ALL DECIDED Y'ALL WANTED TO DO IT.
I THINK I'M FIRST ON THE AGENDA, SO, UM, IF DR.
PEREZ IS OKAY, I'LL JUST GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
UM, I'M NADINE LEE, THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF DART, AND I'M HAPPY TO BE HERE.
UM, I WAS HERE TO, OR I CAME HERE TO GIVE YOU A BRIEFING ON A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING AT DART AND JUST KIND OF UPDATE YOU ON WHERE WE ARE.
UM, SO I'M GONNA FOCUS TODAY ON OUR EFFORTS TO IMPROVE THE WRITER EXPERIENCE AND ALSO, UH, THE THINGS THAT WE'RE PLANNING TO DO TO MODERNIZE OUR SYSTEM, WHICH ARE REALLY CRITICAL FOR US TO IMPROVE THE EXPERIENCES OF OUR WRITERS AS WELL.
SO, UM, YOU MAY BE AWARE THAT, UM, I'VE BEEN HERE FOR A YEAR AND A HALF, AND, UM, DURING MY TENURE HERE, I'VE BEEN FOCUSED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY ON HOW WE'RE GOING TO IMPROVE SECURITY, CLEANLINESS, AND RELIABILITY FOR OUR RIDERS.
AND SO I'M GONNA TALK THROUGH A FEW OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING IN THAT REALM.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, I WANNA REFERENCE, UM, A MULTI-DIMENSIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY THAT WE'RE WORKING ON, UM, WHICH INCLUDES MORE THAN JUST STAFFING, UM, MORE THAN JUST LAW ENFORCEMENT STAFFING.
UM, WE ARE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY.
UH, WE HAVE A HOMELESSNESS AND MENTAL HEALTH STRATEGY, WHICH IS A PILOT WITH THE MEADOWS MENTAL HEALTH POLICY INSTITUTE.
UM, WE'RE GETTING READY TO PRESENT SOME INFORMATION TO THE BOARD HERE IN MARCH TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT PILOT LOOKS LIKE.
UM, UH, WE ARE GONNA BE FOCUSING ON OUR CODE OF CONDUCT AS WELL AS A COMMUNITY POLICING STRATEGY.
AND ALSO SOMETHING THAT MAY BE A LITTLE BIT NEW TO A LOT OF PEOPLE, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE AND HOW THAT FACTORS INTO OUR COMMUNICATIONS WITH OUR WRITERS AND, UM, AND OUR RESIDENTS AROUND THE, UH, AROUND THE REGION.
SO WE WANNA LOOK REALLY COMPREHENSIVELY AT SECURITY AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO ACTUALLY MAKE THINGS, UH, MORE COMFORTABLE FOR OUR WRITERS AS THEY, UH, AS THEY TAKE DART THROUGHOUT THEIR TRIPS THROUGHOUT OUR SERVICE AREA.
UM, THE SECOND PIECE OF OUR RIDERSHIP INITIATIVES IS CLEANLINESS.
AND SO A FEW THINGS THAT WE'VE IMPLEMENTED, UM, AS OF LATE LAST YEAR ARE OUR CLEAN TEAM INITIATIVE, WHICH INCLUDES ONBOARD PORTERS.
UH, THIS IS A PARTNERSHIP WITH UNITED COMMUNITIES OF FAITH, UH, EMPLOYING FOLKS WHO ARE FORMERLY UNHOUSED TO WORK ON OUR TRAINS AND AT OUR TRANSFER CENTERS, UM, TO HELP PICK UP TRASH AND TRY TO KEEP THINGS CLEAN THROUGHOUT THE RIDE.
UM, WE ARE IMPLEMENTING THOSE ONBOARD PORTERS SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
AND, UM, IT'S ACTUALLY BECOME A REALLY GREAT, UH, EXPERIMENT FOR US BECAUSE IT'S BECOME A PATHWAY TO EMPLOYMENT FOR SOME OF THESE FOLKS WHO WERE HO FORMALLY UNHOUSED.
UM, SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE HAD A FEW OF OUR PORTERS, UM, NOW TAKE, UH, FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT WITH, UH, THE CONTRACT CLEANERS THAT WE HAVE ON, ON BOARD.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE HAVE ENHANCED OUR LIGHT RAIL STATION CLEANING AS WELL AS OUR BUS TRANSIT CENTER CLEANING.
UM, WE HAD CONTRACTS AND, AND WE HAD SORT OF SCHEDULE BASED CLEANINGS, UM, AT ALL THOSE LOCATIONS.
NOW WE'VE ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTED
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SOME ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES WHERE WE CAN, WE HAVE TO CLEAN, UH, WITHIN LIKE AN HOUR, UM, OF, OF IDENTIFYING SOME ISSUES AT ONE OF OUR STATIONS.SO WE HAVE ADDITIONAL TEAMS OUT THERE WHO ARE TRYING TO KEEP THINGS CLEAN.
AGAIN, THIS ALL FEEDS INTO HOW PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT OUR SYSTEM.
UM, AND WE CERTAINLY, UH, AS DART WANT PEOPLE TO HAVE A NICE EXPERIENCE WHEN THEY'RE INTERACTING WITH OUR SERVICES.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE A LOT MORE FIELD INSPECTORS TO HELP US IDENTIFY WHERE THERE ARE ISSUES RELATED TO CLEANING THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED.
UM, AND ALSO TO MAKE SURE THAT ONCE WE DO HAVE SOME CLEANING DONE, THAT IT WAS DONE TO OUR STANDARDS.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE ALSO HAVE AN ELEVATOR ATTENDANCE PILOT.
UM, THIS IS DESIGNED TO HELP DETER PEOPLE FROM LIVING IN OUR STATION ELEVATOR.
SO YOU CAN IMAGINE IT'S A NICE QUIET PLACE FOR PEOPLE AT NIGHT AFTER THE SERVICES HAVE ENDED.
UM, AND IT'S ALSO PROBABLY WARM, UM, BUT IT CERTAINLY IS NOT HELPFUL FOR OUR CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE TO HAVE TO TAKE THE ELEVATOR, UM, TO, UH, ENTER THE ELEVATOR AND EXPERIENCE SOMEBODY WHO PROBABLY SHOULDN'T BE LIVING THERE.
SO WE ARE WORKING ON THAT RIGHT NOW.
UM, WE ARE HAVING SOME SUCCESS WITH THAT.
UM, PEOPLE OBVIOUSLY DON'T WANT TO BE BOTHERED WHEN THEY'RE SLEEPING IN THEIR ELEVATOR, BUT, UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO HELP THEM FIND OTHER PLACES TO GO.
UM, AND THEN I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD A REALLY NICE CUSTOMER RESPONSE TO OUR CLEANLINESS INITIATIVES.
UM, YOU KNOW, THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA AND COMMENTS, WE'RE HEARING THAT CUSTOMERS ARE FEELING SAFER SEEING THE DART STAFF ON THE VEHICLES AND AT THE FACILITIES.
UM, SO WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF POSITIVE FEEDBACK, UH, BOTH ON SOCIAL MEDIA AS WELL AS THROUGH OUR CUSTOMER CARE CENTER.
UM, I WILL NOTE, UM, SPEAKING OF SECURITY STRATEGIES, THAT WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED, WHICH I THOUGHT WAS PRETTY INTERESTING, WAS THAT HAVING THE CLEAN TEAMS ON OUR TRAINS CLEANING UP ON A REGULAR BASIS ACTUALLY HAS ALLOWED, OR HAS, HAS CAUSED PEOPLE TO FEEL MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE, UM, AND SECURE ON OUR, ON OUR TRAINS.
AND SO IT'S AN INTERESTING FINDING, UM, AND IT SPEAKS TO THIS WHOLE QUESTION OF YOU, DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO HAVE LAW ARMED LAW ENFORCEMENT AND IN ORDER TO CREATE A SECURE ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR RIDERS? ON THE RELIABILITY FRONT, WE HAVE A HUGE EFFORT RIGHT NOW LOOKING AT WHAT WE REFER TO AS SYSTEM MODERNIZATION.
UM, WE HAVE PLANS TO BRING NEW VEHICLES, UH, TO OUR SYSTEM IN THE 2026 TO 2027 TIMEFRAME.
IT'S LIGHT RAIL VEHICLES, NEW FIXER OUT BUSES, ALSO NEW VEHICLES FOR THE TRINITY RAILWAY EXPRESS.
UM, THOSE, UH, ACQUISITIONS, THOSE PROCUREMENTS OF NEW VEHICLES, UM, OBVIOUSLY WILL HAVE NEW VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY.
OUR CURRENT VEHICLES ARE ABOUT 27 YEARS OLD, THE OLDEST ONES.
UM, AND SO WITH NEW TECHNOLOGY COMES UPGRADES TO OUR FACILITIES AND OUR STATION PLATFORMS. AND AS WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR STATE OF GOOD REPAIR NEEDS, WE'RE GOING TO SPEND SOME TIME THINKING ABOUT HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO UPGRADE SOME OF OUR FACILITIES WHILE WE'RE MAKING SOME CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS.
SO, UM, SOME OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE IN MODERNIZATION ARE, WE ARE PLANNING TO ENGAGE CUSTOMERS IN THE DESIGN OF THE VEHICLES.
AND WHAT WE INTEND TO DO IS THINGS LIKE MOBILE SEAT LABS TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO COME IN AND TACTICALLY FEEL WHAT IT WILL BE LIKE TO, UH, SIT IN A TRAIN THAT HAS A, HAS THE SEATS MOCKED UP A CERTAIN WAY.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'LL GIVE US A CHANCE TO UNDERSTAND BETTER WHAT THE CUSTOMERS NEED.
WHERE DO THEY PUT THEIR BELONGINGS, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH ROOM DO THEY NEED, IS THERE, UH, WE JUST RECENTLY HAD A PRESENTATION ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF SEATS WOULD ACTUALLY ACCOMMODATE PEOPLE OF ALL SIZES.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO BE MUCH MORE INCLUSIVE AND, UH, REALLY, REALLY TRY TO, UM, ADDRESS WHAT THE CUSTOMERS NEED, AS WELL AS WHAT OUR OPERATORS AND MECHANICS NEED, UM, IN ORDER TO HAVE A GREAT VEHICLE.
SO THAT'S COMING IN THE, UH, 2026 TO 2027 TIMEFRAME, BUT YOU'LL BE SEEING US OUT THERE IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS, UM, ENGAGING WITH OUR CUSTOMERS.
IN ADDITION TO ADDITION TO THAT, WE WANNA CAPITALIZE ON NEW TECHNOLOGIES.
UM, WE HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE AN AGING AND ALMOST OBSOLETE SIGNAL SYSTEM ON OUR, ON OUR, UH, ON OUR SYSTEM TODAY.
WHEN WE GET THOSE NEW VEHICLES, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO UPGRADE SOME OF THOSE SIGNAL SYSTEMS. UM, AND THEN WHILE WE'RE AT IT, WE'RE, WE'RE THINKING WE SHOULD ENHANCE OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
UH, WE'RE GONNA MOVE TO LEVEL BOARDING.
UM, I MENTIONED THE SIGNAL SYSTEM, AND OF COURSE, IF THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES FOR UPGRADING OUR STATION STOPS AND FACILITIES, WE WANNA TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THAT.
AND THE LAST THING I'M GONNA LEAVE YOU WITH IS THAT IN AUGUST, DART WILL TURN 40 YEARS OLD.
AND SO BE, UH, BE AWARE THAT WE WILL BE PINGING YOU WITH CELEBRATIONS AND ACTIVITIES TO CELEBRATE OUR 40TH ANNIVERSARY, AND WE HOPE THAT YOU'LL PARTICIPATE WITH US AND CELEBRATE WITH US.
AND NEXT IS GONNA BE, WE'RE GONNA DO BOTH TOGETHER.
PEREZ GO AND THEN, THEN WE'LL DO QUESTIONS THAT WAY WE GET 'EM TOGETHER, CUZ YOU MIGHT BE BOUNCING BACK AND FORTH WITH SOME OF YOUR QUESTIONS.
HONORABLE CHAIRS, UH, MEMBERS OF THE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE AND DART BOARD.
MY NAME IS ROBERT BEES, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER.
UH, THIS MORNING WE'RE GOING TO, UH,
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TAKE YOU ON A HIGH LEVEL REVIEW OF SOME OF THE, UH, COLLABORATIVE ISSUES THAT WE ARE WORKING WITH.UH, CITY OF DALLAS IS WORKING, UH, WITH DART ON.
UM, SO FOR THIS PRESENTATION, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT, UH, INITIATIVES, UH, DART INTEGRATION WITH, UH, CITY, UH, PLANNING POLICY EFFORTS, AND THEN ALSO LOOK AT SOME CURRENT FUTURE CAPITAL PROJECTS AND FINISH UP WITH SOME DISCUSSION AND QUESTIONS CURRENTLY UNDERWAY.
UM, BETWEEN OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND, UM, PLANNING URBAN DEVELOPMENT TEAMS, WE ARE WORKING WITH, UH, DART, UH, TEAM, UH, TO, UH, MARKET SIX DART OWNED, UM, SITES THAT ARE ADJACENT TO LIGHT RAIL, UH, FACILITIES.
UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT THOSE TWO, UH, UH, CONSIDER OPTIONS FOR, UH, RE UH, REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT, UM, AT THE FOLLOWING STATIONS, UH, IN THE CURRENT, UH, STATION, THE HAMPTON STATION, WESTMORELAND STATION LAKE JUNE, UH, BUCKNER ROYAL LANE.
SO IN SEPTEMBER, UH, THE CITY, UH, ISSUED SIX RFPS.
THE SOLICITATION ENDED IN DECEMBER, 2022.
THERE HAVE BEEN A TOTAL OF 12 PROPOSALS THAT WERE RECEIVED.
UM, THERE'S AN EVALUATION COMMITTEE, UH, COMPOSED OF, UH, BOTH CITY AND DART STAFF.
UM, THE PROPOSALS HAVE BEEN REVIEWED, UM, IN INTERVIEWS WITH THESE SELECTED PROPOSALS.
UH, WERE SCHEDULED FOR MARCH OF 2023.
UM, THIS ITEM HAS GONE THROUGH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE.
UM, AND THE, UH, NEXT STEPS INCLUDE BRIEFING THAT COMMITTEE IN THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS.
ASIDE FROM THAT, UM, WE ENVISION, UH, A LOT OF DART INTEGRATION, UH, IN THE FOLLOWING, IN, IN A NUMBER OF OUR POLICY AND PLANNING EFFORTS TO INCLUDE, UH, THE BIKE PLAN, UH, UPDATE THE ON STREETE PARKING AND CURB MANAGEMENT POLICY, AND THEN REIMAGINING DOWNTOWN AND CORRIDOR STUDIES.
UH, SOME OF THE THINGS LOOKING AT THE CORRIDOR STUDIES, I, I WILL TELL YOU THAT WE'VE WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH DART, UM, ON OUR COLUMBIA MAIN PROJECT.
WE'RE ACTUALLY ROLLING OUT A NEW, UM, A NEWLY DESIGNED, UH, BUS STOP THAT INCLUDES, UH, BIKE LANE THAT'S ADJACENT TO A BIKE LANE, UH, WHICH WILL ALLOW FOR, UM, THERE, THERE'S, UH, I GUESS THERE'S BEEN SOME CONCERN WITH, UH, BUSES GOING INTO BIKE LANES.
AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE ROLLING ON A NEW DESIGN THAT WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE A RAMP, UH, THAT WOULD, UH, LEAD TO THE LANE WHERE A BUS STOP OR A BUS WOULD STOP SO THAT THE BUS DOESN'T HAVE TO GO INTO, UH, THE BIKE LANE.
AS FAR AS, UH, UM, LAST SLIDE PLEASE.
UM, SO AS FAR AS, UH, OTHER CURRENT AND FUTURE CAPITAL PROJECTS, UH, WE ARE CONTINUING TO WORK ON THE SILVER LINING AND THE COTTON BELT TRAIL.
UM, WE'RE DEFINITELY, UH, KEEPING OUR EYE ON THE D TWO SUBWAY AND THE POSSIBILITY OF STREETCAR.
UM, GIVEN THE, I GUESS, THE NUMBER OF THE IMPROVEMENTS TO INCLUDE THE CONVENTION CENTER IN THE DOWNTOWN, WHAT WOULD DEFINITELY WANT TO KEEP, UH, DART CLOSE TO US AS WE SCOPE OUT OUR 2024 BOND PROGRAM, UM, LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO COMPLETE STREETS AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO, UH, INTEGRATE, UH, DART OPERATIONS INTO THE DESIGN OF OUR STREETS.
UM, DART WILL ALSO BE VERY HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH US UNDER VISION ZERO PROJECTS.
AND THEN LASTLY, AS DISCUSSED WITH THE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE LAST WEEK, WE'RE CONTINUING TO WORK WITH DART ON THE EXCESS SALES TAX REVENUE PROJECTS.
AND, UM, I, I JUST, UH, JUST HANDED OUT TO YOU, UM, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WAS POSED LAST WEEK DURING TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE WAS, UH, WHERE WE STOOD AS FAR AS GOOD STANDING, UH, WITH DART, UH, ON THIS.
UM, AND THEN, UM, THE, THE QUESTION WAS POSED ABOUT, UM, SOME RUMORS, UH, AS FAR AS, UH, POTENTIAL IMPACTS THOSE FUNDS AND, UM, WHAT WHAT WAS HANDED OUT TO YOU TODAY AS, AS A FIRST RUN, UH, OF WHAT COULD POTENTIALLY, UH, IMPACT THOSE DOLLARS.
AS FAR AS NEXT SLIDE, WE WE'RE OPEN UP TO ANY DIS UH, DISCUSSION OR QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
AND ONCE AGAIN, REMEMBER WE HAVE, UM, UH, WE'RE GONNA BE FINISHED STOPPING THIS PORTION, THIS, THESE TWO AGENDA ITEMS AT 10 0 7, WE SAID GONNA DO ONE HOUR, AND THEN ONE HOUR FOR THE, UM, LAST PART ON THE, THE DOUS BOND.
UM, SO I KNOW THAT RODNEY, UH, SCHLOSSER DART BOARD MEMBER WANTED TO GIVE A REAL QUICK, LESS THAN TWO MINUTE, UM, RECAP.
SO IF YOU CAN GET THAT DONE AND THEN WE ARE GONNA GET TO QUESTIONS.
UM, FIRST I'M RODNEY SCHLOSSER.
I THINK I KNOW EVERYBODY WHO'S AT THE TABLE.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, THIS COUNCIL APPOINTED ME TO SERVE ON THE DART BOARD, UH, THREE YEARS AGO.
AND, UM, I CAME TO THIS AFTER HAVING BEEN ON THE PARK BOARD FOR EIGHT YEARS, AND I QUICKLY REALIZED THERE WERE TWO IMPORTANT DISTINCTIONS AMONG MANY BETWEEN THE PARK BOARD AND THE DART BOARD.
UM, THE FIRST WAS, UH, A SIMILARITY, WHICH IS TRADE-OFFS THAT WE ALL HAVE TO MAKE TRADE-OFFS IN THE COURSE OF WHAT WE'RE DOING.
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WHICH REALLY HAS BEEN AN AREA OF CONCERN FOR ME AND, AND REALLY A LOT OF INTROSPECTION, WAS THAT, UM, UNLIKE A CITY BOARD THAT HAS ONLY CITY REPRESENTATIVES, THE DART BOARD HAS TO DEAL ON A REGULAR BASIS WITH TRADE-OFFS WITH THE OTHER 13 OTHER 12 CITIES THAT ARE MEMBERS OF THE ORGANIZATION.AND THAT REALLY HAS MAGNIFIED OVER THE LAST, UH, TWO OR THREE YEARS ABOUT THE DIFFICULTY OF WHAT WE ARE FACING AND THEREFORE WHAT THE CITY OF DALLAS AND THE COUNCIL IS FACING.
UM, THE IDEA OF TRADEOFFS AT DART IS NOT NEW.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE LAST FEW YEARS, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS MAJOR TRADEOFFS A FEW YEARS AGO OVER BOTH THE BUILDING OF THE SILVER LINE AND THE AGREEMENT TO PROCEED WITH D TWO.
SO THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF A TRADE OFF THE SUBURBS GOT.
THEY HAD BEEN ASKING FOR, FOR A FEW DECADES.
THE CITY OF DALLAS AND THE SYSTEM GOT SOME RELIEF IN THE SECOND MAJOR DOWNTOWN, UH, LINE.
BUT HERE, I THINK IS THE CONTEXT THAT HAS CAUSED ME GREAT PAUSE, AND I WANNA ENCOURAGE US ALL, AND I'VE ENCOURAGED MY DALLAS AND SUBURBAN COLLEAGUES TO GIVE THIS THOUGHT AS WELL, IS THAT WE REALLY ARE POTENTIALLY AT A PRECIPICE.
AND THE SITUATION WITH THE SILVER LINE HAS, AS YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER MENDELSON REALLY PUT THIS ON A PEDESTAL.
UH, FOR MANY, MANY YEARS, UH, THE CITY OF DALLAS AND THE TAXPAYERS IN DALLAS FUNDED MORE THAN HALF OF DART.
UH, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE LAST FIVE YEARS, ONLY ONE OF THOSE LAST FIVE YEARS HAS HAD A SITUATION WHERE DALLAS TAXPAYERS HAVE FUNDED MORE THAN HALF OF DART SAID DIFFERENTLY.
THE SUBURBS ARE NOW FUNDING MORE OF DART THAN THE CITY OF DALLAS.
TAXPAYERS ARE FUNDING MORE OF DART.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE CENSUS INFORMATION, THE SAME TRENDS ARE HAPPENING, RIGHT? WHICH IS THAT, UH, SOMETIMES BETWEEN NOW AND THE 2030 CENSUS, THE SUBURBS AND THEIR POPULATION WILL EXCEED THE POPULATION OF THE CITY OF DALLAS.
SO I THINK THE ISSUE IS WHY DOES THIS MATTER? AND WHO CARES? AND THE REALITY IS THAT AS A RESULT OF THIS, AND AGAIN, THE SILVER LINE HAS JUST BECOME THE POSTER CHILD, IT'S NOT THE ONLY ISSUE.
WE HAVE A SITUATION WHERE THE SUBURBAN MEMBERS OF THE DART BOARD HAVE GONE FROM BEING FRUSTRATED TO BEING EXTREMELY UNHAPPY.
AND YOU MIGHT SAY, WELL, WHY DOES THAT MATTER? AND IT MATTERS IN THE SENSE THAT I KNOW THERE IS REASON FOR MEMBERS OF THIS COMMITTEE AND OTHERS ON THE COUNCIL TO BE FRUSTRATED WITH THE DALLAS MEMBERS OF THE DART BOARD.
AND I CAN SPEAK FOR MYSELF, BUT I THINK MANY OF MY COLLEAGUES AROUND THE TABLE WOULD AGREE.
WE ARE ON A REGULAR BASIS HAVING TO DEAL WITH VERY TENSE SITUATIONS ON THE DART BOARD, WHICH COME DOWN TO A QUESTION OF GOVERNANCE AND CONTROL.
AND THERE IS A GROWING SENTIMENT, AND THERE'S AT LEAST ONE, I THINK TWO MEMBERS OF THE DART BOARD FROM OUTSIDE OF DALLAS WHO ARE HERE TODAY, WHO CAN SPEAK TO THE ISSUE OF TAXATION WITHOUT EQUAL REPRESENTATION.
RIGHT NOW, DALLAS HOLDS EIGHT OF THE 15 SEATS.
BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THIS FROM, FROM A MACRO PERSPECTIVE, DALLAS HAS LESS THAN HALF OF THE TAX REVENUE.
AND THIS INCREASING FIRE OF DISAGREEMENT AT THE DART BOARD IS RESULTING WITH RESULTING IN GROWING MOMENTUM TO ASK THE LEGISLATURE TO CHANGE OUR ENABLING LEGISLATION.
MR. SCHLOSSER, I'M GONNA, I I I WAS TOTALLY, IT WAS GONNA BE A QUICK RECAP OF WHAT WAS PRESENTED TODAY, SO I APOLOGIZE, BUT YOU'RE KIND OF OFF AGENDA, SO I'M GONNA HAVE TO EITHER BRING YOU IN TO, YOU KNOW, YOU GOT FIVE SECONDS OR WE CAN MOVE ON.
I DIDN'T REALIZE IT WAS GONNA HAPPEN THIS EARLY IN THE SESSION.
I'D RATHER HAVE THIS CONVERSATION IN THE BROADER CONTEXT THAT WE'RE ABOUT TO MOVE TO, WHICH IS THE CURRENT ISSUE OF THE UNALLOCATED SALES TAX.
UM, WE'RE GONNA START WITH MR. ATKINS.
YOU HAVE THE FLOOR AT THIS TIME.
UM, UH, CHAIRMAN, COULD YOU TELL US, WE GOT A TIMEFRAME HERE, SO I WANT TO KNOW HOW MUCH TIME DO I HAVE AND HOW MUCH TIME RESPONDS? SO THEREFORE, I WANT NO ONE TAKE MORE TIME THAN I DO, UH, DRAFT VICE VERSA.
SO, UH, WHO GONNA PUT US ON THE CLOCK? I'LL BE WATCHING AND EVERYBODY'S GONNA HAVE BETWEEN FIVE AND SEVEN MINUTES BECAUSE WE DO HAVE TO BE DONE WITH THIS AT SEVEN AFTER, IN ORDER TO GET TO THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM FROM THE LAST ONE.
SO I KNOW IT'S GONNA BE QUICK AND BRIEF, BUT, UM, PLEASE TRY TO GET YOUR QUESTIONS TO BE QUESTIONS AND NOT, UM, LONG DIALOGUES.
CAUSE WE ONLY HAVE A LIMITED TIME ON THIS ITEM.
OKAY? I'M GOING TO DIP INTO THE SALE TAX REVENUE.
WHAT IS, UH, WE'VE BEEN HEARING THAT WE SUPPOSED TO HAVE, UH, ROUGHLY $111 MILLION.
AND I'VE BEEN HEARING THAT WE DONE CUT DOWN THAT WE MIGHT HAVE ROUGHLY $60 MILLION BECAUSE, UH, UH, DIFFERENT ISSUES THAT WE HAVE NOT CAME TO CONCLUSION ABOUT, ESPECIALLY ON SOME OF THIS PROJECT THAT DR.
PET USED TO HANG OUT AT FIRST WE'RE 20 MILLION.
SO MY DEAL IS WHAT DO THE CITY TAXPAYER THINKING BY WHAT WE MIGHT RECEIVE OF THE HUNDRED 11 MILLION AS OF TODAY? AS OF TODAY, IF WE WERE TO CALCULATE THE DELAYS AND THE BETTERMENTS TOGETHER, WE'RE LOOKING AT SOMEWHERE ON THE ORDER OF,
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I THINK IT'S, UM, UM, SO IT'S, UM, 33 MILLION FOR BETTERMENTS, 50 MILLION FOR DELAYS.OKAY, 33 MILLION FOR, BUT THAT'S AS TODAY, THAT'S AS OF TODAY.
AND EVERY DAY IS COST US HOW MUCH MONEY IN DELAYS.
UM, THAT NUMBER I'M STILL WORKING ON TRYING TO GET, BUT, UM, YOU CAN GUESS, GIVE ME A GUESS.
$150,000 A MONTH, $150,000 A DAY.
SO EVERY DAY DELAY COSTS $150,000.
AND WHAT IS THE HOLD UP IN DELAY? WHAT IS THE HOLD UP? WHAT IS THE MAIN HOLD UP THAT WE CANNOT RECEIVE OUR MONEY? SO WE HAVE, UM, THERE A LOT OF IT IS TRYING TO GET THE RESOLUTION ON WHAT OUR DESIGN IS GOING TO BE.
UM, WE'VE HAD SOME ISSUES WHERE, UH, I DON'T THINK IT'S BEEN ANY SECRET THAT WE'VE REVISITED SOME ISSUES THAT WERE DECISIONS THAT WERE MADE A LONG TIME AGO.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'VE HAD SOME TROUBLE GETTING THROUGH OUR DESIGN REVIEWS, UM, AND GETTING THEM TO APPROVALS AND THEN ALSO GETTING OUR CONSTRUCTION PERMITS.
THOSE ARE THE PRIMARY AREAS OF DELAY.
PAT, YOU WANT TO RE THAT? UH, IN, IN ADDITION TO THAT, SIR, I HAD ALSO MENTIONED, UM, UH, ASIDE FROM THE DESIGN, UH, I THINK THAT WE HAVE SOME SERIOUS CONCERNS WITH THE, UH, I L A, UM, AS HAS BEEN PRESENTED TO US, UH, WHICH EVEN ALLOWS FOR ANY OF THESE, UH, RETROACTIVE, UH, CHARGES.
SO, UM, I I THINK IT'S TWO FOLDED.
IT IS THE COMPLETION OF THE DESIGN AS WELL AS THE, UH, SOME OF THE LANGUAGES IN THE I L A THAT'S BEEN PROPOSED OR THAT HAS BEEN SUBMITTED TO US BY DART.
AND THIS REPORT YOU GAVE US TODAY, WE JUST RECEIVED, WHAT DO THIS HAVE TO DO WITH OUR ILA AND THE WHOLE UP? SO THIS GOES BACK, SIR, TO SOME OF THE, UH, DESIGN ELEMENTS THAT, UH, THE DART TEAM, UH, BELIEVES ARE BETTERMENTS.
UM, WE, WE RECEIVED THIS AS A STAFF YESTERDAY.
AND SO, UH, GOING THROUGH IT, UM, GUS HAS IDENTIFIED, I'M SORRY, DR.
CON, CARLY, DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION, HAS IDENTIFIED ANYWHERE FROM 80 TO 90% OF THOSE ITEMS THAT WE BELIEVE ARE DESIGN REQUIREMENTS AND NOT NECESSARILY BETTERMENTS.
UM, SO THAT, THAT'S THE LIST THAT IS, IS BEING PROVIDED.
AND PART OF, UM, SOME OF THOSE ITEMS THAT ACCOUNT FOR THIS DEDUCTION.
WHEN YOU SAID DESIGN CRITERIA, IS THAT BASED ON WHAT DESIGN? UM, THE CHANGE ORDERS OR WHAT? I MEAN, AS A WHOLE, WHAT IS THAT BASED ON? DID WE COME UP WITH THESE DESIGNS, THE DO COME UP WITH THESE DESIGNS? DID WE APPROVE THESE DESIGN? HOW DID THE 30 SOME MILLION CAME INTO, HOW DID IT GET THERE? UH, I'LL DEFER TO GUS ON THAT.
GOOD MORNING, HONORABLE CHAIR AND MEMBER OF THE, UH, UH, UH, UH, COMMITTEES.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.
SO, UM, WHEN WE STARTED WORKING ON THE, UH, UH, SILVER LINE, THIS IS MORE OF A, UH, MACRO ITEM THAT, UH, INVOLVED THE CITY POLICIES AS WELL AS FEDERAL RULES.
SO JUST TO GIVE YOU A, UH, KIND OF BRIEFING ON THIS HERE IS THAT FROM THE ONSET OF THE DISCUSSIONS WITH DART, THE ISSUE OF, UM, THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE RISKS THAT WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROJECT, INCLUDING, UH, AND IT'S NOT ONLY THIS IS THE CITY OF DALLAS, BUT THIS IS ALSO FOR OTHER CITIES WHEREBY, UM, WHEN THE, AND I BELIEVE THE, THE CONTRACT WAS SET UP IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE DESIGNS WERE TO BE, UH, TO COMPLY WITH THE DART STANDARDS AND POTENTIALLY FAIL TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WHEN ANYTIME THAT YOU CROSS A CROSSING AT A GIVEN CITY, WHETHER IT BE IN DALLAS PLAIN OR OTHER PLACES, IS THAT THERE WILL BE SOME DESIGN REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CITIES AND OR, UH, UH, FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.
SO, UM, GOING BACK TO THAT TIME, WE MENTIONED THAT THE, THESE ARE THINGS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION AS PART OF THE CONTRACT FROM THE BEGINNING.
WE HAD MENTIONED THAT, UH, THERE ARE SPECIFICS ON SOME OF THE CORRIDORS, AND ACTUALLY IN THE EARLY STAGES OF THE PROJECT, WE SAID THE TWO EASIEST CORRIDORS TO HANDLE WERE THE DALLAS NORTH TOLLWAY AND DALLAS PARKWAY AND COIT.
THE REASON BEING IS THAT IRRESPECTIVE WHAT THE END RESULT ON THE DESIGN OF COIT, THE CONCEPT OF THE DESIGN IS GONNA BE THE SAME.
AND THE TWO MAIN ITEMS THAT WERE, UH, UH, POINTS OF DISCUSSIONS AND PROBLEMATIC WERE PRIMARILY ADA COMPLIANCE AS WELL ACCESS TO THE DALLAS WATER UTILITIES LIFT STATION.
SO, UM, TO START WITH, FOR EXAMPLE, ON COIT, BECAUSE SOME OF THIS STUFF HERE IS MENTIONED ABOUT COIT,
[00:25:01]
UH, VERY FEW PEOPLE KNOW THAT COIT IS ON THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY SYSTEM, UH, UH, UH, UH, UH, UH, AS PER FEDERAL, UH, CLASSIFICATION, AND THEREFORE IS SUBJECT TO FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS, BASICALLY THE ROADWAY HAS TO MEET CERTAIN, UH, DESIGN CRITERIA.
THE OTHER THING IS THE FACT THAT ON THE ADA REQUIREMENTS WE HAVE BEEN SAYING ALL ALONG IS THAT, UH, ANYTIME THAT YOU'RE RECONSTRUCTING A FACILITY, AND THIS IS AGAIN IN LINE WITH WHAT COUNCIL HAS APPROVED AS FAR AS A STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, SPECIFICALLY THE POINT OF EQUITY, AND THEN ON THE VISION ZERO OF MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE BEING HELD, UH, ARE BEING TAKEN CARE OF.
UH, FROM A SAFETY STANDPOINT, WE SAID, OKAY, WHEN YOU RECONSTRUCT THIS ROADWAY, WE NEED TO HAVE THE, UH, ALL THE ADA COMPLIANCE.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, UH, WHAT WE CONTINUE TO GET IS WE MADE THE COMMENTS BACK IN JULY OF 2021, EVEN TO THIS DATE, WE STILL DON'T HAVE A, UH, COMPLIANCE WITH THE REQUEST OF MAKING SURE THAT ALL THE FACILITIES ARE, UH, IN, IN ADA COMPLIANCE.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE GOT THE DISPOSITION FROM THE DESIGN ENGINEER FROM, UH, DARTH.
AND IT SAYS, ONE OF THE THINGS, IT IS NOT FEASIBLE TO MAINTAIN A CROSSWALK AT SUGAR CANE DURING CONSTRUCTION.
PEDESTRIANS HAVE TO WALK DOWN TO MCCOLLUM TO CROSS OVER TO WEST SIDE.
ADDITIONALLY, THERE IS NO CROSSWALK IN THE EXISTING CONDITION.
SO WHAT THIS IS TELLING US IS, OH, BY THE WAY, IF YOU ARE A HANDICAP OR IF YOU ARE A PEDESTRIAN, YOU'RE GONNA WALK 1200 FEET DOWN, CROSS ON A, UH, EXISTING TRAFFIC SIGNAL THAT IS OLD, AND THEN GO BACK 1200 FEET AGAIN TO GET TO WHERE YOU'RE TRYING TO GO.
SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WILL SAMPLE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE GETTING.
SO WE ARE, WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING IS COMPLYING WITH THE CITY REQUIREMENTS, WHAT COUNCIL HAS SET UP FOR US, AS WELL AS, UM, UH, THE TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL RULES, ADA COMPLIANCE, AND SO ON.
SO, A VARIETY OR SEVERAL THINGS THAT ARE IN THIS LIST FALL IN THESE CATEGORIES.
I THINK MR. CHAIRMAN, SEE HOW, CANNOT GIVE THIS LAST QUESTION, UH, TO DART INTO THE CITY.
UH, WE ARE SAYING WE ARE IN DEFAULT MIGHT BE THE WRONG WORD, THE PERMITS BEHIND WHATEVER.
HOW DO THE CITY MANAGER DART OF ATTORNEYS? ARE WE WORKING THIS OUT? AND I NEED A TIMELINE, A DEADLINE THAT WE CAN COME WITH A CONCLUSION BECAUSE EVERY MINUTE IT COSTS US $150,000 A DAY, $150,000 A DAY.
GET IN A ROOM, GET THIS RESOLVE.
SO WE DON'T, WE DON'T GET $111 MILLION.
WE MIGHT GET 50 MILLION, WE MIGHT GET ZERO.
CAUSE EVERY TIME IT EATEN UP, AND ONE THING, I KNOW THE SILVER LINE IS STILL GONNA GET BUILT, BUT WE AS A CITY DOLLARS GONNA LOSE MONEY.
THE OTHER PART OF THE CITY, THEY GONNA GET ZERO.
SO GET IN THE ROOM, CLEAN IT UP, AND GIMME A TIMELINE, MR. CHAIR, ASK EM FOR THE TIMELINE, A DEADLINE TO GET IT DONE AS THE CITY MANAGER, LETS GET IT DONE AND FIND OUT HOW MUCH MONEY WE GONNA GET BACK TO OUR TAXPAYERS.
Y'ALL WANT TO, CAN WE GET A TIMELINE AND YOU GET IT TO US AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, PLEASE.
I JUST WANNA COMMENT, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO WORK WITH THE CITY STAFF, UM, TO GET ALL OF OUR PLANS REVIEWED AND APPROVED WITHIN THE 10 DAY TIME PERIOD THAT WAS REQUIRED IN THE ILA, UH, THE PREVIOUS ILA THAT YOU ALL ALREADY SIGNED.
UM, AND WE HAVE SOME PLANS THAT TOOK 290 DAYS TO GET A RESPONSE.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE ARE WILLING TO WORK WITH EVERYONE.
I THINK LATELY WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM THROUGH THE DESIGN AND REVIEW PROCESS, UM, AND WE ARE ACTUALLY GETTING SOME TURNAROUND.
IT'S STILL TAKING MORE THAN 10 DAYS, I GET THAT.
UM, BUT WE ARE HAVING COMMENTS, RESOLUTIONS, MEETINGS TO TRY TO MOVE EVERYTHING FORWARD.
SO WE ARE, YOU KNOW, ON THE DART SIDE AND, AND CERTAINLY ON THE STAFF SIDE, WE'RE TRYING TO WORK TOGETHER TO EXPEDITIOUSLY PROCESS ALL OF THOSE DESIGN REVIEWS AND APPROVALS.
UM, WE ARE STILL WAITING ON CONSTRUCTION PERMITS.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT ONCE WE GET THROUGH THE DESIGN APPROVAL, THE CONSTRUCTION PERMIT SHOULD COME QUICKLY.
UM, IN SOME CASES WE'RE GOING TO THE PERMIT OFFICE TO GET THE PERMIT, UM, MULTIPLE DAYS IN A ROW AND BEING TURNED AWAY EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE OUR PLANS APPROVED.
SO WE ARE WORKING ON TRYING TO GET THOSE THING, THOSE CONSTRUCTION PERMITS SO THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY GO AND DO OUR WORK CHAIR.
CAN WE HEAR FROM STAFF IN RESPONSE TO THAT? I MEAN, IF THERE'S A DELAY OF COUPLE HUNDRED DAYS, I'D LIKE TO HEAR ABOUT THAT AT THIS TIME.
YOU'RE OUTTA ORDER CHAIR MENDELSON.
WE'RE WE'RE WE, I HAVE, THERE'S A QUESTION I HAD.
MR. ATKINS HAS THE FLOOR RIGHT NOW, AND WHEN IT'S YOUR TURN, YOU CAN ASK THOSE QUESTIONS.
[00:30:01]
SO NEXT, UM, HOW THINGS ARE GOING IS, I'M GONNA GO TO THE RIGHT AND THEN THE LEFT WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS.UM, CHAIR WILLIS, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR AT THIS TIME.
AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
UM, SO A COUPLE OF THINGS HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP.
I, I WAS PLANNING TO GO KIND OF TOWARD THE END HERE, BUT, UH, SOME THINGS WERE JUST BROUGHT UP THAT OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS I'VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT, UH, WITH REGARD TO THIS.
AND IT'S KIND OF A HE SAID, SHE SAID, AND I DON'T MEAN THAT LITERALLY
AND SO MAYBE WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A 10 DAY, UH, LACK OF A 10 DAY RESPONSE, IT MAY BE BECAUSE THAT SHOT CLOCK CAN'T EVEN START BECAUSE THERE ARE NON-RES RESOLVED ISSUES.
AND, UM, I AGREE WITH CHAIR MENDELSON, WHAT SHE WAS GETTING AT.
IF THERE'S A A A A RESPONSE OF 200 DAYS, I MEAN, THAT'S A BIGGER DEAL AND WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT.
UM, I ALSO KNOW THAT ON DART'S SIDE OF THE COURT, UM, I'VE HEARD ABOUT DELAYS IN RESPONSE AND THERE PROBABLY ARE SOME THINGS THAT YOU ALL WOULD REFUTE OR REBUT WITH REGARD TO THAT.
AND ONE THING THAT'S COME OUT OF THIS AFTER LISTENING TO THIS GOING BACK AND FORTH AFTER ALL OF THESE MONTHS, AND WITH SO MUCH MONEY AT STAKE AND WITH WHAT CHAIR ATKINS WAS TALKING ABOUT WITH THIS, UH, SALES TAX THAT CAN HELP US BOTH ACCOMPLISH GREAT THINGS FOR OUR RESIDENTS, UM, IS THAT I, I FEEL LIKE WE NEED FACILITATION.
I FEEL LIKE WE NEED TO BRING OUR ISSUES, UH, THESE POINTS THAT KEEP GETTING BATTED BACK AND FORTH WITH NO RESOLUTION AND LOTS OF CONTENTION, AS MR. SCHLOSSER POINTED OUT.
I MEAN, IT'S JUST, IT'S GETTING, IT'S THIS BAD MARRIAGE.
IT'S SOUNDING LIKE A BAD MARRIAGE.
AND THE WAY YOU CAN GET AT THIS IS WITH SOME SORT OF COUNSEL.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US CONSIDER AN OBJECTIVE FACILITATOR TO BRING THESE ISSUES TO THE TABLE AND FIGURE OUT WHETHER DISCUSSING THESE DELAYS AND YOU DID THIS AND YOU DID THAT REALLY GET TO THE HEART OF MOVING THIS PROJECT FORWARD, OR ALL OF OUR PROJECTS AND OUR RELATIONSHIP FORWARD.
SO, UM, I WANNA INTRODUCE THAT THOUGHT, AND I'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL WHEN IT GOES AROUND.
UM, IF, IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE MIGHT NEED TO DO BECAUSE I I DON'T FEEL LIKE WE'RE MOVING FORWARD IN A PRODUCTIVE WAY AND, UM, OR EVEN MOVING FORWARD.
AND SO WITHOUT GETTING GRANULAR ABOUT THE I L A, WHICH IS OF CONCERN TO ME, I UNDERSTAND PLANO IS CONCERNED ABOUT IT AS WELL, AND MAYBE OTHERS.
UM, I JUST, IT FEELS LIKE THERE'S, IT'S TIME FOR OBJECTIVE CONSIDERATION AROUND THESE POINTS SO WE CAN RESOLVE THEM AND MOVE FORWARD.
UM, COULD YOU DEFINE GOOD STANDING? SO THERE ARE SEVERAL PROVISIONS ON GOOD STANDING, AND I'M GONNA REFERENCE, UM, MY DOCUMENT JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT I DON'T MISS ANY.
UM, BUT IT STARTS WITH ASSURING THAT, UM, ANY CITY THAT SIGNS THE I L A WILL ACTUALLY ENSURE THAT THEY'RE PAYING ANY OUTSTANDING DEBT OWED TO DART.
UM, SO, AND, AND I'LL JUST USE, UM, A PARTICULAR EXAMPLE IN THE CITY OF DALLAS FROM A COUPLE YEARS AGO.
UM, WE HAD A PAYMENT THAT WAS DUE TO DART FOR THE STREETCAR OPERATION THAT HAD NOT BEEN MADE.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IT HAS SINCE BEEN MADE, JUST SO YOU KNOW.
UM, BUT THAT WOULD BE AN EXAMPLE IF IT, IF YOU HAD AN OUTSTANDING PAYMENT TO DART FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, WHERE WE ARE OPERATING THE STREETCAR, YOU OWN IT.
UM, AND SO IT WOULD BE LIKE PAYING ANY OF YOUR CONTRACTORS.
UM, SO ANY OUTSTANDING PAYMENTS TO DART, UM, WOULD HAVE TO BE, UM, WOULD, WOULD HAVE TO BE FULLY PAID.
SO, UM, THE OTHER, THERE'S, THERE'S SEVERAL PROVISIONS.
UM, SO THE OTHER ONE, ANOTHER ONE IS THAT, UM, THE CITY SHALL HAVE TIMELY ACTED UPON AND FULLY SATISFIED.
ALL APPLICATIONS ARE SUBMITTALS BY DART OR DART DART'S CONTRACTOR FOR PERMITS, UM, REQUESTS FOR PROJECT DESIGN REVIEW COMMENTS AND APPROVALS, INCLUDING THINGS LIKE TRAFFIC CONTROL PLANS AND THAT, THAT SORT OF THING.
SO REALLY DESIGN APPROVALS, DESIGN REVIEWS, UH, PERMIT ISSUANCE AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, AND, UM, AND THAT IS, BY THE WAY, UH, THAT APPLIES TO, UM, APPLICATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN, UH, SUBMITTED EVEN PRIOR TO THE I L A BEING SIGNED.
AND THEN THE OTHER PIECE IS, UM, THE CITY SHALL HAVE ALSO PAID OR FORFEITED FROM THE CITY'S FUNDS, ALL COSTS AND EXPENSES RESULTING FROM ANY DELAYS TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF DART'S PLAN CAPITAL PROJECTS, WHICH ARE CAUSED OR ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE CITY.
AND SO THAT SPEAKS TO THE BETTERMENT'S PIECE.
UM, AND THOSE ARE THE THREE PROVISIONS TO REMAIN IN GOOD STANDING.
SO I THINK THAT THAT ACTUALLY SPEAKS TO, UM, CHAIR WILLIS'S POINT ABOUT NEEDING FACILITATION BECAUSE THERE'S AMBIGUOUS LANGUAGE THERE, AND THERE'S, AND THAT'S WHERE THESE PROBLEMS ARE FALLING IN.
SO I WOULD ALSO WEIGH IN ON THAT IMPORTANT TO LIKE, DIG IN ON EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE AND SAY, OKAY, WHOSE DELAY IS THIS? YOU KNOW, WHICH SOMEONE'S GONNA HAVE TO GET IN THE MUD, AND I THINK DOING IT IN THIS FORM IS NOT THE RIGHT
[00:35:01]
LOCATION.THAT SAID MY QUESTION, UM, FOR THE FUTURE, FOR THE, UH, POTENTIAL I L A REGARDING THE SALES TAX FUNDS, UM, IF I, IN YOUR OPINION, IF THERE ARE ISSUES OVER TIME THAT TAKE US IN AND OUT OF GOOD STANDING, WHAT WILL BE THE PROCESS FOR WITHIN THAT I L A PROCESS? I THINK WE NEED TO IRON THAT OUT IN ADVANCE SO THAT WE CAN'T, YOU CAN'T CLAW BACK MONEY BECAUSE THERE WAS A PERMITTING DELAY OR WHATEVER.
I, YEAH, AND YOU CAN ANSWER IT.
OR IF YOU ALREADY KNOW THE ANSWER FOR IF THAT'S BUILT IN TO WHAT OUR AGREEMENT WILL BE.
IF NOT, I WANNA ADD THAT TO THE LIST OF THE THINGS WE NEED TO DO REGARDLESS OF THE AMOUNT.
UM, BEING IN GOOD STANDING IS, YOU KNOW, DART IS NOT ASKING THE CITY TO DO ANYTHING ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT THE CITY ALREADY AGREED.
BUT IF, UM, SO STAYING IN GOOD STANDING IS ACTUALLY NOT DIFFICULT.
UM, IT IS A MATTER OF WORKING WITH US TO REVIEW THESE PERMITS AND OR TO ISSUE THESE PERMITS AND REVIEW ALL THE, WELL, I THINK IT'S EASY FOR YOU TO SAY THAT, BUT LOOK WHERE WE ARE NOW, RIGHT? IT'S NOT EASY.
IT'S NOT EASY BECAUSE GOOD STANDING THEN BECAUSE IT'S GOT AMBIGUITY BUILT INTO IT, UM, OR THE POTENTIAL OF BOUNDARIES BEING EXPANDED, RIGHT? THEN I THINK WE NEED TO REALLY BE SUPER CLEAR ABOUT THAT, PARTICULARLY WHEN WE HAVE OTHER PEOPLE IN THE COM IN THE REGION WHO WOULD LIKE VERY MUCH FOR THIS NOT TO SUCCEED.
AND SO WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE'RE GONNA WORK THIS THROUGH, AND POTENTIALLY FOR YOU, SINCE YOU'RE THE NEXUS FOR EVERYTHING, FOR EVERYBODY, SO THAT THERE'S OBJECTIVE MEASURES THAT NOBODY COULD SAY, WELL, WHAT'S A DELAY? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? RIGHT? THAT KIND OF THING.
UM, YEAH, AND I WOULD JUST SAY IT TOO THAT, I MEAN, THERE'S A PROVISION FOR ESCALATION IF THERE'S A DISAGREEMENT ABOUT GOOD STANDING THAT IT ESCALATES TO ME AND YOUR CITY MANAGER, RIGHT? OR ANY CITY MANAGER, ANY CITY.
BUT, UM, BUT I THINK WE CAN WORK THOSE THINGS OUT.
TC HAS BEEN A REALLY HELPFUL, UH, PERSON TO WORK WITH HERE AT THE CITY.
AND, AND, AND THE, I THINK THE OTHER PIECE SPEAKS TO THE COMMUNICATION.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN I WAS LOOKING AT THESE, YOU KNOW, AND I REMEMBER BEING IN THE ROOM WHEN LEE KLIMAN AND SANDY GRAYSON WERE NEGOTIATING A LOT OF THIS LONG BEFORE ALL OF US, AND I WAS THERE WITH THEM, AND SO THEY WERE NEGOTIATING THEN NEGOTIATING WITH YOU.
A LOT OF THESE THINGS PROCEEDED MOST OF US HERE AT THE TABLE, THE HORSESHOE.
AND I THINK THAT WHAT WAS NEVER PUT IN PLACE THAT WE MUST, IF WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD SUCCESSFULLY, IS WHAT IS GOING TO BE THE COMMUNICATION, UM, FOR THIS.
SO IF YOU'RE HAVING A DELAY, IS THE PROTOCOL.
THE PROTOCOL NEEDS TO BE PUBLIC AND WELL ESTABLISHED.
SO IF YOU'RE HAVING A DELAY, YOU CALL TC AND THEN HE WORKS IT OUT.
WHAT HAPPENS SO THAT WE, I I SHOULD SAY, AM COMPLETELY BLINDSIDED BY THIS, COMPLETELY BLINDSIDED BY THIS.
AND SO THAT SPEAKS TO POOR COMMUNICATION THAT WE HAVE TO WORK OUT.
AND IF THERE'S PROBLEMS AT AN INTERSECTION, IF THERE'S PROBLEMS WITH SOMETHING, THEN I DON'T THINK THAT NEGOTIATING WITH ONE COUNCIL MEMBER, REGARDLESS OF WHOSE DISTRICT IT IS, IS THE RIGHT APPROACH FOR DART EVER.
AND I THINK THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE A BETTER COMMUNICATION SYSTEM THAT WILL ENFORCE THE NEEDS OF ALL OF DALLAS.
THAT'S HOW WE SEE THAT THIS IS NOT A DISTRICT 12 ISSUE.
AND SO WE ALL HAVE TO STAND BEHIND IT AND FIGURE OUT HOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD COMMUNICATION.
SO I'M GONNA ADD THAT TO THE LIST OF, OF PROTOCOLS AND DEFINITIONS THAT WE NEED.
UM, UH, IN THE SPIRIT OF TIME, I'M GONNA GO QUICK.
UH, I HAVE A COUPLE THINGS WITH, UM, WHAT YOU MENTIONED IN, UM, YOUR PRESENTATION AT THE BEGINNING.
UM, IT'S GOOD TO HEAR YOUR INITIATIVE WITH OUR UNSHELTERED.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR, UM, EFFORTS TO HELP WITH THAT.
THAT IS DEFINITELY NOT JUST A CITY OF DALLAS, UM, EFFORT.
UM, I, I DO STILL WANT TO EMPHASIZE TO YOU AND TO THE BOARD MEMBERS THAT WE HAVE HERE, UM, THE, UH, HOW, HOW IMPACTFUL IT COULD BE TO, UH, EXPAND WHAT WE HAVE AS RIGHT CARE, UH, WITH OUR D P D AND A PARTNERSHIP, UM, UH, FOR MORE OF A REGIONAL APPROACH TO, UH, RESPONSE TO MENTAL HEALTH, UM, THAT I, I BELIEVE COULD BE VERY IMPACTFUL AT OUR STATIONS.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, YOU MENTIONED, UM, SLEEPING IN YOUR ELEVATORS.
UH, A LOT OF TIMES THE ELEVATORS ALSO SMELL LIKE URINE.
UM, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU, ESPECIALLY WITH EXCESS REVENUE, TO LOOK INTO SOME INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS OF RESTROOMS. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ACT, WE'RE IMPLORING OUR, UH, CITY STAFF TO LOOK AT AS WELL.
UM, SAN ANTONIO HAS A REALLY GOOD MODEL.
THEY'VE HAD 'EM ON THEIR STREETS NOW FOR OVER FIVE YEARS.
THEY'RE ABOUT A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS EACH.
UM, THEY HAVE INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY THAT DON'T ALLOW PEOPLE TO SLEEP IN THERE, THAT DON'T ALLOW PEOPLE TO HAVE NEEDLES PULLED OUT IN THERE.
UM, IT'S REALLY, UH, COOL TECHNOLOGY.
SO I'D BE HAPPY TO SEND Y'ALL SOME, UH, INFORMATION ON THAT.
[00:40:01]
THINK IT COULD BE IMPACTFUL IF WE HAD THOSE, UM, NEXT TO OUR STATIONS, NOT ONLY FOR OUR OWN SHELTER, BUT ALSO FOR, UM, THE RIDERS AS WELL.BUT GOING TO THIS LIST, UM, YOU KNOW, I I WILL JUST START WITH SAYING THAT OVERALL, THIS, THIS REALLY PUTS A BAD TASTE IN MY MOUTH, UM, AND IT PUTS A BAD TASTE IN MY MOUTH BECAUSE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE PARTNERS, AND THIS ISN'T THE WAY THAT I SEE PARTNERSHIPS.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS LIST BROKEN DOWN AND ITEMIZED, YOU SEE 12.3 MILLION OF ITEMS LISTED OUT THAT ORIGINALLY WERE NOT COVERED IN THE F E I S.
WHY ON EARTH IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE GOING TO PENALIZE US FOR? SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING Y'ALL DIDN'T DO YOUR HOMEWORK FOR, AND IF YOU DIDN'T DO YOUR HOMEWORK FOR IT, WHY WAS THAT NOT DISCLOSED WHEN THE 110 MILLION WAS ORIGINALLY BROUGHT FORTH TO US? BECAUSE WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE MORE THAN ANYTHING IS DANGLING CARROTS.
AND THAT TO ME, AGAIN, IS NOT THE WAY THAT A RELATIONSHIP SHOULD WORK.
SO I DO HAVE AN ISSUE WITH, UM, UH, JUST THIS ULTIMATUM TYPE OF APPROACH, UM, BECAUSE OF COURSE WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THIS EXCESS REVENUE.
WE DIDN'T ASK FOR IT, Y'ALL CAME TO US FOR IT.
BUT THEN YOU COME TO US WITH THESE STRINGENT, UH, STIPULATIONS THAT SEEM TO CONTINUE TO CHANGE, UM, THAT, UH, OF COURSE WE WANT TO GET THESE PROJECTS THAT WE GOT EXCITED ABOUT AND ALREADY HAVE ALLOCATED THE 110 MILLION.
WELL, NOW HERE WE ARE LOOKING AT 36 MILLION, UM, GOING DOWN.
AND THEN WHEN WE GET THE BREAKDOWN OF WHERE THE COST IS, SOME OF THAT IS ON Y'ALL.
WHY, WHY IS THAT? INSTEAD OF SAYING AT THE VERY BEGINNING, HERE'S WHERE WE ARE, HERE'S WHAT WE DIDN'T COVER AT THE VERY BEGINNING WITH OUR F E I S, SO THIS IS ACTUALLY WHAT WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND TAKE FROM THE EXCESS REVENUE THAT WOULD GO TO YOUR CITY.
UM, I, I REALLY APPRECIATE HEARING YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON THAT.
UM, WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS THAT THIS LIST ACTUALLY IS BORN OUT OF EVERYTHING THAT WAS ACTUALLY NOT REQUIRED BY FEDERAL, STATE, OR LOCAL LAWS.
UM, AND, AND DEACON, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT I BELIEVE THAT WHEN WE SAY IT WASN'T COVERED IN THE F A I S, IT WAS, IT WAS NOT A MITIGATION THAT WAS REQUIRED IN THE F E I S.
NOT THAT WE DIDN'T REVIEW IT OR WE DIDN'T CLEAR IT OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE MITIGATIONS THAT WE INCORPORATED INTO OUR DRAWINGS AND OUR PLANS, UM, WERE THINGS THAT WE COMMITTED TO DO AS PART OF OUR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY AND THAT WE WERE REQUIRED TO DO.
SO IF THESE WERE, IF THESE ARE ON HERE, IT'S BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T REQUIRED, UM, AS MITIGATIONS AS PART OF THE F E I S.
SO AGAIN, THIS LIST WAS, CAME OUT OF THINGS THAT WERE NOT REQUIRED BY FEDERAL, STATE, OR LOCAL LAW, AND THAT IS WHY THEY'RE REFERRED TO AS BETTERMENTS.
AND SO WITH THOSE BETTERMENTS, YOU GAVE US ONE OVERALL DOLLAR AMOUNT, THEN YOU LOOK AT THE BETTERMENTS AS YOU HAVE LABELED THEM, AND AS AN ENTITY DECIDED THAT YOUR FUNDING SOURCE TO GET THOSE BETTERMENTS, UH, WITHOUT COMING TO YOUR PARTNER, UM, WOULD BE THE MONEY THAT YOU'VE ALREADY TOLD US YOU WERE GONNA GIVE US.
THAT'S THE APPROACH THAT YOU BELIEVE IS THE MOST CONGENIAL.
SO I, UM, WE HAD NUMEROUS CONVERSATIONS WITH STAFF THAT THESE ITEMS WERE NOT REQUIRED.
AND OFTENTIMES WE WERE TOLD THAT IF WE WANTED OUR PERMIT, WE WERE GONNA HAVE TO DO THEM.
WE HAD TO MOVE OUR PROJECT FORWARD AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
OUR UNDERSTANDING WAS THAT ACCEPTING SOME OF THESE THINGS WOULD HELP US MOVE OUR PROJECT FORWARD, WHICH IT DID NOT DO.
UM, SHAME ON US FOR THINKING THAT.
HOWEVER, UM, THIS MONEY IS OVER AND ABOVE WHAT'S REQUIRED FOR THE PROJECT.
SO REALLY THE QUESTION THAT I REALLY WANNA ASK IS, WHERE DO WE WANT THIS MONEY TO COME FROM? AND DIRECTOR SCHLOSSER ACTUALLY MENTIONED TRADE-OFFS.
I JUST WANT TO ADDRESS WHAT YOU JUST SAID BECAUSE I KNOW OUR CITY MANAGERS HERE, CI, CITY MANAGER, UM, TC BROADNAX, IF YOU DON'T MIND, CAN YOU CHIME IN AND, AND, UH, PLEASE ANSWER.
I I'D LIKE TO KNOW, DID YOU HAVE A DIRECT CONVERSATION WITH ADMINISTRATION IN DART AND MAKE, UH, THE CLAIM THAT WE WOULD NOT BE ISSUING PERMITS WITH THE SAME ULTIMATUM APPROACH THAT DART'S TAKING NOW? UM, UNLESS THEY DID CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS, THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WERE NOT INCLUDED IN THE ORIGINAL F E I S.
THANK YOU COUNCILMAN, UH, FOR THAT OPPORTUNITY.
AND SO ONE, I WILL DEFER TO ROBERT AND OR GUS OR MAG, UH, BUT AT NO TIME DO I RECALL AND OR DO I UNDERSTAND US TO HAVE SAID CERTAIN THINGS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN REQUIRED.
UH, A PERMIT WOULD NOT BE ISSUED, BUT NOT FOR ITEMS THAT WERE NOT MANDATORY AND OR WE BELIEVE DEEMED NECESSARY.
[00:45:01]
THE TYPES OF STATEMENTS AND OR THE APPROACH THAT I'VE EVER TAKEN, NOR I BELIEVE MY STAFF WOULD TAKE WITH A PARTNER, UH, TO IN ESSENCE, UH, THREATENED THEM WITH THE, UH, NOT ISSUANCE OF PERMITS, UH, FOR PARTICULAR ITEMS, PARTICULARLY AT THE LEVEL OF THESE TYPES OF THINGS.THAT, THAT'S ALL I NEEDED TO KNOW, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT'S NOT THE APPROACH WE'VE TAKEN.
IN FACT, I, I I SAY THAT BECAUSE WE ARE THE LARGEST CITY IN THIS REGIONAL ENTITY, UM, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT WE OWE YOU ANYTHING.
UH, WE HAVE THE MOST MEMBERS ON YOUR BOARD.
WE, UH, GIVE YOU THE MOST REVENUE, UM, FOR YOUR OPERATING BUDGET EVERY YEAR.
AND I CONSIDER US TO BE THE BIGGEST PARTNER.
UM, AND FOR THIS TO BE, UM, THE ULTIMATUM AND THE, THE PREDICAMENT THAT WE ARE PUT IN, UM, JUST TO ESSENTIALLY GET WHAT WAS OFFERED TO US IN THE FIRST PLACE, TO ME IS NOT ONLY DISINGENUOUS, IT IS A REALLY P**S POOR WAY TO CONTINUE THE RELATIONSHIP THAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE, UM, LOCKSTEP AS A PARTNER FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE REGION OF DFW.
AND, UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT IMPROVEMENTS THAT YOU ALL CHOSE TO INCLUDE THROUGH THIS PROJECT, IF IT WAS GOING TO HAVE A FINANCIAL IMPACT SPECIFICALLY TO EXTRA REVENUE THAT YOU WERE OFFERING US, IT COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW, WHERE YOU COME TO THIS BODY, TO THE POLICY MAKERS WHO APPROVE ANY OF THOSE EXPENDITURES OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS INSTEAD OF TAKING IT UPON YOURSELF FROM A FEW BACK CONVERSATIONS WITH STAFF AND THEN GOING IN THIS DIRECTION.
BUT RIGHT NOW, THIS IS A REALLY BAD TASTE IN MY MOUTH, AND THIS IS NOT THE WAY THAT I HOPE WE GO FORWARD AS A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY OF DALLAS AND DART.
NEXT WE HAVE MR. MORENO, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
UH, THANK YOU'ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION THIS MORNING.
UM, I AM ALSO A LITTLE BIT DISAPPOINTED IN THE CHANGES THAT ARE, ARE BEFORE US.
THE ORIGINAL LIST THAT, UH, WE ALL SAW WOULD'VE BENEFITED EACH AND EVERY ONE OF OUR DISTRICTS, UM, EQUALLY, AND THAT WOULD'VE, UH, PUT THE CITY OF DALLAS IN A BETTER POSITION.
DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION ON THE, ON THE LIST BEFORE US? IS THIS SOMETHING THAT SOLELY WAS, UH, PRESENTED BY DART OR WAS THERE AGREEMENT FROM THE CITY ON WHAT THIS LIST WOULD LOOK LIKE AND WHO, WHO CHOSE TO HAVE THESE ITEMS PLACED ON THE, ON, ON THIS LIST BEFORE US? OUR STAFF COMPILED THIS LIST BASED ON THE INFORMATION THAT WE HAD AVAILABLE TO US, INCLUDING SOME EXPERIENCES THAT WE HAVE HAD, UM, WORKING WITH, UM, THE VARIOUS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS, UM, AND, AND WORKING WITH STAFF.
SO, UM, THESE, THESE LISTS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE SHARED THIS LIST WITH, UH, ROBERT ALS.
YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY HE SHARED IT WITH YOU TODAY.
UM, THIS IS THE LIST AS WE UNDERSTAND IT AS THE THINGS THAT DID NOT COMPLY WITH FEDERAL, STATE, OR LOCAL LAWS.
UM, SO THIS IS THE LIST THAT IS CURRENTLY, UM, CURRENTLY, UH, IN OUR, IN OUR WORK, IN OUR, IN OUR SCOPE FOR THE SILVER LINE.
AND, AND JUST THINK YOU JUST SAID IT, BUT JUST TO CLARIFY, THE CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN ADDED, THEY GO ABOVE AND BEYOND THE DART AND CITY STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS.
AND THEN EARLIER WE MENTIONED, UH, A LIST OF THE, UH, DELAYS.
CAN WE GET AN ITEMIZED LIST OF THOSE DELAYS? UM, WE WILL HAVE TO PUT THAT TOGETHER FOR YOU.
UM, FIRST I'M JUST GONNA START OFF WITH THE RETURN OF OUR SALES TAX SHOULD BE COMPLETELY SEGREGATED, SEPARATED FROM ANY PROJECTS.
THIS IS A CONCEPT OF RETURNING EXCESS SALES TAX TO ALL THE CITIES AND HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANY PROJECT THAT'S GOING FORWARD.
SO I'M JUST GONNA SAY THAT'S MY FIRST STANCE.
THE SECOND STANCE IS IT'S OUTRAGEOUS TO THINK THAT DART WOULD BE THE JUDGE AND JURY OF IF WE'VE HAD A DELAY OR IF SOMETHING'S APPROPRIATE.
AND SO TO MY COLLEAGUES WHO HAVE SUGGESTED THAT WE NEED ARBITRATION OR MARRIAGE COUNSELING, UM, THERE'S SOMEBODY WHO FREQUENTLY CALLS HIMSELF THE MARRIAGE COUNSELOR WITH THE CITY AND DART, AND THAT'S MICHAEL MORRIS.
AND I WOULD SUGGEST THAT PERHAPS WE ASK HIM AS AN ENGINEER, AS AN OVERARCHING REGIONAL FOCUSED PERSON TO ACTUALLY BE THAT ARBITER.
UM, THIRD, IF WE'RE GONNA TALK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT CONNECTING HIM OR ITEMS WITH THE SILVER LINE, CLEARLY I'VE BEEN VERY INVOLVED WITH THIS FOR A LONG TIME.
I THINK CHAIRMAN ATKINS IS THE ONLY OTHER PERSON WHO WAS HERE WHEN MANY OF THESE THINGS WERE PASSED.
SO FOR THE BETTERMENTS, I'M JUST ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED THAT YOU WOULD THEN TRY TO TAKE BACK SALES TAX MONEY FOR THINGS THAT WERE ACTUALLY
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NECESSARY FOR THE COUNCIL AT THE TIME TO EVEN APPROVE THIS PROJECT.SO THE 15 FOOT CONTINUOUS WALLS AND THE WALLS ARE THE EASIEST TO UNDERSTAND.
WE'RE THE ONLY PART OF THE SILVER LINE THAT HAS THE TRAIN GOING THROUGH A RESIDENTIAL AREA.
SO WHAT HAPPENED IS THE COUNCIL SAID YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO PUT UP 15 FOOT CONTINUOUS WALLS ONLY THAT BACK THE RESIDENTIAL PARTS, RIGHT, TO PROTECT THOSE HOMEOWNERS.
AND THAT IS INCLUDED IN THE PASSAGE OF THE APPROVAL FROM THE CITY COUNCIL.
YOU HAD THAT AS PART OF YOUR PROJECT DESIGN INCLUDED IN YOUR PROJECT COSTS.
WHY WOULD YOU THEN SHIFT THAT BACK TO US? THAT'S OUTRAGEOUS.
THERE'S OTHER ITEMS THAT ARE LIKE THAT, THAT ARE INCLUDED AS BETTERMENTS THAT YOU AGREED TO YOUR DART BOARD AT THE TIME.
IT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN YOU SPECIFICALLY, YOU AGREED TO THOSE PROVISIONS AS DID THE CITY COUNCIL, THE CLOSURE OF HILLCREST, YOU MAY NOT EVEN KNOW WHERE THIS IS.
IT SAYS SO CLEARLY UNAMBIGUOUS IN THE ANOTHER I L A THAT THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE DART BOARD UNANIMOUSLY AGREED TO.
IT SAYS IT CAN ONLY BE CLOSED FOR 25 WEEKS.
WE'RE NOW GETTING 20 MILLION HIT IF THEY CLOSE IT.
IF WE DON'T AGREE FOR A YEAR, WHY WOULD WE BE PENALIZED FOR SOMETHING WE'VE ALREADY CONTRACTUALLY AGREED TO? IT'S OUTRAGEOUS.
THE, UM, DELAYS, I QUESTION IF THAT'S TRUE.
I THINK THAT IT'S BEEN SO EASY FOR DART TO SAY THAT I, WHO HAS NO IMPACT WHATSOEVER ON ANY PERMIT AND NEVER HAVE, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHEN PERMITS ARE PUT IN OR ACCEPTED UNTIL I GET AN EMAIL NOTIFICATION THAT I WOULD SOMEHOW HAVE BEEN INVOLVED UNTRUE, PROVE IT.
AND I WOULD QUESTION IF OUR CITY STAFF HAS DONE THAT.
CUZ I'VE NEVER ONCE HEARD ANYTHING OTHER THAN WE WANT TO WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH DART.
AND CLEARLY THAT'S NOT WHAT'S HAPPENING.
AND IT IS JUST SHOCKING TO ME.
AND I THINK THIS IS JUST HIGHLIGHTED A NUMBER OF THE PROBLEMS OF THE, UM, THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE RELATIONSHIP.
WE AS A MEMBER WANT A RETURN OF OUR SALES TAX AND WE WANT THE PARTNERSHIP TO GET THE SERVICE THAT WE DESERVE AS A MEMBER FOR THE TRANSIT FOR OUR RESIDENTS.
AND INSTEAD YOU'RE DICTATING TERMS TO US.
DARTBOARDS, YOU'RE A MAJORITY ON THIS BOARD.
YOU SHOULD NOT BE OFFERING US HALF OF THE AMOUNT THAT WE'VE PUT IN COMPARED TO OUR SISTER CITIES.
WITH THAT, I WILL SAY THAT IT WAS A VERY INTERESTING CONVERSATION IN PLANO LAST NIGHT, AND THEY DID NOT ACCEPT THE TERMS TO HAVE THEIR CITY MANAGER CONTINUE NEGOTIATING.
THEY MOVE TO TABLE IT BECAUSE THEY HAVE VERY REAL CONCERNS.
NOT A SINGLE PERSON SPOKE IN FAVOR OF WHAT YOU'RE PROPOSING AND AGAIN, HAD STRONG WORDS.
SO WITH THAT, UM, I KNOW YOU'RE TRYING TO MOVE THIS FORWARD, I'VE ALREADY SAID A LOT ON THIS TOPIC.
HAPPY TO TALK TO OTHER PEOPLE ABOUT IT.
I'M GONNA SAY ONE MORE THING ABOUT ADA COMPLIANCE.
GUS AND CARLEY, MAY I ASK YOU, DID DART ASK TO BE GRANDFATHERED ON QUA ROAD FOR ADA COMPLIANCE? UM, THEY HAVE AND WE SAID NO, WE HAVE TO COMPLY WITH FULL ADA AT ALL FOUR CORNERS, ESPECIALLY AT SUGAR CANE BECAUSE THIS IS A BRAND NEW FACILITY.
UM, OR YOU WANT TO CALL IT RECONSTRUCTED FACILITY.
BUT THIS IS AGAIN IN LINE WITH, UH, AGAIN, THE GENERAL APPROACH WITHIN THE CITY OF EQUITY.
AND, UH, IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT WE'VE GOT THAT IN PLACE, HOW MANY CARS PER DAY GO ON QUITE ROAD? UH, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THERE'S ABOUT 55,000 VEHICLES A DAY.
AND RIGHT AT MACCALLUM, WHICH IS WHERE ONE OF THESE CROSSINGS IS, IT'S A FEDERALLY QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACT.
IT IS ACTUALLY THE MOST DENSE PART OF MY DISTRICT.
THERE ARE MORE THAN 5,000 UNITS.
IT'S FAIRLY QUALIFIED FOR LOW INCOME AND SINGLE MOTHERS.
LOTS OF THE PEOPLE IN THE RAPID REHOUSING PROGRAM ARE PUT THERE.
EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE UNITS IS AN AFFORDABLE LOW INCOME APARTMENT.
IT'S MOSTLY THAT AND SOME STUDENTS WHO ARE U T D, BUT ACTUALLY THE U T D KIDS HAVE LEFT.
WHY? CAUSE IT'S ALSO A CRIME GRID.
THE MOST MURDERS IN MY DISTRICT HAPPEN RIGHT THERE.
PEOPLE IN MOTORIZED WHEELCHAIRS GO ALONG KUWAIT TO GO TO THE WALMART TO GO TO THE SUPER TARGET.
THIS IS THEIR ACCESS, THIS IS THEIR LIFELINE.
SO I JUST AM SHOCKED THAT A PUBLIC AGENCY THAT IS REQUIRED TO FOLLOW A 32 YEAR OLD LAW WOULD EVEN ASK TO BE GRANDFATHERED TO NOT PROVIDE ADA COMPLIANCE.
I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S UNEXPLAINABLE.
BUT THEN TO CONTINUE TO NOT OFFER A FOUR-WAY INTERSECTION TO COMPLY WITH THAT LAW, IT'S, IT'S BEYOND MIND BOGGLING.
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THE 407 MILLION WE SPEND ANNUALLY IN OUR SALES TAX, OUR PENNY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE PAYING A MILLION FOR THE STREETCAR, WE'RE STILL DOING A SENIOR RIDES PROGRAM AND WE HAVE TO PAY DART WHEN WE HAVE INCLEMENT WEATHER TO GET THEIR BUSES TO PROVIDE TRANSIT.