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[Dallas Park and Recreation Board on November 2, 2023]
MORNING EVERYONE.WE'RE GONNA GET STARTED HERE IN A MINUTE.
IT'S 10:00 AM UH, NOVEMBER 2ND.
WE CAN MEET DALLAS APPROXIMATELY TO ORDER YOU ALL GETTING BEAUTIFUL OUT THERE BETTER THAN 180 DEGREES.
WELL, I START WITH, UH, TWO NEW, UH, INTRODUCTIONS.
WE HAVE A NEW POWER BOARD MEMBER,
YOU KNOW, I MISS, UH, UH, RETAILER
I'VE GOT TO KNOW HER OTHER ON TASK FOR VERY THOUGHTFUL, UH, SPEED WHEN IT'S NECESSARY AND COME UP WITH REALLY SPECIFIC IDEA.
SO REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO PARTNER WITH HER AS WE TAKE OUR JOB FORWARD.
AND SECOND, I'M SURE YOU ALL HEARD YESTERDAY, OUR MOON VICE CHAIR, MS. RICE.
OKAY, MR. WOOD, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
YOU ALWAYS WERE PRESENTED ANY EVENT WHICH WAS INSURED.
YOU KNOW WHAT BOB, YOU KNOW, LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT.
AND MS.
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO SAY? UM, I JUST WANNA SAY THAT, UM, IT'S JUST SUCH AN HONOR TO, TO SERVE WITH YOU ALL WITH SUCH AMAZING LEADERS WHO INSPIRE ME EVERY DAY.
I MEAN, I NEVER IMAGINED, I'M FROM A RURAL TOWN IN SOUTH TEXAS, YOU KNOW, GROWING UP THERE AND I'VE LIVED IN DALLAS FOR 28 YEARS.
I NEVER IMAGINED EVER EVEN SERVING ON A CITY BOARD.
SO I'M JUST REALLY EXCITED TO BE HERE WITH YOU.
WELL, EVERY DAY, WHAT TITLE OR NOT WE'RE HERE TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY.
SO THAT'S WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY.
OUR FIRST, UH, ORDER OF BUSINESS PUBLIC SPEAKERS.
WE HAVE THE SPEAKER, BUT, OKAY.
WITH THAT, WE MOVE TO APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF OCTOBER 19TH.
DO I HAVE A MOTION MR. SLAUGHTER? DO I HAVE A SECOND? MS.
OPPOSED? WE MOVE TO CONCENTRATE ONE TILL SIX.
DO I HAVE A MOTION? UH, MR. GOLDSTEIN? DO I HAVE SECOND FROM MR.
THAT WE FOR OUR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION, NUMBER SEVEN, TELL US, I'LL BE DONE FOR
DO I A MOTION THAT HAS BEEN SECOND MR. SLAUGHTER.
MS.
REMIND ME WHAT THEY GET PER YEAR.
MS. ROSS, DO YOU KNOW WHO? ON 4 24.
OH, SO, SO THEY GET PER YEAR ALREADY THEN WE'RE GIVING TWO YEAR.
NO, BUT IS THAT, THAT'S THE AMOUNT THAT THEY'RE GETTING FEATURED.
SO WE'RE JUST RENEWING THE TWO YEAR.
A REASONABLE, OKAY, WONDERFUL.
THIS IS THE BEST MONEY WE CAN SPEND IN THIS.
OH, I'M NOT QUESTIONING, I'M VERY MUCH A SUPPORTER.
SO TODAY WE GOT TICKETS, MORE TICKETS.
AND I JUST WANT TO THANK THE ARBORETUM 'CAUSE THESE TICKETS ARE IN WEST DALLAS, ESPECIALLY THE SENIORS.
THEY'RE GOING, THEY'RE USING THE TICKETS.
UH, I GOT EXTRA TICKETS 'CAUSE THEY USED THEM, SO USED THEM ALL UP FOR HISPANIC HERITAGE.
THEY'VE ASKED AND THESE ARE BEING USED AND THEY'RE MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
AND, AND I, THERE'S SO MUCH I DIDN'T EXPECT TO GET THESE.
I WAS, I TOLD MY COMMUNITY I'M OUT.
SO THIS IS REALLY GONNA BE GOOD NEWS IN, IN WEST DALLAS AND NORTHWEST DALLAS, ALL HERE.
BUT YEAH, I'D LIKE TO PIGGYBACK ON THAT, THAT HONESTLY YOUR COMMENT ABOUT THE TICKETS.
UM, I, I'M NOT A FAVOR OF STIPENDS IN GENERAL.
UM, FOR OUR PARTNERS, I BELIEVE, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD MOVE AT A MODEL AWAY FROM THAT.
BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT THE ARBORETUM GIVES US, THEY GIVE ALMOST A MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF TICKETS PER YEAR TO BRING FREE ADMITTANCE INTO, UM, THE GARDENS.
SO I, I BELIEVE IT'S, IN THIS CASE, IT'S MONEY WELL SPENT.
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UM, BECAUSE I THINK THAT THEY REALLY DO, AND THEY'RE VERY GENEROUS.UM, YOU KNOW, TEACHERS GET IN FOR FREE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE SCHOOL KIDS, YOU KNOW, WE CAN GET TICKETS DONE.
UM, I THINK WE CAN'T DO BACK YOU THE COMMENTS BEFORE I GO THIRD TIME
DO I HAVE A MOTION? SKIP A, OH, SORRY, I
PLEASE DO I HAVE MOTION, MS. ASPEN? MR. SLAUGHTER, I SAY ANY COMMENTS THAT ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
NUMBER NINE, BOTH MEETINGS SCHEDULED.
DO I HAVE A MOTION? UH, MR. GOLDSTEIN? DO I HAVE A SECOND? UH, MS. HASSMAN, ANY QUESTIONS ON THE SCHEDULE? I THINK THERE WAS AN ADJUSTMENT.
YES, MS. I THINK WE MADE AN ADJUSTMENT FOR ROSH HASHANAH.
SORRY, I THINK YOU WANTED TO MOVE INTO THIS.
I'D LIKE TO MOVE TO OCTOBER 10TH, THE 24TH BECAUSE OF THE, OF A ROSH HASHANAH HOLIDAY.
SO IN THE SCHEDULE, UH, MS. MANDEL HAS MOVE TO CHANGE IT FROM IT, UM, THE FIRST AND THIRD THURSDAY.
SO IT'LL BE OCTOBER 3RD, WHICH IS
AND THE AMENDMENT IS TO MOVE IT THROUGH THE SECOND AND FOURTH, WHICH IS THE 10TH, 24TH.
SO SECONDED BY ENERGETIC AND
UH, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S ALSO IN OUR PA WEEK.
SO THE WHAT, WHAT DATE? WE CAN'T DO IT ON THE 10TH BECAUSE THAT'S DURING AN RP.
YOU CAN'T DO IT ON THE THIRD BECAUSE THAT'S EXACTLY ROSH HASHANAH.
WE, WE PROBABLY NEED TO PICK ANOTHER DATE, THE THIRD TO PUT THAT DATE ON HOLD.
AND WE A NEW DATE TILL WE DECIDE WHAT'S THE
IF YOU ALL WOULD LIKE, AND WE CAN DO THE 17TH AND THE 31ST, WHICH WOULD BE THE THIRD.
WE TYPICALLY DON'T MEET ON A FIFTH THURSDAY, BUT IT COULD BE THE 17TH AND THE 31ST.
LET'S PUT THAT DATE OF RULE FROM THE SCHEDULE.
AND THEN AFTER ALL THE CALENDAR IS ANALYZED, SHE'LL COME UP WITH AN ALTERNATE DATE AND WE CAN GO FROM THAT.
SO, UH, DO WE AMEND YOUR MOTION TO PUT THE DATE OF OCTOBER? OCTOBER 24TH? FOURTH, 24TH ON HOLD.
FIGURE OUT FIRST TO FIGURE OUT AN ALTERNATIVE DATE.
BUT THEN CAN WE, UH, JUST REMOVE OCTOBER 3RD FROM IT? OKAY, PERFECT.
SO WE HAVE A MOTION TO PUT THOSE DATES ON HOLD.
UH, DO I HAVE A SECOND FOR, UH, MR. DICKEY, ANY DISCUSSION ON THE MUSLIM OF MS. MONDELL? UH, UH, YES.
UH, MR. WARD? UH, MR. I WOULD, I WOULD JUST SAY, CAN WE JUST, I KNOW WE DON'T LIKE TO HAVE IT ON TUESDAY, BUT THEN IF WE DON'T DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT NOW, THERE'LL BE A FIVE WEEK GAP.
AND LAST TIME WE HAD A BIG ISSUE ABOUT THE HAVING A FIVE WEEK GAP.
CAN WE JUST MOVE IT TO THAT TUESDAY, THE 15 NOW? AND EVERYBODY CAN PLAN THEIR SCHEDULE.
I KNOW WE GOT THINGS PLANNED ON TUESDAY 'CAUSE WE HAVE OUR THURSDAY, BUT MAN, WE'RE ALMOST 11 MONTHS OUT.
WE GOT GOLF ON TUESDAY, SO WE CHANGE, I THINK, I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO ON TUESDAY 17TH.
I THINK WE NEED TO MOVE THE THIRD, THE MEETING OF THE THIRD.
LET'S O SUNDAY THE 17TH IS NOT SUNDAY.
DID YOU STILL, DO WE ASK ONE QUESTION ABOUT 17TH OR ONLY THIRD? I NEVER DID.
THE ONLY CONFLICT IS THE THIRD.
SO IF WE MOVE THAT TO J'S POINT TO OCTOBER 1ST, THAT WOULD SOLVE THE ISSUE, RIGHT? OCTOBER 1ST, TUESDAY, OCTOBER.
OKAY, LET'S PUT THAT DATE ON HOLD BEFORE, UH, UH, THE SENIOR FIGURES OUT AN ALTERNATE DATE RATHER THAN WE CELEBRATING, USING A LOT OF TIME HERE.
SO THE MOTION IS WE ARE PUTTING OCTOBER 3RD ON HOLD.
SO, AND MR. DICKEY SECONDED IT.
SO MADAM SECRETARY, YOU'LL COME UP WITH AN ALTERNATE DATE FOR THIRD AFTER DELEGATING THE BOARD.
UH, NUMBER 10, JOB ORDER CONTRACT.
I JUST HAVE ONE MORE COMMENT ABOUT THE SCHEDULE.
I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO THE, UH,
WE ONLY 147 DAYS TO MAKE A REPEAT RUN AT THIS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LAST STEPS.
NOTHING ON MARCH 28TH, NO RANGERS THAT, UH, INDIVIDUAL ATION NUMBER 10, UH, TO THEIR CONSTRUCTION
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TO BROWN RECRUIT INDUSTRIES.DO I HAVE A MOTION, MR. I WANNA MOVE WITHIN A AMENDMENT WITH THE FOLLOWING, WITH A CHANGE.
SO I WANNA MOVE THE, UH, TO APPROVE THE ITEM WITH THE FOLLOWING CHANGES.
NUMBER ONE, THE RENEWABLE OPTIONS, UH, AMOUNT BE CHANGED TO $1.375 MILLION FOR EACH ADDITIONAL YEAR.
AND, UH, THE FINANCING PARK AND RECREATIONS FACILITIES B 2017 GENERAL BOND FUNDS, UH, FOR 4.377 MILLION FAIR PARK IMPROVEMENTS C FUND 2017 GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND FUNDS FOR 1-873-MILLION FLOOD PROTECTION AND STORM DRAINAGE FACILITIES FUND.
2006 GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND FUNDS, 500,000 CAPITAL GIFTS, DONATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT FOR 3.75 MILLION.
GOLF IMPROVEMENT TRUST FUND, 500,000 IN GENERAL FUND FOR 3 MILLION SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATIONS.
THIS WAS SOMETHING WE HELD OVER FROM LAST TIME BEING PUSHED TO THIS TIME BECAUSE THERE HAD TO BE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WHERE THE MONEY'S COMING FROM, WHICH IS WHY I JUST READ
UM, SO IF ANYBODY, IF WE HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT, I THINK, UM, THERE ARE PEOPLE FROM STAFF THAT COULD EXPLAIN WHY WE NEED.
SO WE HAVE A MOTION WITH AMENDMENT AS MR. CONNOR SAID.
DO I HAVE A SECOND ON THAT? UH, MR. SLAUGHTER, ANY DISCUSSION ON THE AMENDMENT, WHICH WAS PROPOSED? I'D LIKE SOMEBODY TO EXPLAIN THAT.
SO CAN STAFF EXPLAIN THAT? GOOD MORNING, PRESIDENT
I'M, YES, MS HAS BASICALLY, UM, WE HAD TRIED TO PUT THIS THROUGH AS KIND OF GENERIC FUNDING SO THAT WE HAD FLEXIBILITY IN HOW WE WERE ADMINISTERING THE JOC.
AND THE CITY FINANCE DEPARTMENT ASKED US TO BASICALLY DEFINE, FURTHER DEFINE WHAT FUNDS WE GOING BE USING, WHAT PROJECTS WE WERE GOING TO BE USING.
SO THAT IS WHAT CAUSED THE CHANGE.
SO WE HAD TO FURTHER DEFINE THE FUNDING SOURCES.
SO THAT IS WHAT, UM, UH, PARK BOARD MEMBER CONNOR READ OFF WAS THE FUNDING SOURCES.
SO IT'S THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY, IT'S JUST YOU DELINEATED WHERE IT'S FROM SPECIFICALLY? YES, EXACTLY.
SO THERE'S NO CHANGE THE AMOUNT, THERE'S NO CHANGE TO THE AMOUNT AT ALL.
IT'S JUST FROM SOURCES IDENTIFYING
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THAT FROM STAFF? I, MR. HA, THANK TO MR. PRESIDENT.
UH, THAT WAS ACTUALLY A QUESTION THAT I FORGOT TO ASK IN COMMITTEE MEETING WAS, UM, WHERE THAT SPECIFICALLY WHAT THE GENERAL OBLIGATION FUNDS OF 9.2, WHAT, WHERE THAT CAME FROM? SO THAT'S PRETTY COMPREHENSIVE ANSWER.
THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD ASKED WAS HOW MUCH WAS LEFT OVER FROM THE CONTRACT THAT'S JUST CONCLUDED, SENT THAT TO YOU AND I FORGOT TO ASK IT IN THE COMMITTEE MEETING.
REMEMBER, I, I DO REMEMBER THAT, UH, MR. GARFIELD, ARE YOU BEHIND ME? HAVE THE ANSWER COMMENTS? ANSWER, ANSWER THE, UH, QUESTION THERE IS, WE'VE USED, UH, FULL CAPACITY OF THE, UH, PREVIOUS GLC CONTRACT THAT WAS $11 MILLION.
SO WE'VE ACTUALLY, UH, USED THAT TWO CAPACITY AS OF TODAY.
SO THAT'S WHY WE ARE IN THE URGENT NEED OF GETTING THE NEW GLC CONTRACTING.
AND THE REASON WE HAVE THESE IS JUST A, I AS FOR A EXPLANATION, JUST A QUICK REASON THAT WE DO THIS.
THE REASON WHY WE DO THIS WITH THE JOB AUDIT CONTRACT, PRIMARILY IT ACTS AS, UH, SAFETY WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO EMERGENCY PROJECTS THAT MAY COME UP IN DEPARTMENT.
UH, SOMETHING MAY COME UP SUCH AS A BUSTED LINE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T WANT TO NEED THE BILL TO SHUT DOWN TOO LONG, BUT YOU GOTTA BE ABLE TO CALL SOMEBODY INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR THE, UH, TRADITIONAL PROCUREMENT PROCESS TO GO THROUGH.
WE HAVE OUR JOB ORDER CONTRACTS IN PLACE SO WE CAN ADDRESS EMERGENCY ISSUES, UH, ON AN ON TIME BASIS.
AND I WOULD, ALL I WOULD ADD IS THAT THERE WAS A CASE AT DEVELOPMENT RECREATION CENTER WHERE THIS CONTRACTOR ABLE TO GET, UH, THE, UH, EQUIPMENT PBS TO, TO DO A TIMELY REPAIR AT RESTROOM CLOSED DOWN.
SO I CAN SEE THAT THIS MEDCO BECAME IN REALLY HANDY.
JUST ON THE OTHER SIDE, I'VE HAD A VENDOR IN DISTRICT SIX THAT COMPLAINED THAT WE WERE TOO QUICK TO PULL MEDCO IN AND THAT IT CREATED PROBLEMS ON WHO'S IN CHARGE OF THE CONTRACT.
AND I HAD NO RESPONSE TO THAT.
I KNOW, UH, IS THERE, IS THERE AN ISSUE THERE OF SOME KIND? NO, BECAUSE WHAT WE'RE DOING ON THIS NEW GLC CONTRACT, WE'VE INCLUDED ADDITIONAL VENDORS.
SO WE HAVE A TOTAL OF FIVE GLC VENDORS THAT WILL BE ADDRESSING THESE EMERGENCY ISSUES.
SO WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY JUST GOING TO ONE, YOU KNOW, UH, THE
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CURRENT GLC CONTRACT ACTION HAS A TOTAL OF THREE, BUT THIS NEW ONE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET IN PLACE, WE'LL HAVE A TOTAL OF FIVE.ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS WITH THAT? ALL IN FAVOR OF AMENDMENT OF MR. CONNOR? SAY I? ANY OPPOSED? AYE IT.
WITH THAT, WE ARE DONE WITH OUR INDIVIDUAL
I WOULD ACTUALLY LIKE TO INTRODUCE, UH, THE CONSULTANT TBG.
I BELIEVE WE HAVE JORDAN CLARK, NICK TURN, AND MIKEL WILKINS WHO DO THE PRESENTATION.
SO I'LL ACTUALLY TURN IT OVER TO THEM.
I'M MEMBER OF E BT PARTNERS AT THE SUSTAINABILITY STUDIO, ALONG WITH MY COLLEAGUES MICHAEL WILKINS AND JORDAN CLARK.
AND WE'RE JUST REALLY EXCITED TO BE SPEAKING ALONGSIDE FRIENDS WITH BLACK, UH, TODAY.
UM, OUR INVOLVEMENT BEGAN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, AFTER ONE OF THE PARALLEL INFRASTRUCTURE RIDES WITH CITY REPRESENTATIVES AND THE FRIENDS GROUP.
WHILE ON THIS BIKE RIDE, WE QUICKLY REALIZED THE STRATEGIC LOCATION AND OVERALL OPPORTUNITY THE PARK HAD FOR THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND WE PARTNERED WITH FRIENDS IN B AND LAKE, UH, TO KICK OFF
UH, THE NEXT STEPS INVOLVED AN EXTENSIVE REVIEW OF EXISTING PLANS AND STUDIES RELATED TO THE PARK, AS WELL AS HOW IMPROVEMENTS TO BACHMAN FIT AND CITYWIDE PLANS LIKE THE DALLAS CCAP AND VISION ZERO PLAN.
AFTERWARDS, WE CONDUCTED MORE SITE VISITS AND DEVELOPED A SERIES OF OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS, UH, FOR THE PARK AND ITS SURROUNDINGS.
UH, WE THEN PRESENTED OUR FINDINGS TO THE FRIENDS BOARD, UH, THEIR NEIGHBORS IN THE KNOW SESSIONS.
AND NOW WE ARE PRESENTING AN ABBREVIATED VERSION, UH, FOR YOU TODAY.
UM,
IT IS A WELL UTILIZED PARK WITH OVER 600,000 VISITORS, UH, FEATURES MANY AMENITIES LIKE, UH, THE NEWLY RENOVATED AQUA CENTER, THE THREE MILE TRAIL LOOP, AND THE FUTURE STATE PARK.
UH, THERE ARE ALSO A SERIES OF SIGNIFICANT INITIATIVES THAT ARE TAKING PLACE IN AND AROUND BACHMAN, INCLUDING THE DAM REHABILITATION AND NUMBER OF STREETSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS AND CORRIDOR AND PANEL STUDIES.
UM, BACHMAN'S IMPORTANCE GROWS WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE SURROUNDING DEMOGRAPHICS.
UH, IT IS AMONG THE HIGHEST DENSITY NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE CITY WITH, UH, SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF ZERO CARD HOUSEHOLDS.
UH, AND IT'S, UH, ALSO THE PRIMARY GREEN SPACE IN AN AREA THAT IS ONE OF THE MOST
SO DURING OUR ANALYSIS, ALL OF THESE KEY ISSUES KIND OF FELL INTO THESE TWO BUCKETS OF EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL.
ESSENTIALLY, HOW DO WE GET TO THE PARK AND HOW DO WE CONTINUE TO MAKE IT A PLACE WORTH GOING TO FINE EXTERNALLY? UH, THE MAIN POINTS OF CONCERNS WERE DANGEROUS THOROUGHFARES ON ALL SIDES.
UH, LIMITED ACCESS POINTS FOR PEDESTRIAN AND CYCLISTS AND NO FORMAL CONNECTION TO THE DAR STATION.
UM, SO THE NEIGHBORHOODS AROUND IT GET A REALLY GREAT PARK SCORE.
UH, BUT WE JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT PROXIMITY DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN ACCESS.
SO BASICALLY EVERY MAJOR THOROUGHFARE THAT BORDERS THE PARK, UH, CREATES THIS DAUNTING BARRIER.
UH, THIS IS FURTHER ILLUSTRATED IN THE CRASH DATA FOR, UH, BOTH PEDESTRIAN
UH, UM, SO HERE ARE SOME OF THE UNSAFE CONDITIONS IF YOU ARRIVE FROM THE DARK STATION, UH, WITH LIMITED INFRASTRUCTURE.
UH, THIS IS ESPECIALLY HARD FOR THOSE WITH LIMITED MOBILITY DISABILITIES.
UH, AND HERE ARE SOME OF THOSE LI LIMITED, UH, CROSSING POINTS, UH, SIMILAR ISSUES.
THESE CREATE THIS REALLY, UM, DAUNTING BARRIER.
SO, SO JUST WANNA, UH, REITERATE, UH, JUST PROXIMITY IS NOT ACCESS.
UH, FOR INTERNAL, UH, THE PRIMARY ISSUE IS, UH, LACK OF CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN AMENITIES,
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UH, GAPS IN THE SIDEWALK AND TRAIL LOOP.UH, WE FIND A SIGNAGE, UH, CONSERVATIVE
UM, SO HERE ARE THE TWO SIGNATURE AMENITIES WITHIN THE PARK.
UM, SO YOU, YOU'LL HAVE THE BRAIN STATE PARK, YOU'LL HAVE THE QUA CENTER.
UH, THESE ARE CURRENTLY NOT CONNECTED.
UH, THIS IS ALSO THE CORNER, UH, THE CLOSEST TO THE DARK STATION.
SO THERE'S REALLY NO SENSE OF ARRIVAL ONCE YOU DO MAKE THAT CROSSING.
UM, UH, WE ALSO NEED TO THINK ABOUT THE IMPACTS THE DAM REHAB PROJECT WILL HAVE, UH, JUST ON THE INTERNAL LOOP.
SO WE TALKED ABOUT, UM, NOT A LOT OF ACCESS POINTS INTO THE PARK.
AND FOR SOME OF THE ONES THAT WE DO HAVE, THEY KIND OF END ABRUPTLY.
UM, YOU KNOW, LACK OF CONTINUOUS SIDEWALK ARE
YOU KNOW, AND HERE ARE A COUPLE OTHER IMAGES THAT SHOW SHOWCASE THAT.
AND WE, WE JUST REALLY WANNA STRESS THAT WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO JUMP IN YOUR CAR.
UH, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 108 DEGREE DAYS.
UH, WE HAVE LARGE SEGMENTS OF THE TRAIL THAT ARE UNCOVERED, MAKING THEM UNCOMFORTABLE TO USE DURING SUMMER MONTHS.
YOU KNOW, AND HERE ARE SOME EXERCISE EQUIPMENT, UH, IN A SIMILAR SITUATION WITHOUT ADEQUATE SHADE.
SO, HAVING SAID ALL THAT, UM, WE ARE EXTREMELY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR BACHMAN.
UH, THIS IS A PLACE THAT HAS BASICALLY EVERY, UH, FORM OF TRANSPORTATION.
UH, AND WE BELIEVE THIS COULD REALLY BE A REGIONAL CONNECTIVE HUB AND ICONIC GATEWAY, UH, FOR THE CITY.
UH, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY WITH THE INITIAL WORK FOR THE BACHMAN BRANCH GREEN BELT, THAT'S UNDERWAY.
AND, UM, THE UPCOMING CAMPAIGN TRAIL FEASIBILITY STUDY.
UH, SO IN ORDER TO DO THIS, WE BELIEVE THAT BACHMAN REQUIRES A COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN THAT CONSIDERS BOTH THESE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ISSUES OF THE PARK HOLISTICALLY.
UH, WE REALLY WANT THIS TO BE AN IMPLEMENTATION TOOL THAT PUTS ALL THE GREAT RECOMMENDATIONS FROM PREVIOUS PLANS THAT, UH, INTO ACTION.
UH, WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THESE TYPES OF PLANS ARE OFTEN PREREQUISITE FOR FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES, AND, UH, WE ALSO REALIZED THAT SOME OF THE EXTERNAL ISSUES ARE KIND OF OUTSIDE THE PURVIEW OF PARKS.
BUT WE BELIEVE THIS CAN BE A KEY RESOURCE, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY, WHEN WE'RE COLLABORATING WITH, UH, OTHER AGENCIES, YOU KNOW, WE MENTIONED HOW MANY INITIATIVES THAT ARE TAKING PLACE IN THE AREA.
WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS INTEGRATED, UH, WITH THE PARK AND AS MANY NEIGHBORS IN MIND.
UH, FINALLY, UM, WE BELIEVE THAT ANY IMPROVEMENTS TO BACHMAN ARE JUST GREAT OPPORTUNITIES TO FURTHER THE CITY'S SOCIAL EQUITY GOALS THAT ARE ALREADY IN MOTION.
UH, PARTICULARLY, UH, THE OBJECTIVES IN CCA REGARDING SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION, PROTECTING WATER RESOURCES, ECOSYSTEMS, AND QUALITY.
AND ALL THIS REALLY ALIGNS WELL WITH THE NRPA PILLARS THAT ARE SHARED BY THE DALLAS PARKS TO MARKET THAT.
LOVE TO TURN IT OVER TO MICHAEL FROM THE FRIENDS GROUP, UH, TO SHARE RESIDENT PERSPECTIVE AND EXPERIENCE WITH PARK.
UH, THANK YOU TO TT BG THANK YOU TO THE PARK BOARD AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR SAFETY WELCOME LAKE.
BY THE WAY, UM, WE, UH, WERE FORMED, UH, A LITTLE OVER FOUR YEARS AGO.
UM, I KIND OF HIT THE GROUND RUNNING IN WHAT
AND THAT STORY HAS BEEN TOLD OVER AND OVER.
BUT THE REASON I THANK YOU IS BECAUSE THE ATTENTION TO BACHMAN LAKE PARK HAS BEEN, UH, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, YOU'RE OVER 20 YEARS UNPRECEDENTED.
AND I THINK THAT THIS ADVOCACY FOR A MASTER PLAN, I'M THERE TO BE THE EXCLAMATION POINT OF, UH, YOU CAN SEE WHAT HAS HAPPENED WITHOUT A MASTER PLAN.
WE HAVE AN INITIATIVE BY DART TO CREATE AN ENTIRE GREEN LINE.
AND NONE OF THESE ARE CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY NORTH OF CERTAIN STATIONS BY THEN SOUTH TON.
SO THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT, UM, WE DON'T SEE THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES ABOUT.
SO WE'RE HERE TO, YOU KNOW, NOW THAT WE'VE DONE A LOT OF THE NITTY GRITTY WORK, BUT IT'S STILL NOT FINISHED.
WE REALIZE HOW MANY MOVING PARTS THERE ARE.
AND OUR FRIENDS AT TG ARE TALKING ABOUT CONNECTIONS.
AND THESE ARE ALL TYPES OF CONNECTIONS.
WE HAVE PHYSICAL CONNECTIONS OF GETTING TO THE PARK SAFELY.
WE HAVE THE EXPERIENCE WITHIN THE PARK.
HOW DO YOU CONNECT ONE FACILITY TO ANOTHER? AND HAS THIS BEEN THOUGHT THROUGH? UM, AND WE CAN CREATE A FRAMEWORK FOR PROMOTING A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY THE COMMUNITY GIVES.
COMMUNITY GETS, AND THIS IS HOW YOU UNITE THINGS.
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SMATTERING OF PARTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY, AND THEY SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS BIRDERS.THEY SHOULD PRETTY MUCH BE NEURONS, PARTS OF LIVING ORGANISMS. IT'S HARD, THE CITY.
AND WE HAVE A GREAT ALMAN PARK AND THE CONNECTIONS TO A LOT OF THE INITIATIVES THAT ARE ALREADY IN PLACE IN THIS.
YOU THINK OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IN KOREATOWN.
YOU THINK OF WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH, UH, CA, UH, SOCIAL EQUITY ACTIVITIES AND, AND INITIATIVES.
AND, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IT BRINGS ATTENTION TO PREVIOUSLY NEGLECTED AREAS.
AND IT'S BEEN LITERAL FLYOVER FOR LONGEST TIME, RIGHT NEXT TO AN AIRPORT.
I'D LIKE TO SEE A QR CODE THAT PEOPLE CAN SCAN FROM THE AIRPORTS, FIND OUT ABOUT PHONE.
BUT, UM, THESE THINGS, UM, UH, THE VISION HERE, UH, THE SAFETY, THE, THE WHOLE PEDESTRIAN ACTIVITIES IN THE AIR.
SO THE MOVING PARTS, WHETHER IT COMES FROM CO TDOT, ALL OF THESE THINGS HAVE TO BE INTO CONSIDERATION.
BUT WITHOUT THE BLUEPRINT, WITHOUT THE MASTER PLAN, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE IN OUR SILOS.
WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE KIND OF MISSING GREAT OPPORTUNITIES.
SO WE WANNA BRING THE PARK TO A LEVEL WHERE IT'S A DESTINATION, NOT JUST A PLACE TO GO OR A PLACE TO WALK AND STAY HEALTHY.
BUT ALSO THAT WE HAVE THE SKATE PARK NOW COMING.
WE HAVE THE ROBOTICS CENTER THAT RECENTLY OPENED, UM, A POSSIBLE YOUTH GROWING BOOK
AND WE CAN HAVE POSSIBLE FUTURE CULTURAL MUSICAL, ALL KINDS OF OTHER EVENTS.
WE HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE.
SO AS YOUR DECISIONS ARE MADE AND YOU KNOW THAT THIS AFFECTS THAT PART AND ANOTHER AREA THAT'S A WORKED ON, TALK TOGETHER, WORK TOGETHER AND FIND OUT HOW ONE AFFECTS THE OTHER.
IN OTHER WORDS, CONSIDER YOURSELVES A PATRON OF THE PARK.
AND WHAT WOULD YOU NEED TO SEE HAPPEN AS A PATRON OF THE PARK, AS SOMEONE WHO CAN DECIDE ON IT SPACE.
SO, UH, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR TIME.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE EFFORTS AND WE LOOK, WORK TOGETHER.
I THINK THAT THE PARK IS SPECIAL.
PRESENTATORS YOU BETTER THAN WHAT I THOUGHT WITH THAT MR. DICKEY.
I JUST HAVE TO HAND IT TO FRIENDS OF BACHMAN LAKE.
UM, THEY HAVE MADE AN ENORMOUS DIFFERENCE.
UH, I WAS A COMMUNITY ACTIVIST IN BACHMAN FOR 30 YEARS AND FOUR YEARS.
THEY'VE DONE FOUR TIMES WHAT WAS EVER DONE.
YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THEIR WEBSITE.
THEY'RE JUST A HUGE MESSAGE TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEY RECRUITED TBG PARTNERS WHO I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT.
AS YOU KNOW, THEY DID FIVE MILE CREEK.
WELL, THEY PRO BONO HAVE DONE THIS.
UH, WHEN I FIRST GOT ON THE PARK BOARD, I WAS TOLD WE HAD A MASTER PLAN FOR
AND I SAID, WELL, WHERE IS IT? WELL, NOBODY LOST ONE.
AND YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT TO COMPLAIN.
BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD HAVE HAD A MASTER PLAN A LONG TIME AGO.
AND I JUST HOPE THE DEPARTMENT FOLLOW UP.
'CAUSE THESE INGRESS EGRESS THESE ACCESS QUESTIONS THAT YOU CAN'T GET TO THE PARK AND THERE ARE WAYS TO FIX IT.
AND HAVING SAID THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO ENCOURAGE OUR SENIOR MANAGEMENT TO WORK WITH STREETS AND AND TRANSPORTATION TO IMPROVE, NOT TO BREAK THE SILOS BECAUSE NOTHING GOOD THAT THEY'RE RECOMMENDING IS GONNA HAPPEN.
IF OUR DIRECTOR AND THOSE DIRECTORS, THOSE DEPARTMENTS DON'T GET TOGETHER AND REALLY SERIOUSLY ADDRESS THESE MAJOR ISSUES.
IT COULD MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE.
SO I JUST HOPE THAT OUR SENIOR STAFF WILL, UH, DO EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO WORK AND WITH CO WHO'S JUST COMPLETED A MILLION AND A HALF DOLLAR STUDY OF THE, OF THE AREA.
BUT IT'S REALLY GONNA REQUIRE THIS DEPARTMENT TO WORK WITH THOSE OTHER DEPARTMENTS.
AND, UH, I THINK GREAT THINGS CAN HAPPEN.
I JUST CAN'T TELL YOU ENOUGH HOW HAPPY I AM AND TBG PARTNERS FOR DOING THIS PRO BONO.
'CAUSE WE DON'T HAVE IN OUR, IN THE NORTHWEST HOUSE, WE DON'T HAVE MATCHING MONEY.
I MEAN, FRIENDS, BOB LAKES RAISED A LOT OF MONEY FOR MATCHING GRANT, BUT OTHERWISE IT'S TOUGH OVER HERE.
SO THE FACT THAT THEY DID THIS PRO BONO IS BEYOND WONDERFUL.
UH, MS. HASSMAN, GOOD MORNING AND YOU FOR THIS WONDERFUL PRESENTATION.
I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO A LITTLE TOUR WITH THE FRIENDS OF BOSTON LAKE TOWARD THAT WHOLE AREA, AND IT'S REALLY BEAUTIFUL AND COMPLETELY UNDER-RESOURCED, AS YOU SAID.
UM, THE GOOD NEWS IS YOU HAVE A HIGHLY, UH, INVOLVED AND CARING HARDBOARD ING.
SO THAT'S WORKING IN YOUR FAVOR.
YOU'VE GOT THESE GREAT GUYS DOING PRO BONO WORK FOR YOU.
UM, I REPRESENT THE AREA, WHICH IS WHITE ROCK LAKE.
SO WE'RE SORT OF A, A BIGGER VERSION OF
[00:30:01]
AS I THINK A MASTER PLAN IS IMPORTANT, THEY'RE ALSO HUGELY EXPENSIVE AND CAN TAKE A VERY LONG TIME TO GET TO.AND IT SEEMS LIKE IN LISTENING TO YOUR CHALLENGES, A LOT OF 'EM FALL OUTSIDE OF WHAT REALLY NEEDS TO BE IN THE PARK.
LIKE, IT, IT FEELS LIKE THERE'S A PRETTY GOOD SHOW OF AMENITIES IN THE PARK.
IT FEELS LIKE MOST OF YOUR ISSUES ARE COMING FROM ALL OF THIS STUFF, THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT GETS YOU SAFELY INTO THE PARK.
SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONTINUE TO PUSH YOUR COUNCIL PERSON BECAUSE THEY WILL HAVE THE STROKE TO GET THE PEOPLE TO THE TABLE THAT CAN FUND THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
BECAUSE D W'S GOT STAKE OVER THERE AND THEY, AS WE KNOW, HAVE DEEPER POCKETS THAN WE DO.
AND YOU'VE GOT SOME PUBLIC WORKS MONEY THERE.
I THINK THERE'S GONNA BE BUCKETS OF MONEY THAT YOU CAN TAP THAT MAYBE THEY CAN GET YOU THERE QUICKER THAN THE MONEY THAT YOU'RE GONNA ULTIMATELY GET THE PARKS.
AND AGAIN, I'M, I LOVE A MASTER PLAN, BUT I FEEL LIKE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO ACCOMPLISH COULD BE DONE WITH OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY OUTSIDE OF A MASTER PLAN QUICKER TO SOLVE SOME OF THOSE PROBLEMS. YOUR SIDEWALKS, YOUR TRAILS, YOUR SAFETY FROM THAT DART STATION.
THOSE THINGS NEED TO BE ACCOMPLISHED NOW RATHER THAN WAITING FOR A MASTER PLAN AND THEN DOWN THE ROAD.
SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONTINUE TO PUSH ON YOUR COUNCIL PERSON BECAUSE THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY HATE EMAILS FROM PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT THINGS.
AND I THINK BETWEEN OUR DIRECTOR AND YOUR FABULOUS, UM, PARK BOARD MEMBER, IF WE CAN BRING SOME OF THOSE BIGGER ENTITIES TO THE TABLE THAT HAVE POCKETS, YOU CAN GET SOME OF THOSE IMPORTANT, UM, COMPONENTS SOONER THAN LATER.
SO, UH, IF, AND IF THERE'S ANY WAY THAT WE CAN COLLABORATE OR SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW WE GET THINGS DONE OVER AT, UH, WHITEROCK, YOU HAVE TO WORK.
THIS IS REALLY EXCITING TO SEE.
IT'S A LONG TIME TONIGHT, MS. COLLINS.
SORRY I CAN'T BE WITH YOU IN PERSON, BUT YOU DON'T WANT ME BREATHING ON YOU.
BUT I JUST ALSO WANNA THANK TBG.
THEY DO AN AMAZING JOB REALLY ON A LOT OF PROJECTS THAT WE'VE WORKED WITH THEM ON, UM, WITHIN THE PARK DEPARTMENT.
AND WE WERE THRILLED TO HEAR THAT THEY HAD TAKEN ON BACHMAN, UM, AS THIS, YOU KNOW, MASTER PLAN AND THIS, THIS REALLY, UH, FOCUSED EFFORT.
AND THAT WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT SUSANNA BROWN WHO RUNS, WHO IS THE, A ONE WOMAN DYNAMO OF FRIENDS OF BACHMAN LAKE.
AND SHE IS AMAZING AND RECRUITED THEM.
AND, UM, AND OF COURSE, I, I HAVE TO GIVE MUCH CREDIT TO MY DEAR FRIEND TIM DICKEY, WHO HAS MADE BACHMAN HAS PUT BACHMAN ON THE MAP FOR SO MANY PEOPLE ACROSS THE CITY THAT DON'T LIVE IN WEST DALLAS.
AND SO, UM, THIS IS JUST A WONDERFUL DESTINATION PART OF THE CITY.
IT'S GONNA HAVE AMENITIES THAT WILL SERVE YOUNG OLD EVERYONE IN BETWEEN.
WE'RE WORKING ON THE NATURE TRAILS RIGHT NOW ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF BACHMAN AND THE GREEN BELT.
AND WE'VE GOT A PLANTING DAY COMING UP IN TWO WEEKS.
AND THIS WAS ALL FORGOTTEN ABOUT FIVE, 10 YEARS AGO.
AND NOW BACHMAN IS JUST A REAL HAVEN, A BEAUTIFUL PLACE.
CORPORATE EMPLOYEES USE IT EVERY DAY, UM, FAMILIES.
AND SO I JUST THINK IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO KEEP INVESTING AND TO MARIA'S POINT THAT SYNERGY AND TIM'S POINT BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS IS CRITICAL, EVEN AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL, NOT JUST AT THE CITY LEVEL, BUT, UM, THERE IS FUNDING OUT THERE.
AND SO WE CAN HELP MAKE THESE DREAMS A REALITY.
SO I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO TIM, SUSANNA AND, UH, THE WHOLE TBG TEAM FOR YOUR DEDICATION AND THE WALKTHROUGHS WE'VE DONE AND TRUDGING THROUGH THE PRITT.
SO WE APPRECIATE YOUR DEDICATION AND YOUR WILLINGNESS TO TAKE ON THIS PROJECT.
UH, AS YOU ALL KNOW, I WAS ON THE TRAIL INFRASTRUCTURE RIDE THAT WE DID BACK IN JANUARY AND, UH, THERE ARE SOME CHALLENGES, UH, ASSOCIATED, ESPECIALLY WITH REACHING THE LINK, PARTICULARLY FROM THE NORTH SIDE.
AND TIM WAS ON THIS RIDE TOO, AND WE RODE DOWN, WE ON STAR THE NORTH HAVEN TRAIL AND RODE DOWN A LITTLE BIT ON DENTA AND SOMEONE BROCKBANK AND TRYING TO INVESTIGATE WHAT IS THE SAFEST WAY TO ACCESS BACHMAN LAKE FROM THE NORTH SIDE IN PARTICULAR.
BROCKBANK IS PROBABLY THE RIGHT SOLUTION, BUT, UM, REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR EFFORTS IN TRYING TO MAKE THIS PARK MORE ACCESSIBLE, UH, SO THAT PEOPLE CAN REACH THE LAKE.
IT'S A GEM AND WE WANT PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS IT IN A SAFE WAY.
I'VE RIDDEN MY BIKE, UM, TRYING TO CROSS NORTHWEST HIGHWAY.
UH, THESE ARE, THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS NOT GOOD THERE.
AND SO WE NEED TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS THERE TO MAKE THIS TRULY ACCESSIBLE FOR EVERYBODY.
UM, AND THEN WHEN YOU GET OVER ON THE WEST SIDE ON SHORE CREST, IT'S A BIT OF A MESS OVER THERE.
[00:35:01]
THIS ALREADY.UH, BUT WE JUST NEED TO MAKE, CONTINUE IMPROVEMENTS TO REACH, UH, THIS PARK AND MAKE IT TRULY ACCESSIBLE BECAUSE IT'S A BEAUTIFUL GEM.
THANK YOU, TIM, FOR YOUR EFFORTS THERE.
AND, UH, JUST I'M APPRECIATIVE OF ALL THE WORK THAT'S GOING INTO THIS AND HAPPY TO HELP.
THANK, THANK YOU MR. SLAUGHTER.
AND, UH, BACK IN THE EIGHTIES WHEN TIM AND I WERE HANGING OUT
AN AREA, YOU KNOW, AND THIS BOARD IS, THIS IS WHAT I CALL BEING GOOD STEWARDS.
IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT AREA OR PROJECT IS IN, WHAT DISTRICT IS IN THIS BOARD NEEDS TO GET BEHIND THINGS LIKE THIS, EVEN IF IT'S NOT IN THE DISTRICT.
UH, THAT'S WHAT BEING A GOOD STEWARD IS ABOUT.
UH, UH, I'M EXCITED ABOUT THIS.
UH, IT IS SUCH A, A BLESSING TO HAVE AN ORGANIZATION DO SOMETHING.
I HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN SINCE YOU HEARD SOMEONE I'M GONNA DO SOMETHING PRO BONO, YOU KNOW, AND THIS BOARD, UH, I, I, THIS IS SUCH A BLESSING TO HAVE THESE KIND OF PEOPLE TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH, BUT YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO BE FRIENDS BEYOND THIS BOARD.
AND THAT'S WHY TIM AND I HANG OUT AND I'M JUST SO EXCITED WITH
'CAUSE LIKE I SAID, BACK IN THE EIGHTIES, IT WAS THE DESTINATION AND I WAS PART OF THAT.
SO I LIKE TO SEE THIS THING COMING TO FRUITION.
THERE'S ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO IN THE BEST DISTRICT IN THE CITY, WHICH IS DISTRICT A.
UM, BASICALLY I'M REITERATING EVERYTHING THAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE ALREADY SAID.
TVG AND ALSO FRIENDS OF BLAND LAKE FOR THIS INCREDIBLE WORK.
I'M JUST INCREDIBLY EXCITED TO HEAR, UM, EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAD TO SAY.
I MEAN, ABSOLUTELY I BELIEVE THAT THERE DESERVE A MASTER PLAN, BUT I ALSO, YOU KNOW, LISTENING TO MS. HUSBANDY AND, AND MY COLLEAGUE SAYING THAT MAYBE THERE'S OTHER RESOURCES AND OTHER ENTITIES THAT CAN GET YOU THE FUNDS TO, TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THIS A REALITY SOONER THAN LATER, RIGHT? SO I THINK, UH, EXPLORING ALL POSSIBILITIES IS, IS WONDERFUL.
UM, AND I AGREE WITH, WITH MR. SLAUGHTER ABOUT SAYING THAT, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF IT'S NOT OUR DISTRICT, WE NEED TO GET BEHIND THIS BECAUSE THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE GEM IN OUR CITY.
THIS BACHMAN LAKE, WHEN I FIRST MOVED TO DALLAS ABOUT 28 YEARS AGO, IT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PLACES I VISITED AND IT JUST FELT LIKE HOME.
YOU KNOW, THE DIVERSITY, THE MULTI, I COME FROM THE BORDER.
SO, YOU KNOW, HAVING PEOPLE THAT ARE MULTILINGUAL, DIVERSE AND IT JUST, IT'S JUST SUCH A, A BEAU THE SYNERGY AND THE BEAUTY OF BACHMAN LAKE.
IT DESERVES THIS CARE AND THIS ATTENTION.
UM, I LOVE WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT MAKING IT, UH, WHICH WHAT YOU SAID WAS VERY POWERFUL ABOUT PROXIMITY DOESN'T ALWAYS MEAN ACCESS.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE, LIKE YOU SAID, DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO CARS OR TRANSPORTATION AND, AND IF IT'S GOING TO BE A, A PARK, AN AREA WHERE COMMUNITY GATHERS, WE NEED TO MAKE THOSE CHANGES.
WHETHER IT'S, EVEN IF IT'S NOT THROUGH PARKS, THE CITY NEEDS TO GET BEHIND THIS PROJECT.
UM, I LOVE WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT AN OPPORTUNITY ALSO FOR CULTURE, MUSIC AND ARTS.
UM, THERE'S AN ACTIVIST IN THE AREA.
I KNOW, UM, TIM KNOWS HER VERY WELL.
NORA SOTO HAS BEEN ADVOCATING FOR A, UM, CULTURAL CENTER IN THE BACHMAN LAKE AREA FOR, FOR A WHILE NOW.
SO IT'S, IT'S A CULTURAL DESERT IN THAT AREA.
SO HAVING THAT TYPE OF, UM, OPPORTUNITY IN THE PARK, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD BE BEAUTIFUL.
AND I KNOW PRESIDENT AL WE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE, UM, ABOUT, YOU KNOW, DEPARTMENTS WORKING TOGETHER.
SO ANYWAY, ALL OF THIS TO SAY, I SUPPORT WHAT YOU ALL ARE DOING AND CONGRATULATIONS.
AND, UH, I'M JUST VERY EXCITED.
THE LENS THAT YOU TOOK TO DO THIS REACHER RESEARCH THROUGH AN EQUAL, EQUITABLE, EQUAL OPPORTUNISTIC PERSPECTIVE IS BEAUTIFUL.
I MEAN, REALLY, THE WAY YOU PRESENT IT IS REALLY SHOWN AND HOW YOU LOOKED AT EVERYTHING.
UM, AND I THINK THAT YOUR, YOUR MAJOR CHAMPION HERE IS THIS YOUNG LITTLE BOY WHO, YOU KNOW, TIM DICKEY WHO, WHO FROLICKED THE PARK AND, AND PLAYED AT THE PARK AS A YOUNG CHILD AND, AND NOW HE SERVES ON OUR PARK BOARD.
SO WHAT A PERFECT MATCH FOR SOMEBODY WHO REALLY DOES FIGHT FOR EQUITABLE OPPORTUNITIES.
AND FOR YOU GUYS TO COME TO THIS AND PRESENT THIS, IT'S AMAZING.
THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH FOR ALL YOU'RE DOING AND FOR THE PARTNERSHIP.
YOU ALSO HAVE WITH LOVE WEST NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, UM, WHO'S IN MY DISTRICT.
SO THANK YOU FOR, UH, PRESENTING THIS.
YOU BROUGHT UP ONE THING AND I'M JUST CURIOUS TO KNOW, UH, WHEN YOU SAID IT, WHAT IT ACTUALLY MEANS.
UM, NO FORMAL, MORE FORMAL CONNECTION TO DART.
WHAT DOES NO FORMAL CONNECTION TO DART MEAN AND WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE BY THEN?
[00:40:01]
JUST IN TERMS OF THAT SLIDE? UM, YOU CAN SEE LIKE THE PAINT IS STATED, THE THE INFRASTRUCTUREUH, SO, AND WE, THAT WAS ONE OF THE SPOTS THAT WE HAD, UM, TOWARD SPECIFICALLY LOOK AT JUST IF THERE IS THAT STRONG FORMAL CONNECTION THAT OPENS UP TONS OF OPPORTUNITIES.
'CAUSE YOU'RE UNLOCKING TRANSIT AND NOT JUST THE IMMEDIATE AREA AT WHICH WE MENTIONED WITH ONE OF THE BE, UM, HITS ALL THE, ALL THE POINTS ON, UH, KIND OF RACIAL EQUITY AND JUST PROVIDING THAT ACCESS.
AND IF THERE WAS JUST STRONGER, SAFER INFRASTRUCTURE, YOU KNOW, THE, THEY'RE PRETTY WIDE, UM, YOU KNOW, LANES WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, RETURN ON RENTS, UH, TYPE OF THING.
WE JUST WANNA CREATE THAT SAFER ENVIRONMENT FOR PEOPLE.
UM, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE IT IS CHALLENGING TO CROSS, YOU KNOW, FOR ME, LIKE, I HAVE TO HUSTLE AND MAKE SURE I'M NOT GETTING CROSSED BY A CAR.
UM, AND THEN I THINK IT ALSO TIES IN MORE FROM THE INTERNAL STANDPOINT OF ONCE YOU GET THERE, IT'S LIKE THERE REALLY IS NO SENSE OF RIVAL IN TERMS OF THE WAY FINDING AND SIGNAGE.
YOU KNOW, WE WANT THE SKATE PARK.
UM, IT'S A GREAT INVESTMENT, YOU KNOW, WE WANT, YOU KNOW, BE WELCOMING IT.
I MEAN, THE PASSION, THE VOLUNTEER IS JUST NOT GO UNNOTICED AND ALL THE, YOU KNOW, THE BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS TO MAKE THIS COME TO FRUIT AND, AND TO ALSO HAVE A, AND LIKE TIM DICKEY IS, IS WONDERFUL TO BE SITTING HERE TODAY, WITNESS.
SO THANK YOU BOTH FOR REFRESHING PRESENTATION AND MEANINGFUL.
THIS WAS AMAZING AND CAN'T, UH, INNOVATE.
WE REALLY PUT THIS MATH PLAN INTO ACTION SOON.
WE, I THINK WE'LL FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT SOON TOGETHER.
THANKS AGAIN FOR COMING AND MAKING THIS PRESENTATION.
BEFORE WE MOVE TO NEXT BRIEFING, I SEE OUR NEWEST BOARD MEMBER NEXT COMMENT ONLINE, UH, WHENEVER WE ALREADY WELCOMED YOU BEFORE YOU CAME, BUT, UH, I CAN BRAGG ABOUT YOU AGAIN, WELCOME TO THIS TEAM.
IS EXCITED TO, UH, WORK WITH YOU.
ANYTHING YOU WANT TO SAY, MA'AM? UH, NO.
EXCITED TO WORK WITH ALL OF YOU.
SEE, I TOLD YOU SHE IS A LADY WITH FEW WORDS, BUT GETS IT DONE
AND WITH THAT WE MOVE TO ANOTHER.
SPEAKING OF MR.
YOU HAVE ONE ALL THREE OF DAY.
GOOD MORNING, MR. PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
UH, TODAY WE HAVE AN UPDATE FROM OUR FORESTRY GROUP.
UH, THIS OF COURSE IS OUR CITYWIDE TASK FORCE, AND WE HAVE SOME MEMBERS THAT ARE ALSO HERE, SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE RECOGNIZED.
UH, BUT WE'LL GIVE YOU A BRIEF UPDATE, UH, AS TO HOW WE'RE DOING WITH OUR, OUR OVERVIEW BOARD.
I'M BRETT JOHNSON, UH, THE CONSERVATION, UH, MANAGER WITH
UH, IN TODAY'S PRESENTATION, UH, WE'RE GONNA GIVE A QUICK UPDATE ON THE FORESTRY AND CONSERVATION EXPANDED PROGRAMS THAT OCCURRED IN THE LAST YEAR.
WE'LL DO A QUICK UPDATE ON EMERALD
WE'LL LOOK AT THE HISTORIC PRE DESIGNATION, PRE PLANNINGS OUTREACH, AND THE, UH, VARIOUS AWARDS THAT THE
AND LOOK AT THE NEXT STEPS AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE SLIDES.
ONE THING I NEED EVERYBODY TO BE AWARE OF, UH, IN THE, AT THE END OF THE PACKET, THERE IS AN APPENDIX THAT SHOWS THE, UH, URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN WITH THE 14 RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, AS WE LOOK AT THE SLIDES, WE WILL NOTICE, UM, TOWARDS BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE, THERE IS A TEXT BOX THAT INCLUDES A, UH, WHITE, UH, URBAN FORCE MASTER PLAN RECOMMENDATION.
SO, UH, IN THE LAST YEAR, UH, THE PARK DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN WORKING ACTIVELY TO EXPAND THE PROGRAMS IN FORESTRY AND CONSERVATION.
AND WITH THAT, I'M GONNA BRIEFLY TURN IT OVER TO CHRIS MCMASTER OVER, UH, THE, THE FORRY TEAM UPDATES.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'VE GOT SEVERAL POSITIONS LISTED HERE FOR, UH, FOR TREE ENHANCEMENT.
EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE POSITIONS IS A NEW POSITION BASED OFF THE ENHANCEMENT, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF FORESTER.
AT THIS POINT, ALL THESE POSITIONS ARE FILLED EXCEPT ONCE AGAIN, ARE CURRENTLY ACTIVELY.
[00:45:01]
CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD AND TRY TO KIND OF RIGHT SIZE WHAT THE FORESTRY TEAM SHOULD BE FOR THE DALLAS PARK SYSTEM, WE WILL CONTINUE TO EVALUATE WHAT IS NEEDED FOR THIS TEAM.BUT, UM, WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE THESE NEW POSITIONS ON BOARD.
WE'RE, WE'RE DOING MORE WORK THAN WE'VE EVER DONE, ESPECIALLY ON THE PROFESSIONAL SIDE.
SO REALLY EXCITED AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT AND POSITIONS.
OKAY, SO TO HELP SUPPORT, UH, THE FORESTRY STAFF AND AS WE IMPLEMENT, UH, ASPECTS OF THE URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN AND CA PLAN, UH, WE HAVE IN THE LAST YEAR WORKED TO EXPAND, UH, THE CONFIRMATION TEAM.
UH, THROUGH THE LAST YEAR, UH, WE HAVE UPGRADED MY LITTLE POSITION.
UH, I'M CURRENTLY THE CONSERVATION MANAGER, UH, OVERSEEING THE CONSERVATION TEAM.
AND WE HAVE HIRED A NEW, UH, URBAN BIOLOGIST, UH, CHRIS MORRIS, WHO IS HERE ATTENDANCE TODAY.
UH, HE'LL BE TAKING ON A LOT OF OUR, UH, CA RELATED OBJECTIVES, INCLUDING WE WILL BE THE INTEGRATED VEGETATION, UH, COORDINATOR, UH, SPECIFICALLY LOOKING AT HOW TO DEAL WITH A LOBAR SPECIES WITH THE PARK SYSTEM.
UH, ALSO IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS, WE'VE HIRED A SUPERVISOR, UH, BEST SIDE APPLICATOR WHO, UH, WILL BE WORKING ON, HE'S OUR IPM COORDINATOR.
AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND AS WE GET OUR MODERNIZING OUR CHEMICAL PROGRAM.
AND WITH THAT, WE KNOW, UM, QUICK UPDATE ON THE EMERALD DASHBOARD.
UH, AS Y'ALL KNOW, IT WAS IDENTIFIED AS BEING IN DALLAS AND WESTERN TARRANT COUNTY IN MAY OF 2022.
UH, SUBSEQUENT TO THAT IN MAY OF 23, UH, IT WAS FOUND AT I 20 GATEWAY AND SINGLE TRAP.
SO WITH THAT, THERE IS A
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE EVERYBODY'S AWARE OF THAT.
WITH THAT IN MIND, THE TEXAS FOREST SERVICE, UH, AND THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ALONG WITH THE CITY STAFF, HAVE ACTIVATED, UH, THE EMERALD DASH FOUR PLAN.
SO AS PART OF THAT PLAN, UH, CITY STAFF OVERALL, UM, PARKS FARM,
AND IN FY 23 CITY STAFF, UH, INVENTORY ALMOST 2000 TREES AT 1,832 TREES.
SO LOOK AT PARKS, UH, SPECIFIC.
WE HAD, UH, A NUMBER OF STAFF THAT AT SOME POINT WERE ON SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT COLLECTING INVENTORY ASH TREES ON PARK SPECIFIC PROPERTY, SPECIFICALLY IN MAINTAIN PORTIONS OF OUR PARKS.
AND IN 2023, UH, PARK STAFF INVENTORY 372 PARKS AND ASSESSED 1,456 TREES.
UH, UH, AS A REMINDER, AS WE MOVE FORWARD INTO NEXT YEAR AND WE START TREATING THE TREES, NOT ALL OF THOSE TREES ARE GOING TO BE TREATING ONLY A VERY SMALL SEGMENT OF THOSE INVENTORY TREES ARE GOING TO BE TREATED AND IT'S BASED ON THEIR CONDITION AND THEIR ACCESSIBILITY.
CURRENTLY, UM, OUT OF THOSE 1800 TREES, UH, ONLY A HUNDRED TREES HAVE BEEN SELECTED TO BEING TREATED AND MOST OF THOSE ARE DOWN HORSE PARK AND FLOOD.
UH, THAT TREE TREATMENT WILL RESUME IN MID-MARCH OF 2024.
UM, JUST WE'VE REACHED THAT POINT IN THE YEAR THAT IT MAKES DIFFERE NOT NEED TREATMENTS RIGHT NOW.
AND IN FY 23, UH, WE WERE MONITORING FOR
FOUR OF THOSE WERE MAINTAINED BY THE TEXAS FOREST SERVICE, AND EIGHT OF THEM WERE MAINTAINED BY CITY STAFF.
UH, SPECIFICALLY WE HAD THREE, UH, TRAPPING LOCATIONS ON PARKS THREE ON STREETS TWO WU AND AS I SAID EARLIER, WE DID HAVE ONE CONFIRMATION FROM DASH FOUR, UH, DOWN THERE I 20.
WE CONTINUED TRAINING, UH, STAFF, UH, WITHIN THE BOX DEPARTMENT THROUGHOUT FY 23.
UH, AT THIS POINT IN TIME, ALL PMO STAFF HAVE BEEN THROUGH AT LEAST ONE TRAINING ON RELATED AL DASH FOUR.
ALL OF OUR ARBORIST AND FORESTRY STAFF HAVE BEEN TRAINED USUALLY, AND MOST OF 'EM BEEN THROUGH AT LEAST THREE TRAINING SESSIONS.
AND, UH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING IMMENSELY, UH, WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS, BOTH AT THE STATE LEVEL AND WITHIN THE CITY, UH, MAKING SURE WE STAY UP TO DATE ON OUR INTELLECTUAL.
[00:50:02]
AT THE NEXT STEP, UH, KIND OF OUTSIDE OF THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, UH, CITY, UH, ARBORIST HAS BEEN WORKING ON UPDATING THE LANDSCAPING TREE MANUAL, UH, MAKING SURE IT'S UPDATED TO REFLECT FROMAND WITH THAT, I ACTUALLY WANT TO TURN IT OVER TO WHAT I THINK IS ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING, UH, DEVELOPMENTS IN 2023.
CHRIS, PLEASE TAKE AWAY FROM THAT.
SO, GREG GOT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT SOME SCIENCE AND SOME OF THE DEALERSHIPS, GET THEM, BRING SOME OF THE FEEL GOOD.
UM, THIS LAST COUNCIL MEETING, UM, COUNCIL APPROVED THE MOST OF THE HISTORIC SITES THAT WERE COUNCIL.
UM, IF YOU REMEMBER, I WAS HERE EARLIER THIS YEAR.
WE WERE DISCUSSING KIND OF GOING OVER WHAT THE HISTORIC TREE PROGRAM WAS WHILE WE WERE SELECTING THOSE SITES.
UM, AND A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR PARTNERS.
I MEAN, OFTENTIMES, YOU KNOW, TREES ARE RECOGNIZED AND WE MIGHT TALK ABOUT TREES, BUT VERY RARELY ARE TREES PROTECTED AT THIS LEVEL.
UM, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY AT NRPA TO PRESENT ON SPECIFICALLY MOORE PARK.
UM, MYSELF AND A COUPLE COLLEAGUES, UM, HAD TO TALK ABOUT THE HISTORY, HAD TO TALK ABOUT WHY THIS PARK WAS SELECTED, GOT TO TALK ABOUT THE TREES THEMSELVES, UM, AS WELL ATTENDED.
AND OF COURSE, AS ALWAYS, I'M HAPPY TO SHARE SOME OF THAT INFORMATION WITH YOU GUYS.
AND, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT OFFLINE, I'LL BE HAPPY TO TALK ABOUT IT 'CAUSE IT'S PRETTY EXCITING.
ALL RIGHT, EVERYBODY KNOWS BRANCHING OUT.
EVERYBODY LOVES PLANTING TREES THAT TIME OF YEAR.
UM, SO THIS IS KIND OF LOOK BACK AT LAST YEAR.
AS YOU CAN SEE, UM, WE HAVE OUR NORMAL GOAL, WHICH IS 12 PARKS, 600 TREES.
HAPPY REPORT THAT WE EXCEEDED THAT.
IN FACT, WE DOUBLED THE AMOUNT OF PARKS THAT WE LAID UP FOR OURSELVES AND EXCEEDED A THOUSAND TREES PLANTED LAST YEAR.
SO THIS YEAR, UM, HAD MOST OF THE PROGRAM LAID OUT ONCE AGAIN ARE FULL BRANCHING OUT EVENTS WITH 600 TREES, UM, SEVERAL INTERNAL PLANTINGS ALREADY, ALREADY PROGRAMMED.
AND WE'RE ALSO STARTING ANOTHER SUPPLEMENT TO BRANCHING OUT AT OUR TREE PLANTING.
AND THAT IS SOME EQUITY PLANTINGS THROUGHOUT THE CITY WHERE YOU'RE TARGETING TWO PARKS PER YEAR, SPECIFICALLY FOR TREAT EQUITY.
UM, ALSO TO NOTE, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING HOW CLOSE IT IS, UM, BRANCH OUT IS HAPPENING ON THE FOURTH.
UM, SO EVERYONE REGISTERED AND I SIGNED UP TO GET IT BE A PART OF THE TREAT GIVEAWAY.
AND THAT'S A PRETTY ASTOUNDING NUMBER REPORTING ON BRANCHING OUT OR BRANCH OUT 2,610 TREES.
UM, WHAT WE'VE KIND OF ALREADY DONE THIS YEAR, UM, I HOPE IS WE'RE ABLE TO COME OUT AND PLANT 120 TREES WITH US AT LAKE CLIFF PARK.
UH, KICKING OFF THE NRPA CONFERENCE WAS PRETTY BIG DEAL, BIG SERVICE DAY.
UM, WE GOT, WE GOT A LOT OF WORK GOING INTO LAKE CLIFF.
HAD A LOT OF VOLUNTEERS SHOW UP WITH A LOT OF TREES IN THE GROUND AND REALLY IMPROVE THAT PARK.
UM, SO IF YOU MISSED IT, WE'LL HAVE PLENTY OF OTHER OPPORTUNITIES.
SO ONCE AGAIN, BRANCH OUT NOVEMBER 4TH, UM, THIS WEEKEND WE'VE ALSO GOT ACTUALLY THREE TREE PLANTINGS GOING ON WORK IN THE MORNING.
UM, AND THEN HERE'S A COUPLE OF OTHER KEY DATES.
UM, LIVING BRANCHES WENT OFF ON SEPTEMBER 27TH.
THE COMMUNITY FOREST FOURTH YEAR ACADEMY, UH, IS ONGOING RIGHT NOW, SEPTEMBER THROUGH NOVEMBER OF THIS YEAR.
AND THEN TREE INVENTORY AS WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO WORK OUR WAY THROUGH THIS AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THIS DONE.
SO, UM, WE'RE ALL KIND OF BRINGING OUR RESOURCES TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE STAY ON TRACK AND TRY TO MAKE SURE OUR TREE INVENTORY GETS COMPLETED.
UH, TRAININGS AND PRESENTATIONS.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE, SINCE JANUARY 1ST OF THIS YEAR, WE'VE CONDUCTED
[00:55:01]
51 TRAININGS AND PRESENTATIONS.UM, AND THERE'S A FEW EXAMPLES.
SOUTHWEST PARTNER TRAINING INSTITUTE, ARBOR SCHOOL, SO ON AND SO FORTH.
WE'VE BEEN OUT THERE, WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET THE MESSAGE OUT.
WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT TREE RELATED ISSUES, ESPECIALLY EAB BRETT EVEN CONSIDERED DRESSING UP AS AN EAV.
NOW YOU KIND OF ALLUDED TO THIS, BUT, UM, IS THERE A FEW AWARDS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED THIS YEAR? UM, THE TRINITY BLACKLAND RESERVE FORRY AWARD, THAT'S SPECIFICALLY TO THE TECH TEAM.
SO THAT'S MULTI-DEPARTMENTAL WITHIN THE CITY OF DALLAS.
THE WORK THAT WE'VE ALL BEEN DOING, UM, THE COLLABORATION THAT'S TAKING PLACE IS, IS REALLY UNPRECEDENTED OF THE CITY.
SO, UM, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO BE SELECTED FOR THAT AWARD.
UM, YOU'VE GOT TO UP THERE, WHICH I BELIEVE WE'VE TALKED BEFORE, OUR AWARD.
UM, THAT'S ESSENTIALLY WE'VE WON THE, AN INNOVATIVE PROGRAM AWARD FOR THE MODERNIZATION OF OUR FORESTRY TEAM.
UM, AND THEN JUST RECENTLY RANCHING OUT WON A STATE AWARD FOR, UM, OUTSTANDING LANDSCAPING GROUP.
SO WE GOT A BIG STATE, YOU KNOW, HAPPY TO GO DOWN TO, TO WACO, TO THE TEXAS STREET CONFERENCE AND ACCEPT THAT AWARD ALONG WITH OUR PARTNERS, TEXAS TREE.
UH, SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
BUT, UH, MOVING FORWARD, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE THE SASH TREE INVENTORY.
UM, WE'RE CONTINUING TO TAX TREES AND PREPARE THEM TO BE TREATED ONCE THE WEATHER KIND OF PERMITS US TO DO EFFECTIVE TREATMENT.
UM, AS WE'VE ALREADY DISCUSSED, CITY COUNCIL, UH, PRETTY, THOSE, THESE HISTORIC TREE GROVES AND SPECIFIC TREES, BIG DEAL FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS, UH, DALLAS HARBOR.
SO WE'VE GOT SOME PLANTING, WE GOT BRANCH OUT COMING UP.
UM, WE'RE ALSO GONNA, THERE'S A CEREMONY TO DEDICATE MORE PARK THE TREES ON MORE PARK TOMORROW.
SO YOU'RE AVAILABLE AND YOU WANNA KIND OF COME OUT AND LEARN ABOUT MORE PARK AND, AND SEE THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING WITH OUR PARTNERS.
UH, TEXAS HISTORIC TREE COALITION.
UM, AND THEN A LITTLE FURTHER OUT, WE'RE DEVELOPING ONE YEAR PILOT STUDY RELATED TO THE TREE INVENTORY AS I ALLUDED TO BEFORE.
UM, TRYING TO JUST FIGURE OUT HOW TO KEEP THE THING ON TRACK, HOW TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, WE KIND OF DIAL IN OUR NUMBERS AND WHAT WE CAN EXPECT AS FAR AS FUNDING FOR THAT PROJECT.
'CAUSE IT'S A, IT'S A A VERY BIG ORDEAL TO, TO THINK THAT WE'RE GONNA INVENTORY EVERY PUBLIC TREE CITY.
NOW'S AMAZING, BUT IT'S NOT SOME EASY TASK.
SO, AND THEN OF COURSE WE'LL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE UPDATES TO THE CITY FOREST WEBSITE AND CONTINUE OUR OUTREACH PROGRAMS AND HOPEFULLY BE INNOVATIVE WITH HOW WE DO THAT, LIKE BREAD.
UM, SO WE'LL OPEN UP QUESTIONS.
SO CHAIR, SEE WE EXCEEDED OUR GOALS LAST YEAR AND HOPEFULLY WE DO THE SAME AGAIN THIS YEAR.
SO WITH THAT MR. KA, THANK YOU MR.
UM, CHRIS HAS DONE A COUPLE OF PRE-PLANTING THINGS IN OUR AREA.
YOU'VE BEEN INCREDIBLE LOOKING AT ALL OF OUR AREAS THAT NEED HELP.
UM, AND THEN OUR ROSEMEAD ISSUE THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO CLEAN THAT UP.
CHRIS CAN'T, CAN'T SPEAK HIGH ENOUGH ABOUT YOU GUYS.
MY NEIGHBOR ACROSS THE STREET, UM, IS ONE OF THE CITY MANAGERS, ONE OF THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGERS FOR THE CITY OF SOUTHLAKE.
AND UH, HE WAS TALKING ABOUT HIS FORESTER AND ARBORISTS AND I WAS LIKE, THAT GUYS, YOU KNOW, WE GOT THE BEST.
UM, SO THANK YOU GUYS VERY MUCH FOR ALL YOU DOING THERE.
ANY
[01:00:01]
WE GET TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT THOSE EXCITING THINGS.I HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS ON YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, YOU HAD A POSITION AS A STOREKEEPER
SO STOREKEEPER IS ESSENTIALLY SOMEBODY THAT MANAGES OUR WAREHOUSE, KEEPS TRACK OF ALL OF OUR EQUIPMENT AND ALL OF OUR SUPPLIES, AND I WAS GETTING NEW PLACE TO OCEAN
UM, SECOND QUESTION, PESTICIDE APPLICATION PERSON.
UM, IS THAT SPECIFICALLY FOR LIKE BUGS OR IS THAT FOR, BUT, AND LIKE INVASIVE SPECIES? UH, INVASIVE SPECIES, MEANING PLANT LIFE.
HE, HE, HE IS GONNA BE KIND OF ACROSS THE SPECTRUM.
UH, UH, THAT INDIVIDUAL WILL BE SAID.
WE ARE IMPLEMENTING A MORE FULLY IMPLEMENTING THE PARKS INTEGRATED BEST MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.
UH, WHICH WE SHOULD HAVE, UH, UPDATED FROM 2008.
WE SHOULD HAVE THE NEXT MONTH OR SO.
I KNOW, I THINK WHITE ROCK, I, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT Y'ALL'S PARKS WHERE YOU HAVE LIKE BASEBALL DIAMONDS AND THAT KIND OF STUFF.
THERE'S A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF SPRAYING THAT GOES ON AND THEN WE HAVE A WHOLE EXTRA LAYER OF REQUIREMENTS AROUND LAKE AND KIDS AND ALL THAT.
SO THAT PERSON WOULD BE OVER ALL OF THAT TYPE OF, THEY, THEY'LL BE ASSISTING A LOT OF THAT ISSUE.
AND THAT'S ACTUALLY, UM, AS WE IMPLEMENT THE I PLAN, THEY'RE BE WORKING ON, UH, HOW DO WE BALANCE OUT, UH, TRADITIONAL CHEMICAL USAGE WITH OUR GREEN CHEMICAL MESSAGE.
AND, UH, MAINLY BEING ELEVATION WE CAN TRACK.
UM, HISTORIC TREE DESIGNATION.
I CAN'T REMEMBER IF YOUR PRESENTATION, DO YOU GUYS MARK THAT WITH THE PLAQUE OR IS THERE SOME KIND OF EXPLANATION AROUND WHY IT'S DESIGNATED OR THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS KIND OF IN THE WORKS, LIKE HOW ARE WE GONNA RECOGNIZE THESE TREES ON SITE? AND THERE'S STILL SOME THINGS TO WORK THROUGH BECAUSE AS WE DISCUSSED LAST TIME, IT'S, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES THAT PUTS A TARGET ON THOSE TREES.
I MEAN, IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE TREATY OF VANDALISM THAT TAKES PLACE, WE DO DEFINITELY WANT TO PURSUE SOME SIGNAGE.
MAYBE IT'S LIKE SOME STORYBOARD MATERIALS THAT SPECIFIC TO THE SITE, THOSE TREES DISTRIBUTES, OR EVEN A QR CODE IF SOMETHING AS SIMPLE.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'VE BEEN REALLY LOOKING AT LATELY, IS HOW DO WE GET SOMETHING ON SITE WHERE IF YOU'RE REALLY GOOD, YOU CAN SCAN THE QR CODE, BRING UP THAT INFORMATION.
AND THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST COMPLICATED AS FAR AS BRANCHING OUT.
AND HOW DO YOU SELECT OR WE HEARD THE BACHMAN FOLKS TALKING ABOUT WHAT A URBAN, YOU KNOW, A DESERT IT WAS, AND I'M ASSUMING JUST NORTH OF THEM WOULD BE BECAUSE IT'S PRE PREDOMINANTLY COMMERCIAL.
BUT EVEN AT BACHMAN, I KNOW OUR CHALLENGE HAS ALWAYS BEEN YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE WATER OR THE IRRIGATION GO IN THERE.
AND I'M SURE THAT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT.
BUT CAN YOU JUST BRIEFLY TELL US WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING ACROSS OUR PARKS, LIKE WHO, HOW DO YOU SELECT THE PEOPLE WHO YOU'RE BRANCHING OUT? 'CAUSE YOU JUST, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TREES EVERYWHERE.
SO HOW DO YOU PICK IF YOU CAN ONLY DO YEAH, A CERTAIN AMOUNT PER YEAR? SO THERE'S, THERE'S SEVERAL INPUTS.
UM, THE KIND OF THE TOP INPUT IS REALLY WHERE DO WE NEED TREES, LIKE CAN IT BE PERSPECTIVE, WHAT'S OUR COVERAGE LOOK LIKE? AND THEN WE REALLY BREAK DOWN INTO WHAT THE NEIGHBORHOODS NEED TREES.
SO WE LOOK AT, WE USE DIFFERENT RESOURCES AND DETERMINE, UM, WHAT, WHAT'S THE TREE EQUITY SCORE FOR THAT AREA? MM-HMM,
AND THEN OF COURSE WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, SOME DIFFERENT, UM, LITTLE ACTIONS, THINGS LIKE THAT REQUESTING DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT PARTS.
BUT, UM, WE TRY TO WORK OUR WAY THROUGH AND MAKE THAT REALLY, YOU KNOW, A GOOD FIT.
UM, IF WE CAN FIND A NEIGHBORHOOD THAT'S REALLY NEED TREES AND WE'VE GOT A PARK WELL POSITIONED IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD'S GONNA TAKE A GOOD HARD LOOK AT IT AND TRY TO, SO I WOULD JUST, I WOULD SAY THAT TO ALL OF YOU THAT IF YOU, IF YOU HAVE A PARK THAT YOU KNOW YOU NEED TREES, IF YOU CAN GO OUT AND FIND SOMEBODY TO PARTNER WITH YOU TO PROVIDE THE MONEY FOR THE IRRIGATION, THAT'S THE BIG STUMBLING BLOCK IN MOST CASES.
LIKE THE TREES ARE EASY TO GET.
WE'VE GOT THE MANPOWER TO PUT 'EM IN THE, IN THE GROUND.
IT'S JUST USUALLY THE IRRIGATION.
AND IT'S NOT A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY, BUT IT'S MONEY WE DON'T HAVE.
SO IF YOU CAN FIND A PARTNER THAT CAN GIVE YOU THAT THREE TO $7,000 DONATION, THEN YOU CAN GET YOURSELF A PRETTY DECENT, UH, YOU CAN GET ON THAT LIST VERSUS WAITING FOR US TO HAVE THE MONEY TO DO IT A HUNDRED PERCENT ON THE PARKS BUDGET.
SO I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE ALL OF YOU TO, IF YOU GOT ANYBODY THAT HAS A LITTLE MONEY, THAT'S A GREAT WAY TO SEE BIG IMPACT REALLY QUICKLY IN YOUR OWN PARKS.
YEAH, FOR THAT REASON, THAT'S WHY WE'RE, WE'RE VERY STRICT ON SELECTING PARKS FOR, ESPECIALLY BRANCHING OUT IN THIS NEW EQUITY INITIATIVE.
[01:05:02]
I MEAN, WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING FOR PARKS AND NEIGHBORHOODS THAT REALLY NEED OUR ASSISTANCE.UM, SO JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND.
IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE'RE GONNA ROLL OUT ANY PARK.
UH, THANK YOU BOTH FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
UH, I THINK ABOUT OUR TREE INVENTORY PRE CANOPY A LOT AS WE STILL, JUST OVER FOUR YEARS AGO, THE TORNADO THAT HIT US IN NORTH DALLAS, AND PARTICULARLY IN DISTRICT 11, VERY HARD.
AND WE LOST, I THINK 1% OF THE CITY'S TREE CANOPY OVERALL, AND WE'RE STILL TRYING TO RECOVER FROM THAT.
SO THESE PROGRAMS ARE SO IMPORTANT AS WE REDEVELOP, UH, AND ADD IN MORE TREES TO, YOU KNOW, STILL TRY TO RECOVER FROM SOMETHING THAT WAS FOUR YEARS AGO.
AND SO I APPRECIATE ALL THE EFFORTS THAT, UH, Y'ALL ARE DOING TO INCREASE OUR TREE CANOPY AND OUR INVENTORY.
I DID HAVE A QUESTION, UM, ABOUT THE DIFFERENT VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES.
I KNOW WE'VE GOT BRANCH OUT DALLAS AND BRANCHING OUT DALLAS.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO? SO, BRANCHING OUT IS OUR FREE PLANTING BRANCH OUT IS ADMINISTERED BY DW AND THAT'S A TREE GIVEAWAY THAT'S MULTIPLE LOCATIONS ACROSS THE CITY WHERE CAN REGISTER FOR TREES AND COME IN AND GET FREE TREES.
SO IS THE THIRD DWU IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO GET A FREE TREE FOR IT'S RE IT'S RESIDENCE OR FOR A PARK OR WHEREVER THEY WANNA PUT IT, HOW DOES THAT CITY RESIDENTS FOR CITY RESIDENTS ONLY? AND THEN THE BRANCHING OUT IS THE PROGRAMS THAT WE DO WITH VOLUNTEERS WHERE IT'S SOMETIMES SUPPLIED BY TREX, TTTF OR ANOTHER GROUP THAT WILL BRING THE TREES IN AND THEN WE'LL HAVE VOLUNTEERS PLANT THEM.
UM, ALL THE, ALL THE TREE PLANTING THAT HAPPENS ON DALLAS PARKS, UH, THE CITY ACTUALLY PROVIDES THOSE TREES THROUGH OUR REFOREST STATION.
UM, AND WE'VE GOT SOME UPCOMING THIS WEEKEND, INCLUDING ONE AT FRED'S PARKS.
UM, JUST TO PIGGYBACK OFF THIS PROCESS, I BELIEVE PARTNER WITH PEOPLE, UM, TO PLANT TREES, UM, AND THEN THE IRRIGATION.
UM, REMIND ME WHAT THAT PROCESS IS AND WHAT TYPE OF IRRIGATION THAT WE ARE DOING AND WHAT THOSE COSTS ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE FOR PARTNERING.
IT DEPENDS ON THE AMOUNT OF TREES THAT ARE GONNA GO ON THE GROUND.
UM, GENERALLY OUR BRANCHING OUT PLANTINGS ARE ABOUT TREES ALMOST ALWAYS BE THE TREES, BUT THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE THE CASE.
YOU GOT A SMALLER PART AND WE'VE DONE TREE PLANTINGS SMALLER.
WELL, ONE OF THE ONES THIS WEEKEND IS WE'RE ADDING THREE TREATS, UM, THAT'S OUTSIDE OF BRANCHING OUT.
THAT'S MORE OF AN INTERNAL PLANTING.
BUT I WOULD SAY, UH, TO START THAT PROCESS, THAT WOULD REALLY WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY CONNECTORS IN YOUR AREA, YOUR CPCS, AND, UM, THEY CAN KIND OF START THAT CONVERSATION.
UM, AND OR, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN ALWAYS REACH OUT TO US AVAILABLE TO TALK ABOUT IT.
BUT THAT'S THE BEST WAY TO GO ABOUT IT, I WOULD SAY IS GET WITH THEM AND START THE BALL ROLLING SO THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY GO
AND SO IN THE PAST IN MY DISTRICT, I'VE HAD SOME ISSUES WHERE THERE'S PARTNERS THAT WANTED COME AND THE WITH PLANTING, HAVE WE FIXED THAT PROCESS? UH, WHERE WE'VE MADE IT MORE KIND OF, WELL, WE SUCCINCT OR AS FAR AS THE WINDOW OF PLANTING, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN WE PLANT NOVEMBER THROUGH MARCH.
WELL, WE WILL, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES GET A LITTLE BIT OUTTA THE WINDOW, BUT THAT'S KIND OF MORE OF AN EXCEPTION OF, UM, AND THEN IN REGARDS TO THE SIGNAGE, UM, I, I LIKE TO THINK THAT EVERYBODY HAS A SMARTPHONE, BUT THAT'S NOT ACTUALLY ACCURATE.
UM, AND SO, AND THE THEN THAT YOU DO A QR CODE, UM, TO BE AWARE THAT NOT EVERYBODY DOES HAVE THAT ACCESS.
AND IF YOU DO, AND WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PUTTING IT INTO, UH, MULTI LANGUAGES TO, UM, UNDERSTAND THE HISTORY OF THAT TREE.
AND NO THANK YOU GUYS FOR THIS.
UM, WE, UH, HAD HISTORICALLY HAD A SHORTAGE OF IRRIGATORS.
I'M JUST WONDERING HOW WE'RE DOING ON IRRIGATORS.
UH, WE STILL HAVE TROUBLE GETTING IRRIGATORS TO MAINTAIN THE EXISTING PROJECTS.
YES, MR. DICKEY? YES, WE'RE STILL HAVING CHALLENGES, UH, RELATED
[01:10:01]
TO RECRUITING IRRIGATORS.UM, WE HAVE PUT TOGETHER AN INCENTIVE PROGRAM, UM, NOT MUCH SUCCESS WITH THAT AS OF YET.
UH, WE ARE NOW, UM, WE'LL BE, AND WE ALREADY HAVE, UH, SOME IRRIGATION CONTRACTORS, UH, THAT HAVE BEEN ASSISTING US WITH IRRIGATION, INSTALLATION AND REPAIRING THAT KIND OF THING.
UH, BUT WE ARE GOING OUT FOR, UH, TO RECRUIT MORE IRRIGATION CONTRACTS, UH, AND CONTRACTORS.
SO THAT CONTRACT, UM, WE, WE SPOKE WITH PROCUREMENT EARLIER, LIKE LAST WEEK.
UH, SO WE'RE TRYING TO HAVE THAT CONTRACT TOGETHER BY THE END OF NOVEMBER.
SO HOPEFULLY BY NEXT SPRING WE'LL HAVE MORE CONTRACTORS THAT CAN WORK WITH US BECAUSE WE DO HAVE SO MUCH WORK.
UH, SO WE NEED MORE CONTRACTORS TO ASSIST US, BUT WE ARE STILL WORKING DILIGENTLY TO RECRUIT, UH, MORE IRRIGATORS.
AS BOARD MEMBERS, AS WE GO AROUND TO OUR PARKS AND SEE THE PREVIOUS BRANCHING OUT LOCATIONS THAT ARE IRRIGATED, WHAT'S THE BEST WAY WE, WE NOTICE THE TREES THAT WERE, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN BROKEN.
WHAT'S THE BEST PROCESS WE CAN USE TO LET YOU ALL KNOW AND, UM, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE THERE'S LIKE DEAD TREES WHERE THE, THE IRRIGATION'S BROKEN.
UH, WHAT'S JUST THE, THE BEST WAY WE CAN LET YOU KNOW? AND I MEAN, DO THEY, DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE BASICALLY TO FIX THOSE THINGS OR, I MEAN, THE BEST WAY TO DO IT'S 3 1 1, 3, 1, 1, 3, 1 1.
I, I'LL PUT IN, UH, REQUESTED 3 1 1.
WE'VE HAD A FEW COME IN ALREADY.
UM, AND ERIC IS ALWAYS MONITORING THAT AND ALL IMMEDIATELY GO OUT.
SO THE SECOND QUESTION IS IN THE, OUR DALLAS APP FOR 3 1 1 IS THERE, AND I HAVEN'T CHECKED, DO YOU KNOW IF THERE'S A CATEGORY FOR THAT? BECAUSE THAT'S A REALLY EFFECTIVE APP, UH, AS OPPOSED TO HANG, YOU KNOW, WAITING ON, ON HOLD ON THE PHONE.
I WOULDN'T, I, I MEAN, I WOULDN'T SAY THAT THERE'S A SPECIFIC CATEGORY, BUT IF YOU GET, IF YOU'RE GONNA SEND A REQUEST TO PARK AND REC AND FORESTRY, WHICH IS IN THERE, THAT'S GONNA COME TO THE SAME PEOPLE THAT SENT.
AND AND FINAL QUESTION I HAVE IS THIS QUESTION OF REQUIRING IRRIGATION FOR PLANTING.
AND THERE'S BEEN DISCUSSED THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A RELUCTANCE TO HAVE VOLUNTEER GROUPS DO IT BECAUSE THEY CAN BE INCONSISTENT OR WHATEVER.
IS THAT STILL KIND OF OUR POLICY? OR IF, IF THERE'S A GROUP THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, IS WELL, WELL-ESTABLISHED AND HAS WATERING TRUCK AND MAKES A COMMITMENT, UH, IS THAT AN AVENUE THAT'S OPEN OR ARE WE PRETTY MUCH STILL REQUIRING THE, THE IRRIGATION TO BE IN PLACE? WE LOOK AT EVERY SINGLE REQUEST.
AND SO I MEAN IT, I GUESS IT DEPENDS ON THE SPECIFICS OF THAT SITUATION, BUT I WOULD NOT SAY THAT WE WOULD DEFINITELY NOT DO THAT.
UM, IT'S JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE ON OUR END TO KIND OF MONITOR AND MANAGE, MAKE SURE THAT THAT GROUP IS DOING, YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY COMPLETING THE WATERING.
AND, UH, THE OTHER THING I'LL SAY IS, UM, WITH SOME OF THE, THIS COME IN PART OF THAT WAS FOR US TO ACTUALLY PURCHASE A COUPLE OF WATER TRAILERS.
SO WE'RE TAKING SOME OF THOSE PROJECTS ON IN HOUSE AS WELL.
UM, UH, A LOT OF THAT STUFF IS, IS ALREADY BEING USED ON A WEEK, ON A WEEKLY, SO WE'RE WATERING TWICE A WEEK ALREADY.
UM, FINALLY, I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT YOU TWO ARE A TRUE TREASURE IN THIS DEPARTMENT AND YOU'RE INTERESTING, KNOWLEDGEABLE PEOPLE AND INTERESTING CHARACTERS AND FUN TO BE AROUND.
THANK NICE, THANK YOU PRESIDENT AL.
AND THANK YOU, UH, RENEE, BRITT AND CHRIS FOR, UH, THE PRESENTATION.
UM, FORGIVE MY IGNORANCE, I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS BECAUSE I REALLY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY MEAN.
WHAT IS A TREE EQUITY SCORE? UM, TREE EQUITY SCORE LOOKS AT KIND OF THE, BOTH THE CANOPY COVERAGE IN THAT AREA AND IT LOOKS AT THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE LOCAL SPECIFIC NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, SO WHEN WE, WHEN WE LOOK AT THAT AND WE KIND OF START DIGGING INTO THAT, UM, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF CRITERIA THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, WHICH IS, UH, PERCENTAGE OF, OF PEOPLE OF, OF COLOR IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, AND THEN PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE.
AND THAT KIND OF HELPS GUIDE US TOWARD WHICH NEIGHBORHOODS WE WANT TO REALLY TARGET FOR TREES.
WHICH NEIGHBORHOOD DO YOU TARGET FIRST? 'CAUSE OBVIOUSLY CORRECT.
THANK YOU FOR THAT EXPLANATION.
UM, WHAT IS AN INTEGRATED VEGETATION COORDINATOR? THAT
UM, THAT INTEGRATED VEGETATION COORDINATOR, THAT'S, UM, THAT'S KIND OF A SUBSET OF INTEGRATED BATCH MANAGEMENT.
AND LIKE I SAID, UH, AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UH, WE ARE LOOKING AS UNDER CCAP.
THERE'S, THERE'S A OBJECTIVE IN THERE FOR INVASIVE SPECIES CONTROL,
[01:15:01]
AND WE DO HAVE A NUMBER OF INVASIVE SPECIES, ESPECIALLY, UH, LOOKING AT PLANTS.AND THE, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE, UH, NEW URBAN BIOLOGIST, UH, CHRIS MORRIS WHO'S SITTING BACK HERE, UH, THAT'S ONE OF HIS BIG OBJECTIVES WILL BE, UH, WORKING WITH THE DISTRICT STAFF AND ALSO WORKING, UH, WITH THAT NEW PESTICIDE VISOR WE MENTIONED, UH, TO COME UP WITH, UH, UH, SITE SPECIFIC PLANS FOR DEALING WITH, YOU KNOW,
UM, YOU ALL MENTIONED THAT, UH, EAB IS WORKING ITS WAY TO THE TRINITY FOREST AND THE PLAN TOO, THAT YOU ALL HAVE BEEN TREATING THE, THE ASH TREES.
AND, UM, IS THERE, I'M JUST CURIOUS, I MEAN, DO WE HAVE ADEQUATE, ADEQUATE RESOURCES TO BE ABLE TO TREAT THE, THE AMOUNT OF TREES THAT NEED TO BE TREATED? UM, WELL KEEP IN MIND FROM THE BE GET GO, THE PLAN WAS NEVER TO TREAT ALL THE TREES.
IT'S, IT'S NOT PRACTICAL TO DO THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH THE TEXAS FOREST SERVICE, WE HAVE A CERTAIN CRITERIA, LIKE IF THERE'S MORE THAN 30% OF THE CANOPY THAT MAY ALREADY BE IMPACTED IN THE TREE, UM, IT'S NOT, THE CONDITION IS NOT, UH, IT DOESN'T, THE CONDITION IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR US TO TREAT THAT TREE.
UM, AND AFTER THE LAST TWO WINTERS, THAT CREATES AN INTERESTING CHALLENGE, WHETHER ITS FOR WINTER, 'CAUSE IT CAN PRESENT VERY SIMILAR.
SO THAT'S WHY WE WANNA MAKE SURE, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WHY OF ALL WE DOING, UH, THE INVENTORIES, IS TO MAKE SURE THEY CAN DIFFERENTIATE AND GET THOSE CONDITIONS, SCORES IN THERE, SLEEP THAT WE MAKE SURE WE ARE TREATING HIGH QUALITY SPECIMENS.
UM, IF YOU'VE GOT ANY, ANY FURTHER, UH, ANY FURTHER, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR EXPERTISE.
UM, I AM ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT KEEPS ASKING FOR DIFFERENT TREE PLANNINGS WHEN THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND, AND THANK YOU TO RENEE AND, UM, CHRIS AND BRENT.
UM, WHETHER IT WAS ONE THREE FOR A NATIONAL NIGHT OUT THAT WE DID A, YOU KNOW, A COMMUNITY TREE, UM, THAT EVERYBODY GOT TO PLANT TOGETHER THAT CAME TO NATIONAL NIGHT OUT AND MY NEIGHBORHOOD PARK.
UM, WHETHER IT IS, YOU KNOW, A REQUEST OF THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, YOU'VE ALWAYS COME THROUGH.
UM, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES WE HAD TO THROW A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW, BUT THAT'S HOW WE ALL DO IT.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, BUT YOU'VE ALWAYS COME THROUGH.
SO THANK YOU FOR ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, HELPING PLANT TREES.
UM, I WAS TOLD THAT EVERGLADE PARK COULD NEVER HAVE ANY TREES.
I THINK WE'RE UP TO 156, SO IT'S A LOT OF ROCK THERE.
UM, WE MIGHT NOT HAVE BIG TREES, BIG GROWTH.
UM, THEY HAVE A LOT OF S AND DESERT WILLOWS, SO THEY MADE IT WORK.
UM, THEY ACTUALLY, THEY KNOW WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT.
UM, THEY'VE WORKED HARD TO, UH, MAKE THE BEST OUT OF SOME, YOU KNOW, DIFFICULT SITUATIONS.
SO, UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND GREATLY APPRECIATED THE ASSISTANT.
YEAH, WITH NO SALT
WELL, FIRST OF ALL, YOU KNOW, JUST, UH, WHEN WE GOT DIRECTIONS LIKE MR. RENEE AND OF COURSE CHRIS, NO, I MEAN, JUST
YOU KNOW, THE TREE THAT YOU PUT DISAGREE AND WHAT DICKIE SAID EARLIER, YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS HAVE MADE BEING A NERD BE COOL,
THIS DEPARTMENT JUST THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY.
AND GO MY MAJOR FROM MY DIRECTOR TO MR. A TO CRYSTAL, TO MS. SNOW RYAN, UH, SECRETARY TO OUR TECHNOLOGY PEOPLE OF THERE, OUR CITY ATTORNEYS, THAT PEOPLE WAS OUT OF TROUBLE.
THIS, THIS IS SUCH A BLESSING TO IT'S GOOD BE I'M NERD ONE DAY.
THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU I PLANTING NEXT.
PLAN THREE RATHER THAN OUCH,
[01:20:01]
ABOUT IT.EXTENDED FAMILY IS JEWISH AND WHEN MY MOTHER PASSED AWAY, THEY PLANTED A TREE FOR MY MOM, ISRAEL.
WHAT YOU THAT AGAIN, I THINK I RESONATE WITH BOTH, BOTH WHAT MEMBERS SAID.
YOU ARE DOING WHAT? PARK SUPPORT.
IT'S ABOUT TREES, IT'S
YOU WON'T SEE RESULTS OF WHAT YOU DO TODAY, BUT TRUST ME, FUTURE GENERATION.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU GUYS.
WE HAVE EXCITING
SEE, THINK I WENT TO A COUPLE OF EVENTS AND OH MY GOD, KEISHA ROSS, SHE REALLY HAD CONTROLS AND CONTROL AND WAS LEADING FROM KEISHA, EVERYBODY.
SO I AM HERE TO GIVE YOU GUYS AN UPDATE ON THE NRPA CONFERENCE, WHICH ISATION PARK ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE THAT WAS HELD.
SO THIS IS MORE OF A FEEL GOOD BECAUSE I'M SO EXCITED THAT WE WERE FINALLY ABLE TO PULL THIS OFF AFTER 18 MONTHS OF HARD WORK.
SO SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW AND SOME OF YOU THAT ARE NEW TO IT OR MAY NOT KNOW, BUT EVERY YEAR THE NATIONAL PARK AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION HOSTS OUR ANNUAL CONFERENCE.
AND IT IS THE PLACE, THE PREMIER PLACE FOR PARK AND RECREATION PROFESSIONALS TO GO AND TO CONTINUE TO ENGAGE, LEARN, NETWORK, AND FIND OUT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE INDUSTRY.
SO WE WERE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO BE THE HOST FOR THIS YEAR'S CONFERENCE AFTER NUMEROUS YEARS AFTER, SINCE 1985.
IT WAS FINALLY BACK HERE IN DALLAS.
SO WE WERE SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THAT AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE NRB, HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH THE NRPA TEAM OVER THIS PAST, LIKE I SAID, 18 MONTHS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE ABLE TO WELCOME EVERYBODY TO DALLAS.
AND SO THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO HAVE AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE AND WE THINK WE'RE ABLE TO DO THAT.
UM, SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE CONFERENCE WERE WE HAD THE OPENING SESSION ROCKING WITH THREE SPEAKERS ALL AT ONCE.
ONE OF THEM GAVE A VERY BEAUTIFUL BIRTHDAY RENDITION, A HAPPY BIRTHDAY
SO WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY FOR, UM, OUR MAYOR, OUR DIRECTOR, AND OUR PARK BOARD HERE TO ALL OPEN THE SESSION FOR US.
AND IT WAS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE MOST ATTENDED OPENING SESSIONS IN OUR PA HISTORY.
SO WE WERE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
UM, SOMETHING ELSE THAT WAS SUPER EXCITING ABOUT THE CONFERENCE IS THAT WE HAD 28 SPEAKERS THAT WERE SELECTED.
UM, WE HAD OVER 500 PRESENTATIONS THAT WERE DONE, BUT 28 OF THOSE PRESENTATIONS, 20 OF THOSE SPEAKERS WERE FROM THE CITY OF DALLAS PARK RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
AGAIN, ANOTHER RECORD RANKING.
UM, JUST LIKE YOU GUYS KNOW, THERE ARE SOME AMAZING THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING HERE IN DALLAS AND WE WERE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO SHARE THAT WITH OUR COLLEAGUES ACROSS AMERICA.
UM, WE ALSO, SOME OF YOU ATTENDED, WE ALSO POSTED THE ONLY, THEY'RE THE ONLY CITY ACTUALLY WHO HAVE POSTED A WELCOME TO YOUR CITY EVENT.
UM, SO NRP WAS VERY GRATEFUL FOR THAT.
SO ATLANTA IS CHOMPING AT THE BITS
UM, SO THEY'VE ALREADY TOLD US THAT, UM, WE BETTER WATCH OUR BACK, BUT WE HAD A FABULOUS TIME.
EVERYBODY ENJOYED THE OPPORTUNITIES TO COME OUT AND SEE CLYDE WARREN AND BARK.
IT WAS AMAZING AND EVERYBODY HAD A GREAT TIME.
SO AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL FOR ATTENDING THAT AS WELL.
UM, SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE HAD GOING ON, WE WERE ACTUALLY A GOLD SPONSOR FOR THE, UM, ETHNIC MINORITY, ETHNIC MINORITY SOCIETY.
SO THAT WAS OUR FIRST OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT AS WELL.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE A FELLOW IN OUR MIST, OUR DEPUTY DIRECTOR, MS. CRYSTAL ROSS FELLOW.
SO AGAIN, CONGRATULATIONS MRS. ROSS.
SO ANOTHER THING THAT WAS GREAT ABOUT THE CONFERENCE THAT I WANT YOU GUYS TO KNOW, UM, WE, WE'VE BEEN IN A PANDEMIC, SO ATTENDANCE AT THE CONFERENCE REALLY KIND OF DWINDLED DOWN OF TALK FOLKS TO TRAVEL AND BE ABLE TO ATTEND.
BUT NRPA WAS SO EXCITED AND SO HAPPY.
WE ARE OBVIOUSLY CENTRALLY LOCATED IN DALLAS.
SO SO FAR THEY HAVE NOT HAD THEIR FINAL TALLY, BUT THEY ARE NINE.
THEY HAD 9,000 PLUS ATTENDEES HERE IN DALLAS, WHICH IS ALSO THE LARGEST ATTENDANCE AT THE CONFERENCE THUS FAR.
SO WE ARE SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THAT AS WELL.
[01:25:03]
YES, SO THAT IS THE LARGEST ATTENDED CONFERENCE.SO THEY, AND A COUPLE YEARS AGO THEY SWITCHED TO A HYBRID MODEL WHERE YOU COULD DO IN-PERSON AND ONLINE, BUT STILL THE IN-PERSON ATTENDANCE WAS AT 9,000 OUTSIDE THE ONLINE ATTENDEES.
SO THEY WERE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
THAT IS, THAT'S VERY IMPRESSIVE FOR THEM.
UM, BUT THERE WAS ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US AS THE LOCAL POST COMMITTEE, WHICH IS KNOWN AS THE LHC.
UM, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO ENGAGE WITH FOLKS THAT WENT ON OFFSITE INSTITUTES.
AND THOSE ARE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO GET CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS TO KEEP THEIR CERTIFICATIONS, UM, THINGS THAT THEY MAY NEED FOR THEIR AGENCY TO BE CERTIFIED OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE.
AND WE HAD SO MANY WONDERFUL COMMENTS, SO MANY EMAILS COMING IN, UM, THANKING US, THANKING THE CITY.
ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS, WE HAD THIS ONE SPEAKER, AND I THINK I MAY HAVE GOTTEN TO TELL YOU GUYS ABOUT THAT.
SHE'S ACTUALLY ONE OF OUR YOUTH PARTICIPANTS AND THIS WAS HER PROFESSIONAL SPEAKING DEBUT.
AND OUR PA ACTUALLY GAVE HER A SPEAKING STIPEND TO PARTICIPATE.
AND SO SHE WAS ON STAGE IN AN ENTIRE ROOM AND TO BE ABLE TO TELL HER STORY ABOUT BEING A PARK PARTICIPANT AND HOW SHE WAS ABLE TO GO TO THE JUNIOR NBA NATIONALS AND ACTUALLY WIN IT AND HOW THE DALLAS PARK AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT HELPED HER TO DO THAT.
SO THAT WAS PRETTY AMAZING TO SEE THIS 11 YEAR OLD ON STAGE BEING ABLE TO TELL HER STORY AND HOW PARKS AND RECREATION IS IMPACTING.
SO WE JUST WANTED TO KIND OF GIVE YOU GUYS AN UPDATE, BUT THAT'S ALL WELL AND GOOD.
I REALLY WANTED TO BRING THIS GROUP OF PEOPLE HERE TO GIVE THEM A HUGE THANK YOU.
AGAIN, THE COMMITTEE WAS COMPRISED OF THE LOCAL HOST COMMITTEE, BUT WE WERE THE PEOPLE THAT WERE SITTING AT THE TABLE KIND OF PUTTING ALL, ALL THE IDEAS TOGETHER.
BUT THERE'S SO MANY PEOPLE THAT IT TOOK TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE ACTUALLY ABLE TO PULL IT OFF.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO ASK THE BOARD AND THE TEAM TO WELCOME OUR TEAM BEHIND US BECAUSE ALL OF THESE PEOPLE HELP
SO AS YOU CAN SEE, WE HAD A PRETTY EXTENSIVE GROUP HERE.
DOWN BY NO MEANS WAS BIG FOR THESE, THE ONLY FOLKS THAT WERE VOLUNTEER, WE HAD OVER 217, 17 VOLUNTEERS.
MANY OF THEM FROM THE DEPARTMENT, FROM OTHER DEPARTMENTS.
BUT THESE WERE THE PEOPLE THAT STEPPED IN OVER THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE ABLE TO PULL ALL THIS OFF FROM TREE PLANNINGS ORGANIZING, ROUTING BUSES, PUTTING EVENTS TOGETHER, ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT THINGS.
SO AGAIN, THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
AND THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR HELPING THE DEPARTMENT TO PULL OFF THIS AMAZING BEAT.
AND WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE WANT TO PUT TOGETHER A QUICK LITTLE VIDEO TO SHOW YOU SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE EVENT AND TO THANK YOU GUYS FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT.
SO I ALSO JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO THE TEAM.
THANK YOU KEISHA, FOR YOUR COUNTLESS MONTHS AND MONTHS AND MONTHS OF WORKING AND LISTENING TO MYSELF AND JOHN JENKINS AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE TEAM ON WHAT WE WANNA HAVE HAPPEN, WHAT WE HAVE TO HAVE HAPPEN.
AND SO JUST BEING VERY FLEXIBLE WITH US AND OUR DEMANDS.
[01:30:01]
I HAVE TO SAY, I'VE ATTENDED SEVERAL CONFERENCES WITH NRPA OVER OF COURSE OF MY CAREER.BUT TO KNOW THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE WERE ABLE TO REALLY TAKE THE LEAD ON AND HAVE A STRONG PRESENCE FROM ERIC VALEZ SERVING ON THE PROGRAM COMMITTEE TO THE WELCOME PARTY WITH MONICA, THE TRANSPORTATION WITH LINDSAY AND VOLUNTEERS WITH LINDSAY AND CHRISTIE.
AND TO GO THROUGH THE CONVENTION CENTER AND CONTINUOUSLY SEE OUR STAFF GREETING PEOPLE ANSWERING THE MOST BIZARRE QUESTIONS, BUT THEY WERE READY, THEY WERE COMMITTED.
AND THESE WERE STAFF THAT NORMALLY STAY IN THE BACKGROUND.
SO WHEN I WOULD SEE THEM AT THE VOLUNTEER BOOTH, I THOUGHT THIS IS A FANTASTIC PLATFORM FOR THEM TO GET A, A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO BE A PARTNER RECREATION PROFESSIONAL.
BUT THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR MAKING IT A PERFECT CONFERENCE.
JOHN AND I RECEIVED SO MANY COMPLIMENTS AS IF WE REALLY DID SOMETHING.
SO WE'RE LIKE, OH YEAH, IT WAS WONDERFUL.
UM, BUT YOU ALL MADE IT GREAT.
UM, ALL OF THE HEADACHE AND HEARTACHE THAT YOU ALL WENT THROUGH, IT WAS NOT ON DISPLAY.
UM, YOU ALL WERE FOCUSED, YOU WERE CUSTOMER FRIENDLY, AND YOU REALLY EXECUTED EXCELLENCE.
AND SO I JUST THANK YOU ALL FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU DID.
AND MELISSA, I DIDN'T SEE YOU BEHIND.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING YOU DID WORKING ALONGSIDE KEISHA AND ESPECIALLY WITH THE GOLF, UM, WITH THE GOLF TOURNAMENT AT CEDAR CREST.
AND THANK YOU, THANK, THANK YOU YOUR LEADERSHIP.
AND KEISHA, I THINK YOU WERE ROCKING, YOU WERE IN CONTROL, YOU KNOW, INDEPENDENT AND THE CITY WAS ROCKING.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL YOU DID.
AND I HAVE TO MENTION THAT DIRECTOR JENKINS IS NOT HERE.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WERE THERE IN THE OPENING SESSION.
HIS SPEECH WAS ROCKING THE BEST EVER REMARKS I'VE SEEN FROM HIM, LIKE PASSION CONTROL.
SO HE, HE SET THE TONE, WHICH CONTINUED THROUGHOUT THE WEEK.
MR. VERTA, UH, YES, THANK YOU CHAIR.
UH, GOSH, I DID AN AMAZING JOB, BUT I SEE WHY, AND THIS IS A LITTLE PLUG.
ANYBODY WHO'S WORKED OR WORKED IN EAU CLAIRE, STAND UP, PLEASE,
SPRINGS FAMILY, UH, RUBEN AND UH, AND GABBY BACK THERE.
AND OF COURSE APRIL RECENTLY LEFT KEITH.
BUT WE HAVE, WE HAVE HER VERY WELL TRAINED TO HANDLE THE CITY.
'CAUSE SHE'S COMING FROM OAK CLIFF,
WE APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU DID.
I I'VE MADE MOST OF THESE EVENTS.
I WAS, I WAS COMING AND GOING AS YOU, I WAS FOLLOWING KEISHA ACTUALLY WE'RE
BUT, UM, IT WAS JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT, THAT WAS AN AMAZING WEEK.
AND, AND WHAT YOU GUYS DID FOR THE CITY IS, IS GOES BEYOND WORDS.
'CAUSE OUR PARK LOOK EXCELLENT WITH VERYAN AT THE END, CARRYING THE LAST FIVE K RATE.
I THINK IT WAS FIVE K RAISE, I MIGHT BE WRONG.
UH, THAT, THAT EVENT WAS ALSO AMAZING.
EVEN IF IT'S 8:00 AM IN THE MORNING ONCE, SAY THANK YOU, ESPECIALLY ALL THE CLIFF PEOPLE, RIGHT? YEAH.
PIGGYBACKING ON WHAT MY ESTEEM COLLEAGUES SAID, OH, CLIFF THE BEST.
I THOUGHT I WAS THE OWNER OF ONE OF THE, UH, TOP ORGANIZATIONS IN THE COUNTRY.
BUT I SEE THAT I WAS NOT THE ENTHUSIASM THAT I SEE TO ME, CRAP ROLLS UPHILL.
THE STAFF THAT WE HAVE HERE, ROSA OR CHRIS TO MANY ME, I CALL HER
THIS IS WHAT
WHEN YOU GO OUT AND YOU SEE PEOPLE AT THE GOLF COURT AND GUYS THAT ARE CUTTING GRASS ARE SMILING, NOBODY'S MAD OR COME WORK LIKE, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY'S RUNNING OVER AT CHIHUAHUA OR SOMETHING, THEIR MAD WIVES.
YOU GOT SOMEBODY LIKE TONY SITTING HERE AND I, UH, A STAFF HER THAT MAKES US LOOK GOOD WHILE WE'RE ON CAMERA OR NOT.
WE DON'T TELL 'EM THANK YOU ENOUGH THAT WHAT WE DID.
AND I EVEN WENT OVER AND REGISTERED BECAUSE THEY TOLD ME THEY WERE GONNA CHARGE MY CREDIT CARD BAD IF I, IF I AIN'T GO REGISTER.
JOHNNY CRYSTAL TOLD ME THAT TWIST MY ARMS. BUT I WAS SO EXCITED FROM WHAT I SAW AND I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS STYLE.
NOT ONLY I WOULD BE GONE, BUT THIS IS WHY WE'RE HERE.
SUPPORTING STAFF, SUPPORTING STAFF, WHAT YOU GUYS DO.
[01:35:01]
SUCH A TREMENDOUS JOB.AND I'M SO PROUD TO SAY THAT YOU REPRESENTED US, NOT ME, US.
SO THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
'CAUSE NOT ONLY WERE YOU IN, YOU KNOW, CHARGE OF MAKING SURE THAT THIS EVENT AND THIS, UH, WAS THIS, UM, I GUESS EVENT OR WHATEVER CONFERENCE WAS, UH, AT PAR, YOU ALSO HAD TO DO YOUR DAILY JOBS.
AND SO THE DOUBLE DUTY AND THE DOUBLE TASK OF DOING ALL THAT AND DOING IT WITH VANESSA, REPRESENTING DALLAS AND IT'S FINE.
THANK YOU ALL FOR EV ALL OF YOUR VOLUNTEER AND ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK.
SO THANK YOU MR. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UM, YOU GUYS ARE THE ONES THAT MADE IT HAPPEN.
YOU GUYS ARE THE ONES THAT DON'T ALWAYS GET THE CREDIT FOR MAKING IT HAPPEN, BUT WE ALWAYS AT THE TOP, WE GET ALL THE KUDOS AND YOU KNOW, THE, THE BRAVE, YOU KNOW, OH, YOU DID SO GREAT.
YOU KNOW, YOU DID SO MUCH IN YOUR PART.
UM, WE SOMETIMES ARE YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE, UM, BECAUSE OF OUR STUPID LITTLE REQUESTS THAT COME ROLLING UPHILL.
UM, I MEAN, WELL, I MEAN WE GET A LOT OF REQUESTS THAT ARE SOMETIMES OFF CALL YOU GUYS ANSWER THEM AND STEP UP WITH BREAKS AND YOU KNOW, ALWAYS LOOK AT US AND YOU KNOW, EVEN IF WE, YOU KNOW, SCREAM, HOLLER AND KICK AND SCREAM, YOU STILL.
SO THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE GRACE.
THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK.
UM, YOU GUYS ARE THE REASON THAT OUR PARK SYSTEM IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY.
WE MIGHT NOT BE THE BIGGEST, BUT I WOULD SAY WE ARE ONE OF THE BEST PARK SYSTEMS, UM, IN THE COUNTRY.
IF NOT THERE YET, WE WILL BE VERY SOON WITH A STAFF LIKE YOU GUYS.
SO THANK YOU VERY THANK YOU MR. WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT KNIGHT MAY TALK ABOUT YOURSELF, JUST ASKING, UM, JUST VERY QUICKLY, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT WENT INTO THAT WAS INCREDIBLE.
I JUST REMEMBER WHEN, UM, THEY FINALLY SENT OUT THE REGISTRATION PACKET AND ALL OF THE EVENTS AND I PULLED IT UP AND I'M LOOKING THROUGH EVERYTH, SINGLE ONE OF THESE SPENT SOMETHING AND I WANNA GO TO THAT.
AND YOU GUYS MANAGED TO PULL TOGETHER A PROGRAM THAT I WANTED TO ATTEND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE CONTINUING EDUCATION AND ALL OF THE FIELD TRIPS YOU DID.
SO KUDOS TO PUTTING TOGETHER SOMETHING THAT EVEN PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THIS CITY, I MEAN, I'VE LIVED HERE A LONG TIME AND I WOULD'VE, YOU KNOW, IF I'D HAD THE TIME AND ENERGY, I WOULD'VE GONE TO EVERY SINGLE ONE.
I'M, I'M REALLY PUTTING TOGETHER SOMETHING THAT WAS NOT ONLY INTERESTING TO PEOPLE THAT WERE VISITING DALLAS, BUT EVEN FOR PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN DALLAS, IT WAS REALLY INCREDIBLE.
AND MS. ROSS, I'LL TURN OVER TO YOU.
BUT YOU MENTIONED YOU, WE GOT SOME WEIRDEST OF THE QUESTIONS.
DO YOU REMEMBER A COUPLE OF THEM THAT YOU OR MS. ROSS? SO I DON'T KNOW IF KEISHA HAS ONE.
THE ONE I HAVE IS WHEN SOME, WE HAD GOAT YOGA ON THE PLAZA OF, UM, THE OMNI ONE MORNING.
WELL THEN THEY ASKED ME COULD WE HAVE IT INSIDE THE CONVENTION CENTER? AND I THINK THEY THOUGHT WE HAD A ROVING GOAT PROGRAM, BUT THEY ASKED ME NO.
I WAS LIKE, WELL, NO, THE GOATS ARE GONE.
THEY WERE IN THERE, BUT THEY WANTED TO MAKE SURE, 'CAUSE IT WAS SUCH A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE FOR MANY OF THEM.
SO THEY WANTED TO SEE IF THAT WAS SOMETHING WE COULD PUT INSIDE THAT OPEN AREA IN THE CONVENTION CENTER JUST FOR PEOPLE WHO JUST WANTED TO DO IT.
YES, THAT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT, BUT I, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR RED NAMES, BECAUSE YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU DO THE MEMORY THING, IT JUST DOESN'T WORK, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE OVER 25 LIKE MYSELF.
SO THE FOLKS THAT HAVE LISTED HERE, AGAIN, WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME INDIVIDUALS WHO VOLUNTEERED THAT, UM, JUST KIND OF SERVED IN THE ONE-OFF OPPORTUNITIES OR CAPACITY.
BUT WE HAVE KEISHA RANDALL, WHO'S OUR LOCAL CO POST COMMITTEE CHAIR.
WE HAVE LINDSAY RIDER WHO WAS THE SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR FOR HOSPITALITY.
MELISSA DELA, CRUZ GOLF SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR QUA CROCKETT TREE PLANTING SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR.
MONICA TATE, UH, SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR FOR, UM, THE WELCOME EVENT.
AND I THINK SHE HAD ANOTHER MARKETING, I'M SORRY, IT SAYS IT RIGHT THERE.
SHE WAS THE SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR FOR OFFSITE INSTITUTES.
THAT WAS THE, UM, EVENTS THAT KEISHA MENTIONED EARLIER.
CHRISTIE GILES REED, SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR FOR, UM, VOLUNTEERS.
ERIC VALEZ, SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR FOR PROGRAM COMMITTEE.
LISA MCLENDON, SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR FOR THE FIVE K.
AND I'M GONNA SAY SHE AND MYSELF CONTACT.
AND THEN WE HAVE OTHER STAFF WHO ARE LISTED HERE.
WE HAVE TOM CAMERON CARINA, CHRIS STEELE, WE HAVE SO MANY.
[01:40:01]
CESAR, UH, RUBEN, BRENDAN, ANTONIO, JOSE, ANOTHER CHRIS, UH, GEORGE VALDEZ, CARLOS.WE HAVE TWO CARLOS'S, TWO DYLAN, ANOTHER, CHRIS STEELE, ANGIE, PETER, GABBY, APRIL, ERIC, AND A HOST OF OTHER PEOPLE.
SO JUST WANNA MAKE SURE YOU ALL KNOW THAT WE COMPLETELY, UH, APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR SERVICE, ALL OF YOUR COMMITMENT TO MAKING SURE THAT NRPA 2024 OR WHAT WAS THIS, 2023 WAS A HIT.
SO IT WAS A LONG TIME COMING
THE LEADERSHIP TEAM HAS BEEN HARASSING ME SINCE 2018
SO WE ARE, WE'RE, WE ARE THANKFUL THAT, I'M THANKFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY AS WELL TO BE ABLE TO, UM, HELP LEAD THE TEAM.
AND LIKE I SAID, WE HAD AN AMAZING TIME AND WE'RE SO EXCITED FOR DALLAS TO KEEP GOING.
I THINK OUR
JUST VERY BRIEFLY,
I KNOW YOU'RE ALL AWARE THAT OUR BOND ALLOCATION FOR THE PARK AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT FROM COMMUNITY BOND TASK FORCE WAS $350 MILLION.
THANK YOU ALL FOR HAVING A SPECIAL PARK BOARD MEETING WITHOUT ME LAST WEEK AND APPROVING THE PROGRAM.
AND THAT PROGRAM WAS THEN APPROVED BY THE PARK AND TRAIL SUBCOMMITTEE ON THAT FIRST EVENING.
UM, WE DO HAVE A MEETING COMING UP WITH A STAFF, AN ALL DAY MEETING WITH THE COMMUNITY BOND TASK FORCE.
UM, WE'LL HAVE NUMEROUS STAFF MEMBERS THERE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AND WHATEVER COMES UP IN THE COMMUNITY STAFF MEETING.
BUT THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR HARD WORK ON THE BOND PROGRAM.
I KNOW YOU'VE THANKED STAFF IMMENSELY AND WE APPRECIATE THAT, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THANK YOU TO YOU BECAUSE YOU ALL WORKED WITH US JUST AS FAR AS WE WORKED ON IT.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HARD WORK AS WELL.
AND YEAH, THANKS FOR THE GRACE WORK.
I KNOW IT WAS NOT EASY, BUT, UH, THINK WE, WE ARE READY FOR NEXT AND SEND IT TO HOT SHOES.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR CHRIS, PLEASE? NO, SHE JUST GOT BACK BREAK WITH THAT.
WE, ANY STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS, MS. TURNER KNOW WHERE IT DOES ACTUALLY HAVE A STAFF ANNOUNCEMENT.
YES, I'D LIKE TO ASK MS. TANYA LANE TO COME UP AND JOIN ME AT THE TABLE.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE MS. TANYA LANE TO YOU.
SHE IS LEON LIMBS OF REPLACEMENT FOR OUR SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER.
AS YOU'RE AWARE, LEON RETIRED PROBABLY A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, SO WE'VE BEEN SEARCHING VERY HARD FOR THE RIGHT PERSON TO REPLACE LEON.
UM, TANYA JOINS US FROM THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
SHE HAS ABOUT NINE YEARS OF CITY OF DALLAS EXPERIENCE AND I'M GONNA LET HER GO AHEAD AND, AND TAKE OVER HER INTRODUCTION FROM THAT POINT.
AND UH, YES, I HAVE BEEN WITH THE CITY OF DALLAS, UH, FOR OVER NINE YEARS.
AND BEFORE THAT, UH, I WAS IN THE CONSULTING FIELD, UH, DOING DESIGN WORK, UH, ENGINEERING, CIVIL, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN WORK.
AND, UM, UH, I, MY BACKGROUND AS FAR AS EDUCATION IS CONCERNED, UH, I HAVE A, A BACHELOR'S IN CIVIL ENGINEERING AND MASTER'S IN CIVIL ENGINEERING AND AN MBA IN STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT.
UM, I AM VERY EXCITED TO BE HERE AND LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU ALL.
I CAN TELL YOU PARKS IS MUCH MORE FUN THAN YES HERE.
UM, ANY OTHER STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS? YES.
DO YOU HAVE TWO OTHER, I'M SORRY.
AND I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO INTRODUCE A NEW EMPLOYEE.
I'M NOT GONNA PUT HER ON THE SPOT, BUT SHE IS HERE WITH US.
SHE IS OUR NEW MANAGER OF PARKLAND DEDICATION.
SHE'S A FORMER CITY EMPLOYEE IN THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
WE'RE THRILLED TO HAVE HER WITH US.
LAKEISHA, IF YOU COULD STAND UP AND SAY HI
SO LAKEISHA IS GONNA BE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH ROBIN AND MYSELF ON DEVELOPING ALL THE STUFF THAT WE HAVE TO DO OVER THE NEXT YEAR WITH OUR DEDICATION.
SO WE'RE THRILLED THAT SHE HAS CHOSEN TO JOIN US.
AND I'M LOOKING, I'M VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH PARKS.
IT'S ALWAYS BEEN A APARTMENT I'VE BEEN VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT AND CARE ABOUT.
AND YOU LIVE DOWNTOWN AND I JUST WANNA THANK YOU ALL FOR THE WORK THAT YOU DO AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO DOING OUR BEAUTIFUL PROJECTS WITH YOU ALL.
[01:45:01]
MR. BLAIR IS OFF.ALSO, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I DID THE SOUTHWEST SHOWCASE.
IT'S GONNA BE AT CEDAR CREST THAT STARTS NOVEMBER 13TH THROUGH THE 15TH.
SORRY, IT'S LOOKING KIND OF CRAZY THERE.
BUT NOVEMBER 13TH THROUGH 15TH CEDAR CREST SOUTHWEST SHOWCASE.
SECOND ONE WAS A TREE PLANTING AT MOR PARK THIS WEEKEND.
OH LOOK, I'M, I'M GOOD TO LISTEN, BUT I, LOOK, I'M JUST CHEERLEADING.
PLEASE COME OUT TO THE GOLF TOURNAMENT.
WE HAVE DONE A LOT OF WORK ON THE COURSE.
THE PARK DEPARTMENT DESERVES ROUND APPLAUSE FOR ALL THE WORK THEY'VE DONE FOR DISTRICT FOUR, BUT TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN, WHEN YOU SEE THE, THE TELEVISED GOLF BALL GO OVER THE, UH, CITY LINE, KNOW THAT, THAT THAT WAS VERY EXPENSIVE TO PRODUCE.
UH, AND HATS OFF TO OUR PARK DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR.
I'M GONNA DO THIS EVERY CHANCE I GET.
'CAUSE VERY PLEASED YOU COULD TAKE A NAP ON THOSE GREENS.
SO WE HOPE TO SEE YOU OUT THERE AT THE TOURNAMENT.
SEE OUR 40, UH, I BELIEVE 42 GOLFERS FROM ACROSS THE NATION.
SO IT'S GONNA BE A MAJOR EVENT.
YOU WON'T WANNA MISS THE VERY FIRST SO SOUTHWEST GOLF TOURNAMENT.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE WE ARE HAVING A, A MEMORIAL EVENT AT MOORE PARK, UM, THIS FRIDAY.
SO IF YOU CAN ATTEND, WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU THERE.
AND I WILL LET THE PARK STAFF GIVE YOU MORE DETAIL ON THAT EVENT.
HAVE ANYTHING ELSE, MISS? THE LAST THING IS, I JUST WANTED TO REMIND YOU ALL THAT THE NEXT PARK BOARD MEETING IS NOVEMBER 16TH AT ARLINGTON HALL TURN 40 PARK.
YOU PLEASE MAKE NOTE OF THE TIME THAT IT IS AN HOUR AHEAD, NINE O'CLOCK AND NOT 10 O'CLOCK.
THAT'S EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE.
ANY LAYERS LIAISON REPORTS, PLEASE.
UH, MS. ESMAN, UH, NOVEMBER 9TH AT THE ARBORETUM WILL BE THE KICKOFF OF THE, UH, CHRISTMAS VILLAGE.
SO IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN TO THAT BEFORE, IT'S AMAZING.
AND THEY'VE ACTUALLY, UM, EXTENDED IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH JANUARY 5TH, I THINK TO KIND OF COINCIDE WITH SOME OF THE SCHOOL, UM, HOLIDAYS, WHICH IS, UM, THEY WERE, IT WAS A, IT'S HARD TO EXTEND THAT 'CAUSE IT TAKES SO MANY VOLUNTEERS IF YOU'VE BEEN TO THAT CHRISTMAS VILLAGE, IT'S CRAZY.
SO THAT WOULD BE RUNNING THROUGH JANUARY 5TH.
AND THEN WE HAVE A SMALL TREE PLANTING AT WHITE ROCK LAKE THIS WEEKEND.
UM, IF ANYBODY FEELS LIKE GETTING OUT AND PLAYING AT THE DOOR.
UM, YEAH, SO WHO, THERE IT IS.
DREAM COURT RIBBON CUTTING ON NOVEMBER 9TH BEFORE YOU GO.
THE ARBORETUM COME TO, UM, OLDIE STYLES WORKY YARD AT 4:30 PM UM, NANCY LIEBERMAN HAS POURED A COURT, UM, THAT IS WELL DUE FOR THIS NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, WE'RE REVITALIZING THE OLDIE STYLES WORKY YARD AND, UM, AND REALLY GIVING THE RESIDENTS AND NEIGHBORS, UM, SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN BE PROUD OF.
LIKE I WAS SAYING EARLIER, UH, OUR TEXAS, THE, MY TEXAS RANGERS, THEY'RE IN ARLINGTON.
THEY'RE NOT IN DALLAS
IF YOU WEREN'T AWAKE OR, OR STAYED UP WELL INTO THE NIGHT.
WELL, IT WAS WELL NIGHT, BUT IT WAS PRETTY LATE.
IT WAS A LATE NIGHT, I SHOULD SAY.
I'M HAPPY THAT I GOT MY SHIRT.
IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHAT, AND LIKE I WAS SAYING EARLIER, IT'S 147 DAYS TO OPENING DAY, BUT FREE TRAINING STARTS IN 74 DAYS.
SO IT MAKE SURE YOU GOT YOUR CALENDARS RIGHT, JUST IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT.
THAT'S IN, THAT'S ALSO BE, THAT'S ALSO IN PHOENIX.
WE'RE GONNA GO RIGHT BACK TO PHOENIX AND GET READY FOR THE NEXT SEASON.
IF YOU WANNA MAKE THAT ANNOUNCEMENT THAT IT HASN'T BEEN MADE YET.
AND THE PARADE IS TOMORROW AT ONE O'CLOCK OR ARLINGTON.
IT IS IN ARLINGTON, BUT MAYBE THE, MAYBE THE CITY PARK STAFF CAN TAKE OFF.
LET'S ALSO THAT OFF AND WE ALL GO TO THE BE BACK CALL CRYSTAL.
UM, I'M TRYING TO GET YOU TODAY.
WELL I JUST WANTED ME TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT AND A THANK YOU TO THE MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT TO RENEE DAVID.
JASON BLAKE BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY BY GATEWAY PARK.
THERE'S BEEN SOME, UH, ILLEGAL DUMPING THAT'S BEEN HAPPENING ON LACEY WOOD DRIVE AND IT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR YEARS AND THEY'RE REALLY WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY AND THEY'VE BEEN LISTENING TO CONSTITUENTS AND THEY'VE PUT UP SIGNS THAT SAYS, YOU KNOW, ABOUT ILLEGAL DUMPING, ABOUT FINES TO, TO HELP, TO HELP MITIGATE THE SITUATION.
SO I REALLY APPRECIATE, JUST WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, RECOGNIZE THE, THE CARE AND THE WORK THAT THEY'VE PUT INTO THIS.
AND, UM, I'M JUST APPRECIATIVE.
THAT'S ALL I WANTED TO SAY WITH THAT.
THE NEXT BAR CLOSE MEETING, WHICH WILL BE A RETREAT, OH, SORRY, MR. SLAUGHTER, S TWO
UH, IT WAS A GREAT SUCCESS EVEN THOUGH, UH, IT WAS DOWN COMPARED LIKE 200,000 LESS, BUT IT WAS GREAT.
SO THEY WANT TO EXTEND APPRECIATION TO EACH AND
[01:50:01]
EVERY ONE OF YOU AND DIG.S HAVING A HALF HOUR NEXT WEEKEND.
DEVOTE RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, IT'S A SECRET.
AND ALSO I'D LIKE TO THANK AND YOU KNOW, UH, NOT ONLY IS THE LEAD LIAISON, BUT WE, WE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE REALLY, BESIDES CRYSTAL AND RENEE AND STAFF AND OUR ATTORNEYS AND YOU KNOW, WE REALLY HAVE A SECRET WEAPON AND WE DON'T TELL HIM THANK YOU ENOUGH.
YOU KNOW, THIS GUY JUST, HE LOVES HIS JOB AND I LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU TO RYAN.
RYAN IS THE SECRET WEAPON THAT WE HAVE.
HE KNOWS WE ALL THE BEST RESTAURANTS ARE.
SO THANK YOU, UH, PRESIDENT LEADERSHIP THING GOING SMOOTH.
BUT, UH, YOU, I THINK WE MADE THE RIGHT DECISION, UH, A NEW VICE PRESIDENT.
SO WE ARE A MAINLY MACHINE NOW, Y'ALL.
THANK YOU MR. YES, BRIAN DOES KNOW BEST.
ANY OTHER, UH, YOU'VE BEEN QUIET TODAY.
SO LUNCH WITH THAT NEXT PART, BOARD MEETING, WHICH IS A RETREAT WILL BE AT 9:00 AM THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH, A HALL AND MR. KITNER WILL BE LEADING IT.
I THINK I HAD MY FIRST RETREAT WHEN MR. KITNER HAD LANDED.
SO WE ARE EXCITED AND LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.
COULD NOT, UH, HE HAD SOME PERSONAL REASONS.
SO MR.