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[Transportation and Infrastructure on April 21, 2025.]
OUR FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MARCH 25TH, 2025, TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES.THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? ANY DISCUSSION? ANY DISCUSSION. SEEING? NO DISCUSSION. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. ALL THOSE OPPOSED, PLEASE SIGNIFY BY SAYING NO. THE AYES HAVE IT.
THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED. THE FIRST ITEM OF BUSINESS WE'RE GOING TO HAVE IS A BOARD INTERVIEW.
IT'S AN ACTION ITEM IS FOR DART BOARD APPOINTEE.
CANDIDATE INTERVIEW. WE HAVE A CASUAL VACANCY THAT'S JUST HAPPENED ON FRIDAY.
SO, WE KNEW THAT THIS WAS COMING. AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT RODNEY SCHLOSSER, BOARD MEMBER HAS RESIGNED, AND HE DID AN AMAZING JOB.
DID A LOT OF REALLY HARD WORK, VERY DEDICATED TO WHAT HE DID.
AND BUT AT THE TIME, HE NEEDED TO MOVE ON FOR DIFFERENT THINGS, FOR HIS JOB AND ALL OF THAT.
AND I DIDN'T KNOW IF ANYBODY ELSE WANTED TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT MR. SCHLOSSER. BEFORE WE BEGIN WITH THE INTERVIEW.
THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. I DO WANT TO SAY MY DEEPEST APPRECIATION TO MR. SCHLOSSER. IT'S NOT EVEN JUST THE DART BOARD .
HE'S ALSO SERVED ON THE PARK BOARD AND SO MANY OTHER AREAS BEHIND THE SCENES FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS.
SO TO BE ABLE TO FIND DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS WHO ARE WILLING TO SHARE THEIR PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE, AND THEIR WISDOM AND INSIGHT IS A GIFT TO ALL OF US, AND WE WILL ALWAYS BE APPRECIATIVE.
THANK YOU, RODNEY . THANK YOU SO MUCH. ANYBODY ELSE? GO AHEAD. CHAIR STEWART, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU.
CHAIR NARVAEZ. SO, RODNEY, I DON'T KNOW IF HOPEFULLY YOU'RE SOMEWHERE AND ARE LISTENING TO THIS.
I WISH I COULD LOOK AT YOU. BUT THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
YOU ARE A DEDICATED PUBLIC SERVANT. I KNOW YOUR TIME ON THE PARK BOARD AND YOUR TIME ON THE DART BOARD WERE, THEY WERE COMMITMENTS THAT YOU GAVE A LOT OF TIME AND ENERGY TO.
AND I WANT TO CALL YOU OUT FOR BEING VERY GOOD AT ARTICULATING AN ISSUE.
AND THE CITY OF DALLAS IS DEFINITELY A BETTER PLACE BECAUSE OF YOUR SERVICE.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I'M SEEING NOBODY ELSE.
OUR NOMINEE TODAY IS MAUREEN MILLIGAN. SHE'S JOINING US VIRTUALLY TODAY.
AND DO WE HAVE HER ON? VERY GOOD. WE'RE JUST WAITING FOR HER CAMERA TO.
COME ON. THERE SHE IS. HELLO, MAUREEN, AND WELCOME TO THE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE.
THIS IS GOING TO BE REALLY SIMPLE AND EASY AS FAR AS HOW I LIKE TO RUN.
THIS IS WE'LL GIVE YOU A COUPLE OF MINUTES TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF.
YOU KNOW WHY YOU WANT TO BE ON THE DART BOARD ? YOU KNOW, JUST, YOU KNOW, A QUICK 2 TO 3 MINUTES OPENING TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO US, AND THEN I'LL JUST GO DOWN THE ROW ONE BY ONE UNTIL ONE QUESTION AT A TIME FOR EACH COMMITTEE MEMBER, STARTING WITH THE VICE CHAIR.
AND THEN I'LL JUST GO DOWN HERE IN THE ROOM, WHICH WE HAVE THREE PEOPLE, AND THEN MR. RESENDEZ AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK TO MR. RIDLEY SINCE HE'S VISITING THE COMMITTEE TODAY.
BUT IF HE HAS ANY QUESTIONS, WE DEFINITELY WANT TO ALLOW HIM TO ASK QUESTIONS AS WELL.
DOES THAT SOUND GOOD TO YOU, MAUREEN? YES, ABSOLUTELY.
OKAY, WONDERFUL. SO, THE FLOOR IS YOURS AT THIS TIME.
WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON. AND I REALLY WANT TO THANK THE COMMITTEE FOR CONSIDERING MY NOMINATION.
SPECIAL THANKS TO YOU, CHAIRMAN NARVAEZ. MAYOR PRO TEM ATKINS, MY COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIS AND COUNCIL MEMBER WEST FOR MOVING TO APPOINT ME TO THE DART BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
AND I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL TO SHARE MY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT EXPERTISE AND MY LEGAL EXPERTISE ON THE DART BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO REPRESENT THE CITY OF DALLAS TO ENSURE GOOD GOVERNANCE AND POLICY THAT BENEFITS THE CITY OF DALLAS, AS WELL AS THE TRANSIT SYSTEM AS A WHOLE. I'M JOINING YOU FROM COLUMBUS, OHIO.
I PROMISE IT'S NOT BECAUSE I REFUSE TO EVER ENTER CITY HALL AGAIN.
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YOU MOVE MY NOMINATION FORWARD. BUT JUST AS A REMINDER TO SOME FOLKS THAT I DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO WORK AS CLOSELY TOGETHER, I LED THE COMMUNITY PROSECUTION TEAM. I WAS WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FOR TEN YEARS.STARTED OUT AS THE JUBILEE PARK COMMUNITY PROSECUTOR AND LED THE TEAM AND THEN HAD THE CHANCE TO MOVE OVER TO THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT AND WAS AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR ABOUT TWO YEARS. AND IN BOTH THOSE ROLES, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY I THINK CHAIRMAN NARVAEZ, YOU SAID THIS AT THE JOINT MEETING IN FEBRUARY WITH THE DART BOARD THAT A TRANSIT SYSTEM AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ARE REALLY SYNONYMOUS.
AND SO, FOR ME ESPECIALLY WITH MY HOUSING EXPERTISE, IF WE CAN REDUCE THE HOUSEHOLD'S TRANSPORTATION COSTS, THEY HAVE MORE ROOM IN THEIR BUDGET TO PAY FOR HOUSING.
AND SO AGAIN, JUST REALLY EXCITED FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY AND HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR INTRODUCTION. I APPRECIATE IT.
AND WE'RE GOING TO START WITH VICE CHAIR. GRACEY, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. MAUREEN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS TO DO THIS.
AND I JUST ASK YOU A VERY SIMPLE QUESTION. WHY? I THINK BECAUSE I LIKE A CHALLENGE. FIRST OF ALL, I LOVE THE CITY OF DALLAS, WARTS AND ALL.
AND I LIKE A GOOD CHALLENGE. AND I THINK DART IS AT A REALLY PIVOTAL MOMENT RIGHT NOW.
BOTH. IF WE'RE NOT EVEN THINKING ABOUT THE LEGISLATIVE ISSUES THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH RIGHT NOW WITH THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE AND THE BILLS THAT HAVE BEEN FILED, THAT WOULD FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE. AND I THINK REALLY DESTROY DART.
THIS IS A SYSTEM THAT FOR THE YEARS FROM 1983 UNTIL NOW, HAS REALLY BEEN IN EXPANSION.
AND I THINK HAVING BOARD MEMBERS WHO UNDERSTAND THAT TRANSITION ARE REALLY AND ARE REALLY FOCUSED ON HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT WE HAVE A MOBILITY SYSTEM THAT FUNCTIONS WELL FOR REALLY THE THREE TYPES OF RIDERS FOR OUR TRANSIT DEPENDENT INDIVIDUALS FOR OUR TRANSIT BY CHOICE RIDERS AND FOR OUR OCCASIONAL RIDERS. AND I THINK BEING ABLE TO WORK WITH DART STAFF AND FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS TO ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES IS EXCITING.
AND I THINK I BRING THE SKILLS TO HELP DO THAT? WELL. THANK YOU. AS YOU KNOW, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN A PLEASURE WORKING WITH YOU AND THE SKILLS THAT YOU BRING.
I THINK YOU'LL BE A GREAT ASSET TO THIS BOARD AND WHAT WE NEED RIGHT NOW.
SO, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR COMMITMENT. THANK YOU.
AND NEXT WE HAVE. COUNCIL MEMBER SCHULTZ. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. THANK YOU, MAUREEN, EVEN FOR PUTTING YOUR NAME IN THE HAT.
SO, I THINK I HAVE A REPUTATION AS BEING A COLLABORATIVE LEADER.
AND AS I'VE READ THROUGH, WHETHER IT'S THE EY STUDY OR SOME OF THE OTHER STUDIES THAT DART HAS PRODUCED, AS THE DART BOARD IS REALLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, HOW DO WE LOOK AT COSTS VERSUS VALUE.
I HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING BOTH OF THE CITY OF DALLAS.
BUT I'VE ALSO HAD A CHANCE TO WORK WITH THE REGIONAL PARTNERS.
AND SO, I THINK I UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT THEY ARE FACING.
BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, I THINK WHAT'S CONSISTENT ACROSS ALL OF THE ALL OF THE DOCUMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN PRODUCED, ALL OF THE MEETINGS, IS COMMUNICATION. AND I THINK WE HAVE TO ENHANCE COMMUNICATION AT THE STAFF LEVEL WITH THE BOARD AMONGST THE BOARD AND WITH THE PUBLIC. AND I'VE ENGAGED IN THAT WORK THROUGHOUT MY CAREER.
AND, AND EXCITED TO GET TO KNOW ALL OF THE BOARD MEMBERS AND THE STAFF MEMBERS AND REALLY TRY TO WORK TO ENHANCE COMMUNICATION SO WE CAN UNDERSTAND THE VALUE THAT THE SYSTEM PROVIDES TO ALL OF THE, THE 13 MEMBERS AND FIND A MORE COLLABORATIVE WAY OF MOVING FORWARD WITH GOVERNANCE SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO ENGAGE AT THE STATE LEVEL TO ADDRESS ISSUES THAT ARE REALLY REGIONAL.
I THINK THAT'S A TREMENDOUS ANSWER. I THINK THERE'S TWO KINDS OF LEADERS.
THERE'S PEOPLE THAT ARE BOARD BUILDERS AND PEOPLE THAT ARE BOARD DIVIDERS.
AND YOU ARE CLEARLY A BOARD BUILDER, AND I THINK YOU'D BE A TREMENDOUS ASSET.
THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. THANK YOU. NEXT, WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER STEWART.
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THANK YOU. CHAIR. AND HEY, MAUREEN. I THINK OUR PATHS CROSSED A LONG TIME AGO WHEN YOU WERE HEAD OF COMMUNITY PROSECUTION.AND I REMEMBER YOUR LEADERSHIP AS BEING STRONG AND CLEAR AND SOMETHING WE COULD RELY ON.
AND WE. GOOD WORK WAS HAPPENING DURING THAT TIME.
SO WHAT? I DON'T KNOW, AND I'M JUST AT A DISADVANTAGE.
I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE DONE SOME ADDITIONAL RESEARCH, BUT WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING SINCE YOU LEFT THE CITY OF DALLAS? AND HOW DOES IT HELP YOU WITH SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE JUST MENTIONED ON OPERATIONS AND COST VERSUS VALUE AND ENHANCING COMMUNICATIONS? ABSOLUTELY. SO, I LEFT THE CITY OF DALLAS RIGHT BEFORE COVID, AND ONE OF THE PRIMARY REASONS THAT I LEFT THE CITY WAS I HAD SPENT ALMOST MY ENTIRE PROFESSIONAL CAREER WORKING FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS.
I WAS A PUBLIC TEACHER FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS AND WORKED FOR A JUDGE, BUT REALLY WORKING FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS WAS THE BULK OF MY OF MY PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE, AND I WANTED TO EXPAND THAT EXPERIENCE AND UNDERSTAND HOW OTHER CITIES, OTHER JURISDICTIONS ADDRESS REALLY COMPLICATED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ISSUES HOUSING, CREATING JOBS CREATING STRONG COMMUNITIES.
AND SO, I WORK FOR A NATIONAL NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION CALLED GROW AMERICA THAT BOTH TRAINS PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND NONPROFIT EXECUTIVES ON HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
AND THEN SERVES AS A TRUSTED ADVISOR TO OUR CLIENTS.
AND SO HAVE DUG. I GUESS THE ONE THING I ALSO DIDN'T MENTION IS I'VE BECOME QUITE A DATA NERD, AND SO I'VE GOTTEN TO REALLY LOOK DEEPLY INTO A LOT OF DATA FOR DALLAS, BUT ALSO FOR CITIES IN OUR REGION.
AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY HELPED ME UNDERSTAND AND MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION AND JOBS AND HOW WE CAN BETTER CONNECT ALL OF THAT SO THAT WE CAN STRENGTHEN FAMILIES AND HOUSEHOLDS, BUT ALSO COMMUNITIES. VERY GOOD. I'M SORRY. I WAS TRYING TO DECIDE IF I WAS JUST GOING TO GO AHEAD AND LET MR. RIDLEY JUMP IN OR NOT, BUT COUNCIL MEMBER MENDELSOHN.
YOU HAVE THE FLOOR AT THIS TIME? THANK YOU. I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER RESENDEZ.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I DO, I HAVE ONE. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. AND THANK YOU, MAUREEN, FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS TO SERVE.
I THINK DART HAS TAKEN SOME REALLY STRONG FIRST STEPS IN TERMS OF REDESIGNING THE BUS NETWORK, BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE WANT A SYSTEM THAT IS SAFE, THAT IS RELIABLE BUT ALSO IS HIGH FREQUENCY AND IS SEAMLESS.
AND I THINK SOMETIMES THAT GETS FORGOTTEN THAT LAST MILE CONNECTION.
I THINK GO LINK IS A START, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S THE ONLY SOLUTION.
IT CERTAINLY IS A MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE MOBILITY OPTION THAN SOME OF OUR OTHER OPTIONS.
SO, I THINK THERE NEEDS TO BE A LOT MORE THOUGHT AND HOW WE TRULY HAVE A SEAMLESS TRANSIT SYSTEM.
AND THEN WE ALSO NEED TO LISTEN TO ALL OF OUR, OUR RESIDENTS, OUR RIDERS AND OUR NON-RIDERS.
WE WANT TO HAVE A GOOD EXPERIENCE FOR OUR RIDERS, AND WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE MORE NON-RIDERS TO RIDE THE SYSTEM, BUT I THINK THE BENEFIT OF WORKING BOTH IN THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT AND IN COMMUNITY PROSECUTION IS I SAW CONDITIONS ON THE GROUND IN NEIGHBORHOODS THROUGHOUT DALLAS AND UNDERSTOOD, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NOT HAVING SIDEWALKS, WHEN WE'RE NOT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NOT HAVING SHELTERS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE WAITING FOR THE BUS, FOR THE BUS, FOR PEOPLE NOT KNOWING WHETHER THE BUS WAS RUNNING ON TIME OR 20 MINUTES LATE.
AND THAT CERTAINLY WOULD BE ONE OF MY FOCUSES AS A BOARD MEMBER.
AWESOME. THANK YOU SO MUCH. VERY GOOD. COUNCIL MEMBER RIDLEY.
THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. IN TWO MINUTES OR LESS, COULD YOU TELL US WHAT THE SOLUTION IS FOR DART TO ATTRACT NEW MEMBER CITIES? WELL, I THINK IT GOES BACK TO THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT ARE WE SIMPLY LOOKING AT SALES TAX CONTRIBUTION, AND THEN THE COSTS THAT ARE EXPENDED IN THE CITY VERSUS THE VALUE THAT THE TRANSIT SYSTEM PROVIDES.
AND THAT VALUE IS NOT JUST MOBILITY AND CONNECTIONS, BUT IT'S ALSO THE VALUE THAT HAVING STATIONS AND CONNECTIVITY BRINGS TO A CITY FROM A REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT STANDPOINT AND TO AN ACTIVATION OF VACANT PROPERTY.
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AND SO I THINK WE HAVE TO DO AN EVEN BETTER JOB OF EXPLAINING THAT VALUE PROPOSITION AND THEN USING THE DATA TO SHOW CITIES OF HOW GROWTH AND THE DISBURSEMENT OF, DISPERSION OF JOBS AND PEOPLE'S RESIDENCES.ARE CHANGING ACROSS THIS REGION. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
AND I WANT TO ASK A QUESTION OF YOU AS FAR AS, I APPRECIATED WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT WHAT I SAID EARLIER AT A DART BOARD MEETING ABOUT THE HOW WE'RE BRIDGED TOGETHER WHEN IT COMES FROM TRANSPORTATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
AND I LOVE THAT YOU'RE THROWING HOUSING IN THERE AS WELL, BECAUSE THAT'S PART OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. AND CONNECTIVITY IS SOMETHING I TALK ABOUT A LOT AS WELL. AND I, YOU KNOW, I THINK ON EVERYBODY'S BINGO CARD, YOU KNOW, IT'S CONNECTIVITY, CONNECTIVITY, CONNECTIVITY. WHEN WILL I SAY IT.
SO, EVERYBODY GOT A STAR JUST NOW THAT THEY GOT TO DAB OUT.
AS YOU'RE BUILDING THIS NETWORK RIGHT ACROSS 13 CITIES IT'S EASY TO FORGET.
AND YOU MENTIONED SIDEWALKS. YOU MENTIONED YOU KNOW, THE LAST MILE, BUT WHAT ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH ANY TYPES OF DIFFERENT MICRO-MOBILITY THAT COULD HELP US WITH THAT CONNECTIVITY IN ORDER TO GET PEOPLE TO WHERE THEY REALLY NEED TO GO OR WHERE THEY WANT TO BE.
YOU KNOW, NOT JUST FOR THAT PERSON WHO USES IT ONLY DURING THE STATE FAIR, RIGHT? OR DURING TO GO TO A CONCERT OR TO A MAVERICKS GAME OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT HERE.
BUT THAT PERSON WHO'S TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, GET JUST FROM A TO B, LIKE TO THE GROCERY STORE AND, AND DOESN'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO CARRY, YOU KNOW, 50 BAGS OF GROCERIES.
RIGHT. SO, ARE THERE ANY THINGS THAT YOU THINK THAT DART COULD BE DOING BETTER IN ORDER TO HELP US GET THAT CONNECTIVITY, NOT JUST IN DALLAS, BUT ACROSS THE NETWORK? SO, THIS IS SOMETHING I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT.
AND SO JUST SPEAKING FROM A HOUSING PERSPECTIVE, IF WE'RE THINKING ABOUT MIXED INCOME HOUSING THAT WE INCENTIVIZE WITH PUBLIC INCENTIVES, OR EVEN THAT THE STATE INCENTIVIZES THROUGH TAX CREDITS.
THERE ARE CARROTS AND STICKS, RIGHT? AND SO ONE OF THE ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS THAT WE COULD HAVE IN SOME OF OUR NOT TOTALLY TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT, BUT RELATIVELY CLOSE TO TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT IS THAT YOU HAVE SHUTTLE SERVICES OR OTHER CIRCULATORS THAT HELP BRIDGE THAT LAST MILE. AND YOU YOU HAVE SEEN THAT IN THE PAST, THAT LARGE PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS ARE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE THAT TYPE OF SHUTTLE SERVICE, WHETHER IT'S JUST DIRECTLY TO THE PLACE THE PERSON NEEDS TO GO OR WHETHER IT IS CONNECTING TO THEM TO THAT TRANSIT OPTION.
I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT ANSWER. AND IT'S SPOT ON.
SO JUST FOR YOUR FAMILIARITY IS IN WEST DALLAS, WHICH I REPRESENT.
A GRANT WAS RECEIVED, AND IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CITY OF DALLAS OR DART AT THE TIME.
TO CREATE THE ONLY CIRCULATOR WE HAVE IN DALLAS, AS FAR AS YOU KNOW, NOT THE TROLLEY AND NOT THE STREETCAR, BUT THAT WAS NOT PART OF ANYTHING. AND THEY DID THIS GRANT AND THEIR GOLF CARTS, BUT I CALL THEM THE LIMOUSINE GOLF CARTS BECAUSE THEY'RE THOSE REALLY LONG ONES AND, YOU KNOW, BUT THEY CAN PUT, YOU KNOW, THEY GO ON THE STREET, THEY HAVE LICENSE PLATE, THEY HAVE LIGHTS, HORN. I MEAN, THEY'RE JUST LIKE A LITTLE MINI CAR. AND THEY'RE ALSO GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT BECAUSE THEY RUN ON ELECTRICITY.
AND THAT CIRCULATOR IS DOOR TO DOOR, AND IT'S A FREE SERVICE TO ANYBODY THAT, YOU KNOW REQUESTS IT IN MAINLY IN SEVEN, FIVE, TWO, ONE TWO AREA CODE. BUT THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THAT NOW.
AND LET ME TELL YOU, PEOPLE REALLY DO USE IT.
THEY ENJOY IT. AND NOW IT GOES TO THE EDGE OF DOWNTOWN, BASICALLY GETS YOU TO EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON UNION STATION, WHICH IT DIDN'T BEFORE. SO THAT WAS THE WORRY WAS HOW DO YOU CROSS THAT? YOU KNOW, THE RIVER. AND THEY FOUND THE FOUND THE ROUTE IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT AND DO IT SAFELY.
THAT'S MY ONLY QUESTION I HAD. ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM ANYBODY ELSE?
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ANYBODY ELSE? ALL RIGHT. WITH THAT I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.AND WE HAVE TO DO THIS ON A QUICK BASIS. AND I'M JUST GOING TO SEE IF ANYBODY WANTS TO MOVE.
MISS MILLIGAN'S NOMINATION FORWARD. YES, I DO, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. IT'S MY HONOR, SINCE I DIDN'T GET TO SIGN THE MEMO TO NOMINATE MAUREEN MILLIGAN TO REPRESENT DALLAS ON THE DART BOARD .
IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? ANY MORE DISCUSSION? ANY MORE DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE.
ALL THOSE OPPOSED, PLEASE SIGNIFY BY SAYING NO.
THE AYES HAVE IT. CONGRATULATIONS. YOU MADE IT THROUGH THE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE.
AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE THERE ON WEDNESDAY. THERE'S NO INTERVIEW THING GOING ON ON WEDNESDAY.
BUT IF YOU'RE IN TOWN AND YOU WANT TO COME TO CITY HALL AND WATCH, OR IF YOU WANT TO WATCH IT ONLINE, YOU'RE MORE THAN WELCOME TO. I WISH YOU LUCK ON WEDNESDAY.
AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE GIVING YOU CONGRATULATIONS THEN.
THANKS. THANK YOU. AND NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS BRIEFING ACTION ITEM C, THE I-345 CONNECTS PROJECT UPDATE. CECIL CLEMENS, THE DALLAS DISTRICT ENGINEER FOR TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, WILL BE PRESENTING. AS YOU ALL MAY REMEMBER, COLLEAGUES, A MOTION WAS MADE.
I CAN'T REMEMBER HOW LONG AGO. BY THE FULL COUNCIL THAT AS PLANS WERE BEING DEVELOPED AND DESIGN WAS GOING, STARTING THAT EVERY SIX MONTHS. WELL, I'M GOING TO SAY SEASON FOR NOW, BUT THAT TXDOT WOULD PRESENT TO US ON 345 EVERY SIX MONTHS SO THAT WE CAN ALL STAY IN TOUCH AND KEEP THE INFORMATION GOING.
AND IT SAID TO THE PROPER BOARD OR COMMITTEE, I MEAN, A PROPER COMMITTEE.
SO, WE FIGURED, WHAT BETTER COMMITTEE THAN TRANSPORTATION SINCE IT'S ALL ABOUT TRANSPORTATION.
SO, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO YOU AND SUSAN AND.
VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON. THANKS FOR HAVING ME. SO, WE'LL DIVE RIGHT IN THERE.
I THINK YOU ALL ARE FAMILIAR WITH OUR PROJECT, BUT WE'RE STUDYING INTERSTATE 345 FROM ESSENTIALLY WOODALL RODGERS TO JUST SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 45, APPROXIMATELY 2.8 MILES IN LENGTH.
A LITTLE BIT OF THE PROJECT HISTORY. WE'VE BEEN STUDYING 345 FOR A LITTLE WHILE NOW.
WE ORIGINALLY STARTED IN 2012, JUST WITH AN INITIAL FEASIBILITY STUDY THAT THEN WENT INTO WHAT YOU ALL ARE FAMILIAR WITH, THE CITY MAP, WHERE WE LOOKED AT NOT JUST 345, BUT REALLY THE ENTIRE DOWNTOWN NETWORK.
AND THE CITY COUNCIL SUPPORTED IT, CONDITIONED ON A NUMBER OF ITEMS THAT I'LL BRIEF YOU ON TODAY.
BUT COUNCIL SUPPORTED THAT BACK IN MAY OF 23.
SO, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT FOR A LITTLE WHILE. AND SO, IF WE WANT TO GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
THAT CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION ESSENTIALLY HAD EIGHT SECTIONS.
THE FIRST SECTION WAS REALLY MAKING SURE THAT WE WERE IN LINE WITH ALL THE CITY'S PRIORITIES.
SECTION, SECOND SECTION WAS THE CITY HAS A LOT OF PLANS.
IT DOES 345, OUR OPTION FOR 345 FIT IN WITH THOSE PLANS.
THEN WE'RE BACK HERE BRIEFING CITY COUNCIL CAPPING, TRUCK REROUTING.
AND ESSENTIALLY, IT WENT INTO EFFECT IMMEDIATELY.
SO, WE'LL DIVE INTO EACH ONE OF THESE A LITTLE BIT DEEPER WITH THIS PRESENTATION.
SO, WITH SECTION ONE WE ENDED UP FORMING SUBCOMMITTEES WITH VARIOUS CITY DEPARTMENTS.
REALLY LOOKING AT THE CITY STREET GRID LOOKING AT THE STREETCAR ACCOMMODATIONS, SURPLUS RIGHT OF WAY, POTENTIAL CAPPING. JUST ABOUT WE HAD SEVERAL DIFFERENT SUBCOMMITTEES MAKING SURE THAT WE WERE MEETING ALL THE CITY'S PRIORITIES, AND WE FEEL VERY CONFIDENT THAT WE HAVE IN SECTION TWO.
AS I STATED, THE CITY HAS A LOT OF DIFFERENT PLANS ALREADY IN PLACE.
WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR PLAN FOR 345 WORKED WELL WITH THOSE PLANS.
AND SO JUST WORKING WITH CITY STAFF CITY STAFF BRIEFED US ON EACH ONE OF THOSE PLANS.
WE'RE VERY CONFIDENT THAT WE FIT IN LINE WITH EACH ONE THAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN.
AND JUST WORKING WITH CITY STAFF. NEXT SECTION BRIEFING CITY COUNCIL EVERY SIX MONTHS.
WE'RE BACK HERE TODAY. WE HAVE PUBLIC MEETINGS OR PUBLIC HEARINGS PLANNED FOR THIS WEEK.
[00:25:01]
AND HERE WE ARE FOR SECTION FOUR WAS THE POTENTIAL CAPPING OPPORTUNITIES.AS WE CONTINUE TO REFINE THE ALIGNMENT IN THE SCHEMATIC? THE CAPPING OPPORTUNITY IS ALSO REFINED. WE'RE AT 9.6 ACRES OF POTENTIAL CAPPING DOWN THE ROAD.
9.6 ACRES WOULD COST QUITE A BIT OF MONEY, AND YOU ALL ARE FAMILIAR.
TXDOT DOES NOT TRADITIONALLY FUND THE CAPPING OPPORTUNITIES.
AND SO, I THINK THAT'S THE NEXT STEP IN THE PROCESS, IS TO CONTINUE REFINING WHERE WE THINK IT MAKES SENSE TO DEVELOP THOSE CAPS FURTHER ON TOP OF THE 9.6 ACRES OF POTENTIAL CAPPING, WE ALSO HAVE 6.3 ACRES OF SURPLUS RIGHT OF WAY.
YOU ALL ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE FOOTPRINT TODAY. YOU HAVE 345 IS VERY WIDE.
WE'VE GOT RAMPS THAT SWEEP OUT THAT TAKES UP A LOT OF REAL ESTATE IN DOWNTOWN.
AND SO, WE HAVE 345 IS ON THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY FREIGHT NETWORK.
THAT CREATES SOME CHALLENGES, IF YOU WILL. CURRENTLY, HAZMATS ARE NOT ALLOWED ON INTERSTATE 345.
THERE ARE SIGNS SOUTH OF 20 THAT ASK HAZARDOUS MATERIAL.
TRUCKS ESSENTIALLY TO TAKE INTERSTATE 20 AROUND DOWNTOWN.
BUT TXDOT IS REALLY NOT AN ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.
WE DO NOT ENFORCE LAWS. AND SO, IF THE CITY WANTED TO PASS AN ORDINANCE TO REROUTE TRUCKS FROM DOWNTOWN, THAT IS AN OPTION. BUT SINCE IT'S AN INTERSTATE THAT CREATES OR CAUSES MORE ITEMS TO GO THROUGH.
AND SO, TO START THAT PROCESS ONE IT CAN START WITHIN FHWA.
OUR TALKS TODAY SO FAR. IT DOES NOT SEEM LIKE THEY'RE INTERESTED IN DISCUSSING IT.
BUT IT COULD ALSO COME FROM THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE AS WELL.
AND SO IF YOU WERE TO SUBMIT THAT, YOU'VE GOT TO SHOW EVIDENCE OF SAFETY ISSUES.
WE'VE GOT TO SHOW AN ANALYSIS TO THE IMPACT OF INTERSTATE COMMERCE.
WE'VE GOT TO HAVE AN ALTERNATE ROUTE AS WELL AS WE NEED LOCAL GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION.
AND SO, IT'S A PRETTY BIG STEP TO GO THIS ROUTE.
IN TALKING WITH FHWA, WE DID ASK FOR EXAMPLES.
THEY COULD NOT PROVIDE ANY EXAMPLES TO DATE. AND SO, I'M NOT SURE THAT IT HAS BEEN DONE.
NOT RECENTLY AT LEAST, AT LEAST WITH OUR FHWA CONTACTS THAT WE TALKED TO.
SECTION SIX IS REALLY THE CITY GRANT. POTENTIALLY LOOKING AT THE CITY STREET CONNECTIONS WITHIN 345.
CITY COUNCIL APPROVED A $2 MILLION HUD GRANT ON JANUARY 22ND.
THE CITY STAFF IS PLANNING ON USING THAT TO LOOK AT THE CITY STREET CONNECTIONS WITH INTERSTATE 345.
I'LL REALLY DEFER TO STAFF IF THERE'S ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THAT.
BUT THAT'S SO FAR AS THE PLAN. SECTION SEVEN IS THE MULTI-MODAL ACCOMMODATIONS.
WE'VE WORKED CLOSELY WITH DART TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE IN COORDINATION WITH THEM.
WE HAVE COMPLETE STREETS ON EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE CITY STREETS THAT CROSS INTERSTATE 345.
AND SO, YOU'VE GOT THE BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN CONNECTIONS.
WITH IT, THE STREETCAR ACCOMMODATIONS. I KNOW THAT ISN'T DETERMINED JUST YET WHERE THIS STREETCAR WILL GO, BUT WE ARE VERY CONFIDENT THAT WE CAN FIT IT ON ANY STRUCTURE THAT WE END UP BUILDING.
YOU'RE ABLE TO RETROFIT THAT FAIRLY EASILY. THE LOADS AREN'T EXTREME THAT WE FEEL VERY CONFIDENT THAT WE COULD RETROFIT AND MAKE THE, THE STREETCAR ACCOMMODATIONS WORK. JUST KIND OF LOOKING AT STAKEHOLDER COORDINATION.
WE'VE HAD 55 MEETINGS TOTAL WITH CITY STAFF. WE'VE ALSO WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH BAYLOR SCOTT AND WHITE, DOWNTOWN DALLAS, INC. DEEP ELLUM. WE ALSO HAD A SERIES OF PUBLIC MEETINGS BACK IN MARCH OF 24.
AND SO, WE'VE REALLY REACHED OUT TO QUITE A FEW GROUPS.
THIS IS JUST A CLOSER LOOK AT SOME OF THE BIGGER STAKEHOLDERS THAT WE WORKED WITH.
SO, WE HAVE MADE SOME DESIGN CHANGES SINCE WE LAST BRIEFED YOU.
[00:30:01]
SO, WE FIGURE THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO DISCUSS THOSE.THE FIRST DESIGN CHANGES, NUMBER A IS WE REMOVE THE ALLEN STREET CONNECTION.
WE HEARD A LOT FROM THE UPTOWN DALLAS NEIGHBORHOOD THAT THAT WAS NOT A GOOD CONNECTION.
THAT HAS BEEN REMOVED. AND SO, IT IS NO LONGER IN OUR PLANS.
B, WE'VE RECONFIGURED THE CESAR CHAVEZ CONNECTION OR EXCHANGE WITH 345.
THAT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO DEEP ELLUM OR NOT. DEEP ELLUM. I'M SORRY, BAYLOR SCOTT AND WHITE THAT THEY REALLY WANTED AN UNIMPEDED ACCESS TO GET YOU TO THE HOSPITAL. SO THAT WAS AN IMPORTANT CONNECTION FOR THEM. D WE REMOVED THE HAWKINS BRYAN STREET CONNECTION.
SORRY. THAT CONNECTION SEEMED AWKWARD AND OUT OF PLACE.
JUST WORKING WITH CITY STAFF. I'M NOT SURE ANYBODY REALLY SAW THAT AS A HUGE BENEFIT.
THE MILL CREEK TUNNEL IS NOT QUITE BIG ENOUGH THAT WE NEED.
F WE REALIGN SOME OF THE CITY STREET CONNECTIONS.
REALLY? GOT IT OVER OFF OF BEING ACROSS THE HIGHWAY.
I'LL SHOW IT TO YOU HERE IN JUST A SECOND WITH MORE DETAIL.
CITY STAFF WAS SUPPORTIVE OF THAT. AND THEN LASTLY, WE ADDED A NORTHBOUND EXIT.
YOU CAN SEE THE SEPTEMBER 24TH INSERT UP TO THE TOP RIGHT.
WE'VE GOT A BLUE EXIT, IF YOU WILL, TO CANTON FROM THAT BLUE EXIT TO CANTON, WE ALSO PEEL OFF ESSENTIALLY A BYPASS THAT WILL GO UNDER MAIN AND COMMERCE AND CONNECT UP TO ELM. SO IT PROVIDES BETTER ACCESS TO DOWNTOWN FROM NORTHBOUND 345.
SO THAT'S A PRETTY BIG CHANGE THAT WE'VE HAD.
THE NEXT ONE IS THAT SOUTHBOUND EXIT TO LIVE OAK AND PACIFIC.
THAT WILL PROVIDE DIRECT ACCESS TO BAYLOR. SO, IT IS A PRETTY BIG BENEFIT TO THEM.
THE NEXT ONE IS JUST RECONFIGURING THOSE CITY STREET CONNECTIONS BETWEEN COMMERCE AND MAIN.
IF YOU LOOK ON THE RIGHT, THAT WAS OVER THE FREEWAY.
WE'VE PUSHED IT OFF OF THE FREEWAY. HOPEFULLY THAT PROVIDES FOR MORE DEVELOPMENT.
DEVELOPABLE AREA. THAT WAS A CHANGE THAT CITY STAFF SUPPORTED AS WELL AS OUR STAKEHOLDERS.
TUESDAY WILL BE AT THE PILGRIM REST MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH.
AND THEN THURSDAY WILL BE AT SAINT PHILIP'S SCHOOL.
AND THEN WE'VE ALSO GOT A VIRTUAL HEARING. IF PEOPLE CANNOT MAKE IT IN PERSON.
SO, WITH THAT, THE PUBLIC HEARINGS REALLY ARE OUR LAST OPPORTUNITY TO GET MAJOR PUBLIC FEEDBACK.
I'D EXPECT IT TO TAKE AT LEAST 3 TO 5 YEARS JUST TO FIND THAT THAT MAGNITUDE OF FUNDING.
AND WITH THAT, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
I'LL JUST START FROM THE OTHER END THIS TIME.
COUNCIL MEMBER MENDELSOHN. YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
THANK YOU. SO, I JUST WANT TO SAY PAGE 14 AND 15, WHERE YOU OUTLINE ALL OF THE MEETINGS THAT YOU'VE HAD, IS EXTREMELY IMPRESSIVE. YOU'RE GETTING IT RIGHT WITH TALKING TO THE COMMUNITY.
SO, THANK YOU FOR THAT. THE NEXT ONE IS ON PAGE 16.
AGAIN, VERY IMPRESSIVE TO SHOW THAT YOU'VE NOT ONLY GONE OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND LISTENED TO THEM, YOU ACTUALLY THEN MADE CHANGES BASED ON WHAT YOU HEARD AND IMPROVEMENTS, IT SOUNDS LIKE FROM YOUR PRESENTATION.
SO, I'M JUST GOING TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THAT PART.
I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO FIND THE $1.6 BILLION.
BUT I DO THINK THAT WHEN WE GET TO CONSTRUCTION, IT'S GOING TO BE DIFFICULT.
HAVING LIVED THROUGH A LOT OF CONSTRUCTION IN MY DISTRICT OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
YOU KNOW, WHEN IT'S CONCENTRATED LIKE THAT IN ONE AREA, IT'S REALLY, REALLY HARD.
SO I'M GLAD I WON'T BE ON COUNCIL AT THAT POINT.
[00:35:06]
AND IT WAS WAY BACK WHEN I WAS AT UPTOWN AND ATTENDING THOSE COMMUNITY MEETINGS.YOU KNOW, YOUR WILLINGNESS TO LISTEN TO THE PUBLIC AS WELL AS TO THESE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS AND BAYLOR HOSPITAL AND ALL OF THAT IS REALLY GOOD NEWS FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND NOW I'M GOING TO GO OUT TO THE VIRTUAL WORLD AND MR. RESENDEZ. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS AT THIS TIME, OR DO YOU WANT TO SAVE THEM? BECAUSE I KNOW THIS AFFECTS YOUR DISTRICT PROBABLY JUST AS BIG AS ANYBODY.
SO YEAH, I APPRECIATE YOU ACKNOWLEDGING THAT.
SO, I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU.
COUNCIL MEMBER SCHULTZ, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS.
FIRST OF ALL, ON THE USES THAT ARE NEEDED ON SLIDE, WHERE AM I? I DON'T KNOW THE SLIDE NUMBER YET. PAGES. BUT WHEN YOU SHOW WHERE, WHERE IS THE, WHICH PAGE IS THE ONE THAT HAD ALL THE USES? OH, HERE IT IS. SLIDE NINE. ARE THOSE USES DETERMINED BY OUR CITY STAFF? YES, WE WORK CLOSELY WITH CITY STAFF. KEEP IN MIND, THAT'S AN INITIAL TAKE THAT CAN DEFINITELY CHANGE.
THIS WAS JUST THE INITIAL INCLINATION FROM STAFF.
IS THAT MEANT TO BE DURING CONSTRUCTION AND THEN LATER IT'LL BE SOMETHING ELSE OR.
NO, THIS IS REALLY AFTER CONSTRUCTION IS COMPLETE.
GREAT PRESENTATION. AND THIS HELPS REALLY DIG IN.
BREAK THAT DOWN A LITTLE BIT MORE FOR US SINCE IT WAS THEIR CALL.
SECOND IS ON THE TRUCK. ON THE TRUCK. I UNDERSTAND THAT WE CAN'T REROUTE THEM.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE ALLOWED BY LAW TO RESTRICT HOURS.
ARE WE ALLOWED TO DO THAT? COULD WE DO THAT AS A COMPROMISE? LET ME LOOK INTO THAT, I DON'T KNOW. WE DO HAVE THE RESTRICTED NO LEFT LANE.
THAT IS DONE. IT ALSO IS CITY ORDINANCE. THAT WE CAN RESTRICT.
LET ME CHECK ON HOURS, BECAUSE IT MAY HELP A LOT WITH RUSH HOURS.
WHAT I'M SUGGESTING. THEN MY NEXT NOTE WAS GREAT PRESENTATION.
MY FOURTH COMMENT WAS, DO THE CURRENT I-30 EXITS REMAIN WHEN YOU'RE ADDING THE ADDITIONAL ONE FOR IS IT ELM OR MAIN? MAIN. I THINK YOU'RE ADDING THE ONE. YOU'RE ADDING CANTON'S THERE AND YOU'RE ADDING ELM RIGHT.
THAT IS CORRECT. SO DO ALL THE OTHER I-30 EXITS REMAIN LIKE GRIFFIN AND ALL THOSE.
SO, WE'RE ESSENTIALLY CONSOLIDATING THE EXITS TO, TO THE ONES THAT WERE SHOWN ON THE SCHEMATIC.
AND SO TODAY IF YOU'RE COMING FROM 30 YOU CAN GET TO MAIN, ELM AND COMMERCE.
REALLY, WHEN WE'RE DONE, YOU'LL ONLY BE ABLE TO GET TO CANTON AND THEN ELM.
OKAY, SO MAYBE ON THE NEXT CHANGE THAT WE JUST MIGHT WANT TO DENOTE THAT.
SO PEOPLE REALIZE THAT. AND THEN FINALLY, ARE THERE ANY CHANGES TO THE DART SYSTEM? NO CHANGES TO THE DART SYSTEM. WE WILL HAVE TO REBUILD THE GREEN LINE TODAY.
IT GOES UNDERNEATH. 345. WE WILL HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO REBUILD IT ON TOP OF US WHEN WE'RE DONE.
BUT WE'VE GOT A PHASING PLAN THAT WE'VE WORKED WITH DART.
THEY KNOW THAT THIS WORK IS COMING, SO THANK YOU.
AND I REALLY WANT TO APPRECIATE YOUR PROFESSIONALISM.
YOU'RE GREAT TO WORK WITH. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, VICE CHAIRMAN.
NOTHING. MAYOR PRO TEM, JUST ONE QUESTION. THANK YOU.
CESAR ON I-45, IS THERE ANY CONGESTION? ANYTHING IS GOING TO DISRUPT TRAFFIC? NO, NO, THERE'S NO PLANS TO DIVERT TRAFFIC. WE OUR PLAN IS TO KEEP TRAFFIC MOVING AS WE BUILD IT.
DID I ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YES. I GUESS I KNOW WHEN YOU DO ANY KIND OF CONSTRUCTION RIGHT NOW, I-45 IS A IS A BIG TRAFFIC JAM RIGHT NOW ON 45.
I'M REFERRING TO COMING SOUTH FROM HOUSTON, GOING NORTH.
THAT'S MY CONCERN. YOU KNOW, BEFORE YOU CROSS 30.
RIGHT. RIGHT NOW WE'RE DOING REPAIRS ON INTERSTATE 45.
THE DECK HAS A LOT OF POTHOLES IN IT TODAY. SO WE'RE RESURFACING IT.
AND SO WE'VE LIMITED THOSE TO WEEKEND HOURS. AND SO ANY MAJOR DISRUPTIONS WHEN WE'RE REBUILDING 345, WE WILL TRY TO KEEP THAT TO, TO THE WEEKEND TIME.
DEFINITELY NOT DURING PEAK HOURS. I KNOW RIGHT NOW GLAD YOU BROUGHT IT UP RIGHT NOW.
IT'S ALMOST BETWEEN 1 TO 3 HOURS. YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE DOING THE POTHOLES.
I KNOW YOU HAVE BEEN DOING THE WEEKDAYS, SO IT'S KIND OF BAD.
[00:40:02]
SO, I WISH WE CAN KIND OF MOVE IT TO A LATER DATE OR A LATER TIME.I KNOW WE NEED TO FIX A POTHOLE IN 45, BUT IT.
IS IT CONGESTION? ANYWHERE FROM 1 TO 3 HOURS DELAY.
WE CAN LOOK TO TRY TO IMPROVE THAT AND DEFINITELY TRY TO GET THE WORD OUT MORE.
THOSE REPAIRS ARE VERY TOUGH TO DO. I KNOW IT DOES.
SO HOPEFULLY PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO AVOID THE ROUTE WHEN WE DO THOSE REPAIRS.
OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. VERY GOOD.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM ANYBODY ELSE? ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
WE'LL SEE. OH, SORRY. I'M MR. RIDLEY. I HAD YOU WRITTEN DOWN AND I JUST SKIPPED OVER IT.
I APOLOGIZE, MR. RIDLEY. COUNCIL MEMBER RIDLEY, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
THANK YOU. SUSAN, HAS ANY CONSIDERATION BEEN GIVEN TO INSERTING HOV LANES IN I-345 OR A DEDICATED THRU TRUCK LANE TO PREVENT CONFLICTS BETWEEN CARS AND THRU TRUCK TRAFFIC.
SO, WE HAVE NOT CONSIDERED HOV LANES TO DATE, MAINLY BECAUSE THE HOV SYSTEM TODAY ENDS AT 635.
IT DOES NOT COME SOUTH ON 75. AND SO, AND THEN THERE'S NOT A SYSTEM SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 30.
SO HAVE NOT CONSIDERED IT TO DATE AS FAR AS RESTRICTING TRUCKS TO THE LEFT LANE.
THE CHALLENGE THERE MIGHT BE THAT WE'VE GOT TWO INTERCHANGES.
AND SO, IF TRUCKS WERE TO COME, IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO GET THEM OVER TO THAT LEFT LANE.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? VERY GOOD. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
AND THANK YOU AGAIN AS WELL. FOR YOUR LIKE ALL YOUR WORK ON THIS AND YOUR PROFESSIONALISM AS WAS MENTIONED EARLIER AND JUST YOUR EASE TO SPEAK TO AND WORK WITH, AND YOU'RE JUST A MATTER OF FACT ANSWERS WITHOUT TRYING TO SUGARCOAT ANYTHING.
BUT I WILL DEFINITELY BE WATCHING THE HOW THIS HOW THIS PLAYS OUT, BECAUSE I WAS HERE WHEN WE GOT IT ALL GOING AND STARTED, SO THANK YOU AGAIN. I DON'T KNOW IF I'LL SEE YOU BEFORE THIS TERM ENDS, BUT THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. AND I'M SURE WE'LL BE SEEING EACH OTHER AROUND IN THE FUTURE.
THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. NEXT, WE HAVE BRIEFING ACTION.
OH, DID. WE DIDN'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING ACTION ON THAT, RIGHT. BRIEFING AND ACTION ITEMS, LETTER D DALLAS STREETCAR OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE 2025 STUDY STATUS UPDATE. DR. GUSS WILL BE GIVING US THIS PRESENTATION.
HE IS THE DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS.
WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON, HONORABLE CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
AS YOU AS YOU'RE AWARE, WE'RE TRYING TO EXPLORE OPTIONS THAT COULD BE AVAILABLE FOR THE CITY AS WE SO THAT WE CAN MITIGATE THE COST OF THE GENERAL FUNDS FOR THE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE STREETCAR.
SO, THIS IS THE KIND OF WE'RE STILL KIND OF IN THE EARLY STAGES OF THE STUDY, BUT I WANTED TO PROVIDE A STATUS UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE. OKAY. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO WE'RE GOING TO GO OVER THE OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY, THE EVALUATION APPROACH, HOW WE'RE COMPARED TO OTHER PEER CITIES WHO HAVE STREETCARS. WHAT COULD BE A POTENTIAL FUNDING SOURCE FOR THE INITIAL STAGE, AND THEN PART OF THE WORK ON THIS ONE IS TO LOOK INTO THE CONNECTION INTO THE FAIR PARK, AS WELL AS INTO THE ZOO SOUTHERN GATEWAY OR HALPERIN PARK AREA AND THE NEXT STEPS. SO NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO, WHAT WE HAVE DONE IS THAT WE LOOKED AT OR THE STUDY IS LOOKING AT THE CURRENT OPERATION.
SO, UNION STATION TO BISHOP ARTS AND SEE WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS THERE.
AND THE DOWNTOWN ONE HAS TWO PHASES. ONE IS WHAT WE CALL THE OMNI LOOP OR THE NORTHERN EXTENSION, WHICH GOES FROM UNION STATION TO THE OMNI AS A LOOP AND THEN LATER ON THE DOWNTOWN CONNECTION AS IT INTERFACES WITH THE MCKINNEY AREA TRANSIT.
AND THEN WE DO HAVE ALSO THE SOUTHERN EXTENSION FROM THE BISHOP ARTS TO THE SOUTHERN GATEWAY DECK.
[00:45:07]
FARM STUDY. SO THAT IS PROGRESSING. ALSO LIKE I MENTIONED IS WE'RE LOOKING AT THE PLANNING ROUTES FOR THE CONNECTION TO FAIR PARK AND TO IDENTIFY WHAT ARE THE CONSTRAINTS AND THE ISSUES AND THE CHALLENGES THERE.AND THEN THE OTHER MAIN COMPONENT, WHICH IS TO LOOK AT THE BEST PRACTICES AND THE OPTIONS THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR THE THIRD PARTY OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE PROVIDER AND OR THE OPERATOR OF THE STREETCAR.
SO, LIKE I MENTIONED, IS THE FIRST SHORT TERM IS TO FOCUS ON WHAT COULD BE DONE ON THE CURRENT TO SUPPLEMENT AND HELP WITH THE CURRENT OPERATION. AND THEN THE SECOND PHASE IS THE LONGER TERM THAT INCLUDES ALSO THE EXPANDED EXPANDED ROUTES.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO WHAT WE WORKED WITH THE CONSULTANT, AND THE CONSULTANT HAS PROVIDED US WITH A TABULAR FORM THAT SHOWS BASICALLY THE VARIOUS CITIES THAT DO HAVE STREETCARS AND HOW THEY COMPARE OF WHERE THE HOW THEY'RE BEING FUNDED.
AND WE SHOWED DALLAS AS BEING PRIMARILY FROM THE GENERAL FUND TRANSFER AND OTHER COULD BE YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SOME FUNDING FROM THE FROM THE FAIR AND REVENUE AND A FEW OTHER THINGS.
WHAT IS THE OPTIONS ARE TO INCLUDE ADVERTISEMENTS, NAMING RIGHTS.
AND WE SHOWED ALSO WHICH CITIES ARE USING THESE OPTIONS.
THE NEXT ONE IS THE PARKING FEES. AND IT SO HAPPENS THAT WE HAVE THAT PROVISION IN OUR CURB LANE MANAGEMENT TO ALLOW FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PARKING BENEFIT DISTRICTS WHERE THIS OPTION COULD BE AVAILABLE.
AND THEN NEXT SLIDE YOU'VE GOT SOME CITIES MAY CONSIDER USING THE TRANSPORTATION UTILITY FEES.
OR ROYALTY CHARGES, OR AT GRADE JOINT DEVELOPMENT THAT HAS ROYALTIES CHARGED TO FUTURE DEVELOPMENT.
YOU HAVE CERTAINLY THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS, WHICH WE HAVE, THAT BOTH WE'VE USED IT IN THE OAK CLIFF AREA AS WELL AS IN THE DOWNTOWN AND POTENTIALLY IN IN OTHER PLACES AS WE EXPAND PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENT. KANSAS CITY IS USING SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SALES TAX. SEVERAL CITIES ARE USING THAT. AND THEN UNDER THE OTHER CATEGORY, WE HAVE THE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, THE FEDERAL FTA FORMULA HERE HOTEL, MOTEL TAXES AND LOCAL MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION FEE ON THE FAIR PARK EXTENSION.
CONSTRAINTS OR CHALLENGES AND, AND FEASIBILITY OF SUCH A ROUTE.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO ON THAT WE ARE JUST AT THE HIGH LEVEL PLANNING LEVEL.
WE'RE LOOKING AT IT, WE'RE LOOKING AT BASICALLY GATHERING THE DATA AND LOOKING AT THE RIGHT OF WAY, THE TRAFFIC IMPACTS. AND LIKE I MENTIONED, IN ANY CONSTRAINTS ALONG THE ALIGNMENT.
SO, WE ARE STILL IN THE PRELIMINARY CONCEPTS FOR THAT ONE.
NEXT SLIDE. SO, ON THE HALPERIN PARK OR THE SOUTHERN GATEWAY ZOO, AS I MENTIONED CURRENTLY IT IS BEING LOOKED AT AND WE'RE FINALIZING THE ALIGNMENT OPTIONS, BUT IT IS DONE AS PART OF WHAT WE CALL THE OAK FARMS STUDY THAT IS CURRENTLY UNDER CONTRACT. SO, WE'RE PROGRESSING WITH THAT AND THEN WE WILL BE BRIEFING THAT SOON.
AND LIKE I MENTIONED, THEY WERE TRYING TO IDENTIFY AND FINALIZE THE OPTIONS THERE.
[00:50:06]
EXISTING OPERATIONS. SO THAT COULD BE BY Q4 OF 2025.PLANNING THE ROUTE FOR THE FAIR PARK EXPANSION IN Q1 OF 2026.
WE'RE PLANNING ON DOING SOME PUBLIC OUTREACH IN THE SUMMER OF 2025.
AND THEN LOOK AT THE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE EXPANDED ROUTES AND OTHER ROUTES THAT WE HAVE UNDER CONSIDERATION BY Q2 OF 2026 AND EVALUATE ALSO THE BEST PRACTICES FOR THE THIRD PARTY O&M BY Q2 OF 2026. AND WE HOPE THAT WE WILL COMPLETE THE FINAL REPORT BY SPRING OF 2026.
SO, WITH THAT HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
VERY GOOD. THANK YOU SO MUCH. WE'LL JUST GO BACK THIS WAY, AND WE'LL START WITH VICE CHAIRMAN.
VERY GOOD, COUNCILMEMBER SCHULTZ. YES. THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
THIS IS A GOOD AND HELPFUL PRESENTATION. I APPRECIATE THE RESEARCH THAT YOU DID FROM OTHER CITIES.
I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT NEEDS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE PRESENTATION IS WHY THIS MATTERS.
AND I KNOW THIS IS JUST THE I GUESS IT'S JUST THE FUNDING PIECE, BUT IN ADDITION TO THE COST, SOMETIMES WITH THE CITY DOCTOR, CAN WE BEGIN WITH HOW MUCH SOMETHING'S GOING TO COST, AND WE NEGLECT. EITHER LEAD WITH OR SOMETIMES EVEN INCLUDE.
IF WE REALLY MAKE THE CASE FOR WHY THIS IS SO IMPORTANT, AND IT ALSO MAKES IT MUCH MORE DEFENSIBLE, SHOULD WE, THE COUNCIL, DECIDE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH IT.
SO THOSE THAT ELEMENT, I HOPE WILL BE ADDED IN THE NEXT PHASE OF THE STUDY.
VERY GOOD COMMENT. APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER STEWART. YES. SO JUST A FEW YEARS BACK I WAS AT A DDE WORKSHOP.
I THINK YOU WERE THERE AND I BELIEVE WE HAD PRESENTATION COMING FROM KANSAS CITY.
IS THAT WHERE THEY HAVE THE STREETCAR? AND I DON'T RECALL EXACTLY WHAT THEIR FORM OF FUNDING WAS CALLED. I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS THE PARKING BENEFIT DISTRICT, OR IF IT WAS.
BUT I KNOW THAT THE PROPERTIES THAT FACED THE STREET WHERE THE STREETCAR WERE ASSESSED, AND I WANT TO SAY IT WAS SIMILAR TO A PID IN THAT IT WAS THEN OPERATED AND MAINTAINED BY A SEPARATE ORGANIZATION NONPROFIT, YOU KNOW, BOARD OF DIRECTORS THAT REFLECTED THE PROPERTY OWNERSHIP AS WELL AS, I'M SURE, SOME COMMUNITY GROUPS OR WHATEVER. BUT THAT WAS, FOR THE FIRST TIME, KIND OF A LIGHT BULB MOMENT FOR ME WHEN I REALIZED THAT WE COULD ASSESS THOSE PROPERTY OWNERS. I KNOW THEY WOULD NEED TO AGREE TO THIS, AND IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE GOING TO WAVE A MAGIC WAND TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
BUT I THINK IT WAS VERY BENEFICIAL TO THOSE PROPERTY OWNERS IN KANSAS CITY.
AND AGAIN, ALL OF THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE LOOKED AT VERY CAREFULLY AND ENGAGEMENT WITH THE COMMUNITY.
YOU DON'T WANT TO JUST THROW THIS ON SOMEONE.
BUT IT SEEMS LIKE A LOGICAL. AND MAYBE BECAUSE I COME FROM THE KID WORLD, IT SEEMS LOGICAL TO ME TO DO ASSESSMENTS WITH ANOTHER ORGANIZATION BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAINTENANCE ON OPERATIONS, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW THAT WE WANT TO LAYER ON ANOTHER MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION PROJECT FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS. BUT THIS WOULD BE REALLY OPERATED AND MAINTAINED BY THE PEOPLE WHO ARE DIRECTLY BENEFITING FROM IT AND HAVE SUCH A HUGE STAKE IN IT OPERATING EFFICIENTLY. SO, I KNOW I JUST KIND OF PREACHED A SERMON THERE, BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS.
SO CERTAINLY, I MEAN, I WAS IN THAT IN THAT KIND OF GET TOGETHER OR WORKSHOP AND NEVER FOLLOWED UP.
BUT CERTAINLY, IN THE TABLE, WE INDICATE THAT THESE ARE THE OPTIONS THAT KANSAS CITY IS USING.
AND ONE OF THEM IS CERTAINLY THE PARKING FEES.
AND I CONCUR WITH YOU IS THAT WE HAVE TO BE LOOKING AT THESE THINGS.
AND SINCE WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING THE IN-DEPTH ALIGNMENT, IF YOU WILL THROUGH DOWNTOWN TO CONNECT BASICALLY FROM THE OMNI INTO THE WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, THE INTERFACE IS GOING TO BE CERTAINLY THAT WILL HAVE TO BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION AND STUDIED IN DEPTH, BECAUSE AS YOU FINALIZE YOUR ROUTE, YOU HAVE TO LOOK ALSO AT WHAT THE IMPACTS AND HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO THE
[00:55:01]
AND ASSESS THE REVENUES. COUNCIL MEMBER MENDELSOHN.THANK YOU. GUS. SO CURRENTLY WE ARE FUNDING THE STREETCAR, AND THAT NUMBER HAS GONE UP A LOT IN THE SIX YEARS I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL. CAN YOU TELL US HOW MUCH COMES OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND RIGHT NOW FOR THE CURRENT STREETCAR? SO WE'RE APPROXIMATELY ABOUT $2 MILLION IN GENERAL FUNDS ANNUALLY. APPROXIMATELY. IT IS GROWING.
THE COST IS GROWING AT AN AVERAGE OF 4% EVERY YEAR.
SO THAT IS A CURRENTLY WHAT WE HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED, AS A MATTER OF FACT, NOTIFIED US FOR THE UPCOMING 26 TO BE 3.3 MIL. AND THEN WE GET THE, WE YOU HAVE TO DEDUCT THE APPROXIMATE REVENUE FROM THE FAIR THAT WE'RE COLLECTING AND THE DART COMMITMENT TO US AS PART OF THE AGREEMENTS THAT WE HAD WITH THEM FOR THE FIELD STATION. SO, I THINK WE GET A CREDIT FOR NEXT 26 IS 734,000 OR SO. SO, BY THE TIME YOU DEDUCT ALL THESE THINGS HERE.
THAT'S NOT PAYING ANY MORE. CORRECT. SO, WE HAD WE HAD TWO YEARS IN A ROW.
WE HAD THE PID THAT PAID. BUT ALSO, AT THAT TIME WE HAD THE DEVELOPER FUNDS THAT WERE AVAILABLE AND WERE BASICALLY THE DEVELOPER FUNDS HAVE BEEN EXPENDED, SO WE'RE NO LONGER HAVE IT.
SO, DEFINITELY THAT'S WHY, I MEAN, THIS THING HAS BEEN GOING UP.
SO THAT IS CORRECT. IT HAS NOT BEEN NECESSARILY AT 4% AGGREGATE AS FAR AS THE CITY IS CONCERNED.
I'M TALKING ABOUT WHAT'S HITTING THE GENERAL FUND, WHICH I RECALL WHEN IT WAS UNDER A MILLION.
AND NOW WE'RE AT 2 MILLION. SO, THAT MEANS WE DON'T HAVE GENERAL FUND DOLLARS FOR THINGS LIKE STREET REPAIR AND PENSIONS AND PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELESSNESS AND OTHER THINGS. SO, MY QUESTION IS, IT SEEMS LIKE WE SHOULD BE HAVING THIS ENTIRE CONVERSATION WITH DART THAT THIS IS A DART TRANSPORTATION PROJECT, NOT A CITY OF DALLAS PROJECT.
WE ALREADY FUND DART 430 PLUS MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.
I MEAN, I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, ESPECIALLY WHEN OUR RIDERSHIP IS SO LOW ON DART, WHY WE WOULD TAKE ON AN ADDITIONAL TRANSPORTATION PROJECT. IT'S LIKE OUT OF OUR LANE, IN MY OPINION.
WELL, MY ONLY COMMENT TO THAT IS THAT BACK IN MARCH OF 2022 THERE WAS A COUNCIL RESOLUTION THAT SAID, BASICALLY, IF BY THE END OF 2024. DART IS TO COME BACK HERE AND PRESENT THE STATUS OF D2, AND IF COUNCIL DECIDES TO GO IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION, THEN THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE STREETCAR AND ANY OTHER PROGRAMS THAT THE CITY HAS AS FAR AS THE PROVISION OF TRANSPORTATION FUNDING, SUCH AS THE SENIOR TRANSPORTATION AND OTHERS ARE TO BE DISCUSSED AND THE COUNCIL WILL DECIDE ON THE GENERAL FRAMEWORK.
SO PURSUANT TO THAT RESOLUTION, THEY DID CANCEL D2, AND WE DIDN'T GET ANYTHING FOR IT, DID WE? WELL, AGAIN ALL WHAT I'M GOING TO SAY IS THAT THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION IS CLEAR, AND I BELIEVE THAT CONVERSATION NEEDS TO TAKE PLACE. OKAY, SO I WANT TO GO THROUGH WHEN YOU ARE ON PAGE SEVEN, WHICH I AGREE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR DOING THE PEER CITIES.
THAT WAS SUPER INTERESTING ON PAGE SEVEN. THE SHORT LIST OF FUNDING SOURCES.
I AGREE WITH ALL OF THEM AND VERY MUCH IN FAVOR OF PURSUING ALL OF THOSE.
SO, THANK YOU FOR THAT. ON PAGE EIGHT, YOU'VE GOT ADDITIONAL ITEMS, AND I'LL JUST SAY THAT TWO OF THEM ARE OF PARTICULAR INTEREST. WELL, FIRST I WANT TO SAY FOR THE FTA FEDERAL FUNDS, HOW MUCH DO WE RECEIVE RIGHT NOW FOR THE STREETCAR FOR THOSE FTA FEDERAL FUNDS? SO CURRENTLY WE DO NOT RECEIVE ANY FUNDS.
AND THIS IS AN ITEM THAT WE HAVE RAISED WITH BOTH NCT COG AND DART BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT
[01:00:03]
UNDER THE WE HAVE BASICALLY THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION HAS TWO PROGRAMS, A STATE OF GOOD REPAIR AS WELL AS THE URBAN AREA. REFUNDS AND FUNDS, SOME FUNDS COME BACK TO NCT FOR REDISTRIBUTION.SO, WE HAVE REQUESTED THAT WE NEED TO LOOK INTO THAT, BECAUSE IF DART IS ACCOUNTING FOR OUR FIXED GUIDEWAY, THOSE TWO AND A HALF MILES AS PART OF THEIR SYSTEM, AS NOTED IN THEIR, IF YOU LOOK AT THEIR CURRENT 25 BUDGET, THEY'RE LISTING THE STREETCAR THERE.
SO, WE NEED TO KIND OF ASK THEM IS THAT IF THEY'RE ACCOUNTING FOR THAT IN IT'S WORTH ASKING.
THE QUESTION IS THEN IS THE CITY ENTITLED FOR A PORTION OF THESE FUNDS THAT ARE EQUIVALENT TO THE TWO AND A HALF MILES AND WHEN AND HOW MUCH THAT MONEY IS? AND FURTHER GENERALLY SPEAKING, THE ENTITLEMENT AS PER FTA RULES. MAKES US ELIGIBLE OR FOR SUCH REIMBURSEMENTS.
AFTER SEVEN YEARS OF OPERATION AND THE STREETCAR HAS BEEN IN OPERATION, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, SINCE 2015. SO, WE SHOULD BE GETTING CLOSE TO I MEAN, WE SHOULD BE IN A GOOD POSITION TO POTENTIALLY GET SOME FUNDS BACK.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTOOD WHAT YOU JUST SAID. YOU'RE SAYING WE'RE PAYING TO OPERATE THE STREETCAR ON THE RAIL, BUT THEY'RE GETTING THE FEDERAL FUNDS FOR OPERATING THE RAILROAD.
NO. SO WHAT I'M SAYING HERE IS THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION PROVIDES FUNDS FOR THE STATE OF GOOD REPAIR, AND THEY APPORTION THIS BASED ON THE LENGTH OF THE GUIDEWAYS, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN.
SO I'M SAYING HERE, WHY AREN'T WE GETTING THOSE FUNDS? SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WORKING. I'M WORKING WITH NORTH CENTRAL COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS AND DART TO EXPLORE WHAT THE STATUS IS AND WHETHER A, WE'RE ELIGIBLE AND B, IF WE ARE ELIGIBLE. SINCE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, HOW MUCH MONEY IS THERE AND SO ON.
SO, WE'RE WORKING ON IT. WE'LL COME BACK TO IT WHENEVER I HAVE THE INFORMATION.
OKAY. SO, IN GENERAL, LET ME UNDERSTAND THIS.
WHY WOULD WE BE EXPANDING THE STREETCAR TO FAIR PARK WHEN WE ALREADY HAVE RAIL IN FAIR PARK? SO, THE THIS IS JUST A HIGH LEVEL EXPLORATION IF IT MAKES SENSE AND IF THIS GOT ANY IF THERE ARE ANY CONSTRAINTS AND SO ON. SO, WE'RE NOT DOING ANY STUDY ON THIS POINT.
AT THIS POINT WE'RE JUST IDENTIFYING WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS THERE.
THAT COULD BE CONSIDERED. SO, I THINK GETTING RAIL TO HALPERIN PARK IN THE ZOO SHOULD DEFINITELY BE OUR TOP PRIORITY THAT WE CONVEY TO DART, SINCE THESE ARE TWO VERY IMPORTANT ITEMS FOR PARKS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
I THINK COUNCILWOMAN STEWART SAID IT VERY WELL THAT THE RESIDENTS WHO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO USE THE RAIL, THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE SUPPOSEDLY BENEFITING FROM THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, THEY'RE THE ONES WHO SHOULD BE PAYING FOR IT.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE RESIDENTS 15 PLUS MILES AWAY THAT PROBABLY HAVE NEVER BEEN ON THIS RAIL, AND YET THEY'RE LOSING OUT ON GENERAL FUND DOLLARS FOR IT.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER RESENDEZ.
AND THEN MAYOR PRO TEM. YOU'LL BE NEXT. I DON'T I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
VERY GOOD. MAYOR PRO TEM, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
BOY, I GOTTA ECHO BACK. BAD CONNECTION.
WE BELIEVE IT'S ON YOUR END. MAYOR PRO TEM. YEAH.
NO. SO, YOU'RE NOT ECHOING IN HERE? IT'S ON MY SIDE.
YEP. OKAY. I WON'T TRY TO ANSWER. ASK A QUESTION, GUS. ON THIS. THE STREETCAR. WHAT IS THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF
[01:05:06]
DEBT THAT WE HAVE ON THE STREETCAR? AND HOW MUCH MONEY DO IT TAKE TO OPERATE THE STREETCAR? SO, IF I UNDERSTOOD THE QUESTION CORRECTLY, IS HOW MUCH IS OUR OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE? COST? IS THAT CORRECT? YES. OKAY. FOR 2026, WE WERE NOTIFIED BY DART.SINCE DART IS OUR OPERATOR THAT THE CHARGE FOR 2026 IS 3.3 MILLION.
NOW, LIKE I MENTIONED, WE HAVE TO DEDUCT THE CREDIT FOR THE FAIR REVENUE AS WELL AS THE DART CONTRIBUTION FROM THE LEFT FIELD OPERATION, WHICH IS ABOUT 734 MILLION.
SO THAT LEAVES US WITH ABOUT A LITTLE OVER 2 MILLION FOR THE NET.
AND WHEN WE START OPERATING THE STREETCAR, WAS THERE ANY TYPE OF LOCAL AGREEMENT WHO WOULD PAY THE DIFFERENCE IN DEBT? DID WE LOSE IT GOING FORWARD FOR RIDERSHIP? I'M SORRY I DIDN'T CATCH THE LAST PART. WELL, WE FUND THE STREETCAR, AND WE STARTED UP. WAS THERE ANYTHING IN THE POLICY OR THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT THAT SAID, IF WE GOT A LOSS THAT THE CITY THAT HAVE TO PAY THE DIFFERENCE.
FOR OPERATIONAL OPERATION. SO YOU WERE CUTTING OFF? I CAN'T, CAN YOU? DID YOU GET THE QUESTION? GUS, I THINK THE QUESTION WAS WHAT WERE IF THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE AGREED UPON EARLY ON IN THE AGREEMENT YOU KNOW, WHO WOULD PAY THE DIFFERENCE? IS THAT CORRECT? YES. OKAY. SO, THE AGREEMENT THAT WE HAVE WITH DART AND NCT COG IS BASICALLY THE CITY OF DALLAS IS OBLIGATED TO PAY THE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM, AND WE ARE OBLIGATED TO PAY IT FOR 30 YEARS.
AND I THINK 30 YEARS EXPIRES IN 2045. OKAY. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. MR. RIDLEY'S GONE. ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM ANYBODY ON THE SIDE? SO, GUS ON THE PAYMENTS THAT CAME THROUGH THAT WE USED, I BELIEVE IT WAS A TIF, NOT A PID, BECAUSE PIDS DON'T RUN OUT UNLESS THEY END IT, AND TIFS DO.
AND I BELIEVE WE CLOSED OUT THE TIFF WITH THE FUNDS THAT WERE LEFT IN IT ON THAT CORRIDOR.
I CAN'T REMEMBER IF WE CLOSED IT. IT MIGHT BE, BUT I KNOW WE RECEIVED THE PAYMENTS INTO TWO YEARS, RIGHT? WE SPLIT THE PAYMENT IN TWO YEARS WITH THE MONEY THAT THEY HAD.
AND THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING WE WANT TO WORK WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ON. IF WE GO FORWARD, IF THE CITY GOES FORWARD WITH THE STREETCAR IS HOW TO EITHER CREATE A TIF OR A PID THAT'S, YOU KNOW, ENCOMPASSING OF THIS TO HELP ONE PAY FOR IT TO YOU KNOW, KEEP THE MAINTENANCE UP, THINGS OF THAT NATURE, IF IT'S POSSIBLE. AND THEN, OF COURSE, I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND A PID BE CREATED SO THAT THE BUSINESSES, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THAT DOES GROW THERE WILL BE ABLE TO SUSTAIN THE STREETCAR BECAUSE IT IS EXPENSIVE.
IT DOES COST MONEY. BUT THE OTHER THING WAS, HOW DID WE RECEIVE THE DOLLARS TO BUILD THE STREETCAR? IT WAS THROUGH A TIGER GRANT; I BELIEVE THAT IS CORRECT.
THROUGH THE TIGER GRANT. AND IF WE SO THIS WAS THE CITY OF DALLAS PROJECT OR WAS IT A DART PROJECT? IT WAS INITIALLY THE TIGER GRANT WAS SUBMITTED IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, IN COLLABORATION WITH NCT COG AND NCT COG WAS THE RESPONSIBLE PARTY BEFORE BEING TRANSFERRED TO US. SO, IT WAS PRIMARILY THE CITY OF DALLAS.
OKAY, SO IT'S AND SO DART HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS PROJECT.
IT WAS NCT COG. CORRECT. OKAY. VERY GOOD. SO, IT'S, IN MY OPINION, UNFAIR TO SAY IT'S A DART PROJECT BECAUSE IT'S NEVER BEEN A DART PROJECT. IT'S ALWAYS BEEN OURS. AND WE GOT INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH DART TO MAINTAIN IT AND OPERATE IT.
[01:10:03]
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT. SO, I MEAN, IT COSTS MONEY TO OPERATE AND MAINTAIN WHETHER WE WERE DOING IT OURSELVES AND HIRED OUR OWN OPERATORS AND MAINTENANCE CREWS, OR WE JUST WERE PROBABLY SMART AND UTILIZING DARTS BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY HAVE THE PERSONNEL TO BE ABLE TO OPERATE THAT KNOW HOW TO OPERATE AND KNOW HOW TO MAINTENANCE THE VEHICLES AND THE TRACKS.AND ALL OF THAT IS MY OPINION. SO, THE NEXT THING IS ON THE, ON THE ROUTE, WHETHER IT'S THIS ROUTE OR, YOU KNOW, IT'S CHANGING. I MEAN, WE'VE GOT TO WE'VE GOT TO DO A LOT OF STUDYING.
RIGHT? TO MAKE SURE. WOULD IT WORK? IS THIS THE RIGHT LINE? IS THIS THE RIGHT AREA? BECAUSE WE KNOW WHAT THE ONE LINE THAT WE HAVE DID.
I MEAN, A LOT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AROUND IT.
AND THE WHOLE POINT WAS IT WAS SUPPOSED TO AT SOME POINT BE LIKE A, YOU KNOW, A CIRCLE.
IT WAS SUPPOSED TO COME AND GO TO THE SAME PLACE AT THE END.
RIGHT. BUT WE NEVER GOT THERE. THE TIGER GRANTS ENDED.
WE JUST NEVER WERE ABLE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO FUND IT, AND THERE MIGHT BE WAYS TO FUND IT AT THIS POINT, WE DON'T KNOW. AND FAIR PARK IS IMPORTANT. WHEN I REMEMBER WHEN THE FIRST CONCERT HAPPENED AT FAIR PARK IT WAS A DISASTER AS FAR AS PEOPLE GETTING THERE BEING TO GET OUT BECAUSE THERE WAS SO MUCH GOING ON.
YOU HAD DALLAS SUMMER MUSICALS AT THE TIME. NOW BROADWAY DALLAS HAD AN EVENT.
YOU HAD A CONCERT YOU HAD WITH 100,000 PEOPLE ISH THERE, AND YOU HAD SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON.
AND I REMEMBER SPEAKING TO FAIR PARK FIRST ABOUT IT, AND COUNCIL MEMBER BAZALDUA WAS THERE.
SO, THEY HAD ALREADY GOTTEN WITH THE COG, AND THEY WERE DOING A STUDY TO HELP US FIGURE THINGS OUT.
AND ONE OF THE FIRST RECOMMENDATIONS WAS WE NEEDED SOMETHING ELSE TO GO THERE.
MASS TRANSIT WISE, WHETHER IT'S MORE LIGHT RAIL OR STREETCAR OR SOMETHING.
SO THAT'S THE REASON WHY BECAUSE NOW THAT FAIR PARK HAS BEEN SO ACTIVATED.
YOU KNOW, WE GOT TO GET PEOPLE IN AND OUT OF THAT AREA, RIGHT? AND THEN THE OTHER REASON IS IN ORDER TO REALLY HELP WITH THE DEVELOPMENT ON THE OPPOSITE, OPPOSITE SIDE OF FAIR PARK, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THERE'S NOTHING ACTIVE OVER THERE.
AND WE HAVE HUGE PLANS AT FAIR PARK WITH THE BIG THE BIG GIANT PARK THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE BUILT THERE, THE UNDERGROUND PARKING. I MEAN, THERE'S A LOT GOING ON POTENTIALLY THERE.
SO I FEEL LIKE WE SHOULD BE PROACTIVE AND TRY TO FIGURE THIS OUT.
YOU KNOW, WE WE'VE GOT TO BE CAREFUL AS WELL, BECAUSE FINANCIALLY, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T DO TOO MUCH AND THEN NOT GET IT DONE AND NOT GET IT DONE IN THE RIGHT WAY. AND THAT CONNECTIVITY THAT I TALK ABOUT ALL THE TIME IS A HUGE, IMPORTANT THING FOR THIS PROJECT, ESPECIALLY WITH THE NEW CONVENTION CENTER WITH HALPERN PARK AND, YOU KNOW, THE DALLAS ZOO.
THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO STRUGGLE TO GET THERE.
AND THE COG ACTUALLY DID FINANCE A PARKING GARAGE FOR THE DALLAS ZOO IN ORDER TO, YOU KNOW, GET SOME MORE SPACES THERE FOR THEM. AND THE STREETCAR, YOU KNOW, WOULD BE A GREAT WAY TO GET PEOPLE IN AND OUT OF THERE AND ALSO TO HELP PEOPLE NOT TO NOT HAVE TO PARK AND DRIVE OVER THERE IF THEY WERE CATCHING IT FROM DOWNTOWN OR SOMEWHERE ELSE.
MAYBE IT'S SOMETHING ELSE THAT, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPS SOME TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY.
AND THEN THE LAST THING I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT WAS ON D2 WAS NEVER REMOVED.
IT WAS NEVER KILLED. IT WAS NEVER ANY OF THAT.
IT WAS ONLY REMOVED FROM THE 20 YEAR DEBT CAPACITY FOR DART BECAUSE IT WAS SITTING THERE.
AND WE HAVE A NUMBER THAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO HIT IN RIDERSHIP.
AND THAT WAS, I MEAN, HAS BEEN TOLD MANY TIMES TO US ON OTHER ISSUES, BUT ON THIS ONE IT'S.
EASILY FORGOTTEN WHERE THAT NUMBER THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO HIT IT.
IT'S GOING TO BE A VERY, VERY LONG TIME BEFORE WE HIT IT. AND SO, DART REQUESTED THAT WE HELP THAT WE ALLOW THAT TO BE TAKEN OUT OF THEIR 20 YEAR DEBT CAPACITY IN ORDER TO FREE UP DEBT CAPACITY FOR OTHER THINGS, SO THAT IF AND WHEN D2 WAS TRIGGERED AND IT COULD COME TO FRUITION, THAT'S WHEN THEY WOULD ADD IT BACK IN, BUT IT'S NOT THERE.
IS THAT YOUR RECOLLECTION OF WHAT HAPPENED WITH THAT? I WAS NOT PART OF THE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHETHER IT STAYED IN THE 20 YEAR FINANCIAL PLAN OR NOT, SO I CANNOT COMMENT ON THAT. OKAY. THE ONLY THING, LIKE I SAID, I CAN COMMENT IS WHAT WAS IN THE RESOLUTION.
VERY GOOD. THAT'S FAIR. AND I WASN'T A LOT OF THOSE DISCUSSIONS AND MEETINGS WHEN IT WAS BROUGHT UP, AND THAT WAS THE WHOLE REASON FOR IT. BUT THAT'S ME.
I CAN SAY THAT. I FORGOT YOU WERE NOT THERE BECAUSE THERE WERE A LOT OF THEM.
[01:15:03]
BUT YOU ARE CORRECT. YOU WERE NOT THERE. AND SO WE'VE GOT TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THINGS.AND THE STREETCAR IS ONE OF THOSE. THE CIRCULATOR WAS ONE OF THOSE.
THERE'S OTHER OPTIONS THAT WE CAN DO. AND BECAUSE WE CAN'T REALLY GROW THE SYSTEM OF DART WITHIN OUR CITY IF WE DON'T EXPAND TO OTHER CITIES AND IF WE DON'T DO OTHER THINGS. AND OF COURSE, IF WE DON'T DEFUND DART AT THE STATE LEGISLATURE, SOME PEOPLE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE HAPPEN. BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD BE A DEVASTATING THING TO OUR CITY.
AND THAT $2 MILLION AT THE END OF THE DAY. I'LL BE REAL HONEST, WHEN YOU DIVIDE IT UP BY, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE THAT MAYBE HAVE NEVER USED IT.
THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT PEOPLE IN THE CITY NEVER USE, LIKE A LIBRARY.
THEY MAY NOT GO TO A PARK, BUT YOU PAY FOR IT.
YOU PAY FOR IT. WHY? BECAUSE IT'S PART OF BEING IN THIS COLLECTIVE OF A CITY, AND TO MAKE THE CITY GROW AND PROSPER AND HAVE FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC SUCCESS. AND THAT'S LIKE THE CITY OF DALLAS, WHERE WE'VE HAD SO MUCH OF THAT.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO PUT THAT OUT THERE AND THANK YOU.
AND THE NEXT BODY WILL PROBABLY BE THE ONES DETERMINING IT.
MAYBE IT'S THE BODY AFTER THAT, I DON'T KNOW.
BECAUSE I DON'T THINK WE'RE BUILDING STREETCAR TOMORROW.
I DON'T THINK WE'RE BUILDING IT NEXT YEAR. IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE JUST THINKING ABOUT.
AND BUT IT TAKES TIME TO DO THESE THESE TYPES OF HUGE PROJECTS BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT.
THERE'S A LOT TO LOOK AT AND DISCUSS, JUST LIKE I REMEMBER D2.
THIS WAS LIKE EIGHT YEARS BEFORE I WAS EVER ON COUNCIL AND PEOPLE WERE TALKING ABOUT IT.
THE MEETINGS I WENT TO WHERE PEOPLE WERE, YOU KNOW, SHARING THEIR THOUGHTS.
AND IT GOT PRETTY HAIRY. SOMETIMES IT'S LIKE, WE DON'T EVEN THIS IS JUST A CONCEPT RIGHT NOW.
AND NOW, LOOK, WE MAY NOT BE DOING IT FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG OR MAY NEVER DO IT.
SO WITH THAT THANK YOU SO MUCH. I APPRECIATE THE UPDATE.
AND, MR. CHAIR, MAY I ASK? YES. MR. BRADLEY, YOU'RE BACK.
MR. RIDLEY, PLEASE. THANK YOU, MR. KENT. IN LIGHT OF THIS ANALYSIS OF O&M COSTS CAN YOU TELL US WHAT THE STATUS OF THE DOWNTOWN CONNECTOR BETWEEN THE EXISTING STREETCAR AND MARTA IS IN TERMS OF WHERE IT STANDS? YES, SIR. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH. AS YOU RECALL, WE DO HAVE A $2 MILLION EARMARK FUNDS FOR THE REIMAGINE OF DOWNTOWN, AND ONE OF THE COMPONENTS FOR THAT INCLUDES THE ACTUAL STUDYING OF THE EITHER TO MODIFY THE EXISTING LOCALLY PREFERRED ALIGNMENT THAT COUNCIL APPROVED OR EITHER REAFFIRM IT OR LOOK FOR AN ALTERNATIVE.
WE HAVE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH DDI AND DDI MOBILITY COMMITTEE ON THAT.
SO I THINK IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, WE ARE ADVERTISING FOR THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL HERE VERY SHORTLY TO PROCURE THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR THAT. AND AS SOON AS WE HAVE A SELECTION, WE'LL COME BACK TO COUNCIL TO AWARD AND GET THAT STUDY GOING.
ANY THOUGHTS ABOUT THE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE COST IN THE DISCUSSIONS WITH DART ABOUT THAT? AS I MENTIONED. SO THE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE COSTS WILL BE HERE AS PART OF THIS STUDY IS WHAT COULD BE.
AND AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, AND I'M, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I'LL RESTATE IT AGAIN, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND TO THIS BODY IS THE FACT THAT ANY CONSIDERATION FOR ANY CAPITAL INVESTMENT ON THE STREETCAR WILL HAVE TO HAVE THE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE COMPONENT AS PART OF IT.
VERY GOOD. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU, MR. RIDLEY.
AND I'M GOING TO TURN THAT OVER TO COUNCILMEMBER SCHULTZ.
THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO THANK THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS FROM THE CITY OF ADDISON, BECKY DEVANEY, WHO'S HERE, AND I WANT TO THANK DR.
CONKARLI FOR GUIDING US THROUGH THIS WHOLE DISCUSSION WITH THE CITY OF ADDISON.
I THINK IT'S A REAL WIN-WIN FOR OUR CITY. WE DON'T GIVE ANY.
WE DON'T HAVE TO GIVE UP ANY TERRITORY. BUT WE DON'T HAVE TO PAY ANY BILLS EITHER.
THANK YOU. VERY GOOD. DO WE COUNCIL MEMBER MENDELSOHN.
[01:20:01]
THANK YOU. COULD YOU DESCRIBE THE STREET CONDITIONS IN THAT AREA? ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE AREA THAT EDISON IS TAKING OVER? YEAH, IT NEEDS TO BE REPAIRED. SO THIS IS ONE OF THE ADVANTAGES OF THE AGREEMENT THAT WE HAVE, IN ADDITION TO ALSO THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL AT THAT LOCATION.AND THEY ALSO CITE CRIME IN THE AREA AND THE INABILITY FOR US TO RESPOND.
DO YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THAT? I DON'T HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON THAT ONE.
WOULD YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE ABOUT THAT? YOU'RE WELCOME TO COME DOWN.
I'M SORRY. I DON'T BELIEVE THAT'S GERMANE TO THE.
IT'S PART OF THE MEMO TO THE REPAIRS. WE'RE JUST ASKING ATTORNEYS.
OKAY. VERY GOOD. GO AHEAD. HELLO. HI, I'M BECKY DEVINNEY, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS FOR THE TOWN OF ADDISON. I DON'T HAVE SPECIFIC NUMBERS IN THAT AREA.
I THINK THE MEMO IS JUST REFERENCING THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE INCREASED ENFORCEMENT IN THAT AREA WITHIN OUR TOWN, BECAUSE WE'RE ONLY FOUR SQUARE MILES WITH THE AMOUNT OF POLICE ENFORCEMENT WE HAVE.
DO YOU THINK THERE'S ADDITIONAL INVESTMENT IN THE AREA THAT WE'VE BEEN UNABLE TO PROVIDE? I THINK THAT THERE ARE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO MAKE TO THAT AREA TO PROVIDE MORE OF A MULTI-MODAL ALLOW FOR FIBER IN THE AREA INCREASED.
ADDING SIDEWALK AND LOOKING FROM A MULTIMODAL APPROACH NARROWING LANES, MAKING MEDIANS A LITTLE BIT WIDER AND MAKING A SMOOTHER THROUGHPUT FOR THE TOWN OF ADDISON. AND SO THAT IS OUR GOAL IS TO PROVIDE MORE OF A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO THE OVERALL DESIGN OF THE ROADWAY.
OKAY. WELL, I APPRECIATE THAT. I'LL SAY THAT I THINK IT'S A LITTLE BIT EMBARRASSING.
STREETLIGHTS TRAFFIC SIGNALS AND THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO ITTY BITTY ADDISON.
I THINK YOU HAVE LESS THAN 15,000 POPULATION.
I UNDERSTAND. SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THERE IS AN INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED ON THE BORDER OF DISTRICT 11 AND 12, JUST AS I WAS COMING ON COUNCIL, AND WE HAD TO CALL RICHARDSON TO COME HELP DPD.
AND IT'S VERY NICE FOR US TO BE COLLABORATIVE WITH OUR OTHER CITIES.
BUT WHEN WE HAVE TO ASK THEM FOR HELP BECAUSE WE'RE NOT PROPERLY FUNDING OUR OWN INFRASTRUCTURE, I THINK THAT'S EMBARRASSING. I'M SORRY. COUNCIL MEMBER SCHULTZ, THANK YOU.
NO, THIS IS ACTUALLY A TREMENDOUS CELEBRATION OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE IT'S ABOUT COLLABORATION.
IT'S ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER. THE CITY OF ADDISON ACTUALLY APPROACHED US ABOUT THIS, AND THE BEAUTY OF IT IS THAT IT TIES IN WITH WHAT IS IT? IS IT 6 OR 8 MILLION THAT WE'VE ALREADY SPENT ON MONTFORT LEADING UP TO THIS POINT? SO IT'S MONTFORT ITSELF IS GOING TO BE A BEAUTIFUL RIDE THAT ACTUALLY IS NOW NARROWED ALL THE WAY DOWN.
SO, THIS WAS ACTUALLY A PARTNERSHIP, NOT A DEFICIENCY IN ANY WAY.
SO, I THANK I THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT. AND ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY COMMENTS.
AND I WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU TO THE TOWN OF ADDISON.
YOU ALL HAVE BEEN AN EXCELLENT PARTNER. AND THIS IS, I'M ON THE BORDERS.
IT'S SAYING WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER. AND I MEAN, VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS ONCE SAID THAT IT TAKES A LOT OF ENERGY AND WORK TO BUILD SOMETHING AND VERY LITTLE TO TEAR IT DOWN. AND THAT'S THE VERY LITTLE THAT WE HEAR OFTEN.
[01:25:02]
YOUR MAYOR IS AMAZING. I GOT TO WORK WITH HIM FOR A FEW DAYS A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.AND LET ME TELL YOU, THAT'S A MAN WHO IS ABOUT COLLABORATION AND WORKING TOGETHER AND BUILDING COALITIONS AND NOT YOU KNOW, THIS VERSUS US OR THEY VERSUS THEM OR Y'ALL VERSUS ME.
IT'S LIKE IT WAS SO PLEASANT. AND I JUST. WHEN I'M IN ADDISON OR WORKING WITH PEOPLE IN ADDISON, IT'S LIKE I ALWAYS FEEL THAT YOU ALL KNOW DALLAS IS IMPORTANT, AND WE KNOW ADDISON IS IMPORTANT, AND THANK YOU IS ALL I WANT TO SAY IS THANK YOU FOR FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY AND, HELPING US, AS WELL AS HELPING YOURSELVES AND WE HELPING YOU, BECAUSE IT'S ALL OF US TOGETHER AT THAT BORDER, RIGHT? AND PLEASE, IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY.
NOT ONLY HAS YOUR ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, BUT YOUR DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS.
I'VE HAD HIM ON SPEED DIAL. HE'LL TELL YOU I'M VERY PERSISTENT.
AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS PROJECT, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO COLLABORATE ON MANY OTHER THINGS. SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU SO MUCH. WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE AND AS A GUEST IN OUR CITY. BUT AND WE HOPE TO BE A GUEST IN YOURS, YOU KNOW, SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE.
SO WELCOME AS WE WORK TOGETHER. THANK YOU. HAVE A GOOD A GOOD DAY.
IS THERE ANYTHING. DO WE NEED TO PUSH THIS FORWARD, OR IS THIS JUST SINCE THIS MEMO? IT'S OKAY. SO, CHAIR, JUST TO CLARIFY, I MEAN, SO I MEAN, TO CLARIFY THAT WE'RE CLEAR TO START WORKING WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY TO BEGIN THE PROCESS SO THAT WE CAN BRING IT TO COUNCIL.
AM I CORRECT? SO DO WE. DO WE NEED A MOTION OR ANYTHING, OR IS IT GOOD TO GO? YEAH, IT'S GOOD TO GO. IT'S FINE. IT'LL BE ON THE AGENDA ON WEDNESDAY.
SO THE FULL COUNCIL WILL VOTE ON THAT ON WEDNESDAY.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. ITEM F IS COMPETITIVE SEALED PROPOSAL PROCUREMENT METHOD.
WEIGHTED VALUE FOR PRICE. SARAH STANDIFER WITH THE DIRECTOR OF DALLAS WATER UTILITIES OR SOMEBODY FROM DWR WILL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IF THERE ARE ANY. LOOKS LIKE THERE ARE NONE. VERY GOOD. YOU GOT OFF EASY TODAY.
AND LETTER G, TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS QUARTERLY REPORT.
WE GOT TO SEE IT LAST THREE, THREE MONTHS AGO, AND GOT A LOT OF GOOD FEEDBACK ON IT.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THIS ONE? SO, I'D ACTUALLY LIKE TO. YEAH, I'D ACTUALLY LIKE TO GO BACK TO THE LAST ONE. I'M SORRY. I DO HAVE A QUESTION ON THE PROCUREMENT.
GOOD AFTERNOON. MATT PINCK, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, DALLAS FOR UTILITIES.
SO, I JUST WANT TO UNDERSTAND. SO THE STATE LAW SAYS ONE THING ABOUT HOW WE CAN WEIGHT UP THE PRICE.
AND I THINK IT'S 50%. RIGHT. AND YOU'RE PROPOSING WE ONLY HAVE 36.9 OR SOME 30.
IS THAT RIGHT. THE NUMBER. SO, THE CURRENT STATUTE ESTABLISHES 50% AS THE BASELINE.
WE'RE NOT SAYING THAT WE SHOULD ESTABLISH 36.9% AS THE STANDARD BUT ALLOW AND DELEGATE THE AUTHORITY ON A PROJECT-TO-PROJECT BASIS TO DETERMINE THE APPROPRIATE VALUE. SO, FOR INSTANCE, DALLAS WATER UTILITIES INTENDS TO USE COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS, AND WE INTEND TO USE 40% FOR COST WEIGHT. WE BELIEVE THAT'S IN THE, YOU KNOW, IN OUR DUE DILIGENCE.
THAT'S THE APPROPRIATE VALUE IN THE INDUSTRY STANDARD FOR OUR TYPE OF PROJECTS.
SO, MY RECOLLECTION IN LOOKING AT CONTRACTS THAT HAVE COME TO US IS THAT YOU'RE MOSTLY USING VERY LARGE, REPUTABLE VENDORS. WOULD YOU AGREE WITH THAT? IT DEPENDS ON THE PROJECT. I KNOW THAT CERTAIN FACILITY TYPE PROJECTS, WHICH ARE VERY LARGE AND COMPLEX, THAT THE UTILITY UNDERTAKES THE CONTRACTOR BASE, IS SMALL AND DWINDLING BECAUSE MANY OF THE CONTRACTORS ARE LOOKING TO ENTER INTO COLLABORATIVE DELIVERY MODELS, WHICH COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS DESIGN BUILD, CONSTRUCTION, MANAGEMENT RISK.
SO, THIS THIS APPROACH, BY GOING TO THIS PROCUREMENT METHOD ON THE LARGER COMPLEX PROJECTS WE FEEL WILL DELIVER A BETTER QUALITY PROJECT MORE ON TIME AND A BETTER BUDGET AS WELL, BECAUSE WE'LL HAVE MORE REPUTABLE CONTRACTORS GOING AFTER THOSE VERSUS TRADITIONAL DESIGN BID BUILD ON THOSE LARGE, COMPLEX PROJECTS. CAN YOU SEE WHERE SETTING THE COST OF VALUATION AT 40% OR 36.9, AS OPPOSED TO 50%, IS ACTUALLY ENCOURAGING A HIGHER COST? FOR YOUR RESPONSE TO THE PROCUREMENT.
I DON'T BELIEVE SO. THE INTENT IS TO GET THE BEST VALUE CONTRACTOR.
SO, WE LOOK AT PROJECT APPROACH, CONTRACTOR EXPERIENCE, THEIR SCHEDULE AS WELL AS COST.
[01:30:03]
AND SO ESTABLISHING 40% IS KIND OF A TRIED AND TRUE METHOD THAT WE'VE DONE OUR DUE DILIGENCE.AS I MENTIONED, GETTING A BETTER CONTRACTOR WITH ALL FACTORS IN PLACE, WILL REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF CHANGE ORDERS, WE BELIEVE, AND HAVE A BETTER COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO MANAGE RISK WITHIN THE PROJECT.
DO YOU REQUIRE ANY OF THE RESPONDENTS TO PROVIDE WHAT THEIR COSTS WERE FOR SIMILAR PROJECTS? I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S A REQUIREMENT. NOW, WE DO REQUIRE THEM TO SUBMIT PAST EXPERIENCE ON PROJECTS.
SO THE SCOPE AND NATURE OF THE PROJECT. REFERENCES THEY DO PROVIDE THE SCALE OF THE PROJECT.
NOW YOU KNOW, WE WOULD HOPE THAT THEY WOULD PROVIDE ANY INFORMATION AS TO IF THERE WERE CHANGE ORDERS ON THAT PROJECT, BUT WE WOULD HAVE TO DO OUR DUE DILIGENCE AND CHECKING THEIR REFERENCES AS WELL.
BUT HOW DO YOU KNOW THEY'RE NOT CHARGING YOU MORE PER MILE FOR SERVICE THAN THEY ARE SOMEBODY ELSE? WELL, WE DO HAVE AN ESTABLISHED WHEN WE DESIGN THE PROJECTS, SO WE HAVE AN OPINION OF COST THAT THAT IS A GOOD, BAROMETER TO WHAT WE'RE GETTING AS WELL. ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF THE PROPOSAL PROCESS IS THAT IT ALLOWS FOR SOME NEGOTIATION.
AND THEN ARE YOU ABLE TO AND DO YOU BAR ANY OF YOUR CONTRACTORS FROM PROCUREMENTS BASED ON THEIR PERFORMANCE? SO, WE DO LOOK AS, AS PART OF OUR DUE DILIGENCE ON EVERY PROJECT AWARD TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE NOT ON A DEBARMENT LIST.
I WOULD REFER THAT TO THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE IN TERMS OF I KNOW THERE'S BEEN SOME PAST DISCUSSION ON CONTRACTOR INELIGIBILITY FOR FUTURE AWARDS, BUT THAT'S MORE SOMETHING I REFER TO THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO ANSWER THAT.
BUT FOR WATER, YOU'RE NOT AWARE OF ANY THAT ARE BARRED FROM YOUR PROCUREMENT.
WE DON'T WE DON'T MAINTAIN A DEBARMENT LIST FOR THE CITY.
WE LOOK AT THE FEDERAL LIST AND THEN ALSO WE HAVE, IN CASES NOT AWARDED A CONTRACT TO SOMEONE WHO'S HAD PAST ISSUE IN WORKING ON OUR CONTRACTS. BUT IT'S NOT A DEBARMENT LIST. THEY'RE STILL ABLE TO BID ON THE PROJECT.
BUT WE HAVE THE ABILITY NOT TO AWARD THAT JOB TO THEM.
AND ARE YOU TRACKING WHO COMES BACK IN WITH CHANGE ORDERS AND HOW MUCH THEY ARE? YES. OKAY. THANK YOU. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
AND NOW WE HAVE LETTER G, THE REPORT. NO QUESTIONS.
ALL RIGHT. ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE OR THE FORECAST? COUNCIL MEMBER MENDELSOHN. ACTUALLY, MINE'S STILL ON G.
THANK YOU FOR THAT. IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE ABLE TO GET THEM TO SORT DIFFERENTLY? I WAS GOING TO MENTION THAT THAT WAS ONE OF THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE NEED TO MAKE FOR THE NEXT REPORT IS TO GROUP THEM BY THE COUNCIL.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. VERY GOOD. AND NOW WE HAVE ITEMS I, J-O. ANY QUESTIONS ON ANY OF THOSE? ALL RIGHT.
IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS ON ANY OF THOSE BEFORE WEDNESDAY, PLEASE GET WITH STAFF.
TO TRY TO GET YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED. THE TIME IS NOW 2:39 P.M.,
AND I NOW CALL TO CLOSE THE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS. THANK YOU EVERYBODY.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.