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[ Dallas Park and Recreation Board on May 15, 2025.]
IT IS 10 0 9.WE CONVENED DALLAS PARK AND RECREATIONS MEETING TO ORDER WITH THAT, UH, OUR FIRST POINT ON
WELL, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU TO A, FOR HOSTING US AMAZING ENVIRONMENT.
AND I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS A PORTAL DAY AND I DIDN'T WEAR MY JACKET, SO THANK YOU, DIRECTOR
BUT I THINK IN THIS ENVIRONMENT I COULDN'T HAVE PUT A JACKET.
UH, OUR FIRST POINT ON
OKAY, WELL STILL CONGRATULATIONS, JESUS.
WE APPRECIATE WHAT YOU'VE DONE FOR PARKS AND WE'LL CELEBRATE YOU ANOTHER DAY WITH THAT, UH, MADAM SECRETARY, PUBLIC SPEAKER.
ACTUALLY, IF WE HAVE TWO, WE HAVE TWO SPEAKERS AND I'LL READ THE SPEAKER GUIDELINES.
EACH SPEAKER WILL BE GIVEN THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK.
PLEASE DIRECT YOUR COMMENTS TO THE CHAIR.
ONLY ANY SPEAKER WHO MAKES PERSONAL IMPERTINENT PROFANE OR SLANDER TO A MARK OR BECOMING BOISTEROUS WHILE ADDRESSING THE PARK BOARD WILL BE RENEWED IMMEDIATELY AND BARRED FROM THE MEETING.
YOUR FIRST SPEAKER IS A VIRTUAL SPEAKER AND IT IS ROSADA THROUGH ROSADA.
UH, AS SHE MENTIONED, I'M ROSA CRUZ.
I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR JUNIOR PLAYERS, AND I'M ALSO JOINED BY JEREMY AXTON IN THE AUDIENCE, UH, WHO IS OUR EVENTS AND OUTREACH MANAGER.
UH, TODAY WE JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU SOME ORGANIZATIONAL UPDATES.
WE ARE TURNING 70 FOR THOSE OF YOU, UH, WHO ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH JUNIOR PLAYERS.
UH, WE ARE A NONPROFIT ARTS ORGANIZATION FOR THE YOUTH OF NORTH TEXAS, SERVING OVER 15,000 STUDENTS, UH, HERE IN THE NORTH TEXAS AREA.
UM, WE ARE EXCITED TO EMBARK ON OUR SUMMER THEATER CAMPS, UH, IN JUNE AND JULY, AND WE'LL HAVE A FESTIVAL OF PLAYS.
UH, MANY OF THE, UH, SITES ARE CITY OF DALLAS PARK AND RECREATION CENTERS.
UH, WE ARE ALSO HERE TODAY TO GIVE YOU SOME UPDATES ON OUR SHAKESPEARE PRODUCTION.
UH, OUR JUNIOR PLAYERS, UH, SHAKESPEARE PRODUCTION HAS BEEN A LONG CULTURAL CORNERSTONE IN DALLAS FOR ABOUT 33 YEARS, AND WE ARE HONORED TO BE POWERED AND PARTNERED BY, UH, THE CITY OF DALLAS PARK AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, UM, IN A CO COLLABORATION WITH SHAKESPEARE DALLAS.
WE'VE BEEN INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL, UH, FOR THE LONGSTANDING COLLABORATION, UM, AND ALL OF THE MEMORIES AND MAGIC OUT IN THE PARK AS A PAST ALUMNI OF THE PROGRAM AS WELL.
UH, BUT IN 2024, UH, THERE WAS A 42% INCREASE IN THE VENUE RENTAL FEES FOR JUNIOR PLAYERS THROUGH THE CONTRACT WITH SHAKESPEARE DALLAS.
UM, AND THIS MADE IT REALLY FINANCIALLY UNSUSTAINABLE FOR US.
WE SAW ANOTHER THOUSAND DOLLARS INCREASE THIS YEAR.
SO GOING FROM $14,000 TO 21,000 HAS JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, WHILE OPERATING AT A DEFICIT LAST YEAR, WE'VE ACTUALLY, UH, CLEARED OUR DEFICIT.
BUT IT'S JUST BEEN A FINANCIAL STRUGGLE FOR A LOT OF NONPROFITS.
UM, WE'VE HAD TO MAKE A VERY DIFFICULT DECISION AND ALTHOUGH, YOU KNOW, WE LOVE THE CO-COLLABORATION, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO PAUSE THAT AT THE MOMENT.
UM, AND WE'VE HAD TO LOOK FOR OTHER VENUES.
WE JUST WANTED AS LEADERSHIP, UM, TO ALERT YOU THAT IT'S, UH, NOTHING TO DO WITH, UH, THE CITY OF DALLAS PARK AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
WE DEFINITELY, UM, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE WERE IN TALKS LAST YEAR WITH YOUR LEADERSHIP AND EVERYONE, UM, ON THE BOARD TRIED TO HELP US, YOU KNOW, SUBSIDIZE THE, THE RATE.
BUT WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU THIS ORGANIZATIONAL UPDATE.
WE WILL CONTINUE THE PROGRAM AT THEATER THREE, UH, AND IF SOME OF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE NEWS, THEY MIGHT BE, UM, UNDERGOING SOME FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS AS WELL.
BUT OUR CONTRACT WILL BE, UH, ALLOWED TO CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THEIR END OF THEIR SEASON.
SO WE WILL PRODUCE OUR SHAKESPEARE PRODUCTION AT THEATER THREE AT THE END OF JULY AND, UH, THROUGH THE FIRST WEEKEND IN AUGUST, UM, JUST, UH, HERE TODAY TO GIVE YOU THIS UPDATE.
UM, AND I'D BE HAPPY TO FURTHER DISCUSS VIA EMAIL AND OR COME TO, UH, AN INTERNAL MEETING, UH, WITH THE PARK, UH, DEPARTMENTS.
BUT WE TRULY APPRECIATE Y'ALL AND OUR BOARD SEND THEIR REGARDS.
JUST, JUST THIS MOMENT IN TIME.
IT'S A PAUSE, AND I WANTED YOU TO HEAR IT DIRECTLY FROM US.
YOUR NEXT SPEAKER IS JESSICA RAMIREZ.
UM, MY NAME IS JESSICA RAMIREZ AND I LIVE IN THE KLEBERG RILEY NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, TODAY I'M NOT COMING AS VICE PRESIDENT OF THE KLEBERG NEIGHBORHOOD NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION.
TODAY I'M ACTUALLY COMING AS A MOTHER.
WE RECEIVE THESE LITTLE COOL CARDS.
MY DAUGHTER IS A PART OF THE, UH, SOCCER TEAM.
AND, UM, UNFORTUNATELY LAST SATURDAY WE'VE HAD TO FORFEIT A GAME BECAUSE THERE'S ONLY ONE COACH
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FOR A VARIETY OF AGE GROUPS, BASEBALL AND SOCCER.SO THAT'S KIND OF, YOU KNOW, SHE LOVES HER TEAM.
SHE LOVES BEING A PART OF SOMETHING IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND MY DAUGHTER'S 10 YEARS OLD.
SHE HAS NEVER STEPPED FOOT INSIDE OF A FULLY FUNCTIONING GYM INSIDE OF CLAYBROOK RILEY.
THE SAME GYM THAT FORMER LADY MICHELLE, A FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA, VISITED IN 2012, A SPACE THAT ONCE HELD SO MUCH PROMISE AND HAS BEEN CLOSED AND NEGLECTED.
TODAY, MARKS OF A 15TH DAY OF OVERDUE OF A PROMISED GYM, MAY 1ST FOR THE SUMMER, ANOTHER DELAY, ANOTHER BROKEN COMMITMENT TO OUR CHILDREN OUT THERE.
AND ON MONDAY, MAY 12TH, AN EIGHTH GRADE STUDENT BIN MARCO VAZQUEZ DIED BY SUICIDE.
I WOULD USE THIS REMAINDER OF MY TIME TO HONOR HIS LIFE, TO ASK YOU TO SIT IN SILENCE AND REFLECT THE COST OF INACTION, REFLECT ON A DISCONNECTION BETWEEN OUR YOUTH AND THE HEALING EQUITABLE SCREEN SPACES THAT COULD HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE.
WITH THAT, UH, WE CONCLUDE OUR PUBLIC SPEAKERS, UH, THAT OUR APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR MAY 1ST, 2025.
DO I HAVE A MOTION? MR. BOARD SECONDED BY MR. SLAUGHTER? UH, ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
WE MOVE TO OUR CONSTANT AGENT, UH, ITEM NUMBER ONE UNTIL SEVEN.
DO I HAVE A MOTION? UH, DR. NEWMAN? DO I HAVE A SECOND? UH, MR. CLAIRE, ANY DISCUSSION PLEASE WITH NO DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
WE HAVE ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL NUMBER EIGHT.
COUPLE OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS HAVE CONFLICT, SO I WOULD REQUEST THEM TO STEP OUT WITH THAT.
UH, THE BOARD MEMBERS WHO HAVE RECUSE THEMSELVES TO, I HAVE A MOTION ON COTTON WELL TRAIL MR. SLAUGHTER, DO I HAVE A SECOND? UH, MR. BLAIR, ANY DISCUSSION PLEASE WITH THAT? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
UH, AND COMES, UH, PARK AND RECREATION POLICY AMENDMENT.
DO, UH, WELL WE CAN CALL THE BOARD MEMBERS MADAM SECRETARY.
OKAY, SO WE ARE VOTING ON ITEM NUMBER NINE FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION.
DO I HAVE, I THINK WE ALREADY HAD A MOTION RIGHT FROM MR. BLAIR? NO.
AND WE, OKAY, WELL, WE HAVE A MOTION FROM MR. BLAIR.
ANY SECOND ON NUMBER NINE, UH, MRTA.
ANY DISCUSSION PLEASE WITH THAT? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
UH, NOW WE ARE MOVING REALLY FAST.
I WANT TO SPEND MORE TIME IN REAM, NOT LESS.
WITH THAT, UH, WELCOME
TODAY WE HAVE, UM, SUBPOENA CARR WITH US.
SHE'S GOING TO BRING US THE, UM, ARBORETUM ANNUAL UPDATE ON THEIR OPERATIONS AND REVIEW THEIR PAST YEAR.
SO I'M JUST GONNA TURN THAT RIGHT OVER TO OUR HOST, SINA.
IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU IN OUR HOUSE.
SO I'M GONNA TAKE YOU QUICKLY THROUGH, I KNOW I'VE GOT ABOUT 10 OR 15 MINUTES, SO IT'LL BE HOW FAST I CAN SPEAK THIS MORNING AND SHOW YOU SOME, UM, REALLY WONDERFUL RESULTS OF 2024.
WE HAD A RECORD YEAR AND WE'RE STEAMROLLING AHEAD INTO 20 FOOT 25 DOING REALLY WELL.
I WANNA GIVE YOU A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE TOO.
IS THE SLIDE, ARE THE SLIDES UP? SORRY, I CAN'T SEE THEM CHANGE.
SO EVERYTHING THAT DALLAS OUR FREEDOM DOES, OR ANY CULTURAL ORGANIZATION DOES, IS GONNA BE BASED ON OUR MISSION.
AND SO WE REWROTE AND UPDATED OUR MISSION THIS YEAR.
AND SO WE DID THIS AS PART OF THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS, WHICH THANK YOU.
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MANY OF YOU WERE INVOLVED IN THAT LAST YEAR.IT WAS ONE OF OUR BIG PROJECTS THAT WE DID, AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT IT, BUT WE REALLY WANTED TO COMMIT TO EVERYONE IN THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY AND MAKE SURE THAT WE STATE A CLAIM THAT WE ARE A GARDEN FOR ALL, AND WE ENRICH THOSE LIVES THROUGH BEAUTY LEARNING AND CONNECTION.
AND THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT IN THE CORE OF WHO WE ARE.
WE ALSO NEEDED TO CREATE OUR VISION.
THE DALLAS ABRI DIDN'T HAVE A WRITTEN VISION, AND SO WE, NOW WE HAVE ONE.
WE ARE WORLD CLASS SANCTUARY AND WE'RE GONNA STAND ON THOSE, UH, WITH TWO STRONG FEET AS WE GO INTO THE NEXT 20, 25 YEARS, AND MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE AND PLANTS WILL FLOURISH IN THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT, OUR VALUES.
ALSO HAD TO BE IDENTIFIED IN THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS.
AND THE NICE THING HERE IS IT, THESE FOUR CORE VALUES ARE EVERYTHING THAT WE STAND FOR.
IT'S ABOUT RESILIENCY ACROSS MANY AREAS.
IT'S ABOUT OUR COMMITMENT TO DALLAS AND THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE.
IT'S A FOCUS ON EDUCATION, WHICH WE'LL ALWAYS BE COMMITTED TO, AND BEING WILLING TO THINK DIFFERENTLY AND BE NIMBLE.
SO, IF WE MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS IS OUR YEAR OF 2024.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, THE DALLAS ARBORETUM WELCOMED 1.2 MILLION GUESTS, AND THAT PUTS A, IT'S A HUGE THANK YOU.
THAT'S JUST WHAT A ROUND OF APPLAUSE.
LAST YEAR WE'VE STOOD AT 1.1 MILLION AND SO WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF THIS.
THIS PUTS US AS THE FOURTH MOST VISITED BOTANICAL GARDEN IN THE UNITED STATES BEHIND LONGWOOD GARDENS, DENVER AND CHICAGO DALLAS NUMBER FOUR.
SO WE'LL GET IN THE TOP THREE.
JUST GIVE US A FEW MORE YEARS.
UM, WE HAD A RECORD NUMBER OF SCHOOL CHILDREN COME THROUGH.
LAST YEAR WE HAD JUST ABOUT A HUNDRED THOUSAND.
THIS YEAR WE HIT A HUNDRED, 2000.
MORE THAN HALF ARE FROM TITLE ONE SCHOOLS.
AND WE DO, UM, WE AS THE ARBORETUM DO COMMIT FINANCIALLY TO SCHOLARSHIPS AND MORE IN THE TUNE OF CLOSE OR OVER $200,000.
AND WHEN I MET WITH YOU ALL LAST YEAR AT THIS SAME MEETING AND GIVING AN UPDATE, AND I LITERALLY HAD BEEN IN THE ROLE MAYBE THREE MONTHS, UM, I DID BRING YOU OUR VISITOR DEMOGRAPHICS AND OUR PROFILES.
WE WERE 52% NON-WHITE AUDIENCE FOR THE YEAR OF 2023.
THAT'S A HUGE MOVE FOR AN ORGANIZATION, JUST RELATIVELY SPEAKING.
THE DALLAS-FORT WORTH AREA, LOOKING AT NON-WHITE POPULATION IS 57%.
SO WE'RE CLIMBING CLOSER TO THE BENCHMARK.
I WANNA TALK ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY AND THE IMPACT THAT WE HAVE.
WE'RE DEEPLY COMMITTED TO OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, WHICH BY THE WAY, IS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE, UM, FOR ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO READ IT.
BUT WHAT WE DO, WE EXIST FOR THE COMMUNITY.
WE ARE HERE FOR EVERYONE AND WE IMPACT THEM IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS.
AGAIN, RECORD NUMBER OF SCHOOL CHILDREN AT 102,000.
THAT MADE UP 821 SCHOOLS FROM 120 DIFFERENT DISTRICTS.
SELENA, ARE YOU HERE? RAISE YOUR HAND.
THIS YOUNG LADY HANDLES ALL OF OUR SCHOOL CHILDREN AND OVERSEES OUR EDUCATION PROGRAMS, WHICH ARE BARR NONE THANKS TO HER.
SHE'S A WONDERFUL TEACHER AND COLLABORATOR.
WE ARE STILL COMMITTED TO HOMESCHOOLING AND HAVING THOSE PROGRAMS. WE'LL CONTINUE TO BUILD THOSE PROGRAMS OVER TIME THAT ARE FREE FOR PEOPLE.
WE HAVE GREAT PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUR OTHER DALLAS COMMUNITY PLAYERS AND WE DO THE 25,000 TICKETS WITH Y'ALL, UM, THROUGH THE PARK AND REC CENTERS.
AND I'M JUST GONNA SIDEBAR AND TELL YOU A REALLY QUICK STORY ABOUT THAT BECAUSE I NEVER WAS QUITE SURE WHO GOT THOSE TICKETS, RIGHT? I'VE BEEN HERE ABOUT 17 MONTHS NOW.
I WAS IN THE ER AT THE HOSPITAL 'CAUSE A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE ALMOST DIED.
AND IT WAS A REALLY SERIOUS SITUATION TWO WEEKS AGO.
AND AS HE COMES OUT OF WHATEVER MEDICATION THEY FINALLY GAVE HIM, AND WE THINK HE'S GONNA BE OUT OF THE WOODS, HE'S A BIG TALKER.
AND HE SAYS TO HIS NURSE, DO YOU LIKE THE JEALOUS ARBORETUM
AND SHE TOLD US HER WHOLE STORY ABOUT HOW SHE ENDED.
HER SON USED THOSE TICKETS AND GET TO COME HERE EVERY YEAR.
I KNOW IT HELPS HER FAMILY BUDGET.
SO NOW WE SEE THE RESULTS, RIGHT? IT'S JUST ONE STORY.
MULTIPLES OF, RIGHT? ALRIGHT, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WHICH, UH, KIND OF OUTLINES BEFORE EASE OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN BECAUSE THEY'RE EASY TO REMEMBER.
WE ARE FOCUSED ON PLANTS IN PLACE.
OBVIOUSLY WE'RE A PUBLIC GARDEN.
WE LOVE OUR PLANT COLLECTIONS AND OUR HORTICULTURE.
WE'RE ABOUT CREATING MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES FOR LOTS OF PEOPLE FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.
WE'RE ABOUT ENGAGING OUR MANY, MANY STAKEHOLDERS ACROSS ALL AREAS, INCLUDING OUR EMPLOYEES.
WE WANNA BE ONE OF THE BEST PLACES TO WORK IN DALLAS.
WE'RE WORKING ON THAT AND WE WANT EXCELLENCE ACROSS ALL AREAS OF HOW WE OPERATE.
AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
AND THAT, THAT IS A LEGACY THAT MARY BRUGER AND HER TEAM HAD LEFT, AND WE'RE JUST GONNA KEEP MAGNIFYING IT.
NOW, PART OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN IS TO ENGAGE MORE AND TELL OUR STORY MORE, WHICH IS WHY WE LEFT YOU A NEW MAGAZINE THAT WE JUST RENOVATED AND UPGRADED
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TO OUR MEMBERSHIP HOUSEHOLDS, OF WHICH THERE ARE JUST ABOUT 46,000.UM, THIS GETS OUT AS NOW WITH DIGITAL MAGAZINE, BUT OUR HIGHER LEVEL PATRONS WILL STILL GET IT IN PRINT.
IT'S NOT JUST A LISTING OF OUR PROGRAMS. IT IS NOW TELLING OUR NARRATIVE AND THE IMPORTANT WORKS THAT WE DO, UM, WITH PLANT SCIENCE, RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND OUTREACH, AND SO MUCH MORE.
SO I HOPE THAT YOU'LL HAVE A CHANCE TO READ IT ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
LET'S MOVE INTO THIS YEAR BECAUSE WHEN I WAS IN FRONT OF THE FINANCE, UM, AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE WITH Y'ALL LAST YEAR, WE TALKED ABOUT NEGOTIATING A DYNAMIC PRICING PLAN AND OPENING UP ACCESS FOR MORE PEOPLE THROUGH THE MUSEUMS FOR ALL PROGRAM.
AND SO TWO MAJOR THINGS HAVE HAPPENED IN JUST THE FIRST FOUR AND A HALF MONTHS OF THIS YEAR.
WE DID LAUNCH THE MUSEUMS FOR ALL PROGRAM.
WE'RE ONE OF THREE CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS IN THE CITY OF DALLAS NOW THAT HAVE IT.
AND THIS IS AN OLD NUMBER, BUT AS OF TODAY, NEARLY 5,000 PEOPLE HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF MUSEUMS FOR ALL, WHICH IS A $3 ADMISSION FOR UP TO SIX PEOPLE.
IF YOU'RE ON A FOOD ASSISTANCE NATIONAL FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, IT'S BEEN WILDLY SUCCESSFUL.
I PROMISED YOU THAT THE UNDER CHAMPION ZIP CODES WOULD COME AND THEY'RE COMING.
AND THESE ARE THE THREE TOP ZIP CODES.
THEY'RE PREDOMINANTLY WORKING CLASS NEIGHBORHOODS WITH LOWER INCOME FAMILIES AS WELL.
AND THERE ARE MORE THAN JUST THESE TOP THREE.
I JUST WANTED YOU TO SEE THOSE DO LIVE BELOW THE POVERTY LINE.
SO WORD IS GETTING OUT, THE WORD OF MOUTH IS TRAVELING.
SELENA AND HER TEAM HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB TALKING TO SCHOOLS AND EDUCATORS.
WE'RE GOING OUT TO COMMUNITY CENTERS AND MORE AND JUST KIND OF OPENING UP THIS PROGRAM VERY RESPECTFULLY, BUT IT'S GONNA CATCH ON AND I DON'T KNOW, BUT BY FIVE YEARS WE COULD BE UP TO 50,000 REDEMPTIONS.
THANK YOU FOR, UM, BELIEVING IN THAT PROGRAM AND IT'S DOING REALLY WELL.
THE SECOND THING WE TALKED ABOUT IS I WOULD COMMIT IF WE WERE RECEIVING THE, THE ADDITIONAL FUNDS FROM THE ACCESS PROGRAMS AND THE DYNAMIC PRICING, WE WOULD CREATE AN ACCESS PROGRAM ON OUR OWN.
SO WE TOOK $30,000 AND WE ARE NOW, UM, PARTNERING WITH CULTURE CITY.
VERY PROMINENT PROGRAM HERE IN TOWN FOR SENSORY INCLUSIVE BAGS FOR OUR AUDIENCE.
LEAVE THIS ONE WITH Y'ALL TODAY.
BUT THIS IS WHAT A SENSORY INCLUSIVE BAG LOOKS LIKE.
THERE'S A WAY TO BLANKET IN HERE.
THERE ARE FIDGETS IN HERE, THERE ARE HEADPHONES IN HERE THAT WILL MAKE PEOPLE WITH SENSORY ISSUES.
JUST HAVE A MORE COMFORTABLE VISIT.
SO I'M GONNA LEAVE THIS WITH Y'ALL THERE.
THERE'S A LOT OF LITTLE TOYS IN THERE YOU CAN PLAY WITH DURING YOUR MEDIUM.
SO WE'RE KEEPING OUR PROMISES.
DALLAS BLOOMS THIS YEAR CELEBRATED ITS 40, YOU CAN BELIEVE IT.
UM, TO THE POINT WHERE IT EVEN CAUGHT ATTENTION FROM STATE.
UM, SENATOR NATHAN JOHNSON FROM DISTRICT 16 HERE IN DALLAS COUNTY.
HE MADE A PROCLAMATION CELEBRATING THE 40TH YEAR OF DALLAS BLOOMS. SO WE HAD A, WE HAD A GREAT SEASON.
MOVING INTO BLOOMS, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO END WITH A BANG.
SO WE START WITH DAFFODILS AND TULIPS, WHICH ARE KIND OF THE STARS OF THE SHOW.
AND NOW WE'RE TRYING TO END WITH CHERRIES.
NEWSWEEK MAGAZINE, NEWSWEEK MAGAZINE, UH, WAS THE ONE THAT SAID, UH, JUST THIS YEAR, WE ARE ONE OF THE TOP 10 PLACES TO SEE CHERRY BLOSSOMS IN THE UNITED STATES AND PUT US RIGHT THERE IN THE CATEGORY WITH WASHINGTON DC.
THAT ROLLED INTO A BUNCH OF OTHER NATIONAL MEDIA, INCLUDING NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, US WORLD AND NEWS REPORT, ET CETERA, ET CETERA, AND ROLLED INTO SOME LOCAL NEWS STORIES.
SO ONE DAY WE'RE REALLY GONNA, UH, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHERRIES AND DO EVENING EVENTS AND FESTIVALS AND MAKE IT REALLY FUN.
SO BLOOMS WILL EXTEND AND WE'LL HAVE MORE OPPORTUNITIES.
AND JUST IN THE NEXT FEW SLIDES, WE'RE STILL CAPITALIZING ON ALL THE PROGRAMS THAT MAKE THE ARBORETUM SUCH A FAVORITE FROM OUR NEXT SLIDE.
FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL TO ART SCAPE.
WE HAD MORE VENDORS AND MORE ART THAN EVER BEFORE.
AND RECORD ATTENDANCE, WHICH WAS WONDERFUL.
GOOD WEATHER HELPS BY THE WAY, BECAUSE THE ARBORETUM LIVES AND DIES BY GOOD WEATHER FOR OUR VISITATION.
WE, UM, HAD RECORD ATTENDANCE AND A GORGEOUS WEEKEND FOR THE BLACK HERITAGE CELEBRATION.
BEAUTIFUL FEW DAYS ALSO IN 2025.
WE'RE CONTINUING WITH PRIDE IN BLOOM, WHICH WILL BE JUNE 21ST, SO PLEASE COME.
THERE ARE STILL TICKETS AVAILABLE.
ALSO, HONORING OUR COMMUNITY IS THE EVER ALSO POPULAR HISPANIC HERITAGE CELEBRATION AND THE KINANE YEAR OF FASHION SHOW, WHICH NEVER FAILS TO DISAPPOINT AND ON AND ON, UH, THE PUBLIC.
LOVES OUR COOL THURSDAYS CONCERT SERIES.
WE'RE DOING 22 THIS YEAR, SO WE'RE GONNA RE-LOOK AT THOSE MODELS AND HOW WE MOVE FORWARD AND DEVELOPING CONCERT SERIES.
AND THEN MOVING INTO FALL ON THE NEXT SLIDE, GIVING YOU A SNEAK PEEK OF WHAT'S COMING.
WE'RE CELEBRATING THE COUNTRY OF MEXICO, CALLING IT MUNDO, MEXICO FOR AUTUMN AT THE ARBORETUM.
AND WE'RE BRINGING IN THESE PHENOMENAL, MONUMENTAL RES, THESE SCULPTURES THAT ARE MADE FROM AN ARTIST OF TWO ARTISTS, MARRIED ARTISTS OUT OF MEXICO.
UH, THIS DEBUTED AT THE DENVER BOTANIC
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GARDEN TO GREAT SUCCESS.SO WE'RE SHIPPING THEM ALL HERE.
THEY WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO ALL THE PUMPKIN HOUSES.
SO THESE SPIRIT ANIMALS WILL GO WITH ALL THE PUMPKIN HOUSES, AND EVERY HOUSE WILL REPRESENT A DIFFERENT REGION OF MEXICO AND TELL THAT STORY.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, ONE OF THE HOUSES WILL REPRESENT MONTEREY AND THE BUTTERFLIES AND THE MONARCH BUTTERFLIES.
WE WILL END THE YEAR, OF COURSE, WITH HOLIDAY AT THE ARBORETUM, WITH OUR PHENOMENAL CHRISTMAS VILLAGE, OUR 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS.
BUT I'M GONNA DROP A LITTLE NEWS TODAY.
WE ARE PREPARING TO SAY GOODBYE TO THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS IN ITS 12TH YEAR.
THEY'RE WAY BE THOSE GAZEBOS AS BEAUTIFUL AS THEY ARE, WAY BEYOND THEIR LIFESPAN.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA COME UP WITH A BEAUTIFUL NEW HOLIDAY TRADITION FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS.
TRUST ME, WE'LL DO A REALLY GOOD JOB JUST AS THEY DID 12 YEARS AGO.
AND LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND REALLY PEAK AS I WRAP UP HERE FOR 2026.
THE CITY OF DALLAS IS GOING TO WELCOME THE VERY FAMOUS, VERY ICONIC ARTIST HUNT SLOAN.
AND WE ARE GONNA BE DOING IS MONUMENTAL SCULPTURES OF BUNNIES, BIRDS, AND BUTTERFLIES.
IT'S GONNA DEBUT IN APRIL AND RUN THROUGH SEPTEMBER.
I WAS JUST AT A STUDIO LAST WEEK WITH SOME, UH, DONORS OF OURS, AND THEY'RE VERY EXCITED, UH, TO COME TO DALLAS.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU WILL SEE THE ARTIST HIMSELF.
REMEMBER THE BUNNY YEARS, IF Y'ALL ARE EVER FAMILIAR WITH HIS PAINTINGS THERE, HE HAS 350, UH, COLLECTIONS THROUGHOUT MUSEUMS IN THE UNITED OF THE UNITED STATES AND AROUND THE WORLD.
SO THIS IS A GREAT COUP FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS AND FOR OUR ARBORETUM.
AND ON THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU WILL SEE HIS TOTEMS. AND THERE'S SO MANY MORE EXHIBITS COMING.
IT CAN ONLY SHOW YOU A COUPLE, BUT THIS IS VERY EXCITING.
SO BUNNIES, BIRDS, AND BUTTERFLIES GET READY FOR 2026.
AND ON OUR FINAL SLIDE, A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE.
THERE'S SO MUCH GOING ON HERE, YOUR HEAD COULD SPIN, BUT IT'S ALL GOOD.
LIKE WE'RE ALL ABOUT NATURE, RIGHT? ALL OF US SITTING AROUND THESE ROOMS. SO OUR FUTURE INITIATIVES, OF COURSE INCLUDE THE 2024 BOND WHERE WE NEED TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO OUR WELCOME CENTER, OUR ENTRY AND EXIT PLAZA.
I DO BELIEVE WE'RE IN TRANCH THREE OF THE BOND.
AND WE GOTTA DO A LITTLE FUNDRAISING.
AND SO NOW THAT I'VE BEEN HERE 17 MONTHS, I FEEL CONFIDENT WE CAN GOT THE TEAM TOGETHER TO BE READY TO DO THAT ALSO AS OUR MASTER PLAN.
THE LAST MASTER PLAN DONE FOR THE ARBORETUM WAS 2001, AND THE MAJORITY OF THAT PLAN HAS BEEN COMPLETED.
SO NOW IT'S TIME TO GO OUT AND SEE, UH, WITH ANOTHER RENOWNED LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT IN A VERY INCLUSIVE STAKEHOLDER PROCESS.
WHAT HOLDS, WHAT DO OUR GROUNDS HOLD OUR FACILITIES, OUR PROGRAMS, AND WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE FOR DALLAS AND THE ARBORETUM? AND WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO HERE OVER THE NEXT 25 YEARS? SO IT'LL BE AN EXCITING PROCESS.
WE'RE STILL THREE YEARS OUT FROM IT, BUT WANTED TO GET IT ON YOUR, ON YOUR RADARS.
AND WE DO HAVE SOME GARDEN RENOVATIONS.
SOME OF THE GARDENS ARE AGING, PARTICULARLY IN A WOMAN'S GARDEN, WHICH IS THE ONLY GARDEN UNITED STATES THAT FULLY CELEBRATES WOMEN ONLY.
AND SO WE'RE DOING A LOT OF REFRESH WORK THERE NOW AND INTO THE FUTURE.
SO THAT'S WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON 24, 25, 26, AND INTO THE FUTURE.
WE'RE SO GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING THE DALLAS ARBORETUM.
BELIEVING IN NATURE TO CHANGE LIVES.
AND THE MORE PEOPLE WE CONNECT TO PLANTS, THE BETTER.
AND I ALWAYS SAY YOU SAID CHICAGO, I'M SURPRISED THEY'RE AHEAD OF US BECAUSE I'VE BEEN THERE.
THIS PROPERTY IS A THOUSAND TIMES PASSION IN CHICAGO.
BUT THAT I OPEN THE FLOOR FOR COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS.
WHAT, WHAT A WONDERFUL, VIBRANT PRESENTATION.
AND KNOWING EVERYTHING THAT YOU'RE DOING, IT'S INCREDIBLE.
UH, WHAT DOES UNDER CHAMPION ZIP CODE MEAN? UNDER CHAMPION ZIP CODE IS UNDERSERVED ZIP CODE.
SO PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING AT LOWER HOUSEHOLD INCOMES OKAY.
LOWER, LOWER LEVELS OF EDUCATION.
AND I MIGHT NOT BE WITH IT, SO IT'S NO, IT'S OKAY.
KNOW WHAT THAT MEANT AND HOW, OKAY.
UM, AND THEN, UM, CHRISTMAS, HOLD ON,
UM, SO WITH THE, UH, WITH THE, UM, LOG, LIKE THE COMMITMENT OF PEOPLE COMING YEAR AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR AND BEING A FAMILY TRADITION, HOW WILL YOU, WILL YOU ENGAGE A COMMUNITY WITH POTENTIAL OF, YOU KNOW, HEY, WE'RE GONNA MAKE THIS CHANGE AND, AND WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK, WE WANT YOUR INPUT.
HOW WILL YOU MAKE THAT SOMETHING THAT'S A POSITIVE? YES.
I MEAN, IT IS, I'M JEWISH, SO IT'S NOT FOR ME
I'M WONDERING LIKE, WHAT IS, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? SURE.
SO THAT, THAT'S A VERY FAIR QUESTION AND REALLY GOOD.
NOW REMEMBER, USED TO HAVE A CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER HAT.
SO OF COURSE WE'VE ALREADY DONE THE CONSUMER MARKET DATA.
SO OF ALL THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE THAT CAME THROUGH HOLIDAY THIS PAST YEAR WERE SENT A SURVEY AND ASKED WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE COMING.
SO WE HAVE ALL OF THAT DATA VERY SOLID.
I'LL GIVE YOU A SNEAK PEEK, BUT IT'S, UM, THEY'RE REALLY INTERESTED IN SOMETHING THAT IS A LIGHT SHOW LIKE NO OTHER WITHIN NATURE THEME, FOREST WONDERLAND, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
[00:25:01]
WE'LL SEE, WE'LL SEE HOW WE TRANSLATE IT.WE, WE CAN WORK WITH ANYONE IN THE WORLD TO CREATE SOMETHING PRETTY MEMORABLE AND EXCITING.
NOW, WE WON'T THROW 12 DAYS OUT COMPLETELY.
WE MAY REIMAGINE IT IN A DIFFERENT WAY BECAUSE IT IS A TRADITION, RIGHT? AND SO, BUT A YOUNGER GENERATION WAS VERY CLEAR WITH US THAT THEY WANNA SEE SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
AND I DO NEED TO LISTEN TO THOSE YOUNGER VOICES.
AND WE'RE TALKING ANYONE FROM 25 TO 54 IN THOSE YOUNGER VOICES.
I'M GLAD YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT WITH THE GAZEBOS.
I WAS HERE A COUPLE WEEKS AGO AND I NOTICED THEY WERE GONE AND EVEN, 'CAUSE IT'S HARD IN OFF SEASON, RIGHT? THEY'RE COVERED, RIGHT? BECAUSE THEY'RE SO BIG AND SO, UM, WHEN THEY WERE HERE IN THE OFF SEASON.
SO I'M EXCITED TO SEE WHAT YOU DO AND I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE, UH, THE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES WITH ART IN THE GARDEN.
UM, SO HOW, TELL US ABOUT HOW YOU'RE BRINGING IN, YOU KNOW, DONORS TO HELP SUPPORT SOME OF THOSE, YOU KNOW, LARGER, MORE EXPENSIVE MM-HMM
UM, AND THEN ARE YOU ENGAGING ALSO WITH LIKE, THE ARTS AND CULTURE, OFFICE ARTS AND CULTURE? UH, WE HAVE SOME EXPERTISE ON THIS BOARD AND OH, OKAY.
AND, UH, BOARD MEMBER GRADY MCGON, WHO'S PREVIOUSLY SERVED ON THAT BOARD AS WELL, BUT ALSO WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE CITY, YOU KNOW, THE OFFICE ARTS AND CULTURE.
NO, THAT'S A, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
WE'LL, WE'LL BE WILLING TO PARTNER WITH AS MANY PEOPLE AS WE CAN, RIGHT? AND SO, WE'LL, WE'RE NOT QUITE AT THAT STAGE YET.
WE'RE STILL A YEAR OUT FROM THE SHOW, BUT RIGHT NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT THE FUNDRAISING PIECES AND GETTING A LEAD GIFT.
WE'RE ON THE VERGE OF, OF HEARING THAT BY TOMORROW, MAYBE MONDAY.
SO IT'LL BE A SIGNIFICANT GIFT THAT WE HOPE THE REST WILL FOLLOW THROUGH.
THE BASIC MODEL FOR THESE ART EXHIBITIONS IS IT COSTS X AND THEN YOU HOPE TO MAKE TWO AND A HALF TIMES X.
AND THAT IS HOW WE CONTINUE TO GENERATE REVENUES FOR THE ARBORETUM OVER TIME, AND WE CONTINUE TO BUILD OUR AUDIENCES ACROSS ALL AREAS AND MAKE IT EXCITING FOR THE WHOLE CITY.
UM, I MISS HAS WE MISS YOU IN YOUR OWN, UH, GARDEN HERE? GO AHEAD.
I KNOW, I'M SO SAD THAT TO BE THERE.
UM, BUT SABINA, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
UH, YOU KNOW, I COME TO SO MANY OF YOUR MEETINGS AND HEAR HOW HARD Y'ALL ARE WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU, Y'ALL CAN SEE BY THESE NUMBERS AND THESE REPORTS THAT THROUGH SABINA'S LEADERSHIP, SHE'S VERY HANDS-ON.
SHE'S BUILT AN INCREDIBLE TEAM OVER THE LAST YEAR.
AND, UH, WITH THIS NEW MISSION STATEMENT AND ALL OF THE WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE TO REALLY KIND OF CARRY US FORWARD INTO THE NEXT 25 YEARS, I, I REALLY FEEL STRONGLY WE'RE SO HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, AND I'M SO GLAD THAT, UM, THE NEW PROGRAMS HAVE WORKED AS WELL AS, AS YOU HAD PROMISED US THEY WOULD.
AND I JUST, UH, WANNA APPLAUD YOU FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE AND SAY, YOU KNOW, KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK AND, AND, UH, I AGREE WITH THE, THIS SAD DEPARTURE OF THIS 12, 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS.
BUT I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS HAVE TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE, WE KEEP PEOPLE, UH, ENGAGED AND NEW PEOPLE COMING TO THE ARBORETUM.
SO I THINK SOMETIMES THOSE THINGS ARE A LITTLE TRICKY, BUT, UH, I'M GLAD TO SEE US BEING INVENTIVE FOR THE FUTURE.
SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK AND YOUR BOARD, AND OF COURSE YOUR INCREDIBLE STAFF THERE.
SHE DOES COME TO A LOT OF OUR MEETINGS.
WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL FOR INVOLVEMENT AND FOR MY BOARD MEMBERS THAT ARE HERE TODAY, WILL YOU PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AND SAY HI.
WE DO HAVE SOME BOARD REPRESENTATION HERE TODAY, SO THANK Y'ALL FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
UM, I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO BE INVOLVED, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH REGARD TO OFFICE ARTS AND CULTURE AND PUBLIC ARTS SPECIFICALLY.
I WAS THE CHAIR OF THAT COMMITTEE FOR FOUR YEARS.
SO ANYWAY, I CAN BE OF ASSISTANCE TO YOU.
UH, I WOULD, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT, UM, HOW YOU, YOU KNOW, CHOOSING FOUR VALUES, SUSTAINABILITY BEING ONE OF THOSE FOUR, HOW YOU, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE PRACTICES THAT YOU'RE DOING TO CENTER THAT VALUE, SPECIFICALLY AS IT RELATES TO, UH, YOU KNOW, THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, WHAT THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT MEANS TO YOU IN THE CONTEXT OF YOUR VISION STATE? I LOVE YOUR QUESTION ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY.
IT'S, I CAN ANSWER IT VERY BROADLY THOUGH, BECAUSE THE GOAL IS SO INTENSE THERE.
THEY'RE MULTI-LAYERS TO RESILIENCY, SUSTAINABILITY, WHATEVER THE WORD YOU WOULD LIKE TO USE AS IT RELATES TO ENVIRONMENT.
SO FIRST AND FOREMOST, THAT MEANS WE'RE A LIVING COLLECTION OF TREES, RIGHT? BUT WE'RE ALSO A BOTANICAL GARDEN, SO WE'RE A LIVING COLLECTION OF PLANTS.
SO WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO TAKE CARE OF THEM AND BE EXCELLENT STEWARD AT THE GROUNDS, IN THE SENSE OF PLACE.
AS AN EXAMPLE, THIS YEAR IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN TO BE MORE SUSTAINABLE, WE'RE HAVING A COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT OUR CANOPY.
SO BARTLET TREE JUST COMPLETED THAT AND LOOKED AT,
[00:30:01]
UH, ALL 66 ACRES AND ALL HEALTH OF TREES.THE MAJORITY OF THEM ARE OKAY, THAT'S THE GOOD NEWS, ONLY HAVE 10 THAT ARE FAILING AND THAT WE'LL HAVE TO REMOVE.
SO THAT'S ONE EXAMPLE TO MANY OTHERS.
UH, HAVING OUR NEW MEMBER MAGAZINE REDONE AND GOING DIGITAL IS ALSO A SUSTAINABLE EFFORT.
SO THAT WE SEND THAT OUT NOW VIA EMAIL TO THE MAJORITY OF OUR MEMBERSHIP.
AND, UH, IT'S NOT, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NOT PAPER BEHIND IT ANYMORE, RIGHT? LIKE WE WERE DOING 47,000 COPIES AND MAILING THEM OUT.
SO TO BE MORE SUSTAINABLE AND ENERGY EFFICIENT, WE HAD A, WE SENT 'EM AN EMAIL, WE CHECKED THE OPEN RATES, 72% OPEN RATE ON THAT FIRST SEND.
SO THAT WAS A BIG SIGH OF RELIEF.
BUT THERE ARE MANY WAYS WE CAN BE SUSTAINABLE AND MORE EFFICIENT.
YEAH, I, I, JUST TO FOLLOW UP WITH THAT, I HAD A A GREAT MEETING WITH AMBER, WHO I'M SURE IS BEHIND.
UM, AND, AND WE HAD AN AMAZING IDEATION SESSION, AND I WOULD LOVE TO CONTINUE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
BUT, YOU KNOW, JUST LOOKING AT ONE IN 1.2 MILLION PEOPLE COMING TO THE DORIS HERE, MANY OF THEM ARE FROM THE AREA WHEN IT COMES TO SUSTAINABILITY.
AND AGAIN, THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS, UM, THE WAY THAT YOU CAN KIND OF RADIATE THOSE VALUES IS BY SHOWING PEOPLE HOW TO BE SUSTAINABLE IN THEIR OWN NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS WHERE THEY LIVE.
AND IN THE SPACES THAT THEY ENGAGE WITH LOCALLY.
UM, AND I, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IT'S SOMEWHERE A FEATURE OF A, OF A LANDSCAPED NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, ZEROSCAPE OR TEXAS NATIVES, YOU KNOW, HERE AT THE ARBORETUM SO THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE THE BEAUTY OF OUR LOCAL, UM, YOU KNOW, BOTANICAL OFFERINGS THAT THEY CAN GO HOME AND, AND, YOU KNOW, CREATE WHERE THEY LIVE.
WELL, SO THAT WILL BE PART OF OUR MASTER PLANNING PROCESS.
AND AN INTERPRETIVE MASTER PLANNING PROCESS WHERE WE TELL OUR STORY ON SITE.
SO WHERE WE CAN TALK ABOUT NATIVE PLANTS, WE CAN TALK ABOUT WATER WISE PLANTS AND GO FROM THERE, AND HOW THEY CAN BE BEAUTIFUL TOO.
I'M SURE YOU COULD CREATE AN AMAZING GARDEN, A SMALL GARDEN THAT FEATURES THAT'S RIGHT.
REALLY GIVE PEOPLE SOME AWESOME IDEAS.
ONE WAY WE'RE VERY SUSTAINABLE TOO, IN THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, IS 95% OF ALL THE PLANTS YOU SEE OUT HERE THAT ARE ANNUALS AND PERENNIALS ARE GROWN BY SEED, BY PROPAGATION IN OUR OWN GREENHOUSES 15 MINUTES AWAY.
THAT'S EXTRAORDINARY FOR A, FOR A BOTANICAL GARDEN TO DO THAT MUCH.
I LOVE, UM, WHAT YOU'VE DONE HERE.
UM, I'M EXCITED TO SEE THE ARTISTS.
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT ART EXHIBITED WITH THE BUNNY EARS? DO YOU THINK THAT'LL BE TO THE LEVEL OF LIKE THE CHUCK LEE AS FAR AS VISITORS? AWESOME.
I THINK IT'LL BE A BLOCKBUSTER EXHIBITION.
IN FACT, HAN SLOAN WAS INSPIRED BY DALE UL'S TRAVELING PUBLIC GARDEN SHOWS.
AND THAT'S WHY I WANTED TO MOVE INTO SCULPTURE.
AND I JUST HAPPENED TO BE THE FIRST PERSON HE CALLED WHEN I MOVED TO SAN ANTONIO.
SO THE SAN ANTONIO GARDEN GOT THE VERY FIRST TEST SHOW, WHICH WAS LAST SUMMER, AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.
BUT OUR SHOW WILL BE TWICE AS LARGE.
AND THINGS YOU'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE, PIECES OF ART HAVE NEVER BEEN SEEN.
PEOPLE STILL TALK ABOUT SHOW HOLY AT THE ARBORETUM.
SO I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S WHY IT'S SO, I I I'M EXCITED FOR YOU TO HAVE THOSE TYPES OF THINGS BECAUSE IT DOES NOTHING BUT, YOU KNOW, BROADCAST HOW WONDERFUL AND THE WORK AND IT BRINGS PEOPLE IN THAT MIGHT NOT HAVE GONE.
UM, I LOVE THE, THE RE-IMAGINING OF THE 12TH DAYS OF CHRISTMAS.
I MEAN, I THINK SOME PEOPLE SAID, OH, GET RID OF IT.
NO, BUT YOU'RE REIMAGINING IT, I THINK.
UM, AND SAME TOKEN WITH WHERE YOU SAID, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN'T ALWAYS AFFORD TO COME IN.
I'VE GIVEN TICKETS TO LIKE A, A CASHIER AT DIFFERENT THINGS, LIKE AT THE MALL OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
I'VE OFFERED TICKETS AND THEY COME BACK AND THEY SEND PICTURES OF THEIR KIDS AT THE ARBORETUM AND THEY LOVE IT.
SO THAT IS, I I, I LOVE BEING ABLE TO HAVE THOSE TICKETS.
I, I LOVE HAVING THOSE TICKETS TO GIVE AWAY.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE PERCENTAGE THAT COME BACK, BUT JUST WHEN YOU HAND THOSE OUT TO PEOPLE, THEY THINK WE'RE GODS
I MEAN, I MEAN, LITERALLY THEY THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GIVING 'EM THE WORLD.
I MEAN, IT, IT, HONESTLY, IT'S, IT, IT'S SOMETHING, UH, WE DO IT WITH THE ZOO.
AND IT, IT'S, THAT'S SOME OF THE BEST THINGS ABOUT BEING ON THE PARK FLOOR, IN MY OPINION, IS BEING ABLE TO SHARE THE GREAT THINGS THAT WE HAVE.
BECAUSE YOU'RE PART OF THE DALLAS PARK SYSTEM YES.
AND A VERY BEAUTIFUL PART OF THE DALLAS PARK SYSTEM, AND WE'RE VERY, VERY PROUD.
MR. D THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT.
UH, I JUST WANT TO SECOND WHAT MR. WOODS SAID.
UH, THE TICKETS, UH, I USUALLY DISTRIBUTE MINE IN WEST DALLAS.
I REPRESENT WEST AND NORTHWEST DALLAS.
AND, UH, TYPICALLY GIVE MY TICKETS TO THE SENIOR PROGRAMS AT THOSE.
AND, AND MOST OF MY SENIORS, THEY ALL GO, UH, THEY USE OUR VANS, OUR TRANSPORTATION TO GET THERE.
[00:35:01]
THEIR FAMILIES.IT'S ENORMOUSLY APPRECIATED IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND I JUST WANNA THANK YOU FOR THAT.
IT'S MAKING A BIG DIFFERENCE IN MY DISTRICT.
THE SECOND THING, I JUST WANTED TO ASK A QUESTION.
UM, YOU MENTIONED BRIEFLY THAT YOU WERE IN THE THIRD TRANCHE OF THE 2024 BOND.
YOU MIGHT HAVE TO RAISE A LITTLE MONEY.
COULD YOU EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS AND WHAT IMPACT BEING IN THAT TRANCHE HAS ON YOUR OPERATIONS OR POSSIBLE CHALLENGES? WELL, UM, GOOD QUESTION.
I DON'T THINK IT'S IMPACTING OUR OPERATIONS JUST YET.
WE'RE STILL ABLE TO, SO, SO WE HAVE GATE ONE WHERE THE MAJORITY, MAYBE 60% OF VISITORS COME THROUGH GATE ONE WOULD BE MY GUESS.
AND WHEN WE GET REALLY BUSY, OBVIOUSLY WE PUT THEM DOWN TO THE PARKING DECK.
BUT NOW WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO GET OVERFLOW VISITORS TO THE ORIGINAL GATE AT GATE ONE, WHICH WE RENOVATED LAST YEAR, SO WE'RE BREATHING A LITTLE BIT.
THAT WAS THE ORIGINAL GATE THAT USED TO BE USED PROBABLY 30 YEARS AGO.
SO WE RESTORED THAT AND WE CAN USE THAT FOR OVERFLOW VISITATION BEFORE WE HAVE TO GO ALL THE WAY OUT TO GATE FOUR AND HAVE PEOPLE WALK FROM THE CHILDREN'S GARDEN.
SO, TRANCHE THREE, UH, AGAIN, I DON'T QUITE KNOW ALL THE TIMING AND THE DETAILS WHERE AMBER AND I, OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, ARE WORKING WITH RYAN AND HIS TEAM ON THE PROCESS BY WHICH WE WILL GO THROUGH.
WE, UM, THANKFULLY RECEIVED $4 MILLION, SO WE WILL RAISE $4 MILLION.
SO WE'LL HAVE $8 MILLION AT SOME POINT IN TWO TO THREE YEARS TO BE ABLE TO GET THAT PROJECT COMPLETED OVER HERE AT THE WELCOME ENTRY AND EXITO PLAZA.
UH, THANK AND THANK YOU FOR, THANK YOU FOR HAVING US HERE TODAY AND, AND YOUR PRESENTATION OF, AND, UH, KUDOS TO SELENA.
I HEARD HER NAME CALLED A COUPLE PRESENTATIONS.
SO, UH, WE APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU DO FOR OUR YOUTH.
'CAUSE YOU KNOW, I'M A YOUTH ORGANIZER.
THEY'RE ABSOLUTELY IS HERE FOR HER.
UM, BECAUSE THAT, LIKE MR. DICKEY WAS SAYING, THAT MEANS A LOT TO US, HAVE PROJECT COUPONS, BUT ALSO THE UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.
ONE OF 'EM, IT HAPPENS TO BE MINE, IT'S TWO, THE TWO 11.
SO IT WAS GOOD TO SEE THAT ZIP CODE THERE.
AND THEY'RE USING GOOD, THEY'RE USING IT.
UH, AND, AND WE APPRECIATE THAT.
AND IF PEOPLE'S PROGRAMS GO, AND IT'S REALLY WHERE I'M AT, JUST, JUST TO GET ALL THE KIDS INVOLVED.
'CAUSE SOMETIMES WE DON'T DO THAT AT SCHOOL ANYMORE.
WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT NATURE AND, AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
MAYBE A LITTLE BIT IN SCIENCE, BUT WHEN YOU GET TO OLDER GROUPS, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING REALLY WHOLEHEARTED THAT THEY NEED TO GET FIRSTHAND.
WE AIN'T COMING HERE FOR YEARS AND WE, I, I THINK WE WERE HERE AT THE ORIGINAL 12 DAYS OF EQUIPMENT, SO THAT TELLS YOU FIRST YEAR.
UM, BUT IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE APPRECIATE YOU GUYS DOING AND MAKING SURE THAT WE FOCUSING ON, ON, ON THE KIDS AND ALL THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE HAVE THAT NEED TO COME TO THIS PLACE.
IT'S BEAUTIFUL AND THANK YOU, YOUR TEAM KEEPING IT UP.
AND I'LL JUST LEAVE WITH, UM, WE ARE SPEAKING TO DALE ULLI, WE WILL GET ULLI BACK.
IS THAT AMAZING? YOUR KIDS WILL BE ABLE TO COME THEN, MAYBE ON THE FIRST YEAR IN 2012.
IT, IT'S AN AMAZING CONCEPT IN SEATTLE.
YEAH, MR. YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN, UH, FOR HOSTING US, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU, MA'AM, TO MAKE THIS, UH, PARTNERSHIP STRONGER AND STRONG.
WE GET THROUGH OUR NEXT, UH, BRIEFING, WHICH IS BANK OF AMERICA, AGAIN WITH, UH, RACHEL BARRY.
UM, LET ME MAKE THAT CORRECTION.
THESE ARE THE, UM, PROVIDERS OF OUR INVESTMENTS ON OUR SMALL, UM, ON OUR SMALLER PARKS.
THOSE TRUST FUNDS THAT WE HAVE WITH THEM.
UM, THAT'S BRAILER, WEISS AND CREDIT.
SO OF COURSE, UM, THEY'RE REQUIRED EVERY YEAR TO COME BEFORE FORWARD TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THEIR INVESTMENTS.
AND TODAY WE HAVE, UM, RONNIE JOB HERE TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION FOR YOU.
I'M SORRY, IT'S SO HARD TO TELL YOU.
CAN YOU REPEAT THE LAST SENTENCE? SORRY.
HE'S GONNA PRESENT THE UPDATE.
THESE ARE FOR THE THREE SMALL TRUSTS THAT WE HOLD.
UM, THIS IS, UM, BRAILER WEISS PR.
CURRENTLY, WE'RE NOT, UM, TAKING ANY KIND OF, UH, PAYMENT FROM THOSE FUNDS BECAUSE THE HOPE IS THAT WE WILL AT LEAST BE ABLE TO BUILD THOSE FUNDS UP FOR THE FUTURE.
SO HE WILL BE HERE TO PROVIDE THE UPDATE ON HOW THOSE FUNDS ARE BEING INVESTED.
AS RACHEL, UH, MENTIONED, THESE ARE, UH, THIS IS A TRUST FUND.
UH, THE ASSETS ARE MANAGED IN TRUST.
UH, BANK OF TEXAS IS THE TRUSTEE, UH, OF THESE ASSETS.
AND THE TRUST DICTATES HOW THE ASSETS ARE TO BE INVESTED.
[00:40:01]
INVESTED IN A COMBINATION OF, UH, CASH EQUIVALENCE, TREASURIES, BONDS, AND EQUITIES, UM, THROUGH INSTITUTIONALLY PRICED MUTUAL FUNDS AND EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS.UH, FOR THE MOST CALENDAR, FOR THE MOST RECENT CALENDAR YEAR, WHICH IS CALENDAR YEAR 2024, THE TOTAL ENDING VALUE OF THE FUND WAS $1,862,000.
AND THE PORTFOLIO IN CALENDAR YEAR 2024 EARNED A RETURN OF 10.7% NET OF FEES.
I'M GONNA START QUICKLY WITH A BRIEF UPDATE ON THE CAPITAL MARKETS OVER THE LAST YEAR SINCE THE LAST REPORT THAT WE PROVIDED TO THE BOARD LAST SPRING.
UH, JUST A QUICK REVIEW OF WHAT'S HAPPENED IN THE MARKETS, BECAUSE THAT WILL HELP TO INFORM SOME OF THE PERFORMANCE NUMBERS YOU'RE GONNA SEE IN A MINUTE.
UH, IF YOU LOOK AT THE ONE YEAR, UH, NUMBERS ON THE BOTTOM OF THE TABLE, THAT'S GONNA BE THE DARKER, THE DARKER BARS IN THIS GRAPH.
SO, GENERALLY SPEAKING, OVER THE LAST 12 MONTHS THROUGH THE MOST RECENT QUARTER, WHICH IS THE END OF MARCH, UH, GENERALLY ACROSS MOST OF THE CAPITAL MARKETS, WE SAW POSITIVE RESULTS, UH, WITH US EQUITIES BEING THE BEST PERFORMING ASSET CLASS, LARGE CAP US EQUITIES.
THE S AND P 500 INDEX HAD A TOTAL RETURN OF EIGHT AND A QUARTER PERCENT OVER THE TRAILING 12 MONTHS.
UH, THAT WAS FOLLOWED CLOSE BEHIND, UH, BY EMERGING MARKETS OVERSEAS, WHICH
BONDS POSTED GENERALLY VERY GOOD RESULTS OVER THE LAST 12 MONTHS.
AS INTEREST RATES HAVE MOVED HIGHER, UH, WE'VE SEEN BETTER RESULTS OUT OF FIXED INCOME, UH, FIXED INCOME ASSET CLASSES, AND, UH, BONDS GENERALLY HAD A RETURN OF AROUND 5% OVER THE TRAILING 12 MONTHS.
UH, THE THREE ASSET CLASSES ON THE FAR RIGHT OF THIS CHART ARE ASSET CLASSES THAT, UH, ARE RESTRICTED BY THE TRUST.
UH, THERE ARE NO INVESTMENTS IN THESE ALTERNATIVE TYPE ASSET CLASSES, UH, AS BECAUSE THEY ARE RESTRICTED BY THE TRUST DOCUMENT.
SO, GENERALLY SPEAKING, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SMALL CAP US STOCKS, UH, GENERALLY SPEAKING, POSITIVE RESULTS ACROSS ALL OF THE MAJOR ASSET CLASSES OVER THE TRAILING 12 MONTHS.
UH, I'M GONNA SKIP TO SLIDE 16 IN OUR REPORT.
SO THESE ARE NUMBERS AS OF THE END OF MARCH.
THIS SHOWS THE PORTFOLIO'S ALLOCATION AS OF THE END OF MARCH AND THE ENDING VALUE AT THE END OF MARCH.
SO AT THE END OF MARCH, THE PORTFOLIO HAD A MARKET VALUE OF 1,862,000.
THE CURRENT PORTFOLIO ALLOCATION WAS, UH, CASH EQUIVALENT 7% AT THE END OF MARCH, 36% IN FIXED INCOME, 56% IN EQUITIES.
THIS IS A VERY BALANCED, UH, PORTFOLIO.
UH, THE NEXT SLIDE THAT I WANT TO ADDRESS IS ON SLIDE 18.
THIS IS THE PERFORMANCE SUMMARY.
SO OVER THE TRAILING 12 MONTHS IN THE ONE YEAR COLUMN, WHICH IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS, UH, TABLE, UH, ONE YEAR AGO, THE PORTFOLIO BEGINNING MARKET VALUE WAS 1.7 MILLION, 1,777,000.
WE'VE HAD NET DISTRIBUTIONS FROM THE PORTFOLIO.
THIS IS PRIMARILY FEES OF 7,000 OVER THE, OVER THE TRAILING 12 MONTHS.
THE INVESTMENT GAINS OVER THE TRAILING 12 MONTHS WERE 92,573.
AND THAT GETS US BACK TO THE ENDING MARKET VALUE OF 1 MILLION 862 531 GROSS OF FEES.
THE PORTFOLIO EARNED 5.2% AND NET OF FEES.
THE PORTFOLIO EARNED 4.8% OVER THE TRAILING 12 MONTHS.
I NEED TO EXPLAIN THIS PRIMARY BENCHMARK.
UH, WHEN I ASSUMED MANAGEMENT OF THIS, UH, PORTFOLIO A FEW MONTHS AGO, ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I I REALIZED WAS THAT THE PRIMARY BENCHMARK THAT HAS BEEN USED FOR REPORTING PURPOSES IS THE WRONG BENCHMARK.
UH, THE, THE TRUST RESTRICTS THE, UH, AMOUNT INVESTED IN EQUITIES AT A MAXIMUM OF 60%.
SO THE TRUST DEFINES WHAT THE RISK PROFILE FOR THIS PORTFOLIO IS GOING TO BE.
IT'S VERY CONSERVATIVE, VERY BALANCED, MIDDLE OF THE ROAD IN TERMS OF RISK.
THE BENCHMARK THAT SHOWS UP ON THIS REPORT HAS A MUCH HIGHER ALLOCATION TO EQUITIES, AND THAT'S WHY YOU'RE SEEING THAT GAP IN PERFORMANCE, UH, OVER THOSE LONGER HOLDING PERIODS.
YOU'LL NOTICE IN THE MORE RECENT COLUMN, UH, THE THREE MONTH PERFORMANCE THERE OF THE PORTFOLIO RELATIVE TO THE BENCHMARK IS MUCH CLOSER.
SO THAT IS A RESULT OF THAT CORRECTION THAT WE KNOW.
UH, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH ALL I HAVE IN TERMS OF THE PERFORMANCE OF THE TRUST OVER THE LAST 12 MONTHS.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS THAT I CAN ADDRESS? THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, MR. DICKEY.
UM, YOU MENTIONED THAT WE'RE NOT DRAWING DOWN ON THE TRUST, WE WANT TO BUILD IT UP.
THAT RATE OF RETURN, THAT SEEMS PRETTY GOOD, BUT I WAS JUST WONDERING, WHAT'S THE PROCESS BY WHICH IT'S DECIDED TO PAY OUT SOME MONEY FOR THE BENEFIT OF EITHER GROW WATER OR WHEAT OR CREDIT PARTS? HOW
[00:45:01]
DOES THAT, HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHAT THE NEEDS ARE WORKING WITH STAFF? UM, TO, UM, AND THAT MIGHT BE A QUESTION FOR THE DIRECTOR, BUT, UH, RACHEL HAS TAKEN THAT, I'LL TURN THAT QUESTION TO RACHEL.SO THIS, THIS TRUST WOULD HAVE THE SAME PROCESS AS WE'RE LOOKING AT THE SAMUEL TRUST.
IT WOULD NOT BE, UM, VOC FINANCIAL ASKING US TO DRAW DOWN.
IT WOULD BE IF THE DEPARTMENT, THE DIRECTOR, THE PARK BOARD IN GENERAL, DECIDES THAT THERE IS A NEED TO DRAW DOWN ON THOSE FUNDS.
THEN THERE WE WOULD SUBMIT THAT DOCUMENTATION OVER TO BANK OF, UM, TEXAS AND THEN HAVE THEM PROVIDE THAT FINANCIAL INFORMATION.
SO THIS IS NOTHING THAT THEY WOULD AUTOMATICALLY DO.
THIS WOULD BE BASED ON PARK BOARD AND PARK USE AND OR NEED.
AM I RIGHT THAT ALL THREE OF THESE PARKS ARE IN COUNCIL DISTRICT TWO, MAR MARTIN, MARTIN WEESE IS ONE.
AND IS THERE ANY, UH, DO YOU, ARE THESE MEMBERS THAT REPRESENT THOSE DISTRICTS OR YOU ALL ASKED, OR IS THERE ANY BACK AND FORTH ABOUT WHAT THE NEEDS MIGHT BE? UM, OUR DESIGN JUST DECIDED THAT WE LET IT GROW UNTIL X POINT.
UH, I MEAN, IN OTHER WORDS, IF LIKE, LET'S SAY THERE'S A NEED FOR A $50,000 BATHROOM RENOVATION OR SOMETHING, UH, DOES THE BOARD MEMBER HAVE, SO LET ME ASK THAT.
SO IN THE PAST WHEN THESE TRUSTS, THE LAST TIME THE TRUST DOCUMENTS WAS UPDATED, I WANNA SAY IT WAS 2012 OR 2015.
UH, YOU KNOW, SO NORMALLY IN THE PAST WE HAVE USED THESE TRUST FUNDS FOR DIFFERENT ONES.
TAKE MARTIN, WE, FOR EXAMPLE, USE IT TO HELP REPLACE FITNESS EQUIPMENT THERE.
UH, SO IF THERE'S A NEED, IT GOES THROUGH THE SAME PROCESS.
ANYTHING OVER $50,000, WE COME TO THE BOARD.
JUST LIKE RACHEL MENTIONED WITH THE SAMUEL TRUST, WE COME TO THE BOARD, BOARD HAS TO PROVE THAT.
IF, IF A, IF A BOARD MEMBER CAME TO AND SAID, HEY, WE HEARD THAT THE COMMUNITY REALLY WANNA UPDATE THE FITNESS CENTER THERE OR, OR SOMETHING, THEN YES, WE WOULD JUST GO THROUGH OUR REGULAR PROCESS.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT THE, UH, TRUST IS USED FOR? LIKE WHAT, WHAT'S THE, UM, QUALIFICATION? LIKE WHAT DO WE IT FOR? IS IT MAINTENANCE? IS IT, UM, IMPROVE, LIKE DEVELOPMENT IMPROVEMENTS? WHAT IS THE YEAH, SO ONCE AGAIN, 'CAUSE I, I'VE BEEN AROUND SINCE WE,
AND THEN THERE WAS THE MARTIN WEISS AND THEN THERE WAS THE CREDIT, WHICH, YOU KNOW, WAS SET UP BECAUSE OF THE, THE, UH, WHAT, UH, WHAT THE, THE TOLL.
AND SO THAT, THAT'S HOW THAT FUNDING CAME FROM.
OF COURSE, THE OTHER ONES WERE DONATIONS FROM PEOPLE'S WHEELS, THE OTHER TWO.
AND SO, UH, SO YEAH, ONCE AGAIN, THEY CAN BE USED FOR ANYTHING BASED ON THOSE WHEELS, FOR ANY TYPE OF BEAUTIFICATION, ANY TYPE OF IMPROVEMENTS FOR REC CENTER OR PARK.
YES, THEY CAN BE USED FOR THOSE PURPOSES.
SO POOLS AND ALL KINDS OF STUFF LIKE THAT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. UH, YES.
UH, SO WHAT IS THE PERCENTAGE PER LIKE THERE'S IT'S THREE, IT'S THREE, IT'S THREE PARTS, RIGHT? OR THREE REC CENTERS, OR THREE PARTS.
DOES, DO WE HAVE A NUMBER THAT IS 25% FOR MARTIN WHITE? IT SHOULD BE IN WHICH 33? 33 AND 33.
IT SHOW YOU THERE'S A, THERE'S IN THIS, UH, IN THIS, IT HAS A BREAKDOWN OF HOW MUCH IS IN EACH FUND.
ANDRE, YOU MAY WANNA WALK THEM OR, YES, NO, THAT IS ON SLIDE 22.
YOU'LL SEE THE, UH, EACH OF THE INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS THAT, THAT, UH, FORM THE TRUST AND THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY HELD IN EACH PARKS, IN EACH PARKS ACCOUNT.
THE LARGEST IS THE CREDIT AT 1.2 MILLION.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS UPON, LEMME GET BACK.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, SIR, FOR COMING.
WE MOVE TO OUR MR. TIM'S FAVORITE TACO FOR THIS MASTER PLAN UPDATE.
[00:50:03]
GOOD MORNING, MR. PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF BOARD, UH, GOOD TO SEE YOU ALL THIS MORNING.UH, TODAY, OF COURSE, WE ARE HERE TO TALK ABOUT TREES AND MORE TREES.
UM, WE ARE HERE TO TALK ABOUT OUR GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AND HOW WE PROTECT IT TO UPDATE YOU ON THE URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN.
AND WE HAVE AN AMAZING TEAM THAT IS ALWAYS COMMITTED TO THIS INITIATIVE.
AND SO I WANNA RECOGNIZE THEM BEFORE, UH, WE GET STARTED WITH THE PRESENTATION.
BRETT JOHNSON WILL BE PRESENTING, BUT I'D LIKE TO HAVE SARAH STANFORD, WOULD YOU PLEASE STAND, PLEASE AND BE RECOGNIZED? UH, SHE IS OF COURSE THE DIRECTOR OF, UH, DALLAS WATER UTILITIES AND PART OF THE EXECUTIVE TEAM THAT MANAGES THIS INITIATIVE.
UH, I WOULD ALSO LIKE FOR THE FORESTRY TECH TEAM IF ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE TECH TEAM WILL STAND AND BE RECOGNIZED.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE AND ALL THAT YOU DO.
UH, WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS INITIATIVE.
WE, WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT THIS COMMITMENT THAT THE CITY HAS MADE AS FAR AS OUR, AS IT RELATES TO OUR GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO I WILL TURN IT OVER TO BRETT JOHNSON AND THEY WILL BE, UH, PROVIDING THE PRESENTATION WITH PRESTON BEFORE WE MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
OH, YOU JUST HAVE TO BE CAREFUL BECAUSE OTHERWISE I WILL BLOW PEOPLE OUT.
UH, AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR, FOR PARK BOARD MEMBERS THAT ARE HERE AND, AND THE, UH, VARIOUS MEMBERS OF THE URBAN FOREST TASK FORCE THAT ARE HERE.
UH, TODAY WE ARE GONNA GO OVER A BRIEF, UH, BACKGROUND AND HISTORY PURPOSE AND UPDATE SPECIFIC PARKS ON THE URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN.
AND WE WILL BE DISCUSSING THE NEXT STEPS.
JUST A GENERAL REMINDER THAT, UH, THE PARKS DEPARTMENT DOES HAVE, UH, RIGHT AROUND 6,000 ACRES OF UNDEVELOPED, UH, FOREST LANDS THAT ARE ON PARK PROPERTIES.
THAT IS IN ADDITION TO THE MAIN, UH, TREES THAT ARE IN OUR MAINTAINED AREAS ON 400 PLUS PROVINCE.
SOME IMPORTANT DATES, I WANT Y'ALL TO REMEMBER, IN MAY OF 2020, CITY COUNCIL PASSED THE COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL CLIMATE ACTION PLAN.
AND THEN IN 2021, UH, THEY ALSO PASSED THE URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN.
MORE RECENTLY, CITY COUNCIL APPROVED THE PUBLIC TREE INVENTORY CONTRACT ON SEPTEMBER 11TH, 2024.
ADDITIONALLY, ON DECEMBER 11TH, 2024, THEY APPROVED THE ALTERNATIVE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PLAN.
AND I WANNA TAKE JUST A BRIEF SECOND TO STEP BACKWARDS TO 2022.
THAT WAS ALSO IN MAY OF 2022, IS WHEN WE CONFIRMED THAT WE HAD EMERALD DASH FOUR IN DALLAS.
SO THE PURPOSE OF THIS, UH, BRIEFING TODAY IS TO UPDATE ON THE PROGRESS OF THE URBAN FOREST MASTER PLANET AS IT PERTAINS TO THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AND PROVIDE, UH, UPDATES ON KEY ACTIVITIES THAT HAVE OCCURRED SINCE THE MAY 24, UH, BRIEFING UPDATE.
OVERALL, WHETHER IT'S THE DEPARTMENT OR THE CITYWIDE PLAN, THE GOAL OF THE URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN IS TO CREATE HEALTHY ACTABLE AND RESILIENT URBAN FOREST TO, TO PROTECT AND GROW OUR TREE CANOPY.
AND REALLY PUSHING FORWARD ON THE OBJECTIVE SET IN THE CA PLAN TO INCREASE OUR OVERALL CANOPY FROM 32% TO ROUGHLY 37% BY 2040.
AT THAT POINT IN TIME, THAT CALLED FOR US ACROSS THE CITY TO PLANT 350,000 TREES.
AND TO DO SO, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY.
BUT WHERE DO WE STAND TODAY ON ACTIVITIES THAT HAVE OCCURRED SINCE MAY OF 24? WELL, WE HAVE INITIATED THE COMPREHENSIVE TREE PLANT THAT WAS SO CRITICAL TO, TO INITIATING THE OVERALL URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN.
THE INVENTORY STARTED WITH, UH, DALLAS WATER UTILITIES USING TRADITIONAL METHODS.
UH, AND TODAY THEY'RE AT OVER 80,000 TREES, THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, UH, AND STREET DEPARTMENT USING A SMART INVENTORY SYSTEM.
WE'LL GET IN A LITTLE MORE DETAIL IN A SECOND THAT LITERALLY INITIATED YESTERDAY.
WE ARE STRENGTHENING OUR EXISTING, UH, RELATIONSHIPS AND PARTNERSHIPS.
LAST MONTH WE OFFICIALLY BROUGHT THE TEXAS TREES FOUNDATION INTO A FORMAL, UH, MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.
WE ARE WORKING ACTIVELY TO CREATE A AND IMPLEMENT A MANAGEMENT PLAN THAT LOOKS AT MONITORS, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS ON OUR URBAN FOREST PROPERTIES, WHETHER THAT'S
[00:55:01]
FERAL PIGS, WHETHER THAT'S EMERALD D OR WHETHER THAT'S AN INCREASING, UH, WILDFIRE POTENTIAL.AND ALSO LOOKING AT WHERE DO WE STAND ON A COMPREHENSIVE STORM CLEANUP.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, ENHANCING AND DEVELOPING PROGRAMS THAT ENCOURAGE SUPPORT AND ACTIVE PARTICIPATION BY OUR RESIDENTS AND OUR VOLUNTEERS.
TO DATE, WE'VE PLANTED OVER 600 TREES ON THE PARKS, AND AS OF TOMORROW, WE WILL BE PUTTING IN ANOTHER 60 OR ANOTHER 50 TREES TO BRING US TO OVER 650.
AND THAT WILL WRAP UP OUR PLANTING SEASON FOR 24 25.
GETTING A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DEPTH INTO THOSE FOUR STANDARDS THAT WE ARE SPECIFIC TO THIS YEAR IS, UH, COMPLETING A COMPREHENSIVE TREE INVENTORY.
NOW PLEASE UNDERSTAND THIS WILL TAKE SEVERAL YEARS TO GET TREE INVENTORY COMPLETED, BUT YES, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED KEY STAFF THAT ARE WORKING ON MANAGING, UH, THIS PROJECT.
UH, WE ARE WORKING THE, UH, WORK PLAN THAT I'LL GET WARNED TO HERE IN JUST A SECOND.
BUT MOVING FORWARD, WE ARE MAKING SURE WE, UH, SECURE OUR FUNDING AS WE MOVE INTO 26 27 AND BEING PREPARED, UH, TO IMPLEMENT A, UH, RE REGULAR UPDATES TO THE INVENTORY THAT IS BEING DONE THROUGH THE TREE KEEPER SOFTWARE.
UH, THAT THAT INFORMATION IS ALREADY BEING ACTIVELY, UH, PLACED INTO TREE KEEPER, THAT WE HAVE A PUBLIC FACING SIDE.
PEOPLE GET IN THERE LOOKING AT.
I WILL HAVE TO JUST REMIND EVERYBODY FOR THE PARKS INVENTORY BECAUSE THERE IS SO MUCH DATA THAT'LL COME OUT.
UH, IT WILL TAKE THEM UNTIL SEPTEMBER OR NOVEMBER TO GET THAT DATA CLEANED UP, BUT THAT AS SOON AS IT IS AVAILABLE, IT WILL BE ONLINE.
I NEED EVERYBODY TO UNDERSTAND AT THIS POINT IN TIME, ALL OF THE INVENTORY HAS BEEN COVERED UNDER THE USDA, UH, FOREST SERVICE, UH, GRANT THAT WE RECEIVED A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.
THIS IS ALL RELATED SPECIFICALLY TO URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN RECOMMENDATION NUMBER ONE.
SO SPECIFIC TO PARKS STARTING YESTERDAY, WE HAD A, A LIDAR, UH, INVENTORY THAT GOT STARTED, OR A SMART INVENTORY.
THIS WILL ALLOW US TO, UH, ACCURATELY MAP OUT THE EXACT LOCATION OF THESE TREES.
IT'LL ALSO TELL US WHAT THE CONDITION OF THESE TREES ARE.
THIS WILL PROVIDE MUCH BETTER PLANNING IN THE FUTURE AS WE LOOK AT STUFF LIKE FLOODING ISSUES, FIRE ISSUES, LOOKING AT FUTURE PESTS.
IT'S NOT JUST EMERALD DASHBOARD THAT'S OUT THERE.
WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO PLAN FOR THAT.
UM, AS WE MOVE THROUGH, JUST SO Y'ALL ARE AWARE, THEY WILL BE DOING DOWNTOWN, THEN THEY'LL BE MOVING TO WHITE ROCK BACHMAN EAST, AND THEN STARTING ON THIS YEAR, THEY'LL BE STARTING ON OUR CENTENNIAL PARKS WHERE WE HAVE OUR OLDEST TREES IN THE PARKS SO WE CAN START PLANNING FOR REPLACEMENTS.
AS WE START TO BUILD OUR PARTNERSHIPS AND STRENGTHEN OUR RELATIONSHIPS, WE ALREADY HAVE A PRETTY GOOD FEEL FOR THE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE OUT THERE, BUT WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR NEW ONES.
BUT AS WE MOVE FORWARD, THE NEXT BIG OBJECTIVE THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT IN 2026 IS WE ARE LOOKING AT HOSTING THE DALLAS TREE SUMMIT.
THERE'LL BE A LOT OF PLANNING THAT GOES INTO THAT, UM, BUT I JUST WON'T PUT YOU ALL WHERE THAT IS ONE OF THE URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN OBJECTIVES THAT WE ARE PLANNING THIS YEAR.
AND MOVING FORWARD, WE'LL BE USING THAT SUMMIT TO HELP REACTIVATE OR ENCOURAGE MORE PARTNERS.
BUT IN, IN THE END, JUST REMEMBER THIS YEAR WE DID SIGN ON, UH, GET TEXAS TREES FOUNDATION INTO A FORMAL MOU RULES.
THIS IS SPECIFIC TO URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN RECOMMENDATION NUMBER FOUR.
THE NEXT OBJECTIVE WE, WE WERE WORKING ON WAS THE CREATION OF AN IMPLEMENTATION OF A MANAGEMENT PLAN TO MONITOR AND ADDRESS ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS TO THE URBAN, UH, URBAN FOREST AREAS AND WITHIN OUR PARKS.
MOST OF THESE ARE GONNA ALWAYS BE ONGOING IN SOME CAPACITY, BUT WE'LL BE USING INFORMATION FROM THE INVENTORY TO HELP US MAKE EVEN BETTER PLANS.
FOR EXAMPLE, UH, WE ARE LOOKING AT, UH, THE RAW DATA COMING IN FROM FOR DW ALREADY ON THEIR FLOODWAY MANAGEMENT AREAS.
WE ALREADY KNOW WE'RE LOOKING AT APPROXIMATELY 21% OF THAT CANOPY IS ASH.
UPDATE MORE ON THAT HERE IN JUST A SECOND.
WE'RE STILL WORKING ON GETTING THE, UH, PLAN IN PLACE ON HOW THAT WILL IMPACT OUR OVERALL HEALTH OF OUR TREES.
BUT OUR NEXT STEP HERE IS TO, UH, AND THIS IS WILL BE A BIG ONE FOR US, STAFF HAS ALREADY HELD TO TRAINING OR TWO, UH, PLANNING SESSIONS ON LOOKING AT UPDATING THE 2021 COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN.
EAB WILL HAVE A BIG IMPACT ON THAT.
IT'LL ALSO HAVE A BIG IMPACT ON THE STORMER
[01:00:01]
THAT WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF REVIEWING.THIS IS ALL SPECIFIC TO URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN RECOMMENDATION NUMBER NINE.
A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DEPTH INTO WHERE WE'RE GOING, UH, WITH OUR PROTECTION ON, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS WITHIN THE PARK SYSTEM.
THE FIRST BIG ONE,
I'M GONNA KEEP THIS THIS YEAR.
UH, CITY STAFF HAVE APPROXIMATELY 20, UH, EAB DETECTION TRAPS OUT AROUND THE CITY.
UM, BETWEEN LAST YEAR AND THIS YEAR.
LAST YEAR, WE DETERMINED WE, UH, DETECTED, UH, EAB ON EIGHT TRAPS AROUND THE CITY.
TO DATE THIS YEAR, WE HAVE ALREADY ADDED FIVE ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY, INCLUDING TWO, JUST YESTERDAY.
UM, YEAH, THAT, UH, PRESTON IS ACTUALLY GONNA, IS PASSING AROUND.
JUST SO Y'ALL CAN SEE THESE, THESE WERE SOME MINE ASH BOARDS THAT WERE ACTUALLY COLLECTED.
YEAH, SO THEY'RE ACTUALLY CUTE.
SO, UH, TODAY OVER 200 SIGNIFICANT ASH TREES HAVE BEEN TREATED.
UH, WE ARE STILL TAGGING MORE AS WE IDENTIFY CLUSTERS OF WHERE IT WILL, IF ASH TREES DISAPPEAR TOMORROW, YES, WE WOULD NOTICE A BIG DIFFERENCE.
WE ARE WORKING ON TRYING TO GET THOSE TREES, UM, TREATED.
I KNOW IT SAID SEVEN ON THERE.
LIKE I SAID, IT IS TRULY EIGHT.
IN ADDITION TO THE EMAL ASH FOUR, WE ARE CONTINUING WITH OUR APPAREL HOG TRAPPING TO DATE.
UM, WE'RE ABOUT NINE YEARS INTO THE PROGRAM AND WE'VE REDUCED THE DAMAGE TO THE POINT.
AND WHEN SOMEONE REPORTS, UH, FERAL HOGS BEING SEEN IN THE AREA, WE'LL, WE WORK BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS TO FIGURE OUT WHERE WE CAN TRACK THAT AREA.
BUT THE BIG FUN ONE I KNOW Y'ALL HAVE BEEN WAITING ON LAST MONTH, WE WERE ABLE TO INITIATE THE ALTERNATIVE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PLAN, BETTER KNOWN AS, UH, GOATS AND SHEEP.
YEAH, THE, UH, GOAT GATE, THE CONTRACT WAS EXECUTED AND UH, LAST MONTH WE HAD, UH, GOATS ON THE GROUND AT THE BOTTOM GREEN BELT.
MUST, AND REALLY, I JUST, HERE, I JUST WANNA TO HIGHLIGHT THE CONSERVATION AND ACTION THAT WAS OCCURRING HERE.
UH, THE GOATS WERE ABLE TO GO IN AND THEY WERE ABLE TO THIN OUT THE UNDERSTORY ON APPROXIMATELY 16.2 ACRES.
AND WHAT THAT DID IS IT SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED OUR FIRE RISK THAT'S OVER THERE.
BUT THE BIG ONE IS IT SIGNIFICANTLY CREATES OUR VISIBILITY.
YOU CAN WALK THROUGH THE TRAILS RIGHT THROUGH THERE RIGHT NOW, AND YOU CAN SEE GOING AROUND THE BENCH, YOU CAN SEE A GOOD 50 FEET OFF THE TRAIL NOW.
BUT THE BIG ONE FOR US IS UNDERSTANDING TOO.
WE ARE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE FOLLOW UP TREATMENTS THAT WE'VE ALREADY GOT THOSE ON THE BOOK AND BEING PLANNED.
SO, BUT WHAT'LL MAKE OUR, IT'LL MAKE IT EASIER ON OUR STAFF, VOLUNTEERS DEAL TO GO IN THERE AND REMOVE THAT PRIVILEGE.
TO THAT END, ALSO, I WANT Y'ALL TO UNDERSTAND IN THE LAST YEAR WE HAVE HAD 12 MAJOR VOLUNTEER PROJECTS THAT HAVE REMOVED THREE ACRES OF PRITT.
I KNOW THAT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE MUCH.
WE UNDERSTAND AN AVERAGE SCOUT TROOP COMES OUT AND WORKS ON PRITT, CAN REMOVE ABOUT 0.2 ACRES IN FOUR HOURS.
IT IS VERY LABOR INTENSIVE FOR THEM TO DO THAT.
AT THE SAME TIME, OUR STAFF HAVE CONDUCTED FIVE MAJOR PROJECTS AROUND THE CITY THAT HAVE REMOVED 33 ACRES.
SO WHEN WE START TALKING ABOUT THAT 16.2 OR 16.3 ACRES THAT THE GOATS DID AND HELP DENT OUT SO THEY CAN GET IN THERE FASTER, THAT'S SIGNIFICANT.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, ENHANCING AND DEVELOPING PROGRAMS TO ENCOURAGE ACTIVE PARTICIPATION BY THE RESIDENTS AND VOLUNTEERS, UH, IN PLANNING AND CARE OF OUR URBAN FORESTS.
WE DO THAT THROUGH OUR BRANCHING OUT PROGRAM AND WE'VE GOT A VARIETY OF OTHER, UH, PROGRAMS WITH DW AND STREETS THAT WE ASSIST WITH.
JUMPING DOWN, I WANT EVERYBODY TO UNDERSTAND THE NEXT STEPS TO THIS IS SCHEDULING THESE FOLLOW UP ASSESSMENTS SO WE CAN FIGURE OUT HOW CAN WE MAKE THESE PROGRAMS BETTER.
AND ON THAT FRONT, THIS IS WHERE WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THAT AT THE END OF THE MONTH, UM, DWU AND PARKS WILL BE HELPING HOST THE, UH, CITY OF DIALYSIS ARBORIST TOOL SO WE CAN GET MORE OF OUR STAFF TRAINED, MORE OF OUR VOLUNTEERS, UH, TRAINED SO THAT WE WILL HAVE MORE ARBORISTS ON THE GROUND.
YEAH, YEAH, THAT'S THE BIG ONE.
AND, AND THE THING WE ARE PROUDEST OF AT THE MOMENT, PRESTON, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BASICALLY ALL THE INSTRUCTORS ARE GONNA BE BASED OUR OHIO CITY OF DALLAS,
[01:05:02]
SO WE'VE GOT OUR BRANCHING OUT EVENT.WE SUCCESSFULLY PULLED OFF 12 EVENTS THIS YEAR.
WE'VE GOT, UH, 600 TREES ACTIVELY IN THE GROUND RIGHT NOW.
AND BY THE END OF, UH, TOMORROW WE'LL HAVE 650 TREES IN THERE.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, I WANNA MENTION THE PARTNERSHIPS WE HAVE WITH THE NON-PROFITS, UH, GREEN SPACE AND THE TEXAS TREES FOUNDATION.
WE COULDN'T, UH, PULL OFF A LOT OF OUR PROJECTS WITHOUT THE ASSISTANCE OF THOSE TWO ORGANIZATIONS.
SO AS WE MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, SO AS WE MOVE ON LOOKING AT OUR NEXT STEPS, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE COMPLETE THE TREE INVENTORY.
AND LIKE I SAID, PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT WILL TAKE, UH, SEVERAL YEARS TO COMPLETE IT.
BUT AS WE ARE ON PACE THIS YEAR, THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, UH, WILL HAVE 18,500 TREES IN THE INVENTORY BY SEPTEMBER, NOVEMBER.
THAT WILL HELP US SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE OUR PLANNING STRATEGIES ON THE PARK PROPERTIES, AND THEN WORKING IN CONDUCT CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS LIKE DWS ON HOW DO WE TAKE, UH, OUR NEXT STEPS ON OUR COMMUNITY.
WILDFIRE ACTION, UH, PROTECTION PLAN, THE STORM PLAN, AND REALLY ALSO OUR TREE REPLACEMENT, UH, PLAN FOR PLANTINGS.
WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO, TO, UH, MONITOR FOR, UH, EMERALD DASHBOARD AND TREAT SIGNIFICANT ASH TREES.
AND IN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, WE MAY HAVE TO ALSO START EVALUATING, UH, PROACTIVELY STARTING TO REMOVE ASH TREES THAT PRESENT A RISK.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO EXPAND TO ALL PROGRAMS SPOKE, FOCUSING ON OUR HISTORIC AND UNDERSERVED AREAS, AND CONTINUE MARKETING AND PROVIDING PUBLIC OUTREACH AND STAFF TRAINING.
THAT IS THE MAIN POINTS I HAVE FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
THE REMAINING SLIDES ARE, UH, A SERIES OF, UH, LOOKING AT THE ALL 14 OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS UNDER THE URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN THAT YOU SEE WHERE THE GENERAL STATUS, UH, WE ARE MAKING GOOD HEADWAY ON ALL OF THOSE.
UH, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT BASICALLY EVERYTHING THAT IS IN THE ONE TO FIVE YEAR CATEGORY WE HAVE COMPLETED AND EVERYTHING FROM IN THE FIVE TO SIX YEAR CATEGORY, WE'VE AT LEAST STARTED ON OR MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS.
APPRECIATE YOUR TIME ON MR. SLAUGHTER.
IT'S ONE THING TO SAY SOMETHING.
I MEAN, THIS IS WHY I'M SO PRO STAFF, EVERYONE THAT COMES UP AND GIVES A BRIEF, NOT ONLY YOUR INFORMATIVE, YOU REMIND ME OF MY HIGH SCHOOL CHEMISTRY TEACHER, MR. TO, YOU KNOW, YOU GET UP THERE AND YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THIS, BUT WHEN YOU'RE TALKING, UH, YOU DEMAND ATTENTION.
WE DON'T THANK YOU PEOPLE ENOUGH.
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU GET TWO DEPARTMENTS THAT'S CORROBORATING TOGETHER, LIKE DALLAS
SO, UH, BUT SHE SAYS WHAT SHE MEANS AND SHE MEANS WHAT SHE SAYS AND SHE BOOTS ON THE GROUND.
SHE DON'T ASK HER STAFF TO DO ANYTHING THAT SHE WOULDN'T DO.
SO LIKE WHAT WE HAVE HERE AT THE RE AND WHAT WE HAVE AROUND THE CITY, AND WE ALL LOVE TREES, YOU KNOW, ICKY IS, YOU KNOW, I COTTAGE IT ROOM MATE BEAT ME OVER THE BRIAR BY OUR TREES AND EVERYTHING LIKE THAT.
SO I JUST WANNA TELL YOU, THANK YOU.
THIS IS INFORMATIVE AND THIS IS WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS SUPPORT AND YOU MAKE THINGS HAPPEN.
SO BLESS YOU AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UM, ONE THING THAT I THINK WE NEED TO DO A LITTLE BIT BETTER, LIKE YOU HAVE SO MUCH KNOWLEDGE, BUT ONE THING THAT I THINK WE NEED TO DO, BECAUSE THE ASH FOUR IS I DON'T THINK THE GENERAL PUBLIC UNDERSTANDS WHAT SIGNIFICANCE IS GONNA HAPPEN WHEN ALL OF THE ASHFORD DIE AND THAT CANOPY IS GONE AND THE TEMPERATURE STILL HIGHER IN THE CITY.
UM, I THINK THAT EDUCATING, YOU KNOW, THE GENERAL PUBLIC SO THAT IT'S NOT JUST ON YOU, BUT THE CITY AS A WHOLE IS SHARING THE IMPORTANCE OF, YOU KNOW, KNOWING WHAT, WHEN THE ASH GONNA DIE, HAVING A PLAN IN PLACE AND, YOU KNOW, INVESTING IN THAT NOW.
'CAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF CRITICISMS, UM, DURING THE CAMPAIGN CYCLE THAT WAS ALL OF THIS MONEY.
THE COUNCIL SPEND ALL OF THIS MONEY ON A TREE INVENTORY.
WELL, THAT WAS OVER FIVE OR SIX YEARS AND YOU KNOW, BUT THE IMPORTANCE OF IT, I DON'T THINK THAT GENERAL PUBLIC UNDERSTANDS.
SO I THINK THAT, I DON'T KNOW HOW WE DO THAT, BUT WITH YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND ALL OF THAT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE COME UP WITH THE, THE, THE TECHNICAL TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING ON THAT, UH, SINCE POINT.
WE'VE GOT A LOT OF THE EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL THAT'S OUT THERE.
BUT NOW THAT WE HAVE HIT YEAR, WE ARE AT YEAR THREE, YEAH.
WE ARE GONNA START SEEING A RAPID EXPANSION AND WE ARE PROBABLY ABOUT TWO TO THREE YEARS OUT WHERE WE WILL START SEEING MORE LARGE SCALE DIE OFFS.
WE WILL HAVE TO REDOUBLE ON OUR EDUCATIONAL NEEDS, BUT MAYBE GETTING INTO THE MEDIA AND, YOU KNOW, LIKE HAVING ACTUAL LIKE NEWS ARTICLES ABOUT HEY, THIS IS WHAT IT'S GONNA DO,
[01:10:01]
YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE AN AS STREET, SO MAKE PEOPLE LOOK IN THEIR BACKYARDS AND YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE THIS IN YOUR BACKYARD, YOU WANNA REPLACE IT WITH ANOTHER TREE.NOW WE'RE THE PROCESS OF CREATING AND SERVICE PROCESS.
SO OWNERS CAN REQUEST IDENTIFICATION.
AND THEN IF IT IS, WILL WE REMOVE IT FOR THEM? WE'RE EXPLORING POSSIBILITIES FOR REMOVAL, REQUEST OF PROGRAMS SPECIFIC PRIVATE PROBLEM.
BUT ON THAT SAME FRONT, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT PRESTON AND I HAVE BEEN ALSO WORKING ON WITH DETECTIVE TEAM IS AS AN OUTREACH SHEPHERD IS TRYING TO ESTABLISH KIND OF A COUPLE TIMES A YEAR HAVE A, A TREE HEALTH WORKSHOP.
YOU, THE KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU GUYS HAVE IS VERY TECHNICAL.
SO IT, IT'S ALWAYS ABOVE MY HEAD, BUT I APPRECIATE THE KNOWLEDGE AND YOU KNOW, BUT BROADCASTING AND, YOU KNOW, GETTING THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
'CAUSE WHEN I WENT HOME TO WISCONSIN, MY MOM IS TALKING ABOUT ASHMORE.
I'M LIKE, WHAT? HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT? SO I MEAN IT'S, YOU KNOW, INFORMATION THAT NEEDS TO BE, AND, AND, AND TO YOUR POINT TOO, THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO US.
'CAUSE LIKE I SAID, THE PRELIMINARY DATA IS SHOWING THAT AS IT STANDS IN OUR NATURAL AREAS, OUR CANOPY IS PROBABLY HIGHER THAN 20%, WHICH DOES ENCOURAGE FAIRLY RAPID SPREAD.
AND SO WE WILL SEE THE IMPACT FAIRLY QUICKLY.
UM, I, WELL I, THOSE OF YOU WHO DUNNO, I HAVE SUCH A SOFT SPOT, THE WORK THAT YOU DO, UH, WITH A 15 YEAR HISTORY AND, AND URBAN FORESTRY.
I HAVE PLANTED TREES WITH PRESTON ALL OVER DALLAS AND, AND OTHER PLACES.
AND I JUST WANT TO, YOU KNOW, COMMEND YOU.
AND ALSO THANK YOU FOR NOT ONLY FILLING THE ROLES THAT YOU DO, BUT FOR DOING IT WITH SUCH PASSION AND INTEGRITY AND AUTHENTICITY.
I'VE, I'VE MET WITH YOU WITH, UM, COMMUNITY LEADERS AND, YOU KNOW, DISCUSSING CERTAIN ISSUES, UM, AND ALSO JUST KNOW YOU PERSONALLY.
AND I JUST REALLY APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE AND, AND DOING THE WORK THAT YOU DO.
UM, AND ALSO JUST, YOU KNOW, WITH REGARD TO THE URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN AND THE USE OF THE, THE LIDAR TECHNOLOGY, I MEAN, THAT REALLY IS CUTTING EDGE.
I WAS AT THE WORLD FORUM IN URBAN FOREST WHEN THEY WERE, I MEAN, THIS WAS NOT EVEN TWO YEARS AGO.
AND THEY WERE JUST RELEASING THE CONCEPT OF THIS BEING AVAILABLE.
UH, I, I WOULD BE SURPRISED IF IT HAS BEEN DEPLOYED AT THE SCALE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.
UH, WHEN WE WERE IN DISCUSSIONS WITH DAVEY, WHO WAS THE CONTRACTOR ON IT, UH, THE BASIC GIST OF IT CAME DOWN THAT BETWEEN THEIR TRADITIONAL SURVEY AND THE SUBCONTRACTED, UH, SMART TECH OR THE LIDAR SURVEY, IT WILL END UP BEING ONE OF THE LARGEST TREE SURVEYS EVER DONE.
AND, AND I LOVE THAT BECAUSE THAT MAKES US THE INDUSTRY STANDARD WHEN IT COMES TO THIS TECHNOLOGY BEING DEPLOYED IN OTHER PLACES OR THE CONSIDERATION THAT MEANS DALLAS WILL BE A CASE STUDY, UM, WORLDWIDE FOR THE USAGE OF THIS TECHNOLOGY, WHICH IS AWESOME.
UH, JUST A QUESTION ABOUT THE USD FOREST SERVICE BRAND.
YOU HAD, YOU HAD MENTIONED, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT THOSE FUNDS BEING RECEIVED A COUPLE YEARS AGO.
ARE, ARE THE FUNDS RECEIVED OR WAS THE GRANT AWARDED? AND IS THERE ANY CONCERN ABOUT THAT GRANT BEING PULLED? UM, AS SO MANY
UH, SARAH, WOULD YOU MIND ADDRESSING THAT READING? I'LL COME UP THERE.
IRA FORESTRY FUNDING EVAPORATE.
SO I'M JUST CON CURIOUS IF THERE'S ANY CONCERN OF ABOUT, UH, SO SARAH STAND FOR DALLAS WATER UTILITIES AT THE USDA GRANT THAT WAS RECEIVED AS A REIMBURSABLE GRANT.
TO YOUR QUESTION, IT'S NOT FULLHAM, BUT IS REIMBURSABLE.
WE HAVE THE ACCOUNTABILITY PIECE TO IT AND WE CAN GO A LITTLE BIT FASTER.
SO WITH EVERY INVOICE THAT WE PAY, WE ARE IMMEDIATELY TURNING IT OVER TO GET THAT REIMBURSEMENT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
AT THIS TIME, THESE FUNDS ARE NOT IN JEOPARDY.
THESE FUNDS DID NOT HAVE ANY LANGUAGE TIED TO THEM.
UM, THAT IS VERY POPULAR IN PULLING OF FUNDS RIGHT NOW.
AND SO THIS IS REALLY ABOUT A GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE ASSESSMENT AND IT'S A TOOL FOR MANAGEMENT.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, ABSENT OF THAT, AND WE'VE PUSHED THIS TEAM, QUITE FRANKLY, UM, AND DAVEY TO GO AS FAST AS THEY POSSIBLY CAN BECAUSE WE DO KNOW THE LONGER THAT IT BELONG, SO THE MORE AT RISK THOSE ARE.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE PUSHING AS FAST AS WE CAN.
UM, WHICH IS WHY YOU'LL SEE MORE DATA COME ONLINE LATER, BUT ALL OF THE WORK WILL GET DONE A LOT FASTER.
THAT, THAT, THAT IS RELIEVING TO HEAR
SO I'VE SEEN A LOT OF, UH, TRAGEDY AND DAMAGE IN THAT SECTOR, UH, OF LATE.
AND THEN THIS, THE LAST THING, THIS IS GENERAL COMMENT ABOUT THE, UH, THE ARBORIST SCHOOL.
SO IS IS THAT, THAT'S ACTUALLY WITH AN EYE ON CERTIFICATION LIKE CREATING CERTIFIED ARBORISTS, SO YOU'RE SAYING THAT'S FREE AND OPEN PUBLIC, IS THAT CORRECT? AND THAT THE, THE GOAL CHECK REGISTRATION FREE, BUT IT SHOULD BE
WELL, I, I WILL MAKE A SOFT COMMITMENT TO ALSO HAVING A CERTIFIED ARBORIST ON THE BOARD
[01:15:01]
HERE FOR THAT.'CAUSE I HAVE BEEN WANTING AND MEETING TO DO THAT, AND I THINK I'VE GOTTEN MOST OF THE KNOWLEDGE ON HAND ALREADY TO, TO PASS THROUGH.
SO TIME PERMITTING, UM, I WOULD LOVE MORE INFORMATION ON THAT ARBORIST SCHOOL AND, AND WOULD HOPE TO JOIN YOU FOR IT.
SO, AND THAT, AND THAT'S GONNA HA THAT'S, AND AND, AND IN, IN ADDITION TO THAT, UM, IF Y'ALL REMEMBER CHRIS MCMASTER? YEAH.
HE AND I ARE ALSO, UH, UH, DOING THE ARBORIST SCHOOL FOR THE SOUTHWEST PARKS TRAINING INSTITUTE, UH, NEXT FEBRUARY.
SO WE WILL BE HAVING A REGIONAL IMPACT ON THAT.
UH, MR.
TEXAS TREES HAS, HAS BEEN REAL SUPPORTIVE OF THE GREEN JOBS PROGRAM.
ARE THEY INVOLVED IN ARBOR SCHOOL AS WELL? UH, IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, THIS, THIS IS JUST, THIS IS A INITIAL EFFORT TO TRY TO INCREASE, UH, THE NUMBER OF ARBOR WITHIN CITY STAFF, BUT ALSO A LOT OF THE VOLUNTEERS THAT WE'RE ALREADY CURRENTLY WORKING WITH TO GET THEM A LOT OF THAT SAME TRAINING, UH, AND FUTURE EFFORTS, ESPECIALLY LIKE WITH THE TREE SUMMIT SL BE MORE INVOLVED WITH THAT.
IT WAS, UH, IT WAS NICE TO SEE MY COLLEAGUE AND MY UNCLE, MY UNCLE BO ACROSS THE TABLE OVER THERE.
I THOUGHT HE HAD SOME VERY SUPPORTIVE AND ENCOURAGING WORDS.
AND TO SEE THAT FOLLOWED BY MR. WOOD AND MR. MCGANN, UM, I, I WANNA JOIN THEM BECAUSE IT, IT SHOWS THAT YOU HAVE A LOT OF SUPPORT FROM THIS BOARD AND FROM THIS DEPARTMENT IN DOING WHAT YOU DO.
I ALSO WANT TO ECHO ON WHAT MR. WOODS SAID.
I I ALSO THINK THAT MOST OF OUR RESIDENTS IN DALLAS HAVE SORT OF, KIND OF SCRUTINIZED THAT TREE INVENTORY.
THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S WORKING TOWARDS.
PERHAPS AS WE WORK BACKWARDS FROM A SOLUTION FROM THE EMERALD APP STORE AND OTHER THINGS THAT TREE INVENTORY IS GONNA SUPPORT, I THINK WE COULD ALL BENEFIT FROM UNDERSTANDINGS WHAT THAT TREE INVENTORY IS GONNA GO TOWARDS.
IT'S NOT JUST THE EAB CRISIS AND IT IS A CRISIS BECAUSE WE'RE IN YEAR THREE AND YOU TOLD ME THE, THE, THE LIFELINE, UH, YOU KNOW, YEAR SIX AND 10, IT COULD BE A DEVASTATING IMPACT TO OUR CITY.
I THINK MOST OF OUR PEOPLE IN DALLAS DON'T KNOW THAT.
IF THERE'S SIMULATIONS, IF THERE'S OTHER DATA, IF THERE'S GRAPHICS THAT COULD SHOW IF WE DO NOTHING, LIKE IF WE DIDN'T PASS THIS TREE INVENTORY THAT WE ALL SUPPORTED LAST YEAR OR THE YEAR BEFORE, I CAN'T REMEMBER.
AND THEN CITY COUNCIL ULTIMATELY APPROVED.
IF WE DIDN'T DO THAT, IF WE DO NOTHING, IF WE JUST GO AND COUNT TREES OURSELVES AND DO THIS HOKEY POKEY WAY, THIS IS WHAT COULD HAPPEN IN THREE TO SIX YEARS FROM NOW, WHICH WOULD BE YEAR SIX TO 10.
IF THERE'S A WAY TO INFORM THE PUBLIC TO LET THEM KNOW THAT WE'RE DOING THE RIGHT THING, WE'VE DONE THE RIGHT THING BECAUSE WE CARE ABOUT THIS CITY.
YESTERDAY AT CITY COUNCIL, WE HAVE FOLKS TALKING ABOUT PROTECTING A PARK IN DISTRICT SIX OR PUTTING A BATCH PLAN.
EVERYONE TALKED ABOUT TREES THOUGH.
THAT WAS A FUNDAMENTAL THING THAT THEY HAD IN COMMON.
THEY ALL TALKED ABOUT MORE TREES.
BUT WHAT ARE WE DOING TO PROTECT OUR TREES? IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE CAN PUT TOGETHER WITH THE MARKETING TEAM, THIS DEPARTMENT, WE SHOULD BE TAKING THAT FORWARD INTO THE COMMUNITY.
SO THEY ALSO GET BEHIND US AS MUCH AS THIS BOARD IS BEHIND US.
THANK YOU MR. GOOD EVENING, VICKI.
UH, I'D LIKE TO WEIGH IN, UH, TESTIMONY NUMBER FIVE.
COLLEGE ROOMMATE, MR. SLAUGHTER, MR. KAMI, MR. WOOD, AND MR. MCGANN ON THE KUDOS FOR YOU, MR. JOHNSON.
UM, YOUR PASSION AND CHARISMA AND UNBELIEVABLE DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE OF THINGS.
A TO Z FROM GOATS TO FERAL HOGS TO PLANTS, TO TREES.
I HOPE THAT OUR SENIOR STAFF DOES WHATEVER THEY CAN TO KEEP YOU HERE UNTIL YOU DECIDE TO RETIRE SOMEDAY.
AND DON'T GET STOLEN AWAY BY ANOTHER CITY OR ANYTHING.
I JUST WANNA SAY YOU'RE, YOU'RE GREATLY APPRECIATED.
UM, AND I HAVE A QUESTION ON THE, UH, FORESTRY TREE SCHOOL.
UM, ARE WE DOING ANYTHING WITH THE, UH, FOR CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT IN THE DALLAS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT? UH, THERE MAY BE SOME REASONS FOR INSURANCE OR PEOPLE HAVE TO BE 18 OR WHATEVER.
I DON'T KNOW ABOUT, BUT I KNOW THAT, UH, THAT'S A REALLY, UH, GREAT POTENTIAL THERE TO GET KIDS INTERESTED AND AWARE ON CAREER PATHS BECAUSE, UH, NOT EVERYBODY'S GOING TO COLLEGE THESE DAYS AND, UM, JUST SEE THESE YOUNG PEOPLE.
SO IT, I I JUST WONDER IF, IF YOU'VE EVER THOUGHT OF THAT OR IF WE ALREADY MAY HAVE SOMETHING GOING WITH THEM.
IT, IT, IT CERTAINLY, WHAT'S UP SOME
UH, MR. DICKEY, WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT A UPCOMING, UH, MEETING THAT WE HAVE, UH, WITH A LOCAL, UH, COLLEGE.
UM, AND SO, UH, WE HAD A DISCUSSION, UH, I WON'T NAME IT AT
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THIS TIME 'CAUSE IT'S SO PRELIMINARY, BUT WE'RE IN DISCUSSION AND WE'LL BE, UH, WITH SOME TYPE OF CURRICULUM THAT WE'RE AIMING TO TARGET HIGH SCHOOLERS, UH, TO GET, UH, CERTIFIED IN PARTICULAR AREAS, UH, THAT WE NEED, SAY, FACILITIES, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ONE OF THE AREAS, CHEMICAL APPLICATION, IRRIGATOR AND OURS.UH, SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS UPCOMING DISCUSSION AND HOPEFULLY IN MONTHS TO COME, WE'LL HAVE MORE INFORMATION.
WELL, THAT JUST MADE MY MONTH.
AND JUST TO GET A LITTLE BIT ON THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE TECH TEAM IS WORKING ON, UH, AND I'M WORKING WITH, UH, PRESTON ON VERY HEAVILY IS JUST INTERNALLY, WHAT CAN WE DO TO CONTINUE INCREASING THE TRAININGS IN PROFICIENCY OF OUR OWN STAFF SERVICE? THAT'S ALL.
UH, FIRST AND FOREMOST, I LOVE TREES, WHICH IS NOWHERE NEAR ATHLETIC FIELDS.
UH, AND, AND HEARING THAT POTENTIAL COLLEGE PROGRAM IS AWESOME AGAIN FOR OUR YOUTH TO TRY TO GET 'EM, MAYBE THEY DON'T KNOW THEY THEY WANNA BE OR HOW TO GET INTO THE, THE ROLE YOU GUYS FEEL FOR US AND APPRECIATE THAT.
BUT I REALLY HAVE A REAL SERIOUS QUESTION TO ASK YOU.
IT'D BE MY ONLY QUESTION IS WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GOATS THAT WE FATTEN UP? DID WE GET ONE OF THOSE? UH, IT IS KIND OF FUNNY YOU ASK.
UH, THEY ACTUALLY HAD TO STAY ON SITE FOR A LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN WE EXPECTED BECAUSE AS A TURNIP WE ONLY GOT 280.
REALISTICALLY, WE WERE SUPPOSED TO GET ALMOST 500, BUT WE GOT INTO, WE, WE GOT INTO BIRTHING SEASON AND WE COULDN'T QUITE HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE LITTLE ONES THAT ARE ABOUT EIGHT INCHES TALL, WE GONNA HAVE THOSE RUN AROUND.
UH, BUT YEAH, THE, THE VENDOR TOOK 'EM WITH THEM WHEN THEY LEFT.
I JUST, YEAH, I JUST WANNA REITERATE, UH, I KNOW YOU ALL MENTIONED ABOUT THE TREE INVENTORY AND I KNOW UNFORTUNATELY THERE WAS A MISINFORMATION OR MAYBE FOLKS JUST WASN'T INFORMED WHAT THIS TREE INVENTORY, WHAT THE TREE INVENTORY INVENTORY TRULY DOES.
IT'S NOT JUST COUNTING TREES, IT ALSO DOES A CONDITION ASSESSMENT OF OUR TREES.
AND AS BRETT MENTIONED, IT ALLOWS US TO BE ABLE TO MANAGE THE TREE CANOPY FOR EMERGENCIES, BE ABLE TO, UH, REACT, PREVENT TREES FROM FALLING AS MUCH.
WHEN YOU GET INTO STORM STORMS THAT HIT THE AREA OR WIND STORMS, IT ALLOWS THE BAY TO TREAT THESE TREES IN ADVANCE SO WE DON'T HAVE TREES FALLING ON CLOSE.
IT ALSO ALLOWS US TO MAKE SURE WE DON'T PLANT A, A CERTAIN SPECIES OF TREES ALL IN ONE AREA.
AND THEN IF WE GET SOME TYPE OF DISEASE, WE KILL OFF ALL THE TREES IN THAT AREA.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE FOR THE PUBLIC THEY TRULY UNDERSTAND THIS INVENTORY IS MORE THAN JUST COUNTING TREES.
IT ALLOWS US TO MANAGE THE TREE CANOPY IN THE DALLAS AREA TO HELP PRESERVE AND PROTECT NOT JUST THE TREES, BUT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PROTECT THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE CITIZENS OF DOUBTS.
AND THANK YOU, MR. UH, MR. JOHNSON.
AND EVERYONE HAS A THANK YOU, BUT WE WANT TO THANK SARAH AND THE CITY DEPARTMENT.
THIS IS THE CLOSEST PARTNERSHIP WE HAVE AND REALLY, WHICH IS WORKING WELL.
SO WE THANK YOU WHAT YOU DO AND THANK YOU MR. JOHNSON.
IS THAT TRUE? NO BUDGET UPDATE? I WRITE YOU NO, WRITE YOU NO UPDATES.
UH, WITH THAT, ANY YES, NO REPORTS, SIR, PLEASE.
PAT BLAIR, I'LL JUST, THIS IS SORT OF A ALL REPORT, BUT UH, WE GOT TO WORK WITH PARK DEPARTMENT THIS PAST WEEKEND.
WE HAD A COMMUNITY IMPACT DAY WITH DALLAS BLACK CHAMBER AND WE SPREAD OUT ACROSS THREE MAJOR PARKS IN THE CITY.
I THINK WE HAD 200 PLUS VOLUNTEERS WITH OUR PARTNERSHIP, WHAT WE'RE TRYING, CORPORATE PARTNER OF THE PARTNERS LIKE GOLDMAN SACH, BANK OF AMERICA, JP MORGAN, CHASE, PARKLAND, UH, AND BASICALLY ALL OF OUR MAJOR PARTNERS.
SO I'M VERY HOPEFUL THAT WE'LL GET SOME NEW PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS THAT MR. DIRECTOR, MR. CHIEF, THANK YOU SO MUCH MR. I'M NOT TECHNICALLY LIAISON TO THE AUDUBON CENTER, THAT'S MR. DICKIE.
UH, HE WAS NOT ABLE TO ATTEND OUR, UH, ANNUAL SCISSOR TAILS AND COCKTAILS EVENT, WHICH WAS LAST NIGHT.
UH, IT WAS VERY WELL ATTENDED, BUT ABOUT 180 PEOPLE CAME, UM, TO WHICH THE
[01:25:01]
CENTER DIRECTOR, WELL, AS THOSE OF YOU DO NOT ALREADY KNOW, AND SHE'S, UM, STEPPING DOWN AT THE END OF OF JULY.SO WE ARE INCREDIBLY SAD TO LOSE HER.
UM, BUT THE CENTER IS IN GOOD HANDS.
THINGS ARE GOING WELL THERE AND WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE, THE UPCOMING INVESTMENTS AND, UH, YEARS TO COME.
SO I JUST WANTED TO AND SHELLY A MOMENT.
YEAH, SHELLY HAS BEEN AN AMAZING LEADER.
UH, JUST, UH, I KNOW WE HAVE ANOTHER SPECIAL CALL MEETING, BUT AGAIN, THAT'S JUST SPECIAL CALL.
I MIGHT GET CANCELED, BUT ON MAY 31ST WE HAVE A SHORELINE CLEANUP AT OUR HISTORICAL LAKE CLIFF PARK, UH, BETTER KNOWN AS COLORADO IF YOU'RE FROM OAK CLIFF.
SO YOU WANNA COME OUT THERE FROM NINE TO 12.
BE BE PERFECT TIME TO CLEAN UP THAT SHORELINE THAT WE'RE GETTING SOME WORK DONE HERE IN THE FUTURE.
TONIGHT'S, UH, DALLAS LIVE IN THE PARK.
STATE OH, STATEMENT SKATE PARK.
SO, UH, THIS SATURDAY AT 10:00 AM WE'RE GONNA HAVE THE GRAND OPENING OF OUR $4 MILLION FIRST EVER OF ITS KIND.
BEST IN NORTH TEXAS BACHMAN REGIONAL SKATE PARK.
AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER OMAR NARVAEZ AND FORMER MAYOR PRO TIM ADAM MADANO USED THEIR DISCRETIONARY BOND MONEY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
AND IT'S INTERESTING HOW THESE THINGS WORK.
UH, IT GREW OUT OF A RELATIONSHIP THAT DR. CLINTON HALEY HAD WITH COUNCIL MEMBER MADANO WHEN THEY WERE YOUNG.
AND THAT JUST KIND OF GOES TO SHOW THEY GREW UP TOGETHER.
AND, UH, THEN HE BECAME A COUNCIL MEMBER, HAD SOME DISCRETIONARY BOND MONEY AND A PASSION FOR GETTING KIDS INTO SKATING.
AND THE POINT I'M MAKING IS THIS IS THE KIND OF RELATIONSHIPS WHERE YOU HAVE KIDS COMING TO A SKATE PARK STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE IN SOMETHING THEY'RE PASSIONATE ABOUT, AND RELATIONSHIPS THAT ARE MADE THAT AFFECT THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.
AND IT CAN END UP YEARS LATER IN A BEAUTIFUL SKATE PARK FOR ALL THE OTHER KIDS.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE BEAUTIES THAT I KNOW SOMETIMES PEOPLE ARE DOWN ON SKATERS.
UH, ONE OF THE REASONS IS THAT THEY'RE FORCED INTO THESE SHOPPING CENTERS AND AIR SATS ARE PLACES THEY CAN FIND.
BUT WE'VE GOT A PLACE THERE, A WELL LIT FENCED PLACE WITH ACCESS TO THE LIGHT RAIL STATION.
AND IT'S GONNA BE A PHENOMENAL EVENT.
THEY'RE GONNA BE NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED SKATERS THERE.
AND, UH, I I HOPE YOU CAN COME 'CAUSE THE MAYOR WILL BE THERE.
UM, I THINK PRESIDENT AGARWAL WILL BE THERE AND UH, IT'S JUST GONNA BE A GREAT, WILL YOU BE THERE? I WILL BE THERE BOARD, BUT I'M NOT GONNA BE SKATING.
SO THEN I'VE GOT A MESSAGE THAT THE POOLS ARE OPENING IN NINE DAYS AND MR. KITNER IS NO LONGER ON THE BOARD.
HE'LL BE ON THE COUNCIL AND WE CAN GET THE COUNCIL TO DO THE, UH, SLIDE CHALLENGE AS WELL.
UM, BUT I DO BELIEVE WHEN THE POOL'S OPEN, UM, WE NEED TO, UH, REENACT THE SLIDE CHALLENGE THIS YEAR.
UM, I THINK MR HAS, UH, HE DIDN'T PART TO DO THAT, MR. UH, ROBO, UM, RUBEN SAID, OR RAEL SAID THAT, UH, WILL, UH, SAVE MR. ER'S LIFE AGAIN IF NEEDED.
UM, SO, BUT NINE DAYS THE POOL IS OPEN.
UH, WITH THE SUMMER KITS COMING OUT, UM, IT'LL BE A GOOD SUMMER.
SO FLAG MEMBERS WILL BE IN THE PROGRAM.
AND NOW ANY STAFF ANNOUNCEMENT? NO, SIR.
SO NEXT PARK BOARD MEETINGS WILL BE THURSDAY, JUNE 5TH, 2025.
THAT'S, UH, WITH THAT IT IS, UH, 1138 AND WE ADJOURN OUR IONS BOARD MEETING, BOARD MEMBERS.