Meetings of Interest: 🌈☁ After Rainbows

Dallas Police officials are making changes this week to how they process requests for uniformed officers to work off-duty security jobs. The move follows the fatal Dallas police shooting earlier this month of a convicted felon who posed as an officer and used the RollKall platform to hire Dallas cops. Diamon-Mazairre Robinson, 39, began using the system last year through his company, which Dallas police officials say was active and in compliance with the Texas Secretary of State at the time. Robinson, who also provided security for U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, created a fraudulent officer account, according to Dallas police. Read more.

City workers will begin today wiping out rainbow and other decorative crosswalks that do not meet federal and state safety standards. The directive that started this process came down from U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy (The Real World: Boston) last year. The City is holding community meetings in April to gather feedback on alternative ways to incorporate public art projects that celebrate neighborhood identity.

A group of City Council members met in Washington last week with Dallas-area members of Congress and staff. They advocated for a host of issues, including a years-long effort backed by Downtown Dallas, Inc. to establish a federal tax credit that would support conversion of underutilized office spaces and commercial buildings into residences. Read more about the meetings and issues of focus in this memo.

Dallas water customers will not have online billing or payment access from May 1-17, as the system undergoes an upgrade, according to this memo. Payments will be taken by mail, at payment stations, or in person at Dallas City Hall during this period, and no services will be disconnected, the memo says.

In the wake of sexual assault allegations against the late Cesar Chavez, a group of council members is pushing to remove him from annual recognitions on March 31 and Labor Day on the official City Calendar, according to this memo. The council members also want to begin discussions on renaming Cesar Chavez Boulevard, which runs through Downtown.

A third batch of proposed locations for digital advertising kiosks includes 19 locations in Downtown, Uptown, Oak Lawn, Knox-Henderson, and Lower Greenville. Learn more, including how to provide public feedback on the proposals.

Check out the complete city manager memo packet for Friday, March 20, 2026.

Committee members will also get an update on a controversial plan to close some libraries and transition to a regional library model.

Three Council members are seeking to rename the Jefferson Boulevard Viaduct in honor of former Dallas Cowboy and civil rights advocate Pettis Norman. Street renamings typically must go through City Plan Commission before they reach City Council. The proposal includes a support letter — signed by many notable Dallas figures — for renaming the separate Houston Street Viaduct after Norman.

A redesigned Downtown convention center DART station will be part of a mobility hub expected to open with the new center in 2029. In the meantime, the current DART station is closed and riders are being detoured. Read more in this briefing.

The grand DART compromise agreement that headed off withdrawal elections in Plano, Irving, and Farmers Branch means Dallas will get a projected $211 million for eligible transportation projects over six years in installments beginning this year — pending City Council approval on Wednesday — according to this memo to committee members.

Staff will brief committee members on how the City’s two housing corporations use property tax exemptions, tax credits, and bonds to deliver thousands of income-restricted units, arguing the forgone city revenue per unit is modest compared to the affordability and stability gained for residents. Read the briefing.

Committee members will also consider program statement amendments that tighten governance, set clear geographic priorities, require stronger reporting on tax-exempt impacts, and embed City staff more directly in both corporation boards.

Dallas is sustaining a multi-pronged, data-driven homeless response with strong Q1 outcomes in diversion, shelter, and housing placements, and backed by significant general fund and bond dollars. This memo update highlights key contracts and performance metrics across diversion, emergency shelter, rapid rehousing, supportive services, and capital investments at The Bridge, Family Gateway, and other City-owned sites, plus strong results from Downtown’s “Safe in the City” campaign to maintain safety and quickly resolve homelessness.

Service requests for homeless encampments in Dallas were down over 21% in February as compared to the prior year, according to this Dallas Street Response dashboard.

Committee Chair Cara Mendelsohn is planning upcoming discussions on affordable housing funding and Downtown Dallas office-to-residential conversions, according to this memo. Downtown Dallas, Inc. (DDI) is expected to be part of the latter discussion.

January’s Budget Accountability Report shows General Fund revenue running about $1.6 million over budget, but expenses are projected $7.9 million over, leaving the City looking at a $6.2 million hit to ending fund balance. Read more here.

A routine audit of four former council members cleared them of any debt to the city but flagged recurring weaknesses in how council offices track property and document spending. Read more.

The Dallas Central Appraisal District (DCAD) is seeking a $39.9 million budget for fiscal 2026-27, a $1.4 million increase, or 3.7%, over the current $38.5 million budget. The proposal is driven in part by the need to expand Appraisal Review Board hearing room capacity so protests can be heard and the appraisal roll certified on time. The City of Dallas allocation would rise to $6.3 million, up about $274,862, or 4.6%, from the current $5.97 million.

Item 10 is a $90,000 construction manager at risk contract with Linbeck Group, LLC, for preconstruction and construction services for the Dallas Zoo Safari Trail project, which will transform significant acreage of the old zoo monorail line into immersive habitat experiences, embedded classrooms, and event spaces.

Item 11 is an agreement for Visit Dallas — the city’s convention and visitors bureau — to take on booking, sales, and other “enhanced services” for Fair Park for at least the next two years. Draft terms of the agreement can be found here.

Item 12 is adoption of the White Rock Lake Master Plan, which is intended to guide future development and improvements at the park.

Item 53 is a $58 million economic development agreement with the WNBA’s Dallas Wings that includes the team taking over construction of a planned practice facility on Dallas park land in West Oak cliff. Read more from the Dallas Business Journal.

Item 54 is an Interlocal Agreement with DART to establish a six-year General Mobility Program for Dallas to receive a projected $211 million from the agency to fund eligible transportation projects. This was a key part of the regional compromise agreement that convinced the cities of Plano, Farmers Branch, and Irving to cancel May withdrawal elections

Zoning Item 26 is a proposed rezoning for what started as a planned 25-story mixed use luxury tower on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in the heart of South Dallas. Dallas Morning News columnist Robert Wilonsky reported last year that the folks behind the project now say it will instead be scaled back and focused on market rate and affordable housing.

Dallas Police Chief Daniel C. Comeaux is scheduled to take part in a safety and security briefing. It is his first appearance before the Park Board.

Staff is also scheduled to present a Fair Park Operations Model and Revitalization Strategy Update.

Note: I serve as the District 10 Park Board member.

Item 22 is a planned development district amendment to allow for a long-planned Uptown Central Market, restaurant, and retail uses, with a garage along McKinney Avenue between the two Lemmon avenues. The site was once home to an Albertson’s that closed a decade ago.