Good evening:
I’m insulted. After all I’ve done to document the important meetings, memos, votes, and quotes tied to Dallas City Hall this year, no one at 1500 Marilla Street asked me for help with their annual holiday card.
So, I took it upon myself to do it anyway.
Here’s what our Mayor and City Council members should be sending from their family to yours in this joyous holiday season.
You’re welcome, Dallas.
And, in all seriousness, happy holidays!
A note to readers: Meetings of Interest is an independent newsletter curated and authored by The GoldHam Group Managing Partner Scott Goldstein and sponsored by Downtown Dallas, Inc. (DDI). The content, perspectives, or commentary presented herein reflect the views of the author alone and do not necessarily represent the views, policies, or positions of DDI or any other organization, institution, or individual, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Any affiliations are for identification purposes only and do not imply endorsement.
📰 Highlights From Last Week’s Meetings of Interest
The City could break ground on a planned $185 million Dallas police training academy by November 2026, despite a substantial funding gap. Watch the above report from NBC 5’s David Goins to learn more.
The Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee chair invited a self-proclaimed “gadfly” blogger to give his take on public data that he says shows how homelessness, public transit, crime and deaths intersect. What could go wrong?
Dallas City Council members on Wednesday:
Approved Item 9, a $22.6 million five-year cooperative purchasing agreement with Freeit Data Solutions, Inc., for new dispatching and records management systems for Dallas police, fire, and municipal courts.
Approved Item 12 to accept a $1 million federal grant to assess impacts from contaminants and define mitigation actions to enable shoreline modifications at Hensley Field, the former Naval Air Station on Mountain Creek Lake.
Approved Item 13, a $10 million contract with nonprofit Housing Forward to continue to accelerate pathways off the streets and out of shelters for people experiencing homelessness.
Approved an amended version of Item 48, an ordinance granting a license to IKE Smart City, LLC, to install digital advertising screens on public sidewalks in Downtown and other areas of Dallas, part of a program approved by City Council members earlier this year. The item also authorized payment of a termination fee to remove existing round static advertising kiosks installed on sidewalks over the past 20 years.
Approved Item 54, a $2.6 million contract with City Detect Inc. to install AI-powered cameras on Dallas sanitation trucks.
Approved Item 83, an amended $122 million funding agreement for a long-planned expansion of Klyde Warren Park. The project is funded with a mix of sources including state, federal, private, and 2024 voter-approved bond funds.
Approved Item 86, a funding plan for the long-struggling Dallas Police & Fire Pension System, including settlement of a lawsuit the system filed against the City last year. Dallas Police & Fire Pension System trustees voted on Thursday to approve the same agreement, which Mayor Eric Johnson endorsed earlier in the week in this Dallas Morning News op-ed.
Approved Z15, a zoning change to clear the way for the City’s first H-E-B store at LBJ Freeway and Hillcrest Road. The vote came after some City Council members gave H-E-B “the bum’s treatment,” The Dallas Morning News editorial board writes.
Michael Morris confirmed at a public meeting Thursday he is transitioning out of his role as North Central Texas Council of Governments transportation director. Few individuals have had a bigger impact on regional transportation matters over the past 30-plus years. Morris said he will stay on until his successor is selected and will continue for at least a year after that as a paid consultant. Read more from the Fort Worth Report.
📝 Memos of Interest
City leaders have tentatively reached a new agreement over pay and working conditions with Dallas police officers and firefighters through the “meet and confer” process, according to this memo. No details of the agreement have been released. At least 65% of votes cast by eligible police officers and firefighters must OK the plan, which will then need City Council approval.
Dallas is continuing to seek an exception from state transportation officials who are cracking down on rainbow crosswalk designs. Here’s an update on the status of that request.
Read more about sales tax receipts and the process to make federal Community Project Funding (earmark) requests in the complete memo packet for Friday, December 12.
🔢 Number of Interest
86,000
Total number of words written in 59 Meetings of Interest newsletters and website posts in 2025. Thank you for asking, Byron Sanders. And thank you all so very much for reading and supporting me.
🗣️ Quote of Interest
One of the things I’m not going to do… is bow down to childish behavior. I will not go forward next year with the same type of behavior, and I challenge each and every one of you to put the people that elected us to serve first and foremost.
The Dallas City Council is on recess until Tuesday, January 6. That means this newsletter author is on recess until Sunday, January 4.
Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!
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Have a great week.
Best,
Scott Goldstein
Managing Partner
The GoldHam Group
