Good evening:
Dallas residents want their City Hall to be located in Downtown Dallas — but they are not necessarily tied to the current site.
That is a key finding of a recent City of Dallas survey conducted by Zencity of 2,130 residents from April 9 - May 5. Among the most interesting results:
Most respondents (59%) have visited City Hall only once or twice — or never.
Most respondents (61%) prefer a Downtown City Hall, but are nearly evenly split between staying near the current site (32%) and moving to a new Downtown location with better parking and transit access (29%).
Parking challenges (44%) and long wait times (32%) define today’s City Hall experience. Difficulty finding the right office or staff member is also a top challenge (25%).
While Zencity’s online-panel methodology has limitations, it is certainly more representative of public sentiment than the recently completed public “call for concepts” for what to do with City Hall. That process drew 418 responses, most of which did not include actual concepts beyond a stated preference to demolish or restore the building.
The new data points come as tensions are rising. City Council members will have several more discussions — in public and private — this month and next about whether to pour millions of dollars into repairing the building or start fresh at a new location. A majority of council members have indicated they are open to a move, which could clear the way for a new Dallas Mavericks arena and entertainment district on 50-plus acres, including the current City Hall site.
The Mavericks did not submit a concept in the “open call” process, instead sending a letter to the City saying that they remain committed to a new 50-acre arena and entertainment district, potentially in Downtown. The letter said discussions with the City have not advanced enough to “support a responsible and credible submission,” The Dallas Morning News reports.
Also in recent days, attorneys for the Save Dallas City Hall Coalition threatened to sue the City if it moves forward with a sale or redevelopment of City Hall Plaza without voter approval, The News reports.
📖 Table of Contents
🗞️ Highlights From Last Week: Meetings, Memos, and Media of Interest
QuikTrip (QT) announced a $10 million contribution for development of the Dallas Police Law Enforcement Training Center, to be built at the University of North Texas at Dallas in southern Dallas. It is the largest single gift in the Oklahoma-based corporation’s history and comes at a critical moment for the public-private project, which was said to be short at least $80 million prior to the QT announcement. QT owns and operates 24 stores in Dallas, with more than 150 locations in the region and 300 across Texas. Read more in The Dallas Morning News.
Dallas City Council members voted on Wednesday, May 13, to:
Approve Item 4, a federal grant-funded acquisition of equipment to “detect and respond to unauthorized or malicious drone activity,” according to background documents. The equipment is intended to be used for high-risk events, including the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
Approve Item 25, a $123,397 amendment to an existing Dallas Streetcar study contract to explore using a paid parking zone (Parking Benefit District) as a self-sustaining funding source for the line’s $2.5 million annual operations and maintenance costs. The streetcar, operated by DART, runs 2.45 miles from Downtown to Oak Cliff's Bishop Arts District.
City Council members may visit 911 and emergency operations centers in Dallas County, Fort Worth, DFW Airport, and Plano in coming weeks to inform their deliberations on whether to relocate Dallas 911, 311, and emergency operations. Read more here.
Following state and federal directives to remove rainbow-colored crosswalks, the City held engagement sessions and ran a survey for residents to provide input on public art projects that reflect community identity. This memo outlines the results, including that residents want public art and streetscape projects that reflect identity, resilience, inclusion, and lived experience, and that help people feel safe, welcomed, and represented.
You can submit proposed amendments to the Dallas Bike Plan network through May 31st. A public posting of potential amendments and comment period will run from June 8 - 26. City Council members are expected to vote on amendments in October. Learn more here.
The new DallasGo online water payment platform goes live tomorrow, Monday, May 18, according to this memo. Customers with existing accounts have received or will receive an activation code to link current accounts to the new and improved platform.
Here’s the complete city manager memo packet for Friday, May 15, 2026.
🔢 Number of Interest
17.24%
Reported drop in crimes against persons (2026 vs. 2025 year to date) across the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) system, according to a quarterly update to City Council members.
🤝 Meetings of Interest: May 18 - 22, 2026
Monday, May 18
🎭 City Council Quality of Life, Arts, and Culture Committee, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
Briefing: Event Venue and Habitual Nuisance Property Code Amendments
City Council members will discuss potential code amendments to add a new “event venue” land use for the City to regulate facilities “rented for private events for invited guests such as ceremonies, receptions, parties, celebrations, banquets, professional or industry gatherings, and fundraisers.” The update is proposed to address issues with current classifications and to prevent such venues from operating in residential neighborhoods. Also part of this briefing is an update to the “Habitual Nuisance Property” ordinance. The amendments are expected to go to City Council for a vote on Wednesday, May 27.
9.27 MB • PDF File
Dallas is closer to a formal “entertainment license” system for bars, clubs, and nightlife venues, with staff telling council members via this memo they’ve spent the last two months building a new regulatory framework balancing nightlife growth against neighborhood complaints over noise and safety. The proposal — expected back before this committee in June — would create tiered operating standards, sound-management rules, and an “education-first” enforcement approach that could significantly reshape how Deep Ellum, Bishop Arts, and other entertainment districts are regulated going forward.
A five-signature council memo is teeing up a new crackdown on “pop-up” mega-events that overwhelm Dallas neighborhoods and require heavy police traffic control. Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Gay Donnell Willis is leading the charge on this one, prompted by her dealings with a homeowner in her district whose house has become infamous for over-the-top Halloween and Christmas displays. Read more.
🚆 City Council Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, 1 p.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
Briefing: DART Quarterly Update
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) security numbers are improving and major transit-oriented development projects are accelerating, according to this agency quarterly update. This is the first briefing since Highland Park voted to leave the system, while Addison and University Park opted to stick with DART (a GoldHam Group client). The big long-term story is the financial and governance deal designed to stop future suburban defections by funneling hundreds of millions back to member cities in coming years.
13.29 MB • PDF File
Dallas is again reviving bold streetcar ambitions — not just to connect Bishop Arts, Downtown, Fair Park, and potentially Lower Greenville, but to create a broader urban circulator system tied to development and tourism growth. But those ambitions could once again clash with the reality that City Hall still has no stable funding source. Based on a recent study, staff is floating options including parking fees and ticket surcharges, hotel taxes, sponsorships, Public Improvement District/Tax Increment Financing District money, and even utility-style fees to reduce the system’s dependence on the General Fund. Check out the full briefing.
Tuesday, May 19
🚃 Special Called City Council Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, 9 a.m., 6ES Briefing Room, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
Briefing: Jefferson and Houston Viaducts Realignments
Dallas is moving toward a remake of the Jefferson and Houston viaducts as part of the convention center redevelopment — including demolishing part of the Jefferson viaduct, rerouting traffic through temporary connections, and eventually creating a new bridge configuration intended to better connect Downtown, Oak Cliff, transit, bikes, and the Trinity corridor. City officials are attempting to preserve long-term Oak Cliff connectivity while coordinating with the convention center’s construction schedule.
22.07 MB • PDF File
Learn more about the viaducts plan and how it was received at a Friday community meeting, as reported by WFAA.
🤑 Dallas Economic Development Corporation (EDC) Board of Directors, 9 a.m., Pegasus Park Conference Center - Room 100, 3000 Pegasus Park Drive, Dallas, TX 75247
The nonprofit board may vote on a lease for a Downtown office for the EDC. The organization has been using space in Downtown Dallas, Inc.’s offices at The National up to this point.
Wednesday, May 20
🗣️ Dallas City Council Briefing, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
Briefing: Proposed City Hall Repair Program, Phase 1
Outside consultants will be part of this briefing on the framework they’re using to develop a long-term potential repair plan for Dallas City Hall and Plaza. A recent facility assessment identified at least $329 million in needed repairs to aging building systems. Recommendations and updated cost estimates are to be presented next month; this briefing focuses on how consultants will prioritize repairs over a proposed 10-year phased schedule based on life safety, operational continuity, deferred maintenance, accessibility, and more. City Council members are expected to decide soon whether to pursue repairs or redevelopment of the site.
4.27 MB • PDF File
Thursday, May 21
📜 Dallas City Plan Commission, 9:30 a.m. Briefing, 12:30 p.m. Public Hearing, Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
Commissioners will discuss continuing deliberations on whether to create an historic overlay for the long-shuttered former Belmont Hotel in West Dallas.
🏞️ Dallas Park and Recreation Board, 10 a.m., Dallas Zoo, Flamingo Room, 650 S. RL Thornton Freeway, Dallas, TX 75203
Briefing: Park Department Budget Update
Park Department leaders will present on what the city manager’s requested 15% budget cut ($13,123,722) for next fiscal year could look like on the ground. It’s not pretty. The scenario includes cuts to some recreation center and pool hours, Dallas ISD programming, “stipends” paid to partners that manage key parks and facilities, mowing and trash pickup, and more.
1.30 MB • PDF File
Board members will also consider renaming two streets in Fair Park after legendary Dallas figures. If approved, Pennsylvania Avenue will be renamed Richard Knight Jr. Boulevard, after the city’s first black city manager, who died in 2021. Grand Avenue would be renamed Dr. Harry Robinson Jr. Way, in recognition of the former longtime director of the African-American Museum at Fair Park.
Note: I was a Park Board member until stepping down earlier this year.
💵 Joint Meeting of the City Council Ad Hoc Committee on Pensions and Finance Committee, 1 p.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
A briefing on potential pension obligation bonds as a means of helping fund the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System (DPFPS) is not yet posted online.
🗣️ Quote of Interest
We recognize the important role that law enforcement plays in keeping our employees and customers safe, and we are honored to help make sure they have the best training and resources available to them.
A note to readers: Meetings of Interest is an independent newsletter curated and authored by The GoldHam Group Managing Partner Scott Goldstein and edited by GoldHam Managing Partners Sam Goldstein and Vana Hammond. 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 any other organization, institution, or individual, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Any affiliations are for identification purposes only and do not imply endorsement.
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Have a great week.
Best,
Scott Goldstein
Managing Partner
The GoldHam Group
Sam Goldstein, Scott Goldstein, and Vana Hammond are co-founders of The GoldHam Group, a southern Dallas-based boutique communications, events, and public affairs firm.
