Good evening:
For every public “meeting of interest" I write about here each week, there are far more private ones that most of us will never know about.
On Tuesday, what sounded like a relatively routine meeting of council members, City staff, and outside advocates exploded into public view.
Council Members Adam Bazaldua and Paula Blackmon crashed a meeting at City Hall after they said they learned a quorum of the Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee was there to discuss homelessness policy, a potential violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act. Committee Chair Cara Mendelsohn and Vice Chair Lorie Blair, along with Council members Jesse Moreno and Zarin Gracey, also committee members, were in the meeting, according to a photo Bazaldua posted to Facebook.
Bazaldua and Blackmon said in a joint statement they want the potential violation investigated, though it appears they have not yet determined who or what agency would lead such an investigation. For now, they are prosecuting the case themselves in the court of public opinion.
The public will eventually weigh in on what was said to have been discussed in the meeting: potentially moving The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center out of Downtown to Dallas Executive Airport in Gracey’s southern Dallas district. Such a discussion would also need to include the leadership of The Bridge, as this meeting did not. The idea is being driven by some folks with interesting alliances, as D Magazine’s Bethany Erickson writes.
For his part, Gracey shot down the concept.
“District 3 residents have fought for years to see RedBird rise as an engine for growth and opportunity,” Gracey said in a statement. “The airport represents progress and potential. To repurpose it for uses that could discourage economic momentum would run counter to the vision we share for our community.”
A more urgent issue highlighted by this episode is how deeply divided this City Council has become in recent years — in real life and on social media. So much so that two council members are now publicly calling for a potential criminal investigation of four colleagues.
In an interview with WFAA’s Jason Whitely (linked below), Blackmon said she’s been told dating to her days working for two different Dallas mayors that you must always be counting at City Hall — including counting to eight votes to get something approved by a majority of City Council.
She’s right. But coalition building is much harder to do amid so much infighting.
A note to readers: Meetings of Interest is an independent newsletter curated and authored by 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.
📖 Table of Contents
📰 Highlights From Last Week’s Meetings of Interest
Exterior view of the planned Dallas Wings Training Facility to be built at Joey Georgusis Park in Far West Oak Cliff. Click the image to read a full briefing on the facility plans.
Dallas City Council members on Wednesday:
Sent Item 9, an annual $8.7 million contract with Dallas County to send City arrestees to the Lew Sterrett Criminal Justice Center, to the City Council Public Safety Committee for further review. WFAA has more on the decision, including an interview with Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price in which he invites the City to build its own jail.
Approved Item 17 authorizing additional funds needed to prepare a Fair Park building for the temporary relocation of The Black Academy of Arts and Letters (TBAAL) from the Downtown convention center. According to this memo, the former Women’s Museum building where TBAAL is moving was found to be in significantly worse condition than what OVG Fair Park initially indicated. OVG is part of the public-private team recently ousted as manager of Fair Park operations. TBAAL is set to start moving this week, KERA reports.
Approved Item 18 to authorize additional funding for project management of the WNBA Dallas Wings practice facility to be developed on Far West Oak Cliff park land. Read more here. The City and the Wings held a groundbreaking for the planned facility on Friday, the Oak Cliff Advocate reports.
Approved Item 46, an amendment to a funding agreement between the City of Dallas and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for a long-awaited McKinney Avenue/Cole Avenue two-way conversion project. The $51 million project to convert 3-lane one-way roadways to two-way is expected to start in July 2027 and be completed in August 2029. Most of the funding is federal dollars.
Approved Item 70 to terminate the City’s sister city agreements with cities in Russia and China. The move is in compliance with a recently passed state law requiring Texas cities to terminate such agreements with cities in China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia by Oct. 1.
Approved Item 72 to amend the official City Council Calendar for the remainder of this year to account for two committee changes approved by City Council last month. Mayor Eric L. Johnson recently announced new committees for the 2025-27 term. Here’s the updated calendar.
Approved Item 76 to appoint Baron Eliason as interim Inspector General with an annual base salary of $150,000. City Council members had to let the last one go because he was not a attorney, as required by a new voter-approved City Charter amendment. Learn more from WFAA.
Dallas Park Board members (including me) discussed a proposed development agreement with nonprofit Fair Park First to deliver a planned $40 million community park within the park. Read The Dallas Morning News to learn more.
Presented by Downtown Dallas, Inc.
In Downtown Dallas, crime and quality of life infractions are down, enforcement is up, homeless encampments are closed, and our response system is stronger than ever. Safe in the City is a movement that is delivering results… Right Here. Right Now. Learn more at safedowntowndallas.com.
📝 Memos of Interest
Leadership of the newly formed Dallas Office of Housing and Community Empowerment.
Thor Erickson has been named director of the new Dallas Office of Housing and Community Empowerment, according to this memo. Erickson most recently served as a City assistant director of housing and community development. James Armstrong III, former president & CEO of Builders of Hope Community Development Corporation, and Jessica Galleshaw, former director of the City’s Office of Community Care & Empowerment, were named Erickson’s deputy directors.
For the second consecutive year, the City failed to spend annual U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant funds within the required time frame, according to this memo. “As this is the second year, additional corrective actions are required, including the potential imposition of a special grant condition on our FY26 grant or other measures, and possible loss of funds,” the memo says.
Here’s the complete City Manager memo packet for Friday, September 26, 2025.
🤝 Meetings of Interest: September 29 - October 3, 2025
Tuesday, September 30
Special Joint Meeting of the Downtown Connection Tax Increment Financing District and the Downtown Dallas Development Authority Boards, 2 p.m., 6DN Conference Room, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
Board members will consider a $98 million funding package for redevelopment of Downtown’s Bank of America Plaza. The planned redo is led by developers Mike Ablon and Mike Hoque and was previously estimated to total $350 million, as reported last year by D Magazine.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Committee-of-the-Whole, 3 p.m., DART Conference Room C - 1st Floor, DART HQ, 1401 Pacific Ave., Dallas, TX 75202
The DART Cares Multi-Disciplinary Response Team (MDRT) is a pilot collaboration of law enforcement, social workers, and paramedics to aid riders experiencing homelessness, addiction, and mental health challenges. Board members will consider making the program permanent. Read more.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Board of Directors, 6 p.m., Board Room, DART HQ, 1401 Pacific Ave., Dallas, TX 75202
Board members will vote on a proposed $1.8 billion fiscal 2026 budget and 20-year financial plan. Read more.
The budget includes funding for a new General Mobility Program (GMP) that reallocates 5% of the agency’s annual sales tax collections to seven cities that received less service value than their contributions in fiscal year 2023. Read more about the GMP, which is also up for a vote.
Wednesday, October 1
Dallas City Council Briefing, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
Council members will discuss potential procurement process changes. That includes raising the competitive bid threshold from $50,000 to $100,000, as is now allowed by state law, and increasing the thresholds for City Council approval of some administrative actions and contracts above $100,000. Changes may come for a vote as soon as Oct. 8. Read more here, including an analysis of the City’s procurement thresholds conducted by nonprofit Child Poverty Action Lab (CPAL).
A briefing is also scheduled on the City’s compliance with federal directives against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. That briefing is not yet posted online.
Thursday, October 2
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Board, Board Room, DFW Airport HQ, 2400 Aviation Drive, DFW Airport, TX 75261
🔢 Number of Interest
$12.2M
Dallas sales tax collections are projected to be $12,237,000 under budget for the fiscal year that ends on Tuesday, according to City documents.
🗣️ Quote of Interest
Homelessness is an issue that weighs heavily on me and on our city. I remain committed to pursuing solutions that are compassionate, effective, and supported by the communities most directly impacted.
Did I miss anything? Do you have any questions? Just want to talk about meetings and memos and other fun stuff? Hit me up.
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Have a great week.
Best,
Scott Goldstein
Publisher
Meetings of Interest
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