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Dallas City Hall
District 12
Enews
June 29, 2020
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Connecting You With City Information, News, and Resources
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Early Voting, Town Halls, Homelessness
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Councilmember Cara Mendelsohn
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Hello District 12,
Summertime is here, but this summer with COVID-19 seems so different. Many camps are closed, vacations canceled, and employment for many is uncertain.
If you need help with anything, please let us know and we will try to resolve your city issues and connect you to assistance for things beyond the city.
The City Council is in recess for the month of July. Navaz, Elysia, and I continue to work from home, answering emails and calls. Virtual town hall meetings will continue during the recess. August virtual town halls will be focused on the upcoming city budget and dates will be released soon.
Wishing you a healthy and fun summer, Cara
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Virtual Town Hall Meetings - tonight & tomorrow!
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The virtual town halls have been a great way to hear from people in the community and stay in touch. If you have any questions or input, or just want to hear the conversation, we welcome you!
Tonight: Your input on the Cotton Belt Hike & Bike Trail *see graphics & maps in article below
Tomorrow: Special guests from North Central Police Station, Sr. Corporal Lindsey (replaced Mark Lutz) and Major Hadnot
The format is simple, we say hi, welcome our special guest who speaks for 5-10 minutes, I give a quick update about city hall happenings, and we answer your questions or hear your input and suggestions. It's your meeting.
To RSVP for a town hall, please email Elysia.Martin@DallasCityHall.com.
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Early Voting starts Today
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The closest early voting locations for District 12/Far North Dallas:
-Dallas county: Fretz Park library
-Collin county: Renner Frankford library
-Denton county: Furneaux Elementary
All locations open 8 am -5 pm through Thursday, all closed Friday and Saturday, each site has different hours for Sunday, and all sites are open 7 am - 7 pm, July 6 - 10.
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To apply, send a resume and email to cara.mendelsohn@dallascityhall.com by July 31. Please answer these questions in your email: 1) Why do you wish to serve in this role? 2) What do you think would be your greatest contribution to this body? 3) What are your career goals 4) How do you define good governance?
Thank you to Jack Minigutti, our D12 Youth Commissioner who just graduated from JJ Pearce, for his distinguished representation of our area and contribution to the commission. Good luck at the University of Virginia!
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Need Help Paying Rent or Utilities?
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Dallas City Council has allocated funding to several non-profits to help people impacted by COVID-19. All the non-profits are using the same criteria. The nearest non-profit is Jewish Family Service, which serves people of all ages, races, and religions. Their phone number is (972) 437-9950 and website is www.jfsdallas.org.
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Cotton Belt Hike & Bike Trail
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Your input is being solicited BEFORE all the decisions are made. You can give your comments by attending a virtual town hall Monday 6/29, 7pm, or email Cara.mendelsohn@dallascityhall.com with your input. To sign up for the town hall, please send an email to Elysia.martin@dallascityhall.com.
Below are drawings/maps of the possible alignment. The decision to put the trail north or south of the tracks is based on DART's choice, and these are the least expensive options, although it doesn't mean it can't be changed. The trail backs up to some homes, and if your home is backing to the trail, please mention that in your comment. Also, the trail is expected to be 12' wide and made of concrete.
Here are the things to consider:
1. Is the north/south alignment set up properly? If you think there should be a change, please share from what street to what street should be changed and why.
2. The train will have a wall separating the train from the trail most of the way. Would you want a chain link fence on the other side of the trail to keep people on the trail or leave the other side open for access for walkers and bikes to join?
2. Lighting - is it needed/are you worried it will shine into homes, do you want it?
3. Security cameras - is it needed, do you want it, is it a privacy issue?
4. Where would you want access to get on/off trail?
5. Homeless - what would you like to see to discourage the trail as an encampment site?
6. Drainage - any specific areas of concern?
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Issues in the News - Dallas City Hall
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PROPERTY TAXES
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Dallas taxpayers got welcome news last month when their city council declined to proceed with the proposal to raise property taxes in excess of the rollback rate. The motion on whether to open the possibility of 8% tax hike
failed on May 27
with only 3 out of 14 city council members voting in favor.
The way Dallas city council member Cara Mendelsohn saw it, the city’s budget shortfall was no excuse to impose a property tax in excess of what state law permits.
“It’s going to be painful,” Mendelsohn
said.
“We’re going to have some really tough choices to make, but that doesn’t mitigate the fact that one of those choices shouldn’t be to make it harder for our residents.”
BUDGET/Public Safety
"But Council Member Cara Mendelsohn said city finances do not permit providing every social service."
A city budget can not fix all of society's problems. The city has certain responsibilities, like streets, public safety, sanitation, etc... and we have not done a good job of maintaining the assets in our possession.
Other parts of government have the budget and responsibility for other issues. Education, healthcare, and transportation are the primary responsibility of school districts, DART, county government, the state and federal government.
“The increase to police funding is to pay for new police officers we were able to recruit and existing officers were able to retain. The council members have been briefed about this issue and not one person objected,” said Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn. “There's just a lot of cow-towing to pressure that seem to be getting. The reality is we’re on the right track. We’re addressing poverty issues. We’re addressing it through our budget today.”
Council members Adam McGough and Cara Mendelsohn were the dissenting votes in Wednesday's decision.
Mendelsohn said it was an unnecessary delay for scoring political points.
“There's a lot of kowtowing to pressure, people seem to be getting, and the reality is we're on the right track. We are addressing poverty issues,” Mendelsohn said.
She cited $23 million in other items on Wednesday’s agenda about affordable housing and other community support services, along with other programs already in the works.
GOVERNANCE
City Council discussed a deal put together in 2012 that has put the city on the hook for the principal and interest payments of a hotel, backed by HUD CDBG funds.
"Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn says it’s concerning that block grants are being used to back up the loan. “Over $5 million meant for people in extreme poverty will go to a four-star hotel. Is that right?” she said."
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Council member Cara Mendelsohn, who was the lone vote against it, said the contract was “unfavorable” to Dallas residents and warned the rest of the council that the money spent on the organization would be money they could’ve spent on more effective marketing.
Mendelsohn said she wanted VisitDallas to exclusively promote businesses within city limits and to see a better deal on the amount of hotel occupancy taxes that go back to the city.
“We have a fiduciary responsibility to the residents of Dallas,” Mendelsohn said. “This is a five-year contract. We can’t only think about today and COVID.”
Dozens of VisitDallas critics sent council members emails this week with complaints over its history of misusing taxpayer funds and lack of a paper trail, promotion of businesses outside of Dallas and practice of gifting council members with tickets to events at American Airlines Center."
HOUSING ASSISTANCE
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The developer reports that all is on track and moving forward in a positive way with tenants for the shopping center. With COVID, many retailers see a benefit in locating within a neighborhood, since many people are now working from home.
The park construction is going well and when you drive by, you can see the foundational work is nearly all complete, the trees planted, and lots of progress being made. Some additional funding was needed as some unexpected issues arose, and that has been worked out. The sculpture for the park is complete and in storage until installation. There have been some delays with the significant rainfall, but the park is still on track to open fall 2020.
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Select Libraries are OPEN for Library To GO &
SMART Mayor's Summer Reading Program
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WOW, what a kick-off to Library To Go! Almost 17 thousand items were checked out during our first week of curbside service at
Dallas Public Library
. Don't worry though, there are still plenty of books left! Bring your library materials back to the library soon, as they are closing book returns from July 3-6th because they are getting an overwhelming number of items. They'll play catch up and be ready for materials again on July 7th. the two libraries open North of LBJ are Timberglen and Fretz Park libraries, both that have visitors and circulation in the top 10 of all Dallas libraries.
📚📚📚
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Panhandling & Homelessness
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Panhandling - Electronic signage boards have been ordered by the transportation department to do a pilot and see if we can reduce panhandling at Frankford and the Tollway. The goal is to have people STOP giving out money. Unfortunately, a panhandler can make a lot of money at the intersection each day, which is why more and more panhandlers are choosing that location. Because of several factors, including an ACLU lawsuit, the city is limited in enforcement. I have encouraged the chair of the public safety committee to take up this issue.
Last week, the city council passed funding and approval of contracts to provide assistance with wrap-around care to 300 homeless households through Rapid Rehousing. For the first time in more than a decade, I believe the city is actively addressing the issue of homelessness and helping people regain housing, independence, and stability.
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It is so quick and easy... just go to www.2020census.gov or call (844) 330-2020 for English, (844) 468-2020 for Spanish. Many other languages are also available.
It's required by law to complete the census AND you'll be helping your community get dollars to fix roads, provide food stamps, etc... Please do it today!
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Need help, got a question, or want to give input?
Email: Cara.Mendelsohn@DallasCityHall.com
Office phone: (214) 670-4067
Text phone: (214) 490-1036
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