|
|
Dallas City Hall
District 12
Enews
November 26, 2020
|
|
Connecting You With City Information, News, and Resources |
|
Councilmember Cara Mendelsohn
Current Council appointments:
*Government Performance and Financial Management, Chairman
*Public Safety
*Housing and Homeless Solutions
*Transportation
*COVID-19 Ad Hoc
*Legislative Ad Hoc, Vice Chair
*Regional Transportation Council
*National League of Cities Women in Municipal Government
|
|
Hello District 12,
Thanksgiving looks different this year, but as we eat our festive meals, it is easy to recognize all our blessings. I am thankful for my family, friends, home, health, food to share, and a wonderful community.
The city and city council have continued to work quickly to spend more than $323 million federal dollars allocated to COVID-19 relief to meet the needs of our most vulnerable communities and health needs of our first responders. Examples of big expenditures include PPE for police and fire personnel, sheltering people experiencing homelessness, multiple rental and mortgage assistance programs, business continuity programs, COVID-19 testing, funding for non-profits on the front lines of services, funding for public schools to address low-income student needs, and more. In addition to the city funding, it has been remarkable and heartwarming to see the outpouring of support for the non-profit community both in terms of volunteers and financial contributions from those who are able to help.
Wishing you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving from the District 12 team - Navaz, Luis, and me.
Regards, Cara
|
|
UT Southwestern has expanded its DFW Covid-19 Prevalence Study, which is designed to reveal how widely Covid-19 has spread and why some communities are hit harder than others. This study will allow anyone who lives in the City of Dallas the opportunity to register online and participate. You can access the study by clicking here: https://utswmed.org/covidstudy/, or calling 833-947-2577.
|
|
We had Drive Thru Trick or Treat, now let's do a
Drive Thru Winter Holiday Celebration... 2020 Style!
|
|
With a fun drive thru trick or treat event under our belts, we're going to do it again for the winter holidays! Campbell Green Recreation Center staff and volunteers from the community are planning a fun time for everyone in the community on Monday, December 21 from 6 -7 pm to drive thru and enjoy the holidays. One of the wonderful things about our community is our diversity and everyone is welcome to participate and highlight their holiday.
If you would like to host a display of your holiday, donate for the gift bag each car will get (candy, trinkets, or other goodies), help put the gift bags together, or dress up to wave at the cars in your holiday tradition, we're looking for people that want to help spread the joy and light this year, which is likely to be another unusual holiday. We need as many good times as we can get these days!
Please email District12@dallascityhall.com if you want to be involved or stay in the loop on this project.
|
|
District 12 is working for additional parks and enhancements to parks in the district (we have the least number of parks and the least park acreage of all city council districts). Here's an update with some NEW information...
- We're talking with RISD about acquiring part of the Parkhill Jr. High school land for a dog park at Meadowcreek and La Manga. If you know the area, you know it is already being used as a dog park, but it doesn't have water for the dogs or people, doesn't have waste bags or trash cans to put them in, and doesn't have enough seating for people.
- We're talking with PISD about acquiring part of the Frankford Middle school land for a loop trail, playground, and pavilion area that would benefit the school kids for outdoor learning, and the community as a place to play, exercise, and celebrate.
- We're working on beautifying the Preston Ridge Trail and making sure it connects to the Cotton Belt trail at Davenport and Meandering Way. There is a tree planting for about a dozen trees coming up with 50 more planned for next year. See below if you'd like to volunteer to help plant the 12 trees on December 12th.
- We're working on additional lighting for the Timberglen Trail and working out how to connect it across the tollway to Katie Jackson or North Bark Dog Park, eventually connecting all the way to Preston Ridge.
- Preston Green park is being evaluated for additional amenities as the Cotton Belt trail comes through the park.
- Campbell Green tennis courts will be resurfaced and one court turned into 2 pickleball courts. We're also looking at "refreshing" the inside of Campbell Green, with eyes on a future expansion.
- Frankford Park, we're working on additional lighting and possibly a small bridge to provide additional access.
- Meandering Way pavilion area, we're looking to acquire access to provide a small dog park for people along the Preston Ridge and Cotton Belt trails to get water for their dogs and allow them to rest and play.
- Timberglen Park is getting a new "smart" bathroom near the splash area.
- Hillcrest Village is coming along. Revised completion date is mid to late December. The base of the pavilion and sculpture have been poured, the playground is installed except the sub gravel and poured-in-place rubber surface. The sculpture is expected to be installed December 11th. The central lawn area, landscape and irrigation is coming in the next couple of weeks. We're looking to have a COVID-19 appropriate ribbon cutting in mid to late January.
If you would like to give input on any of these projects, please email Lane.Conner@dallascityhall.com and copy cara.mendelsohn@dallascityhall.com.
|
|
Progress at Hillcrest Village |
|
Our Next Police Chief... A Message from the Mayor |
|
District 12, below is the Mayor's enews message about the police chief search. This is a very important hire for the City of Dallas, and it is in the hands of the City Manager. You will see there is a link to the City Manager's survey to give your input on the priorities you would like to see in a new chief. You may find the items you wish to prioritize missing from the survey choices. For instance, my top two priorities were not included. They are: the ability to fully operationalize the department and a candidate who already knows Dallas, preferably someone currently or previously from within DPD. Please consider the Mayor's message and participate in the survey (link below). Thank you! Cara
Unfortunately, Dallas has hit a grim milestone: For the second-straight year, the city has recorded more than 200 murders.
This year's tally will almost certainly surpass 2019's year-end total of 209 murders, which was a 12-year high. In addition, non-family violence aggravated assaults are up this year by more than 31% over where they stood last year. And family violence aggravated assaults, perhaps driven by the pandemic and stay-at-home orders, are up nearly 11% year-to-date.
These trends are deeply troubling. While violent crime has also risen elsewhere in the country, the increases in aggravated assaults in particular are far outpacing the national trends. This is unacceptable, and everyone must work together to turn these numbers around. That is why it's so important that the Task Force on Safe Communities recommendations are implemented — and why it's great to see that the plans are quickly moving ahead to improve outdoor lighting in high-violence locations.
But robust law enforcement is vital, too. And the police department needs new leadership.
To be clear, I do not get to hire the next police chief. That's the city manager's job under the City Charter.
Much is at stake in his hiring decision. I believe strongly that Dallas deserves an experienced leader who can reduce violent crime and instill a culture of community policing and accountability. This person needs to be an effective communicator with a buck-stops-here mentality. The chief should take it personally that crime is up in Dallas and not make excuses or try to shift the blame.
The city manager has hired a search firm to identify candidates. The position is now posted, and here is a portion of the job description:
"While this is an incredible opportunity to lead one of the nation’s top law enforcement agencies, this moment comes at a time of historic social awakening about systemic racism, the role of police, political unrest, and a worldwide pandemic. Top candidates must be ready to provide contemporary police expertise in anti-violence initiatives and strategies to lessen the tensions that accompany First Amendment expression. Successful candidates will have an exceptional career history in a major metropolitan area and will be known for their engaging, confident, yet personable style. The next chief will also have a vision for policing in the City of Dallas that builds on reforms that have been completed or are underway. The DPD has a $557 million budget and is allocated more than 3,000 sworn officers and 600 civilian employees, who provide police services to the Dallas community. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated experience building a culture of continuous improvement and accountability. They will be forward-thinking, focused, and driven to ensure department policies and actions are consistent with the best policing practices appropriate in today’s world."
It will be critical to have real community input in the process, as I have made clear to the city manager. You should have a say in this process.
Through December 1, you can give your thoughts on leadership qualities, departmental priorities and professional qualifications by taking a survey at:
Please, take a few minutes to give your feedback. Your city government should be responsive to your needs. The survey won't take long, and question 11 is your opportunity to write whatever you'd like!
After completing the survey, feel free to reply to this email (eric.johnson@dallascityhall.com) with any thoughts you'd like to share with me about what kind of police chief Dallas needs.
And hopefully, the community will have another chance to be involved once the finalists are selected.
Thank you for working to make Dallas a better, safer city.
Until next time,
Eric Johnson, Dallas Mayor
|
|
Coat Drive - Drop Off at North Central Police Station |
|
Cotton Belt/Silver Line Update |
|
There is a lot happening with the Cotton Belt/Silver Line. Below is DART's official overview of the project.
Construction permits have not been issued for our area. There are permits that have been issued to Atmos and the City's Water Department to move gas lines and increase water pipe sizes. Also, this week will begin a testing at each of the rail crossings, that will mean one lane will be closed for up to 45 minutes for one day at each crossing, and one lane on Coit will be closed for about a week.
There are outstanding issues of the pump station at Hillcrest, and consideration about if Wester Way should be totally closed to Hillcrest or if Wester Way should just be restricted to right turns on to Hillcrest. If you live along Wester Way, please contact the office to give your input on this or attend the 11/30 virtual town hall to share your input. Either way, after construction is complete, there will be no way to cross Hillcrest at Wester Way with a car, but there will be a HAWK traffic signal with motion sensitivity and a cut in the median for people to cross from the east side of Hillcrest to the west side, which will have a 8' wide protected sidewalk. A new traffic signal at McKamy will help cars safely cross Hillcrest. The traffic light at Hillcrest and Campbell will also get attention to better direct traffic flow.
DART must submit a comprehensive traffic management plan to the city before construction permits can be issued. This includes how traffic will be mitigated as Hillcrest is closed for construction for approximately 6 months, along with how all other intersections, Davenport EW, Campbell, Davenport NS, McCallum, Meandering Way, Dickerson, Coit and Waterview, will be impacted.
IF YOU WERE ON THE DART QUARTERLY CALL ABOUT THE SOUND WALLS AND DESIGN SELECTIONS:
You may have noticed there were LOTS of different colors and finishes selected. There are sample boards that you can view at Campbell Green Rec Center. The problem is the areas were broken up into too small of a zone for vote tabulation. In some cases, there was only one vote to determine, and less than half of the eligible voters actually cast their vote, leaving DART to make a default decision in some areas.
Here are the results: for colors, 12 segments chose natural, 7 segments chose tan, and one segment chose gray. This translated to 74 people voting for natural, 59 for tan, and 1 for gray. For the finish, there were 7 segments that chose rolled ashlar, 6 that chose plain flat, 4 that chose bush hammer, and 3 that selected rolled drystack. This translated to 57 people who choose rolled ashlar, 35 plain flat, 24 bush hammer, and 18 rolled drystack. The issue is there are too many different colors and finishes and it would look terrible for our area. After speaking with Councilmember Kleinman and City of Dallas staff, we are going to request a unified approach to the walls.
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
