Dallas City Hall
District 12
Enews
April 12, 2022
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Connecting You With City Information, News, and Resources |
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Councilmember Cara Mendelsohn
Council appointments:
*Chairman, Government Performance and Financial Management Committee
*Chairman, Ad Hoc Committee on General Investigations and Ethics
*Vice Chairman, Public Safety Committee
*Housing and Homeless Solutions Committee
*Transportation Committee
*Ad Hoc Committee on COVID-19
*Ad Hoc Committee on Legislative Affairs
*Regional Transportation Council Member
*North Central Texas Council of Governments Executive Committee
Other city-related appointments/elected positions:
*National League of Cities Youth, Education, and Families Council
*Board of Directors, National League of Cities Women in Municipal Government
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RESCHEDULED:
PRESTON GREEN PARK MEETING HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED TO 4/19, 6 PM DUE TO EXPECTED RAIN STORMS.
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Cotton Belt/Silver Line Update, Property Taxes & MORE!
If you live near DART's Cotton Belt/Silver Line, you may feel like you want to make sure you are in the loop with everything happening. This includes people who live as far north as Mapleshade and Frankford and as far south as La Manga and Arapaho. To the east, this will affect all who travel on Coit and the impacts will be felt going westward toward Preston. That's a big area!
This week we had a special meeting to share information about what is happening with the project and answer questions as frankly and directly as possible. Of course, there are some things still not known or decided, so we shared what we could about those items.
Approximately 250 residents attended and they made their voices and opinions known. I appreciate everyone's time and advocacy to make this project as safe as possible with as little impact on the community quality of life.
Below is a summary of the meeting and most importantly, how you can effectively make your voice heard.
It has been great to see so many District 12 residents in person the last few weeks. From the two budget town halls where people asked questions about the budget and shared their priorities, to the town hall where we had questions and input on a wide variety of topics, and the Campbell Green tree planting, it is wonderful and inspiring to see resident involvement in our city.
Take care, Cara
Council Liaison: Madison.Johnson@dallascityhall.com
Council Assistant:
Luis.Delgado@dallascityhall.com
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As many of you know, the Cotton Belt/Silver Line project has been in the works for many years. If you aren't up to speed on what is happening, now is the time to pay attention.
DART bought the right of way in 1990. Back in 2006, they included it in their long-range plans for 2030. The city council approval to move forward with the project came in 2018. (FYI - I was elected mid 2019)
The purpose of the District 12 March and April community meetings was to MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING! There are a lot of new people in our community, and some long-time residents still believe earlier plans (like a deep trench for the whole project) are what is currently happening. Construction and the traffic delays will impact our whole area, not just neighboring streets. The meetings were a chance to ask questions and get real answers. Some things aren't decided yet, so there are some unknowns.
Do you know how we got here and what the community was told the project would be? Here is a video compilation of TV news broadcasts that goes through the years as the project has changed. It is told entirely by the reporters (25 minutes). You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/Y6L8RsIBn2M
If you would like to see the slides shown at the meeting by staff that focus on Hillcrest, they are on the District 12 website, link above.
Things everyone should know:
- DART is not a department of the City of Dallas, it is an independent agency. The City Council appoints some of the DART board members.
- The rail being constructed is approximately 26 miles, from the airport to Plano, and about 2.2 miles of it is in District 12.
- DART purchased the right of way over 30 years ago.
- DART board members allowed the agency to proceed with a design-build model, which means they had a basic idea of what they wanted to do but planned to address specifics as they went along. This is generally done to save money and time. Unfortunately, the train is years behind schedule and the cost is now more than 2x the original budget.
- The train has the wrong alignment from the start. It should never have been allowed to run through fully built-out residential neighborhoods. The train should have gone up the tollway to PGBT, followed the existing tracks to meet up with the Cotton Belt at Waterview.
- This project has changed from a concept of a bus rapid transit, to a train in a trench, to a train in the air, to the current plan. The community was told the project would begin in 2030, there would be a single track, we were sold on the "Natinsky compromise" with a deep trench the length of the rail.
- Currently, the plans are for the train to be operation by 2024, double track, with 6 at-grade crossings, a place where the train will go over the street (Hillcrest) and a place where the street will go over the train (Coit), plus have the train pass along the Preston Green Park.
- What this means is 15' sound walls cutting through the community, 60-90 trains a day, and many safety issues.
- The project is governed by the FEIS, the DART ILA with addendums, the City of Dallas design standards for flooding and road construction, along with the Federal Railroad Administration, and federal laws like American's with Disabilities Act.
- DART has contrived the selection of the sound wall color and texture to divide the community, leaving the city to ultimately require one color and texture. Had DART's plan been enacted, there would be different color walls and textures on each side of each intersection.
- Sound walls for schools and businesses were left out of the original agreement, endangering children and leaving gaps that will harm nearby residents who need a continuous wall for sound protection.
- DART promised there would be no eminent domain, but has tried several times, including a whole house and portions of homeowner's property.
- Communication with DART has been difficult and the ability to have solutions-oriented meetings has diminished with new leadership at DART. Communication with the community has been even worse. Lately, DART has been trying to host small group meetings. Anything said to you at those meetings is not recorded and the community is not there to verify it. Meaning, please do not count on answers from small group meetings, as they may be incorrect and misleading. After scheduling a meeting on a federal holiday, I asked to have the meetings coordinated with our office. That didn't happen, and the next small group meeting DART scheduled was during spring break.
- Some residents have hired attorneys to represent them on a contingency basis. If you are looking for an attorney, the Facebook and NextDoor groups related to this topic may have suggestions for you.
- When construction begins, which it will shortly, every street will have more traffic. EVERY ONE. It will take longer to get out of your alley onto your street and it will take longer to get to the store, school, work, or anywhere else you want to go. You will need to reset in your mind how long it takes to go anywhere.
- We will have a dedicated inspector to watch construction once it gets started.
- The engine will be 14 feet tall by 9 feet wide. At the recent meeting, we had properly scaled image on the wall of the engine so people could stand next to it. The point was made... there are no survivors of accidents with trains of this size and speed. And the train is coming to one of the most densely populated parts of our city. This is why we must fight for our community's safety.
- DART has a right to build in the right of way, but they don't have a right to tear up our streets and give us something worse than what we have now. The current plan calls for flooding on Hillcrest whenever it rains. This is unacceptable design standards.
WHAT DO WE WANT? TO MAKE IT SAFE!
- Enhanced safety measures as documented in the field diagnostic study!
- Train speed no more than vehicle speed for at-grade crossings
- No flooding where it does not exist today. We do not accept that Hillcrest would go from a 6 lane road that doesn't flood to a 4 lane road with two lanes that flood.
- The #1 item we want is grade separation at Meandering Way and Dickerson! This is the only solution that provides the safety needed.
Lastly, here's how you can give your input in an effective way. There will be no way to make changes later, the time to SPEAK UP IS NOW.
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Sign up to speak at a City Council Meeting. Call 214.670.3738 or sign up here: https://dallascityhall.com/government/citysecretary/Pages/CCrules.aspx for the next council meeting. Register by 5 pm the Tuesday before the Wednesday council meeting. The council meets the first 4 Wednesdays of the month at 9 am. You can participate in person or virtually. You can only speak once per 30 days if not addressing an item on the agenda. You will be called to speak before the start of the meeting if you are participating virtually. For maximum impact, please coordinate with the Facebook group Neighbors Sharing Cotton Belt Information.
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Email the city council, Mayor, city staff, DART leadership and Dallas board members. Here are the email addresses so you can cut/paste: eric.johnson@dallascityhall.com; chad.west@dallascityhall.com; jesse.moreno@dallascityhall.com; casey.thomas@dallascityhall.com; carolyn.kingarnold@dallascityhall.com; jaime.resendez@dallascityhall.com; omar.narvaez@dallascityhall.com; adam.bazaldua@dallascityhall.com; tennell.atkins@dallascityhall.com; paula.blackmon@dallascityhall.com; adam.mcgough@dallascityhall.com; jaynie.schultz@dallascityhall.com; cara.mendelsohn@dallascityhall.com; gay.willis@dallascityhall.com; paul.ridley@dallascityhall.com; tc.broadnax@dallascityhall.com; robert.perez@dallascityhall.com; alireza.hatefi@dallascityhall.com; ghassan.khankarli@dallascityhall.com; nlee@dallascityhall.com; cgarcia3@dart.org; pjkennedy@dart.org; jbkillen@dart.org; mwkrause@dart.org; rschlosser@dart.org; njohnson@dart.org; eruiz@dart.org; rdye@dart.org
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Send a letter to the editor of the Dallas Morning News at https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/2018/12/02/submit-a-letter-to-the-editor/
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Complete a Community Input form and email it to District12@dallascityhall.com. We'll make it convenient for you by sharing it on your behalf with the recipients you choose on the form. The form is located on the District 12 website, link at the top.
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There are several social media groups keeping people informed. One is on NextDoor called Cottonbelt / Silverline Updates, and there are two Facebook groups, Neighbors Sharing Cotton Belt Information and Cotton Belt Concerned Citizens Coalition. Each page shares different information. Some pages may restrict members to nearby residents.
The next enews will have a section of frequently asked questions and answers.
There are things the City is working out with DART and we continue to try to address problems to find a safe way to move forward. There are other items they continue to spring on us with no notice, and we'll keep addressing them as they happen.
Links to some recent media about the problems with DART's Cotton Belt/Silver Line:
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Family Fit Festival at Fair Park |
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We would like to invite you to attend Family Fit Fest, which will be held at the Centennial Building at Fair Park on April 23, 2022 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. This event, which used to be known as Get Kidz Fit but has been expanded to include activities for the whole family. If you would like to learn more about the event please visit www.familyfitfest.org.
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Tree Planting at Campbell Green Park |
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Thank you to all the volunteers who came out to help plant trees at Campbell Green Park! We had incredible weather and a record number of helping hands. These trees were planted in strategic locations to help block sound and light coming from the new pickleball courts. More trees are planned for Campbell Green! Special thanks to Lane Conner, Park Board Representative, Dallas Parks and Rec Department, and Texas Tree Foundation! |
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ADL's Walk Against Hate at Victory Plaza |
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It was great to see so many D12 residents participating in the 2022 Walk Against Hate. Many thanks to Dallas Councilmembers Schultz, Willis, West, and Bazaldua for participating in this event and Mayor Johnson for declaring it Walk Against Hate Day in Dallas! #NoPlaceForHate |
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Mayor's Distinguished Service Award |
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Mayor Eric Johnson announced the creation of the Mayor's Distinguished Service Award. The award will honor the notable service and significant contributions of Dallas residents to the City of Dallas. During the inaugural year, Mayor Johnson — the 60th Mayor of Dallas — will name 60 awardees.
To be considered for the award, nominees must:
- Currently live in the City of Dallas;
- Have a distinguished record of service and/or meritorious achievement over multiple years in the City of Dallas;
- Demonstrate a standard of excellence; and
- Display good moral character.
Nominations are now open and can be submitted through this form. To be considered for an award, nominees must be current City of Dallas residents. City employees are ineligible to receive the award. The nominations are due by 6 p.m., April 29, 2022.
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UPCOMING DISTRICT 12 MEETINGS &
DISTRICT WALK-IN OFFICE HOURS
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4/12 - POSTPONED DUE TO EXPECTED SEVERE WEATHER - RESCHEDULED FOR 4/19, 6 PM! Preston Green Park Input Session.
4/19 - Preston Green Park Input Session (Rescheduled). Bring a chair if you like or sit on the stone wall. This session will be led by the parks department and their landscape architect who is helping address the issues as the Cotton Belt plans develop to come through the park.
4/22 - Walk-in office hours, 2 - 4 pm, North Central Police Station Community Room
4/28 - Townhall - Renner Frankford Library, 7 pm
5/13 - Walk-in office hours, 2 - 4 pm, North Central Police Station Community Room
5/19 - Townhall - Renner Frankford Library, 7 pm
5/27 - Walk-in office hours, 2 - 4 pm, North Central Police Station Community Room
Townhall Meetings - These monthly meetings are for you and focus on District 12 and city issues. Usually there is a short update from city hall, a guest speaker for about 10 minutes, and time for you to ask questions and give input.
Walk-in Office Hours - Twice a month we take over the North Central Police Station community room (6969 McCallum Blvd) to talk with you. Stop by to get help with any city service, share your view on an issue facing the city council, ask any question, or just say hi!
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2022 North Texas Climate Symposium |
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This year’s symposium will continue the conversation around climate change while also celebrating Earth Day. The program features keynote speaker, Dr. Earthea Nance, EPA Region 6 Administrator, as well as two panel discussion. The first panel will focus on environmental justice and the second will highlight the collaborative, cross-departmental work the City is doing to implement the Comprehensive Environmental & Climate Action Plan (CECAP). Everyone is invited to attend.
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Cotton Belt/Silver Line
Mental Health Leave for City of Dallas Employees
Poker Rooms
Crime at Apartments
I Walked Out of a Meeting... Here's Why!
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The Dallas Children's Advocacy Center had an extraordinary awareness event last week. To call attention to the 27,484 child abuse cases in Dallas County last year, the names and ages of each victim was read aloud. Because there are so many names, they are divided into three locations. I read 100 names and ages at Love Field as people passed by. Each name is either a Jane Doe or a John Doe to protect the privacy of the young victims. After reading just 50, it really starts to hit you how many children are impacted by abuse and how young they are. I had to pause more than once before continuing... wow. If you are looking for a way to volunteer and make an impact, please consider Dallas County Children's Advocacy Center. |
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Each year, your county will assess a market value for your property. Your market value will be used to calculate your property taxes once the various taxing entities (city, school district, county, etc...) set their annual tax rates.
Your market value is a very important number and it should accurately reflect your property's market value. If you feel that your market value is too high, it is important to "protest" your property value so that you can lower the property taxes you pay.
You are able to protest your market value on your own or hire a firm to help. Most realtors are happy to assist by pulling recent sales data for your area and showing how those properties compare to yours. Or, you can hire a firm to assist who does all the work and usually takes a portion of what was saved as their fee (no fee if no savings).
The city taxes are only a portion of your annual property tax bill, but I remain committed to making sure we have the lowest rate possible to maintain needed services (police, fire, parks, libraries, streets, etc...). I chair the budget committee and put forward 7 amendments to the budget to reduce the property tax rate. While many had support, none had enough to pass and the tax rate was reduced a minimal amount. With the large increase in property value, combined with the large influx of federal dollars to cities
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National League of Cities |
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The National League of Cities conference provides great networking, in-depth learning sessions about policy issues facing cities, and this year's conference had a strong emphasis on all the new federal funding allocated to cities to serve residents and invest in a variety of programs. I serve on the National Board for Women in Municipal Government and we had our annual meeting during the conference. The Dallas Youth Commission was able to join us and it was wonderful to see civic service through their eyes. President Biden, along with several cabinet members, addressed the conference delegation. |
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- MEETING POSTPONED: Due to severe weather forecast, we are postponing the community meeting about Preston Green Park. The rescheduled date is 4/19 at 6 pm. See you soon!
- Thank you to DPD, Office of Homeless Solutions, Code Compliance and others that assisted with homeless encampment clean ups in the Denton and Collin parts of District 12. Please continue to call 311 to report encampments and debris so they can be scheduled for clean up.
- Your continued calls and reporting on the Our Dallas app has helped reduce panhandling significantly. Please continue to report and direct your generosity to social service organizations instead of giving to panhandlers.
- Poker Room update... here's a story that sums it up: https://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2022/04/01/texas-card-house-can-stay-open
- Frankford Road between Coit and Preston is going through reconstruction. Currently, engineers are designing the new road. Road construction will begin in early 2023. Yes, this will be at the same time as the Cotton Belt/Silver Line construction. It is going to take longer to drive through the construction areas.
- If you live near the Cotton Belt / Silver Line and you want to host a meeting for just the neighbors on your street to learn about what is happening or ask questions specific to your area, please contact our office for more information.
- Pickleball courts at Campbell Green are nearing completion. Light poles are in and nets should be coming by May 1. Please do not walk on or use the pickleball courts until the parks department has officially opened the space. More information on the ribbon cutting ceremony coming soon!
- Parkhill Dog Park fencing is up and the new gates are being worked on. Other items have been ordered. Target for completion is June.
- If the wind has blown your bulk trash items down the street, please go pick them up. Nobody wants a trashy looking neighborhood and the Sanitation services only pick up the piles at your home. Thank you. (I already did this at my home)
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The City of Dallas Small Business Center proudly presents the 2022 Women's Entrepreneurs Leadership Forum scheduled to be held virtually from March 30 - April 21, 2022. Join us to receive valuable information about writing business plans, marketing, and building strategic lender relationships to finance your business. For more information please contact Regina Onyeibe, Economic Development Coordinator at the Small Business Center or visit online at: http://wwwSourceDallas.org.
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- Learn more about the latest happenings at our Family Gateway North family homeless shelter. http://familygateway.org/north/
- Dallas Animal Services reports the shelter is full! If you are interested in fostering or adopting a dog or cat, please contact them. Dogs are free to adopt and we have the Everyday Adoption Center inside the Petsmart at Coit and Campbell, usually open 4 days a week. Check out the website www.BeDallas90.org to see the pets currently available.
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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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