The latest:
District 6 residents prioritized two projects for the 2024 bond: improvements to a community fire station and the Jaycee-Zaragoza Recreation Center.
The city’s Office of Bond and Construction Management hosted a town hall meeting last month at the recreation center on the proposed 2024 Capital Bond Program so neighbors could provide input.
Why this matters:
The anticipated $1 billion bond includes money for improvements for streets, park and recreation facilities, construction and city facilities. The bond would also fund economic development and housing projects. Voters are expected to decide on the bond in May 2024.
What neighbors told the City:
Many of the District 6 residents want to see updates to Fire Station No. 16 on Chalk Hill Road. They say the station is outdated and needs bond funds for renovations.
The current map of recommended projects from the Community Bond Task Force Subcommittees includes $52,400 worth of renovations for Fire Station 16.
Residents also want to see improvements to the Jaycee-Zaragoza Recreation Center. The current recommended projects from the Community Bond Task Force Subcommittees include $5 million worth of renovations for the center.
“We conduct lots of meetings here, including senior programs. It’s just a busy place and it needs to be updated,” one of the attendees said.
Councilman Omar Naverez asked residents at the meeting to stand to show who was there to support renovations for Fire Station 16. Nearly half of the room stood.
The City of Dallas’ response:
Navarez said $8 billion worth of work needs to be done specifically on infrastructure such as streets, sidewalks and alleys across the city. However, the City only has $1 billion to spend, so they must prioritize carefully, he said.
Efrain Trejo, assistant director of the Office of Bond and Construction Management, said they will submit the community input to the 2024 Community Bond Task Force Subcommittees.
How projects get prioritized:
Potential bond projects originate from an Infrastructure Needs Inventory list the city maintains based on maintenance records, master plans, resident input and city council recommendations, according to the Office of Bond and Construction Management.
Subject experts rank and prioritize these projects, and then various subcommittees vet and select a recommended list. This includes a community task force and subcommittees for parks and trails, streets and transportation, critical facilities, economic development and flood control.
The committees will submit a final draft of the bond proposal to the Dallas City Council later this year.
Town hall meetings will continue through Oct. 19.
This brief is a part of our Dallas Documenters public meeting coverage. Click here to see the full notes.
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