What’s next for Fair Park as City of Dallas ends contract with Fair Park First?
Newsletter
This content originally was a newsletter Dallas Free Press emailed to insiders. To become one, sign up here for free.
What would it take for Fair Park to finally become a true asset to its surrounding South Dallas neighbors?
This is a very different question than: What would it take to restore Fair Park’s circa 1936 art deco buildings? Or: What would it take for Fair Park to become a “world-class” park and year-round Dallas tourism attraction?
Or even: What would it take for Fair Park to be “activating every single weekend with local bands, local vendors and food trucks“?
That’s what City of Dallas Park Director John Jenkins promised now that the City will resume operations of the 277-acre property. Last week, Jenkins terminated what he called the “flawed” contract between the City and nonprofit Fair Park First, which also ends the agreement with Oak View Group, the for-profit subcontractor the nonprofit oversees. They both have 90 days to vacate the property.
Jenkins’ decision came after last year’s revelations that Oak View Group misspent millions in donor-restricted funds raised by Fair Park First, followed by budget shortfall reports in the millions, and leadership departures from Fair Park First at the staff and board levels.
| So what happens now? We’ve reached out to Fair Park First board members and staff with questions, but they aren’t talking — until tomorrow morning at 9 a.m., when a press conference at Lot 10, the future home of the long-lauded community park, will announce “a major milestone for our community—one that will bring more green space, recreation, and connection to residents across South Dallas and beyond,” says an email from Evelyn Amaya, Fair Park First’s director of community engagement and longtime resident of the adjacent Jubilee neighborhood. “Your presence helps reinforce the importance of this project and the community it’s meant to serve,” Amaya’s email to neighbors continues. In a KERA story, Fair Park First board chair Veletta Forsythe-Lill says they will use the 90 days to “execute a memorandum of understanding” with the City, and that it’s not the end of the nonprofit. Meanwhile, however, Park Board President Arun Agarwal says it’s a “total reset” and that the City would create a new nonprofit to take care of the community park and deal with donors and partners. At stake is at least $30 million in pledged funds and the one feature of Fair Park that is intended specifically for the park’s surrounding South Dallas community. |
Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!
Keri Mitchell has spent 20+ years as a community journalist, including 15 years dedicated to community and civic journalism at Dallas’ Advocate magazines. She launched Dallas Free Press in early 2020 with the belief that all neighborhoods deserve reporting and storytelling that values their community and holds leaders accountable.
Mitchell says she is energized by “knowing our work is making an impact — listening to people, telling their stories with strong narratives paired with compelling data that leads to change. I also love spending time in our neighborhoods and with our neighbors, learning from them and working to determine how journalism can be part of the solution to their challenges.”
Mitchell is proud to be the winner of multiple awards during her journalism career including: Finalist in Magazine Feature Reporting (2018) and Finalist in Magazine Investigative Reporting (2017) from Hugh Aynesworth Excellence in Journalism, Best Feature Story (2011) from Texas Community Newspaper Association and Best Magazine Feature (2011) from Dallas Bar Association Philbin Awards.
Areas of Expertise:
local government, education, civic issues, investigative and enterprise reporting
Location Expertise:
Dallas, Texas
Official Title:
Founder + executive director
Email Address:
keri@dallasfreepress.com
