City Council Approves Nearly $80M in Spending

In its first meeting back from its month-long summer recess, the Dallas City Council approved $78,979,368 in taxpayer spending on infrastructure projects, street construction, and housing for homeless people and vagrants.

Dallas taxpayers will pay for most of the expenditures ($71,267,345), but some items will also be funded with taxpayer money from the State of Texas and the federal government. For instance, council members approved spending $4,961,216 of federal recovery funds from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other costs will be covered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality ($976,303); the Texas GAFF Program ($678,000); the Department of Housing and Urban Development ($465,000); the Texas Department of State Health Services ($332,500); the Confiscated Monies-Federal Department of Treasury Fund ($150,210); and the 2022 Homeland Security-Urban Area Security Initiative ($148,791).

The largest single expense authorized by council members on Wednesday was $15,617,508 for installing erosion control and storm drainage improvements at nine locations around Dallas.

The City Council also approved spending $9,940,011 on the design and construction of pedestrian fencing, signal upgrades, and lights for the roadways that cross the Interstate 30 Canyon project.

Furthermore, the council authorized spending $8,578,629 to pay invoices for emergency purchases of hardware, software, professional services, consultants, and monitoring services for City operations that were allegedly hindered by the reported ransomware attack that occurred on May 3.

Despite such IT-related expenditures, the City went months without being able to provide complete crime data to the public, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. Six months of data on public safety emergencies and response times from Dallas Fire-Rescue were also unavailable until recently, with officials blaming the ransomware attack.

The City Council also approved spending $3,000,000 on supportive housing for homeless people and vagrants as part of a cost-share agreement between the City and Dallas County for St. Jude Center Vantage Point.

As previously reported by The Dallas Express, a former hotel known as the “Hotel from Hell” was rezoned by council members in May to allow the property to be purchased by St. Jude Inc. so it can be developed into a “transitional housing facility.”

Other expenditures approved by the City Council on Wednesday include the following:

• $4,944,248 — street reconstruction on Webb Chapel Road from Silverton Drive to Northaven Drive.
• $4,241,512 — renewing a contract for helpdesk and desktop support services for the IT Department.
• $3,857,710 — construction services for the Street Reconstruction Group.
• $3,132,382 — construction services for the Street Reconstruction Group.
• $2,907,077 —  construction services for the Alley Reconstruction Group.
• $2,520,000 — increasing a loan development agreement with Jaipur Lofts for “affordable housing” units.
• $2,097,576 — increasing a construction contract for additional work on wastewater interceptor installation on Riverfront Boulevard.
• $1,442,500 — renting heavy equipment for Dallas Fire-Rescue.
• $1,097,365 — engineering services for storm drainage system and erosion control improvements at three locations.
• $1,066,997 — purchasing supplies and chemicals to disinfect swimming pools and public fountains.
• $1,024,434 — providing a secondary electrical feed to the Alta Mesa Pump Station.
• $948,243 — construction materials testing services for the 2023 Annual Street Resurfacing Project.
• $678,000 — replacing City fossil fuel vehicles with electric vehicles.
• $647,761 — amending a contract with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to continue ambient air pollution monitoring from September 1, 2023, to August 21, 2025.
• $586,868 — cost overruns related to traffic signal construction and intersection improvements.
• $540,000 — image processing and inspection of pavement conditions.
• $537,540 — leasing and/or purchasing portable office buildings for the Park & Recreation Department.
• $525,021 — increasing a construction contract for additional work on the East Side Water Treatment Plant.
• $470,861 — “mixed-income” housing development at Bishop Ridge (estimated tax dollars foregone over 15 years).
• $465,000 — renewing contracts with Family Gateway, Austin Street Center, and The Salvation Army North Texas Area Command for emergency sheltering services.
• $451,853 — construction materials testing services for the 2023 Annual Street Maintenance Project.
• $450,345 — construction materials testing services for the 2023 Annual Street Maintenance Project.
• $440,761 — amending a contract with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for the Whole Air Monitoring Program.
• $384,940 — replacing water and wastewater mains and adjusting storm drainage improvements.
• $355,000 — authorizing a contract for the lease management system of the Public Works Department.
• $332,500 — increasing a contract with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission for the Lactation Support Services Program.
• $316,920 — two traffic corridor studies for Abrams Road, from Northwest Highway to Richmond Avenue, and Esperanza Road, from Spring Valley Road to North Central Expressway Southbound Service Road.
• $303,763 — geometric design of two signalized intersections at Loop 12/Walton Walker Boulevard and Country Creek Drive and at South Zang Boulevard and West Saner Avenue.
• $267,300 — purchasing and installing a replacement A/V system for the Aviation Department.
• $257,845 — replacing stone pavers at Main Street Garden Plaza.
• $231,440 — contracting physical records inventory management software for the City Secretary’s Office.
• $220,350 — authorizing a software license agreement for actuarial analysis services for pension plans and consulting projects.
• $206,000 — traffic corridor study for Malcolm X Boulevard from Elsie Faye Heggins Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
• $195,185 — reconstructing the Nagle Street public crossing between Denton Drive and Overlake Drive.
• $150,218 — purchasing rifles and accessories for the Tactical Investigations Group of the Dallas Police Department.
• $148,792 — purchasing night vision goggles for the Dallas Police Department.
• $144,127 — constructing a new playground at Anderson Bonner Park.
• $138,146 — purchasing a diesel sweeper for the Water Utilities Department.
• $113,942 — replacing air monitoring equipment.
• $101,543 — operating an ambient air monitoring station in Rockwall County.
• $45,000 — settling a lawsuit with people allegedly injured in a car accident with a Dallas Water Utilities vehicle.

Council members also approved several items expected to generate funding for the City, including an estimated $2,422,041 sale of eight “unwanted and unneeded” properties.

The City Council also renewed a contract with Ed Campbell Concessions Company for concessions and catering services at the Majestic Theater. The contract is estimated to generate $300,000.

Council members authorized abandoning 17,979 square feet of land on Cleveland Road, adding $48,563 to City coffers. Similarly, the council approved abandoning portions of two drainage easements totaling roughly 21,194 square feet of land, which will bring in $7,820.

The City will receive $7,820 after council members extended a construction deadline for Hike and Bike Trail easement improvements.

During the City Council’s last meeting in June before its summer recess, council members approved nearly $200 million in spending, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.