The Dallas City Council authorized $11,714,802 in costs to the taxpayer on Wednesday, spending funds on surveillance systems, legal proceedings, and building renovations.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture provided $750,000 for one item via a grant, while $170,000 for another item was provided by the nonprofit Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. Another nonprofit provided $800,000 in funding for renovations to amenities at a baseball field. The remaining expenses will all be funded by the City of Dallas.
The largest expense approved on Wednesday was roughly $4 million. The council authorized spending an additional $4,081,988 on its security camera system.
Council members increased an already-existing contract with Sigma Surveillance “for the purchase and installation of hardware and software for a video surveillance camera management system.”
The City first entered into the contract in 2019. The original contract was valued at $16,327,955, but the council raised it to $20,409,944 on Wednesday.
Furthermore, the council authorized spending $1,190,000 on settling a condemnation proceeding with Mainland Land & Equipment for the acquisition of 11.75 acres of land on Sargent Road near its intersection with Morrell Avenue for the Dallas Floodway Extension Project, according to the agenda item.
Funding for this expense was increased from $320,000.00 to $1,510,000, with the additional $1,190,000 being approved on Wednesday.
Other expenses passed during the council meeting include the following:
- $800,000 — building, restoring, and renovating the concession and restroom buildings at Reverchon Park Baseball Field; funding came from the Dallas Education Foundation.
- $750,000 — performing an urban tree inventory and condition assessment; funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
- $576,128 — emergency construction services for “extra work to stabilize the slope next to the pavement at the 1300 block of North
Cockrell Hill Road from Davis Street to Pinnacle Point Drive.” - $529,000 — a three-year agreement between the Caruth Police Institute at UNT Dallas and Dallas Water Utilities for “civilian leadership training.”
- $378,600 — additional work on elevator maintenance, roof and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning replacements at various locations throughout the city.
- $360,000 — extending and improving the SoPac Trail from Greenville Avenue to Meadow Road to the Northaven Trail.
- $209,000 — authorizing the issuance and sale of $34,000,000 in bonds for the Waterworks and Sewer System.
- $182,000 — authorizing a “four-year service contract for a cost of service/revenue study of fees supporting programs/services,” which will be conducted by MGT of America Consulting.
- $170,000 — appropriating a grant from the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund to promote “economic equity.”
- $80,000 — settling a lawsuit with Yohannes Seyoum for alleged injuries from a car accident involving Dallas police.
- $75,000 — legal counsel from Brown & Hofmeister for the case Ray Jordan II et al. v. City of Dallas et al., which involves Police Chief Eddie Garcia and former police chief Reneé Hall.
- $36,800 — moving expenses for 39 people who “have been displaced as a direct result” of the City purchasing 4150 Independence Dr. for a homeless services facility.
- $19,000 — increasing the purchase amount from $115,500 to $134,500 for a single-family home with 4,140 square feet of land.
The council also approved an item that will forego an estimated $2,277,286 in taxes over the next 75 years. The council authorized a Dallas Public Facility Corporation “mixed-income, multifamily development” at 2020 North Beckley Ave. Council Member Cara Mendelsohn voted against this item.
The City will also add $7,820 to municipal coffers by “abandoning a portion of a sanitary sewer easement with temporary working space easement to SW White Rock Trail Owner” near the intersection of White Rock Trail and Crestedge Drive.
