The Dallas City Council approved $85,904,449 in spending on Wednesday, with much of the taxpayer funds going toward various construction and maintenance projects.
The federal government kicked in $14,355,734 of taxpayer money toward these expenses, with $8,737,247 coming from federal COVID-19 recovery funds and $5,618,487 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The remaining $71,548,715 will come from the pockets of Dallas taxpayers.
One of the largest single expenses approved by the City Council on Wednesday was an $18,133,470 purchasing agreement for janitorial supplies, trash bags, and liners for the City’s Aviation Department.
The roughly $18 million in spending will be doled out over the three-year duration of the agreement, which was made with M.A.N.S. Distributors.
Council members also authorized spending $15,000,000 on “construction services for environmental remediation” in City buildings. The two-year contract was signed with Prism Response, LLC.
Furthermore, the City Council approved spending $12,711,348 on installing water and wastewater mains at 21 locations throughout Dallas. The contract was signed with Muniz Construction, Inc.
In the realm of Dallas infrastructure, $4,661,560 was slated to be spent removing a road that connects West Jefferson Boulevard and West 12th Street. The space will be used for a public park.
The City Council also approved foregoing an estimated $10,191,769 in taxes over the next 15 years for an “affordable housing” project at Domain at Midtown. The Dallas Housing Finance Corporation (a City-created organization that manages housing properties throughout Dallas) will acquire the apartment complexes and reserve most units for “affordable housing.”
Another $50,517 in taxpayer money will be spent on an “affordable housing” development at 1710 Morrell Ave., currently known as The Elms.
Other expenditures approved by the City Council on Wednesday include the following:
- $8,583,487 — approving a loan for a senior living community called Estates at Ferguson;
- $3,676,924 — one-year food delivery contracts with Services of Hope, Catholic Charities of Dallas, and the Dallas Leadership Foundation;
- $3,100,000 — increasing a construction services contract for slurry seal and micro-surfacing;
- $1,898,075 — wastewater monitoring services;
- $1,143,472 — citywide overhead door repair, maintenance, parts, and labor;
- $1,078,824 — engineering services for the Oak Farms Local Corridors Engineering Study;
- $1,235,000 — construction services for the University Crossing Trail Lighting Project;
- $1,000,000 — overflow shelter contract with The Bridge, Austin Street Center, and Family Gateway homeless shelters;
- $975,000 — construction services contract for the installation of a solar energy system at Bachman Recreation Center;
- $514,784 — purchasing a web application firewall;
- $460,000 — reconstructing Lake June Road from U.S. 175 to Gillette Street;
- $344,455 — purchasing chest compression systems for Dallas Fire-Rescue;
- $300,000 — management agreement with Dallas Heritage Society at Old City Park;
- $290,868 — contracting traffic signal design at six intersections;
- $249,600 — engineering a pedestrian walkway around the garage/terminal area at Dallas Love Field Airport;
- $124,420 — adjusting a construction services contract to pay Stemmons Municipal Center $581,007.77 instead of $456,586.99;
- $72,058 — acquiring a wastewater easement;
- $70,000 — settling a sex and disability discrimination lawsuit with a Dallas Fire-Rescue officer;
- $38,815 — renting drinking water dispensers from Blue Triton Brands for three years.
Council members also approved a number of items expected to add money to City funds.
Two commercial licenses were granted to Three Links Deep Ellum and Big Outdoor Texas, which are expected to bring in a total of $2,200 annually.
The City Council also authorized a five-year agreement to allow New Singular Wireless to use City-owned land for a cellular transmission facility.
That agreement is expected to add $460,356 to the City’s general fund.
