The Dallas City Council authorized $120,097,945.33 in costs to the taxpayer on Wednesday, including passing a $71,000,000 project management agreement for the new Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center.
Of the funds approved, $7,317,941.49 will come from the federal government, while $14,611,437 will come from the State of Texas. The remaining $98,168,566.84 will come from the Dallas taxpayer.
The council began its meeting by approving a $71,000,000 contract with Inspire Dallas for the project management of the planned new Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center. Dozens of stakeholders, including County Commissioner John Wiley Price, came to City Hall to voice their support for the selection of Inspire Dallas and the convention center project as a whole.
Most of the speakers were participants in the project, representing either Inspire Dallas or a subcontractor. However, Council Member Cara Mendelsohn questioned the selection of Inspire Dallas and voted against the item.
Last year, Dallas voters passed Proposition A, which allows the City to increase the hotel occupancy tax and direct those funds toward replacing the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The council approved a $14,368,706 construction services contract for the installation of water and wastewater mains at 14 locations throughout the city.
Council Members also authorized spending $11,000,353 on a new asset management system for the IT department. The purchasing agreement approved by the council will last five years and includes ongoing licensing, hosting, and technical support for the system.
This comes after a months-long debacle involving an alleged ransomware attack against the City of Dallas in which hackers reportedly stole hundreds of thousands of files, as reported by The Dallas Express.
Furthermore, council members authorized paying Dallas County $8,594,776 for holding City prisoners at the Lew Sterrett Criminal Justice Center. This comes amidst an ongoing crisis of the Dallas County jail being nearly at capacity, as covered by The Dallas Express.
Other expenses approved by the council on Wednesday include the following:
- $4,027,795 — renewing contracts for Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) programs.
- $2,824,600 — housing assistance for people with HIV.
- $1,914,118 — portable toilets for the Park & Recreation Department.
- $1,390,490 — purchasing two fleet vehicles and six pieces of equipment for the Water Utilities Department.
- $1,272,926 — replacing sections of the roof at the Jack Evans Police Headquarters.
- $777,925 — engineering services associated with the Floodplain Management Assistance Contract.
- $607,722 — scale repair and maintenance for weigh stations for the Sanitation Department.
- $500,000 — financial advisory services for the City Controller’s Office.
- $480,070 — purchasing automatic flushing devices and sampling stations for the Water Utilities Department.
- $292,240 — purchasing 50 ballistic shields for the Police Department.
- $250,000 — workforce training of electrical vehicle repair and electrical vehicle charging station technicians at Dallas College.
- $242,731 — renewing a contract with CitySquare for housing services for homeless young adults.
- $173,306 — purchasing three digital mobile X-ray systems for the Police Department.
- $136,685 — web-based network performance management software for the Aviation Department.
- $125,000 — consulting for analysis of the Police Department’s racial profiling data audit in preparation for the department’s Annual Racial Profiling Report.
- $60,000 — settling a lawsuit for alleged injuries from a car accident with a Dallas Water Utilities employee.
- $31,000 — settling a lawsuit for alleged injuries from a car accident with Dallas police.
- $27,500 — installing traffic signals.
Council members also approved three “affordable housing” projects with the Dallas Public Facility Corporation. These projects will result in an estimated $1,871,528 in tax dollars the City will not collect over the next 15 years. Council Member Mendelsohn was the only official to vote against all three of these items.
The council also authorized a series of public works items expected to add $61,260 to the City coffers. More information about these items can be found in the council agenda from Wednesday’s meeting.
