A month after Dallas leaders revealed its original plans for a police academy in Dallas had drastically changed, an updated plan left out one crucial detail: the price tag.
City council members were still not convinced it’s ready to move forward.
City manager Kimberly Tolbert and developers for the city’s police academy project shared updates during a briefing last Wednesday. That included a timeline of the plan’s process over the next three years, a $10 million increase in state funding, an increase in the police academy building’s size, and additional facilities offered.
But questions about the overall cost, timeline, and feasibility of it were brought up by at least four council members.
The total cost of the entire project wasn’t included in the updated plan -- although the plan in March estimated it would cost around $150 million.
Council member Paul Ridley said the budget is headed towards more than $200 million with the new updates. He questioned what the priorities are for the academy.
“I'm concerned that by adding all of these costs, we're gonna find that they exceed our funding capability and this will never get built,” Ridley said. “I think it's time to prioritize the facilities that we need. If we're going to build it at UNT [Dallas], we clearly have to have a basic training building. Do we really need a one-thousand-person auditorium?”
Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming Dallas Police Academy and the plans surrounding it.
The current details
The plan includes two separate locations — a DPD Law Enforcement Training Center at UNT Dallas and a Public Safety Complex with its location still unknown.
The training academy would sit on 20 acres instead of 14 acres stated during last month’s briefing. It includes basic police training courses, classrooms, reality-based training and a criminal justice center. The updated version also adds a 1,000-person auditorium and a multi-purpose indoor training facility.
The city’s complex would be on 60 acres and offer classrooms for both the police and fire department, indoor and outdoor firearms training, a stimulated tactical village and an emergency vehicle obstacle course.
UNT Dallas President Warren von Eschenbach said the partnership between the university and DPD could help students be recruited by Dallas police.
Eschenbach said loan forgiveness and tuition waivers for criminal justice courses provide incentives for law enforcement personnel to enter degree programs and seek higher education.
“This is a really exciting partnership and opportunity to elevate our police training in ways that are beneficial to both the city to Dallas police and to the university,” Eschenbach said. “…This is something I don't think many other cities [or] universities are doing.”
Feelings of uncertainty
Not everyone was thrilled about updates to the plan. Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Adam Bazaldua said he thinks that there's a lot of holes in it.
He said he’s worried how much more money might be needed with the new additions. And he asked about the $5 million Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick previously said he would be holding off on in funding to the police academy after he wasn’t notified of the changes made earlier this year.
“How do we give our city manager a clear consensus when we don't even know what the price tag is?” Bazaldua said. “How do we get a clear [idea] of what we want to do with this plan if we've been given no alternative?”
Tolbert said she’s still waiting for confirmation from Patrick on the $5 million he said he would hold off in addition to more state funding that might be available.
Tolbert also said the planners of the project have not put a price tag on it yet because she did not want to underestimate the cost – which could potentially increase.
“ So we're trying to be responsive, but at the same time, being very open and honest about we don't have all of the information that we need right now to even give you that number,” Tolbert told council members.
Council member Paula Blackmon also raised concerns about the budget and suggested the timeline is moving too fast.
“I have faith in you, but our systems are not set up to move like this,” Blackmon told Tolbert and project developers. “I'm trying to get things done in my district and the city doesn't move fast.”
Blackmon said she while she wants to replace the police department’s current basic training facility, there’s more work that needs to be done to the plan.
“I'm supportive of an academy because I've walked it and believe it or not, I think it is pretty bad shape,” Blackmon said. “It is bad. And I wouldn't want to go to a college in that kind of setting, much less a training academy. And you deserve it. But the thing is, is we deserve to do it right.”
Council member Cara Mendelsohn also had questions about funding, but said she supports the new plan and the benefits it could bring to UNT Dallas and the police department.
“This revised plan is a winner, and it's ready for the council, the residents, and the philanthropic community to support it,” Mendelsohn said. “The academy is essential for our ability to hire, train, and retain our professional police force.”
Interim Police Chief Michael Igo said the plan also has support from the Dallas Police Association.
“They are completely on board,” Igo said. “They like the design of the project.”
Igo added concerns the association previously had have been addressed.
Bazaldua said he wants to see feasibility and comparative studies for the plan to help figure out what’s essential for the academy.
“I think it's really unfortunate that this has come as such a unplanned plan and made us have this type of discussion,” Bazaldua said.
Bazaldua said this project should be more about what the police department needs, not what state officials want.
That's not what I was elected to do,” Bazaldua said. “I was elect to do the basic city services, and this is about the Dallas Police Department.”
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