Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has a budget of up to $2 million to negotiate and execute preacquisition agreements for a possible relocation of City Hall staff and emergency services following council approval on Wednesday.
The vote happened during the second special called meeting in as many weeks. Last week's lengthy special called meeting saw a 9-6 council vote to pause a renovation and repair process of the City Hall building and instead look at leasing options for a new location.
Council members voted along the same divided lines on Wednesday.
Council Members Chad West, Jesse Moreno, Zarin Gracey, Lorie Blair, Kathy Stewart, Gay Donnell Willis, and Mayor Eric Johnson voted in favor. Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Maxie Johnson and Mayor Pro Tem Jaime Resendez, both appointed to their new titles last week, also voted in favor.
Tolbert will now start the due diligence work for no more than four property locations in the Central Business District. The $2 million budgeted for this work will come out of the General Fund Contingency Reserve Fund.
She is expected to bring back information related to agreement options in August. None of the preacquisition agreements will bind the city to anything.
Neither last week's nor this week's votes on City Hall mark the final decision on whether the city will stay and repair years of deferred maintenance at its current building or relocate elsewhere.
But they are answers to Johnson's request to the council to make a decision forward. In a statement released after the vote, Johnson made it clear that he sided with relocating City Hall.
He said outside experts have publicly briefed council members on the costs of renovation and, during executive session, relocation options and costs.
"After this information is brought back, I trust that the City Council will again make the right decision by our taxpayers and choose a municipal headquarters that functions effectively for employees and serves residents at the high standard they deserve," Johnson said in the statement.
He added that relocating City Hall would allow for a reimagination of economic opportunities for 1500 Marilla Street.
While Johnson and "Say Yes to Downtown" advocates want to reimagine what the City Hall building could become, there would still be the question of the City Hall Plaza which is designated as a park.
The Texas Local Government Code allows for the sale of a city hall site, but prevents any public square or park to be sold unless voter approved.
Council Member Cara Mendelsohn attempted to make several amendments to motions made by Council Member West during Wednesday's meeting, but none were approved.
One amendment would have required any potential leasing properties to have been built after the current City Hall building.
"We've been told over and over by council members and staff that this less than 50-year-old building is too old, it's at the end of its life," Mendelsohn said. "And of course we would want to honor their consistent message by not moving into a building that is even older than the one we have."
She proposed another amendment that would have ensured secured, attached parking for city employees. An additional amendment to Mendelsohn's amendment Paula Blackmon would have ensured free parking for employees. Both failed in a 9-6 vote.
While those amendments did not pass, Tolbert said a parking analysis was already included in the due diligence direction and would be included.
The city would need more than 1,400 parking spaces, using current conditions.
Tolbert said in a statement released after the vote that Wednesday's action was a step that supports "a more modern, cost-effective municipal operations."
"This deliberate process is designed to give the City the information it needs to make a sound, fiscally responsible decision that better serves residents, supports staff, and supports Dallas’s long-term growth," Tolbert said in the statement.
Temporary Restraining Order
The actions taken last week and this week are the subject of a temporary restraining order granted by Dallas Judge Eric Moye earlier this month. The request was originally filed by Council Members Paula Blackmon, Adam Bazaldua, and Mendelsohn, but Mendelsohn later took her name off.
The council members attempted to stop any action on City Hall last week through the temporary restraining order, or TRO. The TRO stopped the city from including the following agenda item:
1. Authorize advance work towards the relocation of city hall staff and functions; authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute pre-development agreements and conduct due diligence for prospective sites
2. Authorize advance work towards the relocation of 911 and emergency operations
4. Authorize the City Manager to pursue opportunities for the redevelopment of the property located at 1500 Marilla Street
Moye said in his order that there was evidence that "harm is imminent" to the council members and the public if the court did not grant the TRO.
"The public's right to transparent and lawful decision-making will have been violated, and no after-the-fact remedy can restore that right," Moye wrote. "Moreover, Dallas City Hall is an irreplaceable civic landmark. Any action taken that threatens the building's continued existence or integrity constitutes irreparable harm that cannot be remedied by monetary damage
An agenda item to authorize a phased city hall repair strategy was allowed to move forward, however Council Member West made a motion to pause renovation and repair process of the City Hall building — and to look at leasing options for a new location.
Since then Blackmon and Bazaldua have alleged in court documents that Tolbert and City Secretary Bilierae Johnson violated the TRO by allowing West's motion.
However, attorneys for Tolbert and City Secretary Johnson have said in court documents that council direction to "explore options for the disposition of the City Hall site" was approved in March.
At the time, Tolbert told the council that it was not the finish line — it allowed city staff to gather more information.
"It does not bind the City Council to make a decision on whether or not the future of City Hall is not located here," Tolbert said in March. "We would like to present additional market data that you've asked us for, that we believe can be beneficial in how you continue to evaluate the options."
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