In a straw vote on Friday evening, the Dallas City Council overwhelmingly indicated it wants to increase the bond capacity by an additional $150 million dollars.
That would bring the total capacity to $1.25 billion dollars. And council members in attendance at Friday's special called meeting say the vote is only for the total capacity — and doesn't have to do with individual allocations.
“All of this could change from every single recommendation that’s been in front of us, so I want to make sure no one is marrying into anything other than the overall bond package," District 7 Council Member Adam Bazaldua said during the meeting.
Bazaldua was the first to introduce the motion and was one of 13 council members who voted in favor of the measure.
But the vote is just guidance, according to City Attorney Tammy Palomino.
"This is not a binding action on the council, it is just a recommendation to the full council and to the city manager so that there is additional instruction and direction," Palomino said during the meeting.
District 12 Council Member Cara Mendelsohn was the only one who did not vote in favor of the bond increase.
"As far as the increasing of the bond, I don't know how I feel about that yet. I feel like I need a little bit more information," Mendelsohn said earlier in the meeting.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson was absent from Friday's meeting. Johnson was scheduled to attend the World Economic Forum in Switzerland this week.
The vote comes after memos cancelling — and then rescheduling — the bond discussion.
Three members submitted yet another laying out what the council would be discussing during the special called meeting. That included different project allocations and the bond capacity increase.
Council members have already started to voice their opinions about what those projects should look like — and how much money they should get.
The lead up to the final bond discussions before Dallas voters ultimately decide what to issue debt for include a push for housing and more money for street repair and maintenance.
"We have a citizen satisfaction survey and 12 of 14 districts had streets as number 1 of their concern. The other two had it as number two in their concerns," District 13 Council Member Gay Donnell Willis said during the meeting.
But the lead up has also included a months-long campaign by Johnson and other council members to increase the bond allocations for parks.
Johnson has previously claimed that taxpayers get more band for their buck with parks and recreation investments than anything else.
And the 15-member appointed Community Bond Task Force's recommendation mirrored Johnson's enthusiasm for increasing greenspaces in Dallas.
There are at least six Dallas Parks and Recreation Board members who also served on the bond task force. That includes Arun Agarwal who was appointed by Jonson to lead the group. Agarwal is also the president of the city’s park board.
"I've talked to almost all of you and heard what your priorities are for this bond," District 10 Council Member Kathy Stewart said during the meeting. "And I am going to tell you parks is in your top three, almost all of you...I'm going to be your advocate for parks."
Stewart said she wants to see city staff's recommended $250 million for parks and recreation centers to be increased to $300 million.
The council is scheduled to continue the debate at the end of January. That discussion will include an increase to the capacity, timing of the bond election — and what specific projects the council will ask Dallas voters to decide on.
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter @nathannotforyou.
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