The future of Dallas’ treasured parks and recreation facilities is in jeopardy.
Next Tuesday, the city will vote to give the City Council, rather than the Dallas Park Board, the power to appoint the parks director, threatening to eviscerate the structure that has made our parks some of the best in the country.
The proposals would destroy the parks service’s independence and place it under the control of the city council, which already struggles to fill potholes and collect rubbish.
That’s one item on the March 26 agenda for the 15-member Charter Review Committee, appointed by the City Council to recommend needed changes to the rules of city government. The results of the once-in-a-decade charter review will next go to the City Council, with any final amendments put on the November ballot.
Why would someone want to tamper with the only department of City Hall that is giving us taxpayers value for our money?
That was my first question to the two commissioners behind the proposal: former City Councilman Adam Medrano, who was appointed by District 6 Rep. Omar Narvaez, and commercial real estate executive Marshall Mills, who was appointed by District 13 Rep. Gay Donnell Willis.
Medrano, the committee’s vice chair, did not respond to my text messages and emails. Mills said in an email that she was reluctant to discuss the amendments until the vote has taken place.
So much for transparency and explanation of what could potentially cause significant change. If the commissioners, or the city council members who appointed them, have legitimate concerns about the structure of the park, let’s have an open discussion about it.
The upcoming vote is the last of three attempts to weaken the department and its board. The committee rejected the first two at its March 6 meeting. This final blow was launched by two committee members, so it seems more likely to pass.
This whole affair feels like a frivolous political stunt because no one is publicly talking about what’s wrong with the Park Service’s setup or why Congressional oversight is needed. The service is performing at its best and delivering on its promises.
Most Dallas residents don’t even know that the Parks Department has more autonomy than the rest of City Hall, a system devised nearly a century ago by city leaders who recognized that parks are not a luxury but a vital piece of infrastructure that shouldn’t be blown around by financial and political winds.
Taxpayers won’t be buying a parks department that operates like one with notoriously poor permitting practices, a perpetually understaffed 911 emergency dispatch system or an office responsible for relocating homeless encampments and fixing street lights, for example.
Nor will they be too excited about the prospect of the council having new direct reports following the chaotic departure of Mayor TC Broadnax.
Now, Broadnax, one of two finalists for the same position in Austin, appears poised to accept a hefty $423,246 annual salary from Dallas. The failure of the mayor and city council to set annual expectations and metrics for Broadnax does not inspire confidence that they can effectively manage another high-profile boss.
Dallas rose 10 spots, from 53rd to 43rd, in last year’s Trust for Public Land ranking of parks among the 100 largest U.S. cities. Dallas also improved in the most important metric: the percentage of all residents with a park within a 10-minute walk of the city. In 2017, that figure was 60 percent. Last year, it was 73 percent, and with projects like the Five Mile Creek Greenbelt System underway, that number is on track to improve even more dramatically.
The department’s financial partnerships continue to expand rapidly: The proposed 2024 bond program is expected to leverage at least $332.5 million in third-party funds.
Current park director John Jenkins has 30 bosses, including board members and the congressional representatives who appointed them. There are a lot of cooks in the kitchen, but Jenkins said it works well because the 15 board members who are dedicated to the park provide the actual oversight.
The Parks Board hires the director, provides metrics-based evaluations, and sets the direction for the department. Council members’ direct input and oversight is through appointees. If the City Council took over hiring and oversight, the Parks Board would be relegated to an advisory body and the City Council would have more work than it could handle.
Under the watch of Paul Dyer, Willis Winters and now Jenkins, Dallas has developed a vibrant and diverse parks system with significant downtown public spaces, nearly 200 miles of well-used trails, an expanded zoo, a coveted Audubon Center and a master plan that cities across the nation have emulated.
Two former directors told me the proposed changes were a terrible idea. Dyer, who served as parks director for 20 years, credits the current structure, and the role of the Parks Board in particular, as a big factor in the department’s long-term success.
“It’s important that parks board members are available,” said Dyer, who continues to work informally with Winters and Jenkins, “and it’s also important to get decisions and direction from the board. Council doesn’t have time for that.”
Dyer said the role parks committee members play in the community can’t be replicated. “Through this committee, residents feel a lot closer to the government,” he said. “They feel like they can’t fight city hall, but committee members fill that gap for residents.”
He also noted that Energy Committee members are committed to bringing partnership opportunities, “and I’m not sure that funding partners will have the same confidence in changing the system.”
Winters, who worked for the parks department for 27 years, the last seven as director, said the Medrano Mills amendment strips the parks board of power and, in turn, takes away the investment future board members would bring to the job. The change would create an advisory group “where even attendance is not heavily monitored,” he said.
Most importantly, Winters said, the committee acts as an insulating layer “so that board members don’t have to deal directly with the political mayhem and chaos of City Hall.”
During Winters’ tenure at the agency, $1 billion in capital investments were made through bonds and private partnerships. “Commissioners in other big cities think what we’ve done in Dallas is incredible,” Winters said. “I think it’s because of the structure of the parks board.”
I’ve written a lot about Dallas’ green spaces over the past few years, as our parks, trails and recreation centers remain a source of pride while the booming cities around us often outdo us.
This reporting has allowed me to see many things others haven’t seen: the high morale that comes from continuity and a shared vision among Park Service employees; residents feeling heard thanks to the perseverance of individual board members; and the breathtaking parks of the future opening in the next few years.
Why would someone be stupid or vindictive enough to target the way this department has been successful for Dallas residents?
The Charter Review Commission has made it clear that it is focused on fixing problems, not making political statements, and I hope it will do the same on Tuesday night.
To submit comments before the Charter Review Commission meeting at Dallas City Hall on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., send an email to: email address:.
