The nonprofit guiding Fair Park’s development continues to experience a change in leadership, adding uncertainty to the stability of an organization tasked with repairing a long history of inequality and neglect in South Dallas.
Darren James, Fair Park’s first chairman, has led the board since it was founded in 2018 but announced his retirement on Wednesday. Dallas Morning NewsFinance Committee Chair Keba Baty also resigned, according to two city officials close to Fair Park. Baty led a committee that reviewed the park’s finances and audit findings.
Nonprofit officials hinted more changes could be on the way.
The resignation comes just days after the board voted to end Fair Park First CEO Brian Luallen’s suspension and reinstate him. The leadership change was triggered by a forensic audit of the park’s finances, which has not yet been made public.
James said his final meeting as volunteer board chair will be June 25.
“My six years in this role have been an incredible journey,” James wrote in his resignation letter, saying he was proud of significant accomplishments, including updating the master plan for the 277-acre campus, designing a community park and bringing a new professional women’s soccer team to Cotton Bowl Stadium.
“These efforts have especially benefited from my insight, guidance and direction,” James wrote.
James did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Fair Park First officials said in a statement that the board will meet June 25 to appoint a new chair, with further personnel changes expected to follow over the next three-year term. The terms of directors will expire. Directors may serve a maximum of two three-year terms.
“As Fair Park First changes direction, we expect that more volunteer board members will retire as their terms expire,” the statement read.
“Fair Park First will continue fundraising efforts to benefit Fair Park, but is considering steps to strengthen and maintain further financial control over the funds the organization raises from private sources,” the statement read.
Officials said they are awaiting two separate financial audits by accountants representing Fair Park First and the city of Dallas.
Lualen raised the possibility of mismanagement of funds in April, saying in a statement that he was concerned the park’s operator, Oak View Group, may have used restricted funds from the endowment for its day-to-day operations. OVG officials have denied any wrongdoing.
Fair Park First hired the law firm Mulnoly McNeill & Co. to conduct a forensic audit, but officials with the nonprofit have not notified the city whether the audit has been completed.
Retrieved email news An open records request revealed that Dallas Parks and Recreation Director John Jenkins asked Lualen to set up a new bank account for the donations just before the audit was made public. In a June 17 letter, Arun Agarwal, chairman of the city’s parks board, asked Fair Park First board members to make the audit public.
“This committee has met multiple times and we truly appreciate the service and time you are putting in, but people are losing patience,” Agarwal said.
City officials have been envisioning ways to renovate the site for years to help revive South Dallas and repair its history with Black residents eager to see economic development in the neighborhood.
In an April statement, Luallen said if there was an inaccurate and unauthorized reallocation of funds, it’s a serious issue that “undermines our trust and credibility.” The donations come with strings attached and could be tied to specific capital improvements in the park, such as supporting an African-American museum or community park. To date, Fair Park First has raised more than $40 million, with the goal of reaching $85 million.
The restricted donations are rarely used for the day-to-day operation of the park, such as mowing the lawn or paying for payroll expenses.
“If we find that restricted funds donated to Fair Park First have been used improperly, we will do everything we can to work with the City of Dallas to ensure that the funds are returned and reallocated as the donors intended,” Lualen said in a statement.
OVG officials stress that the organization’s funds have been used appropriately.
“We are confident, and have the documentation to support it, that all use of the donations was made with the full knowledge and approval of Ms. Lualen, who represents Fair Park First,” Brian Rosenberg, attorney for OVG360, the hospitality division of Oak View Group, which oversees Fair Park operations, said in a statement.
