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By Shawn Williams – Dallas South News Editor

Every couple of weeks, I’ll bring “5 Items to Watch” regarding upcoming city council meetings.  I hate to admit it, but I’ve missed our 15 city rep since they’ve been on hiatus.  I figure I’ll go welcome them back (since I was out last week) in the morning, but until then here are a few items I have my eye on ahead of Wednesday’s meeting at 9 am.  Feel free to check out the Dallas City Council August 12th agenda with all 81 agenda items and 11 addendums.

ITEMS 29 & 30

This agenda item would authorize:

1. a development agreement with La Reunion Towncenter, LLC and/or its affiliate Orleans at La Reunion, LLC in an amount not to exceed $4,700,000, payable from future Fort Worth Avenue TIF District funds.
2. the Fort Worth Avenue TIF District Board of Directors to dedicate up to $4,700,000 from future Fort Worth Avenue TIF revenues in accordance with the development agreement

There is more in the document on what the Town Center is supposed to look like when completed:

La Reunion Town Center project will contain approximately 700 apartments, 70,000 square feet of retail and office space, and 35 town homes. The town center is also envisioned to include a connection to the Coombs Creek Trail, which is planned, when complete, to connect to the Katy Trail and the Trinity River trail system.

as well as minimum requirements for the agreement.

• at least 180,000 square feet of residential space.

• at least 20,000 square feet of commercial space including retail, office,

• residential amenity, and/or live/work space.

• minimum private investment of $25,000,000 for land and building acquisition costs, site preparation, and hard costs for construction.

If approved construction of the projects would begin in April 2010 and end in April 2012.

AGENDA ITEM 56

This item authorizes a professions services contract with KAI Texas, LLC for “architectural and engineering services for design and construction administration” of a replacement Highland Hills Library.  The $433,490 dollars dedicated to this project were allocated in 2006 Bond Funds.

KAI Texas is registered as a minority owned firm with the following ethnic makeup:

Hispanic Female 1,  Hispanic Male 1
African-American Female 2, African-American Male 8
Other Female 0, Other Male 1
White Female 5, White Male 6

The design phase will begin in September of this year with the completion of construction scheduled for February 2012.

ADDENDUM ITEM #2

This item adds a host of changes to Dallas City Council meeting procedures:

1. require council members to be present during at least 50% of a council meeting or council committee meeting to receive compensation under the charter
2. clarify that a council quorum is reduced to less than nine if required by conflicts of interest and that a council quorum is not required to hear open microphone speakers
3. provide that council meetings start at 9:00 a.m. unless otherwise posted and do not have to recess at noon
4. provide that public hearings start no earlier than 1:00 p.m. unless otherwise posted
5. require speakers to register in person, by phone, or by e-mail by 5:00 p.m. of the day preceding a council meeting
6. eliminate the open microphone period at the beginning of council meetings
7. allow a person to speak at only two open microphone periods in any calendar month, once at a briefing meeting and once at a voting agenda meeting
8. provide that the order in which open microphone speakers are called be based on the frequency in which they have addressed the city council in the past
9. require requests to remove items from the consent agenda for individual consideration to be received by the city secretary by 5:00 p.m. of the Monday before a council meeting, unless approved by the mayor or a majority of the city council.

ADDENDUM #6

This action would provide the nonprofit City Wide Community Development Corporation (CWCDC) an additional $500,000 in addition to $500,000 that was already allotted to them, both at 0% interest.  The CWCDC is working on developing the Lancaster corridor, right now through land acquisition.  The document says that “Sites are to be acquired for the purpose of constructing residential, retail, commercial, or mixed-use development.

ADDENDUM #9

This is a biggie.  This measure would authorize a 25-year agreement for the Dallas Zoological Society and Dallas Zoo Management, Inc. (DZM) to manage the Dallas Zoo.  A number of other cities with similar agreements are listed in the document, including Ft. Worth, Houston, Cincinnati, Seattle, and St. Louis.  If successful, the agreement would go into effect in the October 1, 2009 time frame.

The City of Dallas would continue to own the land and exhibits while Dallas Zoo Management would be responsible for zoo operations, management, repair and maintenance.  The document also states that DZM will evaluate the monorail and discontinue the attraction if it is found to be “unusable, unsafe, or too expensive to operate or repair.”

The annual management fee paid to Dallas Zoo Management will be as follows:

FY 10/1/2009-9/30/2010 – $10.8 million
FY 10/1/2010-9/30/2011  – $10.8 million
FY 10/1/2011-9/30/2012 – $11.8 million
FY 10/1/2012-9/30/2013 – $13.8 million
FY 10/1/2013-9/30/2034 – $13.8 million

DMZ will also operate and manage the Aquarium at Fair Park.