Dallas City Hall
Dallas City Council met for its scheduled regular council meeting on Oct. 28. Listed below are decisions from the meeting that impact our neighborhood, along with other citywide items residents should know about.
Dallas approves funding for $227 million police training center
The council authorized $15 million in state grants, accepted $17.5 million in private donations and approved $20 million for the first phase of construction of a new Dallas Police Department (DPD) Law Enforcement Training Center (LETC) at the University of North Texas Dallas (UNTD) campus.
Two grants, totaling $10 million and $5 million were given by the Texas Office of the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division to support the infrastructure and facility challenges at the current Dallas Police Training Academy to meet the growing demand for DPD regional police training. Furthermore, this funding will be used to implement a state-of-the-art DPD training facility at the UNTD campus, according to a council resolution.
The City also authorized the acceptance of $17.5 million in private donations for the new DPD LETC at the UNTD campus from QuickTrip Corp. and the W.W. Caruth, Jr. Foundation Fund through the Communities Foundation of Texas. QuikTrip Corp. donated $10 million on June 17, in exchange for naming rights to the facility’s Basic Training Building, while the W.W. Caruth, Jr. Foundation Fund contributed $7.5 million.
As of Sept. 3, the W.W. Caruth, Jr. Foundation Fund had contributed $7.5 million, while QuickTrip’s $10 million donation was received June 24, according to the resolution.
The $20 million accepted for the first phase of construction includes $17.5 million in private donations and $2.5 million from the City’s 2024 Bond Program. Swinerton Builders will oversee construction under the agreement, which covers work on six buildings for basic and in-service training, reality-based training, physical training and criminal justice education, along with landscaping and paving.
The training center will be located at 1200 E. Camp Wisdom Road. The training center project has an estimated budget of $227 million, according to a council resolution. The state grants cover the period from Sept. 1 through May 31, 2029.
The LETC project would also receive $82 million in funding if the City’s latest bond proposal is approved by voters on Nov. 3.
$1.25 million for sexual assault evidence testing
The Council authorized the acceptance of a $1.25 million grant from the Texas Office of the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division to help cover forensic analysis costs for physical evidence collected in sexual assault kits.
The grant will fund the Sexual Assault Evidence Testing Program from Sept. 1 through Aug. 31, 2027, according to the council resolution.
$1.1 million in diesel-emissions reduction funding
The City will accept a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency through the North Central Texas Council of Governments of $1.1 million to purchase replacement vehicles and equipment to reduce emissions.
According to the resolution, the City plans on reducing its production of emissions and developing “greener” policies to improve air quality across the Dallas area.
$211,413 for young adults experiencing housing instability
The City approved a sub-recipient agreement with Transition Resource Action Center (TRAC) for a term of ten-months, for engagement, housing and eligible supportive services for unaccompanied young adults.
The agreement, which is eligible for two one-year renewal options, awards a grant to the Office of Housing and Community Engagement of $211,413 for young adults ages 24 or younger.
