Dallas City Council members continue to debate vote on leaving City Hall

DALLAS - Dallas City Council members heard from the public about the potential move out of Dallas City Hall, and they continue to debate whether they will vote on the topic tonight.

The people speak

What they're saying:

Many Dallas residents filled Dallas City Hall chambers today to voice their support for keeping the building. The public hearing went on for over four hours.

"The thought of losing this land to private hands is disheartening. A paid-off asset, unfair to taxpayers, built on what is here," Meredith Jones, a Dallas resident, said.

Several questioned why the price tag for a repair is public knowledge, but the cost for a move isn't.

"The public deserves to know the value of the land we are giving up. Dallas deserves a careful decision, not a rushed one," resident Azael Alvarez said.

"The decision belongs to the people, not the city council," David Boss, the former manager of Dallas City Hall, said.

Dallas City Council debates the move

"I think we have an inflated cost estimate," Councilman Adam Bazaldua said. "If we are on the city of Dallas timeline, I don't see a problem in deferring decision."

Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn questioned the part of the proposed resolution that directs the city manager to move 911 emergency operations from City Hall immediately.

"There is nowhere safer than this building. Malls where the roof is torn off, hope we are not considering something like that," Mendelsohn said. 

The backstory:

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson called for the special city council meeting on Wednesday to vote on a resolution to look at redevelopment options for City Hall and possible locations for city operations to continue during the repair process.

Johnson's office issued a memo calling for a meeting at noon on Wednesday, March 4. Initially, council members were only set to be briefed on the state of the building.

The vote would direct City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert to move 311, 911 and emergency operations to new government center locations as quickly as possible, look into options to relocate all other city hall staff and functions to new government center locations and to pursue options for redeveloping the city hall site.

A potential 10-digit repair cost

Experts who assessed Dallas City Hall said the 47-year-old building’s mechanical, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems don’t meet modern standards. 

It put a $906 million to $1.4 billion price tag on keeping the iconic building, which was designed by the famous Chinese architect I.M. Pei, for another 20 years.

New Mavs arena plans

The Dallas Mavericks have reportedly looked at the current City Hall site as a location for their future arena, alongside an open lot in Far North Dallas. While there have been no public discussions about the potential arena, it has been a topic during the discussion about the future of Dallas City Hall.

Dallas City Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn recently wore a Mavericks T-shirt to a public hearing.