By shaking up the Dallas Area Rapid Transit board on Wednesday, the Dallas City Council sent a message to its representatives that they need to get prioritize the city's wishes, which don't include expanding suburban rail. Three Dallas-appointed DART board members who voted in October to fund the Cotton Belt commuter rail line, to stretch across parts of north Dallas and northern suburbs, were ousted Tuesday, replaced with new blood. A fourth was removed last month.All four voted in favor of DART's most recent 20-year financial plan back in October. In doing so, they not only backed a new council-favored downtown Dallas subway line, but also the Cotton Belt commuter rail line that will stretch from Plano to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. The projects will cost about $1 billion each, and some area politicians are worried that there may not be enough financing to pay for both, especially if some of President Donald Trump's budget priorities pass muster with Congress. The City Council did not publicly discuss the nominees for the DART seats before voting on Wednesday. Dallas appoints seven of the 15 DART board members and shares another seat with Cockrell Hill.Jerry Christian and Pamela Dunlop Gates were not selected to continue their roles on the DART board. Christian, a pastor, and Gates, an attorney, have been on the board since 2007. Bill Velasco, who was appointed in 2001 for the seat shared by Cockrell Hill and Dallas, was also voted out.The new faces are Catherine Cuellar, the former Arts District director; attorney Ray Jackson; attorney Dominique Torres, who recently lost a bid for Rickey Callahan's council seat; and data consultant Jon-Bertrell Killen.Cuellar was nominated to serve the shared seat, so her appointment will still need to be approved by the Cockrell Hill City Council.The Dallas City Council voted last month to remove board member Richard Carrizales one year into his two-year term. The council voted to appoint Dominique Torres to serve out the remaining year of that term. The Dallas council on Wednesday also voted to keep three board members. Patrick Kennedy, who was appointed in December, Amanda Moreno, who was appointed in 2013, and Michelle Wong Krause, appointed in 2014, will stay. Krause and Moreno voted against against the financial plan authorizing both the Cotton Belt and subway projects. Kennedy didn't start his term until January but has viewed improving the city's bus system, instead of building major capital projects, as one of his top priorities.In interviews with the Dallas council's transportation committees, all of the DART appointees said they were frequent DART users and would focus on improving DART’s bus service, something the council has been particularly frustrated with.Carrizales said last month his removal was put up for a vote because some council members were upset over his October vote to fund the Cotton Belt commuter rail line. He was one of 12 members of the board who voted to fund the Cotton Belt and a downtown Dallas subway at the same time.Council members, including Sandy Greyson, said publicly that was not the main factor in the council's decision. She said the council was looking for more engaged board members.But the Cotton Belt rail line has been a sticking point between the city and the suburbs. Last September, the city council unanimously passed a resolution that directed the city's priorities which included the downtown subway, improved bus service and the streetcar.Wednesday’s meeting comes one week after a contentious DART board special sessionwhere the DART board, including five Dallas members facing reappointment or rejection by the Dallas council, voted down a resolution that would have authorized DART to issue bonds to fund the estimated $1.1 billion Cotton Belt rail line.After the DART vote, Addison officials publicly threatened to consider withdrawing from the multi-city DART authority. The Cotton Belt line would bring rail service to Addison, which it currently lacks.DART officials say they are working to find alternative funding for the Cotton Belt, as well as the downtown Dallas subway in case federal funding doesn’t come through.The DART board, and the Dallas city council, are expected to vote on a preferred alignment for the downtown subway in August. Continue reading...
Dallas City Council Overhauls DART Board Amid Tensions Over Downtown, Suburban Projects
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