Tim Dickey
Don Abbott
                             

07/08/04  A Bad Deal that keeps on taking, but the tourists are taking a walk.

Way back in 1998, when Ron Kirk sold the big lie and Kathy Neely stole all those votes AFTER the It's a Bad Deal!! campaign warned Dallas voters of the consequences of a YES vote, a wheel was set in motion that is still rolling downhill and crushing everything in its path.

That arena sales tax that passed by less than 1% has just about destroyed our convention business, which was really the only tourist draw Dallas has ever had -- unless you want to see where President Kennedy was killed.

Unfortunately for rich old Grandpa Jones, the impact of what Ron Kirk and former City Mgr. John Ware did to Dallas taxpayers and our convention business has come to a hard fruition at a very bad time for him to be asking Dallas County voters to get stupid again.  Add the bad timing to the fact that it is one of the most unpopular men in Dallas (or the Park Cities) asking us build him a place to do his business, and it looks pretty bleak for the Jones Gang.

Still, there is something about our local Robber Barons (millionaires or billionaires) that gives them the chutzpah to ignore reality and convince (or buy) voters to give them money that should be spent on our basic needs.

We cannot pay our police and firefighters what they could make in Grand Prairie.  We have not given our civilian employees a raise in 3 years.  We have laid off hundreds of city employees who were doing things we needed done to maintain even a minimum standard of quality of life.  With all that, our Interim City Manager has assigned 8 or 9 high level staff people to paving the way for Grandpa Jones to get his Fair Park stadium at the expense of God knows what should have been done first.

Panel eyes Fair Park stadium City officials say they want to be ready for Cowboys' return Wednesday, July 7, 2004 By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News

Since suspending stadium negotiations with the county, the Dallas Cowboys have made no overtures to City Hall. But city officials expect them to.   They've organized a fact-finding committee to investigate the logistics of a Fair Park stadium so they're prepared when the team comes knocking.    "It's a contingency plan," said Jim Wood, director of street services and chairman of the committee. ...  comprised of nine employees from seven city departments ? is to anticipate questions that might arise with any big development project at Fair Park. This includes, but is not limited to, a new stadium, ... Mr. Wood said committee members were pulled off their jobs two weeks ago to focus on a Fair Park stadium. ... "Obviously, we're doing all this work with the end goal of having a stadium built in Fair Park," he said. "That's our desire ? to bring the Cowboys to Dallas." ...  While a new Cowboys stadium in Fair Park would do great things for South Dallas, Mr. Wood said, there's no question it would put added strain on existing infrastructure.    He said some streets might not be wide enough, and traffic patterns could be affected on the Interstate 30 interchange. It's still unclear whether power lines and water and wastewater pipes could handle an additional 80,000 visitors on game days, he said, particularly when some of those games occur during the State Fair of Texas.   "Infrastructure is a big part of any stadium cost, so we'll be considering different ways to finance the project," he said. ...

Ms. Ramshaw is certainly doing some serious reporting.  If she keeps up this good work, she will get sent to Plano or assigned to cover Austin or D.C.  She's turning up all sorts of bad pennies, and Mayor Decherd cannot be pleased.   

Without signed deals, Convention Center not sure who will show up 7/6/04 by EMILY RAMSHAW & SUZANNE MARTA / The Dallas Morning News

During the next six months, the Dallas Convention Center anticipates a full house ? at least 10 major shows bringing more than 160,000 guests and an estimated $283 million in economic impact.    But for 70 percent of those events, some as early as next month, the center has no signed contracts ? and no legal recourse if client groups decide to take their dollars elsewhere.    Convention Center officials blame a strong buyers' market. It's hard to put pressure on clients, they say, when groups aren't lining up to use Dallas' facilities. ... "Other cities come and woo [groups] away because we have no contract with them," Dallas Mayor Laura Miller said. "Then we're left with empty hotels, empty restaurants and no tourism." ... While a few convention hot spots, such as Chicago, Las Vegas and New Orleans, can afford to require a hefty deposit or cancellation fee before a contract is signed, "most cities in America can't get away with that," said Tom Noonan, senior vice president of convention sales and service for the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau. "Certainly not Dallas." ...   2 ? years ago when Irving-based Promotional Products Association International announced it was moving its convention to Las Vegas after more than two decades in Dallas. The group drew about 18,000 delegates to its five-day annual event and about $29 million in economic impact. ... Last year, the American Rental Association canceled its booking for 2005 so it could move its annual event to Las Vegas. ...  earlier this year, Addison-based Mary Kay warned the city that it would cancel some of its smaller Dallas meetings if the hotel occupancy tax were raised to fund a new Cowboys stadium. ... This summer alone, Mary Kay's five-week beauty consultant seminars are expected to have an economic impact of nearly $100 million. ...  A spokesman for the city-operated Los Angeles Convention Center said it is "pretty unusual" not to have a contract signed six months out. And at the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, the rule of thumb is to have them a year out. ... Mr. Noonan said the Dallas Convention Center is overburdened and understaffed and faces bureaucratic holdups as contracts are shuttled among customers, city attorneys and convention staff. ... As recently as 2002, council members shelved a proposal to look into privatizing the center. ...  Ms. Miller said. "We need to look at privatizing the Convention Center very shortly."

Although our failing convention business is very bad for the city and for those of who actually pay property taxes in this town, the Hotel Association of Greater Dallas supported the arena sales tax in exchange for an expanded Convention Center and brought their dilemma on themselves.

It's a Bad Deal!! warned them the sales tax would be detrimental to our convention business, which kept their rooms booked.  Dallas does not have the amenities of cities like Chicago, Las Vegas or New Orleans, but our sales tax on hotel/motel rooms and car rentals is higher than any of those three cities.  We used to have cheap rooms and car rentals, which compensated for tourists having little or nothing to do once they got here -- except for dining in our fancy restaurants and shopping in our endless malls (which also added to our sales tax revenue).

Now, we don't get the big conventions or big dollars the attendees spent when they were in town, but we have a big arena with no meaningful development around it.  Oh, yeah -- they're building another office tower and another hotel to add to our glut of empty office space and empty hotel rooms.

Here's another insightful Emily Ramshaw story.  She seems to really get it, so she can't be a welcomed sight in Our Stepford Mayor's office..

City fireworks show: D stood for 'dud' July 7, 2004 By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News

Jon Jackson was ready to party. The salesman had 50 friends crammed into his downtown loft apartment and a great view of the Dallas skyline. ...  Mr. Jackson said. "We couldn't believe we were seeing such a small fireworks display in one of the best-known cities in the world." ...  From Garland to Irving to Addison, regional Independence Day events boasted top-of-the-line fireworks and performing artists and drew record-setting crowds.    Dallas, on the other hand, attracted only 7,000 guests ? down from 80,000 at last year's Trinity Fest and less than half the anticipated crowd. ... "Dallas should be the anchor for all these cities, bringing people into downtown," Mr. Jackson said. ... City Council member Veletta Forsythe Lill said suburban competition probably factored into Dallas' dwindling numbers. ...  Jackson's party wasn't the only one confused. As pops rang out downtown Saturday, thousands of visitors seated outside City Hall realized the city-planned concert was no place to view fireworks. In a stampede of picnic blankets and baskets, many took off running for a better view, sitting on shoulders and peering among trees. Some gave up and got in their cars.    "You could hear the noise, and you could just barely see them over the trees," said Brad Penk, a Garland resident who works at Lew Sterrett Justice Center. "I know they cut it back some this year, but it's almost not worth doing if you're not going to do it right." ... Trinity Fest 2004 was canceled this year because of a lingering $80,000 debt from last year's bash, held in the Reunion Arena parking lot. The free replacement event, planned for July 3 at Crow Park, was moved to City Hall because of flooding in the Trinity River bottom. ... From now on, Mr. Jackson said, he'll always know where to find fireworks. After Saturday night's fiasco, he headed to Irving's Las Colinas show Sunday.    "It was breathtakingly beautiful ? unbelievable," he said. "It was everything Dallas wasn't. It was a wonderful, wonderful surprise."

I live one street south of Walnut Hill and did not hear a sound Saturday night during the Dallas fireworks mini-show.  When the fireworks started Sunday night in Las Colinas, I could not believe how loud they were.  We have so many trees in my neighborhood, I couldn't see the fireworks, but the sound was amazing. 

Several months ago when City Hall announced a Saturday night event for July 4th (which was on a Sunday with almost everyone having Monday off), I asked why we were not having our fireworks show on Sunday night.  Does anyone have a clue why Our Mayor and the council would throw a July 4th party on July 3rd?  Never got a reasonable explanation -- or an unreasonable explanation for that matter.

It's just more of the same idiocy, and it's getting really tiresome.  It's been tiresome for quite awhile, but now it's getting "really tiresome".  More, it's just plain embarrassing that we not only can't get the big stuff done right (like reducing our crime rate), but we can't even get a July 4th event done on the right night.  

We used to have wonderful fireworks shows on the 4th in the Cotton Bowl.  I believe Tom Thumb sponsored them and give away tickets with our groceries.  Thousands packed into the Cotton Bowl, and it was so exciting and patriotic.  Of course, that was back when the Cullum family owned Tom Thumb.

Why doesn't Belo Corporation put on a free fireworks show for Dallas citizens?  They have millions to waste.  Remember that "cat" scanner fiasco?  Now, they've got that newspaper for short brains that they have to give away.  Surely Belo can afford to waste some of their millions throwing Dallas a July 4th party -- on July 4th. 

We can't pay our police officers and firefighters what they could earn in Grand Prairie.  Now, we can't even do a fireworks show as well as Irving or Garland, where they understand the importance of having a July 4th fireworks show on July 4th, not July 3rd.

Is that just not God awful? 

An interesting editorial in The Dallas Managed News indicates Belo may be disturbed that we have lost ranking to San Antonio.  It's too long to cite effectively, so just use the link to read it for yourself -- and come right back.

	Sizing Up the Alpha-Male City Is relative size important? Not if you ask a Californian. July 7, 2004 By RUBEN NAVARRETTE / The Dallas Morning News
San Antonio has eclipsed Dallas as the nation's eighth-largest city. According to estimates released recently by the Census Bureau, San Antonio had ? as of July 1, 2003 ? about 1,214,725 residents compared to Dallas' 1,208,318. How humiliating. Or is it? ...

What bothers me about the cute exchange between Ruben Navarrette and Victoria Loe Hicks is that they both are from somewhere else.  Is Hank Tatum the only local left on the DMN Editorial Board?

When Dallas people were running this city, things worked.  We actually had our streets swept by big machines with water and brushes.

I sent this e-mail to Ruben Navarrette:

Our Mayor is from Connecticut and three councilwomen are from Illinois.  Our only daily newspaper is dominated by people who aren't even Texans, much less Dallas natives.

We have lost our way, and we are not going to find it until someone has the nerve to face reality. 

Dallas is like a classic old car barely sputtering along, but its owner is more interested in getting it a new paint job than making it run better, so it can continue to be a dependable vehicle to get from point A to point B. 

Rather than repair or replace the engine, the owner puts in a new sound system. 

Rather than replace the worn out tires with a reliable and affordable set, the owner buys white walls with new, hot spinner hubcaps. 

When the poor old engine just quits, the owner is stuck with a useless vehicle that not only can't get him where he needs to go, it will cost him more money just to move it out of the way of cars whose owners spent their money more wisely on stuff that really matters, stuff that keeps their cars running.

Paul Kix of The Dallas Observer has a follow-up on the city's give-away-to-the-rich program that hardly anyone knew about (see DallasArena.com's  It's not fair: Tax rebate to rich couple to rehab home.) 

Home Suh-weet Home Preserve history, get a tax break?is that a bad deal? By Paul Kix dallasobserver.com | originally published: July 8, 2004

... According to the city, everything can be explained. First, an entire generation of Dallas architecture has lost out to parking garages and lots downtown and new developments everywhere else, says Councilwoman Veletta Lill. In 1994, to combat this problem, the city passed an ordinance that gave tax abatements to historic landmarks. ...  Griffith says roughly 200 buildings and homes in Dallas have received the city's money through this program in the past 10 years.    When asked how much money in abatements residential homes received per year--and how many residents received the money--Griffith said the city's planning department would have those figures. But the planning department didn't have the numbers, saying it would take an open records request to get the answer. As of press time, the Dallas Observer has heard no response.    Lill, however, says the city annually hands out $700,000 in tax abatements. ...  "it's not at all uncommon" for residential properties to get the abatements, Lill says. "It's an incentive to preserve our history." ...

It ticked me off last week when Princess Velveeta threw out her $700,000 figure of similar tax abatements granted, but I thought she meant over the 10 years the ordinance has been in effect.  If we've been granting $700,000 annually in tax abatements for 10 years, that's $7 million.

$7 million's pretty close to what we need to balance next year's budget -- even with a tax increase on you and me.

My mortgage company and I own a 50 year old house on which I spent a lot of money restoring.  My neighbors tell me its last residents were selling drugs here and at least three families lived in the house at the same time.  They lost the house in foreclosure, and apparently the authorities found them from all the solicitations from criminal lawyers that came in the mail after I bought the house. 

My spending way too much of my disposable income to restore my home to respectability has been very good for my neighborhood and certainly helped stabilize the street. 

The house is a "classic" 50's rectangle structure with the entry hall in the center, dining room and den/kitchen on the left and 3 bedrooms and baths on the right.  My parents built the same style house in Lewisville a year before my house was built in North Dallas in 1957.  It may not meet Princess Velveeta's standards of historical significance, but it is a classic of it's time and style and important to me. 

Where's my tax abatement for all the money I've spent on my home? 

Who knows?  My house might be a tourist attraction someday, as the site where DallasArena.com was published.  It's as likely that someone will make the trip to Dallas to see my 1957 classic rectangle house as the tourists Our Stepford Mayor promises will come to see her String Thing Bridges.

Speaking of tourists, where are the mobs who were supposed to be booking hotel rooms and renting cars to attend events at the Hicks/Perot Arena?  They might be waiting so they can take in Jonestown and the Hicks/Perot Arena in one trip. 

Or, possibly all our missing tourists are touring cities that actually have something unique to see -- something that makes that city the place it is.

There are things in Dallas worth noting, but no one at City Hall takes notice or care of them.  We have a great Zoo with wonderful critters that the Park Board does not adequately fund or promote, but still lots of people get there every day. 

We have the Arboretum and White Rock Lake.  We have Bachman Lake (which Councilman Steve Salazar is giving more attention than we have had from City Hall in a long time).

We have historic homes in East Dallas and Lakewood where crowds actually do flock when home tours are available.  We have Old City Park, but who wants to go there when the area is ravaged by street bums?

If you haven't driven through Kessler Park or Stevens Park, particularly at Christmas, you haven't seen the most beautiful part of Dallas -- great homes, great geography.

I can't even get started on Fair Park and all it could do for Dallas tourism with or without a new stadium if City Hall would just maintain it properly.

Rather than focus on what we've got, Our Downtown Betters and their Girl Downtown can't take their eyes off what other cities have. 

Just because an outfit looks good on a model does not mean it is something you should buy for yourself.  If you don't have your own image, no one will notice you -- particularly if several others in the room are wearing the same designer outfit you paid too much money for.

People used to come to Dallas to visit and live because we took care of our city.  We kept things clean.  We kept things repaired.  We had a sense of pride in our city just as it was because it was good to live here.  It was affordable, it was comfortable and it was Dallas.

When a city has to go in search of a slogan and comes up with "Live Large", it's not hard to see why the tourists are searching elsewhere for an interesting place to visit and spend their money.

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