City Council Takes Control of Fair Park Greenspace as $13 Million Nears Expiration

Editor’s Note, 2/2/2026, 5:11 p.m.: This article has been updated to include new and updated information.

City officials have told residents in the neighborhood surrounding Fair Park that a 10-acre community greenspace is on the horizon for a decade — but little has actually been done to make the pledge a reality. Nine out of 10 times, when a city project stalls, a lack of funding is the culprit. 

That isn’t the case for the proposed South Dallas community park, though, which had found itself long-buried beneath a pile of bureaucracy. 

Wednesday afternoon, the Dallas City Council voted to dig the project out of the red tape and spearhead it themselves. In doing so, they may hand the park’s reins over to Fair Park First, the management group that came under scrutiny last year after its subcontractor, Oak View Group, was found to have misused over $5 million in funds meant for Fair Park operations. 

Typically, park development and management are tasks overseen by the city’s Park and Recreation Board, an appointed body that governs somewhat independently of the Marilla Street horseshoe. That made Wednesday afternoon’s vote to have the council take charge unusual. Council member Adam Bazaldua, whose district includes Fair Park, initiated the process of discharging the community park from the Park Board’s purview and transferred the responsibility to the City Council’s Parks, Trails and Environment committee. 

He said the project’s longstanding limbo and a looming fundraising deadline made it clear the council needed to oversee the park’s future. 

The community park is estimated to cost $40 million to build, city staffers told the council, and $33 million has already been raised from state, federal and philanthropic sources. But $13 million of that pot could expire if progress isn’t made towards the park’s development by mid-March, a possibility that council members deemed unacceptable. There are no city funds currently tied to the park, Park Director John Jenkins told the council. 

According to city staff, a funding agreement for the $13 million grant must be approved by the council by March 10 to secure the funds.

“Do you realize that the $13 million we’re talking about is a third that could go away? It’s a third of the project cost,” said Council member Paula Blackmon. “It would put [the park] in jeopardy if we do not get something signed.” 

But not all players believed that ceding control of the project to Fair Park First would be the best path forward, even with the possible $13 million loss. 

Park Board President Arun Agarwal urged the council not to jump into a new partnership with Fair Park First, warning that last year’s financial fiasco had made increased auditing of the organization’s finances necessary. Agarwal organized a task force that is in the midst of evaluating Fair Park First, which he said will help determine whether the group has the means to see the community park project through.  

Jenkins said he believes the group will be prepared to make a recommendation to the council’s Parks, Trails and Environment committee by February. That would leave little room for error between a committee briefing and a council briefing ahead of March 10. 

Still, in a comment that essentially boiled down to one council member urging the rest of the horseshoe to stay in its lane, District 2 Representative Jesse Moreno stated that he believed passing the resolution would be an “abrupt structural change” that undermined the authority of the Park Board. 

“The Park Board is made up of dedicated, highly qualified public servants. If there has been a failure in timing and delivery, that’s on us as a city, not on the board,” said Moreno. “Undermining [the board’s] authority sets a dangerous precedent and disrupts progress.” 

Bazaldua acknowledged that it is “very frustrating to pin one governing body against the other,” but said the council is elected “to make the hard decisions.” And there seems to be no taller hill than earning back the trust of the Fair Park community. 

Earlier this month, residents flooded the council chamber to bring attention to the stalled community park, and lambasted the horseshoe for what they saw as a broken promise. Some on the council took that frustration to heart, pointing to the thin line between due diligence and red tape that they feel South Dallas is often on the wrong side of. 

“There’s always caution when it comes to our community when we’re trying to get things done. We need progress, not procrastination, wrapped in more broken promises,” said council member Maxie Johnson. “I’m going to support this because I know what it looks like to be delayed, denied, and pushed to the side. … It’s upsetting to me to continue to hear the people in South Dallas, pastors coming down here, community members, having to beg for something that was promised over a decade ago.”