Two weeks ago, a social media post about Old City Park’s resident donkeys Waylon and Willie and their exodus from the historical village just south of downtown Dallas started a lively online discussion. There were more than 30 comments that included some pretty inflammatory remarks about demolishing historic buildings and developers taking over the park.
Social media is our modern-day town hall, so I figured it was time to get some answers.
History of Old City Park
Old City Park became the first city park in Dallas in 1876. It was also the site of the first public swimming pool and the first zoo. In 1966, the park was in an unfortunate state and a group of prominent Dallas women were determined to revive it. They were successful in relocating 21 historic buildings from all over Dallas to the site, creating a heritage village within the park.
If your child attends a Dallas-area public school, they’ve probably taken a field trip here to see the period-costumed blacksmith at work, delighted in the railroad depot, and marveled at the general store. You may have married at the church, attended Candlelight in Old City Park, or before 2003, you might have had brunch at Brent Place.
So why are Waylon and Willie leaving on Friday? Why are the chickens gone and the sheep being herded off? And what might be lost next?
Right now, the Dallas Parks and Recreation Department is in charge of the grounds. The City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture is responsible for maintaining the buildings. The nonprofit Dallas County Heritage Society (DCHS), takes care of programming and the day-to-day running of the park.
Multiple entities have been charged with different aspects of one park. You can probably see that is not the most efficient or effective way to conduct business. In reality, when you have a bunch of good folks trying to make smart decisions, wires can easily get crossed. There can be a general lack of focus, direction, and communication, even when each one clearly defines its mission.
Now, DCHS has had a long-term management agreement with the City of Dallas for more than five decades. Yes, five decades. Let that sink in because it’s important.
Everything Changes May 26
May 26 is when everything concerning Old City Park gets consolidated under the Dallas Parks and Recreation Department. Why is this happening when DCHS has had a management contract for 51 years? This is where clear communications seem to be lacking.
It’s like the old childhood game of telephone. The message from the top is not the same message getting shared down the line. And the full message is not being delivered to anyone. Perhaps because no one has a full message to deliver … yet. This fuels the disgruntled social media posts — as it should.
So, my own telephone game began.
Dallas Parks and Recreation Department Director John Jenkins assured me developers were not going to encroach on the park and there were no plans to demolish buildings in Old City Park.
“We want to preserve it and we will do everything we can to do so,” Jenkins said. “We are working on the transition plan right now. We want DCHS to stay involved. Nobody is tossing artifacts. We can do an interim agreement with them to get us through this to complete the master plan.”
Several issues need talking through here because that message is not reaching DCHS.
Old City Park is Changing Hands
Although a lot of conversations are happening, there is a lack of clear communication between the Dallas Parks and Recreation Department and DCHS. Remember, conversation does not denote communication.
DCHS Chief Operating Officer, Sarah Crain told me there has been over a year of conversation between the Parks department and DCHS.
“We have been told repeatedly that yes the city wants to continue the cultural program here but no funding has been found to do so,” Crain said. ”The city has known our contract is expiring for some time. DCHS would love to work to continue to maintain historic programming.”
But where is the money?
There’s not enough money and apparently, there has never been enough. It’s not for lack of trying because there are many advocates for this gem of a park.
Michael Meadows of the Meadows Family Consulting Group was hired on March 31, 2021, by DCHS Board Chair Jim Kipp and Board Chair-elect Michael Duty to conduct a deep organizational assessment after the DCHS executive director had resigned.
“They told me they had been losing hundreds of thousands of dollars on their operations for several years and wanted to know if their business model of being a living history museum had any future,” Meadows said.
The answer was not as things stood. Meadows recommended the park stop charging for admission, after all, it’s a public park. He also told them they had to increase attendance to have more opportunities to generate revenues and that the annual subsidies from the city had to increase substantially if they were going to survive.
Meadows, and two former heads of the Dallas Parks and Recreation Department, Paul Dyer and Willis Winters, created a report with recommendations as to the future of the park.
“The DCHS board loved what we recommended and adopted the plan,” Meadows said. “The plan was shared with John Jenkins, Council members Moreno and Mendelsohn, Benjamin Espino at the Office of Arts and Culture as well as many other city leaders, so it is public record. Part of that plan was to add viable businesses into the buildings and have some exciting attractions like a Victorian-style carousel.”
The bottom line was the current business model was broken and would not improve. The focus was on how to drive attendance, increase earned revenues, and reduce unnecessary costs — and there had to be a financial investment from the city.
You would think with decades of experience, bringing in a savvy consultant like Meadows and with a clear business model to follow, that the city would say “Yippee! These are great ideas so here’s another contract and some money to make it all happen.”
The interest should be there with the $2.8 billion new convention center starting in late 2024 and the deck park over Interstate 30 scheduled for completion in 2030. The deck park will connect the new convention center with The Cedars neighborhood and lead right into Old City Park. It seems like a no-brainer, right? Bond money will cover construction costs. We voted for an increase in hotel occupancy tax in November which will provide $1.5 billion for the convention center and Fair Park and, you guessed it, absolutely nothing for Old City Park.
I listened to the three-hour council meeting last Friday where a straw vote was taken to provide millions for our parks. The Dallas Parks and Recreation Department is tasked with preparing park allocations in the following amounts: $325 million, $300 million, and $275 million. Doesn’t that sound promising?
“At this point, Old City Park is not included in that funding right now,” Jenkins told me.
This leads back to the conundrum of having three entities involved. Do you get funding from the Office of Arts and Culture, which is supposed to provide for maintenance but whose contract ends in May?
Do you get funding from the Dallas Park and Recreation Department? It seems logical, but remember they have responsibility for grounds now and in the future, so can they request funds now? On May 26, then they take over completely.
Do you get funding from private institutions? How, when the city has not provided funding?
So poor Old City Park is squeezed between a rock and a hard place with the bond vote in May and the changeover of operations in May. It would take a great deal of planning — starting now — to try and get any of that bond money.
Funding Old City Park Has Always Been a Problem
About two years before the DCHS contract was to end, they went to the city and said to continue operating they had to have more funding. Understand that without city investments it’s almost impossible to attract private philanthropists, and frankly, Old City Park needs both. They need a hero, much like what Kelcy Warren did for Klyde Warren Park.
So what’s happening? Why is what I’m hearing on the telephone from Jenkins not getting down the line to DCHS? They love the park, want to stay, and have decades of institutional knowledge to run it. While the Dallas Parks and Recreation Department has plenty to offer, they do not have what it takes to pull this off unassisted.
“We had the programming team from Samuell Farm come out and look at Old City Park,” Crain said. “When they came out I asked if they had anyone with cultural education experience. They did not. We have multiple concerns — in addition to programming there is maintenance and security. There has been no conversation about DCHS staying.”
The FY 2022-2023 expense budget for DCHS/Old City Park, which was approved by our Executive Board in September, is approximately $1.6M and projects an operating deficit of ($576K). This deficit will be funded out of our operating reserves and an unrestricted estate gift we received this past December. Our Board’s bottom line is that DCHS can and will absorb this year’s projected deficit but is unwilling to continue to this practice in the future.
Michael Meadows in and email to city leaders
So what’s to come of the buildings and artifacts in Old City Park? Find out more in Part 2
