Rudy Karimi - District 14 Park and Recreation

This is what winning in Dallas looks like.

Last Thursday, we celebrated the opening of the new dog park in Downtown Dallas' Civic Garden, and this photo says a lot more than just, "look at our new dog park."

It shows neighbors, Dallas Park and Recreation staff, law enforcement, and one of our beloved partners, Downtown Dallas Parks Conservancy coming together around a simple idea: we can make our parks safer and more accessible when advocacy is involved.

Active parks are safe parks. Everyone benefits when people have more reasons to be outside, use their parks, and take more ownership of their neighborhoods.

But it gets better. The City of Dallas didn't pay a dime for this. Downtown Dallas Parks Conservancy paid for all of it, proving we can still have nice things even during a budget crisis thanks to strong partnerships like this one and several others across town.

It's no secret. Strong partnerships, neighbors who speak up, and a city willing to listen. That's how we win.

Congratulations to every dog and park lover who helped make Civic Garden's new dog park a reality. Woof! 🐕🐩🦮🐕‍🦺❤️🌳

My kids were standing like that for several minutes analyzing the structural integrity of the new playground equipment, or possibly what it's like to operate that Bobcat!

Regardless, lots of quality control going on at Friends of Willis Winters Park - formerly Randall Park as we anxiously await the completion of the new playground! ❤️🛝

Dallas Park and Recreation Department Director John Jenkins didn’t dream this up. In a memo published yesterday, Jenkins made it explicitly clear that he is only responding to pressure from several City of Dallas council members who have asked him to find funding to keep six crumbling, 60-70 year old legacy pools afloat with a one-time $700K transfer. Essentially a very expensive band-aid for pools that should have closed decades ago, and are one busted pipe away from shutting down forever.

This is not the way forward.

There is nothing historically or architecturally significant about these antiquated pools. Rather than criticizing the park department and park board for creating a phased closure plan, city leaders need to praise them for keeping these pools open 20 and 30 years past their usable life.

In the same memo, Jenkins wrote that replacing a single outdated community pool with a modern, safe facility costs $6.5M. Multiply that figure by the six legacy pools still open for a total cost of $39M.

Now we have a way forward. But let’s dive deeper into the politics of this issue.

Do you know what a $39M capital expense is eerily similar to? I do. A $40M capital expense to relocate 911 and emergency operations out of Dallas City Hall that a majority of city council voted to include in the November, 2026 bond proposition. Stay with me because this is where it becomes political.

There are eight council members plus the mayor that make up the majority who want to commit to triple net leasing and abandoning City Hall, a facility we own outright. But you know what’s interesting about what I’m talking about here? Five of those eight council members have 60-70 year old crumbling pools within their districts that could be replaced if we all align.

Let that fester a little.

They unapologetically support $40M for a manufactured crisis to pull 911 and emergency operations out of City Hall.

But would they support that over their district’s actual needs?

Because if they honestly believe that $40 million in the upcoming capital bond program to move 911 and emergency operations out of a perfectly good building is more important than a legitimate chance to directly transform their own districts with brand new, modern, and safe community pools, they need to look their constituents in the eye and say it out loud.

There’s an opportunity for these council members to take a hard look at the November bond, and decide if they want an opportunity that represent their district’s actual needs, or someone else’s.

I’m listening, and so are their constituents.

Council Members - stop looking at our Dallas Park and Recreation Department multi-year funds like a slush fund to cover up the city manager's budget gaps. Instead, understand the rigid rules and guardrails protecting our green spaces.

At yesterday's City of Dallas budget briefing, some council members attempted to read the riot act to our Park Director and members of our Executive Leadership Team over some of our multi-year funds, asking questions like: "Why are you sitting on that money while we're facing shortfalls?" And "why don't you just spend it?"

It sounds simple on the surface, but running a large public park system doesn't work with some of these council members' w***y nilly misconceptions. Here is the reality behind these funds:

🔹 Restricted, not random: These trust funds and multi-year funds are legally bound by strict ordinances and donor guidelines. They aren't sitting in a piggy bank on the Director's desk waiting to be spent just because "tough choices" need to be made.

🔹 The legal guardrails around the governance: Neither the Park Board nor the Director has a magic wand to redirect these dollars on a whim. No, we aren't going to use them to keep a 70 year old pool open that should have been closed 30 years ago. No, we aren't going to use them to pay an annual cash stipend to a partner. And no, we aren't going to bend the rules or break the law for your political convenience.

🔹 Interest and long-term financial health: Yes, these funds generate interest too, and even that interest has legal guardrails to how it gets spent.

🔹 Protecting my guy: Attacking the Park Director for following rigid protocols and the governance of this Park Board is a bold move. His job is to protect the long-term integrity of our public parks and green spaces. Our job is to ensure he's equipped to do that to the best of his ability. It's worth repeating: we're not breaking these rules for you out of your political panic.

Yes, these are tough times. But panicking and and tearing down guardrails is chaos. Respect the rules and the process, and let the people doing the actual work protect these parks.

SPECIAL DELIVERY!!! 🎈

Our new playground for Friends of Willis Winters Park - formerly Randall Park has arrived!!! Installation of this new neighborhood gem should be complete in about three weeks, hopefully sooner.

It will look like no other playground in the city!

City of Dallas - District 14
Dallas Park and Recreation Department

🚨 Parks Budget Update: What’s happening with our rec centers and parks? 🚨

If you've been following the Dallas Park and Recreation Department budget discussions, here is my quick breakdown of where things stand:

🙂 The Good News: Public pressure is working. Proposed cuts to rec center operating hours, DISD afterschool programs, pool days, and facility closures were taken off the table. These essential services are safe.

🫤 The Trade-Off: To make up the budget shortfall, the biggest impact Dallas residents will see is shifting $2.1M out of maintenance and equipment funds.

What does this mean for our daily life?
▪️ Less frequent litter pickup (3 pickups per week instead of 3.5)
▪️ Delay on infrastructure repairs such as playground equipment, rec center HVAC systems, and aquatic center equipment.
▪️ Pause on scheduled upgrades and replacements in rec centers (think fitness equipment, gymnasium floors, furniture)

Put another way, the doors are staying open and our core recreation services are staying intact, but the department will move further away from proactive, scheduled maintenance toward a "fix it after it breaks" model.

And to be clear, these maintenance delays will not be the only pressure on our parks. There are numerous other proposed cuts and revenue enhancements totaling more than $5.5M that will affect us such as staffing cuts, reduction in contracted services (think specialized vendor support and repairs), and other reductions in staff development.

Remember, budget town halls with your city council members start this week, and there is still a lot you can do to make your voice heard. Thank you to everyone who's advocated so far! You are the reason that our core services are staying intact, but our work is not done. If you want to get involved, feel free to ask specifically how you can help in the comments below.

And as always, never, ever give up on your public parks! ❤️🌳

📋 Dallas Park and Recreation Department Memo: The City Council is considering an item on August 12 regarding a November 3 bond election, which could adjust the remaining 2024 Bond Program debt issuance schedule from three to four years.

While individual park bond projects haven't been impacted yet, timing of remaining projects could shift if the election is approved by voters. At this moment, I do not believe any of our District 14 projects will be impacted, but I will share full details early next week of any potential impact.

Willis Winters Park Updates: Advocacy, Fast-Tracking Repairs, and our Brand New Playground!

We hit some hurdles this summer, but we are bouncing back stronger and faster than expected. Here are two very exciting updates for Friends of Willis Winters Park - formerly Randall Park that I'm thrilled to share:

1️⃣ Baseball field restoration on super fast-track: Back on July 4th, our brand-new baseball field designed as a premier, all-weather home for our community, Woodrow Wilson High School and JL Long Middle School suffered severe damage from illegal fireworks use. Thanks to the hard work behind the scenes, repair and replacement of the entire baseball outfield kicks off this month and is expected to wrap up in September. What I initially feared would be a very lengthy closure is turning around much faster than anticipated.

2️⃣ New playground coming in September: Even more exciting, our new playground funded in the 2024 bond is well ahead of schedule! Moving what I thought would be a November or December install date up a full two months! Removal of the existing equipment starts this month, and we'll be playing on our brand-new playground (renderings below) in September!

Please join me in thanking everyone who advocated and helped make this happen faster than I expected. This wouldn't have happened without each of you! ❤️⚾️🛝🌳

Dallas Park and Recreation Department
Friends of Willis Winters Park - formerly Randall Park
Willis Winters
Sarah Weinberg for Dallas ISD
Woodrow Athletic Booster Club
City of Dallas - District 14

Let's clear the air again on some more completely misguided commentary from Dallas City Council Member Maxie Johnson. This is the 2nd time in two weeks I’ve had to do this.

During Monday's Parks, Trails, & Environment Committee meeting, Maxie claimed that the Dallas Park and Recreation Department operates without financial accountability and suggested the city council has no say or oversight over park board actions during a briefing on advertising signage revenue opportunities in our parks. He is flat-out wrong. Here’s the truth:

✅ The Council Has the Final Say: To be entirely clear about how our city operates, the city council regularly votes on items passed by the park board. If they take issue with something, they send it back (as we saw firsthand on a recent tennis contract).

✅ Complete Financial Accountability: We manage dedicated funding streams like Park Land Dedication Fees with absolute transparency and fiscal responsibility. In fact, just this year we delivered a massive new $2.5M amenity at Bahama Beach Waterpark, our marquee aquatic center located right in southern Dallas neighboring Maxie’s own district, fully funded and financially accountable through these exact mechanisms.

✅ Misdirecting Blame: It is SO rich for Maxie to lecture anyone on accountability when he continues to deflect blame away from the city manager and the Facilities and Real Estate Department for basic operational failures in his own district, such as the restrooms at Kiest Tennis Center that haven't been working and neglected going all the way back into 2025, falling squarely outside our department's control.

The Park Department isn't the problem here. Pointing fingers at parks to grandstand while ignoring actual operational failures and the rigorous accountability structures already in place misses the mark entirely.

See comments for a full transcription of his exact remarks from the committee meeting.