Mayor Eric L. Johnson on Thursday announced his appointments of the five chairs of the Community Bond Task Force (CBTF) subcommittees formed as part of the 2024 Bond Program development process. The CBTF and its subcommittees, each made up of 15 members appointed by the Mayor and Dallas City Council, are charged with assessing the city’s nearly $14 billion needs inventory and recommending to the city council a $1 billion package of capital improvement projects.
The announcement comes one week after Mayor Johnson appointed Arun Agarwal, Dallas Park and Recreation Board President, as Chair of the CBTF.
Mayor Johnson’s subcommittee chair appointments include:
• Linda Koop, Streets Subcommittee
• Jennifer Staubach Gates, Critical Facilities Subcommittee
• Garrett Boone, Parks & Trails Subcommittee
• Anita Childress, Flood Protection & Storm Drainage Subcommittee
• Tony Shidid, Economic Development & Housing Subcommittee
“The 2024 Bond Program presents a huge opportunity to build a better Dallas,” Mayor Johnson said. “I am proud to nominate each of these distinguished leaders equipped with a wealth of experience and expertise. These chairs were selected to put the people’s priorities first, regardless of district boundaries. I know they understand the importance of their mission to recommend high-impact projects that will create a safer, stronger, and more vibrant Dallas for all.”
Koop is a former Dallas City Councilmember and Texas State Representative with over 20 years of experience in transportation planning. During her time on the Dallas City Council, she chaired the city’s Transportation and Environment Committee and also served as the chair of the North Central Texas Council of Governments Regional Transportation Council. Koop will lead the Streets Subcommittee’s work to identify priority street and alley reconstruction projects, bridge repairs, sidewalk improvements, traffic signal upgrades, and more.
Gates, also a former Dallas City Councilmember, chaired the city’s Public Safety Committee. Now, she chairs Mayor Johnson’s Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking Advisory Council in addition to other civic and community-service endeavors. The Critical Facilities Subcommittee will focus primarily on the prioritization of renovations to existing city facilities, including police and fire stations, libraries, and community centers. However, Mayor Johnson emphasized the importance of the committee’s consideration of support for a new, state-of-the-art regional law enforcement training center at the University of North Texas at Dallas, which will be the new home of the Dallas Police Academy.
“Investing in this training center now is how Dallas can reaffirm its long-term commitment to putting public safety first,” Mayor Johnson said. “A new academy will truly bring Dallas and its neighbors into a new era when it comes to police training. This will mean better policing, which will ultimately mean safer communities and increased trust between law enforcement and residents.”
Boone, Co-Founder & Chairman Emeritus of The Container Store, is a successful entrepreneur, environmentalist, conservationist, and philanthropist with a passion for public green spaces. He serves on a variety of boards, including The Boone Family Foundation, the Trinity Park Conservancy, and Greenspace Dallas, and for years, he has championed transformational park projects in Dallas. The Parks & Trails Subcommittee will identify opportunities to create new and enhance existing parks, trails, and recreation centers, which is a task Mayor Johnson named one of his top three bond program priorities — public safety, potholes, and parks — in his November 2022 State of the City Address.
Childress is an attorney and longtime community activist. In 2020, Mayor Johnson appointed her to serve on the Trinity River Corridor Local Government Corporation, which focuses on the development of recreation in the Dallas Floodway. Previously, she served for six years as chair of the Dallas Civil Service Board. She will the lead the committee’s work to identify projects aimed at reducing flooding, improving drainage, and mitigating erosion.
Shidid is a partner at Tessa Investments, Inc., an investment and real estate development firm based in Dallas. He has served since 2013 as a member of the City Plan Commission, and since 2019, as the commission’s chair. During the 2017 Bond Program development process, he served on the same subcommittee, Economic Development & Housing, which will recommend opportunities to boost economic growth and increase our city’s supply of housing infrastructure.
“This bond election will impact Dallas residents for generations to come,” Mayor Johnson said. “We must get this right and fund the priorities that matter most.”
The CBTF and five subcommittees are scheduled to begin meeting in May 2023 at least once per month over a five-month period. The CBTF, along with the City Manager, will recommend a 2024 Bond Program to the Dallas City Council in January or February of 2024.
