ON PRESTON CENTER, IN TERMS O F OV E R A L L D E V E L O P M E N T THERE, ANY THOUGHTS ABOUT HOW THAT SHOULD GO DOWN IN PRESTON CENTER OR WHAT SHOULD BE HAPPENING THERE? I t goes back to vision. It ’s not j u s t a b o u t t h a t g a r a g e . I t ’s n o t just about that intersection, or the Tollway or the through-traffic o n No r t hwe s t Hi g hw ay. I m e a n , all of these issues are complex in their own right. S o we shouldn’ t look at them individually and in a silo. We need to understand them. And that’s something I’m working on doing: unders tanding more in depth each of the aspects of this.
Aviation. Mounted police. The nuts and bolts of pothole repair. I really love it. But again, what do we want this to be? There are a lot of people who have great desire to see the mobility a r o u n d t h a t a r e a c h a n ge , w h e r e you don’ t have to always be in a car. There are some traffic issues. There are concerns about density. On the other hand, it’s a major intersection. And there’s an opportunity for growth there. When you look at different shopping centers or entertainment centers around the city, you look at that (Preston Center), and it’s a time capsule. So there’s tremendous opportunity. It’s just getting the vision of what it needs to be. And it is certainly on my mind. Is there any way to come up with a plan, or direc t a plan, that everyone’s going to be happy
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with in Preston Center? Everyone will never be happy, as much as I would like that to be. And that’s because e ver yone’s going to have to take their dream, and then what ’s pragmatic, and some where in the middle, we will strike the balance of what that will become. And th is is n ot jus t pr oper ty owner s. It ’s n e ighb or s. S o ther e ar e a l ot of v ie wpoints to consider. WHY DOES ANYBODY WANT TO BE A CITY COUNCIL MEMBER? It seems like the most thankless job because you’re on the ground level with people and people’s problems on the ground level are ... literally on the ground level, and they want action. That’s true. There are a lot of phone calls about alleys and streets and trash pickup and, you know, just myriad concerns
But it’s also pretty cool. Aviation. Mounted police. The nuts and bolts of pothole repair. I really love it. I like seeing how it fits together. I like the thought of being in a role of working with my fellow council me mbe rs and the mayor, to jus t keep our city going in a for ward direction with regard to our citizenry, what the quality of life is like here. That can balance out some of the other stuff. WE MENTIONED VICKERY MEADOW E A R L I E R . I D E A L LY, W H AT SHOULD THAT NEIGHBORHOOD LOOK LIKE IN 10 OR 20 YEARS, ASSUMING THAT IT NEEDS TO LOOK LIKE ANYTHING?
We l l , y o u h a v e a n i n c r e d i b l e confluence of education, transit, a n d t h e r e ’s t w o DA RT r a i l s t a tions. Employment you’ve got in a N o r t h Pa r k ( S h o p p i n g C e n t e r ) t h a t ’s v e r y c l o s e , S h o p s a t Pa r k L a n e . Yo u ’ v e g o t h e a l t h c a r e a t Presby, which is also a source of employment. You’ve got the SoPac Trail, Fair Oaks Park. You’ve got all these wonderful components that
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anybody would be looking for in creating some kind of live-workplay space. There is a large comm u n i ty o f r e f u gees being placed there, so growth could mean some displacement, and that’s got many people (feeling) ver y uncomfortable. I would love to strike a balance between how we preserve some affordable housing, while we also have the opportunity for workforce housing, to make it easier for police and teachers and adminis trative assistants, etc., to be able to live close to all of these great amenities. You know, there’s a (Vickery) Public Improvement District, and you know, they have a vision for the redevelopment of the area. And this is one of those areas where it needs a big vision and a balance. And I don’t have the answer for that right now. But there will be discussions around this. FOR THE PEOPLE READING THIS INTERVIEW WHO WANT MORE INFORMATION FROM YOU, OR YOUR OFFICE, WHAT’S THE BEST WAY FOR THEM TO GET IT?
We’ ll be doing at least a monthly email. T hat ’s some thing I heard loud and clear that council member (Jennifer Staubach) Gates’ office did a great job on, and I want to c o n t i n u e t h at a n d o u r Fa c e b o o k page. So those are two quick ways to get the word out. But I will also be communicating to the neighborhood leaders so that they can push it out through an email that folks might actually open because they feel like it has information on trash pickup or something else going on in the neighborhood. And then, of course, through channels such as yours. You can reach Willis through her City Hall assistants: Claire Noble (claire.noble@dallascityhall. com) or Alexandra Heller-Relayze (alexandra.relayze@dallascityhall. com) or visit her City Hall website at C i t y C o u n c i l D i s t r i c t 1 3 ( d a l lascityhall.com).
