"Nothing is worth risking stable neighborhoods"
Partnering with you to protect our neighborhoods

Just this week, I met with two groups of Oak Cliff neighborhood association leaders regarding problems of great concern.

In one area, a rundown apartment building complex adjacent to five established communities has fallen into disrepair, the property management company has become complacent ... and a criminal element has moved in.

In calling a meeting between neighbors and the property owner, I made it clear that nothing is worth risking stable neighborhoods. The apartment's owner will either take responsibility and clean things up ... or the city will take action.

In another area of District 3 — and at the request of neighborhood leaders in both Wynnewood and Wynnewood North — we convened a meeting with the Wynnewood Village Shopping Center's major tenant, Kroger.

Nearby residents have long remarked that the grocery store has been falling short of its own ideals of quality products and service. As Kroger has declined, so has the entire shopping center ... a looming threat toward adjacent residential property values.

From our meeting this week, residents received an acknowledgment from the grocery chain that they had fallen short. We also received Kroger's commitment to turn things around. In turn, the shopping center's owner has also committed to doing whatever it takes to help protect our neighborhoods and remain a neighborhood asset within Oak Cliff.

Our established neighborhoods are one of District 3's strengths. Now that the rest of Dallas is beginning to notice our assets — fueling the first surge of economic development to occur here in 40 years — we cannot sit idly by when vibrant, residential communities are threatened.

Both of these solutions-based neighborhood meetings grew out of extensive site visits I have conducted with 33 of our 52 neighborhood associations. When I visit, I bring with me representatives from code enforcement, the Dallas Police Department, representatives from the city's Department of Street Services, the City Attorney ... whoever it takes to address problems that, literally, hit home most.

With at least two of these in-depth neighborhood tours each week, by autumn I will have visited all 52 homeowners' groups.

And then I'll go back to the top of the list and do it again.

It's important to me because protecting our neighborhoods is important to you ... and it's important to the stability and vibrancy of Dallas.


Dave Neumann

Budget Town Hall Meetings
With the current economic crunch that is affecting all of us, the City of Dallas also feels the pain. Our city's income is generated from property and sales taxes. When times are tough, revenue falls short, costs increase, and the demands for services rise. As such, the City of Dallas faces the same tough financial decisions you are facing every day. Join me as we look at the city's 2008-2009 budget ... and help me make some tough decisions. Attend one of four budget town hall meetings scheduled in District 3

Wow!
It will be a new landmark in West Dallas, a recreation center makeover so impressive it even led one resident to ask if it would also have a spa. No, no city recreation center has a spa ... but not many have an NBA-regulation basketball court like the "new" Mattie Nash-Myrtle Davis Recreation Center will have. Check out this and other slam dunks underway in District 3.

Bow wow!
The Dallas City Council has created new regulations that are designed to encourage responsible and respectful animal ownership. For those who need it, the new ordinance even defines "animal" ("any non-human vertebrate"). Hey, you can't be too careful! See what else the city has recently unleashed.

Invite Dave for a cup of joe
Councilman Neumann wants to have a cup of coffee with you. Yes, Dave has gotten an eyeful and earful while touring with your neighborhood association's leaders. However, sitting with you and a couple of your favorite neighbors over a cup of coffee ... well, he'll probably get an earful there, too. This is a good thing. Schedule a friendly neighbor coffee with your councilman! (P.S. It doesn't have to be coffee)