Friends of Bachman Lake - August 2024
"Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously." – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Get Those Keyboards and Pens Ready!
Can you please write the City Council representatives of our area? We need to rally support for a city charter amendment that will re-establish a clause to protect park maintenance funds as a percentage of the budget. Apparently, this clause was lost back in the 1980's.
Friends of Bachman Lake is supportive of the proposal to allocate a consistent 8% of the City Budget because we have seen first hand how the lack of a consistent maintenance budget has impacted the ability for Parks to restore the Bachman Greenbelt. Without a change in the funding methodology, maintenance issues will just continue to grow exponentially.
Make it predictable - The Dallas Park and Recreation system has maintenance and other basic needs that are constant — whereas the budget to take care of those needs is inconsistent, depending on direction from the City Manager.
Start chipping at the backlog - There is already a $2 billion backlog in deferred maintenance needs and that does not account for all the new investments approved in the 2017 and 2024 Bond programs.
It’s been done before! This is not a new methodology. A dedicated and predictable budget was in place from the early 20th century until the 1980s. Back then it was 10%.
Please write your City Council Representative to ask that Section 9 of the Charter be modified. The City Council Representatives for the Bachman area are: D6 Omar Narvaez (omar.narvaez@dallas.gov), D13 Gay Donnell Willis (gay.willis@dallas.gov) and D2 Jesse Moreno (jesse.moreno@dallas.gov).
Bachman Allies Go Above and Beyond (and Below)
Greenspace Dallas has pretty much completed the work on the nature trails and we hope to have a grand opening once the weather cools down! We also hope that by then, Dallas Water Utilities (DWU) will have finished cleaning up from the emergency sewer and stormwater repairs they were doing between the Lemmon Ave bridge and the Embassy Suites.
Because a timely Thank You is always appropriate, we wanted to give ours to DWU for removing the tree debris that had collected on the pylons of the Lemmon Ave bridge. With the water levels low due to the dam reconstruction, and given that they had the equipment on hand, we thought we'd ask for their help in cleaning the bridge pylons – and they came through!
A Lemmon Ave Trail Update
The Lemmon Ave Trail construction is very much on track. In fact, the most complex portion of the work is currently underway along the northeast corner of the Love Field property along Shorecrest. The airport fence is being moved back in order to make way for the trail and the road between Webb Chapel bridge and Lemmon Ave is closed.
In addition, over the next 80 days, the landscaping will be worked on at the center triangle of Mockingbird, Airdome Dr and Lemmon Ave.
Make sure you jump on over to our blog post to see the landscape plans and to check out the placement of the 200 new trees that will be added along the Lemmon Ave trail!
We Need Partners for Monthly Clean-ups!
Our monthly clean-ups are focused on the Bachman Greenbelt for two reasons: the first is that we are trying to stay ahead of the trash, but more importantly, we want people to get to know this little gem right in the middle of Dallas! We're still looking for organizations to host volunteer team events. It's good for nature and it's good for the soul. If you are interested or want to get details, drop us an email at:
T-Shirt Order - Get yours!
We ordered another batch of our awesome Bachman Lake t-shirts. Each t-shirt is $20, you can order a up to 4 total shirts at a time. You'll have the chance to specify each size. Order here!
Once we place the order and it's printed, we'll let you know at the email you provide so we can tell you how to pick it up. We are targeting dates and locations for our cleanup and meet-up events so we'll let you know!
Events
Our Monthly Cleanup is every first Saturday!
You just need yourself, but feel free to add friends and family to our monthly Plogging activities. Basically, it's picking up litter while jogging (or walking). A bag, some company if you like, and a trip around the lake will help you stay active and healthy and keep the park beautiful!
Meet and Greet Every 4th Wednesday
Our meeting of the minds is at the On Rotation Brewery on Lemmon Ave. Come join us to talk about everything and anything.
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