The results of an audit into the use of donor funds to pay for day-to-day operations at Fair Park are expected later this week.
On Monday, a Dallas City Council committee expressed frustration with not being able to ask questions of Fair Park First, the nonprofit manager of the 277-acre park, and Oak View Group which operates the venue, related to its contract and the anticipated audit.
“We’re all feeling the weight of that accountability,” Councilmember Kathy Stewart said. “So, it’s very difficult for us to not ask these questions.”
An assistant city attorney directed the seven-member Parks, Trails, and the Environment Committee to limit questions to the posted agenda of the 2024 Fair Park Update to stay in compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act.
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Councilmember Adam Bazaldua, whose District 7 includes Fair Park, said he looks forward to being able to question results of the Fair Park audit, along with a separate city of Dallas audit during a briefing before the entire council on October 16.
Bazaldua said while a discussion on future oversight is expected, it shouldn’t take away from the progress Fair Park has seen since Fair Park First started as a nonprofit in 2019.
“The fact of the matter is, this was an uphill battle because of the city’s neglect,” Bazaldua said, referring to the conditions that led the city council to approve a public/private partnership to operate Fair Park.
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The city of Dallas has a contract with Fair Park First with the nonprofit having a separate contractual relationship with OVG360, which operates the park and controls accounting and payroll.
However, the city has no direct contractual relationship with OVG360, which Park and Recreation Department director John Jenkins told NBC-5 last month needs to change going forward.
Veletta Forsythe Lill, president of the Fair Park First Board, told the council committee the audit, will be released after the board is expected to review it Wednesday in a closed session.
“This is uncomfortable to ask the question to our partners,” Lill said.
OVG said it reviewed a draft version of the audit in July.
“Our review confirmed that all funds in question were spent on Fair Park and Fair Park First exclusively,” a spokesperson said.
