The Dallas City Council voted Wednesday to approve a resolution allowing a council committee to review a proposed agreement for the development and construction of a long-awaited community park at Fair Park.

The vote on Wednesday followed more than 90 minutes of debate and the approval of a motion to remove oversight of the project from the Dallas Park and Recreation Board.

“This is what hope looks like,” councilmember Adam Bazaldua said. “This isn’t just promises to be kept, this is action.”

The city council vote allows the city council’s Parks, Trails and the Environment Committee to review the proposed agreement between the city and non-profit Fair Park First before advancing the proposal to the full city council.

Bazaldua, whose District 7 includes Fair Park and South Dallas, authored the motion after saying a Park Board-created task force reviewing the financials of non-profit Fair Park First was behind schedule and threatened to miss a March 10 deadline to accept $13 million in funding, including $4.29 secured by the Texas Legislature.

“The last thing I want to see is egg splattered on the face of South Dallas, yet again,” Bazaldua said.

State Representative Venton Jones (D), whose 100th District office is located at the Fair Park Visitors Center, told the city council he was keeping close tabs on the project and requested the 15-member body greenlight the project with non-profit Fair Park First.

“The funding is in place, the community has spoken and South Dallas has waited long enough,” Jones said.

Fair Park First says $33 million of an estimated $39 million budget for a 10-acre park has been raised through a variety of sources, including state and federal grants, along with private philanthropic donations.

Fair Park First saw its management agreement terminated with the city of Dallas last summer as a result of the city wanting to end a contract relationship with private operator OVG360, which managed venues at the 277-acre Fair Park.

An October 2024 audit detailed $5.7 million in misspent donor funds, meant for the community park, used to cover day-to-day operating expenses.

The uncertain financial picture under OVG360 management was seen as a reason the Dallas Park Board approved a task force to review the financials of Fair Park First, before signing off on a development agreement.

Councilmember Maxie Johnson, whose District 4 covers part of South Oak Cliff and East Oak Cliff, said the extra scrutiny on a non-profit charged with fundraising for the community park wasn’t warranted.

“What we have is broken promises, more delay, more false caution and it makes absolutely no sense,” Johnson said. “It’s always caution when it comes to our community when we try to get things done.”

Fair Park First leadership told NBC-5 last summer, the planned community park could break ground in late 2026 after the conclusion of the FIFA Fanfest in parking lots just east of Dos Equis Pavilion.