{"id":392100,"date":"2026-07-30T15:30:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T15:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/392100\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T15:30:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T15:30:11","slug":"dallas-and-white-rock-lake-boathouse-group-continue-dispute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/392100\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas and White Rock Lake Boathouse group continue dispute"},"content":{"rendered":"

Walking up to the White Rock Boathouse<\/a> building, signs stating \u201cProperty of White Rock Rowing\u201d and \u201cNo Trespassing\u201d come into focus. Beside them, wooden fenceposts anchored in concrete create a visible, albeit permeable, perimeter between the adjacent parking lot and the boathouse dock.<\/p>\n

The boathouse, built in 2006, stands on city-owned park property leased to White Rock Boathouse<\/a>, Inc (WRBI). It\u2019s the site of one of the city\u2019s more enduring disputes<\/a> over park land \u2014 a dispute that has raised questions over accessibility, transparency and the expectations that come with operating a city-owned property.<\/p>\n

Concerns have lingered since at least 2018, although in recent years they have boiled over into a public row. Park department officials triggered an audit of the operator in 2019, a park board representative resigned in 2025<\/a>, and WRBI is currently suing the city over its lease renewal.<\/p>\n

For some advocates, the halfway-built fence represents yet another barrier to access at the building. Work started in the spring but was halted in April when the city of Dallas sent a cease-and-desist letter to Sue Ellen Chambers, the president and board chair of White Rock Boathouse, Inc. In the letter, a Dallas Park and Recreation employee states that the operator did not give the city prior notice or obtain permission to begin construction. The fence posts, set a few feet apart, remain standing several months later.<\/p>\n

Sign up for the This Week\u2019s Top Stories newsletter to get the latest stories delivered to your inbox<\/p>\n

THANK YOU!<\/p>\n

You’re all set.<\/p>\n

CLOSE\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Paula Miltenberger, a founder of the group White Rock Accountability, said the would-be barrier is indicative of a wider issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s ridiculous,\u201d Miltenberger said. \u201cWhat are we doing here? Is this a park? Is this a city park? Is it a public space, or is it a members-only private space? It doesn\u2019t feel welcoming, that people would want to come try, and I think it sends a message. Like, \u2018We are a private club.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

On July 23, Dallas Park and Recreation Director John Jenkins sent a memo to council members reporting that the city sent a breach-of-contract<\/a> notice to WRBI over its code of conduct earlier in the month. The city alleges that the code of conduct was never approved in its current form by park officials, with the memo specifically citing a section that prohibits residents affiliated with other rowing clubs from renting space at the boathouse, something which WRBI enforced earlier this year to deny access to rowers affiliated with a competing rowing organization. Chambers told the Observer that WRBI\u2019s code of conduct had been approved in 2022, although Jenkins\u2019 letter alleges the code was adopted in 2025.<\/p>\n

Public land<\/p>\n

\"WhiteOriginally operated by Dallas Water Utilities when the lake supplied drinking water, the Filter Building is now used as event space. The profits go back to White Rock Rowing for programs and maintenance.<\/p>\n

Operating as one, White Rock Boathouse, Inc. and White Rock Rowing lease and operate the 26,500-square-foot boathouse. In addition, WRBI operates the nearby Filter Building and the Boomerang Boathouse, both of which sat neglected for years before their arrival. The operator raised the $2.7 million needed to restore the two buildings and construct the boathouse. Since 2017, WRBI has spent $740,358 on repairs for the structures, according to WRBI.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say we\u2019ve been an amazing steward of public land, considering what we\u2019ve done to what was just a crumbling down, dangerous section of the lake,\u201d Chambers said.<\/p>\n

Along with renting storage space to teams from Jesuit Dallas, Ursuline and SMU, White Rock Rowing organizes competitive youth teams for middle and high school students. There are also spots for adults and disabled rowers, but most of its mission focuses on youth programs, including summer sessions and introductory classes.<\/p>\n

Chambers said the push for a fence came from repeated safety issues and loitering on the premises. She added that the organization never notified the city because they did not consider the fence a material change to the property, and stopped work immediately after receiving the cease-and-desist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The organization is being singled out, she said, adding that she knows why. It\u2019s part of a seemingly never-ending saga revolving around their management of the \u201casset,\u201d as she calls it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you were to stack up all the accusations against us, and then you put all the organizations [at the lake] in a spreadsheet together, you would see how similar we all are,\u201d Chambers said. \u201cWe all sort of look the same. So it\u2019s an attempt to single us out, and the only thing that makes any sense at all is the actual asset itself.<\/p>\n

\u2018We got a big problem\u2019<\/p>\n

\"T&PT&P Boathouse, commonly referred to as the \u201cBoomerang,\u201d is used for launch boats and storing kayaks. It\u2019s also the subject of a lawsuit.<\/p>\n

As with several notable public-private partnership controversies overseen <\/a>by the park department in recent years, all roads lead back to the contract at White Rock Lake.<\/p>\n

In return for the nonprofit\u2019s investments, the city granted the two contracts for the day-to-day management of the facilities in 2006. The first contract grants WRBI management rights to the Boathouse and the Filter Building, while the second allows the nonprofit to maintain and use the Boomerang for launch boats. WRBI can automatically renew the former for two 10-year renewal periods after the original 20-year term expires, while the latter requires approval from the park director for renewal. In addition to rent from the boathouse and Boomerang, the agreement allows White Rock Rowing to collect event revenue from the Filter Building to fund programming and maintenance, with the city receiving 10% of the proceeds.<\/p>\n

Both contracts were up for renewal this year, which would have ostensibly allowed WRBI to remain the operator through at least 2026.<\/p>\n

However, the city is arguing that WRBI improperly renewed the Boomerang lease. In response, the nonprofit has filed a lawsuit against Dallas to keep the contracts in place through 2036. A judge has denied the city\u2019s motion for dismissal, according to prior reporting by The Dallas Morning News.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The city of Dallas did not return a request for comment.<\/p>\n

In a text, Chambers called the breach-of-contract notice and issues with renewal \u201cbaseless.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur code of conduct is consistent with the standard codes of conduct found at many rowing clubs across the country,\u201d Chambers said. \u201cOur attorneys are preparing a formal response to the Park\u2019s notice of default and we are confident that the court will find the City\u2019s position baseless, as it\u2019s done so far in the pending lawsuit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rudy Karimi, a member of the Dallas Park and Recreation Board, said WRBI has failed to be a good partner to the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s my biggest problem with all of this: our best partnerships, both sides need to see it as a privilege instead of an entitlement,\u201d Karimi said. \u201cThe moment one side of a partnership sees it as an entitlement, we have a problem. We got a big problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Members of the park board have previously raised concerns about the contract\u2019s financial transparency and its automatic renewals. In 2022, an addendum to the contract was approved to add required yearly audits and minimum scholarship funding. The changes largely came in response to a 2019 audit that found the nonprofit had operated the Boomerang under an expired lease from 2013 to 2018 and failed to maintain proper financial records before 2016.<\/p>\n

Park department officials also did not verify the revenue reports prior to 2019, according to the audit, and the city did not receive 10% of the revenue from \u201cextras\u201d (security reimbursements or rented items for events) at the Filter Building from 2015 to 2017, which would have totaled $24,633. Chambers said the total was found to be closer to $4,700 after consulting the city\u2019s accountant, and that WRBI later paid the outstanding balance.<\/p>\n

The park department has been asked by City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert to cut 15% of its budget<\/a> as the city faces a $51 million budget shortfall. Department officials have been vocal in their desire to maximize public-private partnerships like WRBI\u2019s<\/a> to maximize revenue.<\/p>\n

Chambers said the pre-2016 financial records were lost after a computer failure and admitted, \u201cwe should have tightened that up sooner.\u201d The nonprofit has hired an accounting firm to conduct its yearly audits, and she said WRBI has largely been compliant in that regard since 2022. She added that the expired lease had been the result of an oversight by the park department, and that WRBI paid rent during the lapse.<\/p>\n

Karimi, on the other hand, said issues remain and called the 10% Filter Building return to the city \u201cterrible\u201d compared to other partnerships.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think they\u2019ve been transparent, unfortunately,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re supposed to give 10% back from their gross revenues. We don\u2019t know what the gross revenues are because some of the documents that our department has seen have been redacted, heavily redacted, and so how do we know we\u2019re getting 10% of a fair shake?\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2025, officials asked WRBI to submit meeting minutes from the past four years as public scrutiny on the contract continued to swell. WRBI submitted heavily redacted documents, which Chambers said were necessary to protect personnel information, and city officials consented. The nonprofit also submitted a corrected audit months late in 2025, according to an open records request obtained by White Rock Accountability.<\/p>\n

Calls for accountability<\/p>\n

Miltenberger started White Rock Lake Accountability around the time the cease-and-desist letter was sent. Two of her sons have trained on the lake, with one having rowed out of the boathouse with Jesuit Dallas\u2019 crew team. The other trained with Dallas United Crew, a competing rowing organization that notably operates out of a temporary structure on the other side of the lake. Miltenberger is also the immediate past president of DUC, which formerly rowed out of the boathouse as Highland Park Rowing until being forced to leave in 2012.<\/p>\n

She said the boathouse has failed in its mission to provide access for residents, expand participation from underrepresented communities and grow the sport at the lake. It\u2019s been a recurring pattern largely ignored by the city thus far, Miltenberger said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city\u2019s response now has been, \u2018Oh, unequivocally, we\u2019re not going to tell the operator what to do,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cBut if you look at their contract, it says all of these things need to be approved by the park board director. But there\u2019s no response. It\u2019s always \u2018We\u2019ll look into it,\u201d and it goes kind of nowhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

To date, White Rock Accountability\u2019s website has been used to send over 250 letters to District 9 council member Paula Blackmon, she said. Blackmon\u2019s office declined an interview request and directed the Observer to Jenkins\u2019 July 24 letter.<\/p>\n

Miltenberger said the campaign is the culmination of years of recurring issues, lack of accountability from the city and stubborn management at the facility.<\/p>\n

Chambers, on the other hand, describes White Rock Accountability as part of a \u201ctakeover attempt\u201d by disgruntled former rowers associated with competing rowing organizations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s to get the asset, it\u2019s to get the boathouse,\u201d she said. \u201cI mean, it\u2019s just it\u2019s that simple.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miltenberger disputed that characterization, and said it was a tactic meant to draw focus away from recurring problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis \u2018It\u2019s about one organization trying to take over another in their boathouse,\u2019 has deflected from all the records,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re just not going to engage in that anymore because it\u2019s not about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Access and control
\n\"WoodenChambers said the fence was planned to keep out adults who drink and loiter on the property during practice hours, but only fenceposts stand now. <\/p>\n

When asked about concerns over accessibility on public property, Chambers said that while it may not operate as an open-to-all park space, the facility is largely open to the public to join as a member, as is the case for similar operators around the lake.<\/p>\n

\u201cAccessibility is a slippery slope because it is accessible, but there are fees attached to that because it\u2019s not free,\u201d Chambers said. \u201cIt\u2019s just like anything down there. Dallas United, Corinthian Sailing Club, White Rock Boat Club. Everybody\u2019s a private club down there. You can\u2019t just walk in the building and go, \u201cI\u2019m going to take a boat out, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut anybody can join it too,\u201d she added. \u201cThe public is welcome to join it.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the boathouse sitting on public park land, accessibility is a natural sticking point for community members. Members of the public cannot enter the Boathouse without authorization or rent equipment, although they can join as members and lease storage space. Once a member, residents can use boathouse training facilities and check out boats for personal use.<\/p>\n

White Rock Accountability\u2019s website features supporting documentation, including WRBI\u2019s original 2006 contract, an email denying a resident access to the boathouse, audits, and the city\u2019s cease-and-desist letter on the fence. One email appears to show a resident being denied access to the facility because of his affiliation with another rowing club, which violates the section of WRBI\u2019s code of conduct referenced in the city\u2019s breach notice.<\/p>\n

Chambers said the denial was necessary to ensure the integrity of White Rock Rowing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t open your door to your top competitor to come in and join your programs, meet your kids, meet your families,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a normal thing to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reports of residents being denied access to the building have circulated previously, including an incident in 2018 in which more than a dozen adult rowers had their memberships revoked following infighting, according to prior reporting <\/a>by White Rock Weekly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I retired from the board, the people that were left turned it into a closed club,\u201d Chip Northrup, one of WRBI\u2019s founders, told White Rock Weekly in 2019.<\/p>\n

Tamber Johnson, one of those rowers, is now part of the White Rock Accountability campaign, although her concerns predated her departure. She said that while WRBI is collecting large amounts of rent from private schools and event rentals at the Filter Building, it has strayed from its original mission. WRBI collected over a million dollars from programming, regatta and Filter Building revenue in 2025, according to the organization\u2019s year-end financial report, which also shows expenses closely behind total revenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat they are not doing is what they said they would originally do, which is support community youth rowing, get into an outreach program,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cGet into those underserved communities. Bring this asset to the benefit of everybody across the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said most of the recurring issues go back to WRBI\u2019s board, who she said treat it \u201cprimarily as a real estate concern.\u201d Under the organization\u2019s bylaws, board members are self-appointed and have loose term limits. The six-member group controlling the facilities has an average tenure of more than nine years on the board, according to White Rock Accountability.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question is, does the city of Dallas have the tenacity to do the right thing and restore this to the public good?\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

Chambers, who has served as president for 15 years, said that a consultant was hired in 2018, roughly corresponding with the time the dispute arose. Based on the consultant\u2019s recommendations, board members are now limited to a three-year initial term and two three-year reappointments after WBRI amended its bylaws. The original terms took effect beginning with the adoption of the new bylaws, meaning board members could have roughly nine years to serve on top of their prior tenure. She added that she was not \u201cpresent\u201d during the dispute with the masters, but said it arose from members asking for board reform and elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s things they could have done better, and we could have done better,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s created such a ruckus. I think it\u2019s kind of a toxic environment for the city now. We all have a reputation now of rowing clubs are very difficult to deal with. The city doesn\u2019t particularly like us, and the more this goes on, the worse we make it for the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018In White Rock Rowing\u2019s court\u2019<\/p>\n

Maria Hasbany has been one of the more visible figures in the dispute. She served as the park board representative for District 9 from 2019, roughly corresponding to when the city triggered an audit after concerns were raised by community members, to 2025, when she resigned following a public break with Blackmon, the area\u2019s city council member.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

\u201cMy council person was clearly on the side of this group of people that were hell-bent on getting this operator removed,\u201d she said. \u201cI had never had any whisper or any personal experience with them other than as an excellent partner and an excellent operator who was super cooperative.\u201d<\/p>\n

The audit represented another attack from disgruntled rowers, Hasbany said, who added that the continued issues appear to be driven by the fact that \u201cDallas United crew doesn\u2019t like operating out of a tent\u201d and would like to operate out of the boathouse.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was specifically driven by a group of individuals,\u201d Hasbany said. \u201cFor an operator to be audited is pretty unusual, especially an operator that\u2019s kind of like that small.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hasbany also said she believes the city will lose the lawsuit and added that the \u201ccity cannot compel that operator to change\u201d its organizational structure under the contract. \u201cIt is not up to the city to dictate how you\u2019re going to do that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Her replacement on the board, Michael Jung, also has a long-running connection to the lake as a member of the White Rock Lake Taskforce. While he said that, to his knowledge, most of the financial concerns have been addressed, he believes broader issues remain unresolved. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think they view it like a tenant views his apartment lease, that the landlord has some limited rights to come in and inspect, but that it\u2019s their private domain,\u201d Jung said.<\/p>\n

Jung said that WRBI has not participated in coalition meetings of various organizations operating at White Rock Lake, despite numerous overtures, but that he has not directly reached out to Chambers or other board members. He added that the Boomerang Boathouse has been neglected under WRBI. Chambers said that, due to the structure\u2019s open-air layout, flooding makes it an \u201cimpossible building to keep clean\u201d despite regular maintenance.<\/p>\n

The \u201cother parties,\u201d as Jung puts it, are still willing to work with WRBI, he said, adding that he approved of the city proceeding with the lawsuit and breach notice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ball, right now, on exclusivity is in White Rock Boathouse\u2019s court,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re coming up in about 10 days or so on their response to the notice of default, and it\u2019ll depend on what they do. They may say our code of conduct is none of your business. They may say you\u2019re right. We\u2019ll change it and get it approved this time. So that\u2019s kind of a fork in the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

Line in the sand<\/p>\n

According to Jenkins\u2019s letter, WRBI has 30 days to remove the code of conduct from its website and resubmit an updated document. If not, the organization\u2019s contract with the city allows the park department to default the agreement with WRBI.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The breach notice represents the latest and perhaps most significant line drawn in the sand by the city thus far. WRBI\u2019s lawsuit is continuing, and the nonprofit has not yet released plans to amend the code of conduct.<\/p>\n

Miltenberger said she will continue to press for accountability at White Rock Boathouse until the facility operates for the public good, as she put it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time to ask these hard questions because every nonprofit should be working together to make the community better,\u201d she said. \u201cHaving a city partnership is a privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Park and Recreation Board will meet next on Aug. 6, one day before WRBI\u2019s deadline to cure issues raised in the breach-of-contract notice. Chambers acknowledged WRBI has not operated flawlessly with its past bookkeeping, but said the nonprofit has otherwise been a compliant, willing partner to the city of Dallas for the last 18 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to make friends with people who hate you, no matter what you do, no matter what you provide for them in terms of information or data, or open your books,\u201d Chambers said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Walking up to the White Rock Boathouse building, signs stating \u201cProperty of White Rock Rowing\u201d and \u201cNo Trespassing\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":392101,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[3084,102,104,103],"class_list":["post-392100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-city-hall","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=392100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392100\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/392101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=392100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=392100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=392100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}