A briefing on the accountant’s report into Fair Park First’s restricted donations — which found $5.7 million in misallocated funds — is on the Dallas City Council agenda Wednesday.
Both nonprofit group Fair Park First and its for-profit partner group Oak View Group will be in attendance.
The initial report alleged Oak View Group was at fault for the $5.7 million in misallocated funds.
After the report’s findings, and ahead of the meeting, leaders from both groups say there need to be changes made to the contract that was created six years ago.
Both Fair Park First and its partnership with then-management group Spectra Venue Management were established in 2018 to improve the management and operations of Fair Park, which lost money when run solely by the city of Dallas, said Veletta Forsythe-Lill, Fair Park First Board President.
“They needed a nonprofit that would have the capacity to raise funds for capital improvements,” Forsythe-Lill said.
Fair Park First was created to fundraise for the park and preserve its history. Spectra was brought in to manage the finances and daily operations of the park.
However, none of the people who created the partnership are calling the shots today.
Spectra was later acquired by Oak View Group, Fair Park First has new leadership since it was first established, and city officials who approved the original contract for Fair Park First no longer hold office.
At the root of the accountant’s report released last week is the difficulty in raising money for Fair Park.
While restricted donor funds are given for specific purposes, raising large sums of money for unrestricted funds to go towards operating costs is very difficult, Forsythe-Lill said.
She added that the management and sub-management agreements between the city, Fair Park First, and OVG need to be redone.
“The reality is the city should provide a higher stipend,” Forsythe-Lill said. “We have five years of operations to know [about shortfalls], but the stipend that was negotiated in 2018 isn’t adequate to do the support necessary for the park.”
Greg O’Dell, president of venue management for OVG, said that the operating group would also be open to reexamining the contract.
“We would welcome some restructuring where there’s clarity in the scope that we do and clarity in the scope that Fair Park First also does,” O’Dell said.
He added that OVG would also like the ability to directly communicate with the city — currently they have to make requests and communicate through Fair Park First.
While neither O’Dell nor Forsythe-Lill signed off on the contracts six years ago, Forsythe-Lill said they must save and reinvigorate the park.
“It is one of the city’s and state’s most treasured assets,” she said. “So there’s no room for abandonment, there is only room for finding solutions.”
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