Leaders gather to address community issues
Close to 50 distinguished guests were in attendance at a meeting hosted by District 10 City Councilman Jerry Allen and nine other elected officials, including Mayor Tom Leppert.
The issue at hand was how to address certain problematic areas in Northeast Dallas.
With respect to District 10 here in Lake Highlands, that means the immediate area surrounding the Forest and Audelia intersection.
The goal of the meeting was to get all the people - ones who might play a role in finding a solution to problems - into the same room to air out the challenges.
“We have some high grade ore in this room today. It shows a commitment to what we are trying to do here,” began Councilman Allen.
A few organizations that had executive staff on hand included the TI Foundation, Boone Pickens Foundation, Big Thought, Communities In Schools, Big Brothers Big Sisters, RISD, Dallas Police Department, YMCA, City of Dallas, LH Exchange Club, LH Women’s League, Dallas Parks and Recreation and the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas.
“At the end of the day, what makes this special is that each and every one of you care," continued Allen. "It’s the reason I asked all of you to come today."
The root of the problem is the fact that Lake Highlands has a lot of density in the immediate area surrounding the Forest and Audelia intersection. Density, coupled with far too many mismanaged apartment complexes (read: absentee owners) is a recipe for what the community is seeing today - aging apartments riddled with code violations that attract and breed criminal behavior.
“Within a half mile radius of the Forest Audelia intersection, we have 6,197 apartment homes,” explained Allen. “I use the term ‘apartment homes’ because that is what they are to many of the good people who are trying to live there. It’s their home and they deserve our best effort to make this community the best we can.”
When areas like Forest and Audelia get out of control, the problems spread across the entire community. One way to quantify the problem of the apartments is by taking a look at the “mobility rate” of the schools in the area.
The mobility rate measures how many students register to attend a particular school, but end up leaving before the school year has ended.
Lake Highlands High School keeps a close eye on its mobility rate, and Principal Walter Kelly informed the guests at the meeting of the hard facts.
“We are seeing an increase of our mobility rate,” said Kelly. “Over the past few years it’s been 20-22% but this year it’s going to be over 30% and we're still counting.”
A high mobility rate is a direct indication of what goes on at some LH apartment complexes. If people don’t feel safe, they leave.
If apartments can’t keep people in long-term leases, the owners offer deep incentives - such as free rent - in order to attract new residents. Those residents will move in and then leave quickly for the next best deal.
It’s a vicious cycle that can only be stopped if apartment owners take accountability.
