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Dallas acquires land for trail work

DALLAS -- The city of Dallas took the final step to resolve a development dispute and acquired land for a portion of the Rickreall Creek Trail in one approved ordinance Monday night.

Jolene Guzman

March 05, 2013

DALLAS -- The city of Dallas took the final step to resolve a development dispute and acquired land for a portion of the Rickreall Creek Trail in one approved ordinance Monday night.

The dispute, dating back to 1999, involved the amount of money due to the city for street improvements on Miller Avenue.

As it turns out, the property owner, Donald Hiebert, also owned land the city needed for its trail project.

Hiebert agreed to deed the city the property in question north of Rickreall Creek near Barberry Avenue to end the dispute.

The arrangement was finalized Monday, with Dallas City Council's adoption of an ordinance accepting the land for use in a public trail.

"It was just fortuitous to us that he happened to own a piece (of land) we were looking for and was willing to trade it to settle that development agreement claim," said City Attorney Lane Shetterly.

Hiebert previously granted the city an easement on the trail property for preliminary design work. The city will use a $150,000 recreational trails grant to build the section, to be called the "Hiebert Section."

The city will hold an open house Tuesday between 5 and 7 p.m. at Dallas Aquatic Center, 1005 SE LaCreole Drive, to allow residents to provide input on what route the path through this section should take.

The city carved out two paths in December and is asking residents to walk both and select the one they like best. The city Parks and Recreation Board will use the input to make a recommendation to the city council.

For more information or to vote for your favorite route online, go to www.dallasor.gov.

In other news, the city:

* Will soon use a new system for online bill pay for utilities, municipal court fees and Dallas Aquatic Center memberships. Adopting the new system will not change the process for people who pay bills online through their bank now and could save the utility clerk up to 15 hours per month that could be directed to other projects. The cost to the city would be $1,600 to $1,800 per month plus start-up costs once a 22 percent usage rate is achieved.

* Approved a resolution to install stop signs for south bound traffic on Southeast Greening and Southeast Appleseed drives.