Consultant recommends strategic park plan; some council members oppose privatizing city parks

Consultant Jason Klontz laid out a multi‑step strategic approach for Balch Springs parks operations at the Aug. 27 joint meeting, telling council and boards the exercise would identify options — consolidating parks, partnering with private operators, monetizing assets or prioritizing maintenance — and produce an implementation playbook.

“I look at every decision tree as just choices and options,” Klontz said during his presentation, describing a process that would begin with an inventory and 60‑day discovery, followed by scenario‑based financial modeling and an implementation roadmap with KPIs and funding strategies.

Klontz suggested the city could consider public‑private partnerships, deed restrictions or partial dispositions that would still protect resident access while generating revenue; he warned any sale or privatization steps likely would require voter approval and careful legal review. He described the goal as prioritizing resources and maintaining the parks and programs that deliver the most value.

Not all elected officials were open to privatization. Council member Gabriel said he would not support any measure that turns public land into private holdings. “I just won't be supporting any measure to privatize the city the citizens, public lands,” Gabriel said, calling privatization a “non‑starter.”

Staff said the strategy exercise would be implementation‑focused and would fold into CIP and EDC planning. The consultant said deliverables would include multiple scenarios for council review, a final plan and KPIs to measure success; no formal decision or vote was taken at the meeting.