Monday, March 25, 2013 Mr.

Jody Grant, Chairman Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation Board 1909 Woodall Rodgers Freeway #403 Dallas, TX 75201

Dear Jody: As the cultural stakeholders in and around the Dallas Arts District, we are writing to express our deep concern over the proposal to create a public improvement district (PID) exclusively for the benefit of one institution, Klyde Warren Park. First, let us be clear. We are thrilled to welcome Klyde Warren Park to the Dallas Arts District community. It has quickly become a home town favorite and a magnet for families and activity. Our city and the Arts District are richer and more vibrant because of it. But we were all taken by surprise to learn of the Parks proposal to create a PID. The Park never discussed it with us, even though the District and its stakeholders all sit within its proposed boundaries. We understand that the current proposal does not attempt to apply the tax to nonprofit organizations or city-owned properties. But this will have an impact. It would undermine our efforts to achieve support for the Arts District and its cultural institutions from corporate stakeholders who value their proximity to the District and the value it adds for their firms and employees. If they are already paying into the Downtown Dallas Improvement District or the Uptown PID, and then forced to pay into the Parks PID as well, they are far less likely to support the Dallas Arts District, its cultural institutions and District-wide events and activities. Approving the PID in its current form would be short-sighted on the citys behalf, and a missed opportunity. It would support only one organization with a $3M budget, while doing nothing to support $1 billion worth of assets - many of which are owned by the city. They, along with the Perot Museum of Nature and Science form an economic engine with annual attendance numbering more than 2 million. They bring tourists to Dallas, help attract and retain corporations, stimulate economic development, create and sustain hundreds of jobs and generate sales and hotel taxes for the city. In addition to helping the Park, a collaborative PID could help offset the cost of maintaining the citys assets, especially older facilities such as the Dallas Museum of Art and Meyerson Symphony Center. They could improve the infrastructure throughout the Arts District, around Klyde Warren Park, and fund more pedestrian friendly connections between the Perot Museum, the Arts District and the Park. In short, these funds could and should benefit us all. As nonprofit cultural organizations, we more than understand the need to find sustainable funding sources. And while the Park has said in the past it would not be supported by taxpayer funds, we know that financing plans may occasionally need revising to meet economic realities and changing missions. We feel a better path for the Park is to step back and communicate and collaborate to find a tool that would benefit everyone in the neighborhood. We are all part of the same community and want each other to survive and thrive. By working together, the Arts District, the Perot and the Park form a critical cultural mass that will continue to draw visitors

and transform the core of our city and region. That is an opportunity that should unite and excite us all. We sincerely appreciate the Park, what it means to our city and value our relationship with the Park. We all expect to work closely with the Parks fine staff to continue our downtown renaissance and lift our citys profile at home, across the country and the globe. But we respectfully ask you to withdraw the petition as currently filed, meet with us all, and create a more collaborative proposal. Jody, we appreciate your invitation to discuss this further and look forward to meeting you on your return from New York. Sincerely, Maxwell Anderson, Dallas Museum of Art Keith Cerny, The Dallas Opera Doug Curtis, AT&T Performing Arts Center Zenetta Drew, Dallas Black Dance Theatre Amy Hofland, Crow Collection of Asian Art Heather Kitchen, Dallas Theater Center Jonathan Martin, Dallas Symphony Orchestra Charles Santos, TITAS Nicole Small, Perot Museum of Nature and Science Jeremy Strick, Nasher Sculpture Center