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The Addison City Council held lengthy discussions Tuesday, Jan. 13, debating whether to let residents vote on withdrawing from Dallas Area Rapid Transit, revisiting a question the council narrowly rejected just five weeks earlier.
The work session discussion comes as five neighboring cities, Plano, Highland Park, University Park, Farmers Branch and Irving, have already called May elections on DART withdrawal, raising questions about service continuity and costs if multiple communities exit the regional transit system.
On December 2, the council voted 4-3 against calling a withdrawal election. But the issue returned to the agenda at the request of council members who want to reconsider the timing and process for letting voters decide.
Council members remained split on whether to schedule a vote for May or November, with no formal action taken during the work session. The item is expected to return for consideration at a future meeting.
During public comment, several residents spoke overwhelmingly in favor of keeping DART or delaying any withdrawal vote until November.
Ron Whitehead urged council members to take more time with the decision. "This is your most important decision. Take the time to do it right," Whitehead said, adding that delaying until November would allow for proper negotiations and information gathering.
Fran Powell emphasized Addison's unique position as a regional employment center. "We have a daily population of over 125,000 and an evening population probably matching that because of all the restaurants in the area," Powell said. "If we don't have mass transit, they're not gonna come because parking won't be available."
Daniel Smith, a resident and small business owner, argued the Ernst & Young cost allocation study focusing on dollars spent versus received misses the bigger picture. "Businesses like stability, they like certainty," Smith said. "They like to know that if they're gonna invest millions and millions of dollars in our economy, that the revenue stream that they're banking on isn't going to disappear."
Council member Howard Freed made a case for a May election, framing it as a fiscal responsibility issue rather than opposition to transit.
"It's not okay to take $109 million from Plano and only give them $44 million in service, and the rest goes to Dallas," Freed said, citing figures from other cities' analyses. He calculated that waiting until November could cost Addison an additional $8.8 million in DART contributions while increasing withdrawal obligations.
"We are not voting to get out of DART," Freed said. "We are voting to give the people the right to decide."
Council member Darren Gardner, who brought the item back to the agenda, said the December 2 meeting was rushed with insufficient notice and transparency. "The meeting was announced on Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and the meeting was a Tuesday after Thanksgiving," Gardner said, adding that he wanted more visibility into ongoing negotiations with DART and other transit providers.
Mayor Bruce Arfsten advocated strongly for maintaining DART service and delaying any vote. "I go back to those people that need it more than anybody, that need to get to work at the hospitals, at the schools, at the restaurants, the hotels," Arfsten said. "Those people don't have another option."
Arfsten addressed claims that the December vote somehow restricted voting rights. "For somebody to say that we're trying to restrict people from voting, that was just a demonstration for me of how I value public transit," he said.
Gary Slagel, Addison's DART board representative, outlined recent progress on governance reforms and the General Mobility Program funding agreement. He said DART is revising the GMP agreement to remove language requiring cities to repay funds if future legislation reduces their DART contribution.
DART President and CEO Nadine Lee acknowledged the agency has been "forced into a very defensive posture" during recent legislative sessions but emphasized the need for collaborative solutions.
"Everyone needs more revenue," Lee said. "What DART is interested in is not trying to spontaneously make a change without a lengthy policy discussion on what our future looks like."
Assistant City Manager Ashley Shroyer presented preliminary information on alternative transit providers, with cost estimates ranging from $1.5 million to $2.5 million annually for microtransit services. However, she emphasized these were rough estimates requiring further council direction.
A recently conducted business survey yielded only 52 responses from more than 300 businesses contacted, leading several council members to say more data is needed before making decisions.
The Silver Line commuter rail that opened in October has seen approximately 7,400 boardings since opening through December, according to preliminary DART data. Addison's transit center sees approximately 50,000 monthly boardings, though that figure includes bus transfers.
Chief Financial Officer Steven Glickman confirmed that if Addison withdraws, the town would face an estimated $65 million withdrawal obligation with a three-year payback period, based on September 2024 calculations.
Under state law, if voters approve withdrawal, all DART service stops would cease to operate the day after the election. The city can only call a withdrawal election once every six years, with the next window not opening until 2032.
The council must decide by Feb. 13 whether to call a May 2026 election.
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