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Advocate urges Fort Worth to prioritize genuine community engagement, cites arts center process
Summary
An arts advocate told council that Fort Worth’s public engagement has been insufficient for major projects, citing the community arts center as a failed example and urging the city to make engagement central to decision-making.
Wesley Kirk, speaking on behalf of Support for Orth Art, told the Feb. 18 Fort Worth public comment meeting that the city treats community engagement as a checkbox rather than a meaningful two-way process.
"Community engagement is a 2 way street of benefits," Kirk said, adding that public trust erodes when engagement is infrequent or lacks clear information in advance. He cited the community arts center planning process as an example: the public had only three opportunities to speak in 2023 and none in 2024, he said, which he argued contributed to misunderstandings about the building’s purpose and a flawed request for proposals.
Kirk urged the council and city leadership to put community engagement "at the heart of every decision you make," to prioritize early and continuous outreach and to use engagement to build consensus and gather expertise outside city staff. He also mentioned the recent hiring of City Manager Jay Chapa and said he hopes the new manager will strengthen the city’s engagement approach.
Kirk framed his remarks as constructive direction to leaders rather than a formal motion; the transcript records no council action in response.
