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Farmers Branch public commenter criticizes DART handling; council schedules closed executive session

Farmers Branch City Council · February 18, 2026

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Summary

A resident criticized the council's handling of Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) discussions and urged placing DART items on a full council agenda. The council later announced a closed executive session to seek legal advice on DART and other matters and recessed to the city manager's office.

Rick Johnson, a Farmers Branch resident, used the meeting’s public‑comment period to criticize the City Council’s handling of Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) discussions and study sessions, saying conversations that occur in study session are later posted on social media and create opportunities for "backdoor deals." "How about you just don't even have it anymore?" Johnson said, urging the council to pull DART from study session and place it before the full council "if at all." Johnson said residents had been denied a full vote and told council members they should be ashamed.

The mayor (name not provided in the transcript) later summarized extensive intergovernmental activity on DART, saying city officials, the city manager, mayor pro tem and deputy city manager had met with DART, the regional transportation commission (RTC) and other DART cities, and had held meetings with state officials, including a meeting mentioned with Senator Royce West. The mayor said those conversations were ongoing and part of regional coordination.

Before adjourning the public portion of the study session, the council announced it would recess to the city manager’s office and convene a closed executive session to "consult with the attorney to seek legal advice regarding matters related to Dallas Area Rapid Transit," among other topics. The agenda packet language read aloud by the mayor cited Texas Government Code §551.071 for attorney consultation and §551.074 for personnel matters. The council said it would return to the public chambers at 6:00 p.m.

No formal action on DART was taken in the public session and no vote was recorded; the mayor directed staff to conduct the executive session and return at the posted time.