On April 10, seventeen Boys Scouts and several parents from Troop 570 based in far north Dallas made a trip downtown where they received an outstanding tour of Dallas City Hall.  Keeping in the “Green” spirit of the day, the Scouts and parents utilized the DART system to make their way to City Hall. 

The City Hall tour was highly informative for the Scouts of Troop 570.  They reviewed the City’s emergency and general services operations; visited the Council Chambers; Flag Room; and Dallas Police Video Surveillance System. 

The Scouts were addressed by various City officials on the inner workings of the 311, 911 and video surveillance operations.  Councilman Ron Natinsky engaged the scouts in his discussion and provided an insider’s view of how the City of Dallas works and the role of a Councilperson.   For many the highlight of the comprehensive two-hour tour was the visit to the Video Surveillance System.  As a crime prevention tool the scouts learned that some 30% of downtown Dallas is being constantly monitored by the Dallas’ Police’s video surveillance network. The video system impressed everyone, “I could see the expressions on people’s faces and what they were carrying in their hands, it was awesome”, said scout Ron Nissim.

The boys received a sandwich lunch courtesy of Councilman Ron Natinsky.  All participants had a good time. “It was an incredible visit, I know so much more about what our City Government does now” said scout Chris Brannum. 

Jim Farnsworth, Scout Master for Troop 570, felt the visit personalized our City Government for our Scouts, “Interacting with our City Councilman and the other City Government officials was a good lesson for our scouts, it demonstrated to them it takes the hard work and dedication of thousands of employees to make our City work.”

Troop 570 wants to thank Councilman Ron Natinsky and the City’s Special Event’s Coordinator Gaytha F. Davis for arranging a very stimulating and engaging tour for our scouts.