Mirror, Mirror (Truth in Advertising)

In 1952, one of the most popular shows on tv was I Love Lucy and one of the best episodes was Vitameatavegamin.   Lucy meets with the director of the commercial and he explains that Vitameatavegamin is a health tonic and gives her the lines to learn.  What none of them knew was the health tonic was 23% alcohol.  During the first practice set, Lucy reads her lines and then takes a spoon full of the health tonic and begins to make funny faces because it tasted so bad.  Take after take Lucy got a little more drunk, and by the time it was over Ricky had to take her off the stage.  The episode is a perfect example of truth in advertising. 

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, it’s time to spill the secrets once and for all!  If you live in Frisco then you hear city leaders reflecting on how Money Magazine voted Frisco the #1 Best Place to Live in America.  The truth is Frisco is a great city to live in, but it has not been ranked #1 since 2018 which is 5 years ago.  In fact,  in the  2021/22  Money Magazine, The City of Frisco was ranked #19 for the Best Places to Live.   That means in 5 years we fell 18 spots so why do they continue to talk about a ranking from 2018?  Shouldn’t we be asking ourselves; how did we drop 18 spots?  Is this truthful advertising? 

The City of Frisco puts together a series of video messages called Progress In Motion to talk about the change and growth happening in our town.  The series is truly one the city’s greatest forms of advertising.  These videos are so professional, and they cover an array of different topics. Wes Pierson recently stated in a July 2023 article in Frisco Enterprise that there is a powerful message behind the idea of “Progress In Motion.”  For Frisco’s city manager, the city tagline inspires a focus on the concept of “growth” rather than “change.  Sometimes when people talk about change, there can be a negative connotation related to change, but if you talk about progress, it really emphasizes, in my opinion, a focus on growth,” he said.

Even our own Mayor puts out a series of videos on his Cheney for Frisco Mayor YouTube page.  When we saw his campaign video this year announcing his re-election we were impressed because it was truly a professional video with amazing footage.  Then my wife said, “I could swear I have seen this footage before” and I replied, yeah probably in another video he has done running for office.   She was adamant that was not it and night after night as we sat watching tv she played on her iPad until I heard,  “See, I told you I have seen this footage before,” and with a big grin on her face, she played me one of the city’s Progress in Motion videos.  Then she played a portion of Cheney’s campaign video and sure as shady shit it was a match.  We decided to do a little research to see how much of his election video matched up with the Progress in Motion videos put out by the city.  We decided to do a little research to see how much of his election video matched up to the Progress in Motion videos put out by the city.

In Cheney’s election video at the 24 second mark you see the drone footage coming into the Cowboy Star which is from the NFLs HBO’s Hard Knocks: The Dallas Cowboys at the 07-second mark.  Did he get approval from HBO, NFL and Jerry Jones to use that footage?  Would any of them give him authorization to use that for a political campaign ad?  Should we consider this and endorsement?

At the 25 second mark you see Hall Park and the Future Kaleidoscope Park which matches up to several shots in the Progress In Motion – Hall Park New Development.

At the 48 second mark he uses footage from a Fox4 newscast of the UNT Campus announcement followed by footage at the 52 second mark that is an exact match to the Progress In Motion – Collin College I.T. Ribbon Cutting

Now compare Cheney’s election video to the  Progress in Motion – Public Safety Training Center video.  On Cheney’s election video at the 1:17 mark you see footage of the fireman from the back in a training which is an exact match to the PIM at the 1:39 video mark.  Then at the 1:18 mark on Cheney’s election video you see footage of a burning car which matches the 1:09 video mark in the PIM video.  Then at the 1:22 mark on the election video you see a Frisco Police Car which matches the footage at the 1:22 video mark in the PIM.  Lastly, at the 1:24 mark on Cheney’s election video you see footage of the FD training center which matches the 1:28 video mark on the PIM video.

On Cheney’s election video at the 1:43 mark he talks about The Rail District and the future of outdoor entertainment.  Interestingly the renderings were produced by Kimley Horn and are on the city’s site and labeled with the Frisco logo.  The renderings are show in an article on Frisco Enterprise and they note the renderings which match Cheneys election video were the courtesy of The City of Frisco.

On Cheney’s election video at the 2:16 mark he shows the ground-breaking of the Dr. Pepper Keurig office complex with Jerry Jones which is an exact match to the start of the city’s PIM – Keurig Dr Pepper Groundbreaking video.

On Cheney’s election video at the 2:23 mark he shows the ribbon cutting of Texas Health which is an exact match to the PIM – Texas Health Hospital Frisco video.

Cheney was even bold enough to use ESPN or PGA footage of Tiger Woods in his election video at the 2:25 mark.  We found a few city videos and it appears as if the PGA may have given the city some footage to use for advertising videos.  The question is did they give Cheney permission to use footage in a political campaign video?   Did he have permission to use the professional golfer and their likeness in his video?  Did he have permission from ESPN or the PGA to use this footage in a political campaign video?  Do ESPN or the PGA endorse Mayor Cheney?  Is Tigers appearance an endorsement?  At the 2:30 mark he uses Universal’s Theme Park rendering given to the city for press releases. So, did he have NBC Universal’s permission to use their rendering in a political campaign video?  Does that mean NBC Universal endorsed the mayor?   Lastly at the 2:50 mark in his election video he shows aerial views of the new PGA which look very similar to the PIM PGA videos.

You are probably wondering, why is this important?  Well, in 2021 a local resident filed an ethics complaint against the mayor for using his city email to solicit feedback from department heads which he later used in a personal Facebook post to endorse and support Angelia Pelham for council.  In the complaint she cited it was a violation per the Code of Conduct Section 7.   According to Section 7: Public Property and Resources it states a city official shall not use, request, or permit the use of city facilities, personnel, equipment and supplies for private purposes (including political purposes).  Now his fellow council members voted against moving forward with the ethics complaint in 2001 but in our own opinion it was clear as day he violated it then.  SO, DID HE VIOLATE THE CODE OF CONDUCT WITH HIS ELECTION VIDEO?

We are estimating about 75% of the election video is made from city footage.  Are political candidates allowed to use city footage paid for by taxpayers?  Does the city not have any copyright rules?  Is it fair for anyone to use city footage?  If so, then I could make a video and use some of the footage that includes Cheney speaking?  Can a realtor in Frisco make videos using city footage to advertise their business?  What about small businesses, can they use city footage to make social media commercials for their business?  Can a local realtor use local renderings from P&Z documents to advertise their business and talk about new things coming to Frisco?   Were all the candidates aware they could use city footage to make political campaign videos?  If they were allowed to use the video footage was it disclosed to them or was that something the Mayor knew as an “inside tip” that he used for his advantage.  A video of this nature could and probably does cost thousands of dollars if he had to film all this footage himself.  Filming is not cheap or inexpensive.  So, did the mayor pay the city for the use of the footage?  Is this another example of Jeff Cheney taking Mayoral Privilege for his personal use and benefit?   

We are thinking that someone needs to look in the mirror and decide if he is the FAIRest of them all.

Humpty Dumpty

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men,
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

We were curious why in 2023 the City of Frisco was trying to go back to a broken system in place back in 2011/12 after several years of positive change.  Maybe because that is “The Frisco Way.”  Many times, we have heard council members and city leadership refer to “The Frisco Way” and we have always been curious what is it?  Well, it is a mindset that only Frisco leaders and city management know what is best for the city and the citizens living in it.  It is a mindset that the City of Frisco is the only city who could possibly do things the right way and every other city is second fiddle.  It is the mindset that we do things the way we have always done it and someone  should not question that.  It is also the institution of the good ole boy network, scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.   

Let’s pretend it is 2011 and that Humpty Dumpty is Mack Borchardt, Chief of the Frisco Fire Department, sitting lofty up on that wall.  Next to him perched high up is his team which includes his buddy Lee Glover, Assistant Fire Chief and Paul Siebert, Assistant Fire Chief, 3 Battalion Chiefs Shannon Britton, Shawn Eft and Paul Farrow and Division Chief Cameron Kraemer.

Then the wind blows and causes a great fall which refers to the 2011 Employee Climate Survey.  What we found interesting was it basically said the culture that management created was horrific.  Our first responders went to work every day risking their lives in an environment with terrible morale and worried about their job security.  At the time 76.3% said they would leave the department if they could and the report noted the city can only correct it by making DRASTIC CHANGES. What would the city do?

All the king’s horses and king’s men refer to the King of Frisco, Geroge Purefoy, the City Manager and his “people” who had to find a solution since it was clear the Fire Chief could no longer be Chief.  Chief Borchardt wrote a letter to Purefoy dated 2/23/2012 stating in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Retirement Severance Agreement and Release he was submitting his resignation for retirement effective February 2015.  All the King’s Men, aka The Good Ole Boy Network or The Frisco Way” had to figure out how to put Borchardt together, just in a different way.

One would think after the negative survey results regarding his leadership that Borchardt would be terminated or forced into retirement.  Hail Ye, Hail Ye, King George to the rescue!  After Borchardt retires, he is REASSIGNED to a newly created position as the Fire Programs Consultant which reports solely to King George himself until he is set to retire in 2015.  Why would you reassign someone that you are forcing to retire? A city insider that works at city hall told us that when the decision was made to remove Borchardt as Fire Chief, King George threatened to quit and submitted his written resignation which is why the city “reassigned” Borchardt to King Purefoy.

So why the loyalty between King George Purefoy and Mack Borchardt? Well, what many don’t know is that back in day Mack Borchardt was the city administrator and he is the one that hired King George Purefoy as the first city manager. Then George Purefoy acting as the new city manager hired Mack Borchardt as the cities first paid Fire Chief. Funny thing is Mack Borchardt is still with the city in 2023, in the same consultant position making big bucks and assigned a city vehicle.  A PIR was placed for Mack Borchardts employee records which we are still waiting on.

After reading Mack Borchardt Agreement & Release we had many questions.  Under the “Release By Borchardt” it says that Mack releases, acquits and discharges Frisco from any and all past or present claims relating to #3. All Allegations ever made or that might have been made by Borchardt against Frisco regarding his employment – well that sounds interesting.  In another section it says Borchardt does not admit to any unlawful or discriminatory conduct or any other wrongdoing – well that sounds interesting too.  Then the agreement appears to turn into an employment contract for his new position and lists some very specific reasons that he maybe be terminated for such as a conviction for any felony involving moral turpitude, drunkenness, or excessive use of alcoholic beverages, being under the influence on city property or city sponsored activities and fabrication or falsification of city records.  The whole thing reminds me of the questions we asked in our Survey Says blog.

The city began its search for a new fire chief and in March of 2013 after a 3-month search the city announced the hiring of Mark Piland. Todd Renshaw, the city’s director of public safety, told a local newspaper Frisco Enterprise, “Chief Piland a very affable, very personable individual. He’s highly educated and has a great deal of experience, which are obviously big pluses,” he said. “He has a strong sense of command and will be a tremendous asset for the Frisco Fire Department going forward.”  

According to insiders in the FD, Piland came up with some good ideas to change the department the first being to listen to the organization.  Piland implemented In Service Training  programs 2x a year for the Officers and Companies.  Fire fighters also tell us he had an academy for those FF hoping to move up the ladder over their career.   Piland also focused on The Squad Program which responds to almost all calls so they could have enhanced ongoing training to meet state and national standards. Piland also moved the FD away from the quint model based on the FF feedback.   Their department centered more on the single engine / pumper truck with a goal to add a 4th ladder truck.  He said with 70% of the calls being EMS, the Quints which are rather large and bulky, were slower and more difficult to turn and get down Frisco’s narrow streets.  Piland quickly met resistance from King George himself.  Imagine going to work in a new city where the City Manager who is your direct boss, is sitting next to his 25+ year buddy (the former Fire Chief that you replaced) at city hall.

In fact, today as the fire fighters fight for collective bargaining so they can have a seat at the table, the city said they oppose it because they already have a seat at the table because more than 200 seats are filled by Fire Department employees on 16 different committees/groups.  Examples of these committees/groups are  Engine / Truck / Rescue Focus Groups, Promotional Process Review Group, Peer Support Group, Peer Fitness Trainer, Health & Safety Focus Group, and the Driver / Operator Focus Group.  What we find interesting is that these groups were created during Piland’s time as Fire Chief based on feedback from the organization.  Insiders say over the years tension grew as he was challenged and questioned by city leaders about every change he tried to make because it didn’t fit “The Frisco Way!”  Mark Piland retired shortly after applying for the City Managers position (as did many other candidates) and after several differences of opinion with city management on how the department should be run.  The question we have, did the city really want change in the department, or where they happy and want to go back to the old “The Frisco Way?”

With the search on for a new Fire Chief,  Assistant Fire Chief Lee Glover was named Interim Fire Chief.  City Manager Wes Pierson said in a statement. “Public safety is a top priority for me and our City Council.  I intend to be deliberate in the search for Frisco’s next fire chief to make sure we find the right person to lead our department to the next level of service, building upon the city’s reputation for excellence.”   The city hired a firm to do a national search but one of the requirements was they had to have Texas Certification. Why did we waste time, taxpayer dollars, and resources doing a national search when most likely someone in another state would not have Texas Certification?   Five Texas finalists were announced, and Interim FC Lee Glover made the list.  It was surprising because he was Borchardt’s #2 and was listed as a part of the problem in the 2011/12 Employee Climate Survey.   The association immediately responded by doing a survey in which 220 out of 233 firefighters responded.   It was not a surprise that 92.5% of the association did not want Glover as the next Fire Chief.  The survey also said 91.4% do not believe Glover has improved morale or regained any trust during his time as Interim Chief.   The association made city management and city councils aware of the survey results.  It is clear the department does not trust, nor did they want to go back to Borchardt /Glover regime.

No one was shocked in June of 2023 when Wes Pierson, City Manager announced he is promoting Lee Glover to Frisco Fire Chief.  Since September of last year, Chief Glover has served as Interim Fire Chief.  “Lee’s combination of experience, knowledge, and leadership was the best fit for the department,” said Wes Pierson, City Manager.  “I believe Lee is deeply committed to the success of Team Frisco and will work hard to serve our community and members of FFD.”   Pierson probably never read the Employee Climate Survey which says, “ There is considerable animosity regarding the Chief.”  It also says most believe things won’t change in this department unless the Chief and the entire Senior Staff are replaced.  Glover was #2 on that Senior Staff for years.

When the announcement was made I thought to myself about what J.K.  Rowling wrote in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, “Honestly, if you were any slower, you’d be going backward.”   Wes Pierson is slow or just stupid and that is evident in his backward ridiculous decision which is the reason the Fire Department is now fighting for Civil Service and Collective Bargaining.  Now many will say Lee Glover has changed and does not have that “mentality” anymore but he does and the proof is in the survey and an article in the Frisco Enterprise where he announced his first 100-day priorities.  Glover said the department will continue to build on what the city has today and went on to say, “We’re going to continue to do what we’ve been doing since the day I walked in this fire department.” Wait, did he just admit that he wants to do what he has always done, well that makes sense because it is “The Frisco Way” which is why they hired them.

The question citizens should be asking, why hire someone that clearly the fire firefighters did not support back in 2011/2012 and still do not today?

Read Borchardts Retirement Severance Agreement and Release click here

Read the Entire FD Employee Climate Report from 2011/2012 click here

Reach The FD Climate Survey Action plan click here

Read the ICMA Frisco Fire Final Report click here

Read the ICMA Supplemental Fire Report click here

Read the Contract for Independent Contractor/Processional Services click here

See something, Say something!

Frisco Whistle Blower wants to hear from you! Our goal is simple: We are not here to have revenge against any one person or place.  We are strictly here to tell the truth wherever it takes us regardless of who it is about.  If there is any abuse of bribery, kickbacks, embezzlement, fraud, nepotism, and/or questionable use of tax payer dollars then we will find it!

We believe in always protecting our sources and will never disclose who sent the information and/or how we received the information.  We encourage everyone to set up their own free ProtonMail account. Why would someone use ProtonMail? Proton Mail is the world’s largest secure email service. It offers end-to-end encryption and lots of other great security features to keep your communications private. This protects against data breaches and ensures no one (not even Proton) can access your inbox. Simply set up your free account, then email us FriscoWhistleBlower@portonmail.com and instantly communicate with us. Or just leave us a message one the page or a comment on an article.

In closing, all truth passes through 3 stages:  First, it is ridiculed  Second, it is violently opposed.  Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.

Frisco Whistle Blower

Mayoral Privilege and The Red Carpet

What is Privilege?  Privilege is a right or immunity granted as a benefit, advantage, or favor.  In America, many believe privilege is often associated with wealth, opportunity, and powerful connections.   However, in today’s America, privilege has been skewed or bent to be associated with race and racial injustice.  For a foreigner who came to America and went through the process to become a citizen, I can tell you many foreigners look at privilege very differently.  Most of those who have struggled to come here will tell you applying for citizenship was not easy, not cheap, and not quick.   If you ask most immigrants they will tell you if you were born here in America (regardless of race/color, religion, or sexuality) you were born with an innate privilege that most Americans cannot  comprehend and see right in front of their eyes.  Growing up my dad always said, “If you rascals would have been lucky enough to be born in America,  then inherently you would have had more freedoms, privileges, and opportunity than any other country in the entire world.  It is the reason people die trying to come here.”

If you remember in Anatomy of a Friendship we talked about how Mayor Cheney announced he was going to take Mayors Privilege to make some comments at the December 4, 2018 special meeting to authorize and execute the proposed Master Development Agreement for the PGA Frisco.  I have always wondered since that meeting what other “Privilege” does Cheney take using his position as Mayor for the City of Frisco.   Powerful people have powerful privileges or at least opportunities to call in “favors.”

Well one citizen who walks the Cottonwood Creek trail every morning noticed several years ago that the area belonging to the city behind the mayor’s new Shaddock custom home was getting a little “spruced up” and was curious about it.  After reviewing a copy of the citizens PIR submitted to us from 2021, we noticed it started with a response from Mayor Jeff Cheney.  We will come back to a little later after we talk about the timeline of emails that escalated our interest.

May 24, 2019 (11:28am):  First email, Jeff Cheney from his business email (Cheney Group) sent a note to Shannon Keleher with the city parks department stating they decided to build on a Shaddock lot, but they were not in love with the proximity of the trail and all the eyeballs in their backyard and he points out his lot is one of the few that intrude on this amazing park.  He asked Shannon to look and see if more screening in this area makes sense as he does not think park users want to be staring at the mayor in his backyard.  He continues it’s a unique situation and won’t happen in the future with the new policy but hopes there is something that can be planned now for the benefit of all.  Cheney continues he plans to put some personal money and time into this park because they love it so much but would like to meet Shannon out there and get his blessing first.   Lastly he notes that Shannon had mentioned the ponds might be combined and would love an update and how he would like to see a walking trail that completed the loop around the water.  He ended it with his signed business signature from the Cheney Group. 

Question: How many citizens can directly email the Director of Parks and Recreation asking for consideration on an issue they believe is concerning or that affects their home?   

Question: At the time Cheney picked this lot, was the walking trail in question already there?  Yes.   Therefore, he knew before every buying or building there that his home would back up in close proximity to the trail so why is he complaining about it?   Can any Frisco resident whose homes back up to the same type of walking trails and ponds get the same post consideration for privacy screening provided by the city? 

May 28, 2019 (10:09AM) Shannon Keleher responds to Hi Mayor, hope you had a great weekend.  Thank you for sending this, I understand your concerns and will get with our staff to see what “options” are available.  It is such an amazing park, and the new policies will help moving forward.  He will ask Holly (assistant) to set up a meeting for them in the next month for them to also discuss the ponds and ways Cheney might be able to help.

October 5, 2019 (3:13PM) Mayor Cheney from his personal business email account for the Cheney Group sends an email to Shannon again and points out that he cc’d Josh Sandler owner of Gold Medal Pools who has purchased two lots on the same street down from Cheney.  He notes Josh has access to landscapers and trees through his business and they have been talking about improvements to the public space behind their homes that the park can benefit from.  Cheney asks who would be the best person for them to talk to about being a part of the process as well as discussing perhaps additional items at their own personal expense?

Question: Since when did the City of Frisco start considering or allowing citizens to spend their own personal money to spruce up city areas that back up to their homes?  Cheney said this consideration was to benefit all, but was it really just for the benefit of Cheney and Sandler’s privacy?   I am curious how the city handles and responds to regular citizens who want to be a part of the process of development directly behind their homes? 

October 5, 2019 (4:34PM) Shannon responds that met with the CIP team (all landscape architects) who design all the parks and trails.  They came up with some ideas of things that could be placed there.  Shannon asks to set up a meeting with Cheney and one of the CIP team leaders, and of course Josh Sandler (the neighbor) is welcome to come too.

Question:  Would the same opportunity, time and cost be given to any citizen who just emailed the Director of Parks and Rec about their concern of looky-loos?  What if a citizen had concern about the view of a park or trail from their home, would they be told how to follow a process to go about asking the city for change?  Lastly, how much did Parks and Rec spend in on the landscape architects to come up with “ideas of things” that could be placed there? 

Now the Mayor wrote a response to the PIR where he notes 3 streets in the neighborhood back up to Cottonwood Creek.  He wrote that the city planted trees at all 3 locations with no preferential treatment to his home.  He notes the existing trail does not meet our current distance requirements for trails behind homes.  When he was evaluating how to solve that issue he reached out to city staff to see if they could install screening on the city side at his expense.   He said city staff told him there were already plans which Cheney shared with his neighbors.  Cheney notes the owner of the 2 lots next to him (we are assuming at the time that was Mr. Sandler) asked for the city to delete the plans behind his home which the city accommodated.  He notes the last home provided feedback to staff as well and made additional requests, was that Councilman Jon Keatings home?  He was unsure if the staff would have met with other Shaddock residents.

Question: Cheney noted the neighbor (Sandler who ultimately sold his lots) asked for nothing be done behind his house and the city accommodated the request.  So were the citizens who live on this street provided a menu board of services that could be provided to order off what each lot wanted?  Maybe it is just those with privilege “the handpicked” who get to say what they want and do not want behind their houses?  

Question:  Cheney pointed out that the existing trail does not meet current distance requirements.  As a real estate mastermind, he knows that means the existing trail is grandfathered and it does not have to be updated to new standards or policies the city may have adopted.   So why then did the city accommodate these specific requests?  Was it because who requested it?  Does it set a precedent so that any resident in the city who has a trail that does not meet current standards can now ask the city to update it at their expense and give them the same “courtesy” that Mayor Cheney received?

Question: Did the mayor buy his specific lot because it was the best one in the development that had privacy on two sides, expansive greenbelt views of nature and waterways knowing the trail was there?  Yes, he did!  Cottonwood Creek Greenbelt spans 77 acres through Shaddock Creek and Heather Creek Estates and it is one of the city’s most beautiful spaces.  In April of 2017, the Star Local Media published an article where Shaddock said, “envisioned an area where kids could play, explore nature in a somewhat wild setting like he experienced as a boy growing up.”  Honestly it sounds fabulous to me! 

Question: Why did the mayor even feel the need to write a response to what seems like such a trivial PIR at first glance?  It is the fact that he took the time to respond that made my wife and I say, hmm something is a rye!  It is clear he knows it looks bad, like he used his position or privilege to ask for special treatment which is why he made it sound like it was no big deal.

Of all the questions we have, we go back to what if a citizen had concern about the view of a park or trail from their home, would they know what to do or be told how to follow a process to go about asking the city for change?  Well on June 20th, residents from Starwood came before the council during Citizens Input to talk about Starwood Park and how it has deteriorated and is unsafe.  They note the picture of the park on the city website looks nothing like how the park actually appears.  The city website notes it is a 2-acre park that was completed in 1996.   They want to know why the city has not done anything to maintain the park and to keep it up.  The residents noted it is listed on the city website as a city park and it connects to all the other Frisco city parks.  One resident made record of the fact that originally Blue Star (Jerry Jones) owned the land, and they transferred it to SHBT, LLC in Denton, Texas.  Wait if the city does not own it, then why is it listed as a city park on the city website?

Mayor Cheney was out of town so acting Mayor Keating noted they are not supposed to interact, but he was going to take mayoral liberty to respond, and Bill Woodard also noted he had a comment.   Bill went first and noted he received their email, he did reach out to Henry (Hill?) but did not have a chance to go over their concerns in detail with Henry at this point.  He then noted that they are not supposed to interact during citizens input (but he continues) and that he will circle back with them after he talks Henry about the legal challenges they are facing there.  What? Legal Challenges?  

We have community parks that have legal challenges.  Apparently there is an issue of who owns the land.   Then Brian Livingston steps up noted he received a text and had made some inquiries too, and then asked Ben Brezina to get back with all the council on the issue.   Then one of the residents responded it is a city park, it’s on the city website and SHBT, LLC should pay to keep it up and if they don’t the city should.  She then said she was told since the land belonged to Jerry Jones and good luck getting him to pay, as well as the city does not want to bother good ole Jerry since he brings so much money to the city regarding the upkeep of this little darn park.    Then stand in mayor Keating made a few comments and thanked them for coming.

Again, we go back to what has been our burning question of all, if a citizen had concern about the view of a park or trail from their home, would they be told how to follow a process to go about asking the city for change?   Someone should tell them to just email Shannon the Director or Parks and Rec.  Not one person on the council told them to contact Shannon so that he could investigate and come up with some ideas.   The red carpet is not being laid out for Starwood residents like it was for Mayor Cheney.  In a city with so much money, if we are not making the owners of the land maintain it then I agree with the residents we should make the city take care of it.  Legal Challenges have never stopped the City of Frisco before!    

In closing, it is clear the mayor received special treatment.   You have residents all over the city who back up to the trails, greenbelt and waterways that don’t meet current standards and we did not give them all the option to have the city update their areas.  Did residents along Beacon Hill Dr and Midnight Moon Drive who back up to walking trails and waterways get the same opportunity?  If you have ever walked there then you would know from the walking trails you can see straight into every backyard, heck if the blinds were open you could probably see them changing into the nude.

Did residents in Phillips Creek Ranch who just built million-dollar homes, then learn a Walmart was coming in get the same opportunity to have one-on-one service from Parks about the very open views behind their homes that back up to very busy walking trails and waterways?  

The one reason he didn’t like his lot is probably because of the concern regarding neighbors or trail walkers seeing him hosting underage drinking parties at his home for kids.   It is a clear case of abuse of power, privilege, and using his position on council AGAIN for his personal advantage.