Imagine yourself in a period of time that was in filled with generational conflict, the Vietnam War, and Nixon was president. Four teenagers, Fred, Daphne, Velma and Shaggy are driving around in a van with a Great Dane dog looking to solve mysteries. Little did anyone know that a cartoon called Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? would become a cult classic and last for generations. Who wouldn’t want to be in a crime-fighting gang with a dog that says “Ruh-roh-Raggy” and has a decked-out van called The Mystery Machine?
I remember sitting on the couch in the basement watching my favorite cartoon Scooby Doo when my older brother and his two friends came down to join me. They wanted to hide out so they could smoke some dope aka marijuana. The episode had Shaggy and Scooby in the mystery machine with smoke pouring out the top. Inside they were grilling some munchies and the two started to freak out when detectives start banging on the van door. My brother and his friends were laughing hysterically at the television and I could not help but laugh hysterically at them because I thought they were idiots. There is no point in me telling you this other than I just loved watching the cartoon gang solve a new mystery in every episode and it had me hooked.
Reading this you are probably wondering what does this have to do with Frisco? Well on January 11th the City of Frisco and NBC Universal Parks and Resorts made a colossal announcement that a new park was coming to Frisco. To be honest, since my kids are grown I have not paid much attention to it because I am not visiting a park of that nature anytime soon. But in the last week I have received several notes through the site asking our opinion about Universal, some dropped tidbits on Universal to us, and then today, my wife comes running into my office saying I must read what is on the tweets about Universal. Tweets are her universal language for social media like Facebook. I read several different posts talking about the crucial meeting tonight and it was paramount that people show up to have their voices heard. Curious to know more, I spent several hours this morning doing some research looking at old posts, visiting the city’s website, and reading the agenda and documents for tonight’s meeting.
The January 11, 2023 announcement came across as this was a “done deal” which means a plan or project that has been completed or arranged and that cannot be changed. Truth is the project at that time had not been put before planning & zoning or the city council. It was truly misleading to the residents and the public far and wide in Texas. The result was a very mixed reaction, some being happy and some being downright angry. The city is offering $12.7 million incentive package which is generally normal but based on the split of how residents feel regarding this project I don’t think we should be offering an incentive package.
Representatives of the city on social media sold Universal to the public one way but when reading the Development Agreement attached to tonight’s agenda, they have not been transparent, and the truth is far from what they have sold to the public. Let me give you some examples of what I read on social media from city council members versus what is in the actual agreement being laid out this evening.
The city said the park was aimed at children 3 to 9 years old but the agreement says it was developed for young children 3 to 11 years old.
The city has said the park hours would be from 10 am to 6 pm and would not have late hours. The agreement states the “developer’s intent” is to primarily operate the majority of the weekdays with the posted hours of operation for ticketed users between the hours of 10:00 am and 6:00 pm local time. Residents read it again carefully as the highlighted words are key in this.
However the “actual hours will vary” throughout the year based on demand, seasonality, holidays, peak periods, and weekdays/weekends, but in no event shall the theme park opening time be earlier than 9:00 am (except for hotel guests and annual passholders) which the opening time may be as early as 8:00 am local time. The theme park closing time will not be later than 9:00 pm local time (except for up to twenty (20) days) during the calendar year when they are permitted to close no later than 10:00 pm local time. What this means is they can say “summertime” is a peak period and now they can stay open until 9 pm. They can use July 4, Thanksgiving, and Christmas as peak periods to stay open until 9 pm. They can stay open late on a holiday (defined as a Frisco ISD school holiday). Truthfully with the way it is written, they can be open all year until 9 pm if they just claim it to be based on demand, seasonality, holidays, and peak periods.
The city has said no dark rides, no big buildings, and no tall roller coaster rides (40 – 50 feet maximum). The agreement states all amusement rides, entertainment experiences and all portions of structures designed to be occupied by humans in Theme Park Area A shall not exceed a height of 80 feet. Structures designed not to be occupied by humans shall not exceed 100 feet. Just based on a simple google search I learned that 80 feet is equal to a 7-story building. I am guessing that is not what neighbors were expecting.
The agreement states all amusement rides, entertainment experiences and all portions of structures in Theme Park Area B shall not exceed a height of 100 feet.
The city has said no parades, no fireworks, an inward environment (not outside), and that noise level to the outside would be almost non-existent because the sound would be isolated even within the park. The city agreement states that permitted uses include parades, outdoor concerts, and shows, amusement rides, and permanent or temporary exhibits. It also says about the noise they must comply with the City Noise Ordinance (who knows what that is). I am old but I am pretty sure parades and outdoor concerts are not what nearby neighbors want near their homes.
After doing the research I told my wife I agree with most online users (which is rare) that this is a bait-and-switch to what most folks have been told. I also saw some other areas of concern that some may overlook such as asphalt parking. It says they must follow the zoning ordinance which requires parking to be concrete but temporary parking may be of an alternate material when approved by the Director of Engineering Services. My other area of concern is the delivery hours as we learned the hard way living in Grayhawk near a Walmart. You can hear the delivery trucks all night long. The agreement states the city cannot restrict public roadways or delivery hours and if residents have a problem with the noise they can call the police department. It also states Universal will work to reduce the impact on nearby residents.
One thing is clear, we are still having transparency issues, and it appears the public has been misled about what this project entails. There are many loopholes and all of them help the city and Universal. The city is hoping residents are too stupid to read the paperwork. Just one old man’s opinion, the residents are being bamboozled and should be extremely angry, especially those living nearby.
UPDATE: We watched tonight’s Special Joint City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting on FTVN. I am not sure if I would call it a train wreck, shipwreck, or victory. The meeting lasted several hours. Two residents spoke in favor of passing it but the remaining were all opposed. It was quickly apparent that many residents had many of the same concerns that we did and there was a lot of hostility toward the Mayor. Planning and Zoning passed it 5-0 and then the City Council passed it 4-1-1 meaning 4 yes, 1 no, and 1 abstained.
We were surprised only one resident mentioned the city’s right to free use of the theme park for an employee event on an agreed-upon date. Section 36.02 of the Texas Penal Code makes it a crime of bribery for a person to offer, confer, or agree to confer, or for a public official or employee to accept, agree to accept, or solicit, any benefit as consideration for a decision, opinion, recommendation, vote or another exercise of discretion. Ruh-roh-RAGGY! Clearly, the agreement states the city’s right to free use which could be seen as an offer or benefit for consideration for a decision. Hopefully, a resident will file a complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission.
John Pavle, one of the opposed speakers spoke with passion, vigor and true concern. He pointed out how this was shoved down residents throats, and that the people of Frisco are being exploited for money. He went on to say the evening was a dog and pony show, and for Cheney and the council to stop telling residents what they want and instead listen to the residents who are telling them what they want. The best part was when he actually looked directly at the entire council and told them he would hold each of them accountable when election time came and he promised the Mayor if he voted yes that he would not be sitting in that seat much longer. Mr. Pavle thank you for speaking your truth and for those of us at Frisco Chronicles we agree with you. It is time for residents to make their voices heard at the ballot box.
Jon Kendall Chair of P&Z said this is a destination city and your right it is sir, but it is also our home and that is what you are forgetting. Jake Petras another commissioner spoke and said he spent quite a bit of time reviewing everything for this project and gave it proper due diligence to ensure he understands everything. Well, tonight FC was sent a Facebook post that clearly shows Mr. Petras had made up his mind about 5 days after the Jan 11 announcement which we find interesting since no one knew what the hell was being proposed yet. If that is due diligence we are screwed. Steve Cone another commissioner who is also a resident of one of the nearby neighborhoods spoke and had the most valid pros and cons of the evening. Hopefully, he has a friend named Wilson since he is about to be Cast Away by his neighbors.
The last portion was the council’s input and the one thing repeated over and over was how they all appreciated the neighbor’s professionalism and courtesy in which they approached the situation. It was a little condescending, to be honest, did you think they were going to behave like a group of wild monkeys in the Amazon forest? Cheney said if they had to do it all over again they probably would have rolled it out differently and would have asked for more liberty on what they could share. Really Sherlock? You don’t need to share more but what you do share needs to be accurate. Looking at your very detailed Facebook Post from Jan 20 we see 10 am to 6 pm & no late night hours (actually it is 8 am to 9 pm), 300 room hotel (which can now be up to 600 with a second phase), target audience 3 – 9 (actually 3 – 11), no tall roller coasters max will be 40 – 50 feet (actually 80 feet big difference) and several of these things you mention more than once in that post. Here is an idea, how about you stop grandstanding and trying to oversell a project and just get the accurate information to share? Now you want people to trust your traffic report, trust that the council is doing what is best for residents, and trust city leaders – why should they? It is very clear since Jan 11 that this has been a shit show of false information.
Pelham said we could have done this differently and did we give the impression this was a done deal when it was announced, “Perhaps, Lesson Learned.” She had no empathy in her voice or facial expression like it was not a big deal because they tried to course-correct the situation. With all due respect, not a good enough answer because that announcement traveled around the world far beyond the borders of Frisco. Then you have the audacity to speak to John from Universal about how he gave his word on some concessions to the residents that are not written in the SUP and you hope he keeps his word because you will remember if he doesn’t the next time he appears before the council. Residents remember too Ms. Pelham, they will remember being lied to and misled the next time you stand in front of them and ask for their vote. Telling him his integrity is on the line and that he should honor and respect our home, all the while you are not respecting or honoring the residents before you who are asking you to protect their home and qualify of life is very hypocritical.
Livingston said he liked the project but he could not support the location near Cobb Hill and therefore he would be voting NO! Rummel wanted to table it although we are not sure what that would have done. Keating cried and said how emotionally impacted he was by Commission Cone’s words that evening, wait what? Where was his emotion for the residents who have stood before him pleading to save their neighborhood, and maintain their quality of life? Oh yeah, he went to the beach on vacation and never meet with the residents. Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take ya, Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama, Key Largo, Montego Baby, why don’t we go anywhere other than Cobb Hill?
The conclusion, everything came back to the economic value the project will bring our city. Yet our city is flush today and will continue to be off the many businesses here so saying no to one business, is not going to destroy our city economically. Money is the best motivator and that is some shady shit!
Over the last two decades, social media has transformed how we communicate with family, friends, and strangers. More importantly, it has transformed how candidates approach campaigning and how issues are pushed to the people including ballot propositions. Recently a comprehensive research project published the findings of a multi-year project, led by academics from U.S. colleges and universities and working in collaboration with researchers at Meta. It focused on how critical aspects of the algorithms that determine what people see in their feeds can affect what they see and believe.
These newly published studies from the project also show that social media algorithms used by Facebook and Instagram are extremely influential in shaping users and that there is significant ideological segregation in political news exposure. The result was algorithm adjustments made by social media platforms have been proven to alter the political news their users see and engage with. After reading it we wondered if they should study what power Facebook Admins of “local community group pages” could have on elections. If an admin only allows the dissemination of one side of a political perspective could that change, influence, or alter the readers’ perceptions? Could it influence a vote? Can you guess where we are going with this question?
A little over six years ago, in Frisco, Texas resident Jamie Heit formed a Facebook group called Frisco Residents Who Cares. Today it is a very important communication tool for the residents, the city, and for Ms. Heit! How did the group FRWC come about? Well, Ms. Heit answered that in her post in 2023 when she wrote “I have been the admin of this group since I created it in 2016, only about 6 months after my family and I moved to Frisco in the summer of 2015. The group originated under a different name and was devoted exclusively to a singular (then political) issue: the rezoning of a parcel of land on Legacy Drive that was being eyed as the future home for an 11-acre Oncor electrical substation. The substation was a complex issue that many residents were not happy about, but through many months of respectful discussions with city leaders, many compromises on both sides, and a lot of patience and trust in the processes, a mutually agreeable solution was eventually met. As a result of seeing what being an informed, respectful and involved resident could do, I decided to keep my group going. I renamed the page what it is today and have kept it going as a place for residents to connect and to share what’s happening IN, AROUND and TO the City of Frisco.”
My wife has loved the group for many years, and we do appreciate all the hard work Ms. Heit puts into being an admin for such a large page. We have met her before at a few city events and she was very kind and polite, and we believe she is a genuine person. With that said this is not personal at all, but when we receive over a dozen emails from residents, we have to offer a fair assessment of their concern about the dissemination of information on her page. My wife has mentioned a few times that as politics has become more divisive, she feels that the FRWC page has implemented some “Heit’end Controls!” The rules for the page state, “FRWC is not a platform to promote other Facebook groups, religious institutions, or political candidates.”
While Ms. Heit likes to claim to be impartial and have a respectful stance to ensure the information shared with the community is beneficial, it often appears to be a very one-sided perspective and that is Ms. Heit’s perspective. Residents must decide right now whether to Vote For or Against the Frisco ISD Bond & Vatre. Many residents are searching on social media to learn more about the pros and cons of the bond. We have seen at least 10 to 20 posts supporting the Vote For PAC posted by Ms. Heit on her FRWC page. We have yet to see, even 1 post for the Vote No position on FRWC. Why is that?
Ms. Heit mentions in her very first post she is in full support of the bond, why would she want anyone with an opposing view AGAINST the bond to post on her page to her 20.7K followers? She has 100% Heit’end Control over what is disseminated to her followers. In one article she claims she must be impartial and respectful, but the truth is, she can’t claim to be when she blocks the opposing view. She can require it to be a factual opposition and if it is she should allow for it to be posted.
On October 21, Heit posted for anyone looking for “factual information” about the bond propositions that were unable to attend the community presentations they could watch The Frisco ISD apple podcast with Dr. Todd Fouche, Kimberely Smith and Scott Warstler. If you don’t have a kid in the district, you may not realize this is the district’s own podcast, not an independent podcast about Frisco ISD. Heit fails to mention in the quick snippet on her post that Fouche is the Deputy Superintendent, Kimberly Smith is the CFO, and Scott Warstler is the Chief Operations Officer for FRISCO ISD. Obviously, the podcast will be in support of the bond 100%!
Then on Oct 22nd, Heit does a long post on FRWC about how she has seen questions and so much “MISINFORMATION” on social media today about the bond/propositions and states “I decided to post an explanation of the ballot items here as well.” At least in this post she did ALERT residents she served on the Bond Exploration Committee for the past year with other members and ends her statement with “WHY THEY ARE NEEDED, WHAT THEY WILL ACCOMPLISH AND HOW THEY WILL IMPACT YOU.” The “Heit’end Controls” are in action as there is no opposing view allowed to do an individual post.
What is the most offensive about this post is her closing which states “Lastly, I am closing the comments only to prevent misinformation from being shared. If you have questions, please feel free to DM me.” Heit’end controls any opposition to respond, she doesn’t answer residents’ questions publicly but in private DMs, and that right here…IS NOT IMPARTIAL! As admins of Facebook pages when you have the power to change an election you have a GREAT RESPONSIBILITY to be fair and Ms. Heit while we respect you, you are from FAIR!
Are the “Heit’end Controls” new on FRWC – absolutely not! In a post-dated April 13, 2023, Ms. Heit talks about the upcoming municipal and ISD contested races. She boldly states “THIS ELECTION IS A PIVOTAL POINT IN FRISCO’S HISTORY AND IN THE FIGHT TO KEEP FRISCO ISD ONE OF THE STRONGEST SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE STATE.” She goes on to say she encourages every resident to do THEIR OWN RESEARCH, and how we must remember this is non-partisan.
She continues a few things I ask myself when looking at candidates (like we are too dumb to know what to look for) is 1. Which candidates are supported by OUTSIDE MONEY? Will a candidate with OUTSIDE POLITICAL MONEY truly have the BEST INTEREST in Frisco/Frisco ISD? Can we say, “pot calling the kettle black!”
Ms. Heit, as a proud supporter of the bond, would you like to tell us HOW ALL THE OUTSIDE MONEY DONATED FROM SUBCONTRACTORS WHO STAND TO MAKE MILLIONS OFF THIS BOND PASSING, WHICH HAS FLOATED THE VOTE FOR FRISCO ISD PAC, is in our BEST INTEREST? The wind is blowing in a new direction this year for Ms. Heit, and we are guessing she does not want us to ask the “best interest” question this year.
Ms. Heit’s background is in Public Relations and Marketing with an emphasis on media relations and we think she is a phenomenal marketer. She should be very proud of her accomplishments including the most recent FRWC Community Gathering. Ms. Heit helped small businesses, worked with locals to get people out to meet each other, and oh by the way she was also going to have Frisco ISD leadership there to present information on the upcoming bond. Of course, not only did she get messages out online, but she took it to the people on the streets. We received numerous emails after the event there was a clear message being presented and it again was very one-sided.
In closing, we know Ms. Heit will probably play the victim card and say that we are beating her up once we publish this article but that is not our intent. While we truly respect and appreciate Ms. Heit, as a fellow resident, one thing is clear, Ms. Heit uses FRWC as her own personal pulpit. Heit carefully cultivates a marketing message for each post that reflects her views but sells it as an educational post for voters. She does not allow the opposition to post on her page and falls back on her rules of no politics or political posts. For example, in one of her posts from April 18, she writes “Admin Note – the following is an excerpt from the DMN article. It is not my (FRWC admin) words nor necessarily my opinion, but that of the editorial board of the DMN.”
Ms. Heit often posts pieces from newspaper articles that support her candidate or viewpoint. Crafted with care, she will never come out and say she is against the other candidate or viewpoint, but you will not see any posts supporting the narrative for those she opposes unless it is a negative piece. If Heit truly wanted to be impartial, she would have let both sides present and show her support in the comments for the position or candidate as a resident.
Another example was in 2021 when Ms. Heit did a post for a political candidate forum, and she tagged 4 others. The post starts off looking like a forum announcement. She talks about how Frisco has low voter turnout and encourages everyone to talk to the candidates all the while knowing they won’t. Heit’s support is clear by the tags and her last line I am more than happy to talk with anyone about who I support. If this was universal, why not tag all the candidates? During the election cycle, you didn’t see any posts on the FRWC Facebook page supporting candidates who were not tagged in her post. They may have been supportive in the comments but not individual posts.
Instead, she uses her position as the ADMIN to gain trust knowing her position does and will have influencing the vote. Just look at her post on Frisco ISD Parents where she starts the post with “Many of you may know that I am the admin for a Frisco Community Facebook group called Frisco Residents Who Cares.” Her statement is very calculated and said at the opening to gain immediate reader’s trust. She then promotes her community gathering not mentioning that the ISD board will be there but as soon as you as click the link to her “event” you will learn that.
What is our point? The “Heit’end Controls” on FRWC’s Facebook page are not impartial or a free flow of informative information. The fact is, FRWC is her page, and Heit can do, post, accept, and deny anyone or anything she wants. All we are asking for is transparency from Ms. Heit. Be clear and honest to the public that it is a page that supports her and her like-minded friends’ opinions and views and acknowledges that she markets it to others exceptionally well. We all as a community have to realize words are powerful. When you have control of a page with 20+ followers and want to claim to be impartial then be impartial! If you want to offer your view and only your view, then do so. Shutting off comments so that residents can’t speak or question you when your rules read, “Let’s try and make this a safe, informative, and welcoming place for residents to come to on social media. Be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem” is a huge problem. You said in 2023 to residents “Do your own research” but now you are preventing that ability by not letting both perspectives be heard and communicating on the largest community forum we have in Frisco.
If you are from the DFW area you may recognize the name Robert Tilton, an American Televangelist and the former pastor of the Word of Faith Family Church in Farmers Branch. His ministry peaked in the early 90’s and it has been reported his infomercial style church program aired in some 225+ American television markets. It has been reported that Tilton brought in $70 to $80 million dollars per year. The message he pushed upon viewers was the importance of “vows” aka financial commitments to the Tilton ministry. The minimum vow was $1000 but if you wanted to receive a personal “word of knowledge” from Tilton you had to “vow” anywhere from $5k to $10,000 dollars. If you sent a prayer request with a vow, then Tilton claimed to lay on top of the prayer request to heal the weak.
Tilton’s demise came in 1991 when word got out that he may be a fraud or over promising “blessings” to viewers. Some “garbologists” who worked for ABC’s Primetime Live spent over a month dumpster diving outside of Tilton’s many offices and what they found was shocking. Over 10,000 lbs. of prayer request letters cut along the edge with the vow removed and the prayer request still inside the envelope, untouched and discarded in dumpsters. Lawsuits commenced by followers, the Tilton’s headed to divorce court and many felt it was an attempt to protect their assets. Now, why am I reminding you of this Tilton character? Well, he was full of it, kind of like our city council.
For years, our city leadership has made grand promises when it comes to some projects, but then they vanish into a cosmic void, much like matter falling into a black hole. The city has been talking about Grand Park since before most of us were born. Well after several municipal bonds, environmental studies, we have a walking trail, but no grand park (remember like Central Park in NY) or lake as promised. Then there is Wade Park which later become known as Lake Lebanon which sat for years after the developer went belly up. It later became known as The Mix, which we have heard about for the last two years and yet…still nothing but a fence around the property. Then we had the Frisco Theater, a grand place for plays and as of late now Broadway style shows. Well 5 to 7 studies later over 8 years, still nothing! Oh wait, now they want us to buy into a $500+ million theater run by the city on taxpayer dollars. My point is, they council is much like Robert Tilton and his “Word of Faith” ministry who make grand gestures and promises, ask us to pass more bonds, potentially increase our taxes and yet nothing seems to actually be coming together.
Picture of Lake Lebanon (formerly Wade Park) before it rained and filled up with water. Note it is now supposed to be The Mix. Side note we had a lake here it was just not in Grand Park like they promised. Picture by Dallas Morning News
Another example, the city has been talking about the revitalization of Frisco’s Downtown area as far back as 2016-2018. Well, after spending at least $50 to $75,000 visiting different cities to “study their downtown areas” we finally broke ground to fix downtown. The city has dragged its feet since 2016, spending money on tours and trips but only now that FIFA is coming in 2026 is there a push for this project to be done in time so we can look good for the many “visitors” it will bring downtown.
The sad part is we have had Frisco locals take interest and invest in our downtown area way before this city or the council have done anything. While we may not always agree with Donny Churchman, he is one man who has had a passion for downtown and the Frisco Rail District. In a 2018 interview with Lifestyle Frisco, he notes the downtown area has been ignored during all the development. He talked about the name change of downtown Frisco to the Rail District has a lot to do with Frisco’s history and the BNSF railroad and we could not agree more with him on that.
He started investing years ago in the downtown area with The Patio at the Rails and Tower at the Rail, then came the Nack Theater. His overall goal is to “restore downtown Frisco” and it is a passion for him. We are curious how Churchman feels today, with the city bending over backwards offering tax incentives for Rollertown Beerworks, a venue that features a two-level taproom and 4,320 sq ft outdoor beer garden. Did the city break their back for Churchman’s investments. We don’t know but would be curious to find out more.
Along with Churchman, many residents who own historic homes downtown have spent time and money to meticulously renovate and update them while keeping that 1900s charm about them. All this local money and passion bringing life in to downtown, and yet our city has sat on it since 2016. Many of these locals have advocated for something to happen downtown for the last ten years as everything seemed to develop around it. If they can do it then why did it take FIFA coming here for the City of Frisco to finally do something.
The June 2024 announcement of the new grand downtown plan made us wonder, if we went back 5 to 10 years what “priorities” did the city have and which ones have been completed. We found a town hall video discussing the 2018 Top Ten Priorities, which include the following:
1) Implement Traffic Innovation
2) Increase Capital Expenditure Fund
3) Performing Arts Center
4) Downtown revitalization & finish the master plan
5) Grow and expand our Economic Development Corp to go after fortune 500 companies
6) Lower property taxes
7) Development of the North 380 Corridor & its Growth,
8) New facility expansion options like city hall or the library
9) Final master plan for our future parks
10) Legislative Plan to Protect Frisco
Awe, the dreaded word in this town…Traffic! Cheney said the first priority was Traffic Innovation because we have become more congested (DUH!!). The priority aims to use new technologies to help relieve that congestion such as adaptive signal control systems which communicate with cars and autonomous, or self-driving, buses in Frisco by this year, used in the private sector. Seven years later, if you drive Frisco – TRAFFIC SUCKS! Not sure the signal control systems are working, and we don’t have autonomous self-driving buses in Frisco but guess what we do have…ROUND-A-BOUTS and TRAFFIC! If we were grading the city on this priority, they would get a big fat F!
One of the other 2018 Priorities was the Performing Arts Center Strategy. Cheney told Community Impact in 2018 that he would like to see it as a public-private partnership. The article also said they were in the middle of a feasibility study to determine the size and needs of a potential PAC. Well in 2024, we are on our 6th or 7th study, they are proposing a city owned theater at the taxpayer expense, but they hope down the road could be a public-private partnership, and several discussions over the years for a PAC have failed and fallen flat. We would give this a priority a big fat F as well!
The 2018 Priority for finishing the downtown master plan started with them approving a contract with a consulting firm to update the 20-year-old downtown master plan. Cheney told Community Impact at the time that the council and city official plan to continue to work with the private market to explore old downtown Frisco options. Remember, the cool market with a beer garden that Frisco Market developers promised? Well, we have the market but no beer garden and downtown has not changed that much except for the private development by Churchman and residents.
What has the city done downtown? Not much, but now that FIFA is coming, we have a $70 million dollar renovation downtown happening and you can bet it will be finished in time for the visitors to come. We give them a big F for this too. Just look at what they finally say they will commit to in 2024.
The next big priority was the Northern Corridor and creating an identity for it. Cheney told Community Impact that their plan for 2018 was to attract more business and residential developments to the area. Well, they must have known something we didn’t, we are referring to the December 2018 announcement that the PGA of America was relocating its headquarters to the “Northern Corridor” of Frisco. This was a good win for Frisco, and we gave them an A+ for it! However, they get an F for the shady business dealings, friendships, and conflicts of interest that came from some of the development around the new PGA for Cheney and some council members.
As for the expansion of city facilities, we have a new 65-million-dollar library, new court building, city hall in 2023 started an expansion inside and facilities just opened a new building in the last year. As for the masterplan of parks well you can bet Bobblehead Bill got his bikes and trikes trails. As for Grand Park, well that is still…not Grand at all but if you want to see a butterfly you can walk the trail they put in.
Back to Robert Tilton, he was about big words, fancy clothes, and was about “putting on the show” to get your vow. He promised to pray for his flock, but he failed when money took over. What we have learned is that the importance of a project in the City of Frisco is determined by a select few who sit on council. We have also learned they love to talk about things and promise things for many years but the truth is they are failing us as residents. When those sitting on our city council run for office, they each run for their own purpose or passion project. That is okay but they should be representing all of us and the truth is our council only represents the WEST SIDE, which is where you have seen all the investment in the last 5 to 8 years. Why do we say that? Well just ask our council members where they live.
Not one person sitting on our council today lives on the East Side of the tollway or the Collin County side, maybe that has something to do with where all the money is going. They all live in the Denton County side of Frisco which is WEST of the tollway. That’s right folks, Tammy Meinershagen, Laura Rummel, John Keating, Jeff Cheney, Angelia Pelham, Brian Livingston and Bill Woodard all live on the WEST SIDE OF THE TOLLWAY. Maybe that is why they get the PGA and the Frisco Star, and the East Side is getting Universal and Business Warehouses Developments along PGA Parkway.
We are glad the municipal election season is over, and life is getting back to normal, or as normal as it can be. Proposition A which was for Civil Service was, came down to a difference of 665 votes. That is not a landslide win, and it should speak volumes to the Frisco City Council and City Management to do better. On Proposition B, which was for Collective Bargaining, it came down to a difference of 2,383 votes. City leaders and the Safety Frisco First PAC did a good job of scaring voters that if it passed our Firefighters would become a group of “Greedy Bastards” and bankrupt the city.
Residents spoke and while most conveyed their support to the Firefighters, they didn’t feel Civil Service and Collective Bargaining were the right way to go about it. According to several voters we talked to, they believe the residents need to help fight for change at city hall and demand more from our city leaders. WHERE ARE THOSE RESIDENTS NOW? Did any of those who came out to vote, go home, and take the time to email the city leadership? Probably not! Did anyone write an email to city leaders expressing concern about the City Manager who is the reason we ended voting on these issues. Probably not!
We still continue to think about the call for “more staffing” and wonder do we have a staffing issue? Did you know that over the last four years the city applied for several grants related to staffing?
What is a SAFER Grant? The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grants (SAFER) was created to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to help them increase or maintain the number of trained, “front line” firefighters available in their communities. The goal of SAFER is to enhance the local fire departments’ abilities to comply with staffing, response and operational standards established by the NFPA which stands for the National Fire Protection Association’s codes and standards.
At the 01/18/2022 council meeting the council voted on an agenda item #21 authorizing the City Manager to submit a SAFER grant application in the amount of $5,420,500 over a three-year performance period for STAFFING that would help fund 15 Firefighter/Paramedic positions needed to staff a fourth Truck Company assigned to Fire Station 9. The memo we found was from Mark Piland to then City Manager George Purefoy, Deputy City Manager Henry Hill and the entire council. The resolution says duly passed and approved on the 18th day of January 2022.
The application states “Due to this rapid growth, the City’s ability to build and staff new fire stations and apparatus is limited. The City has committed to building a new fire station, Fire Station #10 and additional apparatus, such as a fourth Truck and additional Medic, but needs federal assistance to on-board additional firefighters to staff this apparatus. Without this funding, it takes our fire crews longer to establish effective response forces according to NFPA 1710 standards which increases the likelihood of property damage and risk to the fire crews. Without this funding, our response times will increase due to the first due truck not being within close proximity to the rapid areas of development that would need an aerial ladder response.
It goes on to say, “During 2020, the city began construction on 13 multifamily housing and completed 7 multifamily housing units that were already under construction for a grand total of over 26,000 units. The City houses 22 specialty care facilities to include nursing homes, free standing nursing facilities and adult living communities. Within the last 2 years, we have had 6 new high rises completed and we have 3 high rise buildings currently under construction. This additional funding will allow for a fourth fire truck to be put into service which will increase our NFPA 1710 standards for response to a high-risk structure to include multifamily housing, specialty risk structures and high-rise buildings. NFPA 1710 recommends that an agency place 42 or 43 personnel on a fire at a high-rise structure. The department is currently staffed to respond with 34 personnel.”
Yet the City Council and City Management Say, “We don’t have a staffing issue.”
We were also surprised to see at the 04/04/2023 council meeting the council voted on an agenda item #23 authorizing the City Manager to submit a SAFER grant application in the amount of $8,894,880 for a three-year grant performance period for STAFFING. The memo written by Interim Fire Chief, Lee Glover goes on to say, “if awarded, the FY22 SAFER Grant Program would provide funding for 24 Firefighter/Paramedic positions consistent with the Fire Department’s current five-year staffing plan.”
We pulled up the application and pulled some highlights. The first one states, “Over the past year, our department has seen the 90th percentile response times for first arriving fire/EMS apparatus in these areas increase to nearly ten minutes and NFPA 1710 single-family dwelling full alarm assembly time increase to over 20 minutes, well beyond the NFPA 1710 recommendations.” The second highlight states, “Without the assistance the city will likely be unable to simultaneously bear the cost of constructing two new fire stations and staffing/equipping firefighters, which would negatively impact Frisco FD’s ability to provide appropriate and timely emergency response and assembly of the recommended effective response force.”
The application goes on to say, “The Frisco Fire Department continues to experience increasing call volume and faces new risks. The total call volume for the department has increased by 76.7% since 2015.” It continues, “The Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) of America relocated to Frisco in 2022. While Frisco has experience with large special events, these attendance numbers are more than double the size of current venues in Frisco. In addition, Universal Parks and Resorts recently announced the opening of a new theme park scheduled to open in 2026. A new 2,500-acre development in northern Frisco is underway, with 14,000 homes and apartments planned, as well as commercial and retail development. These developments, events, and venues are new risks for the Frisco Fire Department in an area not close to an existing fire station which have resulted in significantly increased response times over the past few years.”
Fire Chief Lee Glover now says, “we don’t have a staffing issue.”
On a side note, we hope all the developers who donated $10,000 to fight the firefighters now realize the city is not prepared, they flat our said so in a federal grant.
As a resident, why do I feel like I need a shower and we are being blatantly lied too somehow! During the election Mark Piland said as the former Fire Chief he advocated over and over for staffing. Then we see this application by Lee Glover in 2023 which talks about how all the new development has put new risk for the FD and resulted in “SIGNIFICANTLY” increased call times. Most glaring is his statement “we have seen NFPA 1710 single-family dwelling full alarm assembly time increase to over 20 minutes, well beyond the NFPA 1710 recommendations.” Less than a year later we are hearing the complete opposite from Chief Lee Glover and every single member sitting perched up on the city pulpit.
For the last few weeks, we watched the Safety-First Frisco PAC scorch any ground left between the city and the firefighters. They implied they were Greedy Bastards, basically attacked their character, willingness to work, called them lazy, liars and power hungry. It was a nuclear response to an already tense relationship. Meanwhile over at the police department, Chief Shilson’s wife Jana Shilson is advocating with the PAC on social media. At the Fire Department, Chief Lee Glover’s wife Jamie Glover is also advocating with the PAC on social media.
On the other hand, the firefighters are scared they will suffer repercussions for being on the front lines of this fight for the propositions. The firefighter’s message has never changed which centers around staffing and the fact they have no confidence in city leadership or their Chief to do what is right. City leaders continue to try and blame this on former leadership which has nothing to do with it. The former leadership fought with them and for them at the polls, right next to them. Come May 5th, the firefighters said win or lose, if you the resident calls, we your Frisco Firefighters will answer that call and risk our own lives to make sure you the citizen is safe.” We ask again, what’s next? Where do we go from here?
A starting point is every resident should be asking the following questions of our City Leadership: The City Council, The Mayor Jeff Cheney, City Manager Wes Pierson and his staff and Fire Chief Lee Glover:
If we don’t have a staffing issue, then why did you “THE CITY” apply for several SAFER FEMA grants specifically for STAFFING?
Were you honest on the FEMA Safer Grants? If yes, then you have been lying to residents.
Were you honest to residents and lie on the FEMA Safer Grant? If yes, who thought it would be a good idea to lie on a federal grant application?
The 2023 SAFER grant says without assistance the city will likely be unable to simultaneously bear the cost of constructing two new fire stations and staffing/equipping firefighters, which would negatively impact Frisco FD’s ability to provide appropriate and timely emergency response and assembly of the recommended effective response force.” If that is the case, then why does the city continue to offer developers incentives to do business here, why did we build a 60+million-dollar library, and why are we considering a performing arts center? It sounds like we are broke or destitute.
The fact is only after the grants were denied did the city say we are fully staffed, trust us everything is okay, just trust your city leadership. Well, I don’t trust you….AT ALL! Will residents really get involved and express their concern to city leadership about what is happening in our city and demand they find a resolution to these issues or will we see the Fire and Police Association back on the ballot in two years fighting for Civil Service, again!
“Let no man’s ghost return to say his leadership and training let him down.” – A Firefighter
It is election time in Frisco! Different groups and organizations over the next two months will hold candidate forums which are an excellent way to help voters learn more about the candidates on the ballot. It gives Frisco residents a chance to learn more about key issues and allows us to ask hard questions of those who want our vote. The truth is that democracy works best when we “ENGAGE” with it because it fosters important dialogue about the everyday issues that affect our lives.
The first local forum of the season was the Islamic Center of Frisco (ICF) Candidate Forum. The forum was for both City Council races and ISD races. Our kids are grown, and we don’t pay as much attention as we should to the ISD races so this was the first time we got to hear about ISD issues. We couldn’t watch the debate live because of streaming delay issues so my wife and I caught it the next day when it was uploaded to YouTube. There were some moments worth talking about so if you have not watched it, get some popcorn and buckle up!
Each candidate got an opening statement. John Keating, The Statesmen, started by asking who was in charge of the time because he could go on for 10 minutes right now. Sir John, while we know you like to hear yourself, others don’t. Then he said the most dangerous intersection in Frisco is standing between John Keating and a microphone. While I am sure he practiced his opening icebreaker joke at home in front of the mirror while flexing it was not met with laughter by the audience.
John Keating said his job is to be “available to you” and he has done that time and again for the citizens. We would beg to differ, remember that little Universal Kids Park that came before the council from Jan 2023 to March 2023, we do! The night of the vote, Keating cried and said how emotionally impacted he was by P&Z Commissioner Cone’s words that evening. Wait, what, Commissioner Cone’s words? Where was his emotion for the residents who had stood before him pleading to save their neighborhood, and maintain their quality of life? Oh yeah, he went to the beach on vacation and never met with the residents of Cobb Hill. Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take ya, Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama, Key Largo, Montego Baby, why don’t we go anywhere other than Cobb Hill? AFTER THE VOTE he asked to meet with residents of Cobb Hill in the cul-de-sac to hear from them, but we are curious how it helps to listen to those you serve “AFTER THE VOTE?”
At one point, the city council candidates were asked about the discussion of unionizing our police and fire departments and where they stand on the issue. John’s response to this question is he served 13 years in the military; we are curious about what job he held the other 25+ years. Oh, that’s right he was a househusband. He said these are the men and women who wear our city’s uniform and go into harm’s way every day and unionizing that oh my God just seems awful. Then he turns to John Redmond who is running against Angelia Pelham and says if you are not sure John, if you are that uninformed then you must reach out to someone, call your Fire Chief. Then he said the reason we have all these problems is because the prior Fire Chief didn’t do his job properly and the unions saw that and said the door is open and we can run into Frisco. He said this push is from outside of Texas, this was not an internal ask, and it happened because of the perceived weakness in our fire department left behind by our former Fire Chief. Then he said the new Fire Chief Lee Glover is amazing.
Where do you begin to break his comments down? Again, I thank Keating for his service to our country and I appreciate all Veterans but that still does not exempt him from being called out. Maybe someone who has been a househusband most of his life served as a member of his kid’s PTA and on his HOA board and spent many of his days working out to build his big-boy muscles, might not be the best person to ask about unionization. While I am sure he liked the single PTA Moms, he has never had to be the breadwinner of his family. Our former Fire Chief whom Keating defamed and ridiculed has spent 40+ years in the Fire Department and has an impeccable record (we know because we filed PIRS), Porter who left to go to Little Elm FD has had a lifetime of service, and Cameron Kraemer who they wrongfully fired spent 27+ years in the fire service. That means they have worked and run into harm’s way and risked their lives a lot longer than John Keating has.
Next, Keating went after John Redmon (Angelia Pelham’s opponent) saying if he is concerned call your Fire Chief. We have done that in the past and we have been told we have to file a PIR for such information and then the city sends it to the AG to delay turning over the documents. Yes, they are very TRANSPARENT as a city! To think any citizen could call the Fire Chief and Police Chief for a meeting and they are going to talk to them about the inner workings and issues within their department is just downright ridiculous.
Lastly, he said the reason the Fire Association is doing this is because of “OUTSIDE FORCES” due to a bad former Fire Chief. Didn’t the Fire Association just endorse that former Fire Chief last week over you? We took Keating’s advice and just asked several firefighters why they were doing this and guess what it has nothing to do with their former Fire Chief. The reason given to us over and over for why they went this route for civil service and collective bargaining, is because the city management and city council hired a new Fire Chief even though that candidate (Lee Glover) had a 90% ‘NO VOTE OF CONFIDENCE” by those he would be managing.
Remember in 2011/12 when the climate survey showed the “CULTURE” of the Fire Department was horrible and the only way to fix it was to get rid of the management and start over with a clean slate. The city council at that time forced George Purefoy, our City Manager, to remove Borchardt. George Purefoy turned in his resignation letter threatening to leave if the city forced him to do that. The consolidation made was to retire Borchardt as Chief of the Fire Department, but then George Purefoy hired his best buddy as a “CONSULTANT” for the city and he is on the payroll making over $200K per year, driving a city vehicle and consulting for other cities making money on the side. I am a taxpayer, and I would love to make $200k after being forced out of a job because I was such a bad leader. As for Lee Glover the Assistant Fire Chief at the time he remained in his position under the new Chief Mark Piland. The city kept him even though the 2011/12 study said he was part of the problem.
Then they promoted Glover in 2022/23 right after the Association had just taken a survey showing Lee Glover had a 90% plus “No Vote of Confidence” from the fire department.
This was not an external force, Mr. Keating, the local fire association pulled the trigger because of the city’s constant slap in their face. It is because of Wes Pierson the City Manager, Lee Glover the new Fire Chief, and the City Council that this is happening. Keating considers himself a man of integrity, a veteran, and a champion for others, but the reality is he had no educated answer to the question, no facts to spew, so to deflect the fact that he doesn’t understand the issue, he attacked two other candidates. The last person who should be hanging someone out to dry or judging someone is John Keating who likes to go in the pool with women who are not his wife.
The next question for the candidates was “National and international politics have had an increasing influence on local elections, how do you address issues outside of your authority but are top of mind and concern for residents of this city.” Keating again stands up and talks about his 13 years in the military and how he has seen firsthand the devastation of warfare. He went on to say he could not be more proud of the young people who have come before the council and shared the emotion in such an articulate fashion of what they are experiencing through their loved ones overseas. The young people he is referring to, are those at the meeting to speak out on behalf of Palestinians and want a proclamation to condemn Israel.
He continues that the best peace treaty and proclamation is prayer. And that the Council could issue a proclamation, but it is not like it is a big deal. Then he says he doesn’t want to belittle the proclamation process; however, he just did. In a nutshell, if you got a proclamation from the city, Councilman John Keating thinks IT’S NO BIG DEAL. Pray on that!
The next question was, with all the development recently focused on tourists, what are we doing to prepare for the traffic and what projects coming up are focused on or for residents? Keating pointed out we had 7 million tourists visit Frisco last year and yes there is a little traffic congestion, but he thinks traffic runs pretty smoothly in Frisco.” He also said we used to be reactive to traffic, and today we are proactive to traffic, with over 200 million dollars going into roads. To point out the obvious, Keating has never worked an 8 to 5 job which means he has not had to spend countless years facing rush hour traffic in Frisco. He does not spend over 30 minutes at DNT/Main or DNT/Eldorado trying to get through the lights so in his mind traffic runs smoothly. I am not sure where Keating has been for the last 5 years, but traffic is horrible in every part of this city, and it gets worse every day. In summary, he listed nothing specifically being developed for residents which means the 7 million tourists are more important than the 230,000 residents who call Frisco home and pay taxes here.
Keating was asked, if you are anti-union, why do you ask for the Fire Association’s endorsement every election? Keating quickly responded he does not ask for the endorsement every election and he is not sure where that notion comes from. He said when talks of collective bargaining and civil service began, he stepped away or stepped back from that. He continued; that he still fills out the questionnaires sent out by the association to keep communication open, but he put on there “THAT HE IS NOT SEEKING THEIR ENDORSEMENT.”
We reached out to the Frisco Fire Association to ask for a copy of the questionnaire and a copy of all the candidate’s responses. The email we received back said the board would have to review that request but we did find a copy of one on Facebook that been posted in 2021. We also asked if Keating clearly stated that he was not seeking their endorsement as he stated at the forum. The association’s email stated Mr. Keating “DID NOT PUT ON HIS QUESTIONNAIRE ANYWHERE THAT HE DID NOT WANT TO BE CONSIDERED FOR AN ENDORSEMENT.” We also asked the association if it is clear to candidates that filling out the form is part of the endorsement process. The association responded, “The email to all candidates regarding the questionnaire is very generic. It says hello our time to gather questionnaires for a potential endorsement and to fill out the questionnaire if you want to be considered.”
Another audience question was related to how many years he has served on the council. The terms are typically three years in duration. Keating served on the Frisco City Council Place 4 from 2010 to 2016 for 2 terms or 6 years. After a short break, he ran and was re-elected in 2017 for an open seat that had one year left on the term. Then in 2018, he ran for Place 1 where he has served since 2017 to the present. Keating is now running for his final 3rd term (3 years). That means by the time Keating is done serving he will have been on the council for 16+ years if he is reelected. He noted he will be the longest-serving council member. No wonder Keating does not want to come right out and say how long he has been on council.
It was finally closing time for the forum and Mark Piland called Keating out and said if they were giving out Pinocchio’s Keating would have a basket right in front of him. Keatings face turned red and was hot to trot to respond to his opponent. He stood up buttoned his jacket, huffed and puffed, and said “You were fired as the former Fire Chief. Two independent investigations, not by the city council, not done by the fire department. This man cannot be trusted, he does nothing but lie, and blame others as you’ve seen him demonstrate tonight. It is absurd and I am going to move past that and say my record speaks for itself.” He talked again about his military time, his 7 years on the PTA and time on the HOA board, and 16 years on council and that politicians don’t last, leaders do. Men and women of their word last, people who lie, cheat, steal, and blame others don’t last.”
We sent a PIR to the Fire Association and asked if they believed Mark Piland, the former Fire Chief, was fired. We also asked if they felt the investigations mentioned by Keating were “Independent’ and fair. Per the email we received, from a representative for the association, “No, I do not believe Piland was fired. I believe clearly he RETIRED.” As for the investigations, the representative for the association said, “I believe the investigation into the Mayday report was independent. I do however they took liberties and investigated many things that were not involved in the complaint. As for the second investigation, I would not call it an investigation, when you only talk to one party and not the person that’s the source of the investigation. In this case Piland!”
As for the “Two Independent Investigations” Keating mentioned, it was the head of HR Lauren Safranek who oversaw those. The same head of HR changed the FD job descriptions and failed to have the department head; Chief Mark Piland sign off on the changes. Instead hoping no one would notice she used his previous 2017 signature on the document. She didn’t expect a firefighter to ask questions which brought to light her and her department’s forgery. To hide her fraud, she used the investigation to find something about the current Fire Chief at the time to use it to fire him or make him retire. However, after she spent over $100k of taxpayer money to fund a false investigation she didn’t like the results too much. If you want to learn more about the whole cover up just read our blog Day 12: Tangled Web of Lies.
Mr. Keating let’s talk about your record. Yes, you served in our military, and we are all grateful for your service to our country. In the same way, we are grateful that Mr. Piland has spent 40+ years serving as a first responder. Your website says Promises Made, Promises Kept, but have you? In an email we received from a pet advocate, you stated if an animal shelter made it to the bond by the citizen’s bond committee, then you would support the residents having an opportunity to vote for it. However, that night you agreed in lockstep with your 4 other council members to remove the animal shelter from the bond. Promise Broken!
Then in 2021, you filled out the questionnaire for the firefighter’s endorsement, which we wrote about in our blog Jammed-Up John Keating, and you said you supported more staff (4 men trucks). You wrote Frisco is growing and we need to plan accordingly. You wrote we must budget for a new 14-day pay cycle, benefits, Fire Station 10, and personnel and equipment. Since being elected in 2021, you have not supported any of the items you wrote about and promised on the questionnaire. You signed your name to this document and turned your back on the first responders you said you supported. You are part of the reason the fire association today is going for collective bargaining and civil service. Promise Broken!
You have a total disregard for rules such as using the City of Frisco logo while campaigning. Do you believe the LEADERS OF ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING CITIES IN AMERICA (in your own words) should post a picture of himself implying he is naked and holding a sign that reads “Get Naked!” Your judgment on that one sir, was way off for this conservative.
Before you stand at your pulpit and shout, “People who lie, cheat, steal, and blame others don’t last,” you might want to look in the mirror. You lied and cheated on your wife in the most public way possible, at the forum you blamed Redman for being ill-informed. You lied and said Piland was fired when even the city website says he retired. You lied about writing on the 2024 Fire Association questionnaire that you were not seeking their endorsement. You had total disregard for a whole neighborhood concerned about their homes due to a new theme park and felt your time was better spent on a beach somewhere. You continually blamed Piland at the forum when you didn’t have an answer for something to deflect your shortcomings.
Mr. Keating, you were right about one thing, it is time for a leader, and YOU ARE NOT IT!
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