Most people wonder what is the point or purpose of the Human Resource department and who are supposed to be advocating for? In simple terms, think of HR as an Agent, think of the City as the Principal, then remember the Agent acts on behalf of the Principal. That means HR is just like the City Attorney in some ways, first and foremost they exist to protect the city from exposure and liability in its management of its workforce.
Little did we know when we published our Day 3: Case 64 & HR Malfeasance that we would get several emails from readers. Some of the emails thanked us for exposing how the Human Resources Department in the City of Frisco operates. Others from new “whistleblowers” who told us about their experience with Human Resources and specifically Lauren Safranek. It left us with one question, is this a superficial issue or how deep does the dirt in HR go?
In Wes Piersons exit interview notes with Jeromy Porter it talks about “job description issues” between Preferred or Required. Wes writes that Porter tells him there was a change to the job description without approval. We have reached out to Jeromy Porter to ask further questions and we hope he responds. When you read the notes you wonder, could this be true? Then when you see the Case 64 Hotline Complaint with very similar complaints and accusations, it starts to validate what Porter said in his exit interview. One is random but two we start to smell something fishy.
We wanted to know, what is the big deal between the two words, Preferred and Required? With a little digging we learned that when working in a city you are extended certain benefits based on the job description. In Frisco, Fire Fighters and Police Officers have additional benefit pay for Certifications & Education. If the job description says Preferred Education, Experience, and Certifications that means they receive additional pay in the following amounts: Certification pay for Intermediate, Advanced, and Master’s Certifications at $50, $80, and $120 per month. Education Pay for Associate, Bachelor, and Master’s Degrees at $50, $100, and $150 per month. However, if the job description says, “Required” then that means there is no additional benefit pay. That simple change of one word can basically affect one’s income from what we discovered. Now it makes sense why Porter and others might be upset, and we are currently looking further into this.
Then we received another email from a new whistleblower within 24 hours of publishing Case 64. It said, I cannot tell you who I am as I do not want to get fired but I suggest you pull the HR files for a few folks who recently let the department in the last few years. It gave us some names, so of course we filed our PIR requests and we are waiting for the city to process those. We are filled with anticipation of what we might find!
Then we got another email of similar complaints in another city department. The insider said reading Case 64 made them realize they are not alone. They said we should file a PIR for a copy of all the complaints called into the Ethics Hotline for the last 3 to 5 years and to be prepared as it may be a shocker! Well, of course we went right away to file a PIR for that, and we are waiting for the city to process it.
The email went on to say Human Resources is corrupt and they don’t follow through investigating the complaints received via the hotline. They are known to look away because of the personal relationships they have with the employees mentioned in the complaints. Also, they said the hotline is compromised because Lauren Safranek is crooked, and she is the one who gets all the complaints so you can easily make things go away and no one will know. Lastly, is stated that HR has falsified records and job descriptions in order to demote or fire employees. Wow, this is now the 3rd complaint of that happening and in different departments.
We also received an email about how the HR Department uses the Nepotism Policy to their advantage when they don’t want to hire someone and then they change it or ignore it for others who are “their friends.” We found this allegation interesting because we have a PIR into the city already about the reason they changed the Nepotism Policy two times already this year. Rumor has it was to hire Fire Chief Lee Glover and the new IT Director.
Then we received a tip through our website about multiple city employees having affairs with each other (and yes it named those involved). Apparently some of those having affairs with their bosses end up getting promotions. While that is a JUICY TIP, it is a bad place for the city to be down the road if a sexual harassment lawsuit were to come up. Well, before we out anyone we will do our work to confirm if these “affairs” are true.
Lastly we learned that many Directors in the city may be abusing their city credit cards with personal purchases. Well, to be honest we are not shocked by this one as you see it on the news every day. However, we will be filing PIRs for records for many of these department heads.
In closing, when you start to hear the same complaint from multiple people we have to believe that something smells like SHIT in Frisco. What we do know is that several of the emails were from current employees and they are tired of the city looking the other way. So, it makes you wonder, why won’t the news cover this? Why has our new City Manager not investigated this? How far does the bad and/or possibly illegal behavior go? How long has this been going on?
Russian Roulette is the practice of loading a bullet into one chamber of a revolver, spinning the cylinder, and then pulling the trigger while pointing the gun at one’s own head. It is basically a game of chance! When it comes to filing a PIR with the City of Frisco, it too is like a game of Russian Roulette. Will they provide the documents or won’t they? Will they do it in a timely manner or delay it by sending it to the Texas Attorney General for an “opinion.”
Since Whistleblowers’ inception back in February of last year we have continually addressed the issues of PIR GATE. In our April 2023 blog we talked about a PIR that FWB filed for Universal Theme Park / Project P117. An email came back from the city that the cost of the documents would be $72.36 and payment was made. Imagine FWB surprise when the city came back asking them to clarify what information they are seeking?
Problem 1: How did the city determine a price of $72.36 for the documents requested if they needed clarification of what was being requested?
THE CONCLUSION: Then on April 18th FWB receives an email saying they have released a few documents, and the rest has been sent to the Attorney General for an opinion. Well, 8 months after initially filing for the PIR the documents were finally released. Why did it take so long? What was it the city didn’t want us to find out about the Universal Kids project?
Now, let’s talk about the PIR we filed for any communications between John Keating or Angelia Pelham and Venton Krasniqi. When the city responded with no responsive records, we were curious, who is Venton Krasniqi? He is a mystery man who donated $10,000 to John Keating and $5000 to Angelia Pelham yet neither of them has shared a text or email with him? That sure seems strange since those are not small donations. Furthermore, we are now curious is this the same man listed in several lawsuits in Collin County regarding debts?
Then we talked about the PIR we filed in May 2023 in regards to the “Public Safety Study regarding the Police Department Staffing” that was funded by federal grants. The response was we could view the document only by coming to city hall because it was copyrighted. However, the organization who did this study has done many other similar studies and they are all published on the web. Why is Frisco’s copyrighted? What made Frisco’s study so special? We never went to view the report because we were contacted by an internal PD source who supplied us with a full copy of the study after seeing our blog. What did we learn after reading it? The city probably didn’t want the residents/public to know the city they claim to be one of the safest cities in Americas has a staffing deficiency in the PD department.
A few months later in October 2023, on a tip from a resident, we filed a PIR that reads, “We would like any emails regarding the flooding that took place on 7/3/23 near 2447 Sleepy Hollow Trail. Emails from PD, streets department, city management and city council. We would like any pictures taken by the streets department at the scene since they were called out by PD. We would like to know what caused the flood?” On October 23, we were surprised to see the status change to: Sent to AG for a Ruling.
WAIT A DAMN MINUTE, you are going to tell me a simple PIR about a street flood must be sent to the Texas Attorney General? The Conclusion: As of today, this still has a status of Sent to the AG for Ruling which means it has been open for over 2 months (about to be 3 months). Something smells like SHIT in Frisco.
If you remember in our Day 6 Breaking The Law blog, we explained how we filed a PIR on Fire Chief Lee Glover and were told no responsive records. In the case of this PIR, who is responsible for releasing those records? Well, that would be the Human Resources Director, Sassy Lauren Safranek, that’s who! Interesting how Sassy came up with the responsive records the second time around, AFTER WE TOLD HER WE ALREADY HAD A COPY OF THE LETTER AND A VIDEO CLIP.
We decided to file another PIR to broaden our search on November 22, 2023, that reads “Copy of all emails and documents related to Lee Glover over his career span with the City of Frisco relating to any job complaints both formal or informal (confidential) by equals, superiors, and subordinates. Any complaints received informal or formal even if confidential via the Frisco Fire Department Complaint Form, relating to his breaking the Frisco Fire Department Policies or City of Frisco Code of Conduct or policies. Any Administrative Warning Letter issued to Lee Glover over his career with the Frisco Fire Department. Any Notice of Investigation issued to Lee Glover over his career span with the Frisco Fire Department. Any emails between Lauren Safranek, Henry Hill, George Purefoy, Mack Borchard, Wes Peirson or Lee Glover regarding the hiring of Lee Glover going back to 1/1/2022 to Present. Feel free to redact personal numbers, birthdays, contact info, etc., allowed by Texas State Law.”
The Response: On December 14, we received a letter in which they located the responsive records and that they re-released at no charge the records because they had already been provided to us. However, that is not exactly true. What we asked for above is very clear so imagine our surprise when we find in the documents they sent back one titled Case 64. The Problem: Case 64 is related to a previous PIR request regarding HR Director Safranek falsifying documents which this document should have been included in, but it wasn’t which is more proof they are withholding documents. Why did we accidentally get the document in the current request, we have no idea. Secondly, it has the Fire Chiefs Candidate Binder that we didn’t ask for. Third it has the pay scale for the Fire Chiefs, which we didn’t ask for. It has the Appleton Complaint which we already know about and was in the previous PIR request. That’s it!
The city wants you and I to believe that Lee Glover has never had any other complaints, write-ups, warning letters, or has broken policies or procedures which he has been cited for over his entire career. Do you believe that? Well, you shouldn’t because we have evidence to the contrary. It leaves us asking, why has the city not released the information related to this PIR that we requested? Again, something smells like SHIT in Frisco.
The Conclusion: You may have guessed it; we filed ANOTHER PIR that said we want to follow up to clarify that Appleton and Mayday are the only two items in his HR file over the span of his career? We asked for anything starting from the beginning of his career in 1991 to the present: 1. Any job complaints, write-ups, or reprimands, both formal or informal (confidential) by equals, superiors, and subordinates. 2. Any complaints, write-ups, or reprimands received via the Frisco Fire Department Complaint Form that includes informal or formal even confidential 3. Any complaints, write-ups or reprimands relating to his breaking the Frisco Fire Department Policies or City of Frisco Code of Conduct or policies. 4. Any Administrative Warning Letters issued to Lee Glover during his time at Frisco FD. 5. Any Notice of Investigation issued to Lee Glover during his time at Frisco FD Are we to believe that since 1991 there have been only 2? We paid $30 plus dollars and want the full PIR as we already know of some that have not been included in the original PIR response.” It is currently in processing!
Lastly, we can’t forget Bobblehead Bill Woodard who went off halfcocked on Facebook defending the city’s decision to cut a lifesaving blood program that just a few years before the council praised from the top of the city council meeting pulpit. While Bobblehead Bill said folks could just email him and he would share the documents we decided to handle it the proper way by filing a PIR on 11/1/23. We uploaded images of his statements in the PIR and asked for the items he referenced. The PIR said,
1. On November 1st Bill Woodard posted on North Texas Politics page a response that talked about a 12-page report and posted a picture of a Section 2.2 Supply of Blood Products. He offers to email the 12-page report to anyone who emails him so we are requesting it formally and since he is willing to send it out freely to anyone who emails him we assume there will be no cost for it.
2. He also posted the following comment below: The blood transfusion program isn’t going away, in fact it’s expanding. We use data to analyze the best use of resources and right now the squad sits idle almost all the time. So that staffing is being divided up and assigned to the BC vehicles, along with the blood transfusion program. This will double (from one to two) the availability of this program on every shift, and better utilize personnel and equipment. In 2024 we expect to add this program to every ambulance we have further expanding the program, which necessitates the training of everyone on those pieces of equipment. We will also be doubling (from one to two) the number of safety officers on shift. This will allow for additional training and promotional opportunities. We would like a copy of the study and data used to analyze the best use of resources that reflect how this decision was made. We would like a copy of the new contract/agreement that the hospital and blood banks will supply the blood for all ambos now and going into 2024. We would also like to know the cost and how it will be funded to train everyone (as he states) on those pieces of equipment.
3. Bill Woodard also stated “We are putting the blood transfusion program on multiple vehicles. So yes it is expanding. And we have been working with our medical director (as well as any other required parties) to ensure the program is run appropriately and has all the proper staffing.” We would like to know how many vehicles the blood program will be on with trained personnel. We would like any emails between the city management, fire department and council with the medical director and required parties he mentions.
4. Steve Cone of P&Z also chimed in so we would like to see the numbers of how the proposed changes to Squad / Blood Program is better than the status quo arrangement. We would like to know the # of blood transfusions teams available per shift, before and after the changes to the program.
The Conclusion: Because Bobblehead Bill offered to send this to folk we assumed there would be no charge but guess what, the city charged us $90.00 which we paid, and we are STILL WAITING FOR THE INFORMATION. Now, they have updated the status to read “Sent to Attorney.” We are not holding our breath we will get the information back before the end of 2023.
In closing, we have a very important question for you to consider. How can the city get a request or for an item, then go to a council meeting, have a discussion in executive session, come out and vote to release confidential HR documents on a retired employee who is under a gag order and is actively running as a political opponent against Mayor Cheney? Please note while Cheney recused himself from the vote 4 of the city council members who participated in the vote had already publicly endorsed Mayor Jeff Cheney which means they probably should have recused themselves. The CHERRY ON TOP is a DMN Reporter had an article in the paper 12 hours later which in our opinion was a political hit piece! If all that can be done in a simple council vote how come they cannot do that for other PIR’s?
Why did the city not send the request from the media to the Attorney General like they do all other requests? Well because they have 30 to 60 days to respond with an opinion which means the election would have been over. At the time Mark Piland was gaining momentum on Mayor Cheney. Cheney and his big developer friends who have BIG INTERESTS in Frisco needed Cheney to win so they just did not have that kind of time. They needed a push in the polls so hence the vote to release the records. It is even more questionable that they didn’t release the full report only a subsequent report that was done related to the political candidate. Being that the vote had HUGE RED FLAGS pertaining to CONFLICT OF INTERESTS which is a great reason to SEND IT TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.
This is our public plea to the City of Frisco and the City Council Members, IF YOU HAVE THAT KIND OF POWER THEN WE ASK YOU TO BRING OUR PIRs UP FOR A VOTE. Then VOTE YES unanimously, JUST LIKE in April 2023 to release the following: 1. Universal Kids Documents 2. Documents related to Bobble Head Bills rant on Facebook regarding the Blood Program. 3. The entire HR file for Fire Chief Lee Glove and Mack Borchardt 4. Documents related to a simple street flood 5. All of Lauren Safranek emails for the last two years and 6. Any other open PIRs currently just for the purposes of being FAIR and TRANSPARENT
They would never vote to do that because it does not help them, but it possibly hurts them. The City of Frisco withholds documents, delays the process and flat out lies as to what they have and don’t have. Kristy Morrow is the City Secretary but we don’t think it is her decision on what is released. She sends the requests to the departments or individuals named in the PIR and they respond with the appropriate documents. So, if Sassy Lauran Safranek is colluding with Lee Glover do you think she is going to release the documents requested, probably not. It is a game of RUSSIAN ROULETTE, A GAME OF CHANCE OR TRUST. We DO NOT TRUST the City of Frisco – not one bit! We have proof they have lied and withheld information and that should make residents very wary and angry. This is our city, not their city. It is our tax-dollars!
You are probably wondering why we are dropping tidbits each day. Well, that is because each of these items is leading up to our big reveal timeline of corruption. We need you to first understand the different incidents, so it all makes sense when we tie it together with a pretty bow.
Speaking of incidents, remember in Jeromy Porters exit interview notes which Wes Pierson took down he had number 3: Drinking (only while traveling). Well, he is referring to Lee Glover and his desire for the bottle which is a hidden secret that is not so hidden. Now, we had already heard of several Glover “incidents’ from whistleblowers before ever seeing Porters exit interview notes. His notes only added to the confirmation of what we had previously received and been told.
In fact, before we ever knew of Porters exit interview, we had already filed a PIR (Public Information Request) in Oct 2023. It reads “Lee Glover – Complaint regarding behavior being drunk on 2022 Wisconsin Trip. Copy of all emails between city management officials and firefighter officials. Copy of all emails regarding this incident that were sent to or from Henry Hill. Copy of formal complaint made to HR and the city. Copy of complaint or HR documents related to the complaint.” Imagine our surprise when we received a response back on 11/2/23 there were NO RESPONSIVE RECORDS. Do you believe the city, because we didn’t!
We have been playing PIR GATE with the city for a while now, so we knew the reply they provided was a clear LIE. The city was NOT COMPLYING WITH STATE LAW TO RELEASE PIR’S SO WE REFILED IT ON 11/6/23. We started by restating the previous PIR and the response NO RESPONSIVE RECORDS and it said, “The City of Frisco has reviewed its files and has determined there are no documents or emails responsive to Lee Glover regarding the behavior of being drunk on the 2022 Wisconsin Trip.”
Then we laid it out again in the new request and we wrote “To be clear and upfront we have a copy of a city email along with a video of the incident that the city claims to have no responsive records too. So, we wanted to clarify our request to make sure the city understands what we are asking for just in case. Copy of any email, document, or text message that included Henry Hill in regard to a complaint made by a firefighter regarding Lee Glover’s behavior at an event where he appears to be intoxicated in or out of the state of Texas. Copy of an email, incident report, complaint, or any other HR issue regarding or involving Lee Glover made by Jake Owen with then Fire Chief Mark Piland or any of his staff in 2022 or 2023. Copy of any email sent by the Fire Department staff/management that includes Henry Hill, the city manager’s office staff, and/or hr. staff regarding a complaint by Jake Owen that involves or includes Lee Glover in 2022 or 2023. We also learned of another FF leaving so we wanted to see a copy of any interview notes, documents, or emails in regard to or relating to the exit interview by Jeromy Porter and city manager Wes Pierson in 2023 or HR Department Staff.”
On 11/20/23 sitting here I yell out “What in tarnation” and my wife comes in the room saying what, what. For those who don’t know What in Tarnation is like your version of WTF or WTH. I said look and pointed to the screen, and she read out loud, “The City of Frisco has reviewed its files and has located records responsive to your request.” WHAT? IT IS A MIRACLE, A MIRACLE I TELL YOU!
First Response: No Responsive Records! Then only after we told you we already have the proof in a form of an email and a clip of a video that has a drunk Glover in it do we get this WAIT, WE FOUND THE RECORDS! Both requests had the same key words: Lee Glover, Wisconsin Trip, Complaint, and Henry Hill. Wow so we are to believe they just found these records the SECOND TIME AROUND.
You may wonder why is this PIR important and that is because is shows Lee Glover who at the time is the Assistant Chief talking about how he is going to be the new Chief when Piland leaves? However no one knew Piland was leaving, including Piland! So how did Glover know in June 2022 that Piland would be leaving in August 2022? How did Glover know he would become Interim Chief? What collusion was he a part of to be able to know that information?
No! No! No! We caught the city lying and breaking the open records law by not complying with the first request. The Texas Attorney should launch an investigation because we know they have had withheld other PIRs as well. In fact, currently we have a PIR in about a street flood and they have sent it to the Attorney General for review. Why, what is so secretive about a street flood?
We also filed for a copy of any complaint filed against Glover since 1991 when he started with the department, and they sent us back the same one. Do they want us to believe only one complaint has been filed against him? I can tell you we have evidence of others so why didn’t they turn it over when we asked for a copy based on his whole career span? WHAT IS THE CITY HIDING?
On the other hand, the city council on the same night can vote after an executive session to release a portion of a report to hurt a political candidate running against Mayor Jeff Cheney and they won’t fight that request by sending it to the AG. Keep in mind 4 of the 5 council members who voted for its release had already publicly endorsed the current Mayor when they held that vote. You want to tell me that was not a political hit job just like they had done to other previous candidates who ran against the inner circle.
It is clear the city of Frisco is walking a thin line…but it is clear to us the city clearly broke the law by not providing the documents. If they want to hide it they either charge an obscene amount of money like $100, they stall by sending it to the AG, or they just flat out lie they don’t have the records. Either way we proved the city is hiding public records.
Bond, Frisco Bond! Yes, we took a line from James Bond aka 007! Sean Connery, who played James Bond in 1962, was the first to deliver this iconic phrase that would be repeated in several of the 007 movies. One thing is certain, none of the Bonds following Connery delivered the phrase with the same magic as he did the first time around.Connery was my favorite Bond, and he starred in seven of the films from 1962 to 1983. If you are a Bond fan then you know not to mess with a Bond, even a Frisco Bond! After digging into the Battle of the Benjamins (Budgets) we decided to take a deep dive into the Frisco Bonds put before citizens. We made “A Martini. Shaken, Not Stirred” as Bond said in Goldfinger in 1964, and started researching. Now it is time for you to grab some popcorn and watch Frisco Bond unfold!
What if we told you that since 2006, residents have been asked to approve a whopping total of $1,285,225,000 in bond propositions? Would that get your attention? Many don’t understand bond elections so first we wanted to answer the simple question of what is a bond. Simply put, bonds are loans governments or government agencies use to fund day-to-day obligations and to finance capital projects such as buildings, city parks, and/or future developments. Most cities pass General Obligation Bonds which are backed by the “full faith and credit” of the issuer (aka city) which has the power to tax residents to pay bondholders.
Now ask yourself, out of general election bonds residents have been asked to vote for since 2006, how many were issued? What capital improvement projects were completed? How was the money used? When we heard about the 2023 bond we started to follow the progress. There was a big debate about having an animal shelter on the bond. To be honest, we thought the city already had one, so we were surprised to learn the city outsources it to Collin County.
We watched a YouTube video by Be The Change with Jesse Ringness where the council and city leaders discussed the animal shelter and 2023 bond. It is hard to hear everything but from what we can tell Mayor Cheney started to lament which he does often and for a long time (29:36 mark). He said, we have never put anything on the bond that was not supported by the staff or that we didn’t think would pass. Then he mentions it feels like a disingenuous proposal and that it is more of an item used for postcard election votes, which he would know about. Then he suggests that the bond committee consider putting that request or $5 million into the city facilities request instead. This way if the city determines it needs an animal shelter down the road the money is there for a “city facility” otherwise they have the money to use towards another project.
Then he proceeds to ask, what are we actually putting on the ballot? Are you putting $5 million on the ballot to somehow seek citizen approval? And if it happens, which I would expect it to, because right now, everything we have put on the ballot in Frisco has passed becausewe have a lot of public trust. Citizens know when they see a ballot for a bond election, it is only for items the city needs, we know it has been fully vetted, we know that staff fully supports it, and we know Frisco needs it.
Mayor Cheney’s statements left us with some questions. We were curious, if the city will only put items on the bond supported by staff then why have a citizen’s bond committee? If we look at past bonds would we find all the items brought to the ballot were VETTED or something we know FRISCO NEEDS? It is time to jump out of the plane and find out!
We went back to 2006 to look at the 12 Propositions approved by voters for a whopping $198 million dollars. We found two articles with conflicting information. The first was a Dallas Morning News article in January 2015 that reported that $33 million of 2006 bonds had not yet been issued. Just 4 months later, in May 2015, Community Impact reported that “$22.5 million in authorized bond funds remain.”
Confused, we went digging and searched city records where we found that at the June 2006 Frisco City Council meeting they authorized the sale of $143,560,000 million from the 2006 bond election. The ordinance states it is for road improvements, constructing, improving, and equipping public safety facilities consisting of the fire department facilities, parking for the police headquarters building, public safety training facility, acquisition and installation of warning sirens, fire trucks, and equipment, and the acquisition of land and interest in land for such projects (Public Safety Facilities), constructing and improving parks, trails and recreational facilities, and the land acquisition of “Park Projects.” Might be easier to look at this Voted Bond Authorization photo below from the June 6, 2016, council meeting agenda package. We will reference it later.
Confused, we decided to break it down by some of the big projects. Bond loves to make a grand entrance so let’s start with Grand Park. In 2006 voters approved $22.5 million dollars for Grand Park, then in 2015, they approved another $10 million dollars for Grand Park for a total of $32.5 million dollars. In the 2019 bond election, Parks, Trails, and Facilities asked for $53.5 million, and in the 2023 bond election $43 million. Neither the 2019 nor 2023 bond election state that any of the money will be used for Grand Park as they left it more generic.
In an article discussing the 2015 bond the DMN noted that the $10 million being asked in the 2015 Bond would be combined with the $10 million in bonds approved by voters in 2006 for PHASE ONE near the DNT and Cotton Gin Road. If you reference the 2006 bond photo you will see voters approved $22.5 million for the Grand Park Acquisition and Initial Development. Out of that amount, $12 million of those bonds were issued and we are curious what for? Work was delayed for years in Grand Park due to the Exide Technologies battery plant contamination. Dallas Morning News reported in June 2013 that a report listed various problems documented over the years with contamination to Stewart Creek which runs right through the future Grand Park. So, why did the city issue $12 million of the bonds, what was it used for?
In 2021 CBS News 11 ran a story that Frisco’s Grand Park is no longer an “Urban Legend” as the city can finally finish the Exide cleanup. The story notes that City officials said the cleanup process could take another five to seven years to complete but the city has funding and, for the first time, the control to do it. CBS quoted Mayor Cheney, “This park will actually be bigger than Central Park in New York.” However, while it all sounds like a grand idea, after years of talk and no development, Cheney understands why many residents have become skeptical. Mayor Cheney said he hopes the city can put a shovel in the ground to start Grand Park by the end of the year. According to Community Impact, Big Bluestem Trail was finally ready for its public debut on November 19, 2022. City officials held an inaugural trail walk and Shannon Coates, Parks Director said “This is PHASE ONE of a multiyear development.” I wonder if they mean the Phase One they talked about in 2006/2015.
Well, if the 2006 bond was for PHASE 1 and we just completed Phase 1 in 2022 as Shannon Coates implied, then why did the city sell the bonds back in June 2006? Why would you ask citizens to vote for something that the city could not put a shovel in the ground for until 15 years later? The $12 Million issued by the city is that we paid for a contaminated future park. Did they use it to clean up Exide, if they did, voters should know that the money they voted for did not go to the park but to the clean-up of another issue that ultimately affected the park. Mayor Cheney, when the city asked residents in 2006 and 2015 to Vote Yes for the Grand Park propositions – WERE THEY FULLY VETTED AND SUPPORTED BY CITY STAFF? It sure does not sound like a plan was in place, maybe a dream, but definitely no fully vetted plan.
Next up is a place for Bond to park his sexy roadsters. In the 2015 Election Bond, Frisco asked citizens for $1.5 Million for a Police Department parking garage. A DMN article from January 2015, it noted the money would be combined with $1.5 Million from a previous bond election to fund the parking structure for police vehicles. Remember above, in June 2006 the council approved the sale of $143,560,000 million from the 2006 bond election. One of the items the ordinance stated it was for was parking for the police headquarters building.
Then, according to Community Impact in 2015, the city sold $59.8 million worth of bonds, the first from the $267.825 million from the voted approved bonds in the 2015 election. It noted the bonds sold would go to several items, one being the parking structure for the police facility.
Then in 2023, Frisco asked voters again for a parking garage for the Police Department. That means 3 times voters have been asked for a parking garage. Guess what? As of today, WE HAVE NO PARKING STRUCTURE! So again, we ask Mayor Cheney was this project FULLY VETTED?Was there a plan supported by staff? If yes, then why did we not build it after issuing the bonds back in 2006 and 2015, when it probably would have cost less? We all know that after the Pandemic, costs for construction have skyrocketed. Now we will be paying more for the parking garage that they approved the bond sale for back in 2006 & 2015.
Bond 007 likes a good Rembrandt, so let’s look at the Arts! In the 2006 bond election, the city asked for $5 Million. According to a Community Impact Article from January 2015, in 2006 voters approved $5 million and about $1 million contributed to the creation of the Frisco Discovery Center, which houses the Black Box Theater and art gallery. That is confirmed in the 2006 Bond photo above.
Then in 2015, bond committee member Tammy Meinershagen (currently a councilwoman) was pushing for $20 Million for the arts. The city ended up asking voters for $10 Million after a lengthy debate. The committee began discussing the performing arts center proposal because 6 out of 17 committee members did not recommend any money for the project.
Some members said a bond proposal for an arts facility should wait until a more specific plan, such as the square footage of the facility or the number of seats, is laid out. These members said they are not against an arts facility in Frisco but rather think the project can wait for a year or two. Tammy Meinershagen, the committee member who proposed $20 million for an arts facility, said she would like to provide specifics for a project, but she doesn’t want to wait to get the project started.
Purefoy said part of the reason city staff recommended $10 million for an arts center for this bond election is that the addition of the $4 million left over from the 2006 bond election, would bring the total close to the 2006 recommendation. The plot thickens, CITY STAFF RECOMMENDED? So the city staff supported and recommended money be put in front of voters that did not have a specific plan such as size, number of seats, location, etc.? Mayor Cheney, why did you allow or support $10 million to go through when the PROJECT WAS NOT FULLY VETTED?
Well, where is the $14 million today? As far as I can see we still have NO CULTURAL ARTS THEATER! Go figure! That is probably for the best since the Dallas Museum of Art just announced in October 2023 that they have executed a set of cutbacks including layoffs and reductions in hours they are open to the public.
Bond is known to scale a wall a time or two so let’s dive in the Fire Department (aka Public Safety). In the 2006 Bond, voters approved $20 Million for Fire Stations and Equipment. Then in the following bonds, they put Police and Fire together and called it Public Safety. So, in the 2015 Bond Election voters approved $41.5 Million, in 2019 voters approved $62.5 Million, and in 2023 voters approved $131.4 Million for Public Safety. Where did all the money go?
A June 2012 DMN Frisco Roundup reported that the Frisco City Council authorized staff to start the process of issuing $5.5 million in general obligation bonds from 2006 for fire engines, an ambulance, and other fire equipment to replace aging equipment. Then in July of 2013, the Dallas Morning News reported that the City Council approved issuing $20 million in general obligation bonds from the 2006 bond election for capital projects. The first $8 Million would be spent on Fire Station 8, the remaining $12 million would be spent on road projects.
If the 2006 bond was for Fire Station 8 as reported by the DMN, then that means the 2 new stations proposed by the bond committee in 2014 for the 2015 bond election would be for Station 9 and Station 10. On the citizens bond presentation on page 543, it says, “addition of 2 Fire Stations including new fire apparatus supporting those stations.”
WHERE IS FIRE STATION 10? There is NO FIRE STATION 10 which should be located near the new PGA. So, even though we are building the PGA Frisco, The Link, and Fields with multi-million-dollar homes as of today we have no fire station to support that. Why would a city allow developers to build out an area without first providing it services?
In 2019, voters passed another bond election for a total of $345 Million. Public Safety made up $62.5 Million of that. The pretty city flyer states that it is for Fire Station #11 and vehicles /equipment, a Public Safety Training Center (Phase 2), and a Police HQ remodel as stated in the city flyer. Guess what, as of today there IS NO FIRE STATION 11! Do you see the pattern?
Now in 2023, the voters passed another bond for $473.4 Million. Out of that total $131.4 Million were for Public Safety, Facilities, and Equipment. The 2023 Bond Flyer said the money was for Fire Station #11, Remodel Fire Station #4, and Fire Fleet Services Building. WAIT – DID YOU CATCH THAT? PLOT TWIST… Why are citizens being asked to PAY for Fire Station #11 TWICE? Remember in the 2019 Bond Election that money was for Fire Station 11 and the vehicles/equipment it needed. WHY ARE CITIZENS PAYING FOR IT TWICE?
What is the point of us looking into the Bond Elections? As we stated earlier, since 2006 voters have been asked to approve a whopping total of $1,285,225,000 in bond propositions. Most of us check our home accounts weekly and balance our budgets to know where our money is going so why not watch what the city is doing with our money? As Cheney said, whatever we put out in front of voters they will approve because they trust us. Should we trust them? His excuse for not wanting an animal shelter was there was no plan but it appears there were not a lot of plans for many of the items they asked for over the years. We still have no PD parking garage, no cultural arts facility or larger theater, no new FD fire stations, and we could go on. As TAXPAYERS, you should be asking yourself WHERE IS THE MONEY? HAVE THEY SOLD THE BONDS? HAVE WE PUT TO MUCH TRUST IN OUR CITY WITH NO OVERSIGHT? HOW MANY TIMES ARE WE GOING TO BE ASKED TO PAY FOR THE SAME PROJECTS?
What is the Public Information Act and what is a Public Information Request? Well, we told you all about the act in our previous blog which you can read by clicking here PIR’s. We continue to file PIR’s and we continue to wait and we are left questioning how the City of Frisco determines the cost for certain PIR’s and what qualifications must be met for a PIR to be sent to the Attorney General.
For example, I filed a PIR requesting the following: “We would like any emails regarding the flooding that took place on 7/3/23 near 2XXX Sleepy Hollow Trail. Emails from PD, streets department, city management and city council. We would like any pictures taken by the streets department at the scene since they were called out by PD. We would like to know what caused the flood?” The response was we have sent this to AG for a ruling.
WHY WOULD THE CITY SEND A SIMPLE REQUEST LIKE THIS TO THE TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL? Is the city going to try and say how we build streets is confidential? How a sewer system operates is considered confidential? What could they possibly claim should be confidential? We are just guessing but it is our opinion and our opinion only (we have no concrete proof since they have sent it to the AG) that the city drain was clogged causing a backup that flooded a resident’s home. Either way, we will wait it out with the city to see what the AG has to say.
Second example, I went head-to-head with Mr. Bobblehead Bill Woodard and my wife filed a PIR requesting the following information he discussed on line and presented the city with images of his exact comments. We asked for the email and documentation that supported his claims and we got back a letter that it will cost $90.00. What in the heck are they doing that costs $90.00 because Bill is quoted on Facebook as saying just email him and he will send it to you. So how does something Bill is willing to email out for free and the backup documentation to support it cost $90.00?
Then my wife did another request asking for the last 5 years of emergency call logs for Fire Squad. Guess what, they didn’t send it to the AG but they do want $100.80 for the information. That surprises us because in their CAD system or 911 system that should be easy to pull and save in a PDF. Is there something they don’t want us to know? Will the numbers match the numbers Bobblehead Bill put online recently? Maybe just maybe we catch him in one of those FIBS! WHAT COSTS $100????
Third example, I filed a PIR for the expense reports and all expenses related to the Tulsa Southern Hills PGA trip that several city members went on and I am being told some of it is confidential and only available for INSPECTION AT CITY HALL. WHAT COULD POSSIBLY BE CONFIDENTIAL ABOUT EXPENSES REPORTS? WE HAVE ALWAYS RECEIVED THEM NO ISSUE SO WHY NOW IS SOMETHING CONFIDENTIAL AND ONLY AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION AT THE CITY?
Last example is we filed a PIR for information on the Nepotism Policy because we were curious why the city change it 2 times in less than 4 months. They provided us a few documents and sent the rest to the Texas Attorney General. WHAT COULD BE CONFIDENTIAL ABOUT THE NEPOTISM POLICY THAT IS IN THE CITY CHARTER AND ONLINE? What could Sassy Safranek in HR our the city claim is confidential about a policy that determines how city employees operate.
The Texas Public Information Act assures that government entities give citizens access to information about what the public servants are doing on their behalf. It is a way for citizens to hold their public officials accountable. It is our opinion that the city is trying to keep us from public information by continually sending it to the AG and by charging asinine prices for it. THEY DON’T WANT TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE!!!
I guess the BEST CITY IN THE WORLD does not have an IT department that can do a simple network search of emails and documents. Maybe it is because many of these folks use their personal email accounts to keep things away from the public. Either way we will pay for the PIR’s and we will get our information. I can assure you we have filed PIR’s with other cities and within a few days received a response and paid $10 to $15 for a whole lot of information. Just Frisco – only Frisco seems to take 10 years and PIRs cost as much as Mayor Jeff Cheney’s self driving tesla or fancy house. Ask yourself, should 2 PIR’s cost $190.00+?
After reading our blogs you have probably figured out that movies and music are two of my biggest passions. Little Lies by Fleetwood Mac had a catchy chorus that you could sing over and over that went tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies, oh-no-no, you can’t disguise. I often find myself singing that song in my head when the time comes to write another blog. We have talked about PIRs (Public Information Requests) in our previous blog but nothing wrong with a reminder. What is the Public Information Act and what is a Public Information Request? Well, the Texas Public Information Act assures that government entities give citizens access to information about what the public servants are doing on their behalf. It is a way for citizens to hold their public officials accountable. The Public Information Act Handbook can be found on the Texas Attorney General’s website and lays out the “how-to” to do open record requests.
Several months ago during the election a mayday report was talked about and the DMN did a long article smearing a candidate running for mayor. We were curious about the report and had a friend put in a PIR request that reads: Full copy of 500 to 600-page report for Mayday Report DMN quoted Adams Lynch and Loftin found evidence – would like a copy of the evidence. DMN quotes Adams Lynch and Loftin interviewed 42 people – would like the list of the names of those interviewed? Would like a copy of the documents, photographs, audio, and video files analyzed by Adams Lynch and Loftin Based on the DMN article it is clear that the reporter received more than the 12-page report released to the public. I would like a copy of everything provided to the reporter. We received several items back from the city except the full report mayday report.
On May 25th, we received a letter stating that one of the files contains personal health information and the city would prefer to keep it confidential. They asked if we agreed to the redaction request however we did not see the response. Then on June 5th we received another letter asking us to clarify if we agreed to the redaction and to clarify which documents we were seeking. We wrote back on June 9th we would not agree to any redactions and they could send the request to the AG and for the second questions we responded with several items on the evidence list plus the following:
1. Full Final Mayday Report 2. During the investigation of the individuals involved in the Circa / Mayday the attorneys meet and interviewed city staff. There should be audio files/recordings, notes, or video footage of the individual interviews to document the investigation. We want the audio files/recordings/notes or video recordings of the individuals interviewed by Adams, Lynch, and Loftin PC 3. Docs from Gillette listed on the evidence list 4. Hinkel Emails listed on the evidence list
On July 3, we received another email that read “After further review of the requested information to ensure the City has located all the records responsive to your request, please note that one file responsive is considered to be a proprietary record and will be available in the City Secretary’s Office for viewing only.” In the items we were provided there is NO FULL MAYDAY REPORT so is that the proprietary record they want us to come view?
Summer happened and we were waiting on the AG response in regards to the request and still to this day (4 MONTHS LATER) the request status reads sent to AG for a ruling. We were curious why it was taking the AG office so long to review a request so we called them. Imagine our surprise when they said a ruling was issued on August 30th and lead us to a link on the website where we could read the ruling. It is now September 28th almost a month later and we have no response from the city that a ruling was even made yet and we still don’t have the FULL MAYDAY REPORT.
The city argued some information was considered to be confidential by law. Section 552.101 encompasses the doctrine of common-law privacy, which protects information that is (1) highly intimate or embarrassing, the publication of which would be highly objectionable to a reasonable person, and (2) not of legitimate concern to the public. The finding by the AG’s office read “Accordingly, the city must withhold the public citizen’s date of birth and the information we marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy. However, we find you have failed to demonstrate the remaining information is highly intimate or embarrassing and not of legitimate public interest. Thus, the city may not withhold the remaining information under section 552.101 in conjunction with common-law privacy.
What we find ironic is that the city council voted to release some of these documents or related documents at a city council meeting that benefited the mayor and his cronies during an election in order to smear a candidates reputation but now they are arguing something is intimate or highly embarrassing? The citizens date of birth or an insurance policy number is confidential? What would be really humorous is if the person they are referring to has their birthday on their Facebook page. If so, they can’t be to worried about their privacy.
SO WHERE IS IT? Where is the redacted file? Where is the complete MAYDAY report (500 to 600 pages)? Asking a senior citizen to come to city hall to review a document is ridiculous and it is there way of keeping us from the information that can simply be uploaded to the portal. Why is the city with holding the information after a ruling on August 30th? We are also waiting on the AG to tell us where they are on a ruling for the Universal document request which is now 8 months old.
We also had a friend submit a PIR inquiring about to to payments in the city expenditure list which is online. Two payments, to New Reunion Title for $555,706.44 and $817,956.83. What are the payments for, and what type of services would a city pay a title company that much for? It reads they sent it to the attorney. We are guessing they mean the city attorney but he may have a conflict of interest since the title company is located in his law office. My guess they will fight us on this one too.
We filed PIRs with multiple other city’s in the last month and had them all back in under 20 days, so WHAT IS FRISCO HIDING? RELEASE THE DOCUMENTS!
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Bill is a tool. I never trusted him the moment I met him. Slimeball.