The Promised Land (Part 2)

by | Mar 14, 2023 | City Council, Developements, Developers, Jerry Jones, Jerry Jones - Blue Star Land, Jerry Jones - Dallas Cowboys, Politics, Taxpayer Dollars

There are two things that interest me: the relation of people to each other, and the relation of people to land. – Aldo Leopold

Remember that the land value of a piece of property includes both the value of the land itself as well as any improvements that have been made to it or around it, one could assume land around The Star would dramatically increase in value as the development came together and was completed.  Ready for the kicker, would it surprise you that the city sold the piece of land in question which is estimated to be worth $2.7 million to Blue Star Land Phase III for the sale price of $597,912.00 plus the city’s carrying cost of interest over the years?  At the time of the sale in 2019 it was all over the news, but did Frisco residents really pay attention?  Probably not and truthfully I had no clue until my curious nature got the best of me and I started looking into things last year.  Reading this, do you think it sounds like a win?  In theory yes, Frisco sold the land which will yield a substantial potential tax revenue.   

Stop the time clock, it is time for a replay so you can understand why Frisco residents should care.  First, if the city decided to sell that land no matter who bought it and developed it into an office building the city would be taking an asset generating no revenue and turning it into a cash-generating tax site.  We would not have lost an opportunity for the potential $190,000,000 in tax revenue.

Second, the city purchased all this land along the tollway years ago with taxpayer money as a future investment.  Selling it for the price we paid plus carrying costs seems to dilute the point of the purchase.  The Dallas Morning News reported the market value was an estimated $2.7 million and we sold it for $600,000 which means we gave away $2.1 million dollars of taxpayer money.  Anyone looking at this with basic common sense would see the land sale plus the potential tax revenue as a blockbuster achievement.   Sherlock Holmes might say, “Elementary, my dear Watson that is a win-win for the city and residents.” 

On the flip side, if you’re a DFW local then you know Jerry Jones, and his reputation for being a little pompous, arrogant, vain, egocentric, and self-centered.  He is not afraid to say what he thinks, show off or even be offensive at times.  It is “Jerry’s World”, and we are lucky to be in it and it has been that way for years.  He has worked hard, built an empire, and achieved the American Dream and he has every right to act or celebrate that the way he wants.  Keeping in mind Jones’s famous ego if the city did a public sale of the 2.4933 acres of land with direct views of Jerry’s empire including the player’s practice fields, do you think Jones would ever let anyone else buy it or develop it?  He would do whatever he had to do to protect his STAR!  That makes those 2.4933 acres a rare invaluable treasure that is irreplaceable to Jones.   Other developers would also see the value of that land and they would come out of the woodwork, and it could potentially create a bidding war for the holy grail tract of land.  Can you imagine what it potentially could have sold for?

We are left with so many questions, the first being who the real winner in this deal was.  Clearly, it is Blue Star Land.  The city is going to say the potential tax revenue outweighs the loss of profit on the land sale but as a taxpayer, I disagree.  I see the Superbowl moment for Frisco residents being the profit of the land sale and still achieving the potential tax revenue. 

Mayor Jeff Cheney has said multiple times over the years that the Dallas Cowboys moving to Frisco would create a “halo effect” for our local economy.  That means it would form a positive cognitive bias that would increase the city’s presence, brand, and attributes making it attractive to other developers and Fortune 500 businesses, so they would want to be and call Frisco home. That leads to my next question, which is logically thinking if we had to recruit businesses by offering oversized incentives before, then what does the “halo effect” do for us now?  Does it mean we will not have to dole out large incentives or deals as we had in the past?

Then I thought of marketing, the Dallas Cowboys logo, and the brand is one of the most famous in the world, and companies pay big bucks to do partnership deals with America’s Team.  In 1995 Jones had deals with Nike, Pepsi, American Express, and AT&T that were worth more than $60 million.  In 2013, AT&T bought the naming rights to the Cowboys Stadium for up to $20 million a year.  In 2022, it was reported that the Cowboys grossed $220 million in stadium ads and sponsorship revenue.  They also have million-dollar deals with WinStar World Casino, Lincoln Motor Company, Ford, Omni Hotels and Resorts and we could go on and on.  So surely in all these deals or incentive packages the city worked out something where we could put the Cowboy’s famous Blue Star on The City of Frisco webpage with a tagline “Home To The Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters” or when you open the Frisco EDC webpage to show off and increase the so-called “halo effect” to future companies looking to relocate to our great city.  A quick surf of our sites there are pictures of The Star but none of the famous and iconic Cowboys branding.  Nope, nothing, zilch!

What I did find interesting is a 2021 Dallas Morning News article talking about Monument Realty and how they were named the Official Real Estate Company of the Texas Rangers and you guessed it, the Dallas Cowboys.  Dak Prescott is listed as its “chief quarterback officer” and The Cheney Group hangs its hat there.  We are awe-struck really because we know that had to cost them a pretty penny to obtain those deals.  I mean one would assume that based on the millions of dollars other companies have to pay for partnership deals with these sports teams.

The Silicon Valley of Golf

by | Feb 21, 2023 | Campaign Donations, Campaign Finance Reports, City Council, Developements, Developers, Fehmi Karahan, Fields West, Mayor Jeff Cheney, Omni PGA Resort, PGA Frisco, Politics, Robert Elliott, Robert Elliott - The Associates, Taxpayer Dollars, The Link, The Preserve & Fields

Rain, rain go away, come again some other day!  Many were hoping and wishing for that back on August 22, 2022.  The metroplex had a few days of intense rain and the overcast sky gave off a humble gray tone.  By mid-morning to everyone’s delight a glorious glow from the sun appeared from behind the two-tone gray moving clouds.  This was going to be a monumental day for Frisco as the PGA of America unveiled its new $33.5 million dollar headquarters.  Along with the new headquarters, Forbes Magazine reports the 600-acre campus will include two 18-hole courses, Fields Ranch East and Fields Ranch West, plus The Swing, a 10-hole, par-3 short course.

There is no doubt the PGA was an extraordinary WIN-WIN for Frisco.  It was reported that the deal included a $90 Million abatement, which means the PGA won’t pay property taxes for at least two decades.  The economic impact is expected to be $2.5 BILLION over the next 20 years for North Texas according to a State of Texas study.  PGA President Jim Richerson said, “the new HQ will be a first-of-its-kind golf laboratory that offers the best in professional development for our nearly 28,000 PGA professionals.”  The big draw for the PGA was the opportunity to create a destination instead of the standard office development. 

Surrounding the PGA campus will be the Omni PGA Resort which Texas Monthly reports will be the second largest resort in Texas at a cost of $520 million.  A pedestrian promenade will link the PGA to its neighbor, The Link, a $1 Billion-dollar mixed-use development featuring office space, dining options, and green park space.  The 240-acre master-planned project is the brainchild of Dallas-based investor/developer Stillwater Capital. 

The entire project is nothing short of extraordinary and I wanted to know how did it end up in Sports City USA?  I found an amazing article by LocalProfile.com that talked about how in 2014 a local dad convinced The PGA to move to North Texas.  David Ovard’s two sons had a natural talent for golf but there were a limited number of courses available for teen boys to practice.  He felt like Sports City USA forgot one major sport, Golf!  It started with a napkin, some connections to important people, and a father’s determination to give his two boys and other teens a chance to achieve their golf dreams. I was stunned to learn that one man had the idea and the golf drive (a long-distance shot) to make it happen. 

I had no idea the project dated back to 2014 or that the first visit by a PGA official to tour sites was in 2015. In 2017 city officials and local movers and shakers traveled to North Carolina for a championship PGA event to talk with PGA officials. The turning point was in 2018 when Omni Hotels & Resorts,  local Dallas-based developer & investor Stillwater Capital, and Woods Capital came together and committed to the project. This commitment is what helped to solidify an amazing win for so many.

Stillwater Capital is a co-owner in PGA Frisco today and is owned by Robert Elliott. In reading several articles that name stuck out to me. Elliott also owns a full-service real estate brokerage called The Associates which was formed in July 2016. While sitting in my favorite lazy-boy recliner, I glanced at a timeline I had written on a little notepad with my old teeth-marked pencil (old habit) sitting on the side table.  In November 2017, just a few months after that official visit to North Carolina, Cheney’s Real Estate Group joined The Associates, owned by Robert Elliott. Based on that relationship, Cheney had to file affidavits to recuse himself from discussions in executive session.  Filing the affidavit was 100% the right thing to do!  There was one thing that puzzled me, did the new relationship give Cheney behind-the-scenes access to these 3 world-class developments since he shared an office with Stillwater Capital and worked with The Associates?  Did he recuse himself as Mayor from all conversations or meetings with developers and did he recuse himself from council discussions, due to his relationship with Stillwater Capital?  What is the city’s policy when it comes to conflicts of interest?  What is the State of Texas policies when it comes to politicians and potential conflicts of interest? 

There is one thing for certain, after the Win-Win of the PGA the goal to become Sports City USA was complete. Its fantastic for local residents, businesses, future teen pro golfers and for the City of Frisco and the State of Texas.

Dynasty of A Development

by | Feb 16, 2023 | Cheney Group, Community Development Corp, Developements, Developers, Economic Development Corp, Fehmi Karahan, Fields - Brookside North, Fields - Brookside South, Fields West, George Purefoy, Hunt Realty, Mayor Jeff Cheney, Omni PGA Resort, PGA Frisco, Politics, Robert Elliott, Robert Elliott - The Associates, Stillwater, Taxpayer Dollars, The Link, The Preserve & Fields, Universal Kids

It started like any other January day residents across Frisco woke up and started getting ready to take on a new day. I stepped out of the shower and could hear the morning newscaster on the television giving the traffic report followed by the weather. The deep voice said, prepare for the warmest January day since 2009 because today we should hit a high of 83 degrees. Texans generally joke about how we hit all four seasons in one day.  Winter starts at 6 am, spring starts at 10 am, summer is at 2 pm and fall starts around 5:30 pm. 

Midmorning sitting at my desk I get a notification that Visit Frisco has gone live on their Facebook page so of course I tune in to see what is going on. Standing behind a podium is Mayor Jeff Cheney announcing all the officials and guests in attendance. He then goes on to quote Dr. Seuss and says “One Fish, Two Fish, Frisco has a new wish and that is to welcome Universal Studios and Universal Kids to Frisco, Texas.” I was thinking about why would we want a theme park, where would it go, and how did this development come about. Mark Woodbury, Chairman & CEO of Universal Parks & Resorts, share a rendering of a bright and colorful theme park geared towards young children with a hotel featuring 300 rooms. Page Thompson, President of New Ventures for Universal announced they just purchased land 97 acres east of the DNT and north of Panther Creek Parkway in the Fields development. Mayor Jeff Cheney takes his position back at the podium to thank Fehmi Karahan of Fields and Karahan Properties as well as Hunt Real Estate who brought PGA here and is now bringing Universal Theme Parks. 

In my head, I was thinking how did this dynasty development come about? The response on social media was swift and it soon became clear not all Frisconians were pleased about the park’s announcement.   Weeks went by and I passively watched everything play out online and at city meetings.  The key message being communicated by our mayor was how excited everyone was to welcome universal, and how the project had been fully vetted by the city and council. The key message from residents, they didn’t want the park.  I was just intrigued by how much our Mayor was trying to sell the project to residents and news channels, and how he advocated relentlessly for the development. 

Then one night while sitting in my recliner, I remembered back in October a post that I had seen from The Cheney Group that said his agents have been working on something very special for over a year now.  They were excited to announce The Preserve at PGA is about to tee off and if someone was interested in building their own custom home reach out to them asap.  He talked about early interest being historic levels and how they were the Fields Experts. My golf buddy in real estate around that same time was pretty upset telling me that The Cheney Group had snagged the exclusive to list The Preserve homesites.  He even showed me an alluring glossy mailer that he had received in the mail from The Cheney Group. The front talked about the residential communities of PGA, living at Fields with renderings of the development. It had an attractive picture of The Cheney Group in front of the Fields boxes we see along the feeder road of the DNT. The back talked about Fields West, from the visionary behind Legacy West referring to Fehmi Karahan and new communities The Preserve and Brookside.   

Growing up I always wanted to be like Perry Mason, Matlock, or Remington Steele probably because of my curious nature. It is that curious nature that leads me to ask how can The Cheney Group be the exclusive Fields Experts and now Jeff Cheney, acting as Mayor is advocating for Universal? Fehmi spoke twice at the February 7th, Special Meeting of the P&Z Commission and City Council meeting on behalf of Universal, so it is clear he has a personal interest in seeing Universal go through as it will be a part of the overall Fields project. I am no legal eagle, but I would think that if The Cheney Group is in any way financially benefiting from representing The Preserve for Fehmi Karahan which is part of the Fields Development then Jeff Cheney should recuse himself from any development talk regarding Fields and Universal as it is part of the same overall project. 

My curiosity had me wondering, is that why when several residents showed up to a city council meeting to speak at citizens input he responded to each of them like he was selling the features and benefits of the Universal theme park. Am I the only one who feels like the mayor is trying to sell this project so hard to the public? Am I the only one with these questions or think they may be a reason to be concerned? Am I the only one who thinks something feels shady about it? It goes back to that little word transparency, and the perception or appearance of a conflict of interest.

The Ethics Conclusion &  The Bogus Ethics Policy

by | Feb 15, 2023 | City Council, Ethics Complaints, Frisco City Secretary, Home Rule & City Charter, Politics, Public Information Requests, Taxpayer Dollars

After the council ruled on the complaints at the July 2021 council meeting, a resident came forward at the August 3, 2021, council meeting to speak during citizens’ input requesting an independent ethics committee.  Mayor Cheney responded to the citizen announcing the Governance Committee would be meeting later that month to review the current ethics policy and the citizen was welcome to attend and speak at that meeting.  He then said when it was first put in place that the city attorney told them it could be used as a political weapon against council members.   Then Ms. Rouse took the podium and spoke and Mayor Cheney responded to her red faced and with beady little eyes, that the city did not need to hear her complaints because they were not filled out correctly but he insisted they be heard because he wanted them dismissed since they were not factual and ridiculous.   

It made us wonder, what do other cities do?   The City of Denton has a Board of Ethics which was created in 2018 and their duty is to solely hear ethics complaints filed against city officials.  The city website thoroughly details the policy, procedures, and forms.  The City of Plano is much like Frisco in how they hear ethics complaints.  One interesting thing to note about their Code is Sec 2-109 which states the acceptance of a campaign contribution in excess of $1,000 by any city council member(s) shall create a conflict of interest based on an appearance of impropriety.  In a nutshell that means they must recuse themselves from votes that could benefit anyone who gave more than $1,000 to their campaigns.  The City of Dallas strengthened its code of ethics policies in 2021 and all complaints go before the Dallas’ Ethics Advisory Commission whose 15 members are appointed by the council.  We were surprised to see most cities have the same process as Frisco when it is clear there are major conflicts of interest involved.

Now that you understand the process, and we broke down one of the complaints, it is time to talk about a few reasons why the ethics policy is bogus.    

Reason 1:  Relationship Conflicts 

A conflict of interest occurs when an individual’s interests such as family, friendships, financial or social factors could compromise his or her judgment, actions, or decisions.  In this case, several conflicts of interest led to the whole process being bogus.

  1. If one of the fellow council members is indirectly linked to the issue then how could they vote on it?  In this case, indirectly, Angelia Pelham was named in the complaint.  The mayor campaigned for her, held fundraisers for her just months before the vote, and the alleged allegation in question is related to a post about her.  While Angelia is not accused of anything in the ethics complaint, and we don’t believe she had any knowledge of the mayor’s actions or what he planned to post she is indirectly connected to the complaint.  One could argue that she could not be impartial and should recuse herself.
  2. To have a council member vote against another council member whom they have served next to for some time and could be friends with smells like shit.  The whole thing is questionable and creates an appearance of impropriety.
  3.  One of the ethics complaints that evening was against Councilman John Keating for his alleged poor public display of public behavior. For Cheney to vote on Keating and then Keating to vote on Cheney, how is the public supposed to think they don’t have a gentleman’s agreement to not vote against each other?  Let’s also take into consideration they are neighbors, literally right next door/across the street from each other in the same cul-de-sac.

Reason 2: Campaign Donations

Did you know that for years those who serve on the council have donated to each other’s campaigns?    Some more than others but this is a time-honored tradition based on our review of campaign finance reports.

  1. John Keating over the years has donated $3500 to Mayor Jeff Cheney’s campaign, he also donated 477 dollars to himself, he donated $7000 to Angelia Pelham’s campaign,, $1000 to Bill Woodard’s campaign, and $1500 to Laura Rummel’s campaign.  Oh yeah, let’s not also forget Jeff Cheney and John Keating are neighbors (in the same cul-de-sac).
  2. Jeff Cheney along with his wife held a fundraiser for Angelia Pelham that was valued at $1556 bucks according to the campaign finance report as well as he publicly supported her during her election. Dana Cheney also donated 250 dollars to John Keating’s campaign.
  3. Bill Woodard donated $200 to John Keating’s campaign and according to his campaign finance reports he received a $100 donation in 2016 $100 from someone with the last name Abernathy.  Is that the same person who serves as the City Attorney?  We don’t know but it left us wondering.
  4. Will Sowell donated $450 to Jeff Cheney’s campaign, and $100 to Bill Woodard’s campaign.
  5. Brian Livingston donated $265 to Jeff Cheney’s campaign as a (food expense) and $500 to Laura Rummel’s campaign.
  6. Shona Huffman donated $100 to John Keating’s campaign.

With campaign finance donations going back and forth between candidates, there is no way the council could claim to be impartial.  Money flowing between candidates should be an immediate reason for recusal.  To one on the outside looking in a donation could be equivalent to a gift.  It could also be seen as reciprocal favor where there is an understanding with another person that official action will be rewarded directly or indirectly.  Regardless of the amount, a donation should automatically be a reason for recusal.   

Reason 3: The City Attorney

You are wondering, what the city attorney has to do with it being bogus?  The city attorney works for the city and his goal is to protect the city.  That means he advises them of the merit of the complaint and provides a written report describing the nature of the complaint and an assessment of the complaint.  What could influence the city attorney in how he does his job or the decisions he makes?   You know that thing you call a yearly review – where your company grades you on your performance which ultimately can affect your pay or your employment.  The city council and the mayor write the attorney’s yearly review every year.    That could influence anyone on how they do their job and the decisions they make.   

All residents want is transparency which is important when there is a perceived conflict of interest.  Pretend for a moment, everything is above board, and there is no shady shit happening but there is an appearance of wrongdoing, that appearance is just as important as reality in the minds of the public, citizens, and voters. 

A resident should not need an attorney to file a complaint against an elected official that was voted into office by the residents. The city should have the City Charter, Code of Conduct, and how-to instructions easily available on the website. It should be easy to obtain all the necessary forms from the city secretary’s office. Calling for a review of the Ethics Policy after complaints were made, gives the appearance of being shady.  The city should also consider adopting something similar to Plano, which states a campaign contribution in excess of $1,000 to any city council member(s) shall create a conflict of interest based on an appearance of impropriety.  Meaning Jeff Cheney and others on the council would have to recuse themselves from voting on developments where they have received large campaign contributions from those associated with the project. That would be a game-changer rule in Frisco and not one that you would see many on the council voting for anytime soon.

The conflicts mentioned above are glaring red flags and the residents of Frisco should be outraged.  We recommend you file your complaints with the Texas Ethics Commission or the Texas Attorney General because it is clear your voice of concern is not welcome in Frisco and that is some shady shit!