Over the past 15–20 years, bringing “quality jobs” or corporate headquarters to Frisco has been a common campaign theme across many city council and mayoral candidates. As Frisco transitioned from a bedroom suburb into a regional employment center, candidates across political factions have run on platforms tied to economic development, corporate relocations, and high-wage job growth.
For communities like Frisco, smart corporate development isn’t just about landing big company logos—it’s about long-term financial health, balanced growth, and protecting taxpayers. Cities like Frisco have to think carefully about what kind of development they pursue and where it goes.
Mayor Cheney and other city leaders have frequently said Frisco “must pursue” major employers so the city becomes a regional job center instead of a commuter suburb. Cheney has emphasized pursuing large corporations and creating office districts where employees can live, work, and socialize.
Lifestyle Frisco wrote an article in October 2019 titled “Mayor Jeff Cheney Announces Re-Election Campaign” which centered around Mayor Cheney’s own words. Cheney continues, he was seeking residents votes on May 2, 2020, so he can continue to bring more jobs, expand the tax base, create beautiful neighborhoods, and provide top tier entertainment. He notes that Frisco won our FIRST-EVER Fortune 500 relocation with Keurig Dr Pepper. He continues, the goal is to deepen our Sports City USA brand by adding the National Soccer Hall of Fame, professional lacrosse, and an esports team. His political mailer in 2020 listed his so-called wins. It still does not compare to Plano’s wins that will bring more high paying quality jobs that have a better economic impact to the city.
For years we have listened to candidates and current Council Members talk and campaign about bringing “high-paying primary jobs” to reduce commutes for residents, diversify the city’s tax base, and to support the city’s financial stability. In the most recent special election, we were shocked to learn our newly elected council woman, Ann Anderson stated she was glad that AT&T chose to relocate to Plano. Wait what?
Frisco Chronicles began to question have our city leaders fulfilled their obligations and promises to Frisco residents? Shockingly, no! Residents need to pay attention.
Frisco vs Plano Comparison
Who is the largest employer in each city?
Frisco: Frisco Indepenent School District – 8,800 employees vs Plano: JP Morgan Chase – 11,261 employees
Frisco vs Plano Economic & Corporate Landscape
Which city has added the most corporate jobs?
Frisco: 5000 to 7000 vs City of Plano: 25,000+
Which city has had the greatest Economic Impact?
Frisco Annual Payroll Impact: Roughly $500M to $1Billion vs Plano Annual Payroll Impact: Roughly $2 to $3 Billion
Frisco Property Tax Impact: Tens of millions annually vs Plano Property Tax Impact: Hundreds of Millions over time
Frisco
Major employers are a mix of private and public sector. Frisco has attracted some high-profile corporate offices, but its largest employers tend to be public sector or regional service-focused, rather than Fortune 500 headquarters.
The focus has been on building a diversified but smaller-scale corporate base rather than creating a dense Fortune 500 corridor.
There’s evidence of success in certain sectors, but less concentration of high-paying corporate headquarters jobs compared to Plano.
Plano
Plano has built a robust corporate ecosystem, especially along Legacy West/Legacy Business Park, attracting Toyota Financial Services, JPMorgan Chase, NTT Data, Fujitsu/Ericsson, and Capital One.
The city has successfully attracted major Fortune 500 companies which created tens of thousands of corporate jobs and generated billions in annual payroll and hundreds of millions in property taxes.
Plano’s strategy has emphasized large-scale corporate relocation and campus development, which creates a strong economic multiplier effect.
Community Impact Comparison:
Frisco’s Potential Issue: With a large portion of the top employers in the public sector, Frisco’s economic growth may be more sensitive to government budgets, policy changes, and public funding cycles, rather than the stable expansion seen in private corporate headquarters. This could limit long-term job growth and tax base expansion.
Resident Impact Comparison
Plano: Residents benefit from high-paying corporate jobs, a strong tax base that funds public services, and a built-in ecosystem that encourages additional businesses and amenities.
Frisco: While still attracting quality employers and offering amenities, the job base may be narrower in sectors that generate higher wages and broader economic spillover. Public sector dominance among top employers may limit diversity in employment opportunities.
WHO WINS: FRISCO OR PLANO
Plano emerges as the city with a more aggressive, high-impact corporate strategy that directly benefits residents through employment opportunities, payroll tax revenues, and large-scale infrastructure support.
Frisco has been moderately successful in attracting employers but may face long-term challenges due to the nature of its largest employers and a less concentrated corporate corridor.
ELECTION TIME: VOTE WISELY
You constantly here residents in Frisco complain they are tired of growth without infrastructure. Why is that? Because our city leaders have done nothing to reduce our commute to local jobs or bring quality paying jobs to our community. By putting a heavy emphasis on “TOURISM” and “HOSPITALITY” they have created more traffic issues and attracted less quality paying jobs.
A recent big win the city likes to talk about is Universal Kids Resort, which is bound to add to Frisco’s traffic congestion. City leaders are hoping that over the years tourist attractions will bring in enough tax revenue to offset what the corporate relocations could have brought to our community.
A search of the internet for jobs at Universal Kids Resort displays the following available jobs: Lobby Attendant, Quick Service Associate, Dispatcher, Full Time Lead Technician, Lifeguard, Ride Operator Attendant, Wardrobe and Costume Supervisor, and many more. The requirement a HS Diploma or GED, Customer Service Experience. No pay scale offered for any of the positions. Universal offers very few highly paid management positions.
We did find one job for a Senior External Affairs & Corporate Communications Manager which states a bachelor’s degree in political science, Public Relations, Communications, Business Administration or related field is required. It also says at least 7+ years of corporate communications, legislative, government or external affairs experience is required, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Why is all this important?
Every election the same people stand before us and ask for our vote, and Frisco Residents who are none the wiser continue to just elect the same regime. The result is our leaders have failed to bring quality paying CAREERS to our community. This will affect us down the road when it comes time to paying the big bonds they have asked us to pass over the years.
John Keating’s website brags he has served on the council “FOR MORE THAN A DECADE.” Frisco Chronicles is curious if he can name one Corporate Relocation (besides the PGA) that he pushed hard to win that brought high paying quality jobs to Frisco? Keating’s website lists his priorities as Mayor and not one of them directly states the goal to bring high quality CAREERS AND CORPORATIONS that protect taxpayers. He offers the same priorities just re-written that he has failed to complete before in his decade on the dais. Keating’s time is up!
Laura Rummel is back to also ask for your vote! Her website states her priorities include Frisco’s infrastructure, smart growth by asking developers to offer smaller format housing options such as condos, townhomes, zero lot line home alternatives and fuel innovation and entrepreneurship. Her website states, “Start-ups typically provide slow and steady organic growth for the city, as well as bringing high-paying jobs, two attributes I would like to see us continue to recruit here to Frisco.
How will Laura Rummel help Frisco compete with Plano and the economic windfall they are having with corporate relocations? Rummel has had 5+ years on council now and she has no win to call her own! It takes a long time for startups to grow into a Capital One or AT&T and provide an economic impact to residents that we need here.
In closing, when will Frisco Residents say WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH AND WE WANT HIGH PAYING QUALITY JOBS THAT CREATE AN ECONOMIC IMPACT like other surrounding cities. The big wins Frisco claims are great, but they are nothing compared to our neighbor the City of Plano which has built one of the largest corporation corridors in North Texas. Plano employers include major financial institutions, corporate headquarters, tech firms, and large service centers that anchor Plano’s economy and make up a significant share of local jobs. A linear “corporate corridor” lined with major employer logos, emphasizing Plano’s role as a corporate hub
Frisco residents need to ask, “How will we repay the $1 Billion in debt we have?” Frisco leaders have dropped the ball and if you look down the road none of the “WINS” our current leaders like to claim will bring in the billions that major corporate relocations could have. At the last city council meeting you saw them approve a warehouse along the 121 roadway – is that the best use of that land or could it have gone to something else that would have brought in more high-quality paying jobs. Frisco’s future is not as bright as residents would think when it comes to financial stability. The One Billion in debt has to come from somewhere so where will it come from? Get Wise Frisco!
Disclaimer: This blog includes satire, parody, and comic relief. It contains summarized accounts created solely for humor and commentary. Any resemblance to real events is either coincidental or intentionally satirical. Reader discretion — and a sense of humor — are advised.
Largest Employers in Frisco
Employer
Sector
Employees
Frisco ISD
Education
~8,800
Dallas Cowboys
Sports & Entertainment
~2,000
City of Frisco
Government
~1,800
HCL Technologies
Corporate
~1,500
T-Mobile
Corporate
~1,300
Keurig Dr Pepper
Corporate
~1,200
AmerisourceBergen
Healthcare
700+
Baylor Scott & White Health
Healthcare
600+
Collin College
Education
500
Mario Sinacola & Sons
Construction
500
Oracle
Corporate
400
Baylor Medical Center of Frisco
Healthcare
450
Lexipol
Corporate
420
Top Employers in Plano, TX
Plano’s largest employers based on the most recent city and economic data (2025–2026 estimates):
Frisco Chronicles has received multiple complaints from residents of Meadow Hill Estates after an email landed in what appears to be every single email inbox in the community. The message, sent from a Gmail account — StopMillerAutomotive@gmail.com — urged residents to vote in the Frisco Special Election for Ann Anderson.
The writer of the email openly states “I spoke to this candidate about our issue” which is problematic since he never gave the other candidate a chance to share their view on the community’s issue. Based on one conversation with only one candidate you then send an email to your entire community telling them how to VOTE? Did the writer of this email do any research into other projects where citizens objected to something nearby their home and if Ann Anderson supported it.
For example, Universal Kids! Ann Anderson spoke on 2/7/2023 in FAVOR of Universal Studios. She ignored the numerous residents who lived in Cobb Hill and throughout Frisco, that came out and said they did not want a theme park that close to their community because of the noise, traffic and potential crime it could bring. Ask residents today if it has affected their home values in that community and how many Airbnb’s now exist there. She said at the forum the other day we need to be mindful of where we place projects near communities and used the hospital power plant as an example, yet she was in Favor of Universal Kids which is going to have roller coasters looking into people’s backyard! Her words and actions – DON’T MATCH!
That raised an obvious question residents can’t shake: How does a random Gmail account suddenly have the private email addresses of an entire neighborhood?
Not a Guessing Game — It’s a Privacy Issue
Residents aren’t speculating for sport. They’re concerned because there are only a few realistic ways someone could obtain a complete HOA email list:
Through HOA records
Through property management systems
Through board-level access to resident data
Those email addresses are not public information. They are collected for official HOA business, not political campaigning.
From the complaints we received, many residents believe the sender may be a current HOA board member or someone with inside access to HOA records.
The Meadow Hills Estates Facebook Page Raises More Questions
Adding fuel to the fire, residents pointed us to the Meadow Hill Estates Facebook page, which states it is “run by volunteers.” That page has posted about Miller Automotive on December 10, 2025 and several other times throughout the past year.
The overlap between the campaign email content and the Facebook posts has residents asking whether the same individual — or group — is behind both. And if so, how much access do they really have?
HOA Data Is Not Personal Property
Here’s the part that matters most. If a board member obtained residents’ email addresses solely because of their position, those addresses are HOA property, not personal contacts. Using them for anything outside official HOA business — especially electioneering — is widely considered improper and, in many cases, explicitly prohibited.
HOA board members have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the association — not personal political agendas. Using confidential resident data to influence a city election crosses a line that residents say should never be blurry.
Texas Attorney General Complaint Incoming
According to one Meadow Hill Estates resident, a formal complaint is being filed with the Texas Attorney General regarding the use of private HOA data for political purposes. That makes this more than neighborhood drama — it’s a legal and ethical issue.
We Reached Out to 4Sight Property Management
Frisco Chronicles contacted 4Sight Property Management, which oversees Meadow Hill Estates, asking the following: Did your company approve or authorize this email? Do you have rules or policies governing how HOA board members may use resident contact information? What safeguards exist to prevent misuse of confidential HOA data? We are currently awaiting their response and will update readers when one is received.
The Bigger Question
This isn’t about whether someone supports Ann Anderson or opposes Miller Automotive. It’s about trust. Residents trusted their HOA to safeguard their personal information — not turn it into a campaign mailing list. We hope Ann Anderson herself did not know about this email because if she did that it could be problematic also.
Until someone explains who hit “send” and how they had the power to do it, Meadow Hill Estates residents are left wondering whether their HOA is protecting them… or politicking with their privacy.
Stay tuned. Frisco Chronicles will follow this story wherever it leads.
Disclaimer: This blog includes satire, parody, and comic relief. It contains summarized accounts created solely for humor and commentary. Any resemblance to real events is either coincidental or intentionally satirical. Reader discretion — and a sense of humor — are advised.
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!
Every channel you turn to these days has some “investigative” show worth watching. A&E is probably one of the best networks for bringing “true crime” drama into our living rooms. Every Friday night my wife and I get cozy on the couch with a bowl of extra butter popcorn, and we binge watch episodes late into the evening. We decided to go back and dig into some cold case council meetings to see what we could find. Imagine our surprise when we found this…
We have been told by Fehmi Karahan it was about March/April, a timeline by the city says May and council folks have said September/October – but no one said April 6, 2021? Listen to it again while talking about the approval for The Link, part of PGA Frisco Cheney clearly says Universal. He then stumbles and quickly says University. It left us asking ourselves, did he accidentally misspeak and leak that the city knew about Universal in 2021? Only he who sits in the Mayor’s chair can answer that!
Imagine it is the early 80’s and your family is about to embark on their summer vacation. The day before you leave your dad is packing up the sports wagon, aka Wagon Queen Family Truckster, trying to figure out how each suitcase needed to be positioned on the roof, so nothing got lost along Route 66. You see your parents sitting at the kitchen table looking at the map one last time planning the ultimate route with amazing pit stops and fun things to do. Morning comes and it is time to hit the road. As you pull out of the drive all you can think about it is your destination…Walley World. Okay yes I am talking about Clark Griswold and the hit movie National Lampoon’s Vacation. It is a classic, timeless, and hilarious comedy and in my opinion one of the best movies of all time. Well soon families with small kids across the nation will pack up for that summer trip right here to Frisco, Texas. If you are wondering why then you have been living under a rock or in a cave for way too long. Universal Studios will be the Walley World of Frisco!
In January 2023 when residents learned Universal would be coming to town, they did not receive the Griswold welcome by locals. Instead, residents had a lot of questions and concerns about the project and its impact on the city. The biggest question still to this day is when did the city first hear about Universals interest in Frisco for this project? The answer is not as easy as one may think, and it varies depending on who you ask. In a council meeting Mayor Cheney said they first learned about the project at the end of August or September 2022. Then in an interview with local reporter Brett Shipp back in late January, Mayor Cheney said council had been thoroughly vetting the project the last 4 to 5 months. When announced in January several council members and P&Z board members admitted to not having the so-called traffic study, economic impact study, or crime study. In fact, several admit to having very few details on the project other than the colorful rendering seen by the world.
That is where we thought the story would end until one day I checked our email and there was a letter with a copy of two PIR’s by two different residents and I will admit I was a little verklempt and excited. The requests were for all communications regarding P117 / Universal, travel plans and expenses and more. Buried in one of the requests we found a picture of a timeline titled “Genesis of Universal Project” and after reading it we were very confused and perplexed.
Hold up! If the timeline provided by the city is correct then we have a lot of questions. It does not match the verbal statements/timelines given by the mayor and some council members and it does not match the emails received in the PIR. Who wrote the timeline? Who put the timeline in the PIR? Why are there no emails supporting this time frame? Are we to believe not one email went back and forth from May to the end of August regarding this big project that was in discussion?
According to this timeline the city officials supposedly had 3 meetings in June. The first was June 7, the second June 14, and the third June 21, 2022. However, when you get to July 13 it notes the June board meeting was canceled so the EDC board did not get a briefing until July. Let’s pretend we have a multiple-choice test question: Which June meeting was canceled? A) June 7, B) June 14, C) June 21, D) All of them or E) None of them. May, June and July? That is very different than September or October, which were the city officials statements given at city council meetings and meet and greets. I find it hard to believe my wife and I are the only ones asking why the timeline keeps changing. Why do I feel like we are being lied to and if they are lying, why? If the city council was briefed on a regular monthly basis since July 2022 then why is it when confronted after the big grand announcement most of the city officials and members of P&Z had little to no information about the project? When asked most looked like “deer in the headlights” and could not try to exit the conversation fast enough. What they did have were the same talking points that we later learned were lies and part of a bait-and-switch to what was really in the development agreement.
Confused we decided to go through the emails sent to us and we found the first email dated 8/22/2022 at 1:57 PM from Laura Cuzman (Sr. Admin Asst at the Frisco EDC) to Holly McCall and Sharon Perry (City Mgr. Admin Asst) is regarding a “High Priority Meeting.” It goes on to say Jason Ford (President of the Frisco EDC) would like to coordinate an “important meeting” with a “prospect” at the Frisco EDC office to be held 8/31/2022. It notes that city staff should include Wes Pierson, Ben Brezina and John Lettellier. Laura asks Holly to confirm if Mayor Cheney and/or Angelia Pelham from the council could attend and what 2-hour window would work so they could coordinate a meeting. Immediately Sharon Perry responds and asks, “Is this for Project US?” If it is Wes can be available all day. Laura responds that she believes so but will confirm with Jason Ford. Then an email is sent from Jason Ford to Ben Brazina (Asst. City Manager) and he states Cheney can be available, Angelia is on vacation and then he asks if Ben and Wes have suggestions of other council member(s) they should include. He specifically says, “ Mayor Pro Tem perhaps as part of protocol?” Then Jason asks Ben to make a call to Richard the next day to discuss any potential issues with the other member we discussed with related experience.
In my best Beyoncé I want to scream, ring the alarm, ring the alarm! Why would you not invite all the council members? Why exclude any of them from important conversations regarding such a big project? Is this typically how the city conducts business? What member could be a potential issue due to their related experience?
In the next series of emails that started on August 29, Emily Pollard (Marketing & Special Events – Frisco EDC) sends an email to Jason Ford and Leigh Lyons with a draft of the P117 Site Visit Presentation for August 31. Then Jason Ford sends an email to Wes Pierson, Ben Brezina and a cc to Marla Row (Visit Frisco) where he shares the first working draft of pitch decks for Wednesday’s meeting. That evening, Ben Brezina responded back they should highlight the month of May 2023 and talk about how many people are coming to Frisco with the PGA Frisco opening, Dallas Cowboys Training Camp Kick Off Party, ACM Music Awards and KitchenAid PGA Senior Championship. His point “inertia is moving…time for Project US to join us as our Partner. The next morning Marla Row sent 2 emails, the first talked about what statistics they should use for economic impact and the second email adds they should reference the meeting they had with all the venues to discuss them activating events around the ACM which further shows partnership beyond developments. Ben Brezina replies he likes that angle, it’s not just deal making, site development, construction, and grand opening but a partnership that extends far beyond the doors opening. Later that day Jason Ford sends out a revised “pitch deck” and working draft agenda for the August 31, 2023 meeting, along with a note to Jeff Cheney, Brian Livingston, Tammy Meinershagen, Wes Pierson, Ben Brezina, Marlo Roe, and John Lettellier with the subject line: Please sign NDA ASAP for meeting tomorrow. He goes on to say the meeting will be at the Frisco EDC office and the client has asked every participant to sign an NDA, which was drafted by Richard Abernathy.
Pictures of the P-117 Meeting Agenda show a list of participants and notes topics from prior meetings which may be revisited or carried over (site specific).
Discussion on workforce (i.e., how far would employees need to travel in from): A primary benefit mentioned over and over promoting this project was the jobs it will create for Frisco residents. If this was about local jobs then why are we talking about how far employees will have to travel.
Would the community be receptive to this project / land use?If not, why? Let’s just do a quick look at the City of Frisco’s social media Facebook page. On average daily posts can generate anywhere from 1 to 50 comments and maybe 3 to 4 shares. When you see posts with 100, 500, 1000 comments you can bet it is something citizens are paying attention to. Just look at the City’s Facebook page when it comes to Universal posts. On 1/11/23 the first post “The Announcement” had 1.9k comments and 4.8k shares and was one of the highest responded to posts on the city’s page in two years. It is important to note that most of the comments were against the project. Then a second post on 1/11/23 had 161 comments and 42 shares, 1/13/23 third post had 50 comments and 73 shares and the fourth post on 1/16/23 had 30 comments and 60 shares. February was not much different, on 2/10/23 the fifth post had 213 comments and 11 shares, and the final post announcing it had been approved on 3/7/23 had 349 comments and 76 shares (the majority saying it was a big mistake to approve it).
What sort of upgrades would be needed to facilitate the park (infrastructure)? I would be curious what the discussion was they had on this one.
What are the public approval hurdles we’d need to prepare for? Under what circumstances? They obviously were clueless to the opposition this project would face because they were not ready for the public hurdles that came after the announcement.
How might State/Local Economic Development help us (expedite permitting, political help, incentives, etc.)? I bet they didn’t expect the citizen opposition to incentives.
How hard is it to get a definitive answer to one simple question…When did the city first learn about Universal? Two months ago, at the council meeting, which was packed with residents, Fehmi Karahan spoke and said he was approached 10 months ago which means that would have been April 2022.
Depending on the timeline you believe, are we supposed to buy that for two months, Fehmi didn’t tell the city about the inquiry from Universal? If the city first started discussing this in May or even August 2022, and the project was thoroughly vetted as Mayor Cheney said, then why were some citizens told in January 2023 by council members and P&Z staff members that they really didn’t know too many details about the project? Why had the council or P&Z members not seen a crime study, traffic study, economic impact study from May/August 2022 to January 2023? Mayor Cheney besides using resident tax dollars (in excess of $10,000+) for a trip to vet Universal Orlando in person, what else was vetted?
At the climax of the Griswold’s Road Trip to Walley World in National Lampoons Vacation, everything had gone wrong that could go wrong and Clark’s wife and kids announce they vacation is not worth it and want to just go home. At his wits end, sitting in the sports wagon you can see the whites of Clarks wide eyes and the grinding of his teeth, and his meltdown begins. He launches into a foul-mouthed tirade: “I think you’re all f**ked in the head! […] This is no longer a vacation! It’s a quest! It’s a quest for fun! […] You’ll be whistling ‘Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah’ out of your a**holes!”
We agree with Clark this is a quest but ours is for something so simple called “THE TRUTH.” I was one of those residents in January sitting at home watching the announcement live stream on Facebook and thinking to myself what in the nuclear detonation, I mean tarnation is going on in Frisco. All I could picture was the final scene in National Lampoon’s Vacation when the Griswold’s gleefully race to the entrance of Walley World, “America’s Favorite Family Fun Park,” in slow motion only to find the park is closed for two weeks for repairs and cleaning.
After doing all this research we are left with more questions than answers and we can say the inaccuracies in the timeline are very questionable, glaringly obvious, and truthfully alarming. A smart person once said, “Trust the timeline of yourself.” And with that Walley says, until next time…
Imagine you are a high-strung marketing executive on a business trip in New York and you just want to get home for the Thanksgiving holiday. You get to the airport and your flight is delayed and you get seated next to a goodhearted but annoying shower curtain ring salesman who likes to talk. Your plane gets diverted to Wichita due to a blizzard in Chicago which is your final destination. You can’t get a room but the annoying guy next to you did and he offers to share the room with you for the night. The next day you both get on a train which breaks down near Jefferson City leaving passengers stranded in a field. You then travel with the annoying companion by bus to St. Louis where you try to get a rental car by fail. Then that annoying travel companion shows up in his rental and offer you a ride and with no other options in site you head out for a 24-hour death-defying ride. Finally in Chicago, the new friend drops you at the L-Train (subway) and you jump on to get to your house with the hopes to just enjoy some turkey. Now imagine how funny it would be when the travelers are played by Steve Martin and John Candy.
Personally, I loved the movie and I think a trip full of nonsense sounds like a lot of fun. This old fart would love to be young and travel carefree like even if it was a trip from hell. Somewhere in all the crazy you find a little big of “it was worth it moments.” In our previous blog Frisco Delays PIR Request, we mentioned that a citizen reached out to us after they could not get the PIR they requested from the city. As of today, its been 2 months are still waiting for what the city sent to AG claiming proprietary work product. It is our opinion that the City of Frisco wanted to delay the citizen receiving the information until after the election. Is the city with holding information that could change peoples decision on how they vote?
Mayor Cheney said more than once they (the city and council) took a trip to Universal during citizen town halls, council meetings and on social media. It made us a little curious about the trip, was it anything like Planes, Trains, and Automobiles? Probably not, but the Curious George in me went into overdrive. So when we were sent the details we dove right into the deep end to start going through it.
Who went? Based on the travel documents provided to us through the citizens PIR we learned that Jeff Cheney (Mayor), Angelia Pelham, Brian Livingston, John Keating (City Council), Wes Pierson (City Manager), Ben Brazina (Assistant City Manager), John Lettelier (Development Services Director), Marla Roe (Visit Frisco), Jason Ford (President of Frisco EDC), and Phillip Climer (Building Inspections Division.
When was the trip? It appears the participants had different travel dates. Jason Ford and Marla Roe traveled 10-8-22 to 10-11-22 and the rest of the city staff went flew out on the 10-9-22 to 10-11-22. Then Jeff Climer went in November for two days, but we are not sure what the point of that trip was.
How much was the airfare for City Council?Jeff Cheney, Angelia Pelham and Brian Livingston were booked for direct flights on Southwest Airlines from DFW to Orlando and the total shows $2678.88 (base fare + fee’s) and each Amex was charged $892.96. Then we noticed a credit was issued for Brain Livingston’s ticket and a new ticket was purchased in the name of John Keating. It was a direct Southwest Airlines flight which cost $809.96.
How much was the airfare for City Staff?John Lettellier’s direct flight on Southwest Airlines was confirmed on 09/19/2022 and it totaled $553.20. Wes Pierson our new city manager confirmed his ticket 09/22/2022 on American Airlines for a total of $911.04 which included the Preferred Seat Charge of $15.71, Main Cabin Extra charge of $78.13. Ben Brezina’s trip was confirmed 9/22/2022 on American Airlines and cost $730.20 and Phillip Climer airfare was $623.00.
How much was the airfare for Frisco EDC and Visit Frisco? We did not find any airfare cost for Marlo Roe so we assume she rode on the magic carpet with Aladdin. According to Jason Fords expenditure sheet his airfare was $1284.73.
How much was the hotel cost? Each room at the Sapphire Falls Resort was $167.63 (tax included) per night. All together it was about $4000 for the travelers. Now here is where it gets interesting.
Resort Details: If you remember there was a ticket for Brian Livingston that then was credited back to the Amex. A new ticket was purchased for Councilman Cheating John Keating. However there is a room expense for Brian Livingston and NO room charge for John Keating. My wife did her thing online and confirmed that Brain Livingston was in DFW during the time of the trip, so how did he have a room in Orlando Florida for $335.26. If Livingston didn’t go, and Keating went in his place then the city should have updated the reservation with the hotel, but they didn’t. Awe golly, maybe he stayed in some girl’s room as he is known to get around and he didn’t need a room. We feel confident that he stayed in Livingston’s room, which still leads us to ask – why did the city not change it? Is it illegal to expense it under Livingstons name? Did Livingston know he had an expense in his name?
What about other expenses? There are no expense reports for Cheney, Pelham or Keating so we have no idea what they spent on food or “extras.” Ben Brezina and John Lettellier expense reports had no food charges, and based on both men being pretty fit we just assume they don’t eat. Both men had about $56.00 each in parking or taxi expenses. Phillip Climer had $172.50 in food for two days.
Who wins the award for the “HEY, BIG SPENDER” gold trophy? Well, that would be Mr. Jason Ford, President of the Frisco EDC. We believe his travel expense report may be inaccurate because it does not add up to what we received. It reads his flight was $1284.73, then $116.77 in transportation charges, $439.16 for meals, $3047.89 for lodging and $15 for airplane Wi-Fi. Let the suspense music begin because when you look at his Sapphire Falls Resort Hotel Bill his room for 3 nights was $512.04. That means he either paid the bill for everyone’s room or something on this report is NOT RIGHT.
We did find some of his receipts. The evening he arrived he had a meal that included a Flatbreed Pizza, two side salads and lava cake which came to $38.34 + $7.20 tip for a total of $46.24. Then on 10-9 Jason Ford expensed a dinner that he notes with John Keating on the receipt, and it included sliders and Mich Ultra- since when does the city pay for alcohol? The total came to $24.50 + $5.50 tip for a grand total of $30.00. It appears the morning of 10-10 Jason took Keating, Pierson and himself to breakfast and the total was $89.46 plus a $15.54 tip! It appears that evening he took everyone to dinner at a Universal Sports Grill and the total was $194.64. Before I tell you THE BIG TIP, just remember at this week’s city council meeting the city tried to hide on the consent agenda a $5 million parking garage for some collector’s cars that were donated to the city and candy store (side note Livingston removed the item from the consent agenda to post pone it). Either way that must mean the city has a “big purse” and we have the money to spend! As Angelia said the night of the council meeting in March where they made the big Universal Decision “money is not a bad word, it is how people use money that is troublesome.”
DRUM ROLL PLEASE: Jason Ford left a $5.35 tip! We thought maybe they included gratuity since it was a large party but we could not find it so unless it got cut off the page, it was $5.35. (You can’t make this shit up).
It was clear after reviewing everything that a lot of details for the traveling city representatives was missing from this PIR request. There was not a travel expense report for each person. Hotel room bills for people who didn’t go, and no hotel room bills for ones who went. We are guessing the trip cost tax dollars at the minimum $10,000+ dollars. As a taxpayer I think maybe instead of sending 9 people we could have done it with half the number of people. Now they will argue, it will bring us millions in tax revenue over 30 years, but I am old and most likely will be 6 feet under in a few years and my kids will be arguing over their inheritance so who am I to care about 30 years from now. I like many other taxpayers hope you had a good time on our dime. If I were not in a wheelchair I would come to the next council meeting and break out in song during citizens input and sing
The minute you walked in the joint I could see you were people of distinction Real big spenders Good lookin’ so refined Say, wouldn’t you like to know what’s goin’ on in my mind? So let me get right to the point I don’t pop my cork for everyone I see Hey big spender, Spend a little money on me
Wouldn’t you like to have fun, fun, fun How’s about a few laughs,
Hey big spender Hey big spender Hey big spender Spend, a little money on me …or just help me with my property tax bill that is due since we have money to build a garage and take $10,000 dollar trips.
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