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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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