Day 12: Tangled Web of Lies

by | Jan 1, 2024 | Adams, Lynch & Loftin, City Council, Frisco Fire - Mayday Report, Frisco Fire - Valve Report, Frisco Fire Chief Lee Glover, Frisco Fire Department, HR Department, Lauren Safranek, Mark Piland, Matt Sapp - President of FFFA, Mayor Jeff Cheney, Politics, Wes Pierson

Extra, Extra, Read All About It!  Let the fireworks begin. If you have read our blogs some of this might seem familiar but stay with us because this explains it all.  If you have never read one of our blogs then this is the one you DO NOT WANT TO MISS!

When we started down the path to uncover corruption within the city we never thought we would come across some of the things we have.  The 12 Days of Malfeasance is a real page-turner and if you asked my wife she would say it is better than one of those cheap soft-back romance novels on the shelf at Walmart.  It involves forgery, lies, questionable relationships, questionable tactics, and revenge.  In the end, you will learn someone had $178,000+ reasons to lie and stab people in the back to protect their job!  To top it off, we have the evidence to prove it!

It started back in 2014 when Fire Chief, Mark Piland updated several of the Job Descriptions for the Fire Department.  When working in a city you are extended certain benefits based on the job descriptions (also called JD’s).  In Frisco, Fire Fighters and Police Officers have additional benefit pay for certifications and 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. The Education Pay for Associate, Bachelor, and Master’s Degrees is at $50, $100, and $150 per month.  However, if the job description says, “Required” then that means there is no additional benefit pay. 

Fast forward to 2017, HR identified that there was no job parody in the job descriptions between the Fire Department and Police Department as it relates to Education Requirements.  HR suggested to then Fire Chief, Mark Piland to change all the job descriptions to bring parody to the Fire Department job descriptions.  The education requirements for all FD positions, Assistant Chief and below were changed to Preferred to match that of the Police Department as requested by HR.  

Piland was concerned about this change as he was in the process of hiring and it could look as if some or all the candidates received special treatment which was acknowledged by Shannon Allywn in an HR email.  Regardless of the concern the change was made to all of the positions to keep uniformity between departments.

July 19, 2017: An email from Shannon Allyn to Tracy Stiles (HR) talks about how when Chief Piland originally did the updates with HR to the job descriptions he had the Public Safety Certification and Education Pay descriptions listed as “required.”  In 2017, HR approached Piland and asked him to change the job descriptions to “Preferred” to match the other departments.  We were told by an insider at the time Piland protested and did not want to change it because it could cause issues.  Shannon Allyn confirmed his frame of mind when she displayed the same concerns that Piland had in the email to Tracy.  A reply from Tracy Stiles is sent the same day back to Shannon Allyn that reads, “They will all be changed to Preferred.” 

Little did we know Job Descriptions would be the KEY to this story.  Jeromy Porter served as Battalion Chief from June 2014 to September 2020 and during that time he received the additional Certification and Education Pay.  Then in October 2020, he received a promotion to Deputy Chief and was told Education Pay was removed as an incentive.  However, the position description listed a bachelor’s degree as a “Preferred” education, not “Required.”  While a promotion is nice, the cut in what he thought the position paid was not.   Ask yourself, would you take a promotion if it meant you were going to make less than your current salary? 

January 25, 2021:   Memo from Deputy Chief, Jeromy Porter to Fire Chief, Mark Piland regarding Education Pay and a request for a formal review of the Public Safety Certification and Education Pay Plan.  The review got put on hold because things got hectic with an impending storm.  

February 17, 2021: Circa Frisco Apartment Fire Reported, Wednesday @ 1:12 AM broke out in Apartment 158. 

The Circa Fire was the largest fire 5-alarm that the Frisco FD has had to fight in recent memory and under the worst winter storm conditions in the last century. The Circa Fire happened over 48 hours in a winter storm nicknamed “Snowmageddon.”  It knocked out power and caused a massive number of water breaks and fire alarm activations which led to an extraordinarily high call volume that taxed the resources and stamina of the Frisco FD.

Approximately two hours into the fire, a Mayday event occurred on the second floor of the Circa Building when Captain Christopher Beck, who was the Division Two Supervisor at the time of the Mayday event, fell through a hallway floor outside apartment 258. Captain Beck was trapped in the subfloor and had to be rescued by other firefighters.  The Frisco FD Procedure Manual defines a Mayday in Procedure 303 Mayday Operations as “a message used to signal a life threat to any firefighter.” Beck went to the hospital and after being released he was back on duty.

The Circa Fire was much larger than it would have been under any other circumstance because the required automatic sprinkler system was taken out of service by the building landlord before the fire without the Frisco FD being notified or the building being put on Fire Watch. Fire department witnesses interviewed almost universally indicated that had the sprinklers been in service, it is believed this would have been a simple room and contents fire.  Due to the high level of fire department emergency activity in the Metroplex, the mutual aid response was limited.  Essentially, the Circa Fire was a five-alarm fire that was fought, for more than 24 hours, with the resources of a two-/three-alarm fire that were inadequate for the complexity/scale of this incident.  The lack of resources led to an inability to designate a formal Rapid Intervention Team (“RIT”) by the incident commander. 

RIT is defined in the Frisco Fire Department Procedure 303 Mayday Operations as “a dedicated crew of at least three firefighters with four firefighters preferred, one of which is an officer, fully equipped and trained who are assigned to provide assistance or rapidly deploy to rescue lost or trapped members.”

February 18, 2021: Circa Frisco Apartment Fire “Put Out”, Thursday @ 10 AM

February 2021 (End Of Month):  Following the Circa Fire,Fire Chief, MarkPiland called for a Mayday Report to be put together to help the FD learn and better understand the event.   Assistant Chief Kraemer assigned the job of preparing that report to the Battalion Chief in charge of Health and Safety, BC Hutt.  This was the first Mayday Report done during Chief Piland’s tenure and the first such report any of the witnesses interviewed could recall ever being done in Frisco.

Important Note: While it is arguably a best practice, there is currently no specific requirement, standard, or template in any fire service to prepare a Mayday Report given the relative infrequency, and significance, of Mayday events.

March 16, 2021: Scott Vetterick, Deputy Chief sent an email to Lori Rutland (HR), Lee Glover (Assistant Fire Chief), and Mark Piland (Fire Chief) with a revised Fire Marshal job description.  Lori responded to Vetterick and asked him to review the highlighted areas in yellow.  She told him once he sent the changes or comments back to her she would send them to the Chief for approval (signatures).

March 17, 2021:  Vetterick sent back the revised redlined edits and asked for approval for the changes. Once approved, he sent it back to HR.    Evidence Note: In one of our PIR requests, we learned that the updated Fire Marshal job description had the required updated signatures from Mark Piland and was dated 3/17/2021.  Why is this important?  It shows that HR knew that if they changed anything, they would need to get updated signatures. 

March 17, 2021: At 10:43 am and 11 am, THE JOB DESCRIPTION FOR DEPUTY FIRE CHIEF WAS MODIFIED by Lori Rutland who directly reports to Lauren Safranek. 

March 18, 2021:  At 11:22 am the FRISCO FD JOB DESCRIPTION FOR DEPUTY CHIEF WAS MODIFIED again by Lori Rutland for Education, Experience, and Certifications.  The modification included removing the word “Preferred” from the title, but the bullet points still cite that a combination of education and experience can be used to satisfy the position.   

Why is this a big deal?  The document was changed without approval from FIRE CHIEF, MARK PILAND, and HR DID NOT GET AN UPDATED SIGNATURE which is  REQUIRED.  After HR modified the document in 2021, they published the document with the unapproved change and more importantly with the 2017 signatures from Fire Chief, Mark Piland.  Piland and others in the FD did not even know the change had been made until July 2022 when Porter submitted a second request for Education Pay.

Now many may say, who cares that HR changed it and didn’t tell anybody, but it is a VERY BIG DEAL.  It affects the educational pay for several employees in those positions which creates a drastic pay cut in one’s salary. 

April 9, 2021: BC Ryan Hutt delivered the original draft of the Mayday Report related to the Circa fire via email correspondence to Chief Piland, Assistant Chief Kraemer, and Assistant Chief Lee Glover.  BC Hutt noted in his email “If you see any changes that need to be made or any recommendations you may have to improve the document, please let me know.”

According to the final report on 8/5/22, the original draft of the Mayday Report was incomplete, and it failed to give a full description of the Mayday event.  Had such a complete description of the Mayday event been provided either in the first draft or even in any subsequent draft, the approach to the Mayday Report and the editing process moving forward for the Mayday Report would likely have been done differently.

The report also said that based on interviews performed during the investigation, BC Hutt did not obtain critical information about the Mayday event and the events leading up to the Mayday event because he did not speak with certain witnesses and because he performed incomplete interviews of other witnesses.

April 19, 2021: Valve Report Requested by Purefoy & Hill related to the damage of the  valves on fire trucks due to “Snowmageddon.” 

May 17, 2021: Assistant Fire Chief Lee Glover sends an email to Mack Borchardt his former boss and says “Enjoy The Read” regarding the initial Fire Apparatus Valve Damage. The email shows Lee Glover had no respect for Mark Piland and that Glover was still reporting to his old boss Borchardt.

May 26, 2021: BC Hutt met with Chief Piland, Assistant Chief Kraemer, and Deputy Chief Carpenter to discuss his second draft of the Mayday Report.

May 27, 2021: BC Hutt submitted a third draft of the Mayday Report via email to Chief Piland, Assistant Chief Kraemer, and Deputy Chief Carpenter.

June 25, 2021:  BC Hutt submitted his 4th draft of the Mayday Report via email to BC Britton DC Owen, Assistant Chief Kraemer, and DC Carpenter.

August 2021: BC Hutt left the Health and Safety Position and was replaced by Battalion Chief Charles Marts (BC Marts)

In the final report from Adams, Lynch & Loftin P.C. on  8/5/22 it was documented BC Hutt was moved to a new shift assignment because he was not successful under DC Carpenter and it was believed he would have a better chance of being successful under DC Porter.  Ironically, one of the few areas where all of the Executive Staff interviewed were in agreement was on the fact that BC Hutt was moved to a new shift for his benefit and that move was designed to help him be more successful. There is a lack of trust in BC Hutt by his contemporaries as evidenced by the interviews with the Executive Staff and Command Staff during this investigation. This lack of trust has almost certainly been evident to BC Hutt. However, the fact that his contemporaries don’t trust him is not evidence of retaliation and reprisal.

October 5, 2021: Official Mayday Report released via email along with a copy of the Winter Storm 2021 AAR

It’s a new year and a lot is happening in the City of Frisco!

January 2022: The City of Frisco approved hiring Affion Public to conduct a national search for a new city manager.  Ron Patterson and Fire Chief, Mark Piland applied for the position.

February 9, 2022:  Matt Sapp, President of the Frisco Firefighters Association delivered a letter to George Purefoy, Frisco City Manager detailing concerns of how the department handled the reporting of the MAYDAY EVENT at the Circa Fire (Feb 2021). Sapp has repeatedly said publicly that the Association felt the Mayday Report should have been handled by a third party.  The Sapp Letter contained several allegations regarding actions by Mark Piland, Frisco Fire Chief, and his “direct subordinates.”  The allegations related to improper interference with the preparation of a Mayday Report that was analyzing their tactics and decisions at the Circa fire.  Sapp asserted, “Fire Department Director and Executive Staff made a concentrated and concerted effort to place their professional careers over the current and future safety of the firefighters. This was done by suppressing objections, changing information, and attempting to withhold information for review vital to improve training.”

According to the final report released by Adams, Lynch &  Loftin, P.C. on 8/5/22, there is insufficient/no evidence to support the allegation that Chief Piland or Assistant Chief Kraemer hid or altered critical information of the Mayday Report by moving the factors to another section. The information remained in the report even if it was in a separate section.  Some of the information removed from the report (e.g. weather) was included in the AAR and other information removed (e.g. flow path) was subject to actual factual disputes and analysis that suggest subject matter experts could legitimately disagree about it as a factor.

March 30, 2022:  Email from Matt Sapp, President of FFFA to Assistant City Manager, Henry Hill regarding their upcoming scheduled meeting for the following week.   He detailed some concerns he had about how he was being treated and feeling threatened after filing the grievance back on 2/9/22.

According to the final report released by Adams, Lynch & Loftin, P.C. on 8/5/22, there is insufficient/no evidence to support a finding that Sapp or BC Hutt have been retaliated against because of the complaints filed related to the Mayday Report.

April 4, 2022:  Henry Hill forwards Matt Sapp’s email directly to Lauren Safranek (HR Director) with no commentary.   Why is this important?  There was a secret plan in place to build a case to get rid of Fire Chief, Mark Piland by Lauren Safranek and her HR department who were on borrowed time before the “changing of the documents and falsifying records would come to light.”

April 4, 2022: Lauren Safranek, Director of Human Resources sends an email to Asst Chief Kraemer and cc/d Chief Piland and Asst City Manager, Henry Hill letting them know of the impending investigation by Adams, Lynch & Loftin, P.C. and that they would be under a “Confidentiality Warning.”  They were to refrain from discussing the complaint and subsequent communications outside of the investigation process.

April 22, 2022: City of Frisco, Lauren Safranek, and City Attorney Richard Abernathy opened what is now being called the investigation into the Mayday Report.  It would be conducted by an outside firm named  Adams, Lynch & Loftin, P.C. out of Grapevine, Texas and they reported to Lauren Safranek.  

We looked at the law firm’s website and we were curious, what experience do they have that would have qualified them to lead the investigation?  According to the site, they list multiple areas of practice, but nothing related to firefighting.  In fact, under municipal experience, it says they help with contracts, procurement, construction law, and ordinance drafting but nothing related to a fire department.   So why this firm? Did I mention they do Real Estate Law.

May 23, 2022:  City of Frisco announced the new City Manager, Wes Pierson who topped a candidate pool that included 55 applicants from 17 states, before being narrowed down to four finalists. His first day on the job will be Aug. 2, 2022

May 23, 2022:  Adams, Lynch & Loftin bill the City of Frisco $15,117.00

May 23, 2022: Matt Sapp Interview with Adams, Lynch and Loftin, P.C. for Mayday Investigation where he reasserted his allegations stated in the complaint and letter sent to Henry Hill.

Sapp went on to say During his interview, Battalion Chief Ryan Hutt (“BC Hutt”), the author of the Mayday Report, stated that he felt he was being retaliated against for his involvement with the Mayday Report and for not making certain changes to the Mayday Report. Specifically, BC Hutt asserted that (1) he was removed from a health and wellness committee that was setting up a city clinic, (2) he was moved to a different shift, and (3) he was reprimanded for insubordination. BC Hutt and Chief Piland indicate that they met in March of 2022 about BC Hutt’s retaliation concerns.

According to the final report released on 8/5/22 by Adams, Lynch & Loftin, there is insufficient/no evidence to support a finding that Sapp or BC Hutt have been retaliated against because of the complaints filed related to the Mayday Report.

May 31, 2022: Fire Chief, Mark Piland was interviewed for the first time by Adams, Lynch, and Loftin.  At the beginning of the interview, Piland was asked to sign an Administrative Warning Letter.

June 3, 2022: Chief Piland contacted Mayor Jeff Cheney and asked for a meeting, and they subsequently met the same day at a local Coffee Shop. The report says Piland raised concerns he had with the investigation.  Piland stated there was a lack of trust between the FFD and the City Manager, George Purefoy, and Assistant City Manager, Henry Hill.  Piland stated Safranek misrepresented the investigation and she had not been honest about the investigation’s intent throughout the process.  Chief Piland informed the Mayor that both he and Assistant Chief Kraemer were considering filing a complaint against the City Manager for how he handled the complaints.

June 10, 2022: Fire Chief Piland was interviewed for the second time for the investigation.  He was told the previous warning letter was still in effect.

The investigation revealed that Chief Piland was unaware of the true severity of the near-miss that caused the Mayday until he was interviewed in June 2022. At that interview, Chief Piland indicated that had he known how serious the Mayday event was he “probably” would have had the Mayday Report prepared by someone independent of Frisco FD.

June 22, 2022:  Adams, Lynch & Loftin bill the City of Frisco $34,776.42

June 26, 2022:  APPLETON TRIP: Assistant Chief Lee Glover, Battalion Chief Jeff Morrison, Captain Alan Wyatt, and Driver/Operator Philip Bur traveled to Appleton, Wisconsin for an apparatus inspection.  Glover gets drunk and starts to talk about how when Piland leaves he will be the new Fire Chief.  HOW DID GLOVER KNOW PILAND WAS LEAVING OR WOULD BE LEAVING? 

July 8, 2022:  Mark Piland sent a memo to Assistant Chief Lee Glover with a copy of the letter of complaint regarding possible actions and possible statements that may have been made by Glover during an apparatus inspection trip to Appleton, Wisconsin during the week of June 26, 2022

July 10, 2022: Fire Chief Mark Piland sent an email to Henry Hill that he had received an informal complaint from one of the Deputy Chiefs on some statements Glover may have made in front of a couple of members while in Appleton, WI.  He let Hill know he was currently treating it as an informal complaint and is conducting some fact-finding from those present during the statements.  He will send Hill an update.

July 12, 2022: Lauren Safranek, HR Director sends an email to the City Attorney Richard Abernathy and Mari McGowan.  She says attached is notice of complaint that Lee Glover received.  This is related to the item HENRY AND I DISCUSSED WITH RICHARD LAST FRIDAY.  We would like to discuss it further tomorrow (Tuesday) morning if possible if one of you are available.  Let me know if there is a time that works for you.

Mari McGowan from the law firm responds how about 9 A.M.   Lauren Safranek responds that works for her but she is not sure about Henry.  She says let’s go ahead and schedule for 9 and we will call you.  Henry Hill then responds he can do 9 A.M.  Mari McGowan responds to call Richard’s office.

QUESTION:  What do you think Lauren Safranek, Henry Hill and the City Attorney’s office talked about a week prior?  First we thought maybe it was the Glover Complaint, but that had not come up yet.  Plus, it made no sense they would meet to discuss an Informal Complaint that has not even gone through the FD process.  They were obviously talking about Mark Piland, and we are guessing it is about his meeting with Mayor Jeff Cheney on June 3, 2022, to discuss the initial law firm’s investigation.

July 13, 2022:  Henry Hill sent an email to Mark Piland and CC’d Lauren Safranek (HR) to let Mark know that Lee had reached out and asked to talk to him and Lauren about the documents left on his desk Monday morning regarding the complaint.  He asks Mark if he will be addressing this when he is back in town and if there is anything else he should know.

Later that day Piland replies he has one more person to talk to and is still considering this informal but as a point of clarification these statements if said as stated in the complaint are serious.  Making possible statements about replacing the Fire Chief and asking for members to pick sides is detrimental and distributing to the good of the order of the department. While “currently” considering the process as informal I don’t want to downplay the seriousness and cause of what is being looked at. Again, just fact-gathering at this point.

July 22, 2022:  Adams, Lynch, and Loftin bill the City of Frisco $9761.87

July 28, 2022:  2nd REQUEST Memo from Deputy Chief Porter to Fire Chief, Mark Piland regarding Education Pay.  Jeromy recently opened the position description again to review the Essential Job Functions and he noticed a modification where the word “Preferred” had now been removed.  When he turned his second request, Mark Piland was alerted to change that was WITHOUT HIS APPROVAL.  This is the first time Piland learns HR had modified, falsified or forged the job description.

The screen shot shows  thatAugust 1, 2017: Job Description was modified by Shannon Allyn at 2:44 PM, and Fire Chief Mark Piland signed this version of the job description on 7/31/2017.  Then on March 17, 2021, at 10:43 am and 11 am, the job description was modified again by Lori Rutland.  Then on March 18, 2021, Lori Rutland modified the job description again at 11:22 am. 

THE GIG IS UP! HR (Lauren Safranek and Lori Rutland) HAVE BEEN EXPOSED! WOULD HER JOB BE ON THE LINE?  COULD SHE LOOSE HER  $178,291 INCOME?  

August 5, 2022: Confidential Adams, Lynch & Loftin, P.C released a 480-page “Confidential” Investigation Report.  The first 33 pages detail the investigation and offers a few key points:  

A Dallas Morning News Article said Mark Piland committed malfeasance because he changed the report. However, the actual report says:  There is also some evidence that the changes to the Mayday Report were suggested by individuals who had either a perceived or an actual conflict of interest when they suggested edits to the Mayday Report.  It also said, there is insufficient/no evidence to support the allegation that Chief Piland or Assistant Chief Kraemer hid or altered critical information of the Mayday Report by moving the factors to another section. The information remained in the report even if it was in a separate section.  

When it came to the alleged violations of the Frisco FD SOP 101.01 Standard of Conduct the report said, there is insufficient/no evidence to support that there is an issue with them conducting their official duties in a manner that serves the public interest.  It goes on to state there is insufficient/no evidence that they violated the city’s five core values or the Frisco FD core values.  It says there is insufficient/no evidence that Mark Piland made a false statement in any official communications or conversation with another employee, volunteer, or citizen.  It says there is insufficient/no evidence that Mark Piland or Kraemer violated Frisco’s Employee Code of Conduct, or that he was dishonest. When it comes to Freedom of Reprisal there is insufficient/no evidence to support the merit of this complaint as the evidence reviewed and witnesses interviewed demonstrated that no reprisal has occurred against Sapp and any actions complained of by BC Hutt were appropriate actions not taken as reprisal for his drafting of the Mayday Report or any complaints about protected activity.  There is insufficient/no evidence to support the merits of this complaint. The investigation found no actions by Chief Piland or Assistant Chief Kraemer that rose to the level of a criminal offense.

Lastly, it notes that BC Hutt shares some of the fault for why this process failed. BC Hutt viewed the Mayday Report editorial process through lenses of conflict and distrust. According to multiple witnesses, BC Hutt’s viewpoint as it relates to his interactions with command staff is not unique to the Mayday Report. Longstanding personality conflicts and lack of trust between BC Hutt and DC Carpenter, and particularly between BC Hutt and Assistant Chief Kraemer played a role in defining BC Hutt’s perception of how the review of the Mayday Report was conducted and the level of editorial input BC Hutt expected to his drafts.  The trust issues between BC Hutt and members of the Executive Staff and Command Staff undermined any chance of a truly collaborative effort in connection with the Mayday Report. Even though the investigation revealed that there was no interference in the investigation by the FFFA or the PIA Requests of the FFFA and that there was no retaliation or reprisal against Sapp or BC Hutt, the lack of trust within the Frisco FD explains why Sapp and Hutt viewed certain acts as either designed to interfere with an investigation or as acts of retaliation and reprisal.

August 6, 2022: Fire Chief Piland sends an email to Lauren Safranek with Jeromy Porter’s 2nd Request for Educational Pay.  Piland notes in the email he was unaware of the change in 2021.  Lauren Safranek has to act fast save her ass!

August 9, 2022:  Lori Rutland (HR Compensation Analyst) sends an email to Lauren Safranek asking if she received clarification from Henry regarding the Fire Departments Job Descriptions for Deputy Fire Chief and Assistant Chief?  Lori notes, last time they appear to be updated was in 2017.   Then she says the JD’s on the website match the JD’s we have saved. 

Why is this email a red flag?  Lori’s knows they accessed the system in 2021 and changed the JD’s and now she is acting like that never happened.  She even notes the 2017 SIGNATURE even though she is fully away they never obtained updated signatures in 2021 when she changed it.  She is trying to pass off the JD as the original when she knows they were changed which is further proof of the HR team cover up.

August 9, 2022:  Memo from Fire Chief Mark Piland to Assistant Chief Lee Glover regarding the informal complaint (Appleton, WI) was not sustained and is now closed.

August 22, 2022: Adams, Lynch & Loftin bill the City of Frisco $21095.50

August 30, 2022:  Mayor Cheney was interviewed by Adams, Lynch & Loftin, P.C., for a subsequent investigation into his meeting with Mark Piland that occurred June 3, 2022

September 1, 2022: Adams, Lynch and Loftin released a 2nd additional investigation report into the “Break of confidentiality concerning the underlying investigation.” 

The summary notes the law firm was asked to investigate Fire Chief, Mark Piland.  The report claimed Piland violated his confidentiality agreement however Piland has insisted that he did not.  Piland knew he was still under a “Confidentiality Warning” from 4/4/22 and 5/31/22 that he could not speak about the investigation to anyone.  In the report from Adams, Lynch & Loftin P.C., it states Piland then raised concerns he had with investigation because there was a severe lack of trust between FFD and the City Manager, George Purefoy, Assistant City Manager, Henry Hill and Lauren Safranek.  He also said he believes Safranek misrepresented the investigation and that she was not being honest about the process or purpose.  He also told the Mayor he and Assistant Chief Kraemer were thinking about filing a complaint against the City Manager for how they handled the complaints.  Mayor Cheney said in his interview Piland asked him to keep their conversation confidential.  In the findings of the report it states, Chief Piland raised issues with the motivation for the Investigation, the subject of the investigation and whether the investigation should be occurring. 

While the result of the investigation is that Piland supposedly violated his confidentiality agreement we see it a little differently.  Mark Piland figured out that Safranek was using this investigation to COVER HER OWN ASS FOR FORGING DOCUMENTS BACK IN 2021.  We are pretty sure he figured out she was using the investigation to cover her own MALFEASANCE.

If you are an employee with a company and subject to an investigation, what do you do or where do you go, if you have concerns about the HR Director leading the investigation being compromised?  What do you do or where do you go, if you believe the HR Director is lying about the reason for the investigation and she has intentions to use it for malicious purposes?  In most cases, you would go to your boss.  What do you do or where do you go if you believe your boss (Assistant City Manager – Henry Hill) and his boss (City Manager – Wes Pierson) are also compromised and are aware of the intentions of the investigation being used to railroad people?   That is what happened here, and the city had no guidelines on where an employee should go if the employee believed his higher-ups were involved in something nefarious.  Piland decided to express his concerns regarding the motivation of the investigation with the person at the top of the organizational chart.  That is the Mayor!   Little did he realize that it would be used against him.

September 14, 2022: Mark Piland is told that due to the investigation he has two choices, he can be fired, or he can retire.  Piland chooses to turn in his Retirement Letter

September 14, 2022: Wes Pierson replies to the Mark Piland Retirement Letter

September 22, 2022: Adams, Lynch and Loftin bill the City of Frisco $2446.00

            Total Cost of Investigation (that we know of) $83,196.79.  Lauren spent a lot of TAX PAYER DOLLARS to cover her MALFEASANCE!

December 9, 2022:  Email from Lauren Safranek HR to Fire Chief Lee Glover where she tells him she met with Porter on Sept 20, 2022, and explained the JD and changes.  She stated he was okay with it, which according to our sources he was not and that shows in his exit interview notes which proves again Sassy Safranek is lying.  She also said Piland wanted it change which we know is not true because in an email to Lauren he states he was not aware and did not sign off on any changes in 2021 when he forwards Jeromy’s second request.  Our insider at the city said according to a calendar search Piland had a meeting within a week of Jeromy Porters second request with Henry Hill.  That is where he alerted him that he never authorized, or agreed to change the JD’s and he never signed it.

February 17, 2023: Former Fire Chief, Mark Piland files to run for Mayor against incumbent Jeff Cheney.

March 8, 2023:  Lauren Safranek, Director of HR sends an email to Wes Pierson, City Manager with a link to the Nepotism Policy.  Remember Lee Glover on the trip announced he was going to be the New Fire Chief several months before Piland was forced to leave the city.  Now Lauren has to have the policy changed to accommodate their plan that we believe Glover was a party too.

At 4:21 PM Wes Pierson replies to Lauren Safranek and asks for clarification.  Lee would be ineligible to apply for the open Fire Chief position because his relative is now employed by the City.  Am I correct?

At 9:21 PM Lauren Safranek writes back to Wes Pierson while Lee can apply for the Fire Chief position, the policy indicates he cannot be promoted because it would create a violation of the policy since the policy states that No Identified Employees of a Department Director may be employed by the City of Frisco.  She suggested they change the policy which they did at the April 4, 2023, council meeting.  You can read all about it in Day 10: Dog & Pony Show

April 4, 2023 (the same night): Frisco City Council after coming out of an executive session, the council voted on one item from its executive agenda. “In connection with item No. 2A, ii on tonight’s agenda, I move to authorize the city manager to release the second investigative report, dated Sept. 1, 2022, concerning Mark Piland,” Councilmember Bill Woodard said. In a 5-0 vote to pass the motion, Mayor Cheney conveniently recused himself. It is important to note that Bill Woodard, Angelia Pelham, John Keating, and Tammy Meinershagen had already endorsed and been helping with Mayor Cheney’s re-election campaign.   It was clear the release of this document was designed to be a political hit job.

May 1, 2023:  Assistant Fire Chief, Cameron Kraemer was wrongfully terminated ending a 27-year career over his diagnosis of PTSD.    However, we believe Kraemer was a target of Lauren Safranek because he was Piland #2 and he knew of all of her MALFEASANE and what she done to Piland.  For her he was loose end that needed to be taken care of.

May 29, 2023:  HR HOTLINE gets complaint against HR Director, Lauren Safranek, HR Lori Rutland, Assistant City Manager Henry Hill about forging documents, falsifying records.  It was CASE 64

May 30 , 2023: Email from Lauren Safranek to Henry Hill regarding Ethics Case 64

End Result?  Nothing of course

June 1, 2023:  Frisco Fire Chief Meet The Candidates was held at the library. Candidates Rob Bergersen, Richard Davis, Lee Glover, Kenneth Johnson, and Marc Pate

June 19, 2023: The City of Frisco is naming the interim Chief, Lee Glover to the position permanently.   Again, why did the city waste TAX PAYER DOLLARS on a search when they knew they were giving the job Glover.

September 21, 2023: Assistant Fire Chief Cameron Kraemer wins his workers compensation case

September 27, 2023: Jeromy Porter’s Exit Interview with Wes Pierson where he states job description changes and Glover’s abusive and drunk behaviors.

October 9, 2023:  Wes Pierson sends an email to Lauren Safranek after his exit interview with Jeromy Porter.  He asks her to write up a memo that outlines her understanding of facts and context related to the matter of the job descriptions.  He would like that back by 10/31 for the file.  Lauren Safranek writes back with her side of the story which is all lies to cover herself.

Lauren Safranek has worked in the city for 22+ years and she $178,291 reasons to protect herself.  Had she lost her job, do you think someone else would have hired her if they found she committed MALFEASANCE?  Households are struggling today and that is a big income to lose so you can imagine how far one would go to protect it.  Instead, she continues to get other people fired to cover up what is happening in Human Resources.   

The sad part is, she is not the only one, we believe George Purefoy, Henry Hill and others are fully aware of what is going on.   Remember they all came up under Purefoy who believes LOYALTY IS NUMBER ONE, IT’S THE FRISCO WAY!  That is why Mack Borchardt still has a golden parachute job at city hall for six figures.  It is why Lee Glover is now in the position of Fire Chief (the boys are back in town)! 

This corruption has destroyed peoples reputations and two highly respected Fire Fighters are out of a job and we are sure there is more. If you ask the FWB group what should happen next, well we would say Fire Safranek, Hill, Glover and anyone else associated with this corruption. Oh wait, ASK THEM TO RETIRE. I think the city could be facing many lawsuits in the future and they will pay for their defense with our TAX DOLLARS. Everything is documented by emails and evidence so what do you have to say now? Humble Pie Anyone?

Pictures From Law firm Investigation Interviews:

Day 8: Russian Roulette

by | Dec 28, 2023 | Angelia Pelham, Bill Woodard, Frisco Fire - Squad Unit & Blood Program, Frisco Fire Chief Lee Glover, Frisco Fire Department, Frisco Police, HR Department, John Keating, Lauren Safranek, Politics, Public Information Requests, Public Safety Study - Frisco PD, Safest City, Universal Kids, Venton Krasniqi

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!

Jammed-Up John Keating

by | Dec 7, 2023 | Elections, John Keating, Politics

Every day we get emails, lots of emails!  Some are from Whistleblowers and others are from those who say we are pieces of shXt for exposing the truth of what is happening in Frisco.  The best one to date came from a man who is good friends with one of our sitting council members.  He said that no one takes us seriously, people are laughing at us, and we are a bad joke.  We laughed so hard because he was working overtime to make us think we don’t matter!  I guess he thought he would hurt our feelings and it would make us stop uncovering the Shady Shit happening.  News Flash…sticks and stones may break our bones, but your words will never hurt us.

Here is the thing, we do matter!  Want to know how we know that?  Well, it is simple.  You are reading our page, you are thinking about us, you took precious time out of your life to focus on us, and you spent the time writing us an email.   Another thing we should point out,  we alerted the public to the glaring issues of John Keatings – KeatingForFrisco.com page it magically changed! 

When we realized the next day his website changed we decided to scroll through and read the new content.  First the picture of him and his wife that he cheat on is NOW GONE!  We know Keating is narcissistic, loves himself and has an inflated idea of how good looking he believes he is, so we were not surprised to see he takes center stage on his new page. 

The “About Me” section is interesting too!  He claims to have worked on several of the important projects that brought some big-name businesses to town.   One of them was the PGA Headquarters.  To be clear, he voted yes for it, he went to the opening and took selfies, but did he help get it here?  Mayor Cheney said during the vote that a very special thank you should be made to a local resident and father of two boys, David Ovard and to then councilman Will Sowell, who worked tirelessly on the PGA project.   Funny, Cheney didn’t do a special shout out to Jammed-Up John Keating. 

In fact there is a whole article in the DMN about Mr. Ovard and his push to get the Frisco PGA here and another article in D Magazine that talks about 3 Men, Blake Rowling (TRT Holdings), David Ovard (Frisco Resident) and Mark Harrison (Executive Director of the Northern Texas PGA), who scrambled to win the PGA Headquarters.  None of the articles mentioned Jammed-Up John!  As we said, Keating was there to vote Yes for the project, but I don’t think he did the behind the scenes work that brought the PGA Frisco here.

Next we noticed a picture of him and Mayor Cheney along with two woman wearing Fire Fighters Uniforms.  We would have no issue with this if it was a social media post saying he participated in Citizens Fire Academy, but instead he used it as a political picture on his website.  It gives you the impression he supports the Fire Department – which he does not!  Next to the picture is verbiage about his goal to balance Frisco’s high level of amenities with low tax rates, talks about public-private partnerships, and corporate incentives. but he didn’t.  The picture has nothing to do with the text on the page and clearly it was a rip off of what Mayor Cheney always talks about.

How do we know Jammed-Up John does not support the Fire Fighters and how do we know he is a LIAR?  Let’s look at the Fire Fighters Association Candidate Survey he did in 2021 when he was running for re-election.  It reads The National Fire Protection Assoc, recommends adequate safe staffing levels of a minimum of 4 fire fighters on all fire suppression apparatuses.  It says he understands that the FD is currently maintaining staffing of 3 fire fighters on all fire suppression apparatuses.  It says he understands that more citizens, increasing businesses and taller buildings require safe staffing levels.  Lastly and most importantly, it says IF ELECTED TO THE OFFICE I WOULD SUPPORT REQUIRING A SAFE STAFFING LEVEL OF 4 FIRE FIGHTERS ON ALL FIRE SUPPRESSION APPARATUSES.  Signed by John P. Keating April 27, 2021

Jammed-Up John went on to leave comments on the survey that said, “AT THIS TIME, I SUPPORT FOUR FIREFIGHTERS FOR ALL TRUCK COMPANIES.  FRISCO IS ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING CITIES IN AMERICA, AND WE HAVE TO PLAN ACCORDINGLY.  WE HAVE TO BUDGET FOR A NEW 14-DAY PAY CYCLE, BENEFITS, FIRE STATION 10 (AND PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT), AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL FIRE FIGHTER PERSONNEL FOR ON ALL FIRE SUPPRESSION APPARATUSES, WHILE MAINTAINING OUR ISO-1 RATING.”

Jammed-Up John lied to the Fire Fighters Association to get an endorsement!  As we have said before his ACTIONS don’t match his WORDS.  Keating did not support Texas House Bill 471 which relates to the entitlement to and claims for benefits for certain first responders and other employees related to illness and injury.  He has not tried to get the city to reverse its decision to fire Kraemer, an almost 30 year Veteran of the Frisco FD for running out of his medical leave, who recently won his workers comp case.  He supported and shared comments by former City Manager, George Purefoy where he was calling the Fire Fighters self-serving, accused the FF of misrepresenting city staff and leadership, and saying they don’t have Frisco’s best  interest at heart.   HEY KEATING – DID YOU JUST CALL THEM OUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA FOR THE SAME THING YOU SAID YOU SUPPORTED ON THE 2021 CANDIDATE SURVEY?  Who’s self-serving?  Who’s misrepresenting the facts? 

Jammed-Up John is proud of his military service which he displays on his website.  He talks about the 13 years he spent in the Army, and it is captioned with a picture of him in his Army Camo.  We thank you sir for your Service and we will always support our Veterans, but as we have said you are still accountable for your actions, choices and decisions.  What if I was running for council and I wore your Army Uniform and talked about how I support public-private partnerships, low taxes and claim to have been a part of the team who brought the PGA here.  Would you be offended if a non-service person wore your Army Uniform?  Would you be offended if it was for a political ad that mislead folks?  I don’t think the Fire Fighters want you to discredit their profession or uniform with your lies and naked body pictures, then turn around and wear their uniform in a political website ad. 

Next up his page regarding “The Mission!”  He talks about how he supports Public Safety, and he will fight to ensure the men and woman in uniform have the resources they need.  Maury said the lie detector shows, “THAT’S A LIE!”  Then he claims to support fiscal responsibility but goes on city trips that cost taxpayers thousands of dollars to look at parks, art installations and streets.   Then he says he supports creating jobs standing next to the H-E-B Red Ribbon opening.  Pretty sure H-E-B created the jobs and that all you did was Vote Yes at a city council meeting.  He says he supports Accountability and Transparency, since when?  Just look at his own website, he has not been transparent at all.  We could go on, but we have already thrown up in our mouth twice so just visit his page and look for yourself.

In closing, the haters can say we are a joke, and no one is watching or reading our site, but we know they are from our own analytics.  Oh, and because Jammed-Up John changed his website.  He stopped lying to people that he was happily married Christian man and just started lying about how he supports public safety.  Guess what is glaringly missing from his KeatingForFrisco website.  You, me, the citizens!  He never once mentions how he is here to help serve the citizens he represents.  He never says how he is here to do what is best for Frisco Residents and Taxpayers.  He proved that during the Universal Theme Park vote when he looked at a room full of residents worried about their homes and property values and said, sorry I didn’t make it out to speak to you before the vote tonight.  With his vacation red lobster peeling skin he looked at them and said,  I had this Rotator Cuff thing and had to have surgery and well needed a vacation.  Yes, he went to the beach instead of listening to THOSE HE SERVES.  Jammed-Up John is committed to one person and that is big boy Mayor Jeff Cheney, his democrat partner in crime Angelia Pelham and well…..HIMSELF!  Oh, did we mention, Keating has his Texas Real Estate License now, guess he is following his buddy down the road of Real Estate.

The Statesmen

by | Dec 3, 2023 | City Council, John Keating, Politics

The time leading up to an important election can seem more like a sports or entertainment show.  You have journalists and pundits dissecting each candidate as far as their speech, appearance, or analyzing what they do right or wrong.  In the end, the goal is to find the most authentic candidate that will represent you or be the Stateman or woman for your community.  According to Cambridge, a statesman is a skilled, experienced, and respected political leader or figure, known for being versed in the principles of government and for displaying good judgment. 

Recently, we came across The Art of Manliness which had published an article about the 4 Qualities of a True Stateman.  The first quality is a bedrock of principles, which means a platform or a foundation of firm, unchanging, fundamental truths.  These are things they believe to be the core of their being.  The second is a moral compass, which is rooted in a sense of absolute right and absolute wrong.  The third is vision.  Statesmen must be able to see problems on the horizon and they must be able to come up with solutions that are good for both the short-term and long-term. Lastly is the ability to build a consensus which means they must enlist those they serve within in government to support their initiatives to achieve their vision.

We have long argued that John Keating does not meet the definition of a Stateman.  What are his “Bedrock of Principles,” you know the foundation of what he believes to his core? We started at KeatingForFrisco.com where the landing page is a picture of Keating with his family.  The same family he stepped out on in 2021 with another woman.  Caught red handed, over a holiday weekend in a public community pool with Kristen Grammer in several compromising positions.  Later they returned to her home in the community where he remained for a couple of hours.  It is our understanding from friends who know the Keatings, that Ms. Keating was blindsided by her husband’s behavior, and they have since separated and they are working through the process that leads to divorce.  His website however shows them happily married and implies everything is A-OKAY in Shaddock Creek Estates.   

Then his page has a large blue banner that says “Public Safety is Job #1.  It reads, provides our first responders with the equipment, training, and leadership they need to keep Frisco families safe.”  If this is true, then how could he support City Manager, Wes Pierson when he hired Fire Chief, Lee Glover? At the time Glover had a 90+% no vote of confidence from over 210 firefighters and they made it clear to the council they did not want Glover as the next Fire Chief.  How could he oppose House Bill 471 which protects first responders in Texas and how could he call Firefighters selfish on George Purfoy’s Facebook page?  How could he support a leader who in a 2010/11 report was said to be toxic and the city needed to clean house of management in the department (referring to Mack Borchardt and Lee Glover)?   How is Public Safety #1 when the President of the Frisco Fire Fighters Association in Jan 2023 stood before him at citizens’ input begging for the council to hire more staff and provide them resources to do their job?  How can he support the city and how they have treated Cameron Kraemer a nearly 30-year Frisco Fire Fighter for the city when they fired him for running out of medical leave?  He later won his worker’s comp case. 

Keating is a Veteran of the Army which he makes very present on his page.  We along with many others have complete respect for his service to our country.  We are grateful for him and all the other veterans, but it does not excuse them from things.  If you visit the Army website, they list their values.  One is Integrity, to do what’s right legally and morally.  Stepping out on his family does not display Integrity.  Another is respect and the website says,” And self-respect is a vital ingredient with the Army value of respect, which results from knowing you have put forth your best effort.”  We would say posting pics implying you were naked or using half naked photos flexing in a bathroom for social media or dating apps don’t show much self-respect, nor does it show respect for others who have to see it and can’t unsee it.  Lastly your actions over and over don’t show respect for the citizens who voted for you to hold the position of Councilman Place 1  Again, his LACK OF JUDGEMENT as a leader is questionable.

In 2021 before the “pool party for two,” John Keating posted a few photos for a scavenger hunt to his social media page.  In the first picture, he is holding a sign that reads “Get Naked” and it appears to be covering his groin area.  Now, behind the sign he had boxers on which you can’t tell, but we question his judgment and the others in the picture.  He is standing next to Mayor Cheney, First Lady Dana Cheney, and Councilman Bill Woodard, who appear to either be appalled or laughing at a 60-year-old man pretending to be naked.  You are the LEADER or STATEMAN of FRISCO!  Do you think this is how residents, who voted for you, want to see you?  At the same event, you posted a video jokingly of the Mayor, First Lady, and Councilman Woodard tying up Angelia Pelham, our new councilwoman as they chant tie her to the tracks.  In our opinion – NOT THE BEST JUDGEMENT!

Now after the “BIG Universal Announcement,” Keating heads out on a date, which is fine if he is separated from his wife.  However, if he is not separated well then Houston we have a problem!  Why is Keating choosing to show such a public display of affection at Grandscape, a place where there are families all around for the holidays?  It is called, get a Room!  Again, it is his JUDGEMENT or lack of that we are questioning.  Take your date to Addison, downtown Grapevine, or somewhere in this large metroplex – other than your own backyard to show some respect to your family, to your constituents, and the families around you. 

Mr. Keating, what you display via your website and the truth are very different.  The fact that you continually display questionable or bad judgment, then want to ask voters to again come out to the polls to re-elect you as one of our Statesmen for this city is ridiculous.   One thing is clear, you think very highly of yourself because you are continually without clothes or in compromising positions.  It is great that you are in good shape, fit, and healthy but that does not mean you should post text, or tweet photos of yourself that should probably be on your Only Fans page.  Last we checked you are 60+ years old, so PUT SOME CLOTHES ON AND ASK YOUR DATES TO PUT SOME CLOTHES ON.  You have a choice to make, be a Statesman for Frisco or be a Baller aka Player, and move out of office and into your PRIVATE LIFE.  As of now you consistently show LACK OF JUDGEMENT AND BAD DECISIONS… ONE AFTER ANOTHER.  Whatever you decide, if you want to remain a leader in this city then ACT LIKE IT.  We deserve better!

PIR Gate

by | Sep 28, 2023 | Adams, Lynch & Loftin, Agendas, Meetings & Ordinances, Frisco Fire - Mayday Report, Politics, Public Information Requests

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!

“Oh, what a tangled web we weave…when first we practice to deceive.”

― Walter Scott, Marmion