In our December blog called Fairweather Frisco Friends, we told you about how the city went on a full-frontal attack, with Bobblehead Bill leading the charge against our firefighters in the May 2024 elections. Why would they do this? The Frisco Fire Fighters Association felt their relationship with the city deteriorated or went up in smoke to the point that they had no other choice than to bring propositions for Civil Service and Collective Bargaining. After the election, Angelia Pelham and John Keating promised on their election roads to make things better with the Fire Department and to work on solutions. Ever wonder how that turned out?
In our blog, 13th Storke of the Clock, we told you about the aftermath following the May 2024 election and how the city and city management held “HEALING SESSIONS,” aka mandatory in-service meetings. The point was for the Fire Department staff the opportunity to express their complaints and fears. The result was a 50+ page report that was no different than the 2011 Climate Report, which talked about how Mack Borchardt and Lee Glover were the direct cause of the problems.
That 2024 report was given to the city management for their review, and we are guessing Weasel Wes didn’t like the remarks about him in the report. The 2024 report noted that when it comes to the City Manager, Wes Pierson the FD doesn’t trust him or his judgement. The report went on to say since taking over in this city he has been dismissive, divisive, flat out ignored them, refuses to meet with them, and has been condescending to members of the FD fracturing a future relationship.
After wasting the departments time in the “in-service healing session meetings” the members of the Fire Department waited, and waited, and waited for possible change. One notable change was that Fire Chief Lee Glover was given a “counselor” to help him do his job better. The other notable change was staff started leaving like hot cakes. That’s right the “EXPERIENCE” in our fire department is dropping like flies but they don’t want the citizens to know that.
Sometime in December or early January, we were told the Fire Fighters Association again raised some member motions for a “VOTE OF NO-CONFIDENCE!” Bet you have not heard about that! We are told it passed but we are still working sources to find out the final vote outcome.
It was the February 2025 response from Weasel Wes that caught our attention. It reads that he received their letter dated 12/27/2024 regarding the results of the vote of no confidence in Fire Chief Lee Glover and how he appreciated meeting with two of the board’s directors to discuss the letter’s contents. Sounds good right? Not so fast!
Paragraph two states while Weasel Wes respects their prerogative to voice concerns, he is DISAPPOINTED that this vote was the chosen method to do so – especially since work is currently underway to address issues that have been raised. He continues “It’s equally disappointing that as far as I (Wes) know, there was no attempt to communicate about these matters before the vote.”
HEY WEASEL WES – WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? DID YOU READ THE 50+ PAGE HEALING SESSION REPORT, OR WAS YOUR HEAD STUCK IN A HOLE SOMEWHERE?
Next Weasel Wes acknowledges some changes have been made by Chief Glover that are viewed as unpopular but if those changes result in better service or value for the citizens he is inclined to support them. That must mean that Weasel Wes supports taking away Squad after they just asked for that money in the 2019 and 2023 bond for more Squad ambo’s. Funny thing is more and more cities are implementing Squad Units as Frisco takes it away. Weasel Wes must also supports Glover’s decision to go back to the big bulkier fire trucks that are hard to navigate the narrow Frisco streets lined with cars because no one knows how to use their garage or driveway. He supports the reduction of staff. After Assistant Fire Chief, Kyle Mills announced his retirement after 21 years with the department, Chief Lee Glover decided to redistribute rolls instead replacing that position. In 2024 they had Firefighter Stewart and Captain Graham retire. Then in October 2023, Deputy Chief Porter retired. Years of experience out of the door. The truth is many of them utilized their retirement options to leave Frisco and have jobs elsewhere. Porter is at Little Elm today and Mills took a job with the Texas A&M Forest Service.
We reached out to other local Fire Departments and asked if they would ever eliminate positions in their ranks, and we were told “not a chance” repeatedly. One commented off the record that eliminating positions is equal to department suicide because cities will never give you the money back in budgets in the future to reinstate those positions. Yet Fire Chief Glover thinks we don’t need more front-line staff, and he is willing to reduce his management staff. How does that benefit the citizens, Weasel Wes?
Weasel Wes then goes on in the letter to say he recognizes there are still opportunities for growth and improvement in the FFD and he will continue to encourage Chief Glover and his team to pursue efforts to improve our service delivery in a responsible way. He notes that Chief Glover has opportunities to grow as a leader, just as we all do…. Wait Weasel Wes, Glover has been with Frisco FD for over 20 years and held positions such as lieutenant, captain, deputy chief, assistant chief and more so don’t you think he should have GROWN THOSE LEADERSHIP QUALITIES DURING THAT TIME? Now, after all this time he should be ready to step in and not need a counselor or more opportunities to grow.
Ready for the hard facts and truth? The bulk of his email was written in a way like it is the first time he is hearing about these issues and that he is shocked to hear of the issues at hand. Weasel Wes writes it as if the rank and file and the association have never shared their concerns prior to this December 2024/January 2025 vote. The hard truth is they shared their concerns with Weasel Wes before they even hired Chief Glover which we documented in our blog, Turn Back Time. Then they continued to share their concerns after they hired Chief Glover with a survey in 2023, also at citizen input and in the May 2024 election. Lastly, let’s not forget about the cities own survey that resulted in a 56-page report (during the aka Healing Sessions) where it was mentioned over 100 times with the issues directly being related to culture, morale, leadership, vindictiveness, racism and retaliation like behavior. He closes the letter by saying everyone he talks to says the department is great – well Weasel Wes who are you talking to?
Weasel Wes couldn’t have been more disrespectful and very intentional with how he wrote the letter. Angelia Pelham and John Keating have not followed up on their promises “TO MAKE IT ALL BETTER!” We documented some of those in our blog, Wasted Time. Remember that next time they run! We can’t wait to see what Tammy Meinershagen promise on her campaign this year when it comes to fire fighters as she was on the front lines against them in May 2024. Our City Manager is not stupid, in fact he is quite calculating and is known for being arrogant from all the emails we receive from inside the city. His letter is an example of just that!
Next, Weasel Wes is going to act like he never knew the city was being sued by Former Assistant Fire Chief Cameron Kraemer for wrongful termination. We wrote about the case in our blog Kraemer vs City of Frisco. If he wins, the city will pay big time, which we wrote about in our blog, Big Time Casino Payout.
Frisco is the home of perfectly manicured lawns, HOA emails no one reads, and a voter turnout rate that could make a ghost town look politically engaged. Every election cycle, a handful of brave souls decide to throw their hats in the ring for city council, only to be met with the resounding enthusiasm of… crickets. Why would anyone subject themselves to this? Good question. Running for office in Frisco is basically signing up to shake hands with people who won’t vote, attend forums that barely fill a Starbucks, and post on social media only to get three likes (one from your mom). And yet, candidates still do it.
Let’s play a game: Ask your friends and neighbors what they know about the upcoming Frisco elections. Chances are, you’ll get a mix of blank stares, mumbled guesses, or the classic “Wait, we have an election?” Well, here’s a crash course: February 14th was the last day to file for a spot on the ballot (so if you were thinking about running, too late—better luck next cycle). The real fun begins with early voting on April 22nd, leading up to the final day to cast your vote on May 4th (not April 3rd, by the way). During this time, our fire stations and schools will be transformed into democracy hubs, filled with voting machines that will see depressingly low foot traffic.
Meanwhile, candidates will be busy breaking the city’s sign ordinance, because let’s be honest, rules only seem to apply to challengers. The city turns a blind eye when incumbents plaster their signs wherever they please, but if a newcomer so much as breathes near the wrong patch of grass, code enforcement swoops in like the fun police. It’s all just part of the charming tradition we call local politics.
Whistleblower is here to educate and let you know about the candidates! For City Council Place 2 we have Burt Thakur, Sai Krishnarajanagar against Tammy Meinershagen. Let’s dive into them!
Burt Thakur, a former Navy Veteran, and a longtime resident of Frisco previously made a run for Congress. Burt Thakur was born in New Delhi and raised by his maternal grandparents. He spent his childhood in India, where his grandfather was responsible for the care of the national forests, tigers, and land management. He moved to New York in the late 1980s and later attended Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania. After graduating, he enlisted in the United States Navy. Burt served as a nuclear reactor operator on the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman. He was honorably discharged in 2006, after serving for 6 years. Thakur is an engineer project manager who facilitates the construction process for large data centers. He also appeared on Jeopardy and was interviewed in the Winners Circle.
Thakur recently addressed the Frisco City Council to address the issue of the Performing Arts Center and fiscal responsibility. If passed, the measures would allow the city to use $160 million to build the Frisco Center for the Arts. The center, designed to host Broadway-level shows, is estimated to cost more than $300 million.
Burt Thakur’s website states he has a vision for a Stronger, Safer and Thriving Frisco. Burt is a champion for veterans and their access to care and has helped many veterans get access to their benefits. In Frisco, Burt wants to ensure a space is granted for veterans’ organizations like the VFW and American Legion to share. As his best friend from the military committed suicide, Burt knows first-hand the value that a community and shared space can provide to his brothers and sisters who served. He also states that “integrity” is a commitment to ethical leadership. He states “True leadership is built on honesty, transparency, and accountability. I have always stood for ethical decision-making, responsibility, and staying true to my principles.
Next, we have Sai Krishna who ran in 2020 for council place 3 back in 2020. According to the Dallas Morning News Voter Guide in 2020, Krishna is a Registered Nurse with an associate’s degree in nursing, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and a master’s in business administration. He also is an Insurance Provider. During his 2020 race, Krishna had only lived in Frisco for 3.5 years. According to the guide he had not served on city boards or commissions at the time of the 2020 race. We could not find a working website for Krishna, or anything published online about his 2025 run for council.
Lastly, we have Tammy Meinershagen who currently sits on the Frisco City Council in Place 2 and has lived in Frisco for over 20 years. In a recent January 2025, Local Profile highlight Meinershagen was asked what her first impression of Texas was, and she replied “I had such a bad impression of Texas — I really did not want to come. I didn’t want to move to Frisco, and I certainly didn’t want to become a Texan. I expected everyone to be in cowboy boots and hats, and I had heard several stories of racism in Texas that also concerned me. I just didn’t think I’d ever feel at home in Texas. I pushed really hard against it for many, many years.” She went on to say that her opinion has changed because she has realized the diversity Texas offers.
Since being here and getting invested in Frisco, she became the Multicultural Chair for the Greater Frisco’s Council of PTA’s which led her to get involved in The City of Frisco. She helped organize the first multicultural float for the community in 2011 and worked on the Citizens Bond Committee, where she advocated for the arts center. Meinershagen was named the “Spirit of Frisco” by the Frisco Chamber of Commerce and one of CEO MOM Magazine’s Power 15. She is also the first Asian-American to serve on the Frisco City Council, and she made history as the first Korean-American female elected to any City Council in the State of Texas. Meinershagen is also a professionally trained musician and can play the piano and violin.
She is asking for you to “Re-Elect” her but remember we never “ELECTED” her to begin with. Meinershagen was set to run against the incumbent, Shona Huffman, who choose to resign from her current seat and withdraw from the race to focus on recovering from a breast cancer diagnosis. An election was never held and Meinershagen “won by default” meaning we never ELECTED her. This will be her first actual race for City Council. A Community Impact article from Feb 28, 2022, reads, “Tammy Meinershagen to ASSUME Place 2 on Frisco City Council; May election for city to be canceled.” The article states that according to Mayor Jeff Cheney, Meinershagen will FILL THE SEAT and went on to say they are CANCELING the May 7, 2022, election since both races were uncontested.
Meinershagen made headlines recently on Frisco Chronicles when we wrote about her husband’s involvement with Ketchup Caddy. In 2022, her husband Todd Meinershagen AGREED to pay more than $525,000, including interest, for his role in market manipulation related to the company Ketchup Caddy.
Meinershagen is a very prominent supporter of the Frisco Arts and the new Performing Arts Center. She supports the bond being put before voters for a $300+ million-dollar theater that will cost residents anywhere from $5 to $6 million a year to operate of city tax dollars. Meinershagen also supported the controversial Universal Kids Studios project over objections by local homeowners. Remember the “BAIT & SWITCH” that changed at the last minute during the development meeting before the council vote. Meinershagen was one of the loudest supporters on social media selling us the part would only be operating from 10am to 6pm when it is was actually 8/9am to 9/10pm. She also told us rollercoasters would be 40 to 50 feet high, but they are actually able to go up to 100 feet high. She used social media to sell it one way when she knew the whole time they were going to make last minute changes.
Lastly Meinershagen, stepped out front and center against our Frisco Firefighters last year during the election. While they have been asking for more firefighters, she adamantly agrees with the stance of the city leadership that everything is just fine. She claimed she was not representing herself as a council person at the polls but just a regular old resident with a passion for the issue. Residents don’t often spend that much time at the polls holding signs unless it is for a purpose, group or team.
What are your thoughts on Place 2? Will you get out to vote? We will be sending a questionnaire to all three candidates soon with some hard-hitting questions so it will be interesting to see how they respond, or if they even will respond. Next up we dive into Place 4 and the 5 candidates running for that position.
After our Human Trafficking blog, we were surprised to see the number of comments regarding Frisco’s history of questionable businesses in the 80s. The City of Frisco works hard to maintain a squeaky clean and impeccable image and we were curious how hard is it to determine a reputable massage business versus a sexually oriented one.
We were surprised to find an article that looks to be written by former Mayor Bob Warren on FriscoStyle.com where he talks about the sexually oriented businesses otherwise known as “S.O.B.s, brothels, or houses of ill repute.” He states in the article “They came here after having been “flushed out” of neighboring cities … At that time, Frisco was just a little country town, barely a dot on the map, and four of the businesses landed along Texas State Highway 121, on Frisco’s southernmost border. There was the “Doll House,” the “Body Shop,” the “Tub Club” and “Michelle’s Ranch.” He said the most infamous was Aprils which was located on Preston Road where La Hacienda Ranch is today. Apparently, the mobile home stood out like a sore thumb to strangers passing by. Upon entering the mobile through dangling beads in the doorway you were greeted with very dim lights.
Warren ended the article with “It was not easy, but Frisco finally rid itself of the little S.O.B.s. Where they went, I do not know, but may they rest in peace, just not in Frisco.” But did they really rid the city of these businesses? We were curious how easy it is to find “Happy Ending” massage parlors. How many more in Frisco could there be? Why are the police not actively trying to shut down these businesses? Maybe they don’t want the whorehouses listed on the GIS Data to protect the reputation they have carefully crafted.
We googled “massage near us” and started reviewing Frisco locations. First up Spring Spa located Preston and Lebanon Road. From the looks of the website, everything looks on the up & up. We took the phone number right on the google business site and the website and googled massages xxx-xxx-xxxx and first thing to come is the website BedPage.com with the same address and phone as Spring Spa. Now do you think this looks reputable or like a “happy ending” hangout.
We also searched a website sent to us by a reader called Hot.com. The first one listed under Frisco is King Spa with a 3.7-star rating. It is located off Preston just across from the entrance to Preston Vineyards. On one erotic review site, we found 4 reviews from 2024/25 talking in code of course. The code refers to an HJ which we are assuming means “hand job” and another refers to the young lady taking the HF and for an extra $100 offering an HJ (hand job) and the customer to got to play with and suck on her tits. Through a website called Encounter, we found a post about “Lucy” where they describe her as 5’6 tall, skinny with black hair, flat aZZ, and naturally smaller boobs. She apparently offers “Premium Content.”
YL Wellness Center seems to be a HOT HOT place based on the reviews. Located very close to King Spa off Preston in between Preston Vinyards entrance and Rolater Rd. In one review from 2022 found on adultsearch.com we found a review written by DarkManHere that reads “Massage for 1 hr is $60. The massage was top notch. I had lower back pain so went for this massage. After the massage I felt a lot better. Relieved now. Offered just HJ for $40. By removing the dress and allowing me to touch, she charged $100. I went for $100. She came over me, rubbed her tits on me and then jerked me. Used hot towel to clean me up”
The next review was written by HereComesTheBoom in 2021, and it reads “Massage was okay, but after telling her that I was a virgin, she told me she loved virgins and would be more than happy to change that for me. So, then she gave me a blowjob and let me f*ck her and c*m inside of her. I will definitely be back again.”
Lastly, we found an ad on an escort network website with an address of 615 Main Street, Ste 112, Frisco, Texas and when we googled that address it came back to May Foot Spa. While the ad looked clean, we were curious about who placed the ad on the website. Why would you place an ad for a simple innocent massage on an escort website? Someone who works there had to and they included the business phone number and address for May Foot Spa. Innocent massage businesses are not going to post on sites like Bedpage, Hot, Call Girl Guide, Encounter, and more.
What did we discover? A simple search of most of these businesses can be found on other sites offering erotic massages and happy endings. If we can find it, then why can’t the Frisco Police? Here is a thought, create a task force and shut these operations in the hub areas of our city and nearby communities down. They are in shopping centers that you and I go to daily. As a community, we have to do better! Our leadership cannot avoid the problem and then say we are “One of the Safest Cities in America.” We need to be a safe city and while many may say this is not a crime that hurts others, we are pretty sure most of these girls are probably trafficked in some form and we should never say that is okay and turn a blind eye.
If you hear “Frisco, Texas” what is the first thing that pops into your head? Is it the glitzy new PGA lifestyle we have? Maybe it’s The Frisco Star, oh wait, the Cowboys would need to win a game first. What about The Mix or Grand Park, our bad, those are not built yet. Soon to be new downtown in time for FIFA? Maybe it is none of those things! Maybe you are more pragmatic and think of the CROWN JEWEL … that we are the #1 Safest City, where nothing bad ever happens, or at least that is what the city wants you to believe.
Certainly nothing bad is happening behind the tinted windows of countless “massage” parlors scattered across town, right? Nope, in the city that proudly boasts its title as the #1 safest place to live, there’s absolutely no way anything shady could be going on. If it were, surely our vigilant city council and ever-watchful police force would be all over it, right? Because it’s not like they’d want anything to hurt that squeaky-clean image or anything…
Back in November we received an email tip from one resident who was concerned about the number of POP UP “Massage Parlors” and how they seem to be as popular as the fast-food restaurants on every corner. The resident noted that she went to pick up an RX late one evening and while sitting in her car waiting in line, she noticed a massage business with tinted windows and a scrolling open neon sign saying open until 11pm with men coming and going the whole time.
She felt something was off and was pretty sure illegal activities were happening there, but like many residents turned a blind eye. It was not until her neighbor mentioned something two days later about going there to get a massage and was turned away because they were “busy.” The neighbor noted that there were no cars near the place, and it didn’t make sense. That is when she told her neighbor about her concern and what she saw when picking up her RX earlier that week.
The next day the neighbor who had been refused service texted (still upset) saying she googled the business, and she was shocked when the phone number pulled up sex ads. She texted her screenshots which prompted her to go look it up too! After finding the shocking info she decided to file a report with Frisco PD they were supposed to send her a statement form to fill out but never did. After a few weeks of no response to her call and email, she reported it to us, and we started looking into it!
When you first google the name of the business Massage Aces it appears to be very reputable! It is located at 423 & Stonebrook Parkway behind the CVS Pharmacy. They had a link to their YouTube Channel which showed a nice video of a reputable massage business. A simple search of the business phone number just like the tipster said, brought us to a whole new world.
The business phone number on the website pops up on multiple “other” websites like bodyrubsmap, bedpage, skipthegames, and craigslist. The ads offer massages, sex, clean girls, escorts, and call girls which all link back to the business address 400 Stonebrook Pkwy, and the business phone number. Disturbing pictures of rather young girls in sexually provocative poses and clothing.
We were shocked that this was reported sometime in late October, and nothing was done until the middle of February 2025. The tipster forwarded us the email she sent to Frisco PD, leaving us wondering – what took so long to take action? How many other massage parlors are there in Frisco, just like this? We determined within one day of getting the tip this was a front for a lewd sexually oriented business. Just google the phone number that offers sex in their “CLEAN ROOMS” with “CLEAN GIRLS!” We are left wondering if the issue of being the safest city will be on John Keating’s political mayor when he tries to run for Mayor! Frisco…the home of human trafficking and exploited underage girls! Ladies check your husbands’ receipts, if you see Massage Aces or Sandy Spa, it might be time to talk with them.
Our biggest concern is the safety of these young women being trafficked, the fact that it is 1/2 mile from our schools and backs up to our neighborhoods. At least we can assure you as of this week Frisco PD, Code Enforcement, or Building Inspections did stop by, and the business has a big “red tag” on the door! It was done with little fanfare, not to attract attention to it. The notice is for an “occupancy issue” under the new name Sandy Spa. The red tag notes it is a “sexually oriented business” and closed until further notice. Wouldn’t you like to know what the city and/or Frisco PD did to protect these women? Our guess is not much in hopes of quietly moving them to another city so it’s “not in our #1 backyard!”
While we know you are pawsitively waiting for our purrfect part three to Paw Patrol we must take an intermission break for some important information. For those who don’t know the City of Frisco is a “home rule” city, meaning it’s citizens or residents can vote to adapt a charter that acts as the City’s basic governing document. The city governance style is that of a “council-manager” style which means government functions are controlled by a six-person City Council and a City Manager.
According to the city website the City Charter must be reviewed at least every six years and not more often than once every two years. That is why the city has a Charter Review Commission, which is a board that contains ten citizens for a term of six months. They choose two alternatives in the event one of the members is unable to complete the term. The primary purpose or function of the board is to: (A) inquire into the operation of the City government under the Charter and determine whether any provisions require revision; (B) propose any recommendations it deems desirable to ensure compliance with the Charter of the City government; and (C) report its findings and present its recommendations to the City Council. The last Charter Amendment Election was held in May 2019.
We are curious if our readers of the Frisco Chronicles are aware of how important the City Charter is to our day-to-day governance. It made us curious and a little concerned about what proposed changes to the city charter residents will be asked to vote on in May. To be frank we don’t trust the city! We have not seen any public discussion on the charter review and no articles written about it. Apparently, citizens had the right to go to Charter Review Commission and speak at the regularly scheduled Wednesday meetings from June 2024 through October 2024, but were citizens aware of that? Was that announced anywhere?
Many voters will get to the ballot box and feel unprepared to vote on these changes. In our opinion it could leave many residents/voters in the dark about the potential impacts their vote can have on the city’s governance. Not to mention, the timing and approach of this effort should raise eyebrows because there has not been enough transparency, potentially limiting public input on significant decisions affecting the future of Frisco. With limited public awareness and a tight timeline, residents should be calling for more clarity on the changes and how they will influence the local community.
We decided to investigate, and we learned the Charter Review Commission presented the final report from the 2024 charter review to the city council on December 3, 2024. The next step following the report presentation is for the council to have the opportunity to review and revise the recommendations as Council finds desirable. Desirable? What are the changes being suggested?
On February 4th City Council Meeting Item Number 40 reads “Consider and act upon adoption of an Ordinance ordering a Special Election … for the purpose of submitting to the qualified voters of the City of Frisco certain proposed amendments to the existing City of Frisco Home Rule Charter…” there was no discussion by the council on the proposed changes. Instead, Tammy Meinershagen made the motion to approve which was seconded by Bobblehead Bill Woodard. We pulled up the memo associated with the agenda which states there are twelve (12) propositions calling for the Special Charter Amendment Election. The memo references a January 21, 2025, City Council Work session so we pulled up the minutes for that, and as you can guess there is very little info available to the public. Then we went to the October 1, 2024 meeting referenced in the memo and found a large attachment of what the proposed changes are.
Curious yes, what the council wants to change? Words and punctuation proposed to be added are underlined; words and punctuation proposed to be deleted are marked with strikethrough.
Section 3.02 Limitations on Terms: No person shall serve as a Councilmember and Mayor (combined) for more than18sixconsecutive electedyearsterms.
If you read the current Home Rule Charter, it says “The mayor and each councilmember shall serve for a term of three years. Under limitations it reads “No person shall serve as mayor for more than three consecutive elected terms” which is a total of 9 years. Then it goes on to say “no person shall serve as councilmember for more than three consecutive elected terms” which is also 9 years. The last sentence of the limitation reads “No person shall serve as a councilmember and mayor (combined) for more than 18 consecutive years.” 18 YEARS? Do you think they should be able to serve 18 years? How does the city develop new and fresh perspective when someone can serve that long?
Oh yeah did we mention it also recommended adding a provision to the charter to allow the city council to fill a council seat by appointment when a council member vacates their seat with a year or less left on their term? The recommended charter amendment would not apply to the mayor. The appointment would require a supermajority (at least three-fourths) approval from the city council and would have to be made within 30 days of the seat being vacated. NO VOTE on who will fill that seat they get to appoint their friends who agree with them.
Section 3.04 Compensation: The Mayor shall receive compensation in the amount of $1,500.00850.00 per month. Each Councilmember shall receive compensation in the amount of $1,200.00 700.00 per month. On October 1, 2025 and annually thereafter on the same date, the amount of compensation shall be adjusted by an amount equal to the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) over the prior, one-year period.
READ THAT AGAIN! READ IT CAREFULLY! The first issue we have is the council just asked us to raise their pay in 2019 which the voters passed raising the mayor’s pay from $500 per month to $850 and raising council members’ pay from $350 per month to $700. Now they are back for more! With the new proposed payout, King Cheney would make $18,000 a year to be Mayor. Our council Members would be making $14,400 per year. That does not include all the perks of box seats at events or paid city travel.
Issue number two is the blue sentence (read it carefully)! The amendment includes a note requiring compensation to be adjusted by the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) going forward to take inflation into account. This ensures that future compensation amendments will not be necessary as it will change automatically. That means our right as voters to determine if they should be paid more is taken away from us because it “can change automatically.”
We are curious, what do other city council leaders across North Texas make? We found the answer in a 2021 Dallas Morning News article which pulled the information from a 2020 U.S. Census Bureau.
Plano – Population 285,494: City Council $1000 per month and Mayor $2000 per month
Arlington – Population: 394,266: Mayor: $250 per month & Council members: $200 per month
Dallas – Population: 1,304,379: Mayor: $80,000 & Council members: $60,000 a year
Fort Worth – Population: 918,915: Mayor: $29,000 & Council members: $25,000 a year
Garland – Population: 246,018: Mayor: $575 per month, plus $72 for regular meetings and $72 for work sessions preceding meetings. Council members: $288 base pay, plus $72 for regular meetings, $72 for work sessions preceding meetings.
Irving – Population: 256,684: Mayor: $1,200 per month & Council members: $900 per month
McKinney – Population: 195,308: Mayor: $50 per city council meeting (which comes to $1200 per year), $100 monthly phone stipend and $100 monthly stipend. Council members: $50 per council meeting (which comes to $1200 per year) and $100 monthly stipend
Mesquite –Population: 150,108: Mayor: $100 per month & Council members: $50 per month
Richardson – Population: 119,469: Mayor: $100 per meeting & Council members: $100 per meeting. Yearly pay is capped at $5,200.
We also found this totally monthly pay comparison chart in the City of Grand Praire from a review they did in March 2024.
Section 3.09 Meetings of the City Council: (1) The City Council shall hold at least two regular meetings each month and as many additional meetings as it deems necessary to transact the business of the City; provided, however, the City Council may, in its sole discretion, determine to hold one regular monthly meeting four two months out of the calendar year. The City Council shall fix the date and time of the regular meetings by ordinance. What does that mean? They want more pay and the ability to opt out of 4 meetings instead of only two. More money less work! They need this because of the number of public events they must do for a political picture grab.
Well, the intermission is over so it is time to get back in to the theater and wait for the rest. Yes, there are more changes you need to know about because we will be voting on them so stay tuned!
Frisco, Texas—where the city council somehow can ask citizens to vote on an EDC Bond for millions of dollars for a sparkling new performing arts center but can’t allow citizens to vote on a bond for an animal shelter or scrape together a dime for a much-needed animal shelter. It’s almost like the Mayor and City Council think the arts deserve a standing ovation while our four-legged friends get a pathetic round of applause… from the overcrowded parking lot outside paid for by citizens’ tax dollars. After all, who needs a haven for abandoned animals when you can have a state-of-the-art performing arts center hosting countless performances, funded city breweries, and a kid’s theme park that no one will remember in 10 years? Priorities, right?
In 2019, Community Impact did a story about how local pet advocates called Frisco’s Pet Project were advocating for Frisco to construct its own animal shelter. The article highlighted Marla Fields, one of the original organizers of the Frisco Pet Project who is quoted saying, “She said she saw a need for a Frisco-based animal shelter while rescuing cats from local organizations. Good Ole King Cheney (Mayor of Frisco) said, “city staffers have considered allocating funding to build an animal shelter in the past but determined the benefits of partnering with the county outweighed the negatives. We have a partnership with Collin County along with other cities to collaborate as a region to try to provide the most cost-effective services for this need.” The article went on to say that building an animal shelter would likely be funded through bonds, but the city did not include a shelter among the projects in the 2019 bond election.
In 2023, the citizens bond committee presented a recommendation for an animal shelter to be voted on by the residents. A DMN article noted that Frisco animal advocates made one last push for City Council to include an animal shelter in the May 6 bond election, but they did not prevail. The article quoted Marla Fields, founder of Frisco’s Pet Project, “It just seems like the finish line just keeps moving on us. You told us to be patient … we’ve done everything that you’ve told us to do. We followed your leadership and your advice. You said, ‘Wait for the bond. You have to speak to each member of the city council. Come to the winter sessions. Show us the data. Show us the plans. Show that you can do this with a return on investment.’ We did all that.”
The City Council’s vote on the bond package was unanimous, with council members Laura Rummel and Brian Livingston requesting a note be added to the record they support an animal shelter. Two votes stand out from that night – Laura Rummel who claims to be the “PET ADVOCATE” and John Keating. Laura voted for obvious reasons as she ran her campaign on animals and supported a shelter. Why Cheating Keating? We have a copy of an email that Councilman Keating sent to a resident where he told the citizen he would allow for it to go before the citizens if it was recommended by the citizens bond committee. But he lied! Are we surprised? No, because he has lied to the Frisco Fire Association and his ex-wife.
What might be even more sad is how the city uses local publishers to sell the community on the same boring, old, tired and worn message in hopes residents will buy the bull they are selling. After getting hit with questions at the Feb 3rd town hall regarding an animal shelter, Community Impact miraculously writes an article on February 5 titled, “Frisco identifies animal shelter site no timeline for project.” The article stated that the City Manager, Wes Pierson, confirmed the city has been trying to find a private public partner to help bring an animal shelter inside the city limits. “We’ve been working with a partner to try and find a model that would allow the city to have a public-private partnership for the operation of an animal shelter,” Pierson said. “We are still in the process of trying to develop that partnership.”
For the first time the city released a potential site located in north Frisco near PGA Parkway and Preston Road on the southwest corner called Luminant Tract. Then the city offers “another excuse” saying the animal shelter would go there once they had a partner and after they developed the North Texas Municipal Water district transfer station and commercial recycling center. Pierson goes on to say only then can they discuss timing of the facility construction. The hidden message we believe he is saying is delay, delay, and more delay because we don’t want an animal shelter here.
The article also states King Mayor Cheney as saying the Frisco Center for the Arts and animal shelter are unrelated. Unrelated? To pet advocates, they are related because for years the city has used “funding” as an excuse, but we can fund the arts with a simple vote from the public for an EDC bond. The same could be said for an animal shelter, OH WAIT, you won’t let the public vote on that which is why you pulled it from the 2023 bond even after it was recommended by the citizens bond committee. King Cheney only wants you to vote on what he wants!
The best comment came from the “So-Called Pet Advocate” on council Laura Rummel. “There are things that city government is not good at or doesn’t have the expertise at,” she said. “We do not have the expertise to have an animal shelter of our own, which is why we have been searching for a partner.” Based on our research THAT IS A NEW EXCUS and in our opinion, that was the dumbest comment we have ever heard. Do you think the thousands of cities across America that have an animal shelter had “animal expertise” when they opened their city-run and funded shelters? Ms. Rummel, what expertise do we have in Health Clinics, Performing Arts, Code Enforcement, Engineering Services, and Parks and Rec? None!!! That is why you hire someone to run the department that “HAS THE EXPERTISE” just like you have done in all the other city departments.
The article goes on to talk about “In The Meantime” the city has a partnership with Collin County Animal Services and how the city supported the November 2023 bond for CCAS to expand the animal shelter’s capacity and services by constructing a one-story, 10,000 square-foot addition to the north side of the CCAS building. What happened after the bond was approved?
Ask Ben Brezina one of the Assistant City Managers who led a crusade to gather other cities like Prosper, Celina, and McKinney to question “the billings statements” and how the impact fees and cost allocations were being split among the different cities. In an email from Ben Brezina to Wes Pierson, Chief Shilson, Henry Hill, and Ryan Pitman dated October 3, 2023, Brezina stated “Regarding future payments, Collin County Administrator verbally committed to updating the cost allocation amongst the Members (population-based). So, it is unknown yet the future costs for Frisco or any other Member, Prosper and Celina have grown significantly, and they will need to pay their fair share, same as unincorporated Collin County. We will advocate for a usage-based fee.” Frisco doesn’t want to pay their fair share based on population even though it was laid out that way from the get-go! They want to change the name of the game. Does that sound supportive to you?
In our final Paw Patrol blog, we are going to share with you the emails sent to us from a recent PIR filed by a resident. They sent us everything and based on those emails it is clear Laura Rummel has not been actively involved in conversations with the city on the animal shelters so-called public-private partnership. Yet, she has continued to tell residents how involved she is. It will also be obvious where the city stands on an animal shelter. Lastly, it will show how dumb John Keating is that he cannot even answer a resident’s questions posed to him in an email without getting an exact word-for-word statement from city management because he is clueless.
In closing, as Laura said we are not experts in running an animal shelter. Advocates have heard over and over the annual operating expenses are just too high year over year for an animal shelter, so it doesn’t make sense. HOWEVER, based on the moves this week at city council, Rummel and the rest of the council (minus Livingston) believe WE ARE EXPERTS IN THE ARTS which is why they voted to put an EDC bond on the ballet in the upcoming election. It appears we can afford the annual operating expenses for a PAC which ranges from $5 to $6 million, and we can HIRE EXPERTS TO RUN IT! King Cheney when you say the Performing Arts Center and Animal Shelter are unrelated …. THEY ARE RELATED! It just comes down to what YOU WANT MIGHTY KING!
Welcome to Frisco, Texas – a city known for its rapid growth, shiny new developments, and state-of-the-art amenities… except when it comes to an animal shelter for its four-legged residents. It is amazing how many residents here love pets and want an animal shelter. We hear about it on every town hall and often see comments online asking leaders…when, when it will be time for animal shelter? Frisco has been absolutely stellar at coming up with new and creative excuses for why that still hasn’t happened. It’s almost as if the city’s leadership has coined the term “We’ll get to it eventually” into an art form.
We have heard all the excuses, or should I say reasons – “We’re focusing on other priorities,” “We don’t have enough space,” “It’s a complicated project.” Blah, blah, blah. Because obviously, with all those new luxury apartments, multi-million-dollar sports complexes, and pristine retail centers, there’s no room for something as quaint as a place where animals can be safe and cared for. Why waste money on a shelter when you can keep building urban development centers, Performing Arts Centers, give a facelift to a soccer field, revitalize downtown into a Meca for the Mayors photo ops. Who needs compassion when you’ve got a sparkling new upscale grocery store when milk is already too costly for some households, right?
Each of our council members and Mayor has their “passion project” and the reason they ran for office! Regarding pets, Laura Rummel ran for her seat claiming to be the “passion paw patrol leader” for an animal shelter. She has been on council for a few years, but have we seen any changes? From what we can tell, no, and based on the countless emails we get from animal advocates across this city asking us to write about pets – they agree that nothing has changed.
We have been sent many things over the last two years by animal lovers since the conception of our page but because we didn’t know too much about the issue, we held of covering it until now. We know for years residents have been told that the city would prefer a public/private partnership instead of building its own animal shelter but what have they done to move the needle forward?
Rummel will argue she has started a private 501c and originally, she said it was to help raise funds for an animal shelter. However nowhere on the website for this 501c does it mention anything about an animal shelter. It says the mission is to perpetually support the City of Frisco, Texas, its citizens, and its pets by providing animal education, support low-cost veterinarian options, and help reduce the homeless pet population. We think the second half of that mission statement is great, but it is the first part that leaves us concerned.
According to the dictionary “perpetually” means ALWAYS or in a way that will never end or change. When the mission statement says they will perpetually support the City of Frisco – well that means if the city doesn’t want an animal shelter, then Laura will ALWAYS support that. Yet that is not what she continues to tell her supporters! She tells voters she is advocating regularly for pets and that we have the land and money to fund it. She is “all in” for pets but is she actually “all-in” however the city wants it?
Our question for Ms. Rummel is do you agree with Mayor Cheney and what he said at the mid-year 2024 Townhall where he essentially said Frisco has more sophisticated communication tools to handle lost pets and that the city’s position is to REHOME pets, so they never end up at the shelter? Essentially if you agree with that, you are saying to residents that if your dog gets out you don’t deserve the pet back so we will rehome it instead of taking it to a shelter.
In the second half of his comment, he says those communication tools are Facebook Community Pages and apps such as Nextdoor and those are tools that don’t exist in other communities. Would you agree Ms. Rummel since you will always perpetually support the city, and Cheney is the Mayor of our city? No other city or community in America has the sophisticated communication tools of Facebook Lost and Found pages and neighborhood groups? The Nextdoor app was created for Frisco and does not exist in other cities? I had no idea those were exclusive sophisticated communication tools for Frisco, only!
We are also curious if Ms. Rummel perpetually agrees when Cheney says the city’s approach that “WE DO NOT WANT TO RUN OUR OWN SHELTER” and we are open to a public/private partnership option only.
Most importantly we are curious if Ms. Rummel agrees with Cheney attacking Animal Advocates in a public form saying that they are a case study in how NOT to advocate for a position? He continues his rambling by schooling them publicly in the PROPER way to advocate for a position and accusing them of tearing people down and spreading misinformation.
The pet voters would like to know if you agree Ms. Rummel. Is going to a city council meeting and speaking during citizens’ input, emailing council members presentations, thoughts and asking questions the improper way to handle it? If you perpetually agree with that Ms. Rummel then it sounds like what you are saying is that they should kiss the City of Frisco’s Ring, support the click campaigns, and bow down to their agenda or else they are doing it wrong.
My wife and I follow the city very closely and we often hear them say they are “exploring options” at the council meetings, work sessions and town hall sessions. The city leadership responses are PERPETUALLY THE SAME every time. We are exploring options but have no updates. Maybe that is why when Ms. Rummel is questioned online or in the comments of her posts about the status of an animal shelter (the platform she choose to run on) she gets defensive.
In fact, recently she snapped back at one resident who comments on one of her Facebooks posts stating nothing has changed and she has not moved the needle by sending him a private message that reads, “SO YOU THINK IVE DONE NOTHING” to which he responds “NO ANIMAL SHELTER. Is there one being built that I don’t know about?” They go back and forth, and she says we have the land, we have how we’d pay for it and we are still negotiating with a potential partner.
How much does our “Regional Partnership” cost? Do they have land? Do they know how they would pay for it? And who are they negotiating with as a private partner? We know the one they were talking to in 2024 is dead in the water based on the emails we have. Stay tuned for Part 2
Welcome to the dinner table where you thought the only thing spicy was the food. Have you ever felt like mustard fights with mayo and ketchup hold a grudge against ranch? You can have a classic ketchup and mustard coalition but beware the rise of the new contender: sriracha!
The reality is the table is full of a world of condiments and political debates! The next few months will be filled with a heated political election and your condiment choices are shaping the future—of your sandwich. So, grab your napkins, folks, because we’re about to dive into the bizarre, messy world where sauces aren’t just about flavor—they’re about power. Let the condiment campaign begin!
You’re probably wondering why we are talking about condiments! Now we are going to confuse you a little more! Have you ever heard of The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)? The FERC is an independent agency, that is a part of the U.S. Department of Energy, and it regulates the interstate transmission of electricity, natural gas, and oil. We had never heard of them until we read a yahoo finance article. The more confusing thing about this article was the Commission ordered a company called Ketchup Caddy (Ketchup Who?) and its owner to pay about $27 million for using bogus demand response resources to make offers in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s capacity market.
What is Ketchup Caddy and what does the FERC have to do with Frisco, Texas? Ketchup Caddy is a company originally created in Frisco, Texas and they sell an in-car ketchup holder invented by Phillip Mango. On December 5th the FERC decided that the company and its owner engaged in Market Manipulation using a fraudulent device, scheme, or artifice to defraud the MISO market according to the FERC.
To do this they co-founder Todd MEINERSHAGEN, a computer programmer, registered customers using a random number generator on a website to cull data so Mango could contact them about enrolling in Ketchup Caddy’s DR program. Meinershagen AGREED in late 2022 to pay more than $525,000, including interest, for his role in the market manipulation. According to FERC, Ketchup Caddy “regularly distributed” MISO capacity payments to Mango’s and Meinershagen’s personal bank accounts totaling more than $500,000 apiece.
Have you made the connection yet? Todd Meinershagen is the husband of Tammy Meinershagen our city council woman who loves the arts. Seems they both want to use other people’s money to build things! Talk about transparency and honesty to the public. My mom once told me, you are who you associate with and if that is true Tammy is standing by her man and that means her character is questionable.
Tammy Meinershagen is now asking citizens to Re-Elect her to office when they NEVER ELECTED HER THE FIRST TIME. A Community Impact article from Feb 28, 2022, reads, “Tammy Meinershagen to ASSUME Place 2 on Frisco City Council; May election for city to be canceled.” The article states that according to Mayor Jeff Cheney, Meinershagen will FILL THE SEAT of Council Member Huffman. Cheney went on to say they are CANCELING the May 7, 2022, election since both races were uncontested. Bobblehead Bill Woodard had no one run against him so while he assumed the seat for a 3rd term he wasn’t elected for his 3rd term. The same for Meinershagen who was NEVER ELECTED so how can we RE-ELECT HER NOW?
The funny thing about Bobblehead Bill Woodard and Tammy Meinershagen is they both were on the front lines to say Vote No against our Frisco Fire Fighters and yet we never elected them! It’s a little bit Ironic, don’t you think? Frisco Residents need to get involved and have a voice. Who do you want leading our city and who do you want to ELECT TO THE OFFICE? It is time for change, time to have representatives who listen to the residents and don’t show up for just the photo’s ops.
If you were scrolling through social media over the holidays, you may have seen the holiday post from the City of Frisco. When we saw the post we stopped in our tracks, not sure if we were enamored with it like Ralphie in The Christmas Story with the Leg Lamp, or if we were in disbelief of their brazen audacity to say FU to their naysayers. Clearly, it was a message by our Elite Council to the Grinch naysayers who dare question them and what they do. We decided to be like Tammy and write a poem!
The Who of Whoville by FWB
In the City of Frisco, not far from the Square, sat a Whoville of leaders in plush swivel chairs. They believed they were the Who’s Who of Whoville and met every Tuesday to reign superior over those in the land.
“We’ll build a new park!” said Mayor Jeff Maywho with great flair! Thing 1 (Bobblehead Bill) stands up, Mayor Maywho, don’t forget bike lines – they’re only fair!” Thing 2 (Cheating Keating) chimes in, “How, ‘bout we build more roads to relieve the loads!”
Just as the Whoville of Frisco was set to agree, a voice from the chamber rose and said, “Not So Fast!” Martha May Who with a Pelham scowl, said “Have we thought this all through? It’s a real rat race!” The council just nodded, their eyes a blur, when Mayor Jeff Maywho called out “We’re solving it all, of that, I am sure! It will be to my liking, said the greedy and self-serving Mayor Jeff Maywho.
“Oh, Council of Frisco, so grand and wise, could you think for a moment with less compromise? Must every decision be voted through so fast?” Who speaks their bellowed Mayor Jeff Maywho. The light shines upon the voice and Ozzy steps forward and says, “Lets focus on projects that are built to last!”
Sweet little Cindy-Lou Who (Tammy) is undaunted while the Whoville of Frisco debates, talking about zoning and budgets and changing growth rates. She says although we’re not perfect (who really is?), we do our hardest to run this big biz.
Max “The Dog” Rummel stands up to pant and proposes a cheer, “Here’s to the Whoville Council of this great town, she juggles a smile, then shrugs, followed by a little frown. Her only job is to pant, beg, and not step out of line due to loyalty or fear and every now and then Mayor Jeff Maywho will throw her a bone.
Just remember no matter WHO you are, or you celebrate the season, we will be cheering and laughing at your disgust for Whoville because Mayor Jeff Maywho will have a prosperous and joyous New Year. The End.
In closing, when we saw the FU post, we were shocked at the audacity Mayor Jeff Cheney had to dress up as Mayor Augustus Maywho. Here is a Mayor who has been accused of using his position to further his own financial gain and he takes center stage in a city holiday photo to dress up as a character (red sash in all), who puts on a façade to his true nature: that of a rude, greedy, arrogant, and egotistical politician who is willing to exploit anything for his own benefit.
Look closely, the picture speaks volumes! Watch The Grinch and it will all make sense!
Goodbye, 2024, you chaotic overachiever, and hello 2025! Like every New Year, we dive in headfirst and pretend that turning the page in our calendar will suddenly fix our lives! We treat each year like a shiny new model, but are we expecting too much? Gym memberships rise, and vision boards are crafted, and plastered with our new year’s resolutions. Really those “visions” are like drunk promises we know we won’t keep.
By day three or four, we are tired of eating Kale and wish we had the holiday cookies still left in our pantry. One thing that never changes with each new year is that we know whatever promises or commitments we made in good faith will most likely never be met because they are just one of those New Year’s resolutions that fall by the wayside. Cheers to the illusion of change!
As we enter the new year one would hope our City Council members had an epiphany to put the community first over their own self-interests. Soon we will know because a new year also means a new city council election and guess what, it is right around the corner. The first day to file for a place on the ballot is January 15th and the last day to file for a place on the ballot is February 14th. Time will fly and soon it will be April 22nd, the first day to early vote. All of it will come to a close on election day which is May 3rd.
From now through election time, you can expect to hear how the candidates or incumbents will be transparent and represent you the residents. We will hear the same old tired-out slogans such as “We are the #1 this and the #1 that.” You can bet money the incumbents will talk about how “we are the #1 Safest City” and how they have a personal stakeholder position in making that happen. It leaves us wondering if residents will open their eyes to the fact that the city manipulates what we “need to know” versus the truth of what is happening around us! Remember John “Cheating” Keating (who hopes to be our next Mayor) threw the #1, #1, #1 in our face over and over during his election.
Even high-profile NFL athletes are not exempt from being the victims of crime. By now you have heard about the burglaries targeting the homes of NFL players, including Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, along with Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. Recently, local DFW news stations reported that on December 27th in the affluent upscale Preston Hollow neighborhood, the home of Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic was broken into. Reports say the thieves got away with $30,000 worth of jewelry. The FBI has gone as far as to warn the NFL and NBA that players need to increase the security of their homes when they are away playing, and they believe they have connected these burglaries to a “transnational South American theft group.”
The good thing is we can rest easy here in Frisco! We are the #1 SAFEST CITY! That means it would never happen here, right? One might think since Frisco is known as Sports City USA, we could be a target! If something like that happened here, surely the city and Frisco PD would put out a crime alert to warn the residents of Frisco. It would have made the local news stations just like Luca Doncic home break-in. Frisco has several affluent neighborhoods, filled with high-profile players, and I am sure their neighbors would want to know if that happened in their community.
FWB received a tip over the holiday break that it did happen here! In fact, based on the police report, the home burglary took place in our very own affluent community of Stonebriar Country Club. According to one website, residents of SCC enjoy a wealth of amenities in the exclusive guard-gated community that epitomizes luxury with elegant homes and a lifestyle of unparalleled sophistication and tranquility. Residents should know they are not exempt from this kind of potential danger.
When did this happen? November 28th just after Thanksgiving, during the Dallas Cowboys game against the New York Giants at AT&T stadium. The home game started at 4:30 pm and the report states the crime was committed 11/28/24 between the times of 15:05 (3:05 pm) and 20:44 (8:44 pm). Ken Wang is listed as the case officer and the Incident Report number is 24143447. The offense code is listed as Burglary of Habitation. The Frisco Police Report states 8 watches totaling $550,000 along with 2 purses totaling $100,000 were stolen. The remarks state unknown suspect forced entry into a home and stole $700,000 worth of miscellaneous jewelry. Luca Doncic got off easy!
To protect the NFL player, we are not going to release his name or address because his family has been through enough! We can tell you we googled the address, and we were surprised to see it on Zillow, Redfin, and Realtor.com. One would assume that Realtors who handle multi-million-dollar listings like this would remove the photos once the listing is sold. The images on the Douglas Elliman listing, show the whole home, and the location and access points of the home. Douglas Elliman is a well-known, respected real estate brokerage which is why we are a little surprised the listing agent did not remove the photos after selling it. We are curious if those images could have helped the criminals figure out how to access the home.
I asked my neighbor, a Frisco Realtor if agents usually remove high-end listing photos after a sale. He said that good Realtors are usually proactive and to protect the privacy of both parties after a sale, they request removal of the images on luxury listings. He also told us while the listing agent can request the removal of photos after a home has been sold, there is no guarantee a third-party website will take them down. I asked him how an owner could request the images be removed and he told me owners can google how to remove the pictures of your home from real estate websites and each one has step-by-step instructions on how a homeowner can remove them.
Residents of Frisco had the right to know about a burglary of a habitation where over $700,000 worth of valuables were stolen in our opinion. Frisco PD could have withheld the player’s name and address but a warning to the community. How is it, that every other high-end pro-athlete burglary made the news, and this one didn’t? Did Frisco PD ask the FBI if this could be related to the other high-end thefts? How come we never heard about this burglary on the news?
The city does not point out we are a safe city, they always say we are the #1 safest city and to be honest, it does not feel very safe here anymore. We have had more crimes, shootings, and God knows what else because leaders manipulate want, they want to share so it fits their narrative. Just like they manipulated the sales presentation of Universal Kids. After it passed, residents learned everything they promised changed from the height of rides, the traffic congestion they claim will not happen, and the times the theme park would be open. In Frisco, the NFL stands for Navigating Frisco Lies!
We came across this post from the Allen Fire Department and felt we needed to share it! It is evident from this video how the Allen FD is committed to helping its firefighters work through mental health challenges. By sharing it, the City of Frisco leadership including the City Manager, Sassy Safranek in HR, and the City Council could learn something if they watch it! After you watch it catch the community follow-up Q & A session where Allen leadership answers the public questions by clicking here.
Why is the city still fighting a lawsuit with Former Assistant Fire Chief Cameron Kraemer? If you have not heard about this case, Frisco leadership tried to deny Kraemer’s PTSD as was work-related injury. Even after the courts confirmed that Frisco Leadership and TML were wrong, they continued to fight Kraemer!
A new lawsuit was filed on 8/2/2024 and involves Cameron Kraemer vs City of Frisco. Filed in Collin County under Case Number 416-05201-2024, Frisco is still fighting its duty and responsibility to care for a man who served in our community for 27+ years. It also defines how our city leadership and management will treat future firefighters when they have work-related mental illnesses. On 12/12/2024 the case was “SCHEDULED FOR TRAIL” by jury and Pre-Trial will begin on 7/24/2024 with a Jury Trial on 7/28/2025.
WHY SHOULD THIS MATTER TO YOU? Ask yourself, how many tax dollars have been spent fighting these multiple court cases? If the city loses the case, how much could the city payout to Kraemer in damages?
The truth is the City of Frisco and the entire leadership who stand up saying they are committed to our Public Safety Departments during elections should be ashamed of themselves for not having fixed this sooner. They should also be embarrassed and explain why they want to continue to spend OUR tax dollars to further show their lack of support for firefighters. By the looks of the docket, the City’s attorneys are going to try to convince a JURY that they did the right thing. Ask yourself, you have Allen FD trying to raise awareness and Frisco leadership who continues to treat those on the front lines of our public safety departments like crap and deny their firefighters can have work-related PTSD! What has to happen in Frisco for them to accept their responsibilities to help their firefighters???
We have been saying for a while that the Frisco City Council is like a group of “Fairweather Friends” meaning they are a good friend when it is easy, or they need something, and they stop being a friend when there are problems. We thought the city should have a new tagline and we came up with The City of Frisco – Home of Fairweather Friendships. You can expect the Frisco Cabal to react swiftly to this blog and say the council members are great, amazing, and stupendous. That is because the Frisco Cabal, The City, and the members of the Frisco City Council often project images of unity and commitment to the community.
However, there’s a growing perception that the council members are more “fairweather friends” than steadfast leaders. Their support and engagement often seem to waver depending on public opinion, personal interests, or political convenience. The inconsistency leaves residents questioning whether council members prioritize the long-term well-being of the city or simply their own political capital.
We saw it firsthand in the May 2024 election when the current city council members turned their back on our men and woman of the Frisco Fire Department. They went as far as standing on the corner of election locations holding “VOTE NO” to civil service and collective bargaining signs against the very men and woman who put their life on the line for the city. The amount of lies and accusations they put out led by Bobblehead Bill Woodard were over the top.
Then after the election was over, the Council, the City Management, and FD Management including Chief Lee Glover tried to do an about-face to show “they care!” That is why FD management began the “healing sessions” which were mandatory in-service meetings that allowed the FD to express their complaints and fears about the FD and the city. The result was that Chief Glover was given a “counselor” to help him do his job better. Did any of it work? Of course not!
The truth hurts, especially when the facts are presented: The current city council members rally around popular initiatives during election cycles, only to back away when challenges arise, or public scrutiny intensifies. While they’re quick to attach their names to high-profile projects or programs that garner praise, their enthusiasm often wanes when those efforts require difficult decisions or sustained support. This pattern of behavior risks undermining trust and stability in local governance. Moreover, their selective advocacy for certain neighborhoods, businesses, or interest groups raises concerns about equity and fairness. The council’s tendency to show up for celebratory events or media-friendly opportunities while avoiding contentious issues is proof of their Fairweather tendencies. The lesson is simple but hard for city leadership to understand which is to build lasting confidence, Frisco’s council members must demonstrate consistent engagement, even when the skies aren’t so sunny.
Tonight, my wife and I tuned in to watch the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight and many were disappointed. The reality of this ring fight is that Tyson is 58 and has been out of the ring for almost 20 years. Paul’s career as a YouTube sensation amassed him more than 5.3 million followers and a reputation for being annoying. That’s okay because Forbes has him as one of the highest-paid YouTube creators over the years. In 2018 he began his career as a professional boxer. What was supposed to be one of the wildest spectacles in recent sports history may have fallen short. However, we don’t think any fight will top when Tyson infamously bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear.
Why would they do it? Well media reports say Jake Paul could walk away with up to $40 million and Mike Tyson is expected to make $20 million. That is a good pay day for 8 rounds that were 2 minutes each! Now, you are probably wondering what this Friday Night Fight has to do with Frisco.
Well, it seems like everything in Frisco is a boxing match! There is a boxing match between the city and the Frisco Firefighters due to the city’s lack of trust in city management and the Fire Chief, Lee Glover! There is also the upcoming boxing match set in court in the case of Kraemer vs. The City of Frisco for being wrongfully terminated, which will cost taxpayers millions.
There is a boxing match between citizens and the City Council over all the Master Development Agreements and all the public investment the city is putting into them along with the “performance incentives” being dished out. The city leadership and elite want more apartments, Las Vegas-style hotels, and Kids’ Theme Parks. Meanwhile, Frisconians want them to deal with traffic issues and stop wasting our tax dollars. Don’t worry they say a kid’s theme park, the first of its kind, will not bring more human trafficking to Frisco. Yes, we have a big human trafficking here in our community and it is scary.
There is a boxing match between Frisco ISD leadership, teachers, parents, and residents. Residents are tired of the district spending money on all these public-private partnerships and then crying to the voters they need more money because they misused the funds from the 2018 bond. Many residents are questioning the level of amenities our district has for 16-year-old kids. The voters spoke pretty loudly about that at the recent polls.
There is a boxing match between the Council and the pet people who have been asking the city to do the right and humane thing by opening a shelter in Frisco to take the burden off the county. Everyone loves pets and it would be good for community engagement, volunteer opportunities, and educational resources for pet owners. Residents are tired of the Rummel leaders who promise to support something then turn their back and claim because they held an adoption event they are meeting their commitment.
There is a boxing match between residents, local Realtors, and the mayor as they question his relationships with some developers and the substantial personal wealth accumulation he has benefited from through this position. Residents are tired of the smell from what appears to be under-the-table dealings giving him a leg up and his cocky attitude. Look at the Tyson vs Paul fights from the angle of the residents; one side is benefiting by $40 million while the other is being asked to pay $20 million more taxes to support these zany development dreams the mayor has.
Our point, every time you turn around residents and/or employees are going head-to-head like a wild spectacle boxing match with the Frisco Cabel (a term coined for the Frisco elite’s inner circle). Our ringmaster should be Jerry Jones, and we can hold the matches at the losing Dallas Cowboys AT&T Stadium where if you get the wrong seat the sun may blind you and that can be your excuse you didn’t see the fight. Surely, one of the new tech companies coming to Frisco could buildout a premium subscription platform where we could hold boxing matches based on community issues for a monthly service charge of $22.99 to help build the Performing Arts Center. We at least get to lay our head down tonight knowing the Frisco Boxing Drams is free and not pay-per-view because Frisconian’s are running low on pocket change they are willing to part with.
In less than 24 hours the “Mother of Frisco” seems to be upset by our blog “Heit-end Controls.” We received a copy of her “Victim Card Post” that went up on FRWC Facebook page about an hour ago. To say we are dumbfounded and confused is an understatement and we feel it is best to address her post paragraph by paragraph.
Heit’s 1st Paragraph: “This Facebook group, my character and my personal integrity has been attacked in an anonymously written hit piece that is now being shared as fact in other Facebook groups…including a group that pretends to be a resource for Parents of Frisco ISD students (despite the fact that several of the admin don’t live in Frisco or have kids attending Frisco ISD schools).”
Our Response: Character is the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual and Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles and moral uprightness. If you read our article, we wrote that my wife has loved your page for many years and that we appreciate all the hard work you put into your page. We made note of the fact that we met you at a few local events and truly believe you are a kind, polite and genuine person. All we did was question how you choose to admin your page which disseminates information to over 20+ followers. That is not an attack on your moral qualities or principles.
Questioning someone is not an attack; if it is, then we are all up a creek without a paddle. We pointed out that the admin of the page, which is you, does not allow any opposing views regarding local political posts. That is not an attack on your moral principles or uprightness. As for people sharing our posts, our page is public therefore, we cannot and will not stop anyone from sharing our posts to any page or group. We also will not close comments, stop discussion, or interactive sharing of thoughts. You share posts/articles on your FRWC page every day. Even though your rules state no posts on political candidates, you share them as informational but don’t allow informational posts regarding the opposing candidates. Ms. Heit, calling you impartial is not nasty and we did not refer to you using bad language. disparaging terms, or foul names. We simply questioned how you choose to admin one of the largest Facebook pages in our community, and that is not an ATTACK on your character or integrity.
Heits 2nd Paragraph: Why am I being slandered? Well, because it is election season, and I am supporting the passage of the Frisco ISD Bond & VATRE ballot measures and the folks who are trying to defame me do not. They are online bullies—the exact type of bullies that I raise my children not to be. Many of them are in this group. I have patiently and repeatedly answered their questions and responded to their twisted facts about the school district.
Our Response: Slander is a legal term that refers to a false, oral statement about an individual that harms his/her reputation or standing within the community. 1) To be clear everything we posted and questioned … ARE YOUR OWN WORDS OR RULES! At the beginning of our article, we stated that you support the BOND and that as election day draws near many residents are searching social media for more information. We never said your supporting the bond was a bad thing. We pointed out you will not find any opposing VOTE NO position on your page. 2) We did not SLANDER or DEFAME YOU IN ANY WAY! Several people contributed to the whistleblower, and we have not asked any one of them how they plan to vote on the issue nor would we. We don’t care that you support the bond, we don’t care if you vote for Harris or Trump, this is America, and it is your GOD GIVEN RIGHT to support any candidate or measure you want!
What we care about is that everyone makes an informed decision, and you have said the same thing. When one of the largest social media community forums blocks information simply because it opposes the admin’s moral principles or moral uprightness, then the admin can’t claim in the newspapers to be impartial. Also blocking comments and asking people if they have questions to private DM you makes me wonder, why not just answer the question in a public forum. It feels like someone is trying to hide something and by blocking views you do not allow for educational discussion which helps members of our community to learn more. In many of your posts you have said you want to make sure residents are INFORMED so let them be INFORMED of the good, bad and ugly and make their own decision. You choose to post about the bond, you choose to shut off comments, you choose to layout your expertise, you choose to have these discussions in multiple social media groups, newspapers and community events. Now when asked a question, you are choosing to play the victim card to your own posts and words.
Heit 3rd Paragraph: For complete transparency, I have put in the work to serve on school district committees for the last 7 years and I understand what our school district is currently up against. Those slandering me for my support of the district have not put that work in and to be honest, they seem to think they know better than our entire District Instructional Support Team. Funny how that is!
Our Response: Since you feel we somehow slighted you on your accomplishments, we’ll let us apologize for that! HEAR YE, HEAR YE… FOR THOSE READING OUR BLOG: PLEASE SEE ALL OF MS. HEITS INCREDIBLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT SHE LISTS OUT IN HER OWN WORDS from the website CheckOutDFW.com. “After moving to Frisco in July of 2015, I led and organized a year-long community effort with the City of Frisco to find the most suitable location for a large multi-acre substation being planned along Legacy Drive. I have served on the Frisco ISD Long Range Planning Committee, the Frisco ISD Facilities and Programs Evaluation Committee and participated in the Frisco ISD Insight program. I also successfully co-chaired the 2018 PAC for the Frisco ISD Bond and TRE and have served on the marketing committee for Frisco FastPacs. I am currently serving on the Frisco ISD District Advisory Council and am a current member of the Frisco Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Frisco class. In addition, I am helping a new, soon-to-be formed 501c3 charitable organization, Pride Frisco, become established in our community.”
As for your criticism of us that “we have not put in that work” and that “we think we know better than those who have” … 1) we have never claimed to know more than anyone and 2) you have no clue what we or any resident has done or not done so please hold your privileged condemnation. AGAIN, LIKE A BROKEN RECORD, we simply said we believe in educational dialogue to make informed decisions. We have NOT SLANDERED the work you have done or put in with our school district, but you did just slander any voter or about (99% of our community) by saying if they have not done what you have done that, they are not good enough to have an opinion or smart enough to decide how to vote. Some of us don’t have the privilege of Ms. Heit, meaning we do as much as we can for our community in our own way, while facing other issues in our lives.
Heit Paragraph 4 & 5: It’s ok that not everyone wants to support the public-school district’s ballot measures. That’s what freedom and democracy is about. I only ask that everyone be informed and make a decision based off fact and not hearsay or presumed facts.
But it is NOT ok to share a disparaging portrayal of my character and my commitment to spreading kindness in Frisco simply because we disagree on supporting public schools.
Our Response: We agree, vote how want on the district’s ballot measures. Again Ms. Heit over and over calls for “everyone to be informed” yet she won’t let an opposing factual view from the VOTE NO position respond. She implies those on the vote no side are working off hearsay and presumed facts. How does she know that? You are choosing to post about it so just let it play out in discussion and allow voters to make up their own mind. Lastly, Ms. Heit is choosing to play the victim again using big words such as “disparaging portrayal of my character” when we never disparaged her character for supporting public schools. If Ms. Heit is this upset by a single question, then Houston we have bigger underlying problems. We support our schools and teachers, Ms. Heit, we just disagree with the measures. Yet our opinion does not matter nor does 95% of Frisco residents because we don’t have the privilege of serving our school district for 7 years via a committee or our community to your expectation for it to count.
Heit’s last few paragraphs: But regardless of the election outcome, FRWC will remain a place for Frisco residents to come and seek recommendations, ask for resources and politely discuss issues facing our community. It will never, nor has it ever been, a place that fuels divisiveness in the community.
If you do not like this group, you are free to leave. If anyone tells you that they been removed from this group, it’s either because they are a spammer, a BOT, they have aggregiously broken group rules (likely more than once) or they refused to be a Frisco Resident Who Cares and were mean and ugly towards others.
I’m sorry I had to post this in the group to begin with. It’s honestly embarrassing that grown adults act like this on social media (I can only imagine what an example they set for their own children), but despite being a passive person, I will not allow my reputation or my group’s reputation to be hijacked and taken over by social media bullies.
Our Response: Regardless of the election, we stand by our original comments that we believe she is a nice person and seemed very genuine the few times we meet her. Our new page Frisco Texas Freedom Chatter will be open to all views. You can discuss local issues, political issues, post community events but we will not be shutting off comments. We have respect for both sides of the equation.
Ms. Heit, we never said FRWC fuels divisiveness, those are your words not ours! AGAIN, we simply questioned why you will not allow for discussion on local political candidates, propositions, and ballot measures. You post about it then shut everyone down from commenting or don’t approve oppositional posts so that is not impartial and that is all we pointed out. Ms. Heit closing commenting does not allow for others to politely discuss issues facing the community. Lastly, as grown adults we are not sorry about what we posted and when it comes to asking the question of how an admin can claim to be impartial when clearly, they are not, does not make it a personal attack, accusation, slander, or defamatory. THAT IS A FACT based on your own posts, words, and decisions.
You could have chosen not to respond to our article like most do in Frisco, but we want to say thank you for taking them time to write your “victim card post!” It happened just like we said in our blog closing, it would. How did we know? Whenever she feels attacked, Ms. Heit does a “poor as me post” for sympathy.
Now it is time for FWB to set the facts straight, we did not attack you, your character, or integrity in any way, shape, or form. However, we are a little perturbed now and ready to take a bite of the apple after you accuse us of such bad behavior! WE SIMPLY QUESTIONED YOUR ABILITY TO BE NEUTRAL WHEN IT COMES TO LOCAL POLITICAL POSTS. It is okay for you to do interviews with your comments about your need to be impartial, but it is slander if someone else questions you. You choose to put yourself out there, heck you just posted several articles that talked about you in the last few weeks. “Look at me!”
The fact is, you are not impartial when it comes to posts about local elections, candidates, or ballot measures. If FWB’s simple statement hurts your feelings, you have bigger issues to deal with. Having passion for a ballot measure is not a bad thing, many others would struggle to be impartial also in the same position. The difference is the other 99% don’t control or administer a page that goes out to 20K+ plus residents. We like your page; we find it very informative most of the time, you do great things in our community, and you are a well-accomplished Frisco individual which is why people trust you. That trust the residents put in you means you must be even more careful than normal to be impartial or fair. You can’t just type “be informed” and then control the narrative, tell them you will answer questions privately via DM, turn off comments, not allow opposing views, and expect no one to question you publicly. Your accusation that we are a bully is egregious and so is the fact you cannot spell it! You act as if we pillaged you at the center of town in our blog, but you were one of the first to laugh at our post as it went up today. Now… back to our regularly scheduled programming: “The Princess and the Pity Part Post!”
Over the last two decades, social media has transformed how we communicate with family, friends, and strangers. More importantly, it has transformed how candidates approach campaigning and how issues are pushed to the people including ballot propositions. Recently a comprehensive research project published the findings of a multi-year project, led by academics from U.S. colleges and universities and working in collaboration with researchers at Meta. It focused on how critical aspects of the algorithms that determine what people see in their feeds can affect what they see and believe.
These newly published studies from the project also show that social media algorithms used by Facebook and Instagram are extremely influential in shaping users and that there is significant ideological segregation in political news exposure. The result was algorithm adjustments made by social media platforms have been proven to alter the political news their users see and engage with. After reading it we wondered if they should study what power Facebook Admins of “local community group pages” could have on elections. If an admin only allows the dissemination of one side of a political perspective could that change, influence, or alter the readers’ perceptions? Could it influence a vote? Can you guess where we are going with this question?
A little over six years ago, in Frisco, Texas resident Jamie Heit formed a Facebook group called Frisco Residents Who Cares. Today it is a very important communication tool for the residents, the city, and for Ms. Heit! How did the group FRWC come about? Well, Ms. Heit answered that in her post in 2023 when she wrote “I have been the admin of this group since I created it in 2016, only about 6 months after my family and I moved to Frisco in the summer of 2015. The group originated under a different name and was devoted exclusively to a singular (then political) issue: the rezoning of a parcel of land on Legacy Drive that was being eyed as the future home for an 11-acre Oncor electrical substation. The substation was a complex issue that many residents were not happy about, but through many months of respectful discussions with city leaders, many compromises on both sides, and a lot of patience and trust in the processes, a mutually agreeable solution was eventually met. As a result of seeing what being an informed, respectful and involved resident could do, I decided to keep my group going. I renamed the page what it is today and have kept it going as a place for residents to connect and to share what’s happening IN, AROUND and TO the City of Frisco.”
My wife has loved the group for many years, and we do appreciate all the hard work Ms. Heit puts into being an admin for such a large page. We have met her before at a few city events and she was very kind and polite, and we believe she is a genuine person. With that said this is not personal at all, but when we receive over a dozen emails from residents, we have to offer a fair assessment of their concern about the dissemination of information on her page. My wife has mentioned a few times that as politics has become more divisive, she feels that the FRWC page has implemented some “Heit’end Controls!” The rules for the page state, “FRWC is not a platform to promote other Facebook groups, religious institutions, or political candidates.”
While Ms. Heit likes to claim to be impartial and have a respectful stance to ensure the information shared with the community is beneficial, it often appears to be a very one-sided perspective and that is Ms. Heit’s perspective. Residents must decide right now whether to Vote For or Against the Frisco ISD Bond & Vatre. Many residents are searching on social media to learn more about the pros and cons of the bond. We have seen at least 10 to 20 posts supporting the Vote For PAC posted by Ms. Heit on her FRWC page. We have yet to see, even 1 post for the Vote No position on FRWC. Why is that?
Ms. Heit mentions in her very first post she is in full support of the bond, why would she want anyone with an opposing view AGAINST the bond to post on her page to her 20.7K followers? She has 100% Heit’end Control over what is disseminated to her followers. In one article she claims she must be impartial and respectful, but the truth is, she can’t claim to be when she blocks the opposing view. She can require it to be a factual opposition and if it is she should allow for it to be posted.
On October 21, Heit posted for anyone looking for “factual information” about the bond propositions that were unable to attend the community presentations they could watch The Frisco ISD apple podcast with Dr. Todd Fouche, Kimberely Smith and Scott Warstler. If you don’t have a kid in the district, you may not realize this is the district’s own podcast, not an independent podcast about Frisco ISD. Heit fails to mention in the quick snippet on her post that Fouche is the Deputy Superintendent, Kimberly Smith is the CFO, and Scott Warstler is the Chief Operations Officer for FRISCO ISD. Obviously, the podcast will be in support of the bond 100%!
Then on Oct 22nd, Heit does a long post on FRWC about how she has seen questions and so much “MISINFORMATION” on social media today about the bond/propositions and states “I decided to post an explanation of the ballot items here as well.” At least in this post she did ALERT residents she served on the Bond Exploration Committee for the past year with other members and ends her statement with “WHY THEY ARE NEEDED, WHAT THEY WILL ACCOMPLISH AND HOW THEY WILL IMPACT YOU.” The “Heit’end Controls” are in action as there is no opposing view allowed to do an individual post.
What is the most offensive about this post is her closing which states “Lastly, I am closing the comments only to prevent misinformation from being shared. If you have questions, please feel free to DM me.” Heit’end controls any opposition to respond, she doesn’t answer residents’ questions publicly but in private DMs, and that right here…IS NOT IMPARTIAL! As admins of Facebook pages when you have the power to change an election you have a GREAT RESPONSIBILITY to be fair and Ms. Heit while we respect you, you are from FAIR!
Are the “Heit’end Controls” new on FRWC – absolutely not! In a post-dated April 13, 2023, Ms. Heit talks about the upcoming municipal and ISD contested races. She boldly states “THIS ELECTION IS A PIVOTAL POINT IN FRISCO’S HISTORY AND IN THE FIGHT TO KEEP FRISCO ISD ONE OF THE STRONGEST SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE STATE.” She goes on to say she encourages every resident to do THEIR OWN RESEARCH, and how we must remember this is non-partisan.
She continues a few things I ask myself when looking at candidates (like we are too dumb to know what to look for) is 1. Which candidates are supported by OUTSIDE MONEY? Will a candidate with OUTSIDE POLITICAL MONEY truly have the BEST INTEREST in Frisco/Frisco ISD? Can we say, “pot calling the kettle black!”
Ms. Heit, as a proud supporter of the bond, would you like to tell us HOW ALL THE OUTSIDE MONEY DONATED FROM SUBCONTRACTORS WHO STAND TO MAKE MILLIONS OFF THIS BOND PASSING, WHICH HAS FLOATED THE VOTE FOR FRISCO ISD PAC, is in our BEST INTEREST? The wind is blowing in a new direction this year for Ms. Heit, and we are guessing she does not want us to ask the “best interest” question this year.
Ms. Heit’s background is in Public Relations and Marketing with an emphasis on media relations and we think she is a phenomenal marketer. She should be very proud of her accomplishments including the most recent FRWC Community Gathering. Ms. Heit helped small businesses, worked with locals to get people out to meet each other, and oh by the way she was also going to have Frisco ISD leadership there to present information on the upcoming bond. Of course, not only did she get messages out online, but she took it to the people on the streets. We received numerous emails after the event there was a clear message being presented and it again was very one-sided.
In closing, we know Ms. Heit will probably play the victim card and say that we are beating her up once we publish this article but that is not our intent. While we truly respect and appreciate Ms. Heit, as a fellow resident, one thing is clear, Ms. Heit uses FRWC as her own personal pulpit. Heit carefully cultivates a marketing message for each post that reflects her views but sells it as an educational post for voters. She does not allow the opposition to post on her page and falls back on her rules of no politics or political posts. For example, in one of her posts from April 18, she writes “Admin Note – the following is an excerpt from the DMN article. It is not my (FRWC admin) words nor necessarily my opinion, but that of the editorial board of the DMN.”
Ms. Heit often posts pieces from newspaper articles that support her candidate or viewpoint. Crafted with care, she will never come out and say she is against the other candidate or viewpoint, but you will not see any posts supporting the narrative for those she opposes unless it is a negative piece. If Heit truly wanted to be impartial, she would have let both sides present and show her support in the comments for the position or candidate as a resident.
Another example was in 2021 when Ms. Heit did a post for a political candidate forum, and she tagged 4 others. The post starts off looking like a forum announcement. She talks about how Frisco has low voter turnout and encourages everyone to talk to the candidates all the while knowing they won’t. Heit’s support is clear by the tags and her last line I am more than happy to talk with anyone about who I support. If this was universal, why not tag all the candidates? During the election cycle, you didn’t see any posts on the FRWC Facebook page supporting candidates who were not tagged in her post. They may have been supportive in the comments but not individual posts.
Instead, she uses her position as the ADMIN to gain trust knowing her position does and will have influencing the vote. Just look at her post on Frisco ISD Parents where she starts the post with “Many of you may know that I am the admin for a Frisco Community Facebook group called Frisco Residents Who Cares.” Her statement is very calculated and said at the opening to gain immediate reader’s trust. She then promotes her community gathering not mentioning that the ISD board will be there but as soon as you as click the link to her “event” you will learn that.
What is our point? The “Heit’end Controls” on FRWC’s Facebook page are not impartial or a free flow of informative information. The fact is, FRWC is her page, and Heit can do, post, accept, and deny anyone or anything she wants. All we are asking for is transparency from Ms. Heit. Be clear and honest to the public that it is a page that supports her and her like-minded friends’ opinions and views and acknowledges that she markets it to others exceptionally well. We all as a community have to realize words are powerful. When you have control of a page with 20+ followers and want to claim to be impartial then be impartial! If you want to offer your view and only your view, then do so. Shutting off comments so that residents can’t speak or question you when your rules read, “Let’s try and make this a safe, informative, and welcoming place for residents to come to on social media. Be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem” is a huge problem. You said in 2023 to residents “Do your own research” but now you are preventing that ability by not letting both perspectives be heard and communicating on the largest community forum we have in Frisco.
Some of the world’s biggest titans have fallen from grace because someone took the time to simply follow the money. If voters knew how to follow the money it would be a game changer in helping them decide how to vote. However, voters lack understanding and confidence in numbers and finance, so they follow the leaders on social media who tell them how to vote. While we normally don’t pay attention to Frisco ISD, when you ask for a 1-billion-dollar bond that does perk our interest. As we have said before curiosity kills and we were curious about who is behind the PACs in this Frisco ISD Bond election.
We are starting with the Vote For Frisco ISD PAC whose campaign treasure is listed as John Hoxie. What we found should shock you! The “TOTAL POLITCAL CONTRIBUTIONS” is listed as $116,929.00. It lists the PAC’s “TOTAL EXPENDITURES” as $46,483.55. As of the last day of reporting the “TOTAL POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS MAINTAINED” was $115,486.80. That is a lot of money, so where did it all come from? We started combing through the reports on the state website and then compared them to the Check Registers listed on the district’s website.
Now before you say we may be “barking up the wrong tree” I bet if we were to ask the Vote For PAC how they raised over 100,000 dollars so quickly, they would not offer up the tricks they have up their sleeve. Instead, I am guessing the response would be “It ain’t about the money, but it is about the principle of why they donated!” That means it is about the money, and they just don’t want to spill the beans and answer the question.
We immediately noticed that 95% of the donors are companies and all but one are outside of Frisco. Our first thought was that this is a repeat of the May 2024 elections when the city went to its “BIG DEVELOPERS” and pushed them to donate/fund the Vote No PAC against the Frisco Firefighters. We looked up each company and determined they were all direct providers or subcontractors for commercial general construction companies. It made us wonder, who is the biggest provider of general construction to the district and here is what we found:
Core Construction: $306,297,212.88
Joeris General Construction: $73,671,804.65
Crossland Construction: 45,569,957.31
Lee Lewis Construction: $39,688,799.95
Corgan Assoc: $18,591,228.20
Hellas Construction: $11,585,144.34
Then we started researching the individual donors to the Vote For Frisco ISD PAC! We pulled up the check registers from 2018 (the time of the last bond) to 2024 and made our own spreadsheet comparing the year-over-year spend with different vendors. We also checked to see if any of them were on the Frisco ISD payroll.
RLK Engineering in Allen donated $10,000, and they specialize in civil engineering consulting. That is the least they could do when the school district has spent $197,879.57 with them over the last few years.
Acoustics & Drywall in Carrolton donated $5000. Who is that? The actual name of the company is Lasco ADI and according to their website they worked for the General Contractor Core Construction on Panther Creek High School. The website also shows a the logo for Corgan & Associates.
Armko Industries in Flower Mound donated $5000. They are an Engineering Firm with Architects and Building Envelope Consultants on staff. They specialize in the building envelope which comprises the roof and exterior walls. Armko is on the districts payroll as well, and since 2018, Frisco ISD has paid them $1,709,038.83. If your meal ticket calls, asking you to fund the Vote For PAC that is probably a good idea when you are banking in return.
Basden Steel in Burleson donated $5000. They are a certified steel fabrication and erection company. On their website it shows the Frisco Public Library as one of the many projects they worked on.
CT Excavating in Greenville donated $500. They don’t have a very lengthy website.
Cooper Excavation in Lewisville donated $1000. They have no website we could find and also have another name C-Con Services, Inc.
DMG Masonry in Arlington donated $5000. While they have a website it is very basic so we can only assume they too are a subcontractor for the FISD project.
EMA Engineering & Consulting, Inc donated $20,000. They provide MEP and technology design and consulting services to architects and building owners.
Foodservice Design Professionals in The Woodlands donated $10,000. The design state of the art food cafeterias. Not like a little old Luby’s from my day!
Greater Metroplex Interiors (GMI) in Southlake donated $5000. According to their website they are a facility construction for essential infrastructure projects.
Hawk Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning in Fort Worth donated $3000.
J&E Companies in Grand Prairie donated $5000. They are a masonry, drywall, acoustical, plaster/stucco specialty subcontractor.
John Cook & Associates in Dallas donated $3333.00. They offer HVAC solutions.
One Source Building Services in Plano donated $2500. They perform commercial construction services. One Source Commercial Flooring in Plano donated $5000. They appear to be in the same location.
Precision Demolition in Lewisville donated $2000.
Progressive Services in Phoenix, Arizona donated $5000.
Redden Concrete in Melissa donated $1000, and they are a commercial concrete contractor.
Signature Casework in Dallas donated $2500, and their website was not working.
Ramsey Landscape Architects in Frisco donated $5000.
Sizelove Construction in Euless donated $5000, and they are a leading concrete subcontractor.
Vaden’s Acoustics & Drywall in Fort Worth donated $5000, and we could not access their website.
Webb Builders Hardware in Dallas donated $1000.
Wildstone Construction in Fort Worth, Texas donated $1500.
WHAT DID WE LEARN? We have filed a PIR with the Frisco ISD to find out if these companies are subcontractors to any of the general commercial construction companies that they have paid out over $500 Million to over the last few years. It is clear some of them are directly on Frisco ISD’s payroll which left us with a few questions:
Who in the Vote For Pac is so popular that they know someone at each of these companies and called them up and asked them to donate to a PAC that would support Frisco ISD at the end of the day?
If Frisco ISD made contact with these companies or their general contractors asking for help to fund the Vote For PAC then could that or would that be electioneering?
It seems random that several subcontractors with no direct link to Frisco ISD felt the need to donate out of nowhere, and out of the goodness of their little kind hearts, to a district it has no affiliation to, right? If the PAC expects us to believe that, then they think we are dumber than elephant dung. The only reason these companies would donate is if they were asked to by one of the major companies they subcontract for.
Is anyone else questioning how this PAC got funded so fast?
Voltaire, one said, “When it is a question of money, everybody is of the same religion.” In this case, that seems to be on point! Something underhanded and possibly crossing the line of ethical or even legal happened which funded this PAC. There are some hands in some serious cookie jars on this one!
Where does a school district’s money come from? School funding is largely in the hands of states. The primary job of the state finance system should be to account for differences between the districts in the cost of providing the right educational quality level, and then to distribute the funds. About 30 years ago the Texas Supreme Court ordered the Texas Legislature to fix the state’s unequal school funding system. The fix by lawmakers is often called the “Robin Hood” recapture plan. In 2023, three school districts voted to stop paying the recapture money to the state and two of those districts are here in North Texas. Carroll ISD and Keller ISD led the way and if other districts followed it would force the legislature to look at more options. If you received one of the recent postcards, they sure look misleading!
So, what is the funding system? According to a 2019 Texas Tribune article, “Texas guarantees every school district a certain amount of funding for each student. State lawmakers determine the base number per student, which is currently $5,140. Many educators argue that the state should regularly increase that base number, at least with inflation, to get all schools the money they need. But the amount has not changed in four years.” What many Texans don’t realize is that Texas consistently ranks in the bottom 10 to 12 states for education spending per student. According to an article by Texas Standard, Texas hasn’t increased school funding since 2019. It goes on to say to keep up with inflation over the last four years, state lawmakers would need to add almost $1200 per student. Two North Texas districts, Carroll ISD and Keller ISD, led the way and if other districts followed it would force the legislature to look at more options.
Remember when we were told if we approved the Texas Lotto, it would support education, where is all the money from the profits of these scratch-offs and power ball drawings? The truth is only 7% of the funding by the state for the state’s public school system comes from the Texas Lotto. However, the Texas Lottery is a better wordsmith to perfume the pig. The Texas Lotto website reads, “The Texas Lottery Supports Texas Education. Since 1997, the Texas Lottery has contributed $33.9 billion to the Foundation School Fund, which supports public education in Texas.”
While funding is an important part of the discussion so are the spending habits of some of these districts. How did our school district choose to spend their money? Are the funds being distributed properly? Are they spending based on a well-thought-out budget? We decided to investigate the spending habits via the Frisco ISD Check Registers on the district’s website. The district has 4 funds: The General Fund, Child Nutrition, Debt Service, and Capital Projects. We started with the General Fund!
$$ Legal Services: In 2024, Frisco ISD paid Abernathy Law $40,851.93, in 2023 they paid $85,913.58. We are curious, would it be a conflict of interest if the same law firm represented both the city and the School District? Was the legal advice received around these “Public-Private Partnerships” that are sold to residents as success ventures.
$$ Legal Services: In 2024, Frisco ISD paid Walsh Gallegos Kyle another law firm $411,336.57 and in 2023, $353,028.02. Why does the district have two different law firms? What kind of legal services is the district needing?
$$ Amazon: In 2024, the district spent $2,271,090.30 on “MISC SUPPLIES.” That is slightly higher than the 2023 spend, which was $2,047,880. That is a lot of Amazon!
$$ Dallas Physician Medical Services for Children: In 2022, the district opened a medical clinic to provide FISD employees with free access to health and wellness. As we know nothing is free! In 2024 the district paid DPMSC $470,000 dollars, and in 2023 the district spent $472,000 dollars. We are curious why they would partner with a medical service for children – when it is supposed to be for adult employees.
$$ Blue Star Frisco EV: In 2024, $457,915.28 for “Rentals”, in 2023 the district paid 359,028 dollars. When the public-private partnership was announced for The Frisco Star residents were led to believe this was a good deal for the school district as they would have use of the facilities. The city website reads “It houses Frisco ISD events such as football games, soccer games, marching band competitions, commencement exercises, and other similar events.” Everyone failed to mention how much the district would pay for it each year on top of what the district paid for in the original agreement.
$$ City of Frisco (Contracted Services): In 2024, the district paid the city $2,361,742.00 and back in 2023, they paid $2,135,134.56 dollars. What contracted services cost that much?
$$ City of Frisco/Park (FISD Debt Payment): In 2024, the district paid $4,511,073.80 and back in 2023 they paid $5,678,818.38. What is the district getting back from that?
$$ Hilltop Holdings (Yearly Investment): In 2024, the district paid Hilltop Holdings $63,301 and in 2023 it was $81,017.98. What is the yearly investment for?
$$ GCS Trails of Frisco (Contracted Services): Par for the course the city is paying for the use of the facilities for GOLF! In 2024, the district paid $61,555.85 and then in 2023 they paid $54,893.94. I thought the whole point of the PGA partnership was to have “USE OF THE FACILITIES” so why are we paying to rent facilities.
$$ Population & Survey (Demographics Survey): The most interesting expense was the 2024 payment for $115,700 for a survey. Then we noticed in 2023 they paid $113,450.00 for another survey. Why? For What? We plan to file a PIR for the information.
The district’s website reads “OUR MISSION is to know every student by name and need.” At Frisco Whistleblower our mission is to understand how the district spends its money and the need to ask us for more Bonds = More Taxes! There were many more payments in the 2024 and 2023 General Fund Report that some may question. While we wanted to highlight a few, we are still left with the question of what the point of the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ). If all we are doing is paying out on them then how are they beneficial? What are we getting back from these TIRZ if we now have to go and ask residents for another $1 Billion dollars? Next up we will look at the 22/23/24 Capital Fund spending. Until then, you can review the Financial Reports on the district’s website. Lastly, look over the check registers as you might find some interesting things like we did.
Frisco ISD has proposed a new 2024 Bond Vatre which the district and the so called “Vote For Frisco ISD PAC” are pushing hard for. They want us to vote on four (4) propositions that they claim will fund important projects. What is a VATRE? A VATRE is triggered when a board adopts a tax rate that exceeds the district’s voter-approval tax rate (VATR). The VATR is determined for each district by a statutory formula and is the highest tax rate a board can adopt without holding an election. A district’s adopted tax rate has two components: its debt service rate or its interest and sinking (I&S) rate, and its maintenance and operations (M&O) rate.
While a bond election authorizes the issuance of bonds to generate funds for a district’s buildings and infrastructure and to be repaid from I&S revenue, a VATRE approves an increase in the district’s M&O tax rate, which can only be used for items related to programs and people, such as teacher salaries and stipends, training programs, educational programs, and other student activities, such as extracurricular programs. Confused yet?
The school district and the Vote For PAC are selling it to you on the basis that the priority has shifted from building new schools to maintaining the district’s existing facilities. A key piece of the proposed bond is refreshing aging schools and the supposedly includes a refresh for 20 Frisco ISD campuses that are 25 years old. The VATER portion according to the district’s website is needed to increase teacher pay and be more competitive. The district claims this will affect every campus, but they promised similar things in the 2018 bond, and we question if the money was used as they promised. Now they are back, asking us to trust them again but remember they DO NOT HAVE TO USE IT FOR THE REASONS THEY ARE ASKING FOR NOW. That means you can vote for it and then they can change how they or what they use the money for just like they did in 2018.
Getting the information out to the public about the upcoming propositions is not cheap. In fact, principals and the district are trying every avenue possible to get the information out, from using the PTA’s to hold informational sessions to ADVERTISING! Community Impact is one of the largest community papers for Frisco and for a long time we have thought they are in bed with Frisco political powers. We have never seen them write a hard-hitting story or an investigative story, instead most of the articles are “watered down” informational pieces. We have always had one burning question when it comes to Community Impact, how much does it cost to advertise during campaign season. I mean we know Jeff Cheney can afford it because he always owns the back cover for his business – but at what cost?
We started looking into these questions awhile back and set what we had found to the side until we saw a post on social media asking, “How much did Frisco ISD pay for the four-color glossy sticky notes located front and center in the recent Community Impact?” The paper has several different avenues of advertising such as an insert, sticky notes, direct mail postcards, online presence, and in-paper display ads. If our research is right, we can tell you!
We were sent a copy of their Frisco Elections Advertising PDF and according to the document, Community Impact goes out to 85,264 mailboxes in Frisco and their online presence in Frisco hits about 10,176 daily subscribers. Not bad coverage for a city with voter apathy! You can also bet they are working their inside connections in the Desis community as they alone can decide this vote.
Drum Roll Please…… Sticky Notes cost $0.15 each! If the district did 85,264 sticky notes to the Frisco readers, then the district spent $12,789.60 for one paper. Additionally, inserts are $0.15 each, sticky/insert combo is $0.25/set, and direct mail postcards are $0.26 each. If they decided to use the website ads on communityimpact.com it would cost $300/month per market for 30 days. If they choose to advertise via the morning impact email newsletter that goes out to 10,176 subscribers, it will cost $500 for the top of the newsletter and $450 for the middle of the newsletter.
We have a lot of questions:
Should the district be paying $13k for advertising when there is a Vote For PAC who has organized?
Are they advertising clearly, correctly and honestly? For example, on the districts website it reads “100% of bond funds stay in the district and is not subject to recapture by the state.” Will it really stay “IN THE DISTRICT” such as our schools and facilities, or will any of it (even $1 dollar) go to one of the public-private partnerships they have? You might have heard the City of Frisco approved a $182 million renovation for Toyota Stadium, but did you know Frisco ISD pays part of that bill? The recent headlines don’t alert you that the ISD is paying part of that BIG BILL!
That is right, $77 million of the $182 million comes from the public-private partnership TIRZ for the City of Frisco and Frisco ISD. They just did stadium improvements in 2016 for Toyota Stadium. I thought the point of all these public-private partnerships was to make money not just spending it. They also have a TIRZ / public-private partnership for the PGA Golf Course, Ford Center, Expansion of Dr. Pepper Arena, etc. Read more about it on their website.
While they are claiming 100% of the bonds are staying in the district, they are not telling you the VATRE is subject to recapture. According to Community Impact, “the new tax rate would generate an additional $11.5 million in revenue for the district. In total, the increase would generate $19.5 million in revenue, but $8 million would go to the state in recapture.” But they are not advertising that, are they? FISD voters last approved raising the M&O portion of the tax rate by $0.13 per $100 valuation in 2018.
We are just diving into the ISD stuff but as of right now we are not sold on voting for this bond/vatre. Just a few concerns include, we question if Waldrip the Super Intendent is the right might to lead the district as the last city he was in didn’t want him. We also don’t trust the school board President who has a history of personal financial problems to oversee tax dollars. We also don’t believe Frisco ISD is being smart, transparent or effective with the money they have now and we are unsure if throwing more money in the pot is the best solution. Last but not least our ISD needs to explain if any of this money will ever be used for public-private partnerships because if it will that makes it a no for us!
There is a magical art behind asking for something you want and then getting it! I read an essay many years ago that talked about how culturally it was not always the norm to ask directly for what you want and when we do, we are usually bad at it. People tend to hem and haw and often walk away from asking because we cannot clearly articulate the message. For example, many are uncomfortable asking their boss for a raise or salary bump.
Persuasion tactics are strategies that can help you convince people to see things your way and being good using these tactics is usually an art form. To be good, or to be great you must first know exactly what you want and what you need others to “buy in” to. Second you must ground yourself in why you are doing it and make sure it resonates with you so you can “sell it from the heart.” Third, you must be able to state clearly and with no confusion what you are asking for or trying to sell to the people. It must be direct, clear and specific. Lastly, you must be selective and targeted about who you ask or when you announce it.
In Frisco, one man is very good at Persuasion Tactics and his name is Mayor Jeff Cheney. When he “wants” something in Cheneyville, well he gets it! He is very good at “telling you” what you want versus “asking” residents what they want. For example, he has put together his team and he has been gathering his clan of supporters to push for the Performing Arts Centre. When he hit a no with the public/private partnership with the school district and Hall Group, he didn’t stop. Nope, he just changed course and came back at it again with his little clan in toe. Next thing you know he will get what he wants, residents will bitch, and no one knows the wiser of how we ended up here.
The talk of a Performing Arts Centre is not new, but what is new is we are curious “How much has this cost taxpayers?” The city has spent $1.6+ million on the current Theatre Projects assessment or feasibility study, but how many others have we done in the past? What were the costs to taxpayers in the previous studies? Why are we doing so many studies? When it comes to wanting studies and assessments what is the magic number of how many we will do before we say enough is enough? We did some research, and this is what we found:
Feb 17, 2015: Under the consent agenda for the city council meeting item 17 reads, “Consider and act upon approval of publishing a RFQ for the development and implementation of a study to examine the feasibility of a performing/theatre arts facility within the corporate limits of the City of Frisco.” We looked high and low and could not determine how much any of this cost. We could not even find the RFQ they approved to publish.
2015: Frisco Association of the Arts commissioned a “Facility Programming Report” by Page Southerland Page. According to the minutes for the Citizens Bond Committee on 01/26/2015, Tammy Meinershagen provided an update that a feasibility group has been identified to conduct a study for the PAC in Frisco. She went on to say it would take about six (6) months to complete the study and has an estimated cost of $200,000 dollars.
2018: The City of Frisco commissioned a “Needs Assessment” by Webb Management Services and Parkhill Smith & Cooper (PSC). According to a Community Impact article, the study showed there 14 performing arts groups that have 667 days of demand for performance facilities in Frisco. According to the study, the majority of this demand—466 days—calls for a facility with 225 to 500 seats while 177 days of demand calls for a facility of 1,001 to 1,750 seats. At the June 2018 Council Summer Work session, PSC Associate Michael Howard presented the findings and told the council there is not enough capacity in Frisco right now. At that time Cheney told Community Impact that “it was council’s preference to use available bond funds to build a 300- to 500-seat facility to meet the current demand of community arts groups with the hope of working with a private partner to build a larger performing arts center.” Of course, Cheney always changes his tune later! The CI article goes on to say the Councils “Performing Arts Committee is in the middle of a feasibility study to determine the size and needs of a potential PAC.” HOW MUCH DID IT COST – We don’t know! We can’t find anywhere in an agenda search where this shows up from 2017 to 2019.
August 2020: Frisco ISD commissioned a “Programming Report” by Schuler Shook. We can’t determine how much this one cost our ISD Taxpayers either. We have sent a PIR asking for that information.
October 2020: The City of Frisco and Frisco ISD commissioned a “Feasibility Report” by Garfield Public Private and Schuler Shook. Well Shocker – we cannot find anywhere what this one cost taxpayers either!
September 2021: Frisco Arts Foundation commissioned a “Market & Feasibility Study” by Theatre Projects Consultants, Inc. We cannot find out how much this one cost either. However, we are guessing since each year the city “FUNDS” the FAA through Hotel/Motel Fund somehow Taxpayers still paid for it.
May 2022: City of Frisco, Frisco ISD, and Hall Group commissioned a “Space Analysis Narrative by Corgan + Studio Gang. In February of 2022 the city council authorized an agreement for services in the amount of $175,000 dollars. Remember in late June of 2021, the city and Frisco ISD entered a public-private partnership with developer Craig Hall to construct a $67 million performing arts center. The city has agreed to contribute $14 million in voter-approved bond money, while Frisco ISD will contribute $43 million from the 2018 bond package, and Hall will contribute $10 million. Remember this is the one that “FELL APART” and truly if the city had wanted a PAC would have been the best option for everyone involved but we have learned from city insiders that “to many chiefs got involved” which caused the band to break up.
July 2022: Hall Group commissioned and performed a “Proposal and Outline” and we could not find out what the cost of this study was.
January 2023: The City of Frisco commissioned and executed an agreement with Theatre Projects Consultants, Inc., for consulting services related to a performing arts venue in the amount of $99,300 which was to be paid for by Bond Funds
September 2023: The City of Frisco commissioned part two of the agreement with Theatre Projects Consultants, Inc., in the amount of $1,415,500 dollars. Recently in 2024 after some CLARITY they Upp’d that amount to $1.6 million as we told you in our last article.
We did learn a few interesting facts along this deep dive…
According to the Dallas Morning News, “Frisco leaders also launched the HEARTS Project initiative — an acronym for Hall, Education and the Arts — to crowdsource an additional $100 million in donations for auxiliary upgrades. The amenities could include a large video screen facing The Star in Frisco, box suites, a VIP arts club with membership benefits, Frisco summer musicals, and a restaurant or bistro, according to the campaign website, but would not contribute to additional seating.” The 2021 article went on to say that “although city officials have previously said the center could host professional performances, the petition states that the limited seating capacity is too small for consideration by Touring Broadway. Experts recommend between 1,750 and 2,000 seats, according to the petition, which cited Theatre Projects’ market assessment and feasibility study for Frisco.
Next, we found it interesting just a few years ago in 2021 Frisco ISD had committed $43 million from a 2018 bond package and now they are back in 2024 asking voters to VOTE FOR the new 1-billion-dollar bond because they are broken penniless poppers! Just a few years later, they are begging for us to vote in favor of the bonds so the Frisco Kids can have an 11,000,000-tennis center.
We also learned Keating was a huge fan of the arts from a 2018 article in Lifestyle Frisco. He is quoted as saying Deputy Mayor Pro Tem John Keating said, “This is our chance to blow it out of the water, Frisco style!” Remember, Keatings motto in his last re-election we are #1 this, #1 that, #1 here, #1 there! Now he is closing on his house in The Preserve at Fields the #1 most exclusive community in King Cheney’s Frisco.
In closing, the city has buried how much these things cost deep in agendas, under nicknames and code words, hoping that you or I will give up looking. We did but what we can tell you with the most recent study in 2023 plus the other three we are at about $2 million alone in just “STUDIES, ASSESSMENTS, ANALYSIS” done for a Performing Arts Center. That means we are going to keep paying money for these via the bonds, hotel/motel tax fund, or something else until King Cheney gets his Performing Arts Center. You can bet little pretty Princess Tammy will be right next to him the whole way. Trailing behind will be their wingman “John “The Infamous Cheating” Keating.
Diving into all this has taken a lot more time than we expected and unless you understand the arts and all these studies it is a bunch of well-pitched jargon crap to confuse the residents of Frisco. We will continue our deep dive into this because we know the city is about to hit us with a bond. It will be through the City or the secret weapon “THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD”. Just wait and see…. the EDC will make the pitch because the city has been called out.
Anytime you travel, you generally pick the destination for a purpose. For example, if you want to clearly see The Northen Lights or Glacier Bay National Park you head to Alaska. If you want to see the Grand Canyon, you head to Arizona. If you have kids who love Disney, you are packing up to go to California or Florida. Each place has is “draw” that brings in visitors and I highly recommend if you are every in Colorado Springs you visit the Garden of the Gods, a national natural landmark.
If you love country music you probably hit up Nashville, Tennessee and drop by Memphis to hit Elvis Graceland while you are at it. If you love politics then Washington D.C. will fill your cup with historical museums, monuments and The White House. When you think of Texas you probably think of LBJ Space Center in Houston, The Riverwalk in San Antonio, The School Book Depository Building where Oswald Shot Kennedy or the Dallas Botanical Gardens in Dallas, and of course the Fort Worth’s “Stockyards!”
My wife is a lover of the ARTS and when she wants to see something of substance you can bet, she is dragging me on the next flight to a city that never sleeps. That means west to Las Vegas or east to New York, New York, and we can all agree neither disappoints. Both cities have amazing nighttime activities including light shows, theaters, concerts, and anything else your heart desires. Last time we went to New York, my wife and I saw 3 Broadway shows on our short holiday and we collected the “Playbills” for each one. What made it one of the best trips ever, was the “whole experience” and not just the building where the show was held. It is not about the whole atmosphere of the city, the food, and the walk along Broadway in a city that never sleeps and that is something you will never find in Texas. When you want to see a Broadway show and have “The Theatre” experience, you will not say “hey babe, book us two tickets to Frisco, Texas!
That is the mindset that Mayor Jeff Cheney and his sidekicks “The Council Amigos” want you to believe is in Frisco’s future which is why they are pushing for this Performing Arts Center. On September 17th the city council tried to sneak into the “Consent Agenda” item 16 which reads, “Consider and act upon authoring the City Manager to finalize and execute the First Amendment to the Agreement with Theatre Projects Consultants, Inc., for consulting services related to a performing arts venue.” What does that mean?
In September 2023, the council approved $1,415,500 for a professional agreement with Theatre Projects to include “exploration, development, costing, and preliminary design for the proposed performing arts venue.” Other elements include multiple costing studies, site analysis, comprehensive community engagement, economic impact assessment, design concept facilitation, capital stack/funding study, and refinement of a final business plan.
Fast forward to September 2024, the council has approved another $214,350 taxpayer dollars because “As this study has progressed, there is more clarity for the upcoming Phase Two scope of services, resulting in this requested First Amendment.” Clarity? Who knew “CLARITY” cost so much? What is the CLARITY going to get us?
The First Amendment will address an extension to the Phase One service through October 1, 2024. The added cost for the Phase 1 extension services and related direct expenses is $49,850.
The Phase Two services have been refined with a duration of 10 months anticipated, from October 2024 to the end of July 2025. Key elements include concept design team selection, facility concept design coordination, project management, and partnership program development. The updated Phase Two fee is estimated at $628,000 (inclusive of travel). DID YOU MISS IT…the keyword ESTIMATED….
All these expenses mean the council has to revise the original contract which results in an increase of $214,350 from the original contract. That means the city has spent a total of $1,629,850 in Tax Payer Dollars aka BOND FUNDS.
One of the elements mentioned above talked about “comprehensive community engagement” and we were curious in such an apathetic town like Frisco where we can’t even get people to show up and vote – how did they conduct this COMPREHENSIVE ENGAGEMENT? According to the website they had 2 in-person open house sessions on May 15, an online survey for almost two weeks, and a virtual open house via Zoom on May 29th. We received an email from one of the zoom participants who said there were not more than 10 to 15 people in attendance, which included representatives of Theatre Consultants. That sounds REALLY COMPREHENSIVE for a town of 200,000 plus people who will be footing the bill for this project.
What is even more interesting is we filed a PIR for all of the studies done over the last 10+ years and of course, you would think the city would want to be TRANSPARENT as they plan to bring a request for a bond through the Economic Development Corporation before the citizens but nope – they felt the need to provide some documents and send some to the Attorney General. Yep, they fought us from getting everything we asked for which begs the question, WHAT ARE THEY HIDING FROM US?
Why is any of this important? Remember, Craig Hall has pulled out and is no longer offering to be a private partner or land donor for this project. For such a large project, why won’t the council answer basic questions such as where might the PAC go? How much will it cost taxpayers? Do you plan to try sliding it through the EDC? It is time for Intermission Break so until next time….
Click Here: To visit the landing page for the Frisco Center For The Arts Planning Updated 09/17/24
If you have read George Orwell’s well-known dystopian novel, Nineteen Eight-Four (1984), then you may remember the opening line, “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” Have you ever wondered, what does it mean? If you thought it referred to military time, you are incorrect. References to a thirteenth stroke of the clock indicate that some event or discovery calls into questions everything previously believed. In other words, the thirteenth stroke of the clock calls in question not only the credibility of itself but the previous twelve strokes.
For Orwell the key was “clocks” referring to more than one, so we must believe he was referring to all the clocks in the world. It was Orwell subtle way to tell the reader that statements of truth in a fictional society should always be called into question. The proverb puts forth the notion that if just one of someone’s proclamations or statements is wrong, or something in a process is wrong, then the correctness, accuracy and truth of all the previous proclamations, statements and steps in a process need to be called into question.
What does the “Thirteenth Stroke of the Clock” have to do with Frisco Fire Department? In a 13 Stroke attempt the city wants you to believe Glover is just the phenomenal department head who has transitioned all the negative out of the FD and things are just peachy now. In their own attempt at the “Thirteenth Storke of the Clock,” on video in their own words, we have Mayor Jeff Cheney – lying, Butt Hurt Bill Woodard – lying, Angelia Pelham – lying, and Mr. Valor John Cheating Keating – lying!
The most recent In-Service Meeting notes are no different than the 2011 Climate Report and all of that falls on the city, former city manager George Purefoy, the mayor and council and our newest tool – Wes Pierson. You might think “that can’t be that much more left,” to uncover, but you would be wrong! In 2012 when the city went outside the department to hire (Mark Piland) that was a thorn in Lee Glovers’ side because in his mind he was always the successor to Mack Borchardt. For ten years Glover had to watch a new Fire Chief, who could have cleaned house and fired him – but didn’t do the job he felt he was owed and deserved.
In fact, the In-Service notes state that repeatedly “Glover would talk shit about the department at lunch, would brag about retiring, and not caring about the job,” but now he is the new Fire Chief. The notes also say that some of the firefighters feel that they have seen their former Fire Chief Mark Piland more since he retired than they have Glover, since he took the position as the new Fire Chief. The most damming statement of all in the report, “We have managers and leaders. Leaders we would follow to the end of our career. The Fire Chief (Lee Glover) is NOT a leader!”
During the recent election cycles, the Mayor and City Council members all talked about how they valued our firefighters, as they treated them crap calling them lazy, greedy, and master manipulators / liars. What do you think the result of that election was? Well according to the notes “The PAC (run by Bill Woodard, funded by Cheney’s big developer friends) drug the name of the Frisco FD through the mud, damaging their image and trust with citizens.” It goes on to say the secretly backed by the city PAC, “made poor judgement decisions using social media, and they crossed the line making attacks extremely personal and not about the issues. The city blurred the lines of politics by backdoor financing the political PAC, and the FD has lost complete trust in City Hall and the Council.” Even further manipulation was when the Frisco Chamber of Commerce, who likes to play they are independent, but receives hundreds of thousands of dollars from the city, cut off the voices of the firefighters at their forum has left the FD with a very bad taste and lack of trust. “We don’t trust them, and they don’t trust us!”
When it comes to the City Manager, Wes Pierson the in-service notes said they don’t trust him or his judgement. Goes on to say since taking over in this city he has been dismissive, divisive, flat our ignored them, refuses to meet with them, and has been condescending to members of the FD fracturing a future relationship.
The city wants you to believe they have done everything, given everything, spend ½ the annual budget for public safety and that the firefighters are just lazy! Yet the city is running out of people to blame it on, and we have caught them boldly lying about Glover which means we now have to question everything else they have said in the past. The lies are on tape! Actual video evidence in their own words, LYING to citizens. We fully understand now why the FD has a lack of trust with the FD management, City Manager and Mayor + council.
Staffing is the biggest issue that was brought up over-and-over from the 2011 Climate Report to today. This is the biggest tipping point: 3-person truck or 4-person truck. It makes me wonder why firefighters would be fighting so hard for staffing if it was not a problem. We found a 5-year Strategic Staffing plan in one of the PIR’s that we filed. It was done by Former Chief Mark Piland, and according to a city hall staffer this is what the Fire Chief turns into their boss – the city manager. It stats the following:
FY 2018 Add 7 Positions Total FD Personal: 260
FY 2019 Add 8 Positions
FY 2020 Add 27 Positions
FY 2021 Add 13 Positions
FY 2022 Add 24 Positions Total FD Personal: 332
Full Copy of 5-Year Strategic Plan written by Mark Piland:
Based on that strategic plan – how many do you think we hired? We have filed a PIR asking just that question. We did pull up the FY 2023 Budget which has the Fire Department clearly listed by department area. We wanted to focus on the “Tactical” personnel because when you call 911 that is the group that shows up at your front door. On the “tactical personnel” side it shows they went from 230 in FY 2021 to 239 in FY 2023. Yep 9 people!
The strategic 5-year plan that Cheney talked about in the 2023 election is what city goes by, shows by FY 2023 we should have had 281 “tactical” positions. Now the city council has been telling citizens we are staffed just fine at 239. It really hit home for us when we looked at it visually on the organizational chart. Frisco’s current population is 225,007 people, which makes us the 101 largest cities in the US and growing every day. The actual FY 2023 budget for the FD covers 279 personnel across different areas of the department from administrative, fleet, tactical and more.
If you look at the 5 Year Strategic plan Piland wrote in 2018 it shows for FY 2023 that we should have 332 personnel across the different areas of our fire department. That is a difference of 53 personnel – most of those positions are on the “tactical side.” Why did the city not meet the Strategic Plan in place? We posted the video of Mayor Cheney in our last blog, and he is talking about how the city has a “strategic plan,” they go by, so why do the numbers not match the plan MAYOR? Now I understand why the firefighters are so passionate about the staffing issues – it makes sense. If staffing was an in issue in 2011 and then per the strategic plan for 2018 – 2023 we are short staffed that means we are WAY BEHIND THE 8 BALL.
Then we remembered, during the election at the Stonebriar Forum, Angelia Pelham said she liked to look at FACTS aka DATA. She said in 5 years 57% of the Fire Department will be eligible for retirement. Hold up, wait a minute! As a resident that should concern you if you care about the welfare of your family. While it is not likely, let’s pretend all 57% of our those eligible in our fire department decided to take retirement in 5 years because they are sick of “The Frisco Way” and if the city does not go along with the current strategic plan (which we have filed a PIR for) for the next 5 years, it could decimate our department.
Let’s look at this another way. It takes about 1 to 2 years to train a Firefighter with class and hands on experience. We also know through PIRs in Frisco and other cities that when it comes to candidate testing for new firefighters – they are not coming to Frisco. They are going to other cities with a more favorable view of the fire department. Let’s assume we were already short-staffed in 2011. Then the city has been short staffing the fire department against the advice of the Fire Chief for the last ten years, plus it fails to follow the current 5-year plan to hire 55 new firefighters, and then you add on 57% of our Fire Department chose to retire in 5 years when they hit eligibility, what does that mean?
It means we will face a catastrophic shortfall of well-trained experienced firefighters. Our tenured firefighters have already been retiring and then going to other departments because they are not done working, they just don’t want to work in FRISCO anymore. The best training comes from experience and the “tenured firefighters” give real life saving mentorship to new firefighters who have yet to go down a 10-to-15-year career. If 57% leave in 5 years when eligible and the city which is already short staffed doesn’t follow the plan or hire more immediately than there will be no tenure in the department and that is a LIFE-OR-DEATH matter to firefighters, citizens and the council’s favorite…tourists.
We reiterate, Mayor Cheney, Angelia Pelham, John Keating, Bill Woodard, and Laura Rummel (Livingston has remained quiet), have all talked about the increase of staffing when we open the new Fire Stations 10 & 11. We wrote in depth about the Fire Department and Bonds in our blogpost 007 and if you have not read it, you should! Voters approved Station 10 in the 2015 bond, and in 2019 they asked Voters to approve Station 11.
Funny thing is they asked voters in 2023 to approve Fire Station 11 AGAIN along with a remodel of Station 4. You paid for STATION 11 – 2 TIMES!
Here is where we need you to buckle your seat belt. According to a leaked email we received, Station 11 has been scraped and put on an indefinite hold with no plan in the next several years to build it. YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS RUNNING FOR OFFICE LIED TO YOUR FACE WHEN THEY SAID IT WAS IN THE WORKS AND ALREADY PLANNED OUT! Remember every single one of the council members above said we will hire to staff the two new stations but in the 13th Stroke of the Clock there will be No Station 11 = NO HIRING OF FIREFIGHTERS. We filed a PIR Friday for the status of Station 11 and all documents, notes, emails, and plans for it to confirm the email we have so let’s see if they turn it over.
Our city council continues to lie to us, and we continue to take it with a grain of salt. They probably sit in their executive sessions and laugh at how stupid we are because they continue to have the 13th Stroke of the Clock ring out and no one is putting 2 + 2 together. Tick Tock, Tick Tock….
The ticking of time is the invisible heartbeat of our lives and affects every moment of our consciousness. Time and self are in perpetual handshake – for example, a human trapped in a completely dark cave would still be governed by the circadian rhythms of their internal clocks. There are many careers in which “time” is a critical component. Metrologists have technology that is incredibly accurate to measure the passing of minutes, seconds. Surgeons in an operating room live on a time clock and those who take too long could kill someone. Professional surf boarders must be able to catch the perfect wave and football players have to make the play in a certain space of time or face penalties. Various factors are crucial to our construction of the perception of time such as memory, concentration, emotion and the sense we have time is somehow located in space.
When it comes to the job of a firefighter, time plays a critical component. Imagine your house catching fire, flames coming out of the windows and roof line while you hear loud pop and bang sounds from things exploding inside. As you watch the firefighters attack the house fire, you become almost paralyzed, and time comes to a standstill. As you stand there seeing the chaos around you, it begins to feel like an eternity of time. For the firefighter the stress put on their body fighting your house fire can prompt their brain to speed up its internal processing which helps them face life or death situations.
When the process began to search for a new chief, the firefighters quickly realized the city had an agenda and that former Assistant Fire Chief Lee Glover from the “Un-Happy Days” was about to be their new commanding officer and Chief. The Frisco Firefighters Association did a survey and provided it to the City Manager and Council. In Survey Says we told you about that survey and its results. Question 1: Do you want Interim Fire Chief Glover to be the next Fire Chief of the Frisco Fire Department? Survey says … 92.5% said NO. City Manager Wes Pierson and his office, along with City Council, were given the results and they chose to disregard the voice of some 200+ firefighters and make Lee Glover the new Fire Chief.
When we were reading through the “In-Service Meeting” notes it was noted that firefighters believe it is their Chiefs job to fight for them and defend them but instead they feel Glover ignoring the staffing issues and only doing what is being asked of him by City Manager Wes Pierson. They don’t believe their current leader and Chief supports them in any way and the result is they have no voice with city management and city officials. One comment noted, “we are not being heard and it will take one of them dying before Glover or the city take notice of staffing issues.”
Who is responsible for hiring and firing in the city? Mayor Jeff Cheney addressed this issue in the 2023 Mayoral Campaign at the Star Patriots Candidate Forum. The Council hires the City Manager, and it is the city managers responsibility to manage and hire and fire department heads. If something goes wrong, you can bet Cheney will excuse himself from responsibility and put it all on Wes Pierson.
Another comment from the most recent notes reads, “we work under the fear of retaliation and feel we are disciplined for the simplest mistakes.” We feel like we have heard this before – oh yeah, we have in the 2011 Climate Report when Lee Glover was the Assistant Fire Chief. The 2011 Climate report reads “firefighters talk about getting in trouble for small things and being required to write memos on things they done (and re-writing them over and over until the Senior Officer is happy with it).” It goes on to read “they are being threatened with their job, being moved to the day shift, being belittled, yelled and treated like children.” Proof is in the pudding!
The “In-Service Meeting” notes also address promotions and annual evaluations. Officers feel they meet their rankings, do their job, and then they are told they must do more than that to get to move up. Now the promotional process is based on a “taskbook” which is a checklist that shows what a firefighter or officer understands and has been cleared in, to show they are proficient in the job they will be stepping into. It was recommended by one of the committees to implement the taskbook in 2025. The 50+ pages of notes said some complete the taskbook, but others can be prevented from completing it by the Battalion Chiefs which prevent them from testing. One comment was the process was very “subjective” and “some are allowed to test, while and others are not allowed to test for promotions.” We know from talking to several inside sources that just recently a handful of firefighters applied for the LT positions, and they were not allowed to test even though they qualified which matches the statements made by the firefighters at the meeting. We also learned that Fire Chief Lee Glover choose to ignore his committees (another complaint in the notes) and implement the taskbook requirement now and that did not give all the candidates time to complete it before the test.
After reading this, we honestly feel like we are on a Merry-Go-Round that is not so …merry. We pulled up the 2011 Climate Report that reads “firefighters’ perceptions of the hiring and promotion process is that it is manipulated by the Chief and Senior Officers.” It goes on to read “firefighters would like to see a hiring and promotion process established, published and followed that does not allow for manipulation of the data of tests and who is selected.” So basically, what is in the 2011 Climate Report matches the feelings of the 2024 In-Service Meeting Notes and the one common denominator is … Fire Chief Lee Glover!
We think that City Manager – Wes Pierson, Mayor Jeff Cheney, and the City Council suffer from Echolaia, which is the repetition or echoing of words that you hear someone else say. If not Echolaia, then they suffer from insanity which is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. If they don’t have either of those two medical conditions, well then, they suffer from just simple stupidity. Voltaire noted that the more often a stupidity is repeated, the more it appears to be wisdom.
In a nutshell the council hopes we are “STUPID” and if they just repeat the same thing over and over, we will begin to believe it. They are like Dorothy in the Wizard of OZ clicking together her ruby red slippers but instead of saying there is no place like home they are saying Chief Glover is the best, Chief Glover is the best! Just look at Mayor Jeff Cheney at the Star Patriot forum in 2023 when he was running for re-election. After seeing the FFA Survey showing a vote of NO CONFIDENCE in the new Fire Chief Lee Glover, he went to a candidate forum and directly lied to our faces talking about how great Glover was and how he was already improving things at the fire department. LET THAT SINK IN FRISCO RESIDENTS: MAYOR CHENEY KNOWINGLY LIED DIRECTLY TO VOTERS and thought he would never get caught.
Remember, the entire goal of the city and its leadership at all levels these past two years has been to blame Piland, blame the power grab on the “small portion of firefighters”, and to blame anyone and everyone but themselves. They have LIED…. and in the most recent election for the propositions the Frisco Fire Association even made a video pointing that out.
The only mistake the City of Frisco and Frisco City Council made was thinking people would not get tired of their BS and start to pay attention. That failure is what allowed the Whistleblowers to rise up!
Did you know each new day brings us 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,000 seconds. When we were kids, my mom used to say don’t waste a damn minute of your life because each second, each minute, each hour, is loaned to us by God. One day when you meet him, he is going to ask you how effectively you used that time. I developed the same fascination with time and when my kids were growing up, they would always say, “dad, do you have a minute?” I would reply with a poem I heard or learned (can’t remember where or who wrote it).
I have only just a minute, only 60 seconds in it;
forced upon me; can’t refuse it;
didn’t seek it, didn’t choose it.
But it’s up to me just how I use it.
I must suffer if I lose it, give account if I abuse it.
Just a tiny little minute, but eternity is in it.
When you waste time on a useless task, activity or endeavor you are essentially choosing to squander 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,000 seconds. Now you are probably wondering why we are writing about time, well lately we have been pondering how much wasted time it will take our City Manager – Wes Pierson, Mayor Jeff Cheney, Bill Woodard, Angelia Pelham, John Keating and the rest of the council to “man up.”
During the most recent election for council John Keating knowingly spread false accusations about his opponent from any microphone handed to him. We were curious after knowingly spreading false lies and false accusations saying Retired Fire Chief Mark Piland was fired and the cause of the problem in the Fire Department, will he “MAN UP” now and publicly apologize after reading the 50+ page In-Service notes? I mean he has the 2011 Climate Report and now 50+ pages of In-Service notes all pointing to the same person – Chief Lee Glover! According to his own soap box moment he should step up and do the right thing for our firefighters and former city employees because in a few years he is going to ask us to vote for him for MAYOR!
In the world of a firefighter seconds and minutes in a fire fight are very important and as they are risking their life. That is why reviewing these 50+ pages of notes from the mandatory June In-Service Meeting are so important. For them to do the job well they need to understand the training and vision for the department. According to the most recent in-service notes, the most alarming statement made was that the firefighters still have no idea of Glovers “vision” for the department outside of the Strategic Plan.
Communication or should we say the lack of communication was the next big topic. Firefighters have concerns over the lack of visibility and communications from Chief Glover. It was noted that Chief Glover does not even take the time to send an e-mail to motivate the department after catastrophic events. They also don’t believe Glover listens or consults with his committees which could help him build relationships with those under his command.
After reading the part about communication I thought back to a recent story on the news about the storms hitting Fire Fighter Row in Celina. Imagine you are a firefighter enjoying a nice sleep and you awake to alarms and the sound of wind pushing in the walls of your home. You quickly realize your entire street is in the eye of a tornado and when it is all over, several neighbors who are also firefighters in the same department have their homes destroyed and your normal life just became chaotic in minutes. Would you expect a phone call from your Chief asking how you and your family were doing? Would you expect an email to go out from the Chief asking the command staff and front-line members to pray and donate their time to help with the clean up or whatever needs to be done? As the Chief, would you grab your clothes and tools and head out the door to support your brotherhood in person? The Frisco Firefighter’s Association showed up, raised money for the families, spent countless days cleaning up and lending hands. How long do you think it took Chief Lee Glover to do any of these things? Tick Tock, Tick Tock the seconds and minutes pass and the hands just go around the clock!
The firefighters feel they are on a path with the Fire Chief and City Manager of do more with less which the In-Service notes say is destroying morale. The frontline feels they are falling behind and going backwards. One comment was the firefighters have been left to drowned and the emotional and mental beat down is affecting the whole department.
What will it take for City Manager -Wes Pierson to drop his arrogant attitude, “MAN UP” and simply do his job?What will it take for the Mayor and City Council to admit the problem was never Fire Chief Mark Piland but a problem of their own doing that was 1000% avoidable? Rewind the clock and go back to the 2011 Climate Report that we talked about in our article Humpty Dumpty, which stated that then Fire Chief, Mack Borchardt and upper management command staff had run the department into the ground. That report led to the city council demanding he be “let go” but his good ole buddy City Manager, George Purefoy got him a nice and rather large retirement package. Then Purefoy gives him a golden parachute job in the City Manager’s office so the two best buddies could be together forever. Well, Purefoy retired but Borchardt is still with the city, in the same job today, making 6 figures and has a city vehicle?
The 2011 Climate Report also named Assistant Chief Lee Glover at the time as part of the problem which is why he was not named Chief in 2012, and the city brought it in Mark Piland. Now they want to you to believe Piland is the problem – yet the Association did not go for Civil Service under Piland. There are no 50+ page reports of Piland’s bad leadership and his yearly EVAL’s have him top notch. We are not saying things were perfect nothing ever is but it does seem the department was making changes and progress in the right direction. Now the City Manager and Council want you to believe Piland is a disgruntled employee and the “cancer” that plagued the department, because they had to hide that HR falsified documents. Even though they knew Glover’s past and previous issues (of which there are many) they choose to make him the new Fire Chief. Now that the bubble has burst and the public knows the systemic problems of 2011 followed Glover (old dogs don’t develop new habits) into his role as the current Fire Chief, they want you to believe a new story. Now everything is the fault of the Frisco Firefighter’s Association because they want more personnel to do their job safely and better workman’s comp benefits.
Here is where we are hung up, why, in what world or universe, did the City Manager Wes Pierson or the Frisco City Council think making Lee Glover the new Fire Chief was a good idea? A wise man once said if you repeat the mistakes of the past don’t expect a different outcome! After slowly making progress and change the last 10 years, in a department filled with trust issues, today our fire department is back in 2011. They are unhappy, the days of fear and lack of trust have resurfaced, have a City Manager who could not give two shXts and a City Council who blames the issues on the men and woman of the association, which is almost our whole department for the problem.
IT IS TIME FOR A COME TO JESUS as my mother used to say with the belt in her hand. Every single member on our city council, minus Brian Livingston have spoken against the men and woman in our Fire Department. Our City Manager has an ego bigger than the State of Texas and according to insiders in several departments, his arrogance is destroying the city from the inside out and he turns his nose up to the concerns of the Fire Department. At this point they will all have to pull a rabbit out of hat to blame next because we are pretty sure they are running out of employees to blame it on as they clean house to cover things up. Want the STEVE AUSTIN “COLD HARD TRUTH” …. The CITY COUNCIL IS THE PROBLEM; THE CITY MANAGER IS THE PROBLEM AND THE CURRENT FIRE CHIEF LEE GLOVER IS THE PROBLEM! Until citizens “wake up ” we will just let the clock go “Tick Tock, Tick Tock!”
The other day I was reading an article about the most common 6 phrases people say to gaslight and manipulate you. What is gaslighting? It is a manipulation tactic often wielded by emotional disruptive abusers and is insidious in nature making it hard for a person to recognize the tactic is happening. What happens when someone tries to gaslight you?
Gradually you begin to question your own judgement, memories, feelings and questioning reality. The article quoted therapist Shannon Thomas who stated that “people who cannot authentically argue their point of view or stand behind their words turn to gaslighting as a tool.” She went on to say ’they resort to confusion creating tactics, and that it really is a true sign of character weakness.”
It made me think back to our recent elections and the mixed messaging the city tried to sell to citizens while attacking our Frisco Firefighters relentlessly while also saying they support our first responders and dedicate at least ½ our annual budget to public safety. They also attacked and tried to destroy the reputation of Former Fire Chief, Mark Piland by saying he was the problem and the reason for the low morale. The solution, to make Lee Glover, the new “SAVING GRACE” Fire Chief. Based on the In-Service notes we have reviewed, the city may have failed “BIG TIME” and the leader driving the bus is our very own City Manager, Wes Pierson!
After the election was over there was a large disdain between our Fire Department and the city so they planned a weeklong set of In-Service Meetings, aka “Healing Sessions” to listen to the firefighters’ concerns. We filed a PIR for anything related to those meetings and after reading the 50+ page report of notes one thing became very clear, the city council knowingly and repeatedly lied to citizens during the election.
Example 1: The Vote No PAC, funded by Frisco Developers, and run by Mayor Pro Tem Bill Woodard
Councilman Woodard was interviewed by Jack Fink with CBS Texas and when asked why the Fire Fighters were bringing the propositions to the ballot, he specifically said due to the “FORMER LEADERSHIP” of the department, referring to Former Fire Chief Mark Piland. We assumed we would see some of those issues noted in this 50+ page report, however only 2 comments were made, which is one the environment is a little more relaxed now (uniforms) and that Piland may have tended to over communicate to the department.
However, they had a lot to say about the current Fire Chief, Lee Glover. When it comes to budgeting and purchasing new equipment, they feel the Chief Glover is out of touch with today’s firefighting tactics. Firefighters said Glovers’ only tactic since arriving has been cost cutting measures to look good to the City Manager’s Office and council and that means he his neglecting his duty to his command.
Remember the Blood Program, otherwise known as which was carried by the Squad Unit? Refresh your memory by reading our older articles “Another One Bites The Dust” and “Make It Look Pretty.” At the time Councilman Woodard was the “city mouthpiece” across social media supporting Glover’s decision to end the Squad program and transfer the blood program to two battalion chief vehicles. The report talks about Glover’s cost cutting measures and how the firefighters believe removing the Squad Unit and transferring the Blood Program was a huge failure as it took away two extra working people on calls and losing the expertise of the Squad members could be and will be deadly to citizens.
What is the end result of the firefighter’s statement above about their concerns with Glover being out of touch with today’s firefighting tactics? Chief Glover has cut valid programs, training and they believe he is purchasing the wrong equipment. Glover has also de-incentivized training under his command, and today they have less training which is dangerous. Courses and training are required for promotions to the next rank and other departments pay for employees to attend training, but Glover is telling his command to “put stock in your own training.” As for equipment, Glover is buying more Quints -the big bulky fire trucks of the old days, which are hard to get around the neighborhood’s tight and crowded streets. The firefighters prefer more engines and tillers. We are told engines are quicker and shorter in size making them a better choice. We are also told the tillers are an advantageous truck because they can go anywhere, carries more tools and is quicker to vent with 107’ ladder.
Are we done yet? Oh no, we are just getting started! There is so much to go over that we are going to break it up into multiple articles this week. Tonight, we leave you with three questions:
1. Why is the City Council and City Manager gaslighting residents into believing all of these issues are due to Former Fire Chief Piland who was endorsed by the Frisco Firefighters Assocation this year during the election?
2. Why is the City Council and City Manager gaslighting residents into thinking the problem is our Fire Association, who they called Greedy Bastards, power hungry and lazy during the election?
3. Why is the City Council and City Manager dying on a sharp sword for Fire Chief Lee Glover who in all respects to his command his nowhere to be found and neglecting his duty to his command?
We leave you with a strong remark in the In-Service notes which we stated above, “Firefighters believe Glover’s only goal is to look good to the City Manager’s Office and City Council which results in him neglecting his duty to his command.” ….. come back tomorrow for part two
UPDATE: PLEASE NOTE WE HAVE MADE CORRECTIONS TO OUR ARTICLE BASED ON MORE DETAILS RECEIVED. CORRECTIONS CAN BE NOTED IN RED OR WITH A STRIKETHROUGH MARK.
Recently we received an email that read “I follow your page and have always wanted to speak out as a Veteran in this town. I hope you will share my thoughts on your page. I have titled it Stolen Valor at Frisco City Hall. Sincerely, a Frisco Veteran”
Hello Frisco Veteran, and of course we would be more than happy to share your thoughts with our readers. Below is the letter that was attached to this email. Nothing in the attachment has been changed or altered. Thank you for your service and for following our page. Enjoy!
The Frisco Veterans Memorial located in Frico Commons Park is a testament to the men and women who served in uniform. You can take an audio tour to learn about the Memorial and it’s meaning for veterans and the residents of Frisco. The Battlefield Cross, Wall of Honor and Gold Star Families Memorial Monument remind us of the sacrifices our men and women in uniform made in service to our country.
This struggle and sacrifice aren’t exclusive to members of the armed forces, it’s just as meaningful for our Police Officers, Firefighters and First Responders. We’ve had devastating accidents happen to our Frisco Police Officers and Firefighters in the line of duty and the effects are still being felt by the victims and their families.
Supporting those injured in the line of duty is our responsibility yet when the opportunity came for City Hall to do the right by a Firefighter, our City Manager Wes Pierson failed. Cameron Kraemer was a former Assistant Fire Chief for the City of Frisco for 27 years, yet he was fired after the City of Frisco denied his Workers Compensation claim for PTSD. In late 2023, the Texas Department of Insurance ordered the City of Frisco to pay Mr. Kraemer his back benefits via lump sum. On August 2nd, 2024, Mr. Kraemer filed a Wrongful Termination suit against the City of Frisco after the DOJ ruled that he could sue.
Frisco City Manager Wes Pierson’s actions toward Mr. Kraemer sent a terrible message to our Police Officers, Firefighters and First Responders. Mr. Pierson destroyed any credibility he had with the Police and Fire Department, to make matters worse every time the courts rules in Mr. Kraemer’s favor the distrust and resentment grows.
The City of Frisco claims to be a “Veteran Friendly City” and has multiple events that celebrate and honor our veterans. Often when people think about veterans, they think about our service members abroad. Our Police Officers and Firefighters put their life on the line, every day in service to our community and should be treated with the same level of honor and respect. Next time you see Mr. Pierson at a Veterans function or event with Police Officers or Firefighters, Never Forget his act of Stolen Valor against Mr. Kraemer.
If you live in Frisco, then you should know the name Cameron Kraemer. Kraemer, the former Assistant Fire Chief, was fired after 27+ years with the city. During his time with the Frisco Fire Department, he served as Deputy Chief, Battalion Chief, Captain, Lieutenant, Firefighter and Paramedic. But last year in 2023 Kraemer’s name was the subject of many headlines. Community Impact’s headline read, “Frisco Assistant Fire Chief Kraemer fired after nearly 30 years” and The Dallas Express headline read, “Local Assistant Fire Chief Kraemer Fired.”
Why would the City of Frisco fire such a long-standing employee? Kraemer’s history with the city goes deep, his dad Tom Kraemer, who recently passed away, worked for the city’s communications department for around 19 years. A Facebook post by the Frisco Fire Fighters Association on May 2, 2023 read, “Regrettably, Assistant Chief Kraemer has been terminated by the City of Frisco after 27 years of service, without being given the opportunity to go through the appeals process and contested case hearings,” the post read in part. The post went on to say that Kraemer went on leave in August 2022 for post-traumatic stress disorder. According to the Frisco Fire Fighters Association, Kraemer filed for workers’ compensation for PTSD in December 2022, citing Section 504.019 of the Texas Labor Code. The department denied Kraemer’s claim. He is appealing the decision. The post closed with the following remark, “It is disheartening to witness the dismissal of a Firefighter with significant tenure in this way, particularly in a city that prides itself on its care and regard for its employees.”
At Frisco Chronicles, we felt something smelled like a freshly cooking, Cowboy Cow Pile Patty, smoldering in our Texas 110-degree summer heat. That is a nice way of saying something smelled like ShXt. We started to dig, and we uncovered some dirty back door dealings about the city which we disclosed in our 12 days of Christmas Articles (check the archives). We were curious what would happen next with Kraemer, and we didn’t have to wait long to find out.
Cameron Kraemer took his workers’ compensation case before the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) claiming he was undergoing treatment for long-term post-traumatic stress when the city terminated him and denied his claims for medical coverage. On September 21, 2023, the case went before the TDI in Dallas and the administrative law judge who heard the case ordered the City of Frisco, which is self-insured, to pay Kraemer benefits and any accrued but unpaid income benefits in a lump sum with interest as provided by law.
On October 12, 2023, the Frisco Firefighters Association released a Press Release that was posted to their Facebook page that reads, “The state ruled that Cameron’s injury was compensable under the workers’ compensation law. We are working with the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters to review Cameron’s options for going forward.” Attached to the post was a Press Release and it quotes Matthew Sapp, President of the Frisco Fire Fighters Association, as saying “Cameron Kraemer was undergoing treatment for LINE-OF-DUTY injuries clearly recognized by the state legislature and medical experts, but the City of Frisco CHOSE TO BREAK THE LAW, deny him insurance coverage and terminate him.” The press release noted: The city WASTED TAXPAYER RESOURCES on this case!
The win was also reported across local news and newspapers. The Dallas Morning News headline reads “Frisco Firefighter fired while on medical leave WINS WORKERS’ COMP CASE.” The article noted Kraemer was still undergoing treatment for long-term post-traumatic stress disorder. Kraemer is quoted as saying, “They took away my job, it took away all my benefits, they took away everything, and they wanted me to retire.” Kraemer refused to retire and went through the appeals process. “I’m still young so I’m penalized for retiring before the age of 50 as a first responder. I’m only 46,” he said. “And the reality is I’ve got three teenagers, and they had to walk through this process with us. And the amount of strain and tension and stress and anxiety that it puts on the house, you can’t even quantify it.”
While many don’t believe that PTSD is a real issue, it is! Ask yourself this, if you saw a 45-foot Frisco Fire Truck back up and pin a fellow firefighter against the wall of a city building, then after you had to clean up the blood and bodily fluids at the scene and notify the fellow firefighter’s family, COULD YOU HANDLE IT? The incident, discussed in the DMN articles is what Cameron Kraemer and our fellow Frisco Firefighters see every day! As a holistic person I can only imagine the impact it has on your mind, body, spirit and soul. Do you think Sassy Lauren Safranek, the City HR Director, or any of our fellow city council members have witnessed anything like this or worse? How about seeing it throughout your 27-year career, are you sure you could handle it?
Truthfully, my wife and I could not imagine seeing the devastation and destruction these men and woman in both our Police and Fire departments see daily. You probably think the city did the right thing but of course they didn’t. Instead, they sent their attack boar Bobblehead Bill Woodard on social media to pass out false information on Kraemer’s case and attack our first responders during the most recent election. Why is a city councilman releasing personal details in an ongoing case on social media? We are glad he did because it made our spidey little senses rise and we started investigating and will write about that in our next article.
Where is Cameron Kraemer now? Well, he is still receiving treatment, and his case had to go before the DOJ to determine if he was able to sue the city for his wrongful termination. Yesterday, we learned from sources inside the city that the DOJ ruled Kramer can sue and we are betting he wins big time! Meanwhile Bobblehead Bill Woodard wants you to believe our firefighters are lazy (his words during the May 2024 election), however it is not in their nature to lay down without a fight. Kraemer is going to use the legal process to take a wrecking ball to the city in court, which he should! Infact, the case was filed on 8/2/2024 in Collin Countys 416th District Court under case number 416-05201-2024.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU THE TAXPAYER? That means taxpayers on top of spending money on Performing Arts Centers, downtown revitalization, and the upcoming Grand Park, will also be subject to a BIG TIME CASINO LIKE PAYOUT to Cameron Kraemer and rightfully so! To be direct, the city who lolly gagged around, could have tried to settle this issue but choose to swing their cajónes around and now taxpayers will foot the bill for it. NOW YOU CAN SEE WHY THEY ARE ABOUT TO ANNOUNCE THEY ARE RAISING OUR TAXES!
Tick-tock, tick-tock sounds the clock! Days go by, and the tick-tock never seems to stop. Meanwhile City of Frisco leadership sits behind closed doors while we watch the clock, just tick-tock! Precious moments fading away and citizens still are not standing up to ask, is everything okay? What happens when time runs out…? Tick-tock they will try to approve a $300-$500 million dollar Performing Arts Center and announce they plan to raise taxes!
Back on June 18th at the Budget and Audit Committee Meeting we learned from the agenda that both the Committee Chair – Councilman Bill Woodard and Committee Members –Councilwomen Angelia Pelham and Laura Rummel were present. They had a discussion regarding the “PRELIMINARY FY 2025 Budget” and our Chief Financial Officer, Derrick Cotton talked about potential revenue generating items. It is the last paragraph where it says Mr. Cotton talks about the “Homestead Exemption” and presented changes in the adjusted taxable values and discussed a possible tax rate change for FY25 that had our attention.
They plan to pick up the discussion this Tuesday August 6th at 3pm at the next Budget and Audit Committee Meeting. Then we noticed Tuesday nights city council meeting Agenda Item 32 calls for a public hearing on the FY 25 budget. In fact, the city memo reads “Consider and act upon adoption of a Resolution calling for a public hearing on the City of Frisco FY 2025 Budget, Frisco Economic Development Corporation FY 2025 Budget, and Frisco Community Development Corporation FY 2025 Budget. (Budget/TA)”
Why does a city call for a public hearing on the potential adoptions of the budget? Well according to Texas Local Government Code, Title 4: Finances, Subtitle A – Municipal Finances, Chapter 102 – Municipal Budget (wow that’s a mouth full) there are several reasons. Section 102.005 specifically states that if they are proposing a budget change it must be available for public inspection.
(b) A proposed budget that will require raising more revenue from property taxes than in the previous yearmust contain a cover page with the following statement in 18-point or larger type: “This budget will raise more total property taxes than last year’s budget by (insert total dollar amount of increase and percentage increase), and of that amount (insert amount computed by multiplying the proposed tax rate by the value of new property added to the roll) is tax revenue to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year.”
Once they conclude that so called “PUBLIC HEARING” they can adopt a budget according to the law. So based on what they have been discussing, based on the public hearings they have quietly posted, we can guarantee you the city is about to announce a Tax Increase! Right now, those city leaders are just hoping you are not paying attention and all the other political distractions around the country will keep you from recognizing the destructive path they are.
Now you should say, wait a damn minute Mayor Cheney – you just ran a year ago on the fact you have lowered taxes. Let’s not forget John Keating and Angelia making the 2024 rounds campaigning for your vote claiming they lowered taxes and plan to continue lowering taxes, but all the while they knew they were going to propose an out of this world Performing Arts Center and raise taxes.
Didn’t this city council pull out all the stops to get votes to VOTE NO against the Fire Fighters because they claimed it “WOULD INCREASE TAXES” when they already knew they were going to do it anyways? What they were not telling you then is they planned to raise taxes but just for things they want for their own selfish reasons. Who cares what citizens actually need….
In a time when inflation is high and we are facing a presidential election these mice are running around in the clock hoping we don’t pay attention to the TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK of the clock. If any one of our council members vote to raise taxes – VOTE THEM OUT! Why are we, one of the flushest cities, according to Cheney talking about revenue generating ways for the city to make money. It is simple, CHENEY-VILLE COSTS A LOT TO BUILD. The old red head wants you to just do as he say’s and not ask questions ASK QUESTIONS!
While we know there are a few who don’t care for Frisco Chronicles (guess who), every day our viewership and website traffic continue to grow. We are getting more emails from fellow whistleblowers tired of the way the City of Frisco staff and leaders continue to operate behind closed doors. Obviously with our popularity growth you can imagine some leaders don’t like the attention and decided to block us from their official and unofficial social media pages so we 1) can not comment, call them out, or ask questions and 2) because they think that it will stop us from finding out what they are doing.
According to the ACLU, one of the core purposes of the First Amendment is to allow people, regardless of their views, to hold the government accountable through expressions. That means if an elected representative has an official Facebook page where they invite comments, they cannot block you from the social media page. In 2019, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the interactive portion of a public official’s Facebook page is a “public forum,” so an official cannot block people from it because of the opinions they hold. However, in recent years the question of blocking or deleting comments has gone back to the Supreme Court for further review.
In March 2024, the issue again was before the U.S. Supreme Court that ruled public officials who post about topics relating to their work on their personal social media accounts are acting on behalf of the government, and therefore can be held liable for violating the First Amendment when they block their critics, only when they have the power to speak on behalf of the state and are actually exercising that power. The key is in bold lettering “when they have the power to speak on behalf of the state (or city). Jeff Cheney can block us from his personal page or business page claiming that he is not speaking on behalf of the city, and it is his personal comments. If you ask us, he uses both his personal and business page to post at the mayor which is clear from just two recent posts in 2024.
On an official page it becomes a very slippery slope. Can he block us from his official Mayor Jeff Cheney page – we would argue no because he is clearly using that to speak from his position as Mayor on behalf of the city. The city has not told the council to shut their OFFICIAL PAGES down because they have no authority to speak on behalf of the city and communicate city information. So technically by them allowing them to have official pages they are in essence approving each one of them as a spokesman for the city.
We decided to file a PIR this year on May 11th that reads, “Copy of the list of “BLOCKED USERS” which can be found under Settings & Privacy, then “Blocking” related to the city council’s official “Social Media” pages or personal pages used for political purposes or posts: Any pages in which they communicate any official city business or city news. For Example: Brian Livingston For Frisco, Official FB Page for Angelia Pelham, Frisco City Council Place 3, and her page Angelia Pelham Official Page for Mayor Jeff Cheney Official FB Page and personal page Jeff Cheney, Bill Woodard serves in Place 4 on the Frisco City Council Tammy Meinershagen Official FB Page, John Keating For Frisco Official Page and John Keating personal page Laura Rummel, Frisco City Council Place 5 and personal page Laura Rummell.
The city then waited until May 24th to send us a message asking for “CLARIFICATION” of our request. They always wait out the 10 days to respond to delay PIRs. On May 30th we wrote back and attached a clarification letter that reads: Per your letter “requesting” clarification we hope this helps: 1. Platform: Facebook 2. Accounts: Any FACEBOOK account that a current City Council Member or Mayor has where they post topics related to their work (on city council or for the city) that are effectively communicating or acting on behalf of city government as that one would assume the information presented is being done so by a representative for the council. For example, Mayor Jeff Cheney, Angelia Pelham, John Keating for Frisco, Laura Rummell, Bill Woodard, Brian Livingston and Tammy Meinershagen. Then we provided instructions on how to find the “blocked list” of users on their pages so they would not have to search for it.
Well as you can imagine our CITY and CITY LEADERS who claim to listen to their constituents, be transparent, and work on our behalf and not their own selfish interests turned over the blocked list for each of their pages with no issue! JUST KIDDING! Of course they didn’t turn them over. Instead, we got the following note back from the City Secretary that reads, “Following a request for clarification, the scope of the request was narrowed to Facebook platform only. The City of Frisco has reviewed your request and has determined that the information you are seeking does not fall within the definition of public information as defined by the Public Information Act. As a result, there are NO DOCUMENTS responsive to your request.”
To be fair we didn’t expect they would turn over anything from their personal Facebook pages, but we were hopeful they would be transparent and turn over the blocked list from the official pages of council members. Ask yourself, why would City Council leaders block any constituent or resident they represent? Why would they block Frisco Chronicles? Why would they block anyone who spends money in Frisco which is tax revenue for them? Direct from the horse’s mouth “Jeff Cheney” we heard over the last two elections “we listen to our residents, and we are totally transparent” yet he has blocked numerous people from his official mayoral page. In fact, he has blocked almost everyone who disagrees with him or calls him out. Residents should be asking if you are really working hard for us, then WHY WOULD YOU BLOCK ANYONE? They block those who disagree or want to speak out against something like the upcoming Performing Arts Center that they plan to shove down our throats for $500 million dollars. They don’t want you to see those who disagree or argue that what they are doing is wrong. If that does not concern you, it should!
We believe it is very humorous that city leaders have blocked Frisco Chronicles aka Whistleblower because in their private comments to other city leaders and citizens, they say Frisco Chronicles is no big deal, they are not worried about us, we are not important, no one is reading and following along with our reports. Truth is they are scared to death, and they are questioning every day who they can trust. Newsflash folks … people in the inner circle are singing like canary’s. Have something to say reach out to us by email FriscoWhistleBlower@protonmail.com – we protect all sources and never reveal identities.
Our team members have filed a complaint with the Texas Attorney General in regard to the City of Frisco and Public Information Requests. The city has been notified and we will see how things roll out in the coming weeks.
Time after time we send requests to a city who likes to claim they are TRANSPARENT when really, they are using every avenue to withhold information from the public. We are hopeful the Texas AG will see that the City of Frisco is using their office to weaponize and withhold public information.
Recently we noticed our Mayor Jeff Cheney took a trip to Las Vegas on taxpayer dollars. Where did he go? Las Vegas for the annual global real estate ICSC Convention which stands for International Council of Shopping Centers’ annual global real estate convention. According to the website, it is the world’s largest gathering of real estate professionals. It is a two- to three-day gathering of dealmakers and industry experts, who are driving innovation and evolution in commercial real estate. The event provides an opportunity for attendees to network, learn about the latest trends in retail real estate, and do business with thousands of exhibitors.
The website states the exhibit hall features over 1,200 exhibitors showcasing their products and services. These exhibitors include retailers, shopping center owners, developers, architects, and other vendors. Another important aspect is the networking opportunities. The event provides attendees with numerous opportunities to connect with other industry professionals, including receptions, parties, and other social events. These events allow attendees to make new contacts, share ideas, and form partnerships that can help them succeed in the retail real estate market.
Many local Frisco residents have questioned if Mayor Cheney uses his position as Mayor to help his personal business The Cheney Group, a real estate firm. Before we assumed the worst, we asked ourselves, why would he go to this convention on taxpayer dollars? What would the value to the city be? According to the expense report we found it says he went with the Frisco Economic Development Corporation.
In an email to Karla Horton, Jeff Cheney who uses his business email to conduct city business submits his receipt with a note that states to please consider the Saturday night stay and the food and beverage expenses to be personal expenses and do not file those for reimbursement. The only items for reimbursement would be the Sunday and Monday hotel room charges which comes to $1140.60.
Just looking at the expense report we have some serious questions. First, we noticed the room was in Jeff Cheney of The Retail Connection in Dallas, Texas. What is The Retail Connection? Then it states his departure date as 5/19/24 and return date as 5/20/24 but there are hotel charges on his ARIA Invoice for 5/18, 5/19, and 5/20. Why is he expensing two nights for a hotel when his report states he left on the 19th and returned on the 20th? Why not expense one night? How did he get to Las Vegas? Where is his expense for airfare?
When he travels to the city, he does have a per diem amount towards food, but he noted in his email to the city that the food expenses should not be submitted to the city as they are personal expenses. Then we noticed a charge that reads “$25 ARIA Refreshment Center charge for $25.00”. On two of the days, he was charged once for that but on 5/19 we see the charge twice. Then we noticed on 5/18 (the personal day) he hung out at the pool because there is a charge at the ARIA Pool Service Bar of $100.53. Then we noticed on he must have hung out at the pool bar on 5/19 the day he was supposed to be at the convention because there is another charge for the Pool Service Bar of $70.73. Plus, he has an additional charge on 5/19 at the ARIA Salt & Ivy Café Food for $95.11.
We are still questioning how the Frisco EDC and Mayor Cheney traveling to Las Vegas for a commercial real estate industry event would benefit the city? The website for the convention mentioned attendees can expect to meet with key decision makers from the shopping center industry, connect and network with over 34,000 attendees and 1,000 exhibitors, view the latest industry products and services that are critical to your business, take part in professional development courses, and educational opportunities for retail real estate professionals. Lastly you get to attend after parties and industry networking events and do a year’s worth of business in just three days.
The Cheney Group has a dedicated agent to the commercial real estate market so the question we continue to have, is the trip beneficial to his personal business because we can’t see what city business he would have there. What do you think?
Do you love Amazon? It is hard to believe that there is one website where you could literally scroll and find anything and everything you want. Half the time, you can find items to buy that you did not even know you need, until low and behold your eyes see it! The dangers of scrolling can hit the pocketbook. We like to look at how the city spends our tax dollars, and it is kind of like Amazon. They spend money like they are shopping on Amazon, adding items to the cart and when they are bored they just look for something that tickles their fancy.
Imagine our surprise when scrolling through the city agendas, we found another interesting item from the July 2nd City Council Meeting related to purchasing authority. Daniel Ford, Director of Administrative Services sent a memo to the Mayor, Members of the Frisco City Council, and cc’d in Wes Pierson – City Manager and E.A. Hoppe – Assistant City Manager asking them to consider a change to the ordinance granting purchasing authority to the City Manager or his/her designee for all budgeted items not exceeding $100,000.
In 2017, the City Council approved a threshold increase from $25,000 to $50,000. Why are they now wanting to change it to $100,000? The memo states the request is being made to streamline the contract approval process, expedite routine non-controversial purchases, and to reduce the administrative burden on staff, while maintaining compliance and transparency.The word transparency made us laugh!
The memo goes on to read that in 2018 the purchasing of items on the consent agenda was 117 for the full year. Now they claim it has gone up to 245 for the full year and this change would reduce the administrative and processing time for putting council items together by almost two weeks. It also states the increase would allow more flexibility and efficiency to handle these agreements. HOW DOES MAINTAINING TRANSPARENCY AND FLEXIBILITY GO TOGETHER?
Would you be surprised to learn that Agenda Item #30 passed and was APPROVED 6 – 0. The new ORDINANCE 2024-07-32 basically allows the city to spend more with less oversight. How is that transparent? Who determines what is a ROUTINE AND NON-CONTROVERSIAL purchase? Oh yeah, the city determines that that! If one of the council members knocked on your door and said I need 100,000, don’t ask questions, just trust me, would you? The staff is asking to reduce the administrative burden they face so they want to be paid the same but have their workload made easier or do less work.
Does anyone besides us see an issue with this Ordinance? Interesting how they threw it on the agenda before the Summer Vacation break, don’t you think? Why does the city always claim they are taking steps to be more TRANSPARENT, yet they send almost every single PIR to the Attorney General and hide information from the public? If you think this is a bad change then you should email your city council and city manager. Now they claim in this memo they want to spend more with less oversight to be more transparent.
We have told you before you can learn a lot about what the city is trying to do by reviewing city council meeting agendas. We noticed the Frisco City Council approved a master agreement on July 2nd with a company called FW Development LLC. The master agreement provides up to $94.5 million in “PERFORMANCE-BASED INCENTIVES” to the developer of the $660 million mixed-use development known as Fields West. The goal is to ensure the developer adheres to its intended construction timeline and scheduled opening date.
Who is FW Development, LLC or Fields West? Well, it was created by The Karahan Co. which is owned by Fehmi Karahan. According to sources we spoke to inside the city, they believe the project will help achieve the council’s directive to activate North Frisco. The Dallas Business Journal made mention of it, along with that the project is expected to bring in $400 million annually in new sales and purchases for Frisco.
We went back to watch the meeting and we learned that Mayor Jeff Cheney recused himself from the vote. We are guessing he did this because of this known relationship between The Cheney Group and the residential part of Fields (aka The Preserve). However, his little marionettes knew what to do and approved it in a 6-0 vote. After watching the vote, we are curious why John Keating participated in the vote. Remember, he recently recused himself from a Fields vote due a to “conflict” because he was going to be closing soon on a lot in The Preserve.
In the discussion of the project, Keating talked about how he remembers years ago going on a walkthrough of Legacy West with Fehmi Karahan. He remembers the attention to detail in the development from the park benches, to how the bricks were laid in the crosswalk, and how it is lit up at night so it’s safe 24/7.
We are guessing that John Keating does not remember Christina Morris, or better yet could care less to remember her because it is not about his Cowboy Fit Club. Morris went missing in August 2014 from the Legacy West parking garage. In March of 2018, it was announced that remains found in a wooded area of Anna, Texas had been identified as Morris. In March of 2022, there was a shooting of a restaurant at The Shops of Legacy? Safe is relative Mr. Keating!
Keating also noted this was a flagship project that will be great for the surrounding residential neighborhoods to enjoy. Wait, you mean Resident Keating who is about to close on his lot in The Preserve at Fields? Yeah, this is the exact reason WHY YOU SHOULD HAVE RECUSED YOURSELF ALSO!
The next question, what does a developer have to do to earn $94.5 million in “PERFORMANCE-BASED INCENTIVES?” According to the memo on the city council agenda the performance requirements require the developer to construct by a certain date, a minimum of:
350,000 square feet of upscale retail and restaurant space
320,000 square feet of Class A office space; and
1,100 multifamily residential dwelling units (not incentivized)
Where does these $94.5 million dollars come from, the city purse or personal savings account? First, the Separated Materials Sales Tax Grant will provide up to $7 million in City, Frisco Economic Development Corporation, and Frisco Community Development Corporation sales tax revenues generated by project construction material and service purchases. Secondly, the Frisco EDC Qualified Infrastructure Grant will fund up to 50 percent of the cost to construct a planned water feature (not to exceed $2.5 million in incentive value) and up to 50 percent of the cost to construct internal streets built to city standards (not to exceed $10 million in incentive value). Lastly the TIRZ #7 Funding will finance the construction of 3 public parking structures accommodating a minimum of 2,430 public parking spaces to serve the development. This debt service will be funded by TIRZ #7 property tax revenue generated by the Fields West development and supplementary sales tax revenue generated by the Fields West development.
It just leaves us wondering, how do we have all this money? Where is all this money coming from? It is like the city has a SUGAR DADDY funding it! With that said we were told during the recent election that if Proposition A & B passed it would bankrupt the city – so how is it we have money for one thing but not another? Oh wait, Cheney can’t make money or build his stature or status up on our first responders.
A conversational narcissist is someone who constantly turns a conversation toward themselves and is often uninterested in what other people have to say. In a fast-paced world, they’re eager to get their point across quickly without making true connections with others. Often a conversational narcissist has an anxious aspect to their personality which is why they talk about things familiar to them such as their business or themselves! Signs of a conversational narcissist include one-sided conversations. They have their own agenda, and they can’t move away from it long enough to engage with someone else or to hear someone else’s opinions. Conversations with them are never interpersonal or interactive, they are more of a monologue or lecture. They often feel they are the center of the universe, and they will never admit they are wrong and often interrupt. They will appear visibly uncomfortable, bored, contemptuous, or distracted when other people are talking. Lastly, they come across as arrogant when speaking to them.
Does this sound like anyone you know? Well, we think it sounds a lot like Mayor Cheney. Just look at city council meetings and often you will find Mayor Cheney “schooling” the public or other city council members. At the recent State of the City luncheon put on by the Frisco Chamber of Commerce, the Mayor also displayed traits of a conversational narcissist during his 76-slide presentation. If you want to see Mayor Jeff Cheney’s State of the City Presentation then just visit the city website.
Over our lifetime we have lived in many cities, and rarely did we hear about State of the City Luncheons until we moved to Frisco. This was our first year to attend and according to the Frisco Chamber Website you should attend because “Frisco is a city like no other! As for who attends, well it is a who’s who of Frisco for sure. Individual Tickets were $100 per person, or you could sponsor a table for $900. But if you want to be a Visionary Sponsor that is $2000 or better yet be an Innovator Sponsor for just a mere $3000.
The mayor of course took pride and time talking about the 2024 Council Top 10 Priorities. Specifically, the master planning of Grand Park, a new Performing Arts Center, World Cup 2026, and Downtown Frisco. He could not stop boasting about how great all these things would be for Frisco.
We found the slide about Foreign Direct Investments interesting which stated according to Duns & Bradstreet, there are 71 companies in Frisco owned by a parent company that is ‘OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES.”
The next interesting thing was the “developments” coming. All we could hear was cha-ching, cha-ching, and cha-ching!
Downtown Redevelopment: $70-million project
Northwest Community Park: $40-million budget
4th Street Downtown Redevelopment: $16-million budget
Grand Park Development: Budget TBD
Fire Station 10 – Spring 2025: No Budget Listed
Police Annex: No Details Given
One thing not covered in depth was the desire for a NEW PEFORMING ARTS CENTER. On the city website it states that in 2023, the City of Frisco participated in the Americans for the Arts AEP6 Study, which found the arts sector generated $21.3 million in economic activity in Frisco in 2022! Read the full report here (PDF). So that is why they are trying to find a way to get that $500 million Performing Arts Center. In fact, Cheney didn’t say we hope to have one, he said we will have one because he has wanted it since 2017. It always has been about what he wants, right? That’s it!
That is the State of the City here in Frisco according to Cheney. We only have one question; HOW CAN WE AFFORD ALL THESE PROJECTS? Yes, we have bond money set aside, but when you think about it, we are spending money like its water just going down the drain and at some point, these city leaders are going to lock us into a rock and hard place financially.
If you are from the DFW area you may recognize the name Robert Tilton, an American Televangelist and the former pastor of the Word of Faith Family Church in Farmers Branch. His ministry peaked in the early 90’s and it has been reported his infomercial style church program aired in some 225+ American television markets. It has been reported that Tilton brought in $70 to $80 million dollars per year. The message he pushed upon viewers was the importance of “vows” aka financial commitments to the Tilton ministry. The minimum vow was $1000 but if you wanted to receive a personal “word of knowledge” from Tilton you had to “vow” anywhere from $5k to $10,000 dollars. If you sent a prayer request with a vow, then Tilton claimed to lay on top of the prayer request to heal the weak.
Tilton’s demise came in 1991 when word got out that he may be a fraud or over promising “blessings” to viewers. Some “garbologists” who worked for ABC’s Primetime Live spent over a month dumpster diving outside of Tilton’s many offices and what they found was shocking. Over 10,000 lbs. of prayer request letters cut along the edge with the vow removed and the prayer request still inside the envelope, untouched and discarded in dumpsters. Lawsuits commenced by followers, the Tilton’s headed to divorce court and many felt it was an attempt to protect their assets. Now, why am I reminding you of this Tilton character? Well, he was full of it, kind of like our city council.
For years, our city leadership has made grand promises when it comes to some projects, but then they vanish into a cosmic void, much like matter falling into a black hole. The city has been talking about Grand Park since before most of us were born. Well after several municipal bonds, environmental studies, we have a walking trail, but no grand park (remember like Central Park in NY) or lake as promised. Then there is Wade Park which later become known as Lake Lebanon which sat for years after the developer went belly up. It later became known as The Mix, which we have heard about for the last two years and yet…still nothing but a fence around the property. Then we had the Frisco Theater, a grand place for plays and as of late now Broadway style shows. Well 5 to 7 studies later over 8 years, still nothing! Oh wait, now they want us to buy into a $500+ million theater run by the city on taxpayer dollars. My point is, they council is much like Robert Tilton and his “Word of Faith” ministry who make grand gestures and promises, ask us to pass more bonds, potentially increase our taxes and yet nothing seems to actually be coming together.
Picture of Lake Lebanon (formerly Wade Park) before it rained and filled up with water. Note it is now supposed to be The Mix. Side note we had a lake here it was just not in Grand Park like they promised. Picture by Dallas Morning News
Another example, the city has been talking about the revitalization of Frisco’s Downtown area as far back as 2016-2018. Well, after spending at least $50 to $75,000 visiting different cities to “study their downtown areas” we finally broke ground to fix downtown. The city has dragged its feet since 2016, spending money on tours and trips but only now that FIFA is coming in 2026 is there a push for this project to be done in time so we can look good for the many “visitors” it will bring downtown.
The sad part is we have had Frisco locals take interest and invest in our downtown area way before this city or the council have done anything. While we may not always agree with Donny Churchman, he is one man who has had a passion for downtown and the Frisco Rail District. In a 2018 interview with Lifestyle Frisco, he notes the downtown area has been ignored during all the development. He talked about the name change of downtown Frisco to the Rail District has a lot to do with Frisco’s history and the BNSF railroad and we could not agree more with him on that.
He started investing years ago in the downtown area with The Patio at the Rails and Tower at the Rail, then came the Nack Theater. His overall goal is to “restore downtown Frisco” and it is a passion for him. We are curious how Churchman feels today, with the city bending over backwards offering tax incentives for Rollertown Beerworks, a venue that features a two-level taproom and 4,320 sq ft outdoor beer garden. Did the city break their back for Churchman’s investments. We don’t know but would be curious to find out more.
Along with Churchman, many residents who own historic homes downtown have spent time and money to meticulously renovate and update them while keeping that 1900s charm about them. All this local money and passion bringing life in to downtown, and yet our city has sat on it since 2016. Many of these locals have advocated for something to happen downtown for the last ten years as everything seemed to develop around it. If they can do it then why did it take FIFA coming here for the City of Frisco to finally do something.
The June 2024 announcement of the new grand downtown plan made us wonder, if we went back 5 to 10 years what “priorities” did the city have and which ones have been completed. We found a town hall video discussing the 2018 Top Ten Priorities, which include the following:
1) Implement Traffic Innovation
2) Increase Capital Expenditure Fund
3) Performing Arts Center
4) Downtown revitalization & finish the master plan
5) Grow and expand our Economic Development Corp to go after fortune 500 companies
6) Lower property taxes
7) Development of the North 380 Corridor & its Growth,
8) New facility expansion options like city hall or the library
9) Final master plan for our future parks
10) Legislative Plan to Protect Frisco
Awe, the dreaded word in this town…Traffic! Cheney said the first priority was Traffic Innovation because we have become more congested (DUH!!). The priority aims to use new technologies to help relieve that congestion such as adaptive signal control systems which communicate with cars and autonomous, or self-driving, buses in Frisco by this year, used in the private sector. Seven years later, if you drive Frisco – TRAFFIC SUCKS! Not sure the signal control systems are working, and we don’t have autonomous self-driving buses in Frisco but guess what we do have…ROUND-A-BOUTS and TRAFFIC! If we were grading the city on this priority, they would get a big fat F!
One of the other 2018 Priorities was the Performing Arts Center Strategy. Cheney told Community Impact in 2018 that he would like to see it as a public-private partnership. The article also said they were in the middle of a feasibility study to determine the size and needs of a potential PAC. Well in 2024, we are on our 6th or 7th study, they are proposing a city owned theater at the taxpayer expense, but they hope down the road could be a public-private partnership, and several discussions over the years for a PAC have failed and fallen flat. We would give this a priority a big fat F as well!
The 2018 Priority for finishing the downtown master plan started with them approving a contract with a consulting firm to update the 20-year-old downtown master plan. Cheney told Community Impact at the time that the council and city official plan to continue to work with the private market to explore old downtown Frisco options. Remember, the cool market with a beer garden that Frisco Market developers promised? Well, we have the market but no beer garden and downtown has not changed that much except for the private development by Churchman and residents.
What has the city done downtown? Not much, but now that FIFA is coming, we have a $70 million dollar renovation downtown happening and you can bet it will be finished in time for the visitors to come. We give them a big F for this too. Just look at what they finally say they will commit to in 2024.
The next big priority was the Northern Corridor and creating an identity for it. Cheney told Community Impact that their plan for 2018 was to attract more business and residential developments to the area. Well, they must have known something we didn’t, we are referring to the December 2018 announcement that the PGA of America was relocating its headquarters to the “Northern Corridor” of Frisco. This was a good win for Frisco, and we gave them an A+ for it! However, they get an F for the shady business dealings, friendships, and conflicts of interest that came from some of the development around the new PGA for Cheney and some council members.
As for the expansion of city facilities, we have a new 65-million-dollar library, new court building, city hall in 2023 started an expansion inside and facilities just opened a new building in the last year. As for the masterplan of parks well you can bet Bobblehead Bill got his bikes and trikes trails. As for Grand Park, well that is still…not Grand at all but if you want to see a butterfly you can walk the trail they put in.
Back to Robert Tilton, he was about big words, fancy clothes, and was about “putting on the show” to get your vow. He promised to pray for his flock, but he failed when money took over. What we have learned is that the importance of a project in the City of Frisco is determined by a select few who sit on council. We have also learned they love to talk about things and promise things for many years but the truth is they are failing us as residents. When those sitting on our city council run for office, they each run for their own purpose or passion project. That is okay but they should be representing all of us and the truth is our council only represents the WEST SIDE, which is where you have seen all the investment in the last 5 to 8 years. Why do we say that? Well just ask our council members where they live.
Not one person sitting on our council today lives on the East Side of the tollway or the Collin County side, maybe that has something to do with where all the money is going. They all live in the Denton County side of Frisco which is WEST of the tollway. That’s right folks, Tammy Meinershagen, Laura Rummel, John Keating, Jeff Cheney, Angelia Pelham, Brian Livingston and Bill Woodard all live on the WEST SIDE OF THE TOLLWAY. Maybe that is why they get the PGA and the Frisco Star, and the East Side is getting Universal and Business Warehouses Developments along PGA Parkway.
One of the main reasons people choose Frisco for their home is because of the school district. Frisco ISD is often talked about and revered as one of the best districts in North Texas. The districts website even notes, “Many families choose to call Frisco ISD home due to our outstanding reputation for academic excellence, innovative programs and wealth of extracurricular opportunities and experiences.” Frisco ISD currently enrolls more than 67,000 students in 12 high schools, 18 middle schools, 1 intermediate school, 43 elementary schools and 3 special programs schools. We were curious, how great is it?
With our kids being grown, we have not paid too much attention to ISD news. To be fair, we have had several whistleblowers send in tips and information but in general it is hard to follow up on and investigate. But sometimes there is news you come across that you have to share because it is about the safety of the children and the families right to know.
My wife, like most woman, loves to scroll social media and recently she found a post from May 2022 about a Ruben Bustillos, former employee at Frisco ISD, who had been arrested after police said they found “inappropriate” images at an elementary school. He was charged with sale, distribution, or display of harmful material to a minor which is a Class A misdemeanor. In Texas, a Class A misdemeanor is the most serious type of misdemeanor offense which is punishable by up to one year in jail and up to a $4000 fine, or both. Types of charges include carrying a gun without a permit, second DWI offense, resisting arrest and assault causing bodily injury. At the time very few details were released about what led to the arrest and the Frisco PD nor the ISD identified which school it was found at. We were curious, what happened to the case?
Well, we decided to look up Bustillos case in Denton County which can be found under Case No. CR-2023-01499-E. It shows the case was filed on 3/7/23 in County Criminal Court #5. From the court documents, it appears that on 5/30/23 Bustillos pleaded “No Contest” to charge #1 of Sale/Distribution/Display Harmful Material to a Minor. The “disposition” meaning the outcome was “DEFERRED ADJUDICATION” which is a term that generally refers to a “PLEA BARGAIN” wherein a defendant pleads guilty or no contest to the charges against them. He was sentenced to 15 months’ probation with 80 hours of community service. Hope that community service is not done around children! The total court costs he had to pay was $692.00. Do you think that is a fair and just outcome for a man who was around Frisco ISD children?
Then in May of 2023, Kendal Augustus, a Frisco Police School Resource Officer was arrested after allegations surfaced that he had an “INAPPROPRIATE RELATIONSHIP WITH A STUDENT.” The allegations dated back to 2017-18 and involved him and a 14-year-old Frisco ISD student. When the allegations surfaced the Frisco Police Department put him on administrative leave and began an investigation. Augustus was later fired and arrested on June 14, 2023, at which time he was charged with sexual assault of a child, indecency with a child and sexual performance of a child. His bond at the time was set at $55,000. Ever wonder what happened with this case?
Well in a search of Denton County’s 367th Judicial District Court we found three case numbers: F23-5117-367, F23-5118-367, and F23-5119-367. All three charges are considered a 2nd Degree Felony in Texas. Besides Augustus trying to modify his bond conditions on 12/20/2023 a True Bill of Indictment came in on all three charges. What is a True Bill? It simply means nine grand jurors determined that there was probable cause that an offense occurred. Then on 5/31/24 it appears they appeared in court to present a plea bargain data / continuance data, but we are not really sure what that means. As of right now, it appears the case is still moving through the court system.
Then we came across a recent Facebook post from June 14th in a group about Collin County Jail Records, and we are guessing one of their teachers might need to answer some questions. It appears on 6/14/2024 Taryn Glasgow, a Newman Elementary teacher at Frisco ISD, and her husband Randy Glasgow were both booked by the Celina Police Department on 6/14/2024 for Injury to a Child, Elderly Individual or Disabled Individual. According to a jail records search, Taryn Glasgow was booked #2024-BK-07569 and Randal Glasgow was booked under #2024-BK-07568. Both had a $25,000 bond with conditions. Just from the booking photos we can tell the couple may have had one to many that night.
We had to look up the penal code because we wanted more details. The Texas Penal Code § 22.04. for Injury to a Child, Elderly Individual, or Disabled Individual reads, “(a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence, by act or intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly by omission, causes to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual: (1) serious bodily injury; (2) serious mental deficiency, impairment, or injury; or (3) bodily injury.”
It goes on to read, “(c) In this section: (1) “Child” means a person 14 years of age or younger. (2) “Elderly individual” means a person 65 years of age or older. (3) “Disabled individual” means a person with one or more of the following: (i) autism spectrum disorder; (ii) developmental disability, (iii) intellectual disability.”
As for the court case there is not much information currently. They appeared in Magistrate Court under case number DCMAG-46229-2024 and DCMAG-46228-2024 both of which appear to have been heard on 6/14/2024. According to the Collin County website “the Collin County Magistrate Court includes advising the defendants of their rights, determining probable cause, setting bond, and issuing warrants in criminal cases. The Magistrate may also issue and enforce bond conditions. A defendant is considered to be a person charged with a crime.”
We are not trying to embarrass the couple but if these charges are in any way true then parents who sent their kids to Newman have a right to know. They are serious accusations related to a potential child. As a parent I would want to know and since this has already been posted several times across social media, we felt the need to share.
Have you ever wondered if Frisco ISD is the top tier district you think it is? You can always read the Texas Education Agency Report Card. We found the 2023 Federal Report Card for Frisco ISD online and you can click here to read it. According to SchoolDigger.com Frisco ISD ranks 41 out of 968 districts in Texas and has a 5-star rating. So why do we keep having issues with Frisco ISD staff? Does the district do backchecks every few years on current employees or only at the time of hiring? What is the policy of the district when it comes to reporting something like this to them? What is the policy when it comes to informing parents? Parents should be armed with all of the information when it comes to the safety of their children.
Unless you are Cheech & Chong who smoke too much weed or ate one too many gummies, then you know when you hear the words Fields Frisco it is referring to Fehmi Karahans development on the Northwest side of Frisco next to the Frisco PGA. According to the Fields Frisco website, Fields is built on the big idea that when you build something so different, so magical and so enticing, they will come. Built on the big idea that pure and simple architecture is elegant, fresh and true to its core. Built on the big idea that the great outdoors is equally as important as the great indoors. So, we’re making both great.
We initially thought that Fehmi Karahan must have liked the movie Field of Dreams. Then we thought, maybe he read our blog Field of Dreams where we told you about a 2019 email involving Mayor Jeff Cheney and the “UNOFFICIAL VIP LOT LIST” he was pitching at fancy dinners. Either way, Fields Frisco is already known for its steep slopes, breathtaking views, and the winding creeks and trails soon to come. Of course, it is also known for being the development with the most exclusive new neighborhood being built called “The Preserve” aka the ESPN lots, that will look over the new PGA Frisco golf courses.
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We have been following this development very closely and written several blogs on questionable business relationships that have come from it and “expanded” some political pockets in town. We have also called out our current leadership and their need to recuse them self from certain votes due to potential conflicts of interest we felt existed. You also know we follow the city council meetings closely and review the agendas when they are released looking for hidden agenda items.
When the agenda came out for the January 16, 2024, City Council meeting we reviewed it as normal, and nothing really stood out. Then while watching the council meeting, we were surprised after the reading of Agenda Item #60 when out of nowhere Mayor Cheney and John Keating announced they would be recusing themselves from the vote and discussion on the agenda item. The agenda item reads, “Consider and act upon approval of proposed modifications to Table 4-1 as permitted by Planned Development-280. Zoned Planned Development-280. Neighborhood #3, #52, and #53. Applicant: Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.” Seems pretty generic right?
What is Agenda Item 60 about? The Preserve at Fields Frisco! We decided to file a PIR for the recusal paperwork to learn more. At the meeting, Mayor Cheney announced he had clients who purchased in The Preserve. The recusal paperwork states he had a conflict with the agenda item as it could have a benefit of ECONOMIC INTERESTS for 1) myself and/or one of more persons related to me or 2) my client or customer. Economic Interest refers to a legal or equitable interest in real property, personal property or contractual rights with a value of more than $50,000.
Then we noticed an asterisk that says for the purpose of Section C of this Affidavit, a “person related to me” refers to a person within the second degree of consanguinity (parent or child, sibling, grandparent) or the second degree of affinity (spouse or in-law). Now this has got our attention because we have said for almost two years that Jeff Cheney had a lot in The Preserve right next door to his best buddy John Keating. We wrote about it in our blog The Preserve Lots and showed you the plat map photo taken from a builder’s office. Cheney has repeatedly denied to the public, the Dallas Morning News, to other outlets about owning any property in The Preserve.
We know Cheney and his brokerage have sold lots in The Preserve which has not stopped him in the past from speaking on agenda items or overseeing council votes on the issue. So why now? Why is Mayor and Real Estate Mogul Jeff Cheney RECUSING himself and claiming ECONOMIC INTEREST now? We are interested in what you think. Do you think Cheney owns a lot in The Preserve? Do you think he could have bought a lot for “some clients” meaning he put in a family member’s name? He knows if we find a lot in his name it will show him as a liar, especially if it is one of those great ESPN lots on the bluff over the 8 hole that sold out rather quickly on the street nicknamed “Billionaires Row.”
Next, we looked at John Keatings recusal paperwork from the same meeting and same agenda item. Remember he announced he had purchased a lot and while the lot was still in the builders name, he would be closing on it in the coming months, so he needed to recuse himself. Keating checked the Real Property option which states, I and/or one or more person’s related to me have an interest in real property with a fair market value of $2500 or more that is involved in the agenda item, or located within 200 feet of that property, and it is reasonably foreseeable that action on the item will have a special economic effect on the value of the property. It then denotes with an asterisk that a “person related to me” refers to a person within the 1st degree meaning a parent, child or spouse.
Our questions for Keating are obvious, he has openly declared on financial forms he was a “househusband” while married to his former wife. After being a stay-at-home dad and cheating on his wife of 20+ years who filed for divorce, he either A) got a lofty divorce settlement to buy a home in the most prestigious new gated community in Frisco or B) won the lottery. While Mr. Keating does have his REAL ESTATE LICENSE NOW, we cannot find any listings he has sold to show he made an income in the last year. We also don’t think military benefits are enough for a home in the new most “exclusive Frisco neighborhood” The Preserve.
Now fast forward to May 7, 2024, and the Consent Agenda Item #16 that reads “Consider and act upon authorizing the City Manager to execute a Third Amendment to the Second Development Agreement by and between the City of Frisco and the following Delaware limited partnerships: FHQ Development Partners LP F/K/A FHQ Holdings LP, Fields Preserve Investment Partners LP, Fields Midtown West Investment Partners LP, Fields Point West Investment Partners LP, Fields Midtown East Investment Partners LP, Fields East Village Investment Partners LP, Fields Point East Investment Partners LP, North Fields Investment Partners, LP, and Fields University Village Investment Partners LP. (CMO/MD)”
Item 16 is a development agreement, between the City and Developer, related to the public infrastructure construction and assessments dated February 10, 2021. In a nutshell, the Developer is responsible for the delivery of certain defined roadways, hike and bike trails and related infrastructure called “Developer Improvements” for the Fields project. We would assume those “Developer Improvements” would have a direct correlation to the value of the properties Cheney’s clients and Keating purchased which means they pulled the item from the consent agenda to recuse themselves from the vote on the item correct? No, they did not and in fact it was Mayor Pro-Tem John Keating who moved to approve the Consent Agenda item with Angelia Pelham seconding his motion. Why did they not pull the item and recuse themselves this time?
Then just two weeks later at the May 21, 2024, council meeting we found Agenda Item 21 on the Consent Agenda which states, “Consider and act upon authorizing the City Manager to modify the Deed of Trust as security in lieu of physical improvements for final acceptance.” We learned the agenda item is also about The Preserve Phase 1 and 2 private gated subdivisions currently under construction. The developer was requesting final acceptance on both phases prior to final completion. The acceptance is for landscaping (including screening; hardscape; plantings of trees, shrubs, sod, plants, etc.; soils; and fine grading), irrigation improvements, sidewalks, barrier-free ramps, pavers, permanent signage, and all other appurtenances and improvements related thereto. A Deed of Trust was approved by Council as a part of the Fields Second Development Agreement.
We can only assume that landscaping and the so-called improvements listed above would also have a direct correlation to the value of the properties Cheney’s clients and John Keating purchased. They obviously pulled the item from the Consent Agenda and then recused themselves, right? Nope! John Keating was the first to recommend passing the consent agenda as is. Should he have voted on this project as it directly affects the “REAL PROPERTY” he now is closing on in The Preserve?
In closing, we would love for you to comment on this blog and answer the following questions. Do you believe Jeff Cheney owns a lot in The Preserve under his name or a relative’s name? Do you think they should have to recuse themself from any item on the agenda that is related to Fields Development? Why do you think after all these years Mayor Jeff Cheney and Real Estate Mogul Cheney is now claiming the need to recuse himself when has had clients buy in this community since it was announced? Agents within his brokerage, that he owns, have sold homes in this community which means he got paid as the broker. Why is there just now a CONFLICT OF INTEREST? Last question, why do you think the city intentionally hides the development names on the Agenda Item? Do you think the agenda’s need to be more forthcoming so citizens can clearly see what is coming before the council?
The City of Frisco is asking taxpayers to consider a new Performing Arts Center that has a rumored will cost taxpayers a rumored price tag of $300 Million up to $600 Million+ dollars. The city has started a “Sell It to the Public” campaign with a company called Theatre Projects on social media which begins with residents taking a survey to gather feedback on the grand idea. They announced plans to host open house sessions at City Hall, talk to local arts organizations, and will host listening sessions for the public.
We received an email this week from one reader who attended their “Zoom Session” and guess how many residents participated? Maybe 15 plus the representatives from Theater Projects who is doing all the dog and pony work for the city. I guess the small attendance still counts towards feedback but compared to a city of 220,000 people it does not like seem a great sample to us. The email also said how they are currently looking at two properties to potentially house this Performing Arts Center which we find very interesting.
The website which has been set up talks about the Project History and how the city has been studying the possibility of a new performing arts center for over 6 years. It refers to several studies and assessments done to support the future planning of the “critical Frisco asset” for our community. It also has a link to the 45-page 2023 Business Plan put together by Theatre Projects. Even though the 2023 Business Plan put together by Theatre Projects shows the Hall Group vision, our inside source says Hall Group is out! They will not be a part of this theatre project in any way shape or form, and they are not offering up the land for it any longer. Hence why on the “zoom” we mentioned earlier, they stated they were “eyeing two different potential sites for this PAC.
They are using every avenue to make sure we know how great and grand this project is and to show us how badly we need it. The city’s friends at Frisco Enterprise, the paper in their back pocket, wrote an article and it states that “Back in September, the Frisco City Council approved a $1.4 million professional services agreement with consultant Theatre Projects.” Part of that agreement is that the city leadership and the team from Theatre Projects would do venue tours to gather data and talk to venue operators. We “the taxpayers” are paying for all this travel, plus we are paying for the additional travel cost for the Theatre Projects team to attend. In case you are wondering that additional expense is not included in the $1.4 million agreement we have with them for consulting services.
According to the Frisco Enterprise, the visits included the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in Greensboro, North Carolina, the Denver Performing Arts Complex, the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando, Florida; the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, Florida; the Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences in Lubbock, Texas and the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
We figured since they were on this whole “Sell It to The Public” Road Show, we would file a Public Information Request for more information. We asked for the complete copies of the performing arts center studies and any associated documents related to the reports including those from consulting groups or 3rd parties like Frisco ISD or Hall Group. We asked for all 6 of the previous studies they have done that we were able to find in meeting minutes.
We assumed that it would be no issue getting any documentation because of how badly they want to “Sell It Like a Cheap Cheney Piece of Real Estate” to Frisco taxpayers. Imagine our surprise after paying $16.74 yesterday and today the status changed to “SENT TO AG FOR A RULING.” The did release the 7 studies to us, but the “other supporting documents” are subject to copyright and will be available in the City Secretary’s Office for viewing only. Who wants to go review the documents for us and report back what is in them? Email us at FriscoWhistleBlower@protonmail.com
What did they send to the AG for review? How much are they withholding from US, THE TAXPAYERS, whom they are going to pitch a tax increase to soon so they can spend hundreds of millions of dollars for a performing arts center which will be city owned and operated. Then we always hear them quote “copyright” as a reason to withhold things. We are just confused, when does copyright matter to the city? They made it clear during the recent political election when council members were using the “copyrighted” city logo in their campaign materials they did not care and in fact they said they could not do anything about it. Strange because the city websites states in black and white they CAN NOT USE THE CITY LOGO for political campaigning so why have a rule you can’t enforce about a copyrighted logo? Now when it comes to documents related to the Performing Arts Center, they want to say copyright matters. It seems they use that word copyright when it is convenient to withhold information, they don’t want you or me to see.
The way we see it is simple! The city is spending millions of bond approved tax dollars on studies for a PAC, then they want to claim copyright to withhold those details from those of us who are paying for it! Just release all the documents and stop trying to play games because it is getting really old.
Oh, one last thing, Frisco ISD got tired of the games a year or so ago, and they are currently building their own Performing Arts Center because outside influences kept delaying the project. That means you, the taxpayers will be paying for multiple Performing Arts Center. Feels like an episode of Oprah, where she yells “You get an arts center, you get an arts center, and you get an arts center!”
Wouldn’t the world be such a simple place if someone’s nose really grew when they told a lie? Think about it for a moment, we wouldn’t have to spend so much time trying to determine if someone is telling the truth or a lie. It is much easier in person through verbal and non-verbal ques to tell if someone is lying or withholding the truth from you than it is through filing a Public Information Request. However, PIR’s are all we have here at Frisco Chronicles to get to the truth.
Recently we filed several PIR’s based on leads we received from “whistleblowers” to see if the city would disclose “The Truth” to us through PIR requests. One of the PIR requests read, “We would like the list of the complaints made about political signs to code enforcement or the city secretary for the period of 1/1/2024 to present. We would like a copy of any complaint made about electioneering at the election polls from April 20th to May 5th.” It is a very simple request and after we paid the $6.30 we thought we would get a handful of responses. Instead, we found that the city left a lot of complaints out of our request. We know this because many folks sent us copies of their complaints to the city and they are not in the disclosed information given to us even though it fits the criteria of the request.
The first email we received a copy of was from Councilman John Keating, sent to Kristi Morrow on May 4th, Election Day. It states “poll greeters are playing loud music at FS 8 (they turn it down, then turn it back up). Also, this truck passed through the parking lot several times. Within 30 minutes of receiving the email Kristi Morrow forwarded it to Amy Moore in Code Enforcement who made her way out to Fire Station 8. This is the incident we reported about in our blog Election Playbook: Code Enforcement.
The interesting thing about this email is that John Keating failed to mention to the City Secretary his own team including himself, The Cheney’s, and his friends were electioneering in the parking lot for almost four hours that morning. It is documented with pictures in our blog and proves our point that it is okay for John Keating to break the rules, but others can’t. Just “PAR FOR THE COURSE” in the city council world.
The next email we received in our PIR was about “Illegal Signs” that was sent by Judy Adams on May 3 to City Secretary, Kristi Morrow. It states, “These signs are placed by polling stations all over the city. It is in violation since there are no disclaimers. Very sad that ‘these people’ are claiming to uphold the law and order but are breaking the law by doing the things they accuse others of. I believe they should be removed immediately.” The picture just barely shows the corner of a sign, but we did recognize it.
Why did we recognize the sign? It is a Frisco Chronicles sign! Now to be clear we did not buy these signs, we did not put them out, and we have no clue who did. With that said we do love them, and they gave us a good laugh! We received an anonymous email from a whistleblower that they put them out to spread the word of our site. They did confirm they were all placed on private property and none of them were placed on city property or at any fire station. Lastly, it is not a political action committee, it does not support a candidate, so it does not need a disclaimer.
Judy, think about carpet cleaner signs or we buy ugly houses signs, do they need disclaimers? We suggest Judy Adams focus on what she does best which is blowing people aka blo me! Now get your mind out of the gutter! We are referring to her focusing on her new Blo Bar she just opened for those who need a good blow, or maybe her real estate career, or her closed coffee bar instead of silly illegal signs on private property. Better yet maybe she should make her own BLO ME signs with a phone number to make an appointment, if she does, we will make sure to have readers call them in for being illegal signs.
The third email we received was from April 22 from Jeff Cheney to City Secretary, Kristi Morrow. It is important to note the email was sent from JCheney@friscotexas.gov so clearly, he wrote this as the “Mayor of Frisco” and not as an individual resident. It states, “Pretty clear this is not in compliance with the maximum size of 10×10” referring to the Firefighters tent at Station 7. Kristi Morrow sent the email to Amy Moore in Code Enforcement and Amy replied Justin was on his way to the station. Then Kristi Morrow replied and asked Amy to call her when she gets a chance. Wonder what they talked about?
The next email we received was on April 25th, from Councilman John Keating (JKeating@friscotexas.gov) to City Secretary Kristi Morrow and Assistant City Manager, Henry Hill. He questions if “these are allowed as they are showing up at polling stations. He specifically notes the one at Fire Station 7 in the picture he submitted. He is referring to a Voter Guide Stand that is put out at every election by a political conservative group called Red Wave. You can see at the bottom of the voter guide it says Pol Ad Paid For Red Wave Texas.
Why does Keating not like the voter guide stand? Oh, that is because it has listed for Place 1 Mark Piland and for Place 3 John Redmond. We want to know how often John Keating votes in elections. These have been at polling sites during several election cycles. If he is just now seeing it, then we are curious if he has been doing his civic duty to vote? Maybe he just didn’t like it because it was not his name on the guide!
Lastly, we received an excel spreadsheet of complaints. Not sure what to make of it!
Here is the problem, our request was very simple and straightforward which states, “We would like the list of the complaints made about political signs to code enforcement or the city secretary for the period of 1/1/2024 to present. We would like a copy of any complaint made about electioneering at the election polls from April 20th to May 5th.” We have several emails sent to us which reported about in our blog, Breaking All The Rules related to John Keating, Angelia Pelham and the Safety-First Frisco PAC putting up signs at 9am on Sunday April 21st which was 6 to 9+ hours earlier than they were allowed. We have several emails about the 4 x 4 political signs at Station 7 and questioning if they are on city property that were sent to us.
We also have several emails sent to the city secretary regarding electioneering occurring at the polls, some even documented with videos and pictures.
Yet none of these emails and others we have were given to us in our Public Information Request. They fit the issue, time frame and criteria of the request we made so why don’t we have them from the city. What other emails have they withheld that we don’t know about? Readers and have sent them in but our own city will not be forthcoming and turn them over in a Public Information Request. We have proof the city HAS WITHELD PUBLIC RECORDS…AGAIN! The city claims TRANSPARENCY, yet they can’t even be honest with a public information request and fulfill it as they should. WHY DOES THE CITY LIE AND HIDE INFORMATION FROM TAXPAYERS?
We have a PIR out right now for the body cam footage from the Code Enforcement cameras worn during the election, but they have sent that to the Attorney General. Why do they not want us to hear the conversations they had at the polls with the political candidates or the firefighters regarding code enforcement complaints called in?
Most concerning is how our Mayor and Councilman Keating act like winey children when it is something they don’t like so they use their city emails and position to make complaints which are acted upon immediately by the city. However, the numerous complaints about the signs being put out early at the fire stations by these same folks had no action or fines taken against them for clearly violating the rules. Rules that they should know as they are sitting active council members. Remember John Keating has 16 years on council so if he does not know the rules by now, then he truly is dumber than a bag of rocks. In fact, those complaints are not even documented apparently, or they would have been in our public information request. This is Frisco folks! Rules for thee but not for me!
While the election may be over, the desire to learn more about it, is not. The Safety First Frisco PAC Facebook page has been deleted and the website removed, literally overnight. However our curiosity about a few things has not faded and over 2 months ago we filed two PIR’s that today “have been sent to the AG for a ruling”. We would love to say the City of Frisco surprises us, but truly they don’t.
The first PIR was filed on 2/26/2024 and was very simple in nature. We asked for a copy of any PIR requests and the corresponding documents made from the following: Bill Woodard, Mike Simpson, Dick Peasley, and the Safety-First Frisco PAC from 1/1/2022 to Present.
The second PIR was filed on the same day. We asked for emails, texts, or handwritten correspondence between city officials, including the city manager’s office, assistant city managers, deputy city managers, city council, and department directors regarding the Frisco Fire Association Prop A & B regarding Civil Service and Collective Bargaining. Including emails or communications marked as confidential or with a code name for Prop A & B from 1/1/2022 to Present.
The response to both The City of Frisco has reviewed its files and has located documents responsive to your request. However, due to issues of confidentiality, the City has chosen to seek a ruling from the Office of the Attorney General regarding the release of the responsive documents. You will be receiving a letter from Abernathy, Roeder, Boyd & Hullett, PC, attorneys for the City of Frisco, informing you of the City’s decision to seek a ruling from the Office of the Attorney General. The Office of the Attorney General has up to 45 business days in which to make a ruling regarding your request.
Ask yourself, why would the city be holding this information from the public? If the city had correspondence with the PAC in any way, would that be considered electioneering? It is interesting to us that two separate PIRs are being held back but the Mayor hosted a Sheryl Sculley who spoke against the measure. Councilman Bill Woodard went on the news and did a full interview with Channel 11 as his title in that broadcast was not Bill Woodard (citizen) it reads “Councilman Bill Woodard” and he specifically talked about how the measures could hurt the city. Technically if you ask us, he was speaking on from his experience on the council and using his knowledge acquired as a councilman so therefore he was representing the city talking against measures on the ballot. Is that against the city’s own Code of Conduct?
The city and the council want to claim they are transparent, and residents can trust them, but if they expect us to believe that then they need to release the PIRs sent to the Texas Attorney General. Better yet vote on it at a council meeting to release it like you did a in 2023. We strongly feel something underhanded has happened here and we are considering filing our own complaint with the AG. They can’t use city information to fight propositions then say its confidential later when the citizens ask to see it.
Did you think we were done talking about the upcoming City Council meeting and the published agenda? Think again, it is time to continue our journey down the yellow brick road. The consent agenda is often used to streamline the approval process for items considered routine or non-controversial. Consent agenda items are typically approved without individual discussion unless a council person requests to pull an item for discussion. This means important matters may be approved with little to no public discussion or debate and we would argue it can be used to obscure or hide certain matters from public scrutiny.
We identified another item on the upcoming consent agenda for the Frisco City Council Meeting on May 21, 2024. Under the consent agenda we noticed Item 22 which is to execute a proposal from GL Seaman and Co to provide and install furniture worth $140,999 for Fire Station #10. It said funds are available through “BONDS” related to this project. We will come back to this.
A little history, since 2006 over the course of 4 bond elections (2006, 2015, 2019, and 2023) the city has asked residents to approve $258,900,000 for public safety. We detailed out the Bond information our previous blog Bond, Frisco Bond! 007. If you have not read it, then you should because you will be surprised you paid for some items twice.
Typically, bonds are used for large expensive and long-lived capital improvements & projects such as road or street improvements, parks, water treatment facilities, and building of new facilities or updates to public buildings (libraries, police stations, fire stations). Investors who buy municipal bonds are lending money to the issuer in exchange for interest payments and the return of the principal at maturity.
According to a 2023 report in Munichain, the City of Frisco, Texas, sold almost $233 million in bonds to fund municipal improvements. The bonds will finance improvements to Frisco’s roads, waterworks, parks, and municipal center, as well as the construction of a new garage in the city’s downtown area, among other projects. The city issued the bonds in three series.
The Series 2023 bonds, consisting of $161.5 million, mature between 2024 and 2043, yielding between 2.8% and 4.14%.
The Series 2023A bonds, consisting of $18.5 million, also mature between 2024 and 2043, yielding between 2.85% and 4.15%.
The Series 2023B bonds, which are taxable, mature between 2026 and 2038, yielding between 4.35% and 4.875%.
Using these bonds responsibly is important because the money was subject to voter approval and must align with legal requirements for municipal bonds. Bond funds are generally intended for long-term capital improvements, so we asked ourselves, is furniture a capital improvement? We pulled up the purchase order and compared it to the actual Knoll Omnia Partners contract referenced in the agenda memo. Technically if it is a permanent structural change then it would be considered acceptable but surprisingly several of the items listed on the purchase order are “Freestanding” furniture items on casters. The items on the po that are “system furniture” are those you see in most offices around the country, of course could be paid for by capital improvements as they permanent furniture systems.
Why are we pointing this out? Well, we support using bond money to build a new fire station for our hard-working men in the FD. It is a place where many of them spend holidays away from their families while we enjoy the comfort of home. We have no problem with top-of-the-line amenities for our PD and FD. We just want to know why we would use bond money for movable furniture over the city’s general fund.Why would we pay interest for years for movable furniture which could be replaced before the bond ever hits the maturity date.
Do you think is furniture a good use of bond money or not? Leave us your opinion in the comments.
The other night our grandkids were over, and we thought we should introduce them to the classic movie, The Wizard of Oz. In The Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy found the man behind the curtain, pretending to be the great Wizard of Oz, the spell of the Wizard was broken. The great and powerful wizard was exposed. He was simply an ordinary man, who was just able to perform some clever tricks. The trouble with fantasy is that, for some, the line between delusion and reality is blurred for those people who simply don’t deal in the truth. I am talking about those people with fantastical perceptions of themselves that are so great, that after a while, their fantasies become their reality.
After the movie was over, we played a game of Jenga. We told them, you must be careful because the game looks easy, but the truth is you must have patience as you carefully remove pieces of wood while hoping the tower does not topple over. I told them the game requires observation, strategic thinking, and sometimes a bit of intuition. Seeing young kids hold their breath while each piece of wood comes out, then mesmerized in the moment to see if the tower will topple is greatness.
As we played, I continued to think about the movie the Wizard of OZ and how it describes our city council. Mayor Cheney is the man behind the curtain, the great Wizard of Oz. While people in Frisco put him on a pedal stool, he is really an ordinary man who can pull some clever tricks past the residents. As you continue to read you will find each council member fits a character’s persona. As we played Jenga I realized we use the same skills in the game of Jenga every other week as we look over the upcoming agenda for the Frisco City Council meetings. We often find behind every agenda, there is a “hidden agenda”, but you will not find it unless you delicately navigate through the list of items and understand their implications. We find ourselves asking what is the underlying motive or objective behind certain proposals, discussions, or agenda items? Much like in the game of Jenga, if you are not careful you may miss some things that could be very important for the tower to continue to stand.
The next morning, we sat down to look over the upcoming agenda for Frisco City Council meeting. We first noticed under “Individual Items” that both John Keating and Angelia Pelham will take the Oath of Office for their elected places. Then we noticed right after that they plan to nominate the new Mayor Pro-Tem and Deputy Mayor Pro-Tem. In our opinion, the political clique who are like characters in the Wizard of OZ, will probably nominate to keep positions the same. That means Pelham, or Glinda the Good Witch and Keating, who is obviously the Brain-Seeking Scarecrow, will retain their titles since they are the two top Wizard of Oz Enforcers.
As to why the others would not be nominated, well that’s easy. They hate Brian Livingston who they treat like the Wicked Witch of the West, since he supported candidates outside the political clique in the last two elections. Laura Rummell, or the Cowardly Lion, is known as the go along to get along girl and she won’t fight any nomination for fear of getting on the bad side of the political clique. Tammy Meinershagen who is the prefect Dorothy, is too busy writing a poem for why we need a $300 million dollar performing arts center. Lastly, Bill Woodard, the heartless Tin Man, just pulled out all the stops to create a larger divide between the city and the Frisco Firefighters. Probably would not be a good choice if they wanted to “find healing” as Pelham would say with the rank and file of the Fire Department.
After the May General Election every year, appointments to the City Council committees are brought to the City Council for review. City Council members may be appointed and reappointed to the various committees at the discretion of the Mayor and City Council. That is why the regular agenda item 34 stood out which is consider and act upon appointments to City Council Committees. If you remember last year, Brian Livingston was stripped and removed from every committee he served on by the great Wizard of Oz, Mayor Cheney. It was a punishment for going outside of the political clique we told you about above.
The current appointments to each committee are:
Budget and Audit Committee: Deputy Mayor Pro-Tem Angelia Pelham & Council Member Laura Rummel.
Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition: Mayor Pro-Tem John Keating.
Frisco Square Management District (FSMD) Board is composed of three (3) City Council members and two (2) representatives from the developer per the Local Government Code. The board members currently serving are Mayor Jeff Cheney, Council Member Bill Woodard, and Mayor Pro-Tem John Keating.
Governance Committee: Council Member Bill Woodard, Council Member Tammy Meinershagen, & Deputy Mayor Pro-Tem Angelia Pelham.
Legislative Committee: Council Member Laura Rummel, Council Member Tammy Meinershagen, & Mayor Pro-Tem John Keating.
North Central Texas Council of Governments Emergency Preparedness Planning Committee: Council Member Tammy Meinershagen with Council Member Laura Rummel as her alternate.
North Central Texas (NCT) 911 Project: Council Member Tammy Meinershagen with Council Member Laura Rummel as her alternate.
North Texas Commission is represented by Mayor Jeff Cheney.
Park and Trail Naming Committee is represented by Council Member Bill Woodard.
Regional Transportation Council is represented by Mayor Pro-Tem John Keating.
Animal Advisory Committee is represented by Council Member Laura Rummel.
Frisco Veterans Advisory Committee: Mayor Pro-Tem John Keating, Council Member Laura Rummel, & Council Member Tammy Meinershagen
On Tuesday, the city council can do one of two things. First, they could choose not to appoint or reappoint current appointees. Secondly, they can review it and make new nominations to the committees “IF THEY CHOOSE.” What do you think they will they choose to do? Will they do the right thing and put Mr. Livingston back on the committees or continue this petty behavior? Is Brian Livingston still considered the Wicked Witch of the West by his fellow council members for having independent thought?
If they shun Mr. Livingston again who ran unopposed for his seat in May 2023, then they are essentially telling the 14,282 voters that came out to vote for him “YOUR OPINION DOESN’T MATTER!” Just for a point of reference, that is 2922 more votes than Mayor Cheney received the same year. It is also telling the 41,128 residents who voted for Livingston in 2020 that their opinion doesn’t matter. In 2020, Livingston faced two opponents, if you add together the votes of those 2 opponents, they still were 11, 192 votes short of Livingston. Now compare that to the other seat on the ballot in 2020 which Laura Rummell ran for. He had 24,773 more votes than her.
Lastly on the agenda we noticed items 23 – 26 which have to do with the Boards and Commissions. Apparently, they are changing the names of some of the committees. The Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) will now be the Hike-and-Bike Advisory Committee. Bill Woodard, the heartless Tin Man, must be so excited over the change since he is known as the Hike-Trike-&-Bike guy. Then the Frisco Arts Board and Public Arts Program will be renamed to the Frisco Arts and Culture Advisory Committee. We suspect this may have something to do with the “new performing arts center” the city is trying to sell residents. Item 25 will modify certain provisions governing the Parks & Recreation Board. Lastly, the Urban Forestry Board will be changed to the Frisco Natural Resources Advisory Committee. It’s no big deal they are changing the names we just find it the timing interesting that’s all.
It is time for us to click the heels of our red shoes and chant “There’s no place like home!” We encourage you to look at the agendas and enjoy the game of Jenga the city plays with us. The city hopes we are not paying attention to the pieces of wood they are moving around but the Whistleblower Team is always paying attention. It will be interesting to see if Pelham and Keating keep the Mayor Pro-Tem and Deputy Pro-Tem titles.
It is clear Cheney is setting up the path for Angelia Pelham to be our next Mayor at the end of his term. I wonder how Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Brain-Seeking Scarecrow, or the Heartless Tin Man feel about that? We would encourage the other council members (minus Cheney) to think about that fact that Brian Livingston is a pretty popular councilman to his base that elected him. None of them have come close to the accumulated votes he has received over the years so it will be interesting to see what path they all take on the yellow brick road Tuesday night.
We are glad the municipal election season is over, and life is getting back to normal, or as normal as it can be. Proposition A which was for Civil Service was, came down to a difference of 665 votes. That is not a landslide win, and it should speak volumes to the Frisco City Council and City Management to do better. On Proposition B, which was for Collective Bargaining, it came down to a difference of 2,383 votes. City leaders and the Safety Frisco First PAC did a good job of scaring voters that if it passed our Firefighters would become a group of “Greedy Bastards” and bankrupt the city.
Residents spoke and while most conveyed their support to the Firefighters, they didn’t feel Civil Service and Collective Bargaining were the right way to go about it. According to several voters we talked to, they believe the residents need to help fight for change at city hall and demand more from our city leaders. WHERE ARE THOSE RESIDENTS NOW? Did any of those who came out to vote, go home, and take the time to email the city leadership? Probably not! Did anyone write an email to city leaders expressing concern about the City Manager who is the reason we ended voting on these issues. Probably not!
We still continue to think about the call for “more staffing” and wonder do we have a staffing issue? Did you know that over the last four years the city applied for several grants related to staffing?
What is a SAFER Grant? The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grants (SAFER) was created to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to help them increase or maintain the number of trained, “front line” firefighters available in their communities. The goal of SAFER is to enhance the local fire departments’ abilities to comply with staffing, response and operational standards established by the NFPA which stands for the National Fire Protection Association’s codes and standards.
At the 01/18/2022 council meeting the council voted on an agenda item #21 authorizing the City Manager to submit a SAFER grant application in the amount of $5,420,500 over a three-year performance period for STAFFING that would help fund 15 Firefighter/Paramedic positions needed to staff a fourth Truck Company assigned to Fire Station 9. The memo we found was from Mark Piland to then City Manager George Purefoy, Deputy City Manager Henry Hill and the entire council. The resolution says duly passed and approved on the 18th day of January 2022.
The application states “Due to this rapid growth, the City’s ability to build and staff new fire stations and apparatus is limited. The City has committed to building a new fire station, Fire Station #10 and additional apparatus, such as a fourth Truck and additional Medic, but needs federal assistance to on-board additional firefighters to staff this apparatus. Without this funding, it takes our fire crews longer to establish effective response forces according to NFPA 1710 standards which increases the likelihood of property damage and risk to the fire crews. Without this funding, our response times will increase due to the first due truck not being within close proximity to the rapid areas of development that would need an aerial ladder response.
It goes on to say, “During 2020, the city began construction on 13 multifamily housing and completed 7 multifamily housing units that were already under construction for a grand total of over 26,000 units. The City houses 22 specialty care facilities to include nursing homes, free standing nursing facilities and adult living communities. Within the last 2 years, we have had 6 new high rises completed and we have 3 high rise buildings currently under construction. This additional funding will allow for a fourth fire truck to be put into service which will increase our NFPA 1710 standards for response to a high-risk structure to include multifamily housing, specialty risk structures and high-rise buildings. NFPA 1710 recommends that an agency place 42 or 43 personnel on a fire at a high-rise structure. The department is currently staffed to respond with 34 personnel.”
Yet the City Council and City Management Say, “We don’t have a staffing issue.”
We were also surprised to see at the 04/04/2023 council meeting the council voted on an agenda item #23 authorizing the City Manager to submit a SAFER grant application in the amount of $8,894,880 for a three-year grant performance period for STAFFING. The memo written by Interim Fire Chief, Lee Glover goes on to say, “if awarded, the FY22 SAFER Grant Program would provide funding for 24 Firefighter/Paramedic positions consistent with the Fire Department’s current five-year staffing plan.”
We pulled up the application and pulled some highlights. The first one states, “Over the past year, our department has seen the 90th percentile response times for first arriving fire/EMS apparatus in these areas increase to nearly ten minutes and NFPA 1710 single-family dwelling full alarm assembly time increase to over 20 minutes, well beyond the NFPA 1710 recommendations.” The second highlight states, “Without the assistance the city will likely be unable to simultaneously bear the cost of constructing two new fire stations and staffing/equipping firefighters, which would negatively impact Frisco FD’s ability to provide appropriate and timely emergency response and assembly of the recommended effective response force.”
The application goes on to say, “The Frisco Fire Department continues to experience increasing call volume and faces new risks. The total call volume for the department has increased by 76.7% since 2015.” It continues, “The Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) of America relocated to Frisco in 2022. While Frisco has experience with large special events, these attendance numbers are more than double the size of current venues in Frisco. In addition, Universal Parks and Resorts recently announced the opening of a new theme park scheduled to open in 2026. A new 2,500-acre development in northern Frisco is underway, with 14,000 homes and apartments planned, as well as commercial and retail development. These developments, events, and venues are new risks for the Frisco Fire Department in an area not close to an existing fire station which have resulted in significantly increased response times over the past few years.”
Fire Chief Lee Glover now says, “we don’t have a staffing issue.”
On a side note, we hope all the developers who donated $10,000 to fight the firefighters now realize the city is not prepared, they flat our said so in a federal grant.
As a resident, why do I feel like I need a shower and we are being blatantly lied too somehow! During the election Mark Piland said as the former Fire Chief he advocated over and over for staffing. Then we see this application by Lee Glover in 2023 which talks about how all the new development has put new risk for the FD and resulted in “SIGNIFICANTLY” increased call times. Most glaring is his statement “we have seen NFPA 1710 single-family dwelling full alarm assembly time increase to over 20 minutes, well beyond the NFPA 1710 recommendations.” Less than a year later we are hearing the complete opposite from Chief Lee Glover and every single member sitting perched up on the city pulpit.
For the last few weeks, we watched the Safety-First Frisco PAC scorch any ground left between the city and the firefighters. They implied they were Greedy Bastards, basically attacked their character, willingness to work, called them lazy, liars and power hungry. It was a nuclear response to an already tense relationship. Meanwhile over at the police department, Chief Shilson’s wife Jana Shilson is advocating with the PAC on social media. At the Fire Department, Chief Lee Glover’s wife Jamie Glover is also advocating with the PAC on social media.
On the other hand, the firefighters are scared they will suffer repercussions for being on the front lines of this fight for the propositions. The firefighter’s message has never changed which centers around staffing and the fact they have no confidence in city leadership or their Chief to do what is right. City leaders continue to try and blame this on former leadership which has nothing to do with it. The former leadership fought with them and for them at the polls, right next to them. Come May 5th, the firefighters said win or lose, if you the resident calls, we your Frisco Firefighters will answer that call and risk our own lives to make sure you the citizen is safe.” We ask again, what’s next? Where do we go from here?
A starting point is every resident should be asking the following questions of our City Leadership: The City Council, The Mayor Jeff Cheney, City Manager Wes Pierson and his staff and Fire Chief Lee Glover:
If we don’t have a staffing issue, then why did you “THE CITY” apply for several SAFER FEMA grants specifically for STAFFING?
Were you honest on the FEMA Safer Grants? If yes, then you have been lying to residents.
Were you honest to residents and lie on the FEMA Safer Grant? If yes, who thought it would be a good idea to lie on a federal grant application?
The 2023 SAFER grant says without assistance the city will likely be unable to simultaneously bear the cost of constructing two new fire stations and staffing/equipping firefighters, which would negatively impact Frisco FD’s ability to provide appropriate and timely emergency response and assembly of the recommended effective response force.” If that is the case, then why does the city continue to offer developers incentives to do business here, why did we build a 60+million-dollar library, and why are we considering a performing arts center? It sounds like we are broke or destitute.
The fact is only after the grants were denied did the city say we are fully staffed, trust us everything is okay, just trust your city leadership. Well, I don’t trust you….AT ALL! Will residents really get involved and express their concern to city leadership about what is happening in our city and demand they find a resolution to these issues or will we see the Fire and Police Association back on the ballot in two years fighting for Civil Service, again!
“Let no man’s ghost return to say his leadership and training let him down.” – A Firefighter
Do you know what the “Golden Rule” is in politics? It is rules for thee but not for me, which we have told you about many times. Common folks are expected to abide by the laws and ordinances like obedient little sheep. In the meantime, our politicians roam the pasture of power with the freedom of a rebellious teenager. They preach about transparency while hiding behind closed doors in executive session like hermits guarding their precious secrets. The concept of accountability is elusive like a mirage in the desert and the tragic outcome is voters losing faith in the system. In politics, only one thing is consistent and that is the double standard.
Ordinance No. 2020-10-69 which goes along with the Texas Election Code authorizes the City Council to enact reasonable regulations concerning the time, place, and manner of electioneering on a public premises used as a polling location. In the ordinance it states a “voting period” shall mean the period beginning the hour the polls open for early voting and ending when the polls close or the last voter has voted on election day (whichever is later).
The voting period is important because the ordinance states it is an “OFFENSE” for any person to leave electioneering signs on City-owned or controlled property that is used as a polling location before 6:00 p.m. before the “voting period” begins and to have them up (24) hours after the voting period ends. According to the ordinance any person, firm, corporation, or business entity violating this Ordinance, could be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and possibly face a fine not exceeding Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00).
The first email we received said that they knew of several people who made complaints to the City Secretary or Code Enforcement about signs being put out on April 21st, at least 6 hours before the allowed time frame. Who was the offender in this case? Glad you asked, it was John Keating, Angelia Pelham and Safety-First Frisco Vote No PAC who violated the rules. Did the city send out someone to confirm the violation? No. Did the city fine someone for the indisputable violation? No!
The email continued and said since it happened on a Sunday when Code Enforcement is off duty, they were not able to confirm or prove the violation. Why didn’t Code Enforcement ask the city to pull the security footage at each fire station, as they are surrounded by cameras? Did they receive time stamped photos with any of the complaints? This is how they “brush it under the rug.”
Even if they had been working, would you want to write a ticket or citation to a sitting council member? How could a code enforcement officer be comfortable with that? The CE Officer knows the council members could make one phone call, that will go down the chains of command, leaving the CE officer vulnerable. If they had been caught, Keating, Pelham, and the Safety-First Frisco PAC would have just blamed it on the “contractor” who put out the signs. Fred Lusk is the contractor, and he has done if for years, just look at the campaign finance reports. Mr. Lusk knows the rules! How about we call it what it is, Special Treatment! It goes directly to rules for thee but not for me!
This year the battle for the ballot votes was a heated one. So much so, that the following weekend after the original sign violation Code Enforcement was on the clock. Did they approve overtime for Code Enforcement for Saturday and Sunday April 27th and 28th? According to witnesses they did make an appearance at the open polling stations over the weekend. Based on conversations with some regular poll greeters who work every election, they have never seen code enforcement, especially not on weekends. What was special about his election, that code enforcement needed to work weekends?
Code Enforcement played a critical role in this election. In fact, we received another email that stated Code Enforcement showed up wearing “Body Cameras” like a police officer. Now according to the election code, Section 61.014 election officials recommend police officers turn off body cameras when within 100 feet of a voting station. That applies to officers on or off duty. The reason, it helps to maintain voter privacy while voters are voting at polling stations, standing in line to vote, or walking in and out of voting stations. Why did Code Enforcement need body cameras? Did they turn their body cameras off or violate someone’s privacy near the polls? Have they ever had to wear body cams before?
Another email stated it felt like Code Enforcement was hassling or targeting the Frisco Firefighters. For example, the ordinance states you are allowed to have a tent, canopy or similar covering that does not exceed 10 feet by 10 feet in size. The firefighters were not aware of the size restriction and had a 10 x 20 tent at Station 7. They were told the tent was in violation and had to come down immediately. The firefighters complied without issue.
Then the code enforcement officer pointed out that it was also an offense for them to attach, place or otherwise affix any electioneering sign, literature, material, tent or other device to any building, tree, shrub, pole or other improvement on City-owned or controlled property used as a polling location. He told them the new vinyl banner made for the propositions had to come down from the tent. The firefighters complied without issue.
The firefighters got created and used their vehicle at another polling site and again they were told they could not affix signs to their truck that was outside the 100ft electioneering marker. Based on the verbiage above we would argue the truck which is owned by a firefighter is not a building, tree, shrub pole or other improvement on city-owned property. If that is electioneering, then why were candidates allowed to put signs in the windows of their cars at stations all over the city that were parked on city-owned property?
Next, he pointed out that any sign on the premises could not exceed four (4) square feet and could not exceed more than (4) feet in height including any supporting poles. The firefighter’s response was to cut up the banner to meet the guidelines. If felt like the next day, we saw new signs and confirmed they had printed new signs that were 2 x 2 and 4 x 1. According to the email, Code Enforcement was not amused by the new signs when they returned and apparently measured each one of them at each station to make sure they were within ordinance size requirements.
Now, we know Code Enforcement is just doing their job, but we were curious were their actions based on a complaint called in or were they simply doing a polling site inspection when they noticed these violations? Did everyone at the polls receive the same attention as the firefighters? We will know as soon as we get the PIR back from the city.
Another email stated, Code Enforcement came out to check the roadway political signs at polling stations. Apparently at Station 7 a “John Keating” 4 x 6 roadway sign popped up before early voting began. Code Enforcement arrived with two officers who walked over to the roadway signs at the edge of city property. The email stated they glanced at the Keating sign then walked right past it to 2 other signs that belong to John Redmond and Mark Piland. The officers talked and looked at the iPad they were carrying. That is when they noticed a person walking towards them who appeared to be from one of the campaign teams. When the campaign rep returned, they asked them was going on now? The campaign person replied, “I guess there was a sign complaint.” She said she was just checking to make sure there were no issues with her candidate’s signs because she was concerned with how they were looking at them. She said then they pointed out to her where the city property line was, and the Keating roadway sign was right on the line.
The email stated they were concerned by what they heard because just weeks before her brother (a sign contractor) had several roadway political signs go missing from the same spot. He thought it was because they were on city property, but it turns out it was private property and the landlord from the shopping center had taken them down. At that time code enforcement pointed to the Angelia Pelham and John Keating signs located next to the sidewalk (which you can see in the picture right next to the Vote NO sign). The Code Enforcement officer them at that time those signs were right on the city property line which lines up with the bush on the opposite side facing the private property. Keatings new sign was at least 2 ft in from the back side of the bush so it should have been on city property. So, where is the city property line? Maybe the city should disclose that so people can follow the rules better.
The last email we received referred to the violations happening at Station 8 on Election Day by none other than John Keating, his poll greeters, and the Cheney’s. The email stated that for several of the morning hours Keating’s poll greeters were walking into the parking lot to greet people exiting from their cars. They would talk to them about how they need to go in and vote for Keating and against the propositions then come outside and take a picture “with the candidate or Mayor.”
Unsure if that was allowed, a poll greeter emailed Collin County Elections to ask the rules about being in the parking lot outside of the 100 ft marker point. Elections emailed back it was okay, so a poll greeter for another candidate went out to the parking lot stood on the grassy median and did the same thing Keatings poll greeters had done all morning. It was at that moment, when Jeff and Dana Cheney yelled out, “you can’t do that, you can’t do that!” Then she said a voice from the side said, “well you have been doing it all morning and told them elections confirmed they can do it.” That is when Mayor Cheney said Frisco has an ordinance against doing that and Dana Cheney yells out, I can just file a complaint; I will call right now and file a complaint.
Next, they saw the poll greeter come back up to the sidewalk and one of the poll greeters emailed the City of Frisco to file a complaint against Keating and his poll greeters, and Cheney’s. The email included videos and pictures of the violations (which we received also). Within 20 minutes, Code Enforcement showed up at Fire Station 8 and told everyone they had a complaint with pictures of poll greeters electioneering in the parking lots and reminded them they cannot enter the parking lots or driveways. They told the poll greeters if they had to come back, they would be writing tickets.
Mayor Jeff Cheney was referring to Section 54-213 of Ordinance No. 2020-10-69 which states, “It is an offense for any person to engage in electioneering on driveways or parking areas on the premises of a polling location or in such areas that the fire chief or his/her designee determines to be unsafe for electioneering or determines will interfere with patrons or city employees and staff who use the areas other than for election purposes. This restriction shall not apply to electioneering signs, literature or materials that are attached to vehicles lawfully parked at the premises of a polling location.”
In closing, say it with us, “Rules For Thee But Not For Me!” Clearly the Cheney’s and Keating know the ordinances so why did their own team break them all morning long? Keating stood on the sidewalk and watched his poll greeters go after car after car in the parking lot all morning. Why didn’t Keating or the Cheney’s correct the electioneering offense happening then by his own poll greeters? Dana said she could go in the parking lot because she did not have any clothes on supporting a candidate, but that is not true because before she stepped into the parking lot, she was holding a candidates sign on the nearby sidewalk, so it was clear she was poll greeting regardless of what she was wearing. It is just another example of how the rules don’t apply to the Elite who sit on our council. We can understand giving a warning for violations but not when it’s the City Council and the Mayor whose signatures is on the ordinance. Maybe Cinderella Cheney needs to hold herself, her husband, her adult son, and their friends on council accountable for their actions.
In the intricate dance of politics, strategic maneuvering often extends beyond conventional means. Employing a political infiltrator to gain an advantage over opponents is akin to deploying a subtle, yet potent weapon in the arena of power. You are maybe thinking this does not happen in Frisco, right? We received several emails from readers and insiders saying it did. The Infiltrator Playbook can unearth secrets about your opponent’s campaign. The result can make a candidate alter their political narrative and potentially shape the very fabric of political dynamics.
We received an email about how the Frisco Safety First PAC (aka the city) sent insiders to a private event held by a Stonebriar resident for John Redmond, Mark Piland, and the Frisco Firefighters Association. It was like a meet and greet but at the country club open to residents who lived within the community interested in meeting the candidates. According to the sender, former Frisco Mayor Michael Simpson and former Frisco City Manager, George Purefoy showed up. Other guests included Dick Peasley whose name appears on the PAC paperwork and represents the city on the North Texas Municipal Water District for the last 10 years. Steve Trent attended who serves on the Visit Frisco Board. Next, you had representatives from the Pelham campaign including Linda & Ed Kelley and Ann Harris. Linda serves as Angelia Pelham’s current campaign manager and Ann served as her campaign manager in 2021. That is quite a list of the Who’s Who of Frisco!
Simpson, Harris, and the Kellys, qualified per the invite we received a copy of because they reside in the community. We were puzzled, why would they want to go to a meet and greet when they support Keating, Pelham, and Safety Frisco First PAC? Then you have Peasley and Trent who live in Frisco Lakes, and Purefoy who lives across the tollway who did not qualify per the invite. Peasley is on the Safety-First Frisco PAC paperwork and that is why we are confused. Call me stupid, but WHY WOULD YOU GO TO AN EVENT FOR CANDIDATES THAT YOU DON’T SUPPORT AND COULD CARE LESS TO GET TO KNOW?
According to the email someone from the club asked Purefoy, Peasley, and Trent to leave because it was a private event. The person close by heard one of them say, “We are with Mike Simpson and want to offer an opposing view.” I asked my wife if she would want to sit through a meet and greet for candidates, she had no intention of voting for? Her answer was short and to the point, “hell no!” Then she asked me if the party crashers invited the opposing FOR view to their meet and greets. She has a valid point.
We keep going back to WHY DID THEY COME? The only clear answer is to spy with their own little eyes, cause trouble, or infiltrate the event to hear what the other candidates had to say and to disrupt it with the opposing view which we find to be rude and classless. If they felt strongly about hearing the opposing view on the propositions, why didn’t the same people insist that the Frisco Chamber of Commerce invite the Frisco Firefighters Association to the Chamber community forum?
Next up we heard about the Frisco Firefighters Association holding an event at a local restaurant and they invited the community to come out and talk to them. My wife and I went to eat and check things out. As we sat there, I said to my wife, don’t those guys look familiar? We pulled up the email sent to us, and there were some familiar faces, Dick Peasley and his Vote No Friends.
We thought it was so nice of them to show up and offer so much support for the Frisco Firefighters (just kidding), but they were there to watch and listen to what was happening at the FFFA Meet and Greet. We are guessing they paid close attention so they could report back to Frisco Star Enterprise. Now it is a public restaurant, but it was no accident Dick Peasley and his friends showed up and kept trying to engage with firefighters. If we had to guess, they probably were recording them and everything they said to try and use against them later in the campaign.
If we were to ask Dick, why are you here? My guess is we would be told to make sure the “opposing” side was represented. How many times do you think the Frisco Firefighters, Piland, or Redmond showed up at their private events? Just a guess, but we would say zero! It was clear they would attend every event they could based on their orders from Frisco Star Enterprise. WHY WOULD YOU GO TO AN EVENT FOR CANDIDATES THAT YOU DON’T SUPPORT AND COULD CARE LESS TO GET TO KNOW?
The best one, we saved for last! We received an email tip that Keating may have put a plant into the firefighter’s campaign station at the polls. At first, this was a stretch even for us, but we kept reading. The email stated they had been at the Fire Station to do a few hours of poll greeting and noticed an older lady sitting with the firefighters. They stopped to say hi to them and asked if the stranger was one of their mothers out to help for the day. They responded no, she just came over and sat down with them and said something about she would not hold a Vote No sign and wanted to support the firefighters.
When their time was done, they went about the day when she realized one of her earrings was missing. She wanted to backtrack her steps and ended up going back to the fire station. She pulled into the parking lot and noticed it was empty except for two cars across the way from her. She recognized the “older woman” from earlier that day sitting with the firefighters and already knew who the man was from seeing him at the polls.
Well, who was it? Jason Zelovics, owner of Mustang Strategies LLC, a political consultant and guess who he represents, John Keating! In fact, Keating has paid Mustang Strategies over $85,446.50 from October 2023 to April 2024 for political consulting, mailers, signs, digital media, flyers, and polling expenses. Why was this woman talking and being so friendly with Zelovics, who DOES NOT support the firefighters? The email said, something felt off, so she started taking pictures and videos of them in the parking lot. She saw them exchange a little “black thing” and then after about 30 minutes they said goodbye and drove out of the parking lot.
Flustered, she forgot about her earring and drove home. Later that evening her husband shows her the new Safety-First Frisco post which talks about yellow firefighter shirts, and it has a close-up photo of the so called “union” logo. The next day when she went to complete her two hours at the polls and noticed the same woman wearing a “KEATING T-SHIRT” and holding a Re-Elect Keating sign. As she walked by the firefighters, she said hi and stopped to tell them what she saw, and they said they knew something was off by the questions she asked and because she wanted a shirt so badly. They seemed to blow it off, the writer said.
After reading her email and looking at the pics we thought, this woman was not crazy. That leaves us with one very important question. Did Keatings “political consultant” put a mole in with the firefighters to try to get a shirt, take pictures and record them? Did they use the little bit of info they obtained to adjust their communication talk track? The lady came back every day until election day, never talked to the firefighters again and held a Keating sign every time.
In closing, it was clear the Safety-First Frisco PAC, Keating and Pelham’s people were going to go to any lengths to win. There was a lot of “Fields Developer Money” at stake and expectations to pull off a win. We should all be asking the following questions: Why did Dick Peasley and his buddies show up over and over at both private and public events held by the “other side?” Why did Dick Peasley feel the need to berate the firefighters at the polls telling them they are overpaid and under worked? What level of desperation did you feel that you had to send a 70-year-old mole into sitting with the FFFA at the polls to gain intel? Is Keating proud of his Cheating (in many ways apparently)? We would also like to know if Keating will release the itemized bill from Mustang Strategies. Why, well something does not add up that he spent $85,446.50 more than any other recent local and even some state-run elections.
The coward must abandon his dignity before he abandons the field of battle – James B. Donovan
Ah, the City of Frisco elections, where candidates pop up like mischievous moles in a game of whack-a-mole. The battle in the whack-a-mole arena begins and the candidates are ready to take their swing at the other. It starts with the Whack-a-mole Forums, where they take a stance and tightly grip their mallet waiting for the right opportunity to smack down the opposing candidate. To everyone’s surprise, candidates just keep popping up somewhere else. It is a constant battle through the political season as you whack and jostle for position, each promising to fix the potholes, and lower property taxes while dodging the inevitable accusations of shady dealings. As early voting begins, you wonder if you’ve nailed down your opponent enough that they will surrender and retreat to the darkness of their hole. They surprise you and pop back up and are ready to battle to the very end. As election day draws to a close so does the delightful game of whack-a-politician and soon a winner will be given the gold mallet. If only it were that easy!
Now that the recent election is over, we want to look at the “Election Playbook” or tactics used because you may be surprised by some of the underhanded measures that involved active and former city officials. Then again maybe not! The first tool in the election playbook is the power of social media. The Safety-First PAC, run by an ACTIVE SITTING CITY COUNCIL MEMBER BILL WOODARD, took the “take no prisoners” rhetoric approach which means victory or supremacy at all costs without any regard to consequences.
One post talked about how when there’s a fire in the city, they don’t want to see the Frisco Firefighters sitting on the sidelines campaigning and playing politics. “Don’t claim the department is understaffed when 6-7 firefighters are sitting at each of the polls every day doing the Union’s bidding” the post said.
Residents were quick to respond that the post was appalling, arrogant, and ignorant. City Councilman, Brian Livingston responded to the post and said he was pretty sure firefighters get days off and if called upon would have been happy to assist. He specifically pointed out we can disagree on the props without personally attacking them. Sapp, President of the Frisco Firefighters Assoc was also quick to respond. He said, “to insinuate that our OFF-DUTY engagement in exercising our First Amendment rights suggests we don’t care about our department or our brother and sister firefighters facing a fire is GARBAGE! He continued, if the city had called for help, he could guarantee the polls would have been empty and every OFF-DUTY firefighter would have shown up.”
We quickly noticed each time a negative comment was made, the PAC just hid or deleted it, and then they swiftly blocked residents from the page to control negative opposition. These were the actions of councilman, Bill Woodard, and his city sidekicks. Wait, are you telling me the Safety-First Frisco PAC (aka the city) which fought so hard and nasty against the firefighters don’t believe in FREE SPEECH? You know your FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT! Ultimately the post was removed from the page probably because burning down the house (figure of speech) was not the best idea.
Another post called the firefighters association “soldiers without a war, and they follow a playbook of confusion, fear, and intimidation.” After talking to residents, we are sure the VOTE NO PAC put out the confusion, created fear, and used intimidation tactics with the DEVELOPER MONEY they had in their pockets. Over the next several posts they released several takeaways from Mayor Jeff Cheney’s conversation with Sheryl Sculley regarding the “big bad Unions!”
In the first video Mayor Jeff Cheney called his “BIG AHA MOMENT” related to the playbook of unions and how they operate. The first was that Associations/Unions try to pit citizens against their elected officials, city manager, and city government.
Then he goes on to say they intentionally put out misleading information. For example, the signs across town say Frisco Firefighters “really big,” and the “association” is very small. What we find interesting is that Mayor Cheney had no issue with the Frisco Firefighters’ signs when they endorsed him and put it on a billboard. We found this on social media, that says Frisco Fighters REALLY BIG, and where is the word association? Ouch, it hurts to look like a crybaby!
The next post was about the Cockroach Theory. We must assume since the video was posted that the Safety-First Frisco Vote No PAC agreed or endorsed Sculley’s comments. It starts with her claiming that the San Antonio unions during elections would tell candidates to give them what they want, or they won’t support them and will run someone against you.
What we find humorous is that Bill Woodard, Jeff Cheney, Laura Rummell, Brian Livingston, and John Keating have all WILLING APPLIED AND ACCEPTED the endorsements from the Association (OH SORRY, UNION), over the years. Since they supported another candidate other than the incumbent, we are now we are supposed to believe they are in a power struggle and blackmailing people.
She then goes on to say the machine of the Union has to keep the “PRESSURE ON” the council members, and once they have them under their shoe like a cockroach, they had to apply pressure and change their tactics to keep them reeling until the Union’s goal is achieved.
We see this very differently because it was the city’s Vote No PAC that sent multiple mailers with different messages, multiple text messages with different verbiage, and talked about higher taxes and outsiders. At one point we felt like if we voted FOR the proposition “outsiders” being Aliens might abduct us in our sleep and take us to their leader to brainwash us and intimidate us into voting NO.
The next post was a video of Sculley and Cheney talking about how you can love your firefighters and disagree about having a union in your community. We could not agree more with Mr. Cheney. You can disagree civilly, however, that is not what you, the council, city and former city officials, and the Vote NO PAC funded by your friends choose to do.
Would you like examples? Angelia Pelham personally attacked the Frisco Firefighters Association board members at a forum and threatened to oust the firefighters who spoke to her in private. Then the Chamber did not allow the firefighters to present at an educational community forum. Lorie Medina, your former Chief of Staff, and campaign manager repeatedly shouted that our firefighters were liars at the polls. Mr. Dick Peasley verbally berated them saying they were overpaid and underworked. Friends of the council in a large social media group then accused firefighters of setting the fire in Chappel Creek to help their cause for the propositions. The Vote No PAC constantly attacked the character, integrity, and qualifications of the Frisco Firefighters. It was “NASTY” Mr. Cheney but it was one sided and the choice was yours, the councils and the Vote No PAC on how that played out.
In closing, social media has serious fire power when it comes to getting out a message. Maybe that is why the social media appears to be scrubbed and cleaned up. We could not find any of the previous posts from Safety First Pac who deleted their page, or photos of the council holding the VOTE NO signs at the polls.
While residents were shocked by some of the posts, employees and former employees of the city were not, according to insiders who emailed us. One said, “That type of behavior is standard operating procedure for the city from the departments to the king of the hill better known as City Manager, Wes Pierson.” Another insider email said, “The only difference is now the residents are seeing what happens behind closed doors at all levels of the city.” They concluded by asking us not to use their name for fear of losing our jobs at city hall. Fear of losing their jobs is something we hear often from City of Frisco employees.
Diversity refers to the presence of a variety of people, cultures, races, religions, and more that make up a local community. Growing up in another country we traveled to many destinations and that allowed us to learn about diversity and different cultures in our early developmental years. It was eye-opening and breathtaking, and little did we know it was exposing us to the diversity in those local communities. My dad loved talking to the locals, eating local foods, and doing what the locals did. Those are some of the best memories that I carry with me today.
Now as a dad and granddad, I try to expose them to the same blessings bestowed upon me by my father. A few years ago, my grandkids said, Papa can we go to the event where they throw colors all around and get dirty? I explained to them that Holi or the Festival of Colors, was a religious Hindu event to mark spring’s arrival and the triumph of good over evil. I explained to them it was rooted in ancient traditions, and that it is one of the most prominent Hindu celebrations next to Diwali, the Festival of Lights. The kids were excited to learn more and understand it better and now we take them every year. By attending the event they had fun, made new friends, and learned that diversity in a community is a great thing.
Frisco is growing so much that in 2017, Mayor Cheney created an ad hoc committee on fostering communication between the city’s Asian Indian community and city leadership. The Frisco Indian Affairs Committee defined its mission through four pillars: community outreach, civic engagement, philanthropy, and events. At the time it was created, the Indian community was made up of about 35,000 residents and that has only increased with rapid growth in our region. With the rapid growth of the Indian American community comes a significant political constituency. An online survey conducted in September 2020 showed that while holding relatively liberal views when it comes to US politics, Indian Americans are conservative when it comes to issues back in India.
Over the last few months, we have received several emails from different followers living in our Indian American community here in Frisco. Surprisingly, they shared the same sentiment of concern over whether their community understands the effect of their voting power and how to choose the candidate who will best represent or include their community. They explained that the “leaders” of the community with a substantial presence generally “guide others” on who to vote for. They are concerned some leaders have ulterior motives and may not be doing what is best for the community, but what is best for them. So, we decided to investigate one.
One leader in the Indian American Community is Gopal Ponangi who currently sits on the Frisco Independent School Board. We pulled up his campaign finance reports for the period covering 01/01/2021 to 06/30/2021, expecting to see lots of donors but there were only three and each one donated $5000.00. The donors were Venu Bhagyanagar, Anand Chillappa, and Pavan Nellutla. Then one more donation for $500 from Dustin Paschal.
We pulled up his second campaign finance report from 07/01/2021 to 12/31/2021 and has a $200 donation from Angelia Pelham (current councilwoman), and $1000 from John Keating (current councilman). Under pledged contributions, you have Venu Bhagyanagar, Anand Chillappa, and Pavan Nellutla for $5000 each. Then there are several more from other individuals ranging from $50 to $1500.
Then we looked at his more recent campaign finance report for the period 7/1/22 through 12/31/22. We saw the same three names under pledged contributions: Venu Bhagyanagar, Anand Chillappa, Pavan Nellutla and each gave $5000 dollars.
At first glance, we notice several of his donations are from current or former members of city boards and commissions including Chinasatyam Veernapu – Parks and Recreation Board, Venu Bhagyanagar – Former Frisco Parks Recreation Board 2021, Pavan Raj Nellutla – Urban Forestry Board, Hitesh Naidu – Board of Adjustments / Construction Board of Appeals, and Venkat Mulukutla – Social Services & Housing Board. The other concern is the donations from Angelia Pelham and $1000 from John Keating.
Gopal appears to have a very vested interest in who he supports. Our question is, did Gopal Ponangi encourage his community to vote for the best candidates or the ones who donated to him? It also makes you wonder if his largest contributors sit on City boards and commissions, could that influence who he supports? Could it be a conflict if he wanted to endorse another candidate instead of the current sitting council members? Obviously, Gopal is not going to bite the hand that feeds his campaign contributions list.
Gopal was out at the polls on election day with Keating and he kept pulling people over and telling them how to vote. Then he had them take pictures with Mayor Cheney, which he later posted on his social media pages. We will talk more about that in another blog. More importantly, do these leaders show up throughout the year, or only annual events, and during election season?
When I was a kid, my dad used to say “listen to your 5 senses” because they will protect you. As a kid, I had no idea what he meant but as an adult, I understand the information collected by our five primary senses helps detect danger and allows our brains to understand and react to our surroundings. Personally, I always thought it was my bull shit meter, you know the internal gauge for detecting deception, insincerity, or exaggerated claims that made me smart. I think my wife got it right because she tells me the reason, I am such a good detective is due to the marriage of my “spidey senses” and my bull shit meter. She hit the nail on the head!
When we first heard in May 2023 that the City of Frisco fired 27-year veteran, Cameron Kraemer from the Fire Department over a work-related illness, we knew there had to be more to the story. Immediately our team started reaching out to sources within the city and it was a game of silence from all sides. Then we heard Mr. Kraemer might speak at citizens’ input, and we wanted to make sure we watched the meeting. First person to speak was Matt Sapp, President of the Firefighters Assoc and watching it today, it explains so much why our FD is fighting for Prop A & B during this election cycle.
Then we watched Mr. Kraemer speak at the city council meeting and it was enough to break anyone’s heart. A man poured out his soul and admitted to the public he had PTSD, a mental health issue, and the city should be ashamed of how they have treated him and the response from the council…nothing. We have a video with some highlights, but you can see the full video by clicking the link.
At the end of citizens’ input, we were caught off guard when Mr. Wes Pierson, our new city manager leaned forward and announced he had something to say regarding Cameron Kraemer. This is the man who through the whole meeting sits back with a smug look on his face, swaying in his chair with an overall arrogance about him. We listened to him, and his words were so cold, so impersonal, and then we thought how did he have this whole speech prepared and ready to go that night? Had he heard that Kraemer maybe attending the meeting, or did he write it on the fly? Either way, alarm bells were ringing in my head.
My spidey sense bull shit meter went through the roof, and I was sure we were on to something, but what? Time went by and we followed the case. Kraemer and the Fire Association fought the city on whether his illness (PTSD) was work related and he won. Simply put, the city should hire him back or offer him a path back to work. However, the city is choosing to dig in their heels and skirt responsibility so Kraemer will likely end up suing the city which will cost the taxpayers. Because it is under wraps it is hard to follow the case and we thought our research was over.
Then fast forward to election time, where a new PAC is created called Safety Frisco First. We told you about this PAC in our blog The Secret PAC. We quickly noticed that Bill Woodard and City Shady Bunch running the PAC were putting out a lot of details and documents and none of them went to fighting the purpose. This raised our curiosity because the documents seemed more personal in nature and directed at a few specific individuals to malign and attack their character. It felt like the page was being used by the city to say the things they want to say but cannot say.
We filed two PIRs with the City. The first was for copies of any PIR requests and the corresponding documents made from Bill Woodard, Mike Simpson, Dick or Richard Peasley, Safety First Frisco PAC from 1/1/22 to Present. As you can guess the city has sent that to Texas AG in order to delay releasing the documents. What do you think they are hiding?
Then we filed another PIR for any emails, text, or handwritten correspondence between city officials regarding the Frisco Fire Association Prop A & B. Guess what…they sent it to the Texas AG to delay releasing the documents. What do you think they are trying to hide until after the election is over?
The PAC website has a document called “Letter from Weston Fire Chief regarding Asst Chief Kraemer,” but what does that have to do with fighting civil service or collective bargaining? The letter was a clear attack on a 27-year First Responder who worked for the City of Frisco, to discredit him. We kept asking ourselves, what does this letter have to do with the PACs purpose? Time to find some answers.
Our first question is, how did the PAC get these documents? Well of course they would have to go through the formal process like us and file a PIR, right? On 2/26/24 we filed a PIR that reads, “We recently visited the Safety-First Frisco PAC website, and we noticed a section called Resources that has the following documents which we listed out. All of these documents would have to have been obtained through a PIR or a series of PIRs so we would like to see the specific PIR(s) requests for the following information above.”
We got an email back on 3/8/24 and a few things piqued our interest in the city’s response. It said the Presentation to City Council regarding Salary Adjustments was NOT a PIR release. The document was released at the November 21, 2023, Budget and Audit Committee Meeting. Then they said the Letter from Western Fire Chief re Asst Chief Kraemer was NOT a PIR release. Lastly the Report on Residential Fire – 4 on a Truck was NOT a PIR release. HELLO, how did SFF get three documents, one appearing to being related to an HR file without filing a PIR and how would they know such a letter exists like that if it is in an HR file? Councilman Bill Woodard must have known about these documents due to his position which he is now using for political purposes for a PAC that he heads up. Ethical?
Next, we filed PIRs with the City of Weston and asked for a copy of any PIRs, and corresponding documents made by Bill Woodard or representatives from the City of Frisco. The response, “The City of Weston has not received any PIR request from Bill Woodard or any requests from the City of Frisco.” We also did a search of Weston’s agendas for the last few years, and you won’t believe what we found.
Guess who the City Attorney is for the City of Weston? Richard Abernathy (same as the City of Frisco)
Guess who the City of Weston hired as a city manager consultant? George Purefoy (former city manager for the City of Frisco)
Guess who the City of Weston hired as a fire consultant? Mack Borchardt, who CURRENTLY WORKS FOR THE CITY OF FRISCO AS SPECIAL CONSULTANT FOR THE CITY MANAGER. Wait, so we taxpayers are paying Borchardt, and he is allowed to work for other cities and make money at the same time?
Next, we went to Weston Fire and Rescue and filed a PIR and we asked for four things, response from Weston F&R are in bold;
I would like a copy of any PIR request and the corresponding documents returned in the PIR request from the City of Frisco relating to Cameron Kraemer and his time volunteering, serving as Captain, or working in the last three years. The PIR or request could have been done by text, email, or handwritten (formal or informal). WFR has no documentation.
I would like a copy of any PIR or request (formal or informal) from consultants named Mack Borchardt and/or George Purefoy (who are also consultants for The City of Weston) relating to Cameron Kraemer and his time volunteering, consulting, or working with the Weston FD in the last three years. WFR has no documentation.
I would like a copy of the letter from Kevin Deal (Former Fire Chief) supplied to the City of Frisco regarding Cameron Kraemer and the time he spent with Weston FD, and I would like to know if anyone else has requested this letter in the last two years. Attached and only you requested it
We could not believe our eyes! They attached the letter and right there in front of us we started to compare the letter supplied to the City of Frisco. We about fell over because the letters don’t MATCH!
What are the differences:
Weston F&R: No Date vs The Safety-First Frisco PAC: The letter is dated
Weston F&R: To Whom It May Concern vs The Safety-First Frisco PAC: addressed to whom it may concern and Attn: Wes Pierson
Weston F&R: Signature vs The Safety-First Frisco PAC: Signature = TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT SIGNATURES!
We would love it if the City of Frisco and/or The Safety-First Frisco PAC tell us how we have 2 totally different letters. While the body is the same nothing else is and that is alarming. It very clearly looks like the letter was forged or is a fake. Now we have so much more to this investigation to come but ask yourself, why does the City of Frisco want you to believe former Fire Chief Mark Piland was this horrible Fire Chief but according to his EVAL and his employment history he has NEVER been written up in 40-year career. Yet when he comes to work for Frisco, they want us to believe with perfect EVALS that he was such a bad leader? Now we have the Assistant Fire Chief whom they want us to believe is this horrible person even though he was only written up once in 27 years for bringing a smoker trailer on the property. They provide a letter that looks nothing like the original sent to the city and somehow the PAC gets it to post on their website. This letter just happens to show up to help the city’s case and they have 3 people contracting with the city with ties to The City of Frisco. We would think that this letter would be a part of someone’s personal or HR file, so how did the PAC get it? If you released it to the PAC, then does that mean we can go back to the Texas AG to review previous requests of HR files to reopen where you made a claim, they were confidential?
We have so much more on this to peel apart and will blog again soon. Ask yourself does this look like a targeted campaign to destroy two men’s lives and reputations? It does to us, and the question is for what? It all goes back to Sassy Lauren Safranek the HR DIRECTOR who falsified records. Also ask yourself if The VOTE NO PAC is willing to post a forged letter what else have they lied to you about? Lastly, did any of our current council including the two running for re-election know the letter had been modified before posted to the PAC site? What we do know for sure, is something smells like Shit in Frisco, and we are curious what part Bobblehead Bill Woodard is involved in?
Oh, isn’t it just delightful how those oh-so-wise words we toss around like confetti have a remarkable talent for circling back and sinking their teeth into our proverbial posteriors? Leaders must know that every quote and comment can suddenly boomerang back with the precision of a guided missile, leaving them with nothing but a bruised ego and a newfound appreciation for silence. Ah, the sweet symphony of irony, where every syllable becomes a potential landmine in the minefield of conversation.
Over and over in this election, we have heard about the “Turnover Rate” in the Frisco Fire Department. We wanted to research it but without the data from the city, it is hard to tell how many good men and women have come and gone. What we do know is what is being told to us by our city leaders, but we were curious why the numbers keep changing. Angelia likes to throw out percentage rates when she talks, for example, the turnover rate in our FD is only 2%.
We are curious if that is 2% compared to other departments in the city. Is that 2% compared to other Fire Departments? Is that 2% compared to some other data? We don’t know! Then we received a text from the Vote No PAC, you know the one that is run by active Councilman Bill Woodard. As we started reading through the text, we saw the words union, union, union which is an obvious attempt to create fear as we said in our last blog. Then we get to the last sentence which states “Frisco Firefighters have a 1% turnover rate. Don’t be misled by Union lies and fear tactics!”
First, who is trying to mislead us? It is the city offering up different numbers to the same argument, not the firefighters. It is the city offering up a playbook of confusion as they like to call it, not the firefighters. We ask you, who do you believe?
We continued our journey going through weeks of material online that we could find when we came across this little nugget. At the SLAN Community Forum, a firefighter asked our current council members, now that the firefighters have asked several times for a “meet & confer” when the last time or how many times have you visited or stopped by a fire station. According to someone we emailed back and forth with who attended the event, they told us when the question was asked it changed the whole feeling in the ballroom, you heard a few oohs and aahs, and the audience waited on pins and needles for Keating and Pelham’s response.
Before we go any further, remember at the Frisco Chamber Forum Keating said true leaders admit to their mistakes (keep that in your back pocket). Keating starts to answer the question and he tells a story about the FD saving someone’s life recently, and then he talks about how if they hold events sometimes, they drop off the leftover food at the closest station. Then he said in the spirit of the question he would say probably…probably…probably (watch the video). PROBABLY MR. KEATING?
Then he goes on to say what could I do better, and talks about grocery stores, and how we get people from other cities who love to come here and think it’s remarkable the community is behind them. Keating continued to go on and it was painful for everyone, I am sure. At some point all we heard was Blah, Blah, Blah, and after it was over realized that was the most painful yet comical 2:15 minutes to listen to. To say Keating was anything other than a bumbling idiot would be a lie.
Next to the microphone was Angelia Pelham who quickly said she stopped by Station 6 to ask the question why they wanted to unionize. She said she didn’t get a lot of responses because “PEOPLE WERE NOT VERY COMFORTABLE GIVING DETAILS.” Well first, that is probably true since they don’t trust the leadership of which she is a part. Second, THEY CAN’T TALK TO YOU IN UNIFORM MS. PELHAM ABOUT POLITICS, and you as a councilwoman should have known that. Then her voice goes up a few octaves and in somewhat of a scolding manner she says I have talked to your brothers and sisters at Mochas and Javas or Starbucks across the street asking them when this is over how do we move forward. Then she threatened to “IF I HAVE TO CALL THEM OUT I WILL” which immediately told me everything. That is why the firefighters are afraid of retaliation for talking or using it against them when convenient for your political playbook.
Here is what residents should be concerned about, first her arrogant and cocky attitude. When you lose on May 4th what happens on May 5th? Can you foresee the future Ms. Pelham until the polls close and votes are cast for you to assume they are going to lose makes an ass of you. Then she says, “YOU WANT WHAT YOU WANT” and no one is willing to budge and someone in the room must be the adult to get past this. Ms. Pelham, it sounds like you want what you want. Do you even realize it came across as you were scolding a group of 15 to 20 grown men and woman firefighters in the open public of a ballroom shaking your hand or fist? Lastly, you stated if you want to talk to me, I will meet with you at Mochas and Javas after you just threatened to call them out. Why would anyone ever want to come to you? Why would any of our first responders ever think they can trust you?
In the race between Pelham and Redmond, we believe Redmond won the forum in one statement.
What our leaders need to remember is the practice of the “Golden Rule” which is treating others as you’d like to be treated. It is a powerful tool for anyone seeking to understand the essence of empathetic and respectful interactions. When you apply the principle, you pave the way for open, judgment-free communication, fostering a space where everyone feels valued and heard. Right now, I don’t think the employees or the residents of this city feel they have conversations grounded in mutual understanding and kindness with any of our city leaders. Now we will see if Pelham’s crystal ball works or if she will need to return it for a new one on Saturday, May 4th.
If you attend a council meeting, town hall, or local event all you hear is Frisco is the #1 Safest City. It is drilled into us over and over that the city spends 50% of the budget on public safety and that is why we have #1 this and #1 that. The Frisco EDC has an entire list on their website of all the accolades the city has received going back to 2017.
We are curious, IS FRISCO THE SAFEST CITY? Well, it depends on who you ask! According to a study done by SmartAsset we were ranked #1 Safest City In America in 2022 and 2023. Yet the page does not show we are ranked #1 in 2024. According to Safewise in 2024 we are not the safest city. We are not even in the top 10, top 20, top 30, and top 40 of Texas Safest Cities. Drum roll please, according to Safewise, we are NOT IN THE TOP 50 SAFEST CITIES IN TEXAS. The study said all of the top ten cities reported zero murders. Eight of the top 10 cities reported zero robberies.
What North Texas cities made the TOP 50 Safest City List? Well, #1 is Melissa, #5 is Colleyville followed by Fate, Heath, Sachse, and Trophy Club to finish in the top 10. Wylie comes in #12, Murphy #13, Flower Mound #15, Prosper #27, and so on. What you won’t find is Frisco anywhere in that Top 50 list.
Recently we received a campaign mailer by TREPAC for Angelia Pelham and John Keating that states across the top Two No-Nonsense Leaders “Putting Our Safety” First. It also states they have stood with local law enforcement and firefighters, but the Frisco Police Officers Association and the Frisco Fire Fighters Association have endorsed Mark Piland.
Keating continues to advertise the #1 status of Frisco on his Facebook post which says again #1 Safest City in America. Another mailer he sent out says #1 Safest City in America right across the top. Why is the city not publishing our ranking by Safewise? Maybe BECAUSE WE ARE NOT EVEN THE TOP 50!
The Vote No PAC which is bought and paid for by developers tells you on their mailers public safety is always a top priority. Fifty percent of your property taxes go to public safety. If that is true, our city leaders have failed the residents because we are NOT EVEN IN THE TOP 50 SAFEST CITIES IN TEXAS.
Who do you believe our council, SmartAssest, or Safewise?
We have told you over and over how Frisco is “For Sale” to the highest bidder, and while some scoff at the notion, we hold steadfast that for a price a developer can have whatever they want in Frisco, Texas. Leading the helm of that “pay for play” practice is Mayor Jeff Cheney, who along the way went from broke (his comment to a local newspaper) to one of the largest Real Estate Moguls in Frisco. Guess he is not penny-less now! With the vote of the council members locked in, each bit of Frisco is for sale piece by piece.
Today we were sent an email from a reader who was upset that they received an email from their BUILDER LANDON HOMES telling them to vote no against the firefighters. They felt it was a violation of their privacy, and because it was political and had nothing to do with new homes or their home it crossed the line. That’s right, a builder LANDON HOMESused their sales list and client list to email everyone who bought a home from them and tell them to VOTE NO in our local election.
According to their privacy policy online Landon Homes respects your privacy and is committed to treating information about you responsibly. It clearly states they collect your information to give you superior service and to provide you with convenient access to a wide range of products and services and customer service surveys. No where in the written privacy policy does it say they will use one’s email for political purposes or to basically electioneer in their best interest.
The irony is the same builders ask the Fire Department to come out to their events and do “community engagement” events but they don’t want to support them back.
Why is it okay for builders to dictate how “WE, TAX PAYING RESIDENTS VOTE?”
While Landon Homes clients probably agreed to get marketing emails from them for things such as new homes or developments, did they agree to become recipients of political messages? Is that outside the scope of marketing?
How do you feel about a local builder being ANTI-FIREFIGHTER AND FIRST RESPONDERS? Would you buy a home from them now?
Do you think it is IRONIC that the same builders ask the Fire Department to come out to their events and do “community engagement” but then they don’t want to support them back?
It is no secret that John Landon, owner of Landon Homes has been a donor to certain members of the city council over the years:
Jeff Cheney Jan 2020 $2500
John Keating April 2024 $1500
Safety First Frisco April 2024 $10,000
We have no issue with Landon’s donating to the ANTI PAC as that is their right as an individual. However, they crossed the line went they entered their business into our political election and told home buyers how to vote! Ask yourself, what other developers have sent out this same message during this election cycle? How deep does this corruption go with our builders and city council?
VOTE FOR CHANGE! It is time for the residents to take back our city and to have a voice! Don’t be fooled by big-money developers with self-personal interests. Go out and support your Firefighters and first responders Saturday. Send an email to Landon Homes and let them know to stay out of our elections at onlinesales@landonhomes.com
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