Frisco City Council often tackles many different issues in the same meeting.  But it is rare that a single agenda item contains so much punch.  There have been quite a few “controversial” items on the Agenda  lately, which have drawn a lot of spectators and public comments.  But it seems none have drawn citizens out like the recent discussion on the Arts of Collin County.

The Arts of Collin County (”ACC”) is a public/private partnership led by the Cities of Allen, Frisco and Plano.  McKinney was initially a member of this core group, but dropped out when its voters voted against a bond initiative to fund the McKinney share of the project.  The idea  behind the ACC is to build a performance art facility that is larger and better equipped than what any one city could build alone.  The facility will be constructed near SH 121 and Exchange Pkwy in Allen, very near the spot where Allen, Frisco, McKinney and Plano meet.

The ACC project is not new.  In fact, it was first conceived in 2001.  In 2002, voters in Allen, Frisco, McKinney and Plano were asked to fund the construction capital required to build the facility at $19 million each.  The bond initiatives passed in Allen, Frisco and Plano, but failed by a small margin in McKinney.  When the bonds were being promoted in 2002 in Frisco, some city officials, including then city council members and bond committee members, made representations that the project was a “4 City Project” and that it was “all or nothing” – if all 4 cities’ bond initiatives did not pass, then the bonds would not be sold.

After the bond initiative failed in McKinney, people involved with the project discussed what, if anything, should be done.  They decided to look to private donations to make up McKinney’s share of the capital expense ($19 million).  After several months, many felt that the private community would pick up that $19 million share and wanted to press on.

This raised concern among people in Frisco, both for and against, who felt that since the bond initiative was advertised to the voters as a 4 city deal then it should not proceed unless the voters approved it again.  Numerous meetings were held on this topic during 2003.  These included City Council meetings where public comment was officially taken (and recorded), Town Hall meetings and other, smaller gatherings.  Some of the concern came from people who were in favor of the ACC, but whom knew that they had personally promised that the bond initiative was for only a 4 city project.  These people rightly felt that their personal integrity was on the line, and that they could not go back on their word.  There was a lot of agonizing and hand-wringing over these issues and  the discussions went on for several months.  One of the options that was considered at the time was to send the bond initiative back to the voters and advertise it as a 3-city project.

Ultimately, after all these meetings, it was believed that a sizable majority of residents still wanted to continue, and the then city council agreed to move forward with the ACC project without a “re-vote”.

Since then, large amounts of private donations and pledges have been received from all parts of the community, not the least of which is the land on which the facility will be built.  Plans have been drawn and laid out of for the public to see.  Approximately $3.4 million of public money has already been spent on the project.

The ACC stepped up its fundraising in the past couple of years and, along with achieving significant pledges and donations, it is estimated that the total cost to build the project has significantly decreased in light of the current poor economy.  Construction crews are idle and need work, and the cost of materials has dropped.  As a result, the ACC has been recommending to the lead cities that the bonds be sold and construction commenced.

All of this recent activity came to a head a few weeks ago as Frisco City Council began to consider selling its bonds, which of course would create new debt service payments that the city would then begin making.  This is in additional to significant debt service the city already has, for major projects like City Hall & the Library, Central Fire Station, Police Headquarters, the Rec Center, the Senior Center and the Heritage Center.  Since sales tax revenues and new construction are both still very diminished compared to recent years, many begin to legitimately question if Frisco could bear the new debt service without raising taxes.

Opponents of increased taxes (and of the ACC in general) began to criticize the project…so much so that some began to demonize it as a symbol of waste and excess.  And for the first time in a long time, critics revived the fact that the bond initiative was advertised to voters as a 4 -city, “all or nothing” deal.

This sounded pretty bad to people who weren’t around in 2003 when all the discussions on that topic took place.  The criticism gained a lot of support.  People began e-mailing the mayor and city council on the ACC, asking them to vote against it.  And they e-mailed their friends and neighbors encouraging them to ask our representatives to vote against it, too.  As supporters of the ACC and other long-time residents heard about the criticism, they swung into action to lobby city council members to move forward with the ACC.  The Tuesday, March 2 City Council meeting included an agenda item on the topic, and folks on both sides of the issue filled the council chamber to speak for and against.  Public input lasted for hours.

In the end, it looked like there was the possibility of a majority of city council members who wanted the citizens to “re-vote” on the bonds for the ACC.  The only problem was, what were people voting on?  The bonds had already been approved by the voters.  The ballot language from 2002 did not require any other cities to participate.  But it clearly had been advertised as a 4-city project that was “all or nothing.”  Clearly, the city council had a tough choice to make.  They needed more time, and set a special meeting for March 8th (the last day to put an item on the ballot for the upcoming May election) to decide whether or not there would be a “re-vote”.  The city council members also wanted to hear from the citizens.

Over the last few days, city council members have received an extraordinary amount of -mail on this topic, with one city council member claiming to still have more than 500 e-mails he hasn’t even had time to open yet.

At the special meeting on March 8, the city council opted not to place a “re-vote” on the upcoming May ballot.  This does not preclude citizens from undertaking such a measure if they so choose.

Part of the process is hearing from the citizens, be it by phone or e-mail or during the public input sessions on most items the city council votes on.  It is important to make your voice heard so that our elected representatives have a good idea what the citizens want them to do.  Frisco is very fortunate to have some of the most approachable leaders in the world.  You might be surprised how gratified they are to actually hear from you and that they will actually listen to your ideas and concerns.

It appears this process really helped the city council members to work through their concerns and tackle this thorny issue.

Did you know that any registered voter can vote in either major party’s primary election?

You do not have to be a “registered” Republican to vote in the Republican primary, or vice-versa.  The primary elections in Texas are open primaries. The vote you cast in a primary election does not obligate how you vote in the future.  There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding about the primary election process.  At the very least, the number of people who vote in both major parties’ primaries is a small fraction of the voters in the general elections.  I often wonder if the misunderstandings people may have affects turnout for the primaries.

In 2006, the last “mid-term” election like we have this year, in Collin County 19,943 voters participated in the Republican and Democratic primaries (5.4% voter turnout), compared to 138,686 voters who voted in the November 2006 general election (36.32% turnout).  In that same year in Denton County, 17,787 voted in the primaries (5.6% voter turnout) and 109,327 voted in the general election (40.77% turnout).

It is often said that primary voters are the “party faithful”.  Some people take the view that the purpose of the primaries is for the party insiders to select who their candidate will be in the general election.  While that is true to a degree, the primary elections are for everyone, not just party insiders.  Not only are the primaries open to any political affiliation, they are open to any registered voter.

It’s no secret that the Republican party dominates elections in Collin and Denton counties.  Almost all partisan offices are held by Republicans.  In the Republican primaries, there are often 3 or 4 candidates running for each office, while in the Democratic primaries, there is often only 1 candidate.

Since the Republican candidate is most likely going to win in November, the reality is that less than 20,000 primary voters are going to decide who will represent and serve us.

If you live in Collin County, you can find sample ballots and your precinct voting locations here.

If you live in Denton County, you can find precinct voting locations here but unfortunately, no sample ballots.

Sample ballots let you see exactly all of the candidates and issues that will be on your ballot before you arrive.  This will help you research how you will vote before you arrive to vote.

Early voting begins on Tuesday, February 16 and runs through Feb 26th.  Election Day is Tuesday, March 2nd.  Any registered voter can vote during the early voting period.  You should take advantage of the early voting period to avoid longer lines on Election Day.  And take advantage of sources such as the League of Women Voters or the Dallas Morning News Voters Guide to educate yourself on the various candidates so that you can make your vote an informed one.  Then go make your vote count!

Welcome to this brand new local government blog, where you’ll find news and information you can’t find anywhere else – and in more detail.  Having lived in Frisco since 1998 when the population was a mere 22,000 (it is over 108,000 now) and participated in government and politics here at various levels, I hope to bring a unique perspective and insight.

Given the growth we’ve been through together in the last decade,  a great deal has obviously occurred to make that happen.  Thousands of decisions have been made to get us where we are, and thousands more will be made as Frisco keeps moving and growing.  Frisco is less than half built.  The population is projected to be somewhere around 250,000 when we get closer to being fully built.  We could be seeing a shift in mindset regarding density of housing units and population, so that number could conceivably be even higher!

Frisco residents have tended to put a great deal of trust and faith in their elected officials during this growth period.  This can be a good thing, certainly when things are going well, as long as people pay attention to what is going on and hold officials accountable when necessary.  Knowing what is coming down the line, what the options are and what the consequences might be is a large part of this and something I hope to offer to you.

Those who know me know that I have historically focused on Frisco City Council.  But I’ll be branching out for the purpose of this blog and explore happenings with the school boards, county commissions, judges and so on.  There is also a pretty exciting race for governor taking place right now.  I might not have a lot to say about constable or county clerk races…but who knows.  I also want to deliver what you want to know about…so use the comment section to let us know what you think and want to have discussed in this blog.

Primary elections for partisan races take place March 2 and you’ve probably already noticed that campaign signs have sprung up all over town like chickweed.  City elections will take place in May.  General elections will take place in November.  There will be no shortage of exciting topics over the next few months.

Information is power, and hopefully a more informed public will result in an even better community (not that it isn’t pretty amazing already), state and country.  Government of the people works best with a fully engaged public.