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A last-ditch effort by former Mayor Bill Glancy and former City Council Member Traci Williams failed to stop the council from denying a grant that would create a downtown in Farmers Branch.
Glancy, who served as mayor from 2011-2014 and interim mayor from December 2022 to May 2023, addressed the council during the citizens comment portion of the Tuesday, Aug. 6, study session. He asked the council to remove the item from the consent agenda and consider how creating a downtown area could bring together the residential areas of the east and west sides of the city.
“Initially I brushed it off and thought, well, I don’t know if it’s important or not,” he said, “one of the things that’s always bothered me in recent years is when we went from industrial west side to residential west side, I was always concerned about how were we going to keep these two communities together and make us one and not make us a west side and east side and all that.”
He said that he thinks the city should design itself to encourage residents to leave their homes and interact with each other.
“The other thing that has always been a concern was that we really don’t have an identity of a downtown area to Farmers Branch, and I think that DART station area is a prime area to do that. I think we have a lot of the pieces in place down there already,” he said.
He also said that he’d never seen a traffic study that suggested that Farmers Branch needed six-lane thoroughfares.
“I was on the council back in the years when most all of these main thoroughfares were built. There was never any justification for us to build a six-lane street,” he said. “We had the right-away and it was easier for us to build.”
He said the road construction went from two lanes to six lanes, skipping four-lane streets.
After his comments, the council discussed the meeting’s agenda.
City Councilmember David Reid asked to move the item Resolution 2024-132 from the consent agenda to the regular agenda during that evening’s city council meeting so it could be discussed.
City Councilmember Richard Jackson agreed. “I think that makes sense,” he said.
Jackson roasted during citizen comments
Multiple residents spoke during the citizen comment period at the start of the regular city council meeting. One lambasted for his July 16 comments that many people interpreted as him referring to people who ride the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) as “trash.” Jackson has since made a statement saying he was referring to litter and not people.
Key West, who refused to give her place of residence, roasted Jackson, and despite Mayor Terry Lynne’s reminders to not use disparaging remarks toward city councilmembers, continued her comments.
“How can this still happen? How can black woman in 2024 still be killed in her home by the hands of another racist cop like Atatiana Jefferson,” she asked, referring to the July 6 police killing of Sonya Massey in Illinois.
“We have elected officials who have views like Richard Jackson in places they don’t belong, who appoint destructive individuals with a mentally ill mindset in places they don’t belong, who view us as trash,” she said.
Lynne attempted to interrupt West multiple times, but ultimately let her have her say and the full three minutes that he allows for all speakers.
West ended her comments with criticism for the entire council. “The trash I see is the council members who allowed you to speak such filth out of your mouth and did not check you … the only trash I see is this government and the decisions people like you make to keep the country in modern-day enslavement, the real trash of America.”
After West left the podium, Lynne seemed to gather his thoughts before addressing the audience. “I normally wouldn’t address comments like that, and I think if you had taken time to have a conversation with Councilman Jackson, you would have learned that what was quoted in the paper and the way some people reported it was taken out of context, and I hope you understand that,” he said.
Julio Acosta also spoke on the topic, starting out by saying he had not prepared his comments and that he had come “to speak in favor of public funds for public transportation. I do highly encourage Farmers Branch to be a city of an inclusive future and not an exclusionary past … I hope that and encourage all public servants to live up to what we prayed at the beginning of today’s meeting for all people, across social, racial and economic backgrounds with dignity and respect.”
Other comments
Glancy spoke to the council again to propose the city work to find a partner for a progressive senior center for the property with the multi-story parking garage next to the hospital, which has been in bankruptcy proceedings since the spring.
Williams, who served on city council from 2021 to December 2023, and now owns Locals Craft Beer and Fine Wines and Locals Lounge in Mustang Station with former Mayor Robert Dye, read a statement for well over the three minutes Lynne provides to express opposition against Resolution 2024-132 to abandon the grant, which would have largely been funded by the Texas Department of Transportation and other regional and state government sources.
The grant would have reworked Valley View Lane from Denton Drive to Nestle Drive, which Williams referred to as a “Complete Streets Initiative.”
“Complete Streets have consistently proven to enhance development, improve safety and drive economic growth. Successful projects like the Star in Frisco, Highland Park Village, downtown McKinney, downtown Carrollton, the Bishop Arts District and South Side Forth Worth have transformed these areas into vibrant, pedestrian-friendly hubs that attract businesses, residents and visitors alike,” she said. “These developers wouldn’t commit and invest millions of dollars into these strategies if they didn’t work or promote economic development. Complete Streets are a catalyst for economic revitalization.”
Williams discussed the physical health, social and economic opportunities the grant would provide the city.
Lynne allowed her to speak after the three-minute buzzer ring, but ultimately cut her off.
Consent agenda creates conflict
When Lynne asked for a motion to approve the consent agenda, City Councilmember Omar Roman interrupted to ask for items to be moved off the consent agenda and onto the regular agenda.
He asked for one item to be moved to the regular agenda, and when questioned by Lynne as to why it wasn’t moved during the study session said he had received new information about it during the break after the study session.
Lynne granted the request.
Councilmember Roger Neal then requested for two items to be moved off the consent agenda and onto the regular agenda and that Resolution 2024-123.
Lynne asked him multiple times if he understood that putting the item on the consent agenda would remove opportunities for comments and discussion.
Neal made a point of order, which Councilmember Omar Roman quickly seconded.
“I just want to get this straight that it’s your desire to deny this council and anybody else wishing to speak to this item the opportunity to have further discussion of this item. You’re wanting to deny any further discussion regarding this item?” Lynne asked.
“We’ve had multiple sessions and discussions about this previously and I’d like to continue to with my motion to move it back to consent,” Neal said.
“It doesn’t remove people from –" Roman started to say when Lynne interrupted.
“Yes it is. It is –“ Lynne said.
“It does not remove people,” Roman said.
“We already have a motion,” Lynne said.
“Excuse me, but I was speaking,” Roman said. “It does not give people the opportunity to not speak. People can still speak regarding any of the consent agenda items, you just move the items up and then we can still have a discussion if needed; although, I don’t think a discussion is necessary given that we’ve had multiple discussions on two previous occasions where three council members have already given direction so there’s really no point of a further discussion.”
Lynne requested a hand vote to find who wished to return the resolution to the consent agenda.
Neal, Baird and Roman voted in favor. Jackson and Reid voted against the change.
When the consent agenda was up for vote, the final vote was the same, with Neal, Baird and Roman voting in favor of the consent agenda, and Jackson and Reid voting against it.
