Jones is the commercial banking director for B1 Bank in McKinney. He has also served on the McKinney Economic Development Corp. board for over five years, including serving as chair, he said.
Jones shared some insights on his professional experience and outlooks for his time on council. Answers have been edited for length, style and clarity.
How long have you lived in McKinney?
I graduated high school in 2000 and when I graduated, I went to [the University of] North Texas, and at that time, my mom moved from Garland to McKinney. She built a house in the Creek Hollow area by North McKinney High School. ... North Texas is kind of a commuter school, so I kind of lived with my mom, going back and forth. I've been here relatively 22 years, going on 23 years now. That's what brought us to McKinney. ... We've been here off and on ever since, throughout college and my working profession, always had a mailing address here, a residence here. My wife and I, we built our first home together in 2012.
Why did you choose to run for election to City Council?
It was a combination of things, but the biggest thing was just the city involvement aspect ... Being actually on the EDC board and just asking myself, you know, “What else could I do for the community? I’m already involved with a lot of charitable organizations, and, you know, we're out there as a family, my wife and I are out there serving the community, but what's the next step that we can take that we can actually have an impact on the community?” And that next step was to move up to council.
What lessons from serving on the McKinney Economic Development Corp. board do you want to bring to serving on council?
I'll go further, it's not just lessons. It's more, you know, lessons, experience and projects that I want to see to fruition. ... There's so much that you learn about the city and, just typography and ... what sectors are they trying to build out for what types of industries and and just learning what you can and can't do in some areas with zoning. It's just a lot of education that the average citizen doesn't get. ... You get a lot of questions answered on why the city does things the way they do it; a lot of times it has to do with property rights. ... I would say the biggest thing I've learned on the EDC is just learning about the city and ... what you can do with land and property rights; it's a big deal.
What has been your biggest accomplishment since while serving on the McKinney Economic Development Corp. board?
It's crazy because the things that you approve on the EDC board, ... you usually don't see the results until about five or 10 years after you're off of the board. A lot of things I've accomplished can’t even be announced yet, but some of the things that we did while on the board that we approved that are fairly quick announcements was the Raytheon expansion; we had multiple hangars built out at the airport. ... I think the crown jewel right now that I can say, that I can see that I approved ... with the MEDC board and now that you can actually see is District 121.
So we have the whole Kaizen development, which is the first spec office building in McKinney. That's filling up nicely; it's already 60% full. ... That's probably gonna be 100% by the end of the year, and the District 121 around it with the park, with Bob's [Steak and Chop House] and Mi Cocina and 400 Gradi and [The] Common Table. .... That's what you can see now; a lot of things you won't be able to see for a number of years, but as far as what you can see now, that's one of the top things that I think I accomplished while on the board.
What are you looking forward to most during your time on council?
The biggest thing I'm looking forward to is just meeting different, diverse people and seeing ... what are the issues in the community and being a part of the solution. That's the big thing. I see ... we want purpose-driven decision-making, and I think I bring that to council. I think the citizens want somebody like me that will listen and, you know ... obviously, we can't make everybody happy, but we’re going to strive to make the community better. ... Every decision I make is because I want to see this community better.
What project or development currently underway in McKinney is the most exciting to you?
The biggest project right now is probably Project Terrigen; it's in MEDC right now. ... It's going to change ... the landscape of [SH] 121. I look forward to when we will be able to announce the name and the actual development that's going there, but I'm very excited about that. I think there's going to be an announcement on that project this year.
Is there anything else you’d like the community to know about you?
I’m a husband and father of three, beautiful wife and kids. We've been married; this is our 10-year anniversary. ... We actively go to One Community Church, just to kind of know the background of us, like what do we do like as a family. ... The biggest question I get from everybody is like, “OK, you're on the Hugs Cafe board; you're on One Heart McKinney board; you're on the host committee for the Byron Nelson [golf tournament]; you're on City Council now. You run the largest social media site in McKinney; McKinney Cares is yours. ... How do you do all that and then manage family life?” I'm blessed to be flexible in my job where I can spend the days with my daughter. ... We have ample family time that we spend with each other and ... kind of make sure the community knows that, yes, it is family first, and the family is a priority.
