What happened?
McKinney City Council members unanimously voted to table a resolution adopting guiding principles for the potential park during a Nov. 18 meeting. The action came after some council members expressed a desire for further conversation about what to do with 270 acres of city-owned land located along CR 164.
Council member Justin Beller said he would like for the city to explore other options before opening a request for qualifications to find a development partner. He made a motion to table the item and plan a work session to discuss the project further before the end of the year.
“I know that this has been set up for years, but after our discussion today with capital plans and funding for those capital plans, I would really like to explore the options of what—what can we do differently with this,” Beller said.
The details
Council members were considering a set of principles meant to guide development and partnership selection for the sports park and entertainment district, according to a city document. Five principles were attached to the agenda.
City officials would identify a development partner through the RFQ process to develop the park land through a public-private partnership, according to a city document.
City Manager Paul Grimes said this initiative is not new, but city staff were willing to discuss the project further during a future work session. The city has owned the land for four years or more with the intent to issue an RFQ for a sports park, he said.
“It’s something we’ve been intending to do for some time,” he said.
What they’re saying
Council member Patrick Cloutier said the city can “tap the brakes” and have a discussion about the project before proceeding with a public-private partnership.
“It kind of strikes me, after thinking about this, that this may be the last piece of big, big parkland in McKinney,” Cloutier said.
Council member Rick Franklin said the city can see what the options are through the RFQ process. He said officials can talk along the way and see different offers that come in for developing the land.
“Really if none of them match what we think we want out there, then we don’t have to take them,” he said.
Also of note
Council member Michael Jones said he gets feedback from parents all the time that McKinney is lacking practice spaces for kids who are not in a league. He said he would like to see this resolved before the spring.
Council member Geré Feltus said she understood Beller’s perspective, but she also understands residents’ perspective that McKinney has a lack of sports fields available. Feltus requested the item be brought back for discussion quickly so the city can move forward with a “decent plan.”
“I know that we’re really focusing on this project because we’re immensely behind on what we can offer the public at this time,” she said. “I just don’t want us to drag it out very long because we’ve been talking about this for a couple of years now.”
