Blog Archives - ROWLETT RAMBLINGS

What's in a name.

7/31/2015

It has been brought to my attention that someone in Rowlett's "officialdom" was offended by my use of the word "Nim-Rod. Apparently, it was an unacceptable use of a word to them. Let's take a look at the word.

In the bible, Nimrod was a great hunter. In the subsequent 2000 years, or so, Nimrod became what Bugs Bunny called Elmer Fudd. But, probably the most notable Nim-Rod, to me at least, was a character in a movie from many, many years ago. This movie was circa "Our Gang" movies and was about a similar young fellow as the "Our Gang" characters.

Nim-Rod was a very likeable young fellow about 10 years old. But.....he was different. He had an insatiable desire to build things. He had many friends to help him and he could always find whoever he needed down by the creek. However, in the process of finding material to build things, he invariably took apart something belonging to his parents. He took the wheels off his dad's wheelbarrow to build a push cart. He used up his mother's clothes pins to build a trot line down at the creek. He was a fine young man, well liked, enjoyed life, but could not seem to stay out of trouble. His intense urge to build things often guided him into trouble because he didn't think about the consequences. His parents were understanding, forgiving, and loved him dearly.............but continually chastised him for not thinking thru his projects. Does any of this sound familiar?

My mom took me to this movie to show me how parents are often tested by their children......and how parents forgave errors made by their kids while they were learning how to build things. I never forgot that movie. You MUST learn from mistakes.

Apparently, the offended official thought I had called them "stupid." I didn't. I will suggest that they perhaps did not know exactly what they were talking about. Maybe they will learn from their mistake. Maybe not.

A vision creeping out.

7/31/2015

One our readers, Jen, submitted the following commentary:

"I am not sure if you saw this in the dbj today or not. I certainly hope this comes to fruition and I hope we get out of our own way and do not chase off another developer!"

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2015/07/31/exclusive-developer-envisions-cabo-inspired-lagoon.html

People, this is great news. It is some of the best "development" news I have heard about Rowlett since I've lived here. It is proving that Kent Donahue knows what he's doing and has a vision that I fully support.

My greatest fear is the same as Jen's. I worry that in the interest of self-aggrandizement, Rowlett's "officialdom" will leap into the design concept business and attempt to prove without any doubt that their Form Base Codes were the single most important reason for any success of the development. They have already started bragging about it. Just where in the hell do these nim-rods think they acquired the experience to know more about successful development than a top shelf developer? I would trust Donahue's visionary concepts with infinitely more comfort than Rowlett's home grown variety. Form Base Codes should be introduced into Donahue's Lagoon with the same intensity as it was with Lake Point Hospital.......disposable. I don't see any urban development issues within Donahue's proposal. Let Donahue do what he knows how to do. Keep the city away from what they don't know how to do.

Now, folks, we have an opportunity to visualize. Let's take the last two proposals presented in this blog........that would be several small craft oriented "pocket parks" scattered around Rowlett's lake front, coupled with Kent Donahue's concept of a lagoon development. Do you have any clue what just these two concepts would do to the "livability" and "desirablilty" images of Rowlett? Do you think visitors to DFW, looking for a place to live, might just want to visit this place? Do you think others already in DFW might want to look at this upstart "new" community as a place to live?

Quietly whisper real estate values.

I appreciate Jen's comments and Jared's earlier comments. I appreciate all comments. We seemed to have awakened a sleeping citizenry. That's what this blog is all about. We need thinkers. If we get you all involved, we will have a really great town. We might throw rocks at anyone wishing to move here from Highland Park. Shoot.....we found Rowlett first.

Jared said

7/30/2015

I wrote:

"I would like lake parks all around Lake Ray Hubbard. We have shallow water at our end of the lake, so our water craft would be primarily canoes, kayaks, bass boats, and paddle boats. There should be places that the boats could dock all around the lake and picnic or patronize lakeside vendors."

Jared wrote:

"As a frequent user of our lake's more shallow waters, I definitely agree with this vision. However, this is going to require the use of parts of the lake that people have imagined their back yards extend into. Does the city have the guts to do it?"

Me, again:

Excellent question, Jared. A complication does exist. It is my understanding that Rowlett leased all land from Dallas between the "take line" and the water's edge. In return, the City of Rowlett is sub-leasing the land to any land owner with contiguous land to the water. In these situations, probably the development of parks is limited. However, its my further understanding that there is a lot of "easement" areas that are not leased by any citizen. These areas can become "pocket parks" and would be a great place for low maintenance grills and/or overnight campsites.   In a perfect world, we would have a patrol to visit the sites on a routine schedule. Does it cost money? Of course it does. That's why I suggested that a certain amount of money coming in from Bayside be allocated for developing this "in house" water park system. Can you imagine 10-15 small "pocket parks" around Rowlett, plus the major parks? It would be delightful.......and add considerably to Rowlett's livability and desirability. Whisper real estate values quietly.

Someone with the Parks Department should now be locating these little sites and begin planning for their development. Start working now on solving problems. Bayside is now for real. Rowlett "officialdom" needs to get off their butts and start thinking lifestyle. It means money in your pocket. The more desirable Rowlett becomes, the more valuable your home becomes.   If done right, it's only a matter of time before residents of Highland Park will start selling their homes and moving to Rowlett. Honest.

Keep thinking Jared. Good questions.

The people of Rowlett

7/29/2015

Well, we've talked about our real estate, our toll road, our DART station, Bayside, and our political leaders. What we haven't talked much about is us. Who are we? What do we want? Are we getting what we want?

This is kinda where the rubber meets the road. If there are 58,000 residents of Rowlett, there are probably 58,000 different answers to those questions. Much will be pure opinion.........and that's okay. Everyone is entitled to their personal opinion. What is most difficult is throwing all 58,000 citizens into a pot, and brewing a soup that everybody likes. How do we achieve a recipe of success?

I would like to share my Pollyanna vision of what I would like Rowlett to be. It could be quite different than your vision, but that's okay.

My vision of Rowlett would be to maximize our population at about 85,00 to 90,000 people. At that point, I would like to see Rowlett's efforts turn almost exclusively "lifestyle." We could stop thinking about vacant land and think mostly of well kept lawns, good shopping, lakeside entertainment, good restaurants, and enjoying our families. I would like a lifestyle so thoroughly enjoyable by our citizens, that others would like to move here.

I would like housing that accommodates young upwardly mobile people, good housing for our moms and pops in superb senior housing, and a cross section of excellent housing selections for all price ranges. I would like lake parks all around Lake Ray Hubbard. We have shallow water at our end of the lake, so our water craft would be primarily canoes, kayaks, bass boats, and paddle boats. There should be places that the boats could dock all around the lake and picnic or patronize lakeside vendors. There should be good jobs available nearby. Commercial development in Rowlett should provide some good employment, but the dynamics of Dallas and the 20,000 new job formations in Plano would augment local employment. Upscale housing should be available everywhere, particularly accessible to the tollway and proposed lakeside development. Commercial development would blossom in the new Bayside development along I-30 and the lake. The revenue that Bayside could contribute to Rowlett's coffers is staggering. The tax burden on citizens will soften after Bayside reaches full capacity. When Rowlett achieves a superior lifestyle, others will want to live here. Since Rowlett would have no more vacant land, people wishing to live here will have to out bid others who want to live here, and face a limited supply of homes. Therefore, the commercial development would relax citizen tax burdens while people wanting to live in Rowlett are bidding house values up. Rowlett would have developed into a "preferred" place to live.

That is my Pollyanna vision. It is very possible.

Our collective visions are all ingredients of the soup. It is our job, as it is with all good chefs, to create a soup that the majority of Rowlett's people like, preferably an overwhelming majority. If some version of my scenario envisioned above is desired by others, those desires must be known. In fact, whatever desires are wanted must be made known in order for elected officials to try to achieve those results. That becomes your job. You don't get out of this scot free.

There are many reasons why each of us selected Rowlett as a place to live. Some people were born here. There aren't many of them. Others, like me, came a long time ago when the atmosphere in Rowlett was definitely rural. And, others came more recently when the appeal may have been quite different. I selected Rowlett because I could get to my office in downtown Dallas in 25 minutes, Lake Ray Hubbard was 600 feet away from my house, and I loved the rural lifestyle. Times change. The 25 minute commute to downtown Dallas is a distant memory. The rural lifestyle has become a faux rural lifestyle, but the lake is still there. I am still happy with Rowlett.

You have your own reasons for living in Rowlett. However, we have a common goal. We must try to build a town that serves the needs and provides the lifestyle that accommodates the wishes of most of the residents. That probably means we all have to give a little. I am reminded of the city council meeting where 20 residents of the Toler Road area showed up to protest the zoning of a proposed subdivision. The homes to be built were worth more, on the average, than the value of the homes doing the protesting. I had never seen that before. In any event, the protester's prevailed. A neighbor had his property rights infringed, and the city of Rowlett lost a potential of $600K a year in tax revenue. However, the protesters could still look out their kitchen window and see a cow pasture. Frankly, I hope something is built there that has a 30 foot high concrete block wall built around it. Each man, woman, and child in Rowlett is paying $11 per year in taxes for these 20 residents to keep a pasture they don't own vacant. Not hardly a community spirit. These protesters succeeded because they banded together and got their message to the City Council. They were loud and disruptive. Council cratered.

To a less dramatic degree, citizens have to do the same thing. You have to let "officialdom" know what you want. But.......that is only effective if you know why you want it.

You must root thru your belongings and find your brain. You must put it to work. Then, you must let "officialdom" know what you think. This whole process is dependent on making your brain work. That is the hard part of this equation. If you just send "officialdom" a story you heard at the grocery store, you are just part of the faceless crowd. Buy a calculator. Use it. If you have a computer, there is a wealth of information about how cities grow and prosper. Be careful, tho. Some who claim to be experts are not.

I really like Rowlett. In my 40 years here, it has become my true hometown. I like the people. I like the lake. No body else has a lake quite the same way we do. I like the new development.......but I think it could be better. I applaud the new Villages of Rowlett. I want it, but we spent too much money on it.

Even though Rowlett is growing, there is nothing that says we can't tweak the dials to get a better town. Furthermore, there is nothing to prevent us from learning from past mistakes. We can't change what's done, but we can sure get smarter the next time around.

Give your elected officials a break. Don't make them do all the thinking. You might become disappointed. You do some of the thinking.......then let your elected officials know about it. In your spare time, start looking for people who you think might be good leaders.

All the above is your job as citizens. The people of Rowlett. Who are we?

.

"If you can do it, you ain't lying"

7/28/2015

It has been further brought to my attention that some disagree with some of my conclusions that I posted yesterday titled, "Rowlett leadership, Part 2."

My conclusions are drawn from mathematical facts. I invite anyone to disprove the mathematical facts as set out in that post. There isn't much opinion in the facts.

Okay, now........prove the math facts wrong. Do it on these pages where everybody can see. Or, if you don't want to be bothered with facts, you can join the MASRCH.

Signing up

7/28/2015

It has been brought to my attention that I am totally missing the untainted and pristine lifestyle of Rowlett. Although I like Rowlett, I must confess that I occasionally visit reality. This is a serious flaw in my deportment and I recognize that I must mend my ways.

Therefore, today, if allowed, I must join the Mutual Admiration Society of Rowlett City Hall. This is a world where everyone is in love with everyone else. There is no room for any negative thoughts, ideas, observations, or suggestions counter to the MASRCH dogma. Anything new or creative in nature is simply not present. Stated simply, if you think for yourself, you must move somewhere else to less perfect circumstances.

Since I've lived in Rowlett for 40 years and really don't want to move, I guess I have to sign up. I am off to a great start.

I jumped into my beautiful tub this morning and turned on my pristine and totally germ free water. I adjusted the temperature to the perfect temperature......and lo and behold, I did not fall in the tub. Isn't life grand, or what? Clearly, someone from Garland had been tampering with my truck. It had a missing out on one of the cylinders. It would never do that in Rowlett. I drove to the little used garage (kept open only because of Garland interlopers) and asked a mechanic to look at it. He found a loose, but very clean, wire and with hands that were totally free of oil and grime, replaced the wire. He said as I left that there was no charge and that that was the way it was in Rowlett. He said to wave at all the perfect and lovely people on the way to the grocery store. This was "groceries for free" day in Rowlett.

While waiting for my neighbors to wash my car, I caught up on my Facebook reading. Once again, I learned what a perfect town I lived in........and of course our elected officials were primarily the reason for such serenity. Of course, I knew that. I am constantly made aware of that. The mayor even gives away puppies. That's good. And, I'm sure someone will donate $11 million to cover the investment in The Villages of Rowlett. Probably no later than next week. That's the way it is in Rowlett.

You can bet your bippy that there is no pandering around here. No siree. I would like to join the MASRCH, but someone will probably drop a black bean on me. Anyone who thinks for themselves just can't measure up. Don't worry. City Hall will tell us what we need to know.

Rowlett leadership, Part 2

7/26/2015

Sorry to take so long to get a new post up. Just too much to do.

I want to write about our current leadership. I will not address individual members of Rowlett's leadership. I will still refer to them as "officialdom" and that includes all elected officials and some of the staff.

Up until a few years ago, we seemed to be doing pretty well as a small suburb of a major city. However, some things began to change. We began to emerge from obscurity. We were getting a brand new tollway and a DART rail station, all within a year of each other. Talk began of some great things in the future. Being in the real estate financing business, I knew some of what was coming. It didn't take a lot of experience to know that 57,000 people were going to require some "needs" and that developers and business leaders would provide them.

Our elected leaders were reasonably smart and, for the most part, seemed to be interested in doing right by Rowlett. Some seemed to be a little more interested in their own ego, but generally acceptable. We went thru a period of extreme egos. Our ex-mayor, John Harper, and our ex-City Manager, Lynda Humble, had enough ego to supply a battalion of Marines. I didn't have much exposure to Harper, but had all I wanted of Humble.

I will let you in on a secret. The reason I have this blog is because of Lynda Humble. I didn't run for a second term as City Councilman because I wanted to fight Lynda Humble, and I could do it more effectively from here than City Hall. After I had already bought my website software, she resigned (fired?) I was delighted. That was a good Thursday. Since I already had a website, I decided to write about Rowlett....and here we are.

Now, let's talk about Rowlett leadership. I wrote above that our elected officials are smart. However, that doesn't make them real estate experts.   In fact, they're pretty pedestrian in that field. Doctors are smart. However, they can't fly a Boeing 747. We can't expect our elected officials to be budding Donald Trumps. However, we can expect them to do their homework, inform us in what they're doing, and educating themselves on what is best for Rowlett.

Up until a few years ago, our little run of the mill town made no great demands on our elected officials. Then, some big kids came to town. There started being things that required some experience.......or study. There are a number of things that any $80 million a year budget of a city requires. Real estate knowledge is only one of them. I only write about real estate because it's what I know and it contributes to our tax base, which is the machinery that makes everything happen. If you have a great tax base, you become Frisco. If you have a poor tax base, you become Balch Springs. I consider tax base the most important feature of any town. It's where the money to operate comes from.

As intelligent as our leadership is, experience of negotiating large real estate deals is not one of their better skills. I don't think any of them have a calculator. I think "officialdom" was okay up to a point. Then, Lynda Humble started cramming her wants down their throat. Lynda Humble was one of the worst real estate analysts I have ever known for such a high position. She didn't know about loan priorities, lien issues, and her marketing skills were terrible. She only knew what she wanted, and that was all that mattered. Some of her disciples are still with Rowlett. Humble crammed North Shore zoning, Form Base Codes, Rowlett 2020, and Homestead at Liberty Grove right down our throats. She kept trying to make Rowlett inner city Dallas. Rowlett isn't Dallas. If you want inter city living, move to the M streets. There is some need and want for high density living, but not the whole town. I like Rowlett's charm. I like rural charm. Rowlett still has it. I want to keep it. I don't need some arrogant, egotistical, self centered, pompous ass, whether elected or staff, telling me what I want. Hopefully, with the departure of Lynda Humble, that confrontation is relaxed.

Now, what we seem to have is an intelligent and dutiful group of elected officials and staff that wants to serve the citizens of Rowlett. Up to a certain point, I think they do fine. Then, the big deals came to town. In my opinion, that's where some of the wheels came off. For example:

1. P&Z and City Council turned down two residential deals in what is now known as North Shore. If approved to go forth, these two projects would now be adding $600K per week to the tax base. When fully developed, the two projects would have produced $1.2 million dollars per year in revenue. There are 57K residents in Rowlett. These denials cost every man, woman and child $21.05 per year or $86.20 per four member household. Subsequent to declining these two subdivisions, the North Shore area was zoned for Office and Warehouse. There was no documentation submitted that offered proof that Offices and Warehouses were viable in the North Shore area. In fact, they are not.  This type of development would be on a tollway without any major free thruway streets. Merritt and Liberty Grove are intersections, but they don't go anywhere. Upper management will accept paying money to have an easy commute home, but if placed in charge of locating their next offices, they will not select a tollway with no "free" cross streets. It would cost another $1.00 per hour per employee to get the better employees to work. If they had trucks, they would have to pay toll fees for all inbound and outbound rolling stock. These costs would come right out of their company's operating statement. I haven't heard any stories about offices or warehouses coming to town. The two subdivision denials probably chased off any residential development.

Do you think that was a smart decision? Our City Council approved it.

2. Let's look at the Villages of Rowlett. When the Villages was first submitted for approved, the Staff report said that Rowlett would be investing $6 million, but that about half would be reimbursed by "380 Grants." Someone failed to tell the public that "380 Grants" was money put up by the city of Rowlett. That commentary was a pure subterfuge........inserted to lure casual readers into thinking some financial relief was coming to the project. You weren't getting the truth. The next time the Villages came up for approval, the "380 Grant" language disappeared. Only the $6 million "investment" was mentioned. That, too, was a lie. You will see my cost numbers in a couple of other posts in this site. I will summarize here. It's going to cost Rowlett over $11 million and there is a 15 year tax abatement. So let's look at the numbers. We will spend or forgive $11 million in cash or tax revenue for 15 years. It will take two years to develop the project, and 15 years of tax forgiveness. Therefore, it will take 17 years before collecting any money. However, at $220,000 per year, it will take 50 years of collecting taxes to repay the $11 million. When added to the 17 years of freebies, it will take 67 years to get our money back. I have a 5 year old grandson that can negotiate better than that. Will it help the downtown? Probably, but not enough to reasonably offset such an investment. In fact, we have already given away three pieces of land downtown for restaurants. I think the restaurant developers have already requested an extension on their contract obligations. Of course, it was given. So far, we have a big zip.

Do you think those are smart decisions? Our City Council approved them.

3. Let's talk about our greatly heralded Homestead at Liberty Grove. On June 28, 2014, the bands were playing and the dignitaries were under the tent. The very first Form Base Code subdivision was coming to town!! This was only surpassed by the invention of canned beer!! I went to the Grand Ribbon Cutting. I just happen to know a little bit about land development. I have been a loan officer, a loan administrator, an inspector, an auditor, or a cost analyst on several hundred land development projects. I know what one looks like.

As I said above, this project had a ribbon cutting on June 28, 2014. That was about 13 months ago. During that 13 months, there was an unprecedented amount of rain. I am building a restaurant in Wylie and the rain slowed me down three months. The same would have happened to any developer........and it did to every one of them in the DFW area. I became involved in 6 subdivisions for three area banks, all at the same time. All six subdivisions have completed development and are currently constructing homes in them. It usually takes about 8-9 months to "turnkey" a similar subdivision as Homestead. Building permits for models are usually taken down at about 7 months. Then, builders start their models. About 3 months ago, I called a senior leader of Rowlett's "officialdom." I said Homestead was running about 4 months behind schedule. This leader called me back and said the developer reported that because of the rain, his subcontractors were leaving the job for other projects and it was difficult to get them back. Therefore, it was hard to keep production up. Now folks, think about that. Just where in the DFW metroplex was it NOT RAINING? It costs money to move equipment around. That was a bunch of crap, but our leader bought into it. They spotted the concrete batch plant on site a couple of months ago...long before they needed it. I drove thru the subdivision today. It looked awful. Weeds were everywhere. If that was my land, I would have received a ticket from the code enforcement officer. There is only a small amount of concrete poured in some portions of alleyways scattered all over the subdivision. Most of the streets are now on final grade, but the forming and the steel is checker boarded all over the place. In fact, in some places they are still working with the soil pipe. It is the most bizarre sequence of land development events I have ever seen. There has been no final lot grading. None of the lots are benched. Even when all the concrete is poured and the grading completed, there still needs to be the electrical and cable conduits installed, cable run, transformers and light standards set, and street lights installed. They are at least 4 months away from completion. However, that's not the big problem.

It is reported that two large builders have committed to buy the lots. I can only address one of them. I have known the David Weekley group for many years. I was around when we made a construction loan to them when they were first forming up in Houston. I made then a $5 million loan the year they moved some of their operations to Dallas. David Weekley thinks at least a year ahead of his needs. If he commits to buy some lots a year from now, it is recommended that the developer have them ready. I would bet my wife's toaster that that date in Homestead has come and gone. Does anyone know if the contract is still good? That would be a good question for "officialdom." Or.......do we have a white elephant?

This subdivision was wildly ballyhooed by our ex-city manager. The developer was supposed to be solid gold. I beg to differ. His subdivision is suffering from what appears to be very poor site management. He certainly isn't proving out to be as good as I thought he was going to be.

Our first Form Base Code subdivision ain't doin' so well. I remember many times "officialdom" celebrating anything that had Form Base Code attached to it.

Do you think City Council knows what Form Base Code means, or how it works? I don't.

4. Let's talk about Form Base Codes a little bit. You should have noticed by now that anything Rowlett 2020 and Form Base Codes has attached to it has some kind of heavenly blessing that nothing can go wrong and success is assured. Wrong.

There are issues with FBC. Take a look at the hypertext:

http://www.cp-dr.com/node/2770

Form base codes work in some places.......but not everywhere. I think Rowlett "officialdom" is trying to urbanize ALL of Rowlett, when all that is needed is tasteful selection. I have had previous experience with FBC long before Rowlett's entry into the fray. It only kinda worked. Simply stated, everybody doesn't want to live 10 feet from their neighbor and still want a back yard for their kids. Some places FBC works.......and some places it doesn't. There are several other stories about our current real estate developments that seem to be a little slow on the uptake. I wish I had the time to research all the stories. However, all are not bad. There are some good stories, too.......but not enough of them.

Let's take a look at Lake Point Hospital. Just about everyone knows that the hospital is nearly doubling it's size. "Officaldom" proudly announced that Lake Point was going to comply with Form Base Codes. At the time, I wondered how that would happen. Hospitals usually have a finely defined program and well developed design for their facilities. I didn't see how FBC would help. Later, I learned that the hospital was going to design and build what they wanted and needed. The biggest employer in Rowlett told City Council to take a hike. FBC went bye bye.

Conclusion: Can't our leaders see all the above? Why are they so bullheaded about common sense. Humble is gone. Who's forcing the issues.......Planning? There is no one on council that can talk Planning's lingo, therefore they don't ask the appropriate questions.

I could go on further, but I think I've made my point. Our elected officials were doing a pretty good job until they entered the big boy's game. The negotiations got tougher.......the players smarter.  Developers had brand new calculators.

Once, many years ago, I wrote in the Dallas Morning News that a great time was coming to Rowlett, but we only had one chance to get it right. Several have copied my comments. Well that "chance" time is here. In my opinion, the above stories suggest that we aren't doing so well. We don't have the experience needed. I am worried about our remaining best chance at good things. That would be Bay View, and the developer, Kent Donahue. We are poised to really screw it up if someone from the city doesn't get their head back outside in the sunshine. The one thing Kent Donahue knows how to do is develop property. He is well thought of in the development community. He doesn't need any rank amateurs to help him.

I want to give kudos to "officialdom" for helping to put the Bay View deal together. However, if we screw up Bay View like we did North Shore, The Villages, Homestead, the hospital muscle job, and Form Base Codes, we deserve everything coming our way.

Next post.........The people of Rowlett.

Rowlett's leadership, Part 1

7/14/2015

I suppose that anyone waiting with bated breath about reading about and citing my specifics about Rowlett's leadership is going to be disappointed. I will write specifics when needed. It's not quite that time, yet. Sorry.

I wanted to write some about what I know about how we got where we are.   I have lived in Rowlett for 40 years, but I spent far more time in other major cities around the country than I did in Rowlett. Many of the earlier Mayors, City Managers, and City Council members,  I don't even remember. There is much I don't know about.

I'd like to recap about how we got here. Rowlett was just a burg 40 years ago. There was one police officer, and of course, he was Chief. The citizens of Rowlett (all 1527) didn't make many demands of any form of city management. There was virtually no infrastructure.......some around the downtown area and some around isolated subdivisions that had been born because Lake Ray Hubbard filled up.

Then, things began to happen. I can't fault early Rowlett leadership for some of the early navigation. I have to say, for the most part, they seemed to do a pretty good job. Rowlett was beginning to enter into a big man's game. The big city of Dallas was knocking at the doors. The only training for that steam roller is experience.

However, it is not just the leadership of Rowlett that must be considered. The citizenry must also be counted. The most forward thinking leadership in the world can't function without support of the citizens. First, the voters must vote leadership into office, then support them. So, in the early years, I think that some consortium of citizens and leaders formed up a coalition that worked pretty well. I think this is a good place to make a comparison between Rowlett and another neighboring city.

About the time I moved to Rowlett, there was another little burg a little north and west of here. It was named Frisco. It had a few more people and a little more commerce than Rowlett, but not much. Rowlett began to overtake Frisco in the middle and late 80's. Rowlett was experiencing some modest growth and Frisco was falling behind. Then......something happened.

In the early 90's, three prominent Dallas businessmen decided to invest in the growth of Frisco. Trammell Crow, Jerry Jones, and Ross Perot bought every piece of land they could get from Preston Road and the North Dallas Turnpike north to Frisco. They decreed that Frisco was going to grow and prosper. And, it most certainly did. Crow, Jones, and Perot had the marketing expertise, the financial power, and the business acumen to make it happen. And, boy, did it happen.

We in Rowlett had no benefactors, such as Frisco. What we have, we built ourselves.   That is okay, however we certainly lacked the sophistication of the Frisco starting team.   The present and future of Frisco is certainly sound.

Rowlett was different. We still had no major highways, We just kinda existed between Rockwall and Garland on a state highway with only two lanes. The nearest Interstate highway was three miles south of us. Essentially, Rowlett grew as the dictates of the Dallas expansion allowed. Local leadership tried to create new business, but they didn't have any weapons. I would have to say that early leadership did okay with it's limited resources.

Then, something began to quietly happen. Discussions about a toll way began. Also, discussions about DART started to take place. However, the exact path of the toll way was debated.  Some citizens didn't want the tollway to come through Rowlett at all. These people seemed to wish that the toll way go further east through Rockwall. In fact, there were people that knocked at my door and were actually lying about the route of the toll way.   There are perhaps some that still wish that GWBT went thru Rockwall, however the majority supported a route thru Rowlett. Rowlett leadership at that time supported bringing the toll way thru Rowlett, but a couple had to be convinced. The mayor at that time was against the toll way, but later changed his mind.

There were a lot of stories about why the toll way shouldn't come thru Rowlett. Most were in error and contained no substantial rationale for diverting the path of the new highway. The real reason for the objections were simply people were distrustful of change. If one just supports the status quo, the chance for damage is mitigated. However, if change is coming, there is some risk that a few might be hurt.   This is not a foregone conclusion.   If one has a grasp of economics, one can usually determine whether any proposed changes warrant resistance. Each case stands on its own. One shouldn't resist just because of change alone. I understand this rationale, and respect it, however resistance to change, depending on the application, is rarely correct. With competent leadership, change is usually good. Incompetent leadership is quite another story. Damage can acutally ensue.

Then, DART began to develop plans. There seemed to be less resistance to DART, however some commented on the "riff raff" that would come to town and loiter and get into mischief. Folks, this is a police matter.  Bums and trouble makers go where the pickin's are easy. Some careful explanations by the police about why they are not welcome goes a long way toward correcting that problem.   Some vigor is probably warranted.

So, what about Rowlett's leadership during the toll way and DART discussions? Well, my opinion is that during that time Rowlett's leadership was pretty darn good. I think a fairly major mistake was made by not negotiating service roads along GWBT. It will definitely hurt development along the northern edge of the toll way in Rowlett.  Another mistake was not dealing tougher with DART to get an enclosed station. This is a terminal station. People arriving from more distant locations will have to stand in heat and cold while waiting. There are no bathrooms. I think that was very poor planning and the cost wasn't excessive, particularly when you see how much money was wasted by DART. Both the tollway authorities and the DART officials gave a back of hand to Rowlett on these matters.......and we had paid nearly $40 million for DART.

So now we are brought up to the more current leadership of Rowlett. You remember them. You voted them into office. Now, in all fairness, they have a little bit more on their plate than previous leadership. They have to work harder, but the benefits to Rowlett can be enormous. However, the current leadership MUST be working for Rowlett.........not their resume.

As I have written before, I only write about what I think I know about. This blog is dedicated to almost totally about tax base. There is leadership in Rowlett that know a lot more about buying fire trucks than I do. So, I'm going to write about real estate development in a growing Rowlett and what that development means to Rowlett residents. Of course, this would be real estate and it's effect on our tax base.

You all have opinions about who the movers and shakers are around here. Of course, the big guns are members of the City Council. However, some members of staff are very influential.   I would have to say that in my opinion, Rowlett leadership up to around the year 2000 was effective and appropriate, given the circumstances that were present. Perhaps no home runs were hit, but little damage was sustained.

In Part 2 of this post about Rowlett leadership, I will get into current leaders of the city and the tax base issues they have, and will be, encountering. You may not agree with my point of view, but I can promise my view will be based on facts and figures. That's what people like me do for a living.

News

7/13/2015

Apparently, I am not the only one that noticed a news blackout imposed on Rowlett. I have received a lot of email agreeing with me. Oh, wait. I forgot. When a teenager beats up another teenager holding a baby, or a murder occurs, Rowlett gets some news coverage. Of course, that news should be reported, but if that is the only news reported, guess what kind of reputation Rowlett will gain.

We're not being well served by the news community. If I accurately recall the check that was written, I paid a considerable amount of money to not learn any news about Rowlett. I can learn state and national news from a number of sources.

Still working on the "leadership" post. It may take a Part 1 and a Part 2.

A side thought

7/12/2015

I'm working on my next post about Rowlett's leadership, but I've had something caught in my crawl since Thursday. I feel the need to say something.

I read last Thursday's DMN. In the Neighbors Go insert, I looked for any Rowlett news. I did not know that Rowlett no longer existed. Rowlett had no news column devoted to it. The only thing that one could even suspect that a town named Rowlett even existed was some commentary from three voluntary writers. Two of the three writers were so far to the left that they are in danger of falling off the edge of the earth. The third played it down the middle.

Rowlett continues to lose wordage to smaller and further out smaller towns. The 58,000 Rowlett citizens wanting to belong to the larger news community of the Dallas market area are just going to have to wait until some news happens. Apparently, nothing of note happens in Rowlett. Any excitement about Rowlett's future is destined to be shared only amongst ourselves.

Does the Ft. Worth Star/Telegram have any news about northeast Dallas County? Can we get any news from the Terrell newspaper? Apparently there is no room for any news about Rowlett because of all the news happenings in Royce City.