City staff, an outside facilitator and councilmembers used a Feb. 2025 work session in the new council chambers at 401 East Virginia to review the city’s strategic goals and set several next steps on housing, downtown safety and airport outreach.

City staff opened with a summary of department performance and challenges, including high library usage (the Roy and Helen Hall Library logged about 1,780,000 checkouts last year), community development work on affordable housing programs and millions in capital projects yet to be executed. Staff also described operational improvements such as a sidewalk program that reduced a backlog from roughly 800 service requests to about 200 and new leak‑detection tools for water utilities.

Why it matters: Councilmembers framed the session as a chance to set priorities that will guide budget and work-plan decisions. Several items discussed could trigger near‑term spending or policy direction — notably the community land trust, a planned downtown fire‑suppression retrofit effort, and outreach tied to airport commercial service plans.

Community land trust and affordable housing. Councilmembers agreed to move the community land trust (CLT) from concept to action. Participants said the CLT should focus on producing for‑sale opportunities for first‑time buyers and creating targeted options for workers the city needs to retain, including public‑safety personnel. Several councilmembers and staff discussed using existing city parcels or infill lots as proof‑of‑concept projects rather than relying solely on new land purchases. Councilmembers also asked that the McKinney Housing Authority (MHA) — which speakers said is poised to receive new funding streams — be engaged on how any MHA receipts might support CLT goals.

Council direction: Members asked staff to return with a proposed governance and funding approach and supported formation of a council‑led committee to develop goals and an action plan for the CLT and related housing strategies. Staff said the upcoming federal consolidated‑plan update will be used to frame an affordable‑housing strategy; the council requested the committee and staff align that work with the consolidated‑plan process.

Downtown fire suppression. Councilmembers discussed a proposed program to extend fire protection to older downtown buildings that lack automatic suppression systems. Staff reported they are preparing a scope of work for a consultant to produce block‑by‑block designs and cost estimates and said they will identify an initial “beta” block with willing property owners to pilot the approach. The staff presentation described potential funding from tourism‑related tax districts and TIRZ/TIF-type sources; councilmembers noted the project touches public‑safety, downtown economic vitality and quality‑of‑life goals.

Council direction: Staff said they will return with a consultant scope and a proposed funding plan; councilmembers expressed interest in using the downtown pilot to show feasibility before wider roll‑out.

Airport outreach and communications. The council heard status updates on airport planning for future commercial service and on related infrastructure needs. City staff reported hiring an outside communications firm experienced in aviation markets to assist with public engagement and messaging about the airport project and its anticipated costs and timelines.

Data, innovation and operations. City staff described a new data‑management function and a nascent “data lake” to improve cross‑departmental reporting and support performance objectives. The city also retains an internal innovation fund to pilot department technologies, and councilmembers encouraged closer ties with the MEDC and regional “plug‑and‑play”/startup efforts so the city can be a test bed for promising technologies.

Public safety and workforce. Staff reiterated that police and fire departments remain well compensated but still operate with vacancies; police vacancies were described in the low double digits at the time of the session. Participants noted recruitment and retention remain ongoing challenges nationally and locally. City staff and several councilmembers discussed housing incentives and other non‑pay options as recruitment tools for public safety, but said any specific program will need detailed analysis and a funding plan.

Homelessness and emergency service options for the ETJ. Councilmembers discussed homelessness and options for emergency services covering the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ). Staff reported ongoing conversations with county officials about interim gap funding if an emergency service district (ESD) is ultimately created to provide and fund services in those areas. Councilmembers described ESD formation as a multi‑step process involving petitions and, in many cases, a local vote.

Other takeaways. Staff reviewed department highlights and challenges — from library programming and record‑request volumes to public‑works innovations such as satellite and drone tools used to find likely water leaks. Staff reiterated that the city is executing a multi‑hundred‑million‑dollar capital program in coming years and that budget planning will be oriented to the strategic priorities the council adopts.

Meeting close. The session was a facilitated, day‑long strategic review intended to inform the budget season. Councilmembers did not adopt ordinances or make final votes on policy items during the session; staff was directed to return with scopes, funding options and, where appropriate, formal proposals the council can consider in public meetings.

Ending: Staff said they will bring measurable objectives and SMART metrics back to the council in May as part of the annual strategic‑plan cycle; councilmembers asked for committee reports and staff scopes on the CLT and downtown fire‑suppression work in the coming months.