Jeff Cheney, Mayor, City of Frisco
Invest: spoke with Jeff Cheney, mayor of the city of Frisco, about creating an innovative transportation system where the city can serve as a “beta-test environment” for autonomous shuttles and delivery services. He also discussed Frisco’s recent “renaissance” period, which celebrates arts and culture.
How are you creating an affordable, accessible and innovative transportation system for your residents?
We look at things from an innovation perspective with a focus on solutions. The city uses its sales tax for economic development, unlike most cities, which use it for public transportation. We want to bring jobs to our community, rather than pay for public transportation to go outside of our community. Transportation is ripe to be disrupted with technology and private partnerships.
The people pushing concepts from the past are archaic; cities want autonomous and ride-sharing solutions. That is the future of transit and we are leaning heavily into investing in those types of technologies. We view Frisco as a beta-test environment. We were the first to have autonomous shuttles and we learned a lot from that program. They were then acquired by Apple. We are also testing delivery systems. The private sector is starting to solve a lot of these problems themselves and various organizations are working together to find solutions for the workforce. Public entities also make great partners from an innovation perspective and we will see this evolve greatly in the next decade. The way that people move around their communities will be a lot different in the future.
What projects are expected in the arts and culture space and how will that impact the city of Frisco?
We are known as Sports City USA and we are very proud of this, with many sports teams and fans in the city. It is a brand we are very proud of. Now, we are moving into Frisco’s renaissance age, with a focus on arts and culture. We are working on building a performing arts center in our community and we want to bring in more live music with the help of private partners. Our designation as a live music hub really brings some diversity to our town, which is mostly known for sports. We are providing arts and culture now as well.
What is the state of housing availability and inventory in Frisco?
Frisco is a popular place to be. The real estate market here is strong, with limited inventory. Some new projects are coming to market this year. The Fields development is adjacent to PGA Frisco, and they are delivering 1,000 residential sites in the next 12-24 months, which will create some additional inventory. A few neighborhoods are developing in East Frisco as well. Prices are expensive here. We are looking at more segmented product types to reach different buyer pools. Another positive trend is that some people are looking for opportunities in older neighborhoods, where they are making investments in homes there. They are revitalizing these old neighborhoods and bringing them back to life.
How are you supporting small businesses in the current economic climate?
Our chamber of commerce does an amazing job supporting the community. I own several small businesses myself, including a real estate firm and a yoga studio. Seven million visitors come here every year to shop and dine and that tourism helps our local economy. We know that big companies want a healthy workforce. The business climate requires us to look at a wider perspective and it is important to maintain a healthy balance in the ecosystem. A trained workforce and a focus on small business help to create that balance.
What legislation or regulations do you have an eye on?
We are always looking at local control because we try to set a standard for how a city should be run. We don’t want anyone to restrict our ability to do those things and economic development tools are key strategies for us. Local control is always the biggest thing we keep an eye on in every legislative session.
What are the biggest challenges for Frisco right now?
Our biggest challenge is to maintain our growth rate. There is a lot of growth in surrounding communities as well and we have to develop our infrastructure and meet the needs of the local citizens. We are putting a lot of work into making sure that we keep our culture and unique identity. Our 2040 plan shows foresight in having an end goal to our day-to-day decisions. We are known as the safest city in the county, so it will be important to maintain that reputation. It is a challenge because we are competing for workforce just like anybody else. We had to take a hard look at pay scales to ensure we get the types of talent that we are looking for. Everyone is feeling the inflation impacts, which also affects the cost to maintain roads and other infrastructure. Our residents don’t want to pay more taxes, yet they don’t want to see their services impacted either.
What is your outlook for the city of Frisco over the next two to three years?
The outlook is very positive. I am eligible to be re-elected for one more term. A passion project of mine is Grand Park. It is our version of Central Park right in the heart of our city. Our historic Downtown and our Rail District will be huge success stories, and we are reaching toward the part where they will take off. We have many public projects, including facilities projects like our recently opened library and seniors center. My passion is parks, so we have numerous projects in development. We are very excited for the future as we enter our renaissance stage, which will invite the arts to Frisco.
