News Communities Lewisville - Flower Mound

Lewisville - Flower Mound

Sounding Off: Lewisville-Flower Mound area readers tell us what local government’s role is in aiding business


The Colony City Council recently set aside $22 million for infrastructure improvements to facilitate long-term growth at The Tribute residential community. In what ways should local governments aid private businesses in your community?

Vern Olson, Flower Mound: Support for development to improve the attractiveness and the financial status of a town is something that needs to happen. A town certainly needs to be competitive with surrounding communities. The challenge, of course, is to pick the right projects and developers to support.

I think Flower Mound in general has done pretty well, especially lately. Projects underway seem to be coming along pretty much as they were advertised. I think support for multi-use projects needs to be closely scrutinized before any financial support starts.

Restrictions need to be in place to prevent a developer from just picking the low-hanging fruit and not doing the hard stuff. I think apartments, for example, are easier than upscale single-family homes, and easier than retail. If a project is designed to have various levels and components, they should all be in place at the end of the day.

Gale David, Flower Mound: First, the whole community must decide whether the private business is proposing a plan that would be advantageous to the entire community, not just [to] a few, and that it would enhance the community. The environmental footprint must be mitigated for the least negative impact, such as the loss of trees, natural flora and displacement of native fauna, emissions, etc. Then there has to be a negotiated agreement, including who pays for what. Anticipated increased business tax revenues are not sufficient for the community to provide millions of dollars in incentives or infrastructure. There must also be a commitment that the new business will provide full-time jobs with benefits to local residents, a long-term commitment to the community and a corporate investment exceeding the community investment.

When a corporation proposes a developmental project, then after it is approved comes back and says, “Oh, by the way, we can’t afford to put in water lines, streets, sewers, etc., you (the city) will have to do that,” to me indicates a severe breach of that business’s original proposal and any agreement should be terminated.

In so many North Texas communities, there are so many vacant businesses. Perhaps another consideration for a new business would include buying up the vacant business buildings and putting them back into use. Sometimes progress is really not what is best for the community.

Doug Fulmer, Flower Mound: Local government should be actively involved in identifying the types of businesses that they would like to have within their boundaries, and doing reasonable things to attract those businesses. Providing abatement for infrastructure water, sewer, utilities, streets, etc. costs and taxes are all reasonable things to do. But there should be community agreement on what types of business to attract and where to place them.

Not everyone has to agree some just don’t want development of any kind. But there should be broad agreement. And there should be a reasonable expectation that those businesses would produce jobs and tax revenue in the short term in exchange for the cost savings that they are granted. It needs to be a two-way street not just a dole for businesses.

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