What’s At Stake

2020 was an extremely hard year on many. National and state-forced shutdowns of businesses took its toll on many of our small and large businesses. As your Mayor, I worked tirelessly with our Council, our City staff, and our business leaders to find solutions to these complicated problems. We did our very best to keep Grapevine open and safe during the hardest of COVID times.

I advocated in Austin on behalf of our wineries and our brewery to be allowed to be open knowing that we couldn't lose them as they are vital to our local economy and I'm proud to say that it worked and the Governor allowed wineries and breweries to once again open.

The Council and I approved funds to make sure that the Christmas Capital of Texas happened so that we could help support our businesses and offer vistor attractions for many to come and enjoy our Main Street safely.

I have a proven track-record of being pro-business and pro-Grapevine for all of our residents. I have the leadership experience to help navigate us through these trying times. I will continue to put the economic recovery of our great city at the forefront, and I will continue to work with City staff and Council to restore Grapevine to it's highest potential.

During COVID, our city leaders and employees had to move quickly to support the residents of this community. First we studied and followed the guidelines set forth by the county, the state, and the federal government. Next, we took extensive steps to make sure our most vulnerable residents could still gain access to the things they needed: food, shelter, medical needs, transportation, information, and mental wellness checks. To date, the staff has delivered thousands of meals; made tens of thousands of wellness calls; and transported residents to medical appointments or brought groceries safely to our most vulnerable residents in Grapevine. These efforts still continue and are appreciated by all who have utilized the services.

From a safety standpoint, under my leadership, we have built a new Administration building for our Police and Fire departments; built and/or renovated 5 Fire Stations (4 in the last 4 years); increased our community visibility; established the Community Outreach Center to serve our residents; and established our Volunteers in Patrol (VIPS) to assist our residents and officers. Grapevine is one of the safest communities in the nation and it's one of the many reasons families desire to move here and establish roots.

I am a firm believer that we need to protect our neighborhoods from the invasion of Short-term Rentals. The residents of Grapevine have enjoyed the 2nd lowest tax rate in the State of Texas. City leaders' have remained committed to growing our business, entertainment, and hospitality offerings over the last three decades. Your taxes; our safe neighborhoods; and your small-town-family-way-of-life are at stake with short term rentals.

I am committed to do all I can to see that short term rentals are not allowed in our peacefully neighborhoods where our residents live.

With a forced approval to allow short-term properties, it is estimated that the number of STR's in Grapevine will explode to over 1,000 properties and they will exist in every neighborhood in town. This would mean that your "neighbors" could change daily; your property values will go down; traffic and noise will increase in your neighborhood; and your small-town community will be affected.

Additionally, with the ordinance changes needed to allow STR's in in residential neighborhoods, it would allow for other businesses to open in your neighborhood as well. Your neighbor next door would be allowed to open a doctor's office, massage parlor, or any other small -- yet high traffic -- business on your street.

As your Mayor, I will continue the strong fight against Short-term Rentals and the negative impact it will have on our neighborhoods, our businesses, and our overall way of life.

During my time as Mayor, I have advocated for Grapevine residents and worked hard to provide them with the greatest quality of life amenities a community can offer.” Every resident in Grapevine lives within one-half mile of a neighborhood park. Every resident in Grapevine has access to one of our pristine trails within a quarter of a mile. I ensure we continue to spend time taking into account the needs of all of our residents, not just a select few. Outdoor amenities for exercise and and family enjoyment are important to me. We have built neighborhood parks, programs for young kids, for families, for active adults, our special needs population, our outdoor enthusiasts, our fitness aficionados, our chefs, our bookworms, our arts lovers, our pet fans, our lake rats, our travelers, our tourists, our runners, our bikers, our trail walkers, our music lovers, our mothers/sons and our daddy/daughters, our students, and our school district, just to name a few. We also continually survey residents on their experiences and what else they'd be interested in seeing. We've accomplished multiple Master Plans in our Parks & Rec Departments during my time and we've always received the highest marks. Quality of Life accomplishments:

• Neighborhood Parks
• The REC of Grapevine
• State-of-the-art baseball and softball fields
• The Vineyard Campgrounds
• Outdoor water facilities (pools and splash-pads)
• Hiking and biking trails
• Lake amenities (boating, kayaking, paddle boarding)
• Fieldhouse Grapevine
• Partnerships with GCISD on shared facility usage
• The Vine Arts & Events Center (coming 2021)

We continually strive to strike the perfect balance between Grapevine's small-town way of life and it's need to be a leader in tourism. First and foremost, we are a community-first Council and staff. Residents are our highest priority.

In making them our highest priority, we utilize all of our resources to make the way-of-life in Grapevine the best it can be. Low property taxes, first-class amenities, pro-business friendly, and family-oriented.

Grapevine receives over 15 million tourists per year and many of them enjoy our Main Street, our shopping, our dining, our festivals, our hotels, our entertainment options, our lake, and our fast access to the airport; I promise that we will continue to be a leader in Texas and the nation in making Grapevine the perfect place to come and stay. In doing so, our residents will continue to reap the benefits of sales tax dollars in our community and the advanced amenities they have come to expect and enjoy.