Council votes for $58 million airport expansion funding, disregarding opposition from voters
Headline: McKinney City Council Pushes Through $45M Airport Expansion Despite Public Rejection
Subhead: Controversial Decision Sparks Debate Over City Leadership and Public Opinion
The McKinney city council has recently approved construction contracts worth approximately $45 million for an airport expansion, despite the fact that voters twice rejected similar bond measures in past elections. The construction contracts are not funded by property taxes, but by proceeds from the Economic Development Corporation Fund and Community Development Corporation Fund, thereby circumventing voter approval.
Meeting on Tuesday, the council voted 4 to 2 in favor of the contracts. Council members Justin Beller and Patrick Cloutier voted against three of the contracts and the budget amendment for the funding. McKinney Mayor George Fuller emphasized that the airport could receive an additional $30 million for the expansion at the state and federal level. Cloutier argued for waiting until that funding was secured before making a decision on the contracts, but with the contracts now passed, he has pledged his commitment to ensuring the airport project's success.
Critics of the decision, such as Bridgette Wallis who runs the McKinney Citizen to Citizen Blog, argue that the council is disregarding the will of the voters. In the past, McKinney voters have rejected a $200 million bond to pay for the airport expansion two years ago and rejected city council funding for the land purchase in 2015. However, supporters of the expansion claim that the voters actually rejected the funding method, not the project itself.
Mayor Fuller, who is finishing his last term as mayor after a city charter amendment to extend the council's term limits failed in November, has taken a firm stance in favor of the airport expansion. In the upcoming mayoral election runoff on June 7, candidates Bill Cox and Scott Sanford will compete to replace Fuller. Sanford, a former state representative, has suggested a pause on the airport expansion until a new mayor and city council are elected.
However, Mayor Fuller argues that the current council, which has years of institutional knowledge on the airport, should not delay the vote, which he sees as an abdication of leadership. Bill Cox, a former city council member and chair of the McKinney Planning and Zoning Commission, defends the project but criticizes his opponents for lacking understanding of the details involved.
Although the city council has pushed forward with the expansion, the controversy surrounding the decision is unlikely to subside soon. Critics will continue to question the decision-making process, while supporters argue that the airport expansion is essential for the city's future economic growth.
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Caroline Love is a Report For America corps member for KERA News.
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- Despite the public rejection in past elections, the McKinney City Council has approved a $45 million airport expansion, bypassing voter approval through funds from the Economic Development Corporation and Community Development Corporation.
- Council member Council member Patrick Cloutier, who opposed the contracts' approval on Tuesday, pledges his commitment to ensuring the airport project's success moving forward.
- Bridgette Wallis, who runs the McKinney Citizen to Citizen Blog, criticizes the council for disregarding voters' will, citing past rejections of city bond measures for the airport expansion.
- In the upcoming mayoral election runoff, candidates Bill Cox and Scott Sanford will compete to succeed Mayor George Fuller, who has been a strong supporter of the airport expansion despite controversy surrounding the decision.
