Episode 102
Episode 102: From Steaks, Guns, & City Development: Mayor Tim Short
Welcome back to your favorite Texoma hangout—Get It Right Texoma! 🤠 In this lively episode, Mike Hendren, Terry McAdams, and Trey Sralla sit down for a laid-back, insightful chat with Wichita Falls' very own Mayor Tim Short.
🎤 This Episode Features:
- 🏙️ City Growth & Development: Mayor Short discusses exciting new projects, including the demolition of the old hotel near Lucy Park and future park or amphitheater possibilities.
- 🏗️ New Business Buzz: Updates on the opening of Winco Supermarket and Vitro’s major solar glass facility, promising hundreds of high-paying local jobs.
- 🏘️ Housing & Infrastructure: Insights into partnerships with national homebuilders to boost affordable housing and support economic expansion.
- ✈️ Supporting Sheppard AFB: Mayor Short shares details of his advocacy efforts in Washington D.C. and Austin to protect and enhance Sheppard Air Force Base's missions and its critical role in Texoma.
- 🎯 Local Events: Information on the Wichita Falls Gun Show relocation to Burkburnett Community Center and the delicious 17th Annual Cajun Fest coming soon at Bud Daniel Park.
- 🍽️ Restaurant Spotlight: A delicious shoutout to McBride's Land and Cattle on Scott Avenue—known for fantastic steaks and a history dating back to 1975! (Tell 'em we sent ya! 😉)
✨ Special thanks to our sponsors:
👉 Don't miss out—hit subscribe and stay connected!
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- MacTech Solutions
- McBride's Land and Cattle
- McBride Seafood and Stage
- Eddie Hills Fun Cycles
- Vitro
- Lollipop Sweet Shop
- Country Blooms and Gift
Transcript
You make this rather snappy, won't you?
Speaker B: y heavy thinking to do before: Speaker C:Hey, welcome to Get It Right Techsomer once again.
Speaker C:The trio is usually here right now.
Speaker C:It's a duo.
Speaker C:It's me and Terry.
Speaker C:Trey will join us shortly for a little bit.
Speaker C:He's going to be here briefly with us because we've got a very special guest coming on today's program.
Speaker C:Wichita Falls Mayor Tim Short is going to join us here in a few minutes and we're going to talk to him about some of the great things happening here in the city.
Speaker C:We do record this in the Mac Tech Solutions podcast studios here in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Speaker C:So be sure to check out maktechsolutions.com and also be sure to visit our website.
Speaker C:Get a right textilema.
Speaker C:We're on Facebook as well.
Speaker C:You should see a QR code somewhere here on the screen.
Speaker C:We'll put it somewhere in the corner there for you to click on.
Speaker C:That will get you over to get it right.
Speaker C:Texoma.com as well.
Speaker C:So that said, let's jump into it because we got a few things to talk about today.
Speaker C:We've got a lot to talk about with the mayor.
Speaker C:We try to focus on a local restaurant.
Speaker C:Each episode that we do one of our locally owned eateries here.
Speaker C:And this time it's going to be McBride's land and cattle.
Speaker D:I hadn't been there in a while.
Speaker D:I need to get over there.
Speaker C:That's the downtown restaurant, right?
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:Well, yeah, well, there used to be one out on Seymour highway that was.
Speaker C:That was McBride Seafood and Stage.
Speaker D:Okay.
Speaker D:And then.
Speaker D:Yeah, this one.
Speaker C:This one.
Speaker C:So this one opened in the mid-70s, about 75 downtown which saw falls on Scott.
Speaker C:Scott Avenue.
Speaker D:Okay.
Speaker C:Some people call it Scott Street.
Speaker C:I think it's actually a Scott Avenue, but it's.
Speaker C:It's kind of down in the same area as you're going toward Eddie Hills Fun Cycles as well.
Speaker C:And McBride's Land and Cal, that's our favorite downtown restaurant to go to.
Speaker C:It has been for a while.
Speaker C:And great steaks.
Speaker C:All of these McBride's branded restaurants were owned by the McBride family at one time.
Speaker C:And then many years ago, they started selling off those properties.
Speaker C:Other people bought them, maintained the McBride branding on the restaurants.
Speaker C:One of them has now come back into the family, the McBride's Steakhouse on Maplewood.
Speaker C:Ford Swanson owns that and he's actually the grandson of one of the founding members of the McBride McBride family of restaurants.
Speaker D:We go there periodically for lunch.
Speaker D:They've got that steak special every day.
Speaker C:McBride Land and Cattle.
Speaker C:I think they're typically open for dinner.
Speaker C:Okay, so 5 to 9pm Weekdays.
Speaker D:Well, they're open this on their website or on Google.
Speaker D:Anyway, it's showing that they are open from 5 to.
Speaker D:Well, let's see.
Speaker D:Well, normally 11 to 1:30 for lunch as well as 5 to 8 for dinner.
Speaker D:For dinner, yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And then fantastic restaurant and really good food.
Speaker C:It's easy.
Speaker C:Fortunately, it's easy to get a good steak around here.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:And a lot of these locally owned places like me Brand McBride Land and Cattle on Scott Avenue.
Speaker C:They absolutely do a great job with it.
Speaker C:What is their actual address on Scott?
Speaker D:501 Scott Street.
Speaker D:I believe what that was.
Speaker D:Yeah, let me double check it.
Speaker D:I pulled up their website, but yes.
Speaker D:501 Scott Avenue.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So when you go down there, tell me you heard about it on get it right.
Speaker C:Texoma.
Speaker D:Yep.
Speaker D:That won't get you much, but probably.
Speaker C:Probably just look at you go.
Speaker C:What?
Speaker C:Anyway, anyway, check them out.
Speaker C: ttle, downtown Wichita Falls,: Speaker C:The original gun show has moved to Burt Burnett, Texas.
Speaker C:They're in the community center there now.
Speaker C:And then the next one coming up April 11th and 12th.
Speaker C:It's $10 per day.
Speaker C:I guess this is the admission cost is $10 per day.
Speaker C:Or you can pay $15 and go both days.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:Half price on the second day.
Speaker A:Man.
Speaker C:There you go.
Speaker C:All right, so you have that coming up April 11th and 12th.
Speaker C:This is in Burt Burnett at the community center.
Speaker C:And I cannot think of the name of the street that it's on.
Speaker C:What is the Burt Burnett Community Center?
Speaker D:Wichita Falls Gun show, which is.
Speaker D:Is it still called the Wichita Falls Gun Show?
Speaker C:I believe so.
Speaker D:Original.
Speaker C:Original gun show.
Speaker D:Well, is it?
Speaker D:Let's see.
Speaker D:But it's in Burke.
Speaker D:The cycle of the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker D:Yeah, let's see now that one.
Speaker C:I think that very first one might be it.
Speaker D:Well, that's the Impact.
Speaker D:They're no longer at the Impact.
Speaker D:So that was in December.
Speaker D:So let me.
Speaker D:The original.
Speaker B:We'll.
Speaker D:We'll find it.
Speaker D:Original gun show, Wichita Falls.
Speaker D:And then.
Speaker D:But then it's Burke Burnett.
Speaker D:I never remember how to have a lot of the.
Speaker D:As a bullet gun show.
Speaker D:I don't.
Speaker D:Okay.
Speaker D:Who knows?
Speaker C:Okay, well, you'll just have to search it out.
Speaker C:But it's.
Speaker C:I just.
Speaker C:I'm sorry.
Speaker C:The address, the street name just left my brain there.
Speaker D:But it is going to be center on Davey.
Speaker C:Davey.
Speaker C:Davey Drive.
Speaker D:That's it.
Speaker C:David Davey Drive.
Speaker C:That's it.
Speaker D:Okay, so April.
Speaker D:Okay.
Speaker D:Cool.
Speaker D:So there you go.
Speaker C:Very easy to get to any from anywhere in wichita Falls.
Speaker C:You're 15 to 20 minutes away at most.
Speaker C:Yeah, 20 minutes at most.
Speaker C:So that's kind of going to.
Speaker C:April 11 and 12, downtown Wichita Falls development hosting the 17th annual Cajun Fest indoors.
Speaker C:The events going to be held at the Bud Daniel park, not in Ohio.
Speaker C:How's it going to be indoors if it's Bud Daniel park?
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:Anyway, Saturday, April 26, 11 to 7.
Speaker C:And for ticketing, you go to ticket information.
Speaker C:If you'll just go to.
Speaker C:If you just search for Cajun Fest Wichita Falls, that should take you to the downtown development page.
Speaker C:They have a landing page, I believe, for.
Speaker C:Specifically for Cajun Fest.
Speaker C:And you can get tickets there right here.
Speaker C:$7 in advance, $10 at the gate.
Speaker C:And kids 12 and under get in free.
Speaker C:Now, once you get into the event, there's going to be food.
Speaker C:There'll be food vendors.
Speaker C:You'll have to pay for the food.
Speaker C:So they'll be serving jambalaya and gumbo and boudin and cracklins and all the good Cajun eats.
Speaker C:But you got to pay for the food once you get in there.
Speaker C: th of the gate, kids: Speaker C:And then you just pay for your food and drink when you get in there.
Speaker C:As far as I know, it'll be the same as it has in the past.
Speaker C:They don't allow coolers, no glass bottles, anything like that.
Speaker C:But anyway, that's going to be.
Speaker C:Again, that's going to be April 26th.
Speaker C:It's on a Saturday from 11 to 7 downtown Wichita Falls, 9th in Ohio.
Speaker C:Bud Daniel Park.
Speaker D:Daniel Park.
Speaker D:Yeah, there's a whole website actually, Cajun Fest, WF.com.
Speaker C:There you go.
Speaker D:Everything you need.
Speaker C:There you go.
Speaker C:Everything you need to know.
Speaker C:You got it.
Speaker C:You got it pulled up there.
Speaker D:Yep.
Speaker C:There we go.
Speaker C:There we go.
Speaker C:There's the website.
Speaker D:The.
Speaker D:It's Cajun festival.
Speaker C:WF.com and yes, it's like a matchy Red River Casino.
Speaker C:Is the.
Speaker C:Is the top sponsor, the presenting sponsor?
Speaker D:I'm not sure then what the indoors there must.
Speaker D:Maybe there's a combo.
Speaker C:I don't know.
Speaker C:Maybe there's a tent where you can go to get the sun off your head.
Speaker D:I don't know.
Speaker C:Anyway, so real quick here before we break because we got Tim Short, Wichita Falls Mayor Tim Short, come up to join us here in just a few minutes.
Speaker C:Guys, did you watch the joint session of Congress?
Speaker D:I did not get a chance to yet.
Speaker C:I just I just watched the highlights, and of course, the highlight that everybody keeps landing back on, of course, is Representative Green.
Speaker D:Okay.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker C:And his interruption from Texas.
Speaker D:Got kicked out.
Speaker C:Well, he.
Speaker C:Okay, so as of.
Speaker C:As of the date that we're recording this, this episode, guys, he has been officially censured by the House.
Speaker C:And 10 Democrat House members joined all the Republicans in the censure vote.
Speaker C:Okay, so now what that means specifically, I don't.
Speaker C:I don't really know a censure.
Speaker C:I think, you know, I think there's a monetary fine that goes with it or something, but basically, you know, it's like, hey, don't do that again.
Speaker C:That was stupid.
Speaker C:Don't do that anymore.
Speaker D:Okay, I just Googled And I was typing what is a Congress?
Speaker D:I hadn't even finished the word Congress in congressional when I was suggested.
Speaker D:Congressional censure.
Speaker C:There you go.
Speaker D:So it read our minds, obviously, or.
Speaker C:A lot of people are looking this up.
Speaker D:I'm sure it's.
Speaker C:That's probably, you know, an awful lot of people are looking into this.
Speaker C:And it's.
Speaker C:But it's significant because this congressman stands up and interrupts the president's speech, and the speaker three times tells him, basically, sit down, shut up.
Speaker C:And he doesn't do it.
Speaker C:And finally, he has to call the sergeant of arms to escort him out of the chamber.
Speaker C:Basically, they.
Speaker C:I mean, you know, they.
Speaker C:Much as a bouncer would at the bar, they escorted him out.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:I mean, it's just like that.
Speaker C:I do not understand why anybody would think it's okay to do what he did.
Speaker C:You disagree with him, fine.
Speaker C:You disagree with his policies, fine.
Speaker C:You think he's a lousy president, fine.
Speaker B:You.
Speaker C:You are entitled to whatever opinion you want to have, but when you're in that chamber and you're in that moment, you don't have to applaud him, but you damn sure better respect him.
Speaker D:Yeah, well.
Speaker D:But.
Speaker D:But also all of the signs and the.
Speaker C:What was up with that?
Speaker D:The whiteboard.
Speaker D:The lady was putting up the white whiteboard all the time.
Speaker C:And this is the one that really got me.
Speaker C:Really just seriously, seriously angered me.
Speaker C:The little boy who survived brain cancer, and nobody from.
Speaker C:Not one Democrat stood up and applauded for him.
Speaker C:Not one.
Speaker C:They deliberately snubbed this little kid.
Speaker C:How dare you.
Speaker C:What is wrong with you?
Speaker C:What the hell is your soul?
Speaker C:What is wrong with you?
Speaker C:This is a little kid.
Speaker C:He survived brain cancer, for God's sakes, and that's how you treat him?
Speaker C:It would be bad enough if it were an adult man or woman.
Speaker D:This is.
Speaker C:This is someone's child.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker C:And you snub them like that.
Speaker C:That's heartless, cold, and just damn dirty is what it is.
Speaker C:Absolutely dirty.
Speaker C:All right, we're going to take a break here.
Speaker C:Wichita Falls Mayor Tim Trey's going to join us here for the interview with the mayor.
Speaker C:And we got Wichita Falls Mayor Tim Short coming up.
Speaker C:Lots of things happening within the city of Wichita Falls and things that, by the way, will benefit everyone in this region.
Speaker C:Some of the.
Speaker C:Some of the great things economically that are happening in Wichita Falls are going to have ripple effects on communities all around Wichita Falls.
Speaker C:How does the saying go?
Speaker C:A rising tide lifts all boats.
Speaker C:There you go.
Speaker C:It's exactly what's happening, folks.
Speaker C:Stick around more.
Speaker C:Get It Right Tech Soma is on the way.
Speaker C:Hey.
Speaker C:Welcome back to Get It Right Tech Soma with the trio and our very special guest with us today, as promised, is Wichita Falls Mayor Tim Short.
Speaker B:Good morning.
Speaker C:How are you, sir?
Speaker B:Thanks for having me again.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker B:I've been here so many times now.
Speaker C:Well, I think you might have been prolific guest.
Speaker B:I'm not.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think I was the first guest.
Speaker C:You were the first guest of the.
Speaker B:Wondering when I'll be the last.
Speaker A:And then we had to redo it a couple times.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So technical challenges that happened.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:It wasn't the first time.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Well, how's life training you?
Speaker B:Life is good.
Speaker B:You know, I.
Speaker B:I say it and I say it, and I still mean it.
Speaker B:I love this city.
Speaker B:I love everything that that's happening right now.
Speaker B:Yeah, we're.
Speaker B:We're on a good track.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's our turn.
Speaker C:You know, we had.
Speaker C:We had the president of the chamber on a couple of shows back, and he shared a lot of good things with us about stuff that's happening.
Speaker C:It sounds like you've got some exciting stuff going on in the city.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And there's.
Speaker C:There's always.
Speaker C:I see people.
Speaker C:And we talked about this before we started taping today's episode.
Speaker C:It seems like you've got the same six or seven or eight people that get on social media and just constantly try to talk down everything that's going on around us.
Speaker B:Are we going to.
Speaker B:Are we naming names?
Speaker A:No.
Speaker C:Not yet.
Speaker C:They keep pushing me.
Speaker C:I will.
Speaker B:I think there's 12.
Speaker C:Yeah, okay.
Speaker C:It might be 12, but it's the same little cabal of people that just keep constantly trying to talk down everything that's going on.
Speaker B:Just everything.
Speaker C:Yeah, the cave people, the citizens against virtually everything.
Speaker C:And they are.
Speaker C:It's like, no matter what you do, no matter what you offer, no matter what business is coming to town, they just got to talk it down and make it sound like it's the worst thing ever, and it's just going to be the end of the world.
Speaker C:People, I say, if you're that miserable here, leave.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:I understand, and I do.
Speaker B:It's their right, you know, still.
Speaker C:Of course it is.
Speaker C:Of course.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And I get it.
Speaker B:And I meet with as many of them as I can, try to talk to them when I can.
Speaker B:Sometimes it's a losing battle, but, you know, it's just.
Speaker B:You can't change.
Speaker C:For myself, if I were.
Speaker C:If I were living somewhere where I felt out like I was that miserable, it was that bad, I'd be looking for an exit.
Speaker B:Well, I really would be.
Speaker B:I had that discussion with it with a man not, you know, it was at one of Jane Frank's meetings one day, just.
Speaker B:Just in the audience.
Speaker B:And I said, I have never lived in a place that I was so miserable, you know.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And I think it kind of dawned on him, you know, how.
Speaker B:That, you know, his reaction to several things were.
Speaker B:He's come by the office, we visited a couple times.
Speaker B:You know, he goes, well, I grew up here.
Speaker B:I live here.
Speaker B:I just.
Speaker B:He just doesn't agree with a lot of the changes that are going on.
Speaker B:That's fine.
Speaker A:That's his right.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:So we've had some pretty good talk.
Speaker C:Well, you've had a lot of big accomplishments.
Speaker C:How long have you been in the mayor's seat now?
Speaker B:Oh, gosh, probably a little over a year, 13, 14 months.
Speaker C:You know, and in that.
Speaker C:In that little over a year, you and the current council, I mean, a lot of things have happened.
Speaker C:One of the.
Speaker C:What I consider a big improvement is we got rid of that derelict hotel by the falls.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker C:I was shocked at how fast that thing came down in a hurry.
Speaker B:I know.
Speaker B:And it deserved to get there.
Speaker B:It deserved to happen so fast.
Speaker B:And there were people that, you know, said, well, I was.
Speaker B:I want to go by there and take some pictures.
Speaker B:They had had their prom there or they had done something.
Speaker B:They knew it was coming down and thought they had time and, you know, by the time they got over there to take pictures, it was gone.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:And to be.
Speaker B:It looks great to be fair to.
Speaker A:Everybody, the council before and Santiano, your predecessor, we're kind of building that groundwork and working on it.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:So we want to give them credit as well.
Speaker A:Obviously, you and the current council get credit, but also them.
Speaker A:It's Kind of, kind of like I always say, you know, the Berlin Wall came down when George Bush was there, but Ronald Reagan sure should deserve some credit for getting that done.
Speaker C:It's a process and there were a.
Speaker B:Couple councils before, you know, that were working on that.
Speaker B:So we, we.
Speaker B:We just got to celebrate it and got to.
Speaker B:Got to be the one that we're around when it happened.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:So remind us what exactly that property now is going to be used for.
Speaker D:How much you own, how much the city owns.
Speaker D:I should say how much the, the, the pre.
Speaker D:The previous owner still owns some of it and all that.
Speaker D:There's a cooperative effort here.
Speaker D:So what's that.
Speaker D:How's that working?
Speaker B:We.
Speaker B:What do you know, we work the deal, you know, in, in the end.
Speaker B:And that's what it took was.
Speaker B:Was literally sitting in the same room, you know, going back and forth.
Speaker B:How are we going to make this happen?
Speaker B:So answer your question, Terry.
Speaker B:The first.
Speaker B:I don't own any of it, but I understand.
Speaker B:So I.
Speaker B:We better put that on the record.
Speaker B:So the city.
Speaker B:We own 35%.
Speaker B:We own the part that there by the river, you know, the flood plain, the part that you just can't do anything on, can't develop, can't do anything.
Speaker B:That'll be green space, it'll be park space, probably some benches in the future, maybe playground.
Speaker B:We will connect to the trail through there that runs behind it.
Speaker B:What, Lucy, park back there.
Speaker B:We will have a connection to the trail there.
Speaker B:The other 65%.
Speaker B:The Patel still own that.
Speaker B:It is developable land.
Speaker B:They can, you know, people build houses in the flood zone.
Speaker B:That's in the flood zone.
Speaker B:You get flood insurance.
Speaker B:You know, you build it up higher.
Speaker B:You, you do the things that you need to do to look like a.
Speaker A:Bunch of houses on the coast.
Speaker A:Everything will be on.
Speaker B:Still put the parking garage underneath it if you want to build another hotel, I guess, but.
Speaker B:Or they can sell it.
Speaker B:They can, you know, they can do with.
Speaker B:We talk about it being America.
Speaker B:They can do with it as they want now.
Speaker D:So, so how much.
Speaker D:How many acres is it then?
Speaker D:That's.
Speaker D:That they can do with.
Speaker B:Oh, I knew that answer a couple months ago.
Speaker D:A couple acres or.
Speaker D:I mean, it's not.
Speaker D:It doesn't look like a huge.
Speaker B:I don't remember.
Speaker B:Okay, well, good question.
Speaker B:I don't.
Speaker A:But it's a.
Speaker A:But it's a good but it's a.
Speaker A:It's an area that you can build something.
Speaker A:And you know, you would think that that would possibly be a good space for a Hotel.
Speaker B:The part.
Speaker B:The park, the part they own was basically where the parking lot was, the whole thing, then back to the north.
Speaker B:So the part that we have really didn't affect anything that the hotel had.
Speaker B:There was no walkways.
Speaker B:There wasn't anything down there.
Speaker B:So you could build something as big or bigger than a hotel on it.
Speaker B:If you.
Speaker C:The park space that you envision developing there, is that going to be an extension of Lucy park or something new?
Speaker C:Something different?
Speaker B:I think it'll be something new.
Speaker B:The master park plan was already going by the time that this stuff.
Speaker B:So it wasn't included in any of that.
Speaker B:But I don't think it'd be that big a deal initially to, like I said, to connect it to the trail and get a couple benches down there and.
Speaker B:And use.
Speaker B:And see how it's being used.
Speaker B:See, you know, we'll take suggestions.
Speaker B:You know, people.
Speaker B:Some people want to build an amphitheater on it.
Speaker B:Some people want live music.
Speaker B:Some people wanted an RV park that would be cool.
Speaker B:There's all kinds of things.
Speaker A:The RV park, with it being possibly a flood zone, might be a little tough.
Speaker B:We don't own that part, you know, but you can have playground equipment.
Speaker B:You can have that kind of thing, and it can flood all day, and it's not gonna hurt a thing.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker C:I think an amphitheater, something akin to what Burt Burnett has at Friendship park, would be very, very good there.
Speaker B:It'd be great.
Speaker B:There's a lot of support for that.
Speaker B:I'm sure that there will be.
Speaker B:Folks will talk to us.
Speaker B:Committees will be formed, ideas will be put together.
Speaker C:Oh, sure.
Speaker B:Estimates and costs.
Speaker B:It's all, you know, hey, it's all about money.
Speaker C:It's a process, though.
Speaker C:Just like getting the hotel down and getting that land cleared off.
Speaker C:It's a process.
Speaker C:It takes time.
Speaker A:Everything's a process.
Speaker B:And it's a government process which moves.
Speaker A:At the speed of smell.
Speaker B:Almost the speed of schools.
Speaker A:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's slow.
Speaker A:So one of the biggest things that.
Speaker A:In my opinion, one of possibly the biggest job you'll ever have as mayor and as a city council, but at least if not the biggest in the top five, is a city manager.
Speaker A:So if you could.
Speaker A:And obviously, there's a lot of NDAs, there's a lot of things you can't say, and we want 100% respect that.
Speaker A:But tell us what you can about the city manager process that's happening now.
Speaker B:Okay, so we.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:It was the night we hired a research firm, which.
Speaker A:Which, by the way, real quick, is Very common.
Speaker A:You're talking about hiring a CEO, let's say a CD CEO of a medium sized corporation.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And you don't put the ad.
Speaker A:The Times Record news for that.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:So you need.
Speaker A:You.
Speaker A:You have.
Speaker A:This is a.
Speaker C:Who would see it?
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:It's a.
Speaker A:Or indeed this is a.
Speaker A:This is a big deal.
Speaker A:So anyhow just go ahead and.
Speaker B:He said that out loud.
Speaker B:He said the quiet part out loud.
Speaker B:We could run an ad on here and more people would.
Speaker A:I spent, I spent.
Speaker A:I spent years trash them when I was on school.
Speaker C:Oh gosh.
Speaker C:I think.
Speaker D:God love.
Speaker B:I think that, that.
Speaker B:So we did.
Speaker B:We did get a firm because it's a national search.
Speaker B:Yes, yes, truly.
Speaker B: A CEO with: Speaker B:It's almost a 300 million dollar budget.
Speaker B:It's a big deal.
Speaker B:Their educational requirements.
Speaker B:This is not somebody's first job.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:So that being said, you know, it is a national search.
Speaker B:We had almost 100.
Speaker B:I heard 103 and then it was 99 I believe the official applicant total in the beginning when we started this.
Speaker B:We are down to our final five I believe at this point.
Speaker B:And we'll begin have some in person interviews, visits and whittle that down and hope to have that done this summer.
Speaker B:Have the make a decision.
Speaker B:But we're looking for specific things.
Speaker B:It's not somebody's first job.
Speaker B:I want somebody who is a proactive.
Speaker B:Well, not I.
Speaker B:We would like somebody who's a proactive problem solver, who is.
Speaker B:Economic development is not a bad word, you know that manages the financials.
Speaker B:Well, I can tell you that Wichita Falls is in the position that it is because of our past which is in a great financial position because of our past city managers.
Speaker B:They were awesome and got us in this position.
Speaker B:So now we're here and when I said earlier it's our turn.
Speaker B:We can take the next step.
Speaker B:We have the ability to do it.
Speaker B:I think.
Speaker B:You know, I don't know who watches this but I think Abilene has, you know, spent their money already and they've done a good job and they've grown.
Speaker B:I think Amarillo is kind of a hot mess right now.
Speaker B:So you know, we are in a position to strike.
Speaker B:We are in a position to act on things as they come up.
Speaker B:We want a city manager who's proactive that will be able to do that type of thing.
Speaker B:I think thankful to the past ones for the work that they did to get us here.
Speaker C:I think somebody who's growth minded, somebody who's got a mindset of, look, we've got opportunities to grow here.
Speaker C:We've certainly got a room to grow.
Speaker A:We don't have room.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, so the ones that we have, our final ones that we have are national.
Speaker B:I mean, and some from, you know, I'm going to be careful.
Speaker B:But some from bigger cities, some from smaller.
Speaker B:But they.
Speaker B:Everybody wants to live in Texas, you know.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:This is the draw for it.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:And this is in the city manager, and I'm not one and never have been one, but I understand it's a job where you're there for four or five years, then you move on and you're constantly moving up.
Speaker B:Fine.
Speaker A:You should be like the Methodist preacher model.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:The old Methodist preacher model.
Speaker B:Come here, circuit riders.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:You know, do a great job, build that resume even better, and go with our blessing, you know, and go do that in Fort Worth or San Antonio.
Speaker C:And do great things while you're here to enhance that resume.
Speaker A:By definition, those jobs are nomadic, right?
Speaker A:Yeah, nomadic.
Speaker A:You normally not pneumatic?
Speaker A:Yeah, nomadic.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And city.
Speaker A:City managers, school district superintendents, generally, you're the best ones are not ones who grew up there, born there, raised, they're going to die there.
Speaker A:It's people who come in, they make some changes.
Speaker A:They.
Speaker A:And it's.
Speaker A:It's a strange.
Speaker A:It's a strange culture because you talk about a.
Speaker A:Somebody that shows up into a town and completely engulfs themselves into that town, that city, and just completely becomes part of it and then goes away.
Speaker C:Well, yeah, I mean, it's like this.
Speaker C:You get somebody that's going to show up, that brings a different perspective from a different place.
Speaker C:They've seen things we haven't seen.
Speaker C:They've had experiences we haven't had, and maybe they bring something to the table that we haven't even thought of yet.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:And they look at things.
Speaker B:They look at things differently and maybe they're obviously things that can be done better.
Speaker B:They look at efficiencies that can be, you know.
Speaker B:Well, look, we did this this way.
Speaker B:We had, you know, we hired outside consultants that helped us with this, you know, that engineers or whatever.
Speaker B:We didn't have to have them on staff.
Speaker B:You know, we could, we had a group that we could call when we, when we needed them.
Speaker B:We, you know, they weren't afraid to outsource some things which may be or may not be an answer to some.
Speaker B:To some efficiencies and money savings.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:But we want that.
Speaker B:We want them to.
Speaker B:To mentor maybe the next, the next group, you know, of city Managers and people that are their directors, you know, help them, mentor them.
Speaker B:And we, you know, that that's one thing that we're looking for.
Speaker B:And we want to help them build their resumes, help them build Wichita Falls and then help them move on.
Speaker C:I was watching somebody else's podcast a while back, listening to somebody else's podcast a while back, rather, and they were talking about.
Speaker C:They were talking about local development in their area.
Speaker C:And the two big things that they were really focused on in city government there, where they were, were opportunities for people and job growth, employment growth.
Speaker C:And obviously, any community you're in, no matter whether you're Texas, doesn't matter what state you're in.
Speaker C:I mean, you gotta have stuff for people to do.
Speaker C:They gotta have.
Speaker C:They gotta have a reason to want to get out and move around and do things, but also gotta have a way to make a living.
Speaker B:True.
Speaker C:And I mean, does that sound.
Speaker C:I mean, we're kind of in the same boat, aren't we, as everybody else in that situation, aren't we?
Speaker B:You would think, however, we have discovered through some of this search that there are cities that have grown so quickly.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:They're trying to tap the brakes and they have, you know, maybe new councils or new leadership that's going.
Speaker B:We need.
Speaker B:We're overwhelmed.
Speaker B:We need to tap the brakes.
Speaker B:And then.
Speaker B:And then.
Speaker B:But maybe their leadership wants to move on because they're in growth mode and that's what they need.
Speaker B:That's what they know how to do.
Speaker B:So they did it there.
Speaker B:They need to come and do it here.
Speaker B:They need to come and help us because we're ready.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:We're not ready to have the brakes.
Speaker A:We're ready to get on the gas.
Speaker C:Well, it's just like Terry pointed out a while back, if we grew just 1% a year, just 1%, you know, right now, that would be what, about 11, 10 people or so?
Speaker C:11, five people or so.
Speaker B:How awesome is that?
Speaker C:You know, if we could just grow by 1% annually over the next decade or decade and a half.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And you have to think about the things that that brings.
Speaker B:And I'm sure we've talked about these things before.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:Where are we going to put them?
Speaker B:Where's the inventory of homes?
Speaker B:Where are they going to live?
Speaker B: reat deal and all of a sudden: Speaker B: They brought: Speaker B:Plus we're hiring folks that are here, where are they going to live?
Speaker C:I know a guy who can build them for you.
Speaker C:And I know a guy who can sell them.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Iowa park, you know, Burke, you know, we're going to, we're going to help those places grow because some folks are just going to want to live in a smaller place.
Speaker B:Generally they want, you know, about a 12 minute commute.
Speaker B:They want affordable housing.
Speaker B:We check a lot of boxes and we have those things.
Speaker B:Yeah, we don't have enough of it.
Speaker B:So we, we have had a couple of national home builders.
Speaker B:I'm not breaking news.
Speaker B:We have had a couple of national home builders that you would know the names of that have come in that are.
Speaker B:They're identifying land going, we can put 200 houses here, we can put 150 houses here.
Speaker B:We can.
Speaker B:They're actively looking at coming in and being able to do that.
Speaker C:One of them is building out by the base now.
Speaker B:Yeah, it doesn't.
Speaker A:Where is it, where is that being built?
Speaker C:Tinker.
Speaker B:By tinker.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Trail.
Speaker B:And it doesn't.
Speaker B:You go well what about your local guys?
Speaker B:Well, I love our local home builders, but they can't, they don't have the capacity or the desire to build 200, $150,000 houses.
Speaker B:You know it.
Speaker B:That's not their model.
Speaker B:That's not what they do.
Speaker B:They build custom homes, you know, but, but in every other city that we compete with and whether it's Abilene or even Lubbock or Tyler, you know, Amarillo, they have these development.
Speaker B:These are your first time, these are your first houses and these are, these are nice out and it's somebody else's first house and they're nice homes.
Speaker B:These are three bedroom, two bath houses.
Speaker B:You'll be a very busy man so you know, selling homes, that, that's one of the problems.
Speaker B:It's a good problem, but that's one of the problems that has to be solved when we do this.
Speaker C:It's like the development out there by the base.
Speaker C:You know, Lance Friday Homes has built several homes out there and we've sold a few and they're great homes.
Speaker C:They're great homes.
Speaker C:And these are not three and four hundred thousand dollars houses.
Speaker C:220, 30, 40 thousand dollar houses and they're beautiful inside.
Speaker C:They're and very efficient homes and but yeah, we need more of that and we're going to have to have more that as we bring more people here, we're going to have to have that development.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So you know we've.
Speaker B:That's been thought of.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's one of the things, you know, that you have to think of obviously those high schools.
Speaker B:We were the only city in America that built two big high schools like that.
Speaker B:Yeah, love those high schools.
Speaker B:They, when Amazon came here, when, when a couple of the other places yet to be named have come in and we take them to lunch and they get, you know, we buy them a hat and you know, they go to the rodeo and we, we show them our city and you know, where their employees are going to live.
Speaker B:We show them msu.
Speaker B:We go through these places.
Speaker B:They want to see the schools.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:And they, because they want their people to have to be educated, obviously, but they want to see.
Speaker B:One of them told me that that shows the community's willing to invest in education to that length.
Speaker B:They're in because they see, you know, we're growth oriented.
Speaker B:If we're willing to do that.
Speaker B:Have a guy that's flying in here this, hopefully this month that's already done some things in our city that specifically is touring the schools because he's looking at developing a little, a few more entertainment venues here that would be really nice if we can get that done.
Speaker B:Specifically flying in first stop schools.
Speaker B:And he's going to get that to her.
Speaker D:And they're, and these are check boxes that if they don't check that box, we're off the list.
Speaker B:We are, we go to the bottom and you know, we've, we've been there.
Speaker B:I've said so many times that we sat around for so many years and waited for the phone to ring and you know, in sales it doesn't work.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:And that's what, that's the way you have to do it.
Speaker B:You have to pursue it.
Speaker B:And when your phone's not ringing and nobody's walking in your door, well, you better be knocking on doors and you better be calling people.
Speaker B:So we're, we're going places, we're seeing people, we're calling out, we're taking people to lunch.
Speaker B:How many deals get done at lunch?
Speaker B:You know.
Speaker B:Oh yeah, so we're actively doing that.
Speaker A:I used to say that all the time.
Speaker A:How many, how many multimillion dollar deals got done at the Wichita Club down back in the days when the whole boom was going a bunch million, million dollar handshake deals were done right there at the Wichita Club.
Speaker B:We spent last week in Washington D.C.
Speaker A:I was going to ask you about that.
Speaker B:Yeah, the swamp.
Speaker B:So we went to the Swamp and specifically for Shepard Air Force Base, we met with Ted Cruz, we met with Cornyn's representatives, we had dinner with Ronnie Jackson.
Speaker B:I mean we in close quarters with 10 or 15 of us and them standing there visiting with us and taking questions and talking to us about this, about how important it is.
Speaker B:And the amazing thing is, is when we go make these personal visits and go talk to these folks, really, they're happy to see us.
Speaker B:They appreciate it because nobody does it.
Speaker B:So all the other places kind of start to take it for granted, you know, but we're there actively lobbying and talking about, you know, this is 40% of our economy.
Speaker B:We'd like another mission.
Speaker B:If this.
Speaker B:The, you know, when you hear the word shepherd, you know, or here's something, you know, mission, we'd like you to think about us.
Speaker B:We want to be on the top of your mind.
Speaker B:And that's how you get there, just by simply building that network and that relationship.
Speaker B:We spent Wednesday in Austin doing the very same thing.
Speaker B:Met with Senator Hagen Booth, met with James Frank, you know, and talk about the same things.
Speaker B:I think we're kind of on the top of their mind anyway.
Speaker B:But getting to that's effort and effort gets rewarded.
Speaker B:And if you work hard enough, sometimes you get lucky.
Speaker B:So that's what we're, we're actively pursuing.
Speaker D:On that very topic.
Speaker D:Local social media has been all worried about Trump leaving NATO.
Speaker D:So how did that has.
Speaker D:Did that come up at all?
Speaker D:Because we have the in depth program.
Speaker B:Yes, we do.
Speaker D:That's.
Speaker D:And NATO is in the name.
Speaker B:President Trump did not meet with me.
Speaker B:I know, I know he must have had.
Speaker B:I sent a card ahead of time.
Speaker C:He missed out as far as I'm concerned.
Speaker D:Yeah, he had some.
Speaker D:Much.
Speaker B:When, when we were, when we actually walked through the White House, they were in the middle of that cabinet meeting.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:That, you know, that they televised.
Speaker B:That was actually going on.
Speaker A:You didn't just bust in the deal.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Knocked on the door.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:They saw who it was and they did not let me.
Speaker B:But, and wouldn't expect them to.
Speaker B:But yes, those concerns are real.
Speaker B:When we were in the Pentagon, we talked to, we had two star generals.
Speaker B:We had a full meeting with a four star.
Speaker B:Those concerns are real and there is anxiety that's being created.
Speaker B:And I wish I had a good answer.
Speaker B:My thought is just my opinion is that no, we're not leaving NATO and hopefully they're not running breaking news as we're doing this that we're.
Speaker A:I don't think we are.
Speaker A:These are negotiation tactics.
Speaker B:Egypt is too important.
Speaker B:And they all recognize it because.
Speaker B: d my flight training there in: Speaker B:I was, you know, I was there.
Speaker B:My brother was there.
Speaker A:I hung out at P2 or whatever.
Speaker B:One of the two stars son is in the in jet program right now and he's coming down next week just to visit.
Speaker B:So we're arranging, you know, where he's going to stay.
Speaker D:Well, I've said this before.
Speaker A:You're not gonna make him stay at Billiton.
Speaker B:He's not.
Speaker D:So.
Speaker D:So I, I have said this before and I think that.
Speaker D:And this is not to say I'm after trying to get us out of NATO and ending this program at all.
Speaker D:But, but what I wanted to point out is, and I did a little research the other day with the help of chat GPT and these numbers may be not exact, but certainly it's pretty close.
Speaker D:It's in the neighborhood.
Speaker D:Something that I think that gets overlooked at Shepherd Air Force Base is the fact that there are many more tech training students that graduate out of shepherd than.
Speaker D:I mean, it dwarfs what the pilot training is like.
Speaker D:60,000.
Speaker B:Yeah, 65,000.
Speaker B:A year.
Speaker D:A year.
Speaker D:And we're talking how many hundreds, not even several hundred actually.
Speaker D:A year of pilots.
Speaker D:Sure, they're here longer and it costs a lot more per student.
Speaker D:But.
Speaker D:But it gets more attention and it's.
Speaker D:And, and I.
Speaker D:And it's about the same staff size maybe, or is there a thousand over there of permanent party and then here.
Speaker D:But.
Speaker D:But there's a lot more still.
Speaker D:That's my, My point is, is that just overall, if NATO, if we left in that program and that program could in theory end whether we stay in NATO or not.
Speaker D:Yes.
Speaker D:So we need to be on that.
Speaker D:And that's why y'all are doing this.
Speaker D:Not because President Trump said anything about leaving, but because it's an important program.
Speaker D:In theory.
Speaker D:It could go somewhere else.
Speaker D:We've got to advocate for our thing.
Speaker D:So we need to keep that and the other.
Speaker D:But realize that 65,000.
Speaker B:65,000 go through that 50% of the air Force comes through Shepard Air Force Base every year.
Speaker B:They're very cognizant and aware of that.
Speaker B:And we're the only base that does train the pilots and the maintainers.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So, you know, it's not that easy to replace place.
Speaker B:And they are on it.
Speaker B:Did you know that we are the largest contingent of the Saudi Air Force in the world, except for Saudi Arabia.
Speaker A:I've heard that.
Speaker B:And not a single pilot.
Speaker B:There's 250 of them.
Speaker B:And they're all maintainers.
Speaker B:We had dinner at The Saudi embassy, when we were there, they.
Speaker B:They're looking to grow that.
Speaker B:You know, we had dinner with the Germans at their embassy one night while we were there.
Speaker B:They're thrilled with Shepherd.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker B:How the community embraces.
Speaker B:Both.
Speaker B:Both places talked about how the community embraces shepherd, how their, their folks are comfortable and safe and, and they're.
Speaker B:And they're proud to be here.
Speaker B:They work hard to get here and, and they love it here and they love Texas and, And they love cowboy hats.
Speaker B:And they said, our boots are too expensive.
Speaker B:You know, And I said, like your Mercedes, you know, the good ones, you know, last a long time.
Speaker B:So it's.
Speaker B:I feel.
Speaker B:I feel very good about it.
Speaker B:And it was wonderful to meet them and shake their hands and see how good, you know, we can talk about how much we love it.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:But it was really nice to hear how much they love it.
Speaker B:Talked about.
Speaker B:They call them their children.
Speaker B:Thank you for taking such good care of our children.
Speaker C:I guess that's where the rubber meets the road with Shepherd.
Speaker C:It's how the outsiders view it.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:Because they're the ones that, that are paying to be here.
Speaker A:One of the problems that you have with the, like what you said, the tech people is they don't make movies about people working on aircraft and stuff.
Speaker A:And so it, it is, it's.
Speaker A:It's not top of the mind awareness, but it's the same thing as like in the education system.
Speaker A:When people talk about education, they talk about teacher, teacher, teacher, which is great.
Speaker A:You got to have the teachers to that.
Speaker A:But everybody else, the teachers can't do their job without everybody else there first.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:And it's the same, it's the same thing.
Speaker D:Planes don't fly without the maintainers.
Speaker A:Exact.
Speaker D:And that's not to take anything away from the pilots.
Speaker D:It's a total force takes everybody to do it, and we should do it efficiently.
Speaker D:And I think I'm, I'm.
Speaker A:But it's not a sexy job, right?
Speaker D:Not all.
Speaker D:Well, no.
Speaker D:Sometimes I thought it was kind of cool.
Speaker D:Although I didn't like working on the flight line that much.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it, it is good.
Speaker B:And, and they do love it here.
Speaker B:And that was, you know, that's awesome that that made us all feel better about it.
Speaker B:No definitive answers, but the folks that are here love it here and we love having them.
Speaker C:Wichita Falls Mayor Tim Short has been our guest.
Speaker C:So, Mayor, is there anything.
Speaker C:We talked a little bit about new stuff coming here and growth, job growth and opportunity.
Speaker C:Growth and all that.
Speaker C:Is there anything coming that you can Talk about right now, is there any big reveal we could, any breaking news we can break here?
Speaker B:Perhaps, I don't know if it's breaking.
Speaker B:I think people are not necessarily paying attention to that Winco supermarket that's currently being built.
Speaker B:I still get questions of what is that, what's going on over there.
Speaker B:It's a fantastic facility that's going on over there.
Speaker B:They, that they are nationwide and they started in Oregon.
Speaker B:They love Texas.
Speaker B:There'll be good jobs there.
Speaker B:That's a good place.
Speaker B:People are.
Speaker B:We talk about Vitro and what they're doing.
Speaker B:It's $390,390 million investment in building a new line.
Speaker B:It will be the largest solar glass facility that's anywhere in the world other than China.
Speaker B:And we have it.
Speaker B:So all the other solar glass in the world right now is made in China.
Speaker B:We're about to have our own good sitting right beside the largest hemp factory in the world.
Speaker B:The only other largest ones in France that's in the Northern hemisphere is here.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:And they're gonna be neighbors out there.
Speaker C:So on my drive in this morning, I saw a rig pulling in with more product, more raw product.
Speaker B:They're adding a third.
Speaker B:Biotech people think that there's nobody there.
Speaker B:I go, well, they park in the back.
Speaker B:But they're trying to add a third shift.
Speaker B:So it's been very successful and it's a, it's a great place.
Speaker B:At one last thing on Vitro, that's, that's 300 jobs, you know, that are 68,000 to 90 something thousand.
Speaker B:These are good jobs.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker B:And that's what they're doing.
Speaker B:When you drive by and you see where the retention pond is, well, that's where the new line will be.
Speaker B:It'll go all the way there and it'll go straight north all the way through the parking lot.
Speaker B:And you know, it's, it's an amazing facility.
Speaker B:What an investment.
Speaker B:They could have done that anywhere.
Speaker B:And they, they, where are we going to spend this money?
Speaker B:We're going to spend it in Wichita Falls.
Speaker C:It's been a number of years ago.
Speaker C:They brought in a large flat glass production line.
Speaker C:There was like 50 or 60 million dollars investment.
Speaker C:This is many times that.
Speaker B:And they're, they're Mexico owned.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, you know, and they, they come up and we've met with them and, and they, they love it here just for the same reason that all of us do.
Speaker A:So what is being built as you're coming into it?
Speaker A:I guess it would be on the south side of, of the highway over pretty close to the jail.
Speaker D:Oh yeah.
Speaker D:Just.
Speaker D:Just right around where the flyover.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker D:Isn't it.
Speaker A:There's.
Speaker A:Well, no, before you even get to that.
Speaker B:Oh yeah.
Speaker A:If you're.
Speaker A:If you're.
Speaker A:It's really close to the jail.
Speaker B:But I mean Amazon just behind.
Speaker A:That's back behind there.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:There's something that's being built really Just prior to.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:It's like prior.
Speaker D:Well, no, it's right there at the flight.
Speaker D:The.
Speaker D:The one that flies over the.
Speaker D:On 287.
Speaker D:Flies over the railroad track.
Speaker A:Oh yeah.
Speaker A:It was at the flyover.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:That's what I just had a first overpass right there.
Speaker B:I can't picture it.
Speaker A:There's.
Speaker A:There's something being built like a warehouse.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:It looks like a big.
Speaker A:Like a industrial building.
Speaker A:It's not.
Speaker A:It doesn't look like a retail facility that's being built right there real close on the highway.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Pictured.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:That's where they're moving Fort Knox to.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker B:Don't you know?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker D:If there's any gold.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:And those are the things I can talk about.
Speaker B:There are.
Speaker B:There are two or three other things that.
Speaker B:That.
Speaker B:That I'm really looking forward to being able to talk about, you know, within the next six months.
Speaker B:That.
Speaker B:So in the last 13 months, there's been a little over a billion dollars in construction in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Speaker B:And that is a record by far.
Speaker B:It was a record at 600 million.
Speaker B:So it's certainly a record when we.
Speaker B:At 1.2 billion and we're trying to break that this year.
Speaker B:So while we fix the potholes and take care of vicious dogs and you know, and.
Speaker B:And take care of all the rest of the.
Speaker C:And there's.
Speaker B:There's always budget.
Speaker C:You're always going to have those infrastructure issues to deal with.
Speaker C:That's going to be an ongoing thing.
Speaker B:And those are just.
Speaker C:Those are important perpetuity.
Speaker C:I mean it's going to happen.
Speaker B:We work on those every day too.
Speaker B:So hopefully with a little.
Speaker B:If anything I'm proud of a lot this last year is that.
Speaker B:That we've been.
Speaker B:I know there's going to be examples and I'm going to get phone calls.
Speaker B:Car Customer service has gotten better in, you know, whether it's in permitting or fixing those potholes or doing those things.
Speaker B:What caused that's gotten better.
Speaker B:It's attitude and it's intentional and you know it because you.
Speaker B:You have a retail business and you hire people and you talk to your people about, hey, Treat people the way you want to be treated.
Speaker D:What changed internally though recently that seems to have done that.
Speaker D:Did you, have you had any influence over that?
Speaker B:It's intentional.
Speaker B:And you visit with, you visit with folks.
Speaker B:People don't want to be mean.
Speaker B:People want to, they live here too.
Speaker B:The city's an easy target.
Speaker B:And we have some great folks that work at the city and now they're, they're, they're free to help.
Speaker B:There's been some training, but they're, they, they, they realize they're dealing with their friends and neighbors and they want to help.
Speaker A:That's a really good way to put it.
Speaker B:Everybody has a bad day and there are examples of when it doesn't work.
Speaker A:You are dealing with your friends and neighbors.
Speaker B:That's really who you deal with.
Speaker B:Treat people the way you would like to be treated.
Speaker B:But, but I tell them, treat people the way you'd want your mom to be treated.
Speaker B:And it kind of, you know, changes it just a little bit is when you answer that phone or when you, when you take that call, treat people.
Speaker A:Like, like they're your customer because they really are.
Speaker A:If they didn't live here and pay their taxes, you, at some point you wouldn't have, not everybody have a job.
Speaker B:They're captive customers.
Speaker B:And I think, you know, you get lazy, you know, and it's just human nature.
Speaker B:So restating how important that is in how we treat people has paid major dividends.
Speaker C:Well to you and everyone who's had a hand in that.
Speaker C:Thank you for doing that.
Speaker C:Real quick.
Speaker C:City hall and undergoing a lot of renovations, a lot of work.
Speaker C:You had two or three years of foundation rebuilding and shoring up and getting everything right there.
Speaker C:Now the focus has moved to the interior of the building.
Speaker C:How far along is that project and when is City hall anticipated and Memorial Auditorium anticipated to reopen?
Speaker B:March of 26.
Speaker B:One year from now.
Speaker C:One year.
Speaker B:Every time I see Anthony Inman, I said, are you finished?
Speaker B:And he says, two weeks.
Speaker B:Are we there yet, dad?
Speaker B:So it's, it looks wonderful.
Speaker B:We will tour it again.
Speaker B:We see it every quarter.
Speaker B:So if you guys want to go, if anybody wants to go, it'll be on the agenda probably in April.
Speaker B:So check the agenda and it'll.
Speaker B:Right at the end, before we adjourn, it'll say tour of municipal, Arturo or municipal, you know, City hall.
Speaker B:So, and the public's welcome to go.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:And we walk through the whole thing and it, it's, I've seen it from, from total tear out abatement to now, you know, Being framed.
Speaker B:It's starting to take shape, and it's amazing, and it's wonderful to see, and it will be worthy of our city.
Speaker B: nd it was, you know, it was a: Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I'm a: Speaker C:Part of that building was built on an old lake bed, wasn't it?
Speaker B:And it was sliding down the hill.
Speaker C:You know, and those two.
Speaker C:Those two wings were just pulling away.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:The citizens said, no, we don't want a new one.
Speaker B:You know, voted that down, didn't want to do it, but.
Speaker B:So we're fixing what we have.
Speaker B:But it's more than a Band Aid.
Speaker B:And it will be incredible.
Speaker B:And it will be incredible because I believe in that one women's restroom, there's 14 stalls instead of three now.
Speaker B:So, you know, and they're all on the.
Speaker B:On the floor when you walk in, including the men, so you don't have to take the stairs half a flight up to find a restroom anymore.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker B:Council chambers will be where the water department is now.
Speaker B:So you'll walk in, and it's huge.
Speaker B:We'll see so many more people.
Speaker B:You know, we've been amazed now that we're at the impact in that auditorium.
Speaker B:And, you know, sometimes there's not that many people there, but when there needs to be, we have room for them and we'll have room to put the public.
Speaker B:And it can't be more transparent than being right there on the first floor left.
Speaker B:Come on in.
Speaker B:But we'd love to have folks come and tour it with us.
Speaker B:Like I said, I believe it'll be April, will be our next one, so just check the agenda.
Speaker C:Well, I've long said that I think the most important things that we can have in government at any level, local, state, federal, doesn't matter.
Speaker C:It's accountability and accessibility and opportunity for people to take part in it.
Speaker C:And it sounds like all that's being created here.
Speaker B:Transparency.
Speaker C:The transparency, yes, but the accessibility and the accountability.
Speaker C:Government's got to be accessible to people.
Speaker C:People have got to be able.
Speaker C:And that's the nice thing about here, is somebody can pick up the phone and call you.
Speaker C:God knows how many people in this town have your cell phone number.
Speaker C:They can call you, they can reach you.
Speaker C:They're going to run into you at the grocery store, they're going to run into you at the church, they're going to run into you in all kinds of places.
Speaker C:And the same thing with the council members, rest of them, and they do.
Speaker C:You're gonna.
Speaker C:You're gonna encounter them.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:So having that accessibility is extremely important.
Speaker C:It sounds like even there in city hall, you're creating that environment and making it even better.
Speaker B:We do, and we want that, and we encourage it and.
Speaker B:And we advocate for it.
Speaker B:And the.
Speaker B:The next thing that's coming up, while we're hiring a city manager, while we're doing these things, we'll do our budget process over these next several months, post it online.
Speaker B:They're open meetings.
Speaker B:The public can sit there at the impact and watch the whole thing.
Speaker B:It's not in the chambers.
Speaker B:It's just in another big roundtable.
Speaker B:A lot of folks from the public were there last year.
Speaker B:We want that.
Speaker B:We encourage that they get up and speak when we're talking about, you know, this is something we're trying to do, whether it's pay raises or finally negotiating a contract with the fire department for.
Speaker B:For a couple of years so we can take that off the table and.
Speaker B:And know what that expense will be every year.
Speaker B:You know, any other ideas that we have are, you know, lowering taxes potentially, you know, instead of raising taxes.
Speaker B:But come to those meetings, please.
Speaker B:You know, we don't.
Speaker B:It's better when.
Speaker B:When you see, you know, like to see 100 people there instead of three.
Speaker B:So, you know, that's.
Speaker B:You can be part of the process in Wichita Falls very easily.
Speaker A:And by the way, everything's online, so if you can't make it in person, you can go online and watch us, which I think is a great.
Speaker A:Was a great game changer.
Speaker B:Watch it on Facebook.
Speaker A:It used to drive.
Speaker A:Drive me nuts when I was on the school board, and you would have these important meetings that had to do with budgets and everything else, and nobody'd show up.
Speaker A:But, boy, you start talking about firing a coach, and holy crap.
Speaker C:Yeah, everybody shows up.
Speaker A:Yeah, you got people hanging from the rafters.
Speaker B:We had.
Speaker B:We had good participation last year, you know, and because of that participation and because of, you know, when you take a break and you get to talk to people in the hallway stuff, probably some.
Speaker B:Some things turned out different than they would have been had somebody not gotten in our ear about them.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Don't be shy.
Speaker A:Input.
Speaker A:It's called taking input.
Speaker B:Yeah, don't be shy.
Speaker B:You can.
Speaker B:You can.
Speaker B:Everything starts locally, and you can literally have an effect on.
Speaker B:On the way votes are gonna go and ideas that come up.
Speaker B:We can't have all the good ideas.
Speaker B:It's just not possible.
Speaker B:So I'll steal them and I'll give you credit for them.
Speaker B:But, you know, we need help with that stuff and we, we're encouraging that.
Speaker C:Amen, brother.
Speaker C:Wichita Falls Mayor Tim Short, thank you for being with us.
Speaker C:We appreciate it.
Speaker C:If people want to get in touch with you, if they want to find out more about what's going on with the city, what's the best way to.
Speaker B:Do it, just call me.
Speaker B:It's like I said, everybody's got that number.
Speaker B:So it's.
Speaker B: -: Speaker B:Call me, text me, email me.
Speaker B:I'm pretty.
Speaker B:You'll see at the grocery store, I'll see at church.
Speaker B:I'm pretty easy.
Speaker B:Get all.
Speaker C:You're probably one of the most accessible people we've ever had in the mayoral position.
Speaker B:I think that can be good and bad.
Speaker C:It depends on which side.
Speaker B:Depends on if.
Speaker A:I think Stephen Santiano was as well.
Speaker A:I think you guys are both.
Speaker A:I think he kind of started that new trend of being very accessible.
Speaker A:Mayor accessible.
Speaker A:And I think you, you've continued that dream.
Speaker C:He's got it all.
Speaker C:He's got another officer with his name on the door.
Speaker B:You know, Steven said it's a good model.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Oh, yeah.
Speaker A:I think, I think he, he was kind of the first of the very accessible, seemed like very accessible mayors.
Speaker A:And I think you can do that.
Speaker B:On, talk to a lot of folks in, in the restaurants and, and you know, it's hard when your food's getting cold sometimes, but you just kind of figure it out.
Speaker B:You know, it's a process.
Speaker A:It's not, by the way, just for anybody who's watching.
Speaker A:If you're, if somebody, Tim, or anybody's in the middle of dinner with, especially their family, don't bug them.
Speaker A:Just say, hey, can I talk to you at some other point and stuff like that.
Speaker A:Because there comes a point when enough's enough as well.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:So just remember we make it work.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Mayor, thank you for being here.
Speaker C:We look forward to having you back soon.
Speaker B:Thank you so much.
Speaker C:Guys.
Speaker C:We'll break here.
Speaker C:We'll be back.
Speaker C:We'll wrap it up.
Speaker C:More Get It Right Texoma on the way.
Speaker C:Stay tuned.
Speaker C:Alright, guys, welcome back to Get It Right Texoma.
Speaker C:We are running way along here.
Speaker C:We want to thank Wichita Falls Mayor Tim Short for coming in and joining us.
Speaker C:Lots of great information there.
Speaker C:And again, I encourage you, if you live in Wichita Falls or anywhere in the surrounding area and you want to know what's going on in Wichita Falls and how it's going to benefit your community or where you live or how it's going to benefit the city.
Speaker C:Reach out to the mayor, reach out to city hall, reach out to your local officials, your city councilors, and talk to them.
Speaker C:All you got to do, make a phone call, look them up, ask them, hey, can I get 10 minutes of your time?
Speaker C:I promise you they'll talk to you.
Speaker C:Don't just speculate and don't just complain.
Speaker C:Ask questions, get information, get facts.
Speaker C:That's the big thing.
Speaker C:Get the facts.
Speaker D:And I'm not necessarily a subscriber, if you will, of the notion that you can't make a concern, bring up a concern without a solution because sometimes you just don't have the expertise.
Speaker D:But if, but in a work environment, sometimes I think that's, that's really, you're, you should be more familiar enough that you can make some suggestions.
Speaker D:But it, you know, but don't be, but be respectful.
Speaker C:Let's, let's all communicate.
Speaker C:Let's just communicate.
Speaker C:Communication can solve a lot of problems.
Speaker C:Yes, it can fix a lot of problems real quick.
Speaker C:Well, thank you for being with us.
Speaker C:We appreciate you joining us for this episode of get it Right.
Speaker C:Texoma once again brought to you by Eddie hills Fun Cycles, 401 North Scott, downtown Wichita Falls here.
Speaker C:But you know, he would be there, but he's not there.
Speaker C: He had to go since: Speaker C: cycles.commactech Solutions,: Speaker C:Your local Apple specialist.
Speaker C:If you need Apple authorized service, this is where you get it done.
Speaker C:They sell every Apple product under the.
Speaker D:Sun except the Vision Pro and the iPhone.
Speaker C:And the iPhone.
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Speaker C:But they can repair your iPhone.
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Speaker C:Mactech-solutions.com Their website also brought to you by Lollipop Sweet Shop, your online bakery.
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Speaker C:We just sold out of all the king cakes that they had for us that we had available for them at Country Blooms and Gift, located at Highway 240 and Daniels Road in Burke Burnett.
Speaker C:And we have more product headed their way.
Speaker C:You'll be able to find some of our king cakes, pecan pie slices, some of our cookies and fudge and other delights are going to be available at Country Blooms Gifts and boutique at Highway 240 and Daniels Road in Burt Burnett, Texas.
Speaker C:And we want to thank them for their partnership with our business as well.
Speaker C:Guys, thank you for joining us.
Speaker C:Again.
Speaker C:Get a writetech soma.com the website.
Speaker C:Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and be sure to like our Facebook page and share it with everybody you know.
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Speaker C:Until next time, take care.
Speaker C:We shall see you down the road.
