Before I launched the Grapevine Gazette a few months ago, I had convinced myself I would be able to research and write a second newsletter while holding down an unrelated full-time job. In retrospect, that seems foolish.

Despite a lifelong love for comic books, I’m no superhero. I quickly learned I couldn’t commute to and from my job, publish the Coppell Chronicle on a weekly basis, AND produce two editions of the Grapevine Gazette each month while also having time and energy for hobbies, exercise, and friendships — not to mention my responsibilities as the world’s greatest husband and father. (Those are official titles; I have the T-shirt, socks, and coffee mug to prove it.)

The prospect of writing the Gazette began to look like a headache-inducing chore. That’s why it hasn’t been published in four weeks, and that’s why it won’t be published again anytime soon. I mean, if I couldn’t find the motivation to report on Matt Foust upsetting Tammy Nakamura, and all of the associated campaign finance reports filed by the candidates and Patriot Mobile, then you know it’s time to turn out the lights.

The few people who signed up as paid subscribers to the Gazette will get a full refund. If you’re a mom, consider it a bonus Mother’s Day gift.

If you want hyperlocal news about Grapevine and Colleyville, I suggest signing up for the weekday emails published by Community Impact and/or following The Grapevine Edit on social media.

Thanks for your interest and support during this short-lived endeavor. Perhaps I’ll relaunch the Gazette at a time of my choosing.

Sincerely,

Dan Koller

Shoutout to everybody whose bold-face name appears in this edition. There’s a whole lot of you.

GCISD Candidate Raise Lots of Money

Last Sunday’s edition of the Coppell Chronicle included a summary of the campaign finance reports filed by candidates for the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees. Only one of the four candidates reported more than $100 worth of contributions, and she raised less than $3,000.

Y’all are playing a whole different game in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD.

April 3 was 30 days out from the May 3 election, so that’s when the candidates owed us our first peek at their campaign finances. Incumbent Trustee Tammy Nakamura reported more than $47,000 worth of donations, and challenger Matt Foust raised nearly $23,000.

Nakamura’s cover sheet says she brought in $46,676.60, but I punched all of her listed contributions into an Excel spreadsheet and came up with a slightly higher total: $47,176.60 (and I checked my work twice). In any case, it’s a lot of money.

Nakamura’s report details 139 donations from 135 individuals. Her biggest fans were Tom Cobb of Colleyville, who donated $5,000, and Julianna Garrison of Colleyville, who pitched in $4,799.70. They were followed by fellow Colleyville residents Terri Deneui ($2,000) and Jerome Obinado ($1,800).

Colleyville Mayor Pro Tem Brandi Elder was one of six supporters who donated $1,000. Nakamura is a former member of the Colleyville City Council, and her donors included other council alums such as Chris Putnam ($959.70), George Dodson ($500), Richard Newton ($500), and Kathy Wheat ($100). She also received $500 and $250, respectively, from current council members Tim Raine and Mark Alphonso.

Nakamura reported donations from two of her peers on the Board of Trustees: A.J. Pontillo ponied up $300, and Board President Shannon Braun gave $250. Other elected officials supporting her campaign include Tarrant County Commissioner Matt Krause ($500), Keller Mayor Armin Mizani ($383.70), and Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare ($191.70).

A few other notes about Nakamura’s report:

• When Nakamura ran for her first term on the school board in 2022, her 30-days-out report included just shy of $27,000 worth of donations. Perhaps a more apt comparison would be Braun’s report from her reelection campaign last year; that one detailed $39,403 worth of contributions.

• Nakamura had spent only about $2,200 by the end of the latest reporting period, leaving her with more than $44,000 in her account.

• For reasons that weren’t obvious to this reporter, 39 of Nakamura’s 139 donations — including a few of the ones highlighted above — ended with 70 cents. By contrast, all of Foust’s were rounded to the nearest dollar.

Foust reported $22,675 worth of contributions from 125 individuals. The most generous donor was Marcus Banner of Colleyville, who forked over $3,000. Other top contributors were Jim Rhea of Bedford ($1,500), Sara Marshall of Colleyville ($1,150), and Stephen O’Neal of Fort Worth ($1,000). Foust also received $750 from Mindy McClure, who served two terms on the Board of Trustees until losing to Braun in a 2021 runoff.

Foust’s report says he had spent nearly $10,950 by the end of the reporting period.

Early voting begins on April 22. The candidates will owe us another report on April 25.

What About Patriot Mobile Action PAC?

Patriot Mobile was mentioned only once in Tammy Nakamura’s 30-days-out report. She received a $300 contribution from Sean Tanner of Keller, who is a vice president of the company.

Patriot Mobile was also mentioned during the March 31 meeting of the Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Board of Trustees. Katie Foust — the wife of Nakamura’s challenger, Matt Foust — signed up to speak during the meeting’s “Public Comment” portion so she could decry the use of a photo of her children in a “salacious video” that helped spread “outrageous lies” about her husband. She said this online advertising was funded by the Patriot Mobile Action Political Action Committee.

“I expected the fear-based lies and misinformation,” said Katie Foust, who is a graduate of Colleyville Heritage High School. “What I didn’t expect was seeing my children become collateral damage in a school board race.”

A video of her remarks was uploaded to Matt Foust’s campaign’s Facebook page that same evening. The accompanying post included this: “If an outside group ever does for my campaign what Patriot Mobile Action did to benefit my opponent’s campaign, I will denounce that group with staggering velocity and clarity.”

Three days later, Nakamura published a Facebook post in which she asked all supporters to “refrain from petty, personal attacks on the candidates, particularly on social media.” Nakamura went on to say that the Patriot Mobile Action PAC has an established pattern of supporting candidates it deems to be the most conservative. “Candidates cannot control nor interact with PACs. That’s the law,” she said. “For those who have issue[s] with the PAC, I encourage them to contact the PAC.”

The Patriot Mobile Action PAC filed a 30-days-out report with the Texas Ethics Commission that covered its activities between Jan. 1 and March 24. It says the PAC raised $160,508 in that period, including $143,000 in cash from Patriot Mobile LLC plus $17,333 worth of in-kind administrative costs covered by the firm. The remaining $175 came from six far-flung individuals: $100 from Cheryl Barekman of Euless; $25 from William Davis of San Angelo; $20 from Gregg Parker of Santee, Calif.; $10 from Teresa French of Idyllwild, Calif.; $10 from Jason Kalem of Salem, Ore.; and $10 from Benjamin Lyons of Vinton, La.

The report also says the PAC spent $44,241, with $17,902 worth of insurance premiums being the largest expenditure. The second-biggest outlay was three payments to Bluestone Creatives totaling $11,610 for consulting expenses. The PAC also reported a $5,000 payment to Axiom Strategies for a get-out-the-vote palm card. That is the only expenditure in the report specifically associated with Nakamura, although she is listed as a candidate the PAC is supporting on the report’s “Purpose and Totals” page.

If you want to check my math on the PAC’s report, here’s a copy.

Patriot Mobile Action

90.9KB ∙ PDF file

Download

The Patriot Mobile Action PAC filed this report with the Texas Ethics Commission on April 3, 2025.

Download

Judge Rules Against Short-Term Rentals

A judge has ruled in favor of Grapevine’s ban on short-term rentals.

Judge Megan Fahey of the 348th Judicial District Court issued her one-page ruling on March 21. Without any explanation of her reasoning, she denied the suit filed on behalf of Pamela Holt, Richard Mueller, and Kari and Kevin Perkins, all of whom own Grapevine houses that have been offered as short-term rentals (STRs) on sites such as Airbnb and Vrbo.

Other plaintiffs have dropped out of the suit that was filed in the fall of 2018, about a month after the City Council unanimously passed an ordinance that prohibited “transient rentals” in single-family homes. Before that unanimous vote, the council conducted a 10-month “study and observation period” regarding the impact of STRs.

That study is ridiculed in the latest version of the plaintiffs’ suit: “The City concedes that despite a ten-month study, it has no statistical evidence that short-term rentals cause more issues than other residential uses. To the contrary, the City did not issue a single citation for nuisance-related conduct at a short-term rental for nearly a decade. And STR-related calls account for approximately 0.06% of all service calls.”

The unanimous vote on Sept. 4, 2018, was preceded by a public hearing that featured 57 speakers, according to the meeting’s minutes; 36 of them opposed the ordinance, and 21 supported it. The minutes also say 58 people who didn’t wish to speak submitted comment cards in support of the ordinance, while 29 people submitted comment cards opposing it.

The city’s documents in the case also included sworn affidavits from 12 residents registering their opposition to short-term rentals.

In January of 2024, the council unanimously approved another ordinance that allows STRs only in specific multifamily developments near Grapevine Mills mall. Here’s what the plaintiffs’ suit, which was amended after that vote, says about the 2024 ordinance:

“By their nature, single-family STRs typically constitute separate buildings with separate walls and fences from other properties, while multifamily STRs are often just a room or part of a duplex sharing common space with completely unrelated parties. In other words, the City, citing safety concerns over STRs, has decided that STRs should only be allowed in the districts where they are presumably most dangerous. If the City’s goal was to protect the Grapevine community from the hazards of STRs (which hazards have not even been shown to exist), it has failed miserably.”

The City Council discussed this case with City Attorney Matthew Boyle during an executive session on April 1, and they are supposed to do the same on April 15. If the council or the city has issued a public statement in reaction to Fahey’s ruling, I’m not aware; city spokeswoman Mona Quintanilla didn’t respond to an email asking about such a statement.

However, I did receive a lengthy reaction from Patrick Sutton, an attorney representing the Grapevine plaintiffs as well as STR operators in other Texas cities. This is a portion of what he told me via email:

“My clients around the state contend that what cities need to do is enforce existing ordinances governing residential zoning, parking, trash, nuisances, and noise. And the issue of the ‘party house,’ in addition to not being backed up by empirical evidence comparing different lengths of residency, is also not one of duration, but of residential zoning: as I’ve argued in the Texas Supreme Court, a home used as an event venue has crossed the line into an impermissible commercial use. Cities already know how to prosecute such violations, but for some reason they won't enforce existing residential zoning when a property owner has allowed an ordinary home to become a major event locale.”

Sutton expressed confidence that his clients will prevail as their cases move through appeals courts and eventually go before the Texas Supreme Court.

“Never before in history has the government dictated how long people are allowed to stay in private homes, and we shouldn’t start now,” he said.

Traffic Flows Again at 121-635 Split

Grapevine’s most infamous stretch of highway became unclogged over the weekend.

For the past six months, commuters have been frustrated about the Texas Department of Transportation’s changes to the eastbound lanes of State Highways 114 and 121 in Grapevine. Traditionally, drivers in the third lane from the left could choose between northbound 121 and eastbound Interstate 635. But TxDOT installed barriers that forced vehicles in that third lane onto 635. Although there were signs warning of the changes, confused motorists caused backups at all hours.

I reached out to TxDOT for an explanation back in December, and Public Information Officer Val Lopez sent me this statement: “To enhance safety and help drivers merge at this location, the painted gore was extended farther back on Oct. 13. Signage was installed recently to help further guide motorists, and additional signage in advance of the merge will be added this month as well. We continue working in cooperation with the city of Grapevine and are monitoring this matter.”

I’m sure I wasn’t the only person TxDOT heard from. Kudos to everyone who kept complaining about this change, because it was reversed this weekend.

On Friday morning, the Grapevine Police Department warned residents that TxDOT planned to close northbound 121 between 114 and Bass Pro Drive at 7 p.m. on Saturday for construction. The announcement from the police department said the highway would reopen by noon today.

Shortly after 1 p.m., I recorded this video from the passenger seat of my 16-year-old son’s Ford Mustang. (Pray for me.)

As we cruised down eastbound 114/121, I told him to stay in the third lane from the left. Speaking to the confusing nature of the situation, you can hear him pushing back against my instructions. Sure enough, we were able to smoothly transition to northbound 121.

Gazette Vignettes

• Nobody signed up to speak when the Colleyville City Council conducted its first public hearing on the development I wrote about in “Vote Delayed on Luxury Garages Proposal.” If his requested zoning change is approved, developer Skye Thibodeaux plans to build the garages on the east side of Colleyville Boulevard, between Industrial Boulevard and Oak Pointe Drive.

During that April 1 hearing, Thibodeaux told the council he’d received three inquiries in nine days from potential customers, including two Colleyville residents. He said they asked these questions: “When are these coming to the market, and how much are they, and how can I get on the list to purchase one?” When City Manager Jerry Ducay reiterated the “how much” question, Thibodeaux said about half a million dollars per unit.

On March 10, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6-0 to approve the zoning change. The council’s vote should happen on April 15.

• The Colleyville City Council’s April 15 meeting will also include a proclamation regarding Colleyville’s status as a Purple Heart City, recognizing the sacrifices of U.S. service members wounded or lost in combat. The community is invited to attend the proclamation ceremony at 7 p.m. in the council’s chambers.

• Colleyville residents will see a $20 million bond proposition on their ballots in the May 3 election. If approved by a majority of voters, this money would fund an expansion of Colleyville’s recreation center. The city has published a set of FAQs to inform voters, and Mayor Bobby Lindamood has recorded a related video.

• Shoutout to the Colleyville Heritage girls soccer team, which made it to a state championship game for the second consecutive year but came up short in a 4-0 loss to A&M Consolidated. Here’s a link to The Dallas Morning News’ coverage of the April 11 game in Georgetown.

• Shoutout to Grapevine High School junior Piyush Mallick, who earned perfect scores on the ACT and the SAT. This academic achievement merited recognition from Channel 4 and Channel 8.

• Things I learned from perusing forms filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation: The building along State Highway 114 that was most recently occupied by Hoffbrau Steak & Grill House will soon be taken over by a Mexican restaurant called Vidorra. The $1.5 million renovation project is scheduled to begin on April 23. … The former home of Waffle Way on Northwest Highway will be reborn as the Day Trip Diner. Pancakes and eggs should be on the menu by November. … You know that new strip center across Northwest Highway from Braum’s? One of its first tenants will be Crave Cookies. They’re aiming to be open by mid-July.

District Joins Social Media Litigation

If social media companies are ever held liable for teenagers’ addictive behavior, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD may receive some compensation.

During a special meeting on March 10, the GCISD Board of Trustees approved an agreement with three law firms. That agreement will allow the district to join consolidated litigation against Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, Google’s YouTube, ByteDance’s TikTok, and Snapchat.

The agreement approved on March 10 calls for the three law firms — Thompson & Horton, Eiland & Bonnin, and O’Hanlon, Demerath & Castillo — to represent GCISD on a contingency-fee basis. That means “there are no up-front costs to the district,” according to a brief statement posted on the GCISD website.

After a pair of 5-0 votes (with Trustees Dalia Begin and Tammy Nakamura being absent), Superintendent Brad Schnautz said GCISD will join forces with other districts across Texas representing a combined student body of about 2 million kids.

However, this litigation goes beyond Texas’ borders, encompassing suits filed by districts and families in multiple states. A document prepared for the trustees by Chief Operations Officer Paula Barbaroux mentions Multi-District Litigation 3047 and Judicial Council Coordination Proceedings 5255. The former is a federal case being heard in San Francisco, while the latter is a state case assigned to a judge in Los Angeles.

Schnautz said the litigation’s focus is protecting students from the adverse effects of social media.

“I just want to say thank you to the board for their commitment to our students and our staff, and just our work daily, as a lot of these distractions pull us away from our core work in teaching and learning,” he said.

The document prepared by Barbaroux closes with this: “Time is of the essence in the provision of these legal services. Potentially impending legal deadlines require urgent action by counsel.”

A pretrial schedule published by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California last September said fact discovery in the federal case will close April 4.

Grapevine Shares SWAT Team With HEB

Did you know Grapevine shares a SWAT team with three other cities’ police departments? Chief of Police Mike Hamlin shared some facts and figures about the joint effort during last week’s Grapevine City Council meeting.

The Northeast Tarrant County Area SWAT Team (NETCAST) was formed in 2012. The other member cities are Bedford, Euless, and Hurst.

Hamlin said those four cities cover 72 square miles featuring more than 196,000 residents. Grapevine represents 47 percent of that land and 26 percent of those people.

Each city contributes eight officers and four negotiators. They are overseen by three assistant commanders and one commander. For the past 10 years, Grapevine Police Captain Clay Gidney has been the head honcho.

“I sleep a lot better at night because he’s in the driver’s seat,” Hamlin said.

The officers assigned to NETCAST undergo 16 hours training each month, which are supplemented by a weeklong offsite training session each year, Hamlin said. The team handles the following:

• Hostage rescues

• Barricaded persons

• High-risk searches and arrest warrants

• Riots and disturbances

• Dignitary protection

• Special events

“Fortunately, most of the time, they don’t see all of these,” Hamlin said.

Hamlin said the team has averaged 13 activations over the past five years, but that number jumped to 20 last year, when they covered five special events (four of which were in Grapevine), handled eight hazardous warrants, and dealt with four barricaded persons.

Hamlin was speaking to the council on March 18 before they unanimously approved Grapevine’s annual $19,000 payment to help cover NETCAST’s uniforms, equipment, and training. Council Member Duff O’Dell said $19,000 doesn’t sound like a lot of money, and she wanted to know whether it was an adequate amount.

“Those things that they cover are absolutely necessary, so I just want to make sure that we have what we need,” O’Dell said.

Hamlin said the annual contribution increased a couple of years ago; it used to be $15,000. He also said the member cities may be asked to consider special purchases in the near future. The NETCAST team would like to buy a few vehicles — including one outfitted for armored rescues — as well as drones and robots.

As you may recall, the sniper who fatally shot multiple police officers in downtown Dallas in 2016 was killed by an explosive delivered by a remote-controlled robot.

“What does that do for us? Well, that prevents us from sending officers in,” Hamlin said of robots. “It’s just that simple.”

Council Member Sharron Rogers asked about the costs of such technology. Gidney threw out rough estimates of $12,000 for a robot, $10,000 for an exterior drone, and $5,000 for an interior drone.

If you’re a Colleyville resident wondering whether your police department has a similar SWAT arrangement, the answer is yes. Colleyville cops participate in the North Tarrant Regional SWAT Team along with their counterparts from Keller, Southlake, Roanoke, and Trophy Club.

Garage Demolished Without Permission

The rules of the Historic Grapevine Township District are clear: You can’t tear something down without permission — even if it’s a detached garage behind the city’s ugliest house.

Grapevine resident Chris Sanchez is restoring the house at 422 S. Dooley St., which he bought in January of 2024. Last year, the Grapevine Historic Preservation Commission approved plans that called for an expansion of the house but did not mention demolishing the garage.

In January of this year, Grapevine officials noticed that the garage was gone. That’s why Sanchez’s property was the subject of a hearing on Feb. 26, when he was requesting a certificate of appropriateness for something that already happened inappropriately.

Sanchez took full responsibility for the demolition. He said he didn’t see any historical significance in a garage that was only a few decades old and had a malfunctioning aluminum door.

“It would hardly even move,” Sanchez said. “It took six guys just to get it in a position that it would close.”

Historic Preservation Officer David Klempin reminded everyone that Grapevine’s ordinance requires that several pieces of information be provided to the commission before a demolition is considered, including …

• A description of the structure’s condition, with an estimated cost of restoration or repair.

• Information about potential adaptive use and whether a restoration has been seriously considered.

• Any documentation of the structure’s history.

• Architectural drawings of a proposed replacement.

None of that information was provided before the garage was demolished, but it was provided before the hearing on Feb. 26, when Klempin suggested a condition for approval: The siding and trim on a new garage must match the siding and trim on the restored house. Sanchez had no problem with that.

“When this thing is all said and done, it’s gonna look fantastic. And it’s gonna match the original siding of the house,” Sanchez said. “Right now, it’s the worst-looking house in Grapevine, and I hate it. Honestly, it’s tough for me to even drive by, which I do five times a day.”

As tough as that is, Commissioner Theresa Meyer wanted to know whether she and her peers could assess some kind of punishment. City Attorney Matthew Boyle said that was outside the commission’s purview, but he did clearly warn Sanchez that he would face penalties if he circumvented the process again. Meanwhile, Commissioner David Ewbank pointed out that Sanchez’s project has been on hold for a couple of months, which is a punishment of sorts.

In the end, the commissioners approved a motion suggested by Boyle: They denied the certificate of appropriateness for the demolition, but they directed the city staff to give favorable consideration to a certificate of appropriateness for a new garage as long as it matches the house.

Subdivision Goes Back to Drawing Board

Plans for a new subdivision along John McCain Road have been revised, withdrawn, and resubmitted.

On Feb. 10, a 4-2 majority of the Colleyville Planning and Zoning Commission rejected a proposal to build 12 homes on the land that is zoned for agricultural uses. Because of that vote, and because more than 20 percent of the property owners within 200 feet opposed the zoning change, approval by the City Council would have required a supermajority.

By the time the proposal appeared on the council’s March 11 agenda, developer Curtis Young had revised the plans. Instead of 12 houses, they called for 10. That led City Manager Jerry Ducay to suggest that the council remand the case back to the Planning and Zoning Commission, which he said would send “an important message” about the integrity of the process.

“It’s different when the project comes to P&Z in one form, and then when it’s forced into a supermajority, now it starts to transform at the council level,” Ducay said during the March 11 work session.

Mayor Bobby Lindamood agreed with that philosophy of following the proper steps: “We should be giving the citizens a chance to listen to what’s going on — the new plans — and so should P&Z. That’s what they’re there to do.”

However, before the council could consider remanding the case, Young withdrew it with the intention of starting over — and not just because of the reduction in the number of houses.

“As we talk and talk with our neighbors, there’s been some other things come up that we want to chase down before we do that,” Young told the council.

Young’s revised plans are on the agenda for the Planning and Zoning Commission’s March 24 work session. The commission’s first opportunity for a public hearing will be on April 14.

Gazette Vignettes

• On March 11, the Colleyville City Council approved an update to the ordinance regarding carports. It now says a special use permit (SUP) is not required prior to construction if the carport is “located completely to the rear of the house OR is not visible from the street.” Any carport on a corner lot would still need a permit. Director of Community Development Ben Bryner summed things up nicely with this graphic featuring a few examples:

The agenda for Monday’s Planning and Zoning Commission work session includes an application to build a double-wide carport next to a house in the 1400 block of Plantation Drive North. The applicant’s letter says the “sturdy structure” would be “not very visible from the street.”

• The Grapevine Historic Preservation Commission’s Feb. 26 meeting included two public hearings about work that had already been done. Before discussing the demolished garage at 422 S. Dooley St., they talked about solar panels that had been installed at 504 S. Dooley. Historic Preservation Officer David Klempin said a contractor installed the panels without applying for a building permit or a certificate of appropriateness. Klempin was told the homeowner canceled the contract and asked for the solar panels to be removed after finding out about the lack of paperwork. To make things official, the commissioners unanimously rejected the application for a certificate of appropriateness.

• On March 19, nearly 200 people gathered at Legends Hall in Southlake for a “Missing Member March Recess Town Hall” staged by a group of activists known as Indivisible TX-24. The focus was U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne, who did not attend but reportedly tuned in via Facebook. A few people in the crowd — which included residents of Grapevine — said they’re thinking about running against Van Duyne next year. If so, they’d better get to work, because the 2026 primaries will be decided less than 12 months from now. And any Democrat seeking election in Congressional District 24 will have their work cut out for them; the gerrymandered district was drawn to favor Republicans, as it stretches from northeast Tarrant County to the Park Cities.

• The space formerly occupied by Tom Thumb at 4000 William D. Tate Ave. will be converted into a Club 4 Fitness, according to a form filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. That form says the $3 million project should begin on April 15 and wrap up by the end of August.

• The Colleyville Car Show is scheduled for April 5. Admission is free, and prizes will be awarded in 15 categories. The registration deadline is March 31.

Everyone who voted has my gratitude, as does everyone who subscribes to either newsletter.

Boaters and Golfers to be Inconvenienced

An upcoming road project in Grapevine will bother a lot of boaters and golfers.

During their March 4 meeting, the Grapevine City Council approved a $3.5 million contract for the reconstruction of Fairway Drive. The main path from State Highway 26 to the Silver Lake Marina, Cowboys Golf Club, and the Grapevine Golf Course will be widened from two lanes to three.

When briefing the council, Director of Public Works Bryan Beck took a good news/bad news approach.

• Good news: “A welcome byproduct of the project is that the roadway will be constructed to TxDOT’s paving standards, which are robust and will reduce maintenance efforts going forward.”

• Bad news: “Unfortunately, our right of way is too narrow to construct a bypass to allow for through traffic. As such, the contract allows for full closure of the roadway.”

Check out this detour plan, which Beck said takes around six minutes during off-peak hours:

“I assume we have a vigorous communication strategy for all those mad golfers,” Council Member Duff O’Dell said. Beck said that assumption was correct; message boards advising the public of Fairway’s closure will go up well in advance of the start of construction.

Beck said the project will begin on June 2, immediately after the Grapevine Golf Course hosts the Texas Women’s Open tournament, and it should last six months. The work will include the construction of a single-lane roundabout where Fairway meets Marina Drive.

“The new roundabout’s gonna make it so much safer,” Council Member Paul Slechta said.

Speaking of the roundabout, I assume Mayor Pro Tem Darlene Freed did not intend to make a pun when she said this: “Communication is really gonna matter, because it’s a long roundabout way to get to Cowboys and to the Grapevine Golf Course,” Slechta reminded her to not forget about the marina, and Freed replied, “And the marina. Ugh. You’re gonna have boat people complaining too.”

The Fairway Drive project will be covered by a grant from the North Central Texas Council of Governments. Coincidentally, the Colleyville City Council on March 4 also approved a road project that will be paid for by another government entity: a $13 million reconstruction of Cheek-Sparger Road, from Heritage Avenue to Bedford Road, that will be covered by Tarrant County bond funds.

The rest of this edition is for paid subscribers only. Free subscribers won’t get to find out which Grapevine-Colleyville ISD trustee cracked up her peers with a comment about spankings.

Plans for REC Expansion Get Worked Out

A three-phase expansion of The REC of Grapevine would cost more than $14 million, but the city could knock 10 percent off that price by tackling all three phases at once.

During the City Council’s March 4 meeting, architect Zach Bisek presented these statistics:

Area 1 – Fitness

• 13,000 square feet of additional space

• 7,900 square feet of renovated space

• $10,047,314

Area 2 – Classrooms and offices

• 1,700 square feet of additional space

• 6,700 square feet of renovated space

• $2,493,640

Area 3 – Child watch and offices

• 900 square feet of additional space

• 2,338 square feet of renovated space

• $1,458,347

Those three dollar amounts add up to $14,026,301, but Bisek said the cost would drop to $12,629,950 if the city expanded and renovated all three areas as a single project. He estimated the timeline for completing the work would be 12 to 14 months.

The REC accommodates about 3,000 patrons per day, which equates to more than a million per year. Bisek said an “astounding” 38 percent of Grapevine residents are members, and half of those people visit the facility at least three times per week. He said the national average for membership in a municipal recreation center is between 20 and 25 percent.

“The REC is gonna extend a lot of lives of our citizens because it is well-used,” Mayor William D. Tate said, “and the reason why it’s well-used is because we make it affordable and because we provide something for everybody in the family to do. We built it, and they have responded by overwhelming utilization.”

Council Member Duff O’Dell followed that up with a reference to one of my favorite films, Field of Dreams: “If you build it, they will come — and they did.”

O’Dell asked whether an expansion would be intended to accommodate more members or to provide a more comfortable environment for the existing members. This was Parks and Recreation Director Chris Smith’s response: “I would expect that what we’re trying to do is meet the needs of the existing customer. I don’t see us expanding the number anymore than it is, because of the high number that we already have — way above what was ever projected.”

O’Dell and the rest of the council seemed to be on board with an expansion.

“You did a great job of adding to it without really changing the look of the building,” O’Dell told Bisek. “It’s one of those renovations that, once it’s done, no one will know it was done.”

Council Member Leon Leal said The REC is the equivalent of Grapevine’s town square, because it’s where so many residents congregate.

“This is a great thing for our community,” Leal said. “The money’s a big number, but, you know, for what it’s gonna do for our community, it’s an easy decision.”

The council did not formally decide to proceed with an expansion of The REC during their March 4 meeting, but they did unanimously vote to spend up to $40,000 on seven new pieces of strength equipment for the facility.

Trustees Try to Reduce Transfer Chaos

Grapevine-Colleyville ISD has new transfer policies that are intended to clamp down on what one trustee called a “free-for-all.”

If I tried to fully explain what changed as a result of the votes the trustees took during their Feb. 24 meeting, this article would be four times as long. Luckily, the district has created a Transfer Information webpage to break it all down.

What is simpler to communicate is that the administration was trying to solve a big problem. Chief of Schools Holly Ray told the trustees that the previous transfer policies — which allowed students to switch schools willy-nilly, without justification — led to some teachers being reassigned after their “Meet the Teacher” night had happened.

“This movement — of residents, especially — among our schools makes it very difficult for us to staff appropriately,” Ray said.

(She singled out “residents” because the trustees voted on two policies. One reins in transfers by district residents; the other applies to transfers by “non-residents” who live within the city limits of Grapevine or Colleyville but outside the school district’s boundaries.)

When Trustee Kathy Florence Spradley asked how the proposed policies had been received by campus administrators, Executive Director of Instructional Leadership Kalee McMullen referenced “principals that have been through that heartbreak of having a brand-new teacher come to your campus and set up their room, and then having ‘Meet the Teacher,’ and then two days before school starting having to say, ‘We gotta move you to a new campus,’ because of enrollment and transfers and moves.”

In regard to such principals, McMullin said this: “They are grateful for these proposed changes just to provide some stability and predictability for their planning, to ensure that they have the best staff and that they hire the right amount of teachers and the right teachers that stay on their campus.”

Spradley said she was in favor of the new policies. Due to so many transfers, she sees five different schools’ signs in the yards on her street. “That’s not really building a neighborhood,” she said. “You’re not really going to school with the kids that you ride bikes with in the afternoon.”

Trustee A.J. Pontillo asked Ray, “Why not have tweaks to the current policy to have a more stringent criteria, so that it’s not kind of a free-for-all where everybody’s going wherever?” He suggested that a family should have to give a “justifiable explanation” for requesting a transfer. Ray said that sounds like how transfers began in GCISD; over time, that policy morphed into the one the administration is now trying to rein in.

The trustees unanimously approved the new transfer policy for non-residents. Before they voted on the policy governing transfers by district residents, Dalia Begin and Pontillo collaborated on a motion to amend it. They proposed giving fifth-graders and eighth-graders at certain schools a one-time exception to apply for a transfer before they hit middle school and high school, respectively, in the fall of 2025. None of the other trustees supported their amendment, which Board President Shannon Braun said wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the district’s fifth-graders and eighth-graders.

“At some point, you have to stop the wheel moving. At some point, that has to happen. So I’m just going to say I personally am not in favor of that,” Braun said before looking at Pontillo. “And I love you to death, and you know that, but, you know, I also spanked my children.”

That comment made most trustees giggle. Once everyone regained their composure, they took a 6-1 vote to approve the new transfer policy for district residents, with Begin dissenting.

Counterfeit Goods Seized at Colleyville Store

Colleyville police and federal agents seized $8.5 million worth of counterfeit luxury goods from a store that ostensibly specializes in light fixtures.

The goods were seized last October, according to a tweet from the Dallas office of Homeland Security Investigations. The nearly 8,000 items included purses, shoes, fashion accessories, and rugs.

Police Chief Michael C. Miller told the Colleyville City Council about this incident during their March 4 work session, when he presented his annual crime report. Miller said the seized items filled an 18-foot truck, and it took three days to inventory the entire haul.

Council Member Kimberly Holt Gunderson asked how this problem got on authorities’ radar. Miller said a company that investigates fakes on behalf of multiple luxury brands took note of someone selling counterfeit items on Facebook Marketplace. That company surveilled the seller and discovered he or she was acquiring many of the items at a store in Colleyville.

When Mayor Bobby Lindamood asked for the name of the store, Miller said it was All Electric Lightings. I stopped by the store — which occupies three adjacent suites at 4121 Colleyville Blvd. — last week to see if the owner or employees had anything to say. There was nobody there, because the locks had been changed “due to monies owed,” according to copies of a Feb. 10 note that had been posted at all three entrances.

I peered through a window and noticed a selection of shoes, neckties, sunglasses, and jewelry that were closer to the main door than any light fixtures. When I did a Google search to see if this case had been covered by any other media outlets, I found a one-star review of the store posted on MapQuest last May: “Gross and dirty store that was overcrowded. Had counterfeit purses and scarves laying all over the place. Hard pass.”

(Breaking news: MapQuest still exists.)

Miller said the seized goods are being stored at a warehouse maintained by the investigator representing the luxury brands. They will be destroyed after the case winds its way through the courts.

Gazette Vignettes

• CORRECTION: In the most recent edition of this newsletter, I mistakenly reported that Sean Shope was unopposed in his bid to replace Darlene Freed on the Grapevine City Council. The other candidate is Brandon Rener, a cook whose application for a spot on the ballot says he has lived in Grapevine for two-and-a-half years. I regret the omission.

• That same edition included an article called “New Subdivision Needs Supermajority” about a plan to build 12 homes along John McCain Road. That article said the Colleyville City Council would conduct public hearings on the proposal during their March 4 and March 11 meetings. The council’s first hearing on the rezoning request has been delayed until March 11.

• The City Council’s March 11 meeting will include their second public hearing on proposed changes to Colleyville’s carport regulations. Here’s my attempt to oversimplify the proposal: If a carport would be behind your house or not visible from the street, then you won’t need to obtain a special use permit before building it. But if you live on a corner lot, you’ll still need a permit.

• Mark your calendars for June 26, 2026. That’s when Craig Morgan will be the headliner at Colleyville’s annual Stars and Guitars celebration. On March 4, the City Council approved a $75,000 contract to book Morgan for next year’s event. (This year’s edition of Stars and Guitars, which is scheduled for June 20, will feature Diamond Rio.)

• The Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting at 5 p.m. on March 10, when they will consider joining a group of school districts that are suing social media platforms. “The District has sustained significant damages due to youth social media usage and addiction and for which there exists a potential recovery from the perpetrating social media corporations,” says a memo attached to the meeting’s agenda.

• Perhaps you’ve read or heard about the chaos roiling Keller ISD, where some trustees have discussed splitting the district. There are rumors about a similar proposal in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD, and Board President Shannon Braun tried to dispel those rumors during the trustees’ Feb. 24 meeting. “We are not splitting our district. We are not discussing that option. We have not done so, nor will we be discussing that as an option,” Braun said. “I want to be crystal clear: We are not splitting our district by cities.”

• Kathy Johnson recently resigned as Keller ISD superintendent because she was opposed to the idea of splitting that district. Meanwhile, the Grapevine-Colleyville ISD trustees approved a contract extension for Superintendent Brad Schnautz on Feb. 24. His newly signed contract runs through June of 2030, and it says his base salary is $312,000. Oddly, the Texas Education Agency’s Superintendent Salary Reports say he makes a bit more than that: $331,545. According to that webpage, here’s what the superintendents in neighboring school districts were earning as of October of 2023.

• Lewisville ISD: $334,750

• Carroll ISD: $328,250

• Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD: $297,000

• Keller ISD: $285,341

• Coppell ISD: $281,324

That’s all for now. If you were informed and/or entertained by this edition of the Grapevine Gazette, please share it with a friend or neighbor so the audience can grow.

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Grapevine’s hospital has committed to giving the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District one million dollars over five years.

Superintendent Brad Schnautz said the sponsorship agreement with Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Grapevine was “unprecedented” and “the first of its kind for GCISD.”

Schnautz became a member of the hospital’s board in 2023, the same year he was hired as superintendent.

“You guys have been partners with us for a number of years,” he said during the school board meeting on Jan. 13, when the deal was approved. “We are excited to strengthen this partnership, and we’re excited for the work we’re gonna do together in the future.”

In addition to annual payments of $200,000, the hospital will provide the district with education materials on healthcare needs at different stages of life and healthcare services offered locally. Promoting those local services was key for Naman Mahajan, who has been the hospital’s president since 2022.

“There really should be no reason our community has to leave to go to downtown Dallas or downtown Fort Worth to receive world-class care,” Mahajan said.

Here are some of the benefits to Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Grapevine in the agreement:

• The hospital’s “Live Well” slogan will be painted on the football field at Mustang Panther Stadium.

• The hospital’s pop-up banners will be placed in the stadium’s press box and near its concession stands.

• The hospital will be promoted in a video played before varsity football games and in a pair of audio announcements during those games.

• The hospital will have sponsor tables at the “Red Rail” game between Grapevine and Colleyville Heritage, at both high schools’ homecoming games, and at 12 other athletics or fine arts events.

• The hospital’s health and wellness education materials will be included in staff and family newsletters.

“This is a great example of what I would love for our leadership to do across our community,” Trustee Mary Humphrey said. “We’re all really, at the bottom of it, trying to do the same thing, and that’s create the very best community that we can for all of our people that live here — from an educational standpoint, health standpoint, lifestyle — and so I really appreciate your vision to partner with the school district to be able to further that goal.”

New Subdivision Needs Supermajority

A developer’s plan to build 12 new houses in Colleyville will require approval by a supermajority of the City Council. That means six out of seven elected officials will need to be OK with it.

The area in question is zoned agricultural. It is both north and east of John McCain Road and west of Monticello Parkway. The two homes on the land would be demolished to make way for the planned dozen.

A supermajority of the council will be required for two reasons:

• More than 20 percent of the property owners within 200 feet are opposed to the zoning change.

• A majority of the Colleyville Planning and Zoning Commission did not support it.

Many people showed up to express their concerns about the proposal during a Feb. 10 public hearing before the commission. I wish I could tell you what they said, but the microphone attached to the podium at Colleyville City Hall might be the weakest microphone in Texas. Even with the volume on my computer cranked to the maximum, and my headphones pressed right up against my eardrums, most of the speakers’ comments were inaudible.

The microphones on the dais are much stronger, but only if you bother to use them. Commissioner Richard J. Remley didn’t turn on his microphone before he made a motion for approval. I know the particulars of his motion — remove the secondary access point requested by the developer but recommend to the council that they waive the 10-lot limit — only because Commissioner David Groves restated it for him.

Remley’s motion was seconded by Brandon Arnold, but it failed on a 4-2 vote because every other commissioner in attendance voted against it. (The seventh commissioner, Claudia Bevill, was absent.)

If the developer chooses to appeal to the City Council, the case will be on their March 4 agenda for another public hearing. A third hearing and a council vote would happen on March 11.

Permit Granted to Chinese Massage Spa

The Grapevine City Council has approved a special use permit for a new massage business.

Tang Massage Spa will take over a space on Ira E. Woods Avenue that was formerly occupied by the Lucky Jiu Jitsu & Fitness Club. That’s in the strip shopping center east of Timberline Drive that also features a Subway at one end and the Pride Academy & Preschool at the other.

The plans submitted to the city indicate there will be four chairs for foot massages in the lobby. Beyond the lobby will be nine private rooms, and two of those rooms will each include a pair of tables for couples’ sessions.

The application for a special use permit was submitted by Tang Tai Health LLC, with its managing members identified as Yuzhu Lei and Jiangdon Lin. Their LLC’s mailing address is a Fort Worth home owned by Mingdeng Lin, according to Tarrant County property records.

The owners’ spokesman at a Feb. 18 hearing before the City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission was Ryan Cao, who assured the two panels that all of Tang’s massage therapists will be licensed professionals who will strictly adhere to health and safety regulations.

“We are offering the traditional Chinese massage, which can provide numerous benefits to our customers and enhance the happiness of our community,” Cao said.

Cao displayed pictures of another massage parlor the owners operate in Highland Park. Some members of the council assumed he meant the wealthy enclave surrounded by Dallas, but Cao clarified that he was referencing a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York.

Council Member Paul Slechta asked Cao whether the Grapevine location would be Tang’s first spa in Texas. Cao answered in the affirmative, and I couldn’t help but notice that their exchange earned Slechta a fist bump from fellow Council Member Leon Leal.

Planning and Zoning Commissioner Beth Tiggelaar pointed out that some of the pictures Cao showed included partitions around massage rooms rather than full walls. Cao said that was due to ventilation issues at the Highland Park location. He said the Grapevine spa’s private rooms will be fully enclosed.

Cao also displayed a picture of a menu that said the prices for back massages ranged from $20 for 15 minutes to $80 for 90 minutes. In my experience, everything is more expensive in New York, so maybe the Grapevine clients will pay less than that?

A 5-2 majority of the Planning and Zoning Commission endorsed the permit application, and the City Council approved it on a 6-0 vote, with Sharron Rogers being absent.

Colleyville Has Its Own Challenge Coin

The next time you interact with a member of the Colleyville City Council, you may walk away with a memento of that conversation: a challenge coin.

Colleyville’s police and fire departments have long had challenge coins of their own, but a new one created this year represents the entire city. When preparing a briefing that she gave the council on Feb. 18, Assistant City Manager Adrienne Lothery learned that the history of challenge coins dates back to the Roman Empire. In modern times, they are largely associated with the military, as well as police and fire departments, which follow many military traditions.

“It’s becoming more and more popular with corporate organizations as well,” Lothery said. “I’m sure many folks in our community that have been in a corporate environment may be familiar with that.”

City Manager Jerry Ducay urged the council members to carry a few challenge coins with them in case they wanted to spontaneously pass them out. Lothery suggested the coins could be used to express gratitude, to recognize someone who demonstrated Colleyville’s community values, or as an exchange for a challenge coin from another municipality or organization.

“They’re just neat opportunities to strengthen those ties and relationships,” Lothery said, “and have an object to commemorate that experience and look back on.”

Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Scotty Richardson agreed that challenge coins are a great way to thank someone for a particular contribution to the community. “This is just a small token,” he said, “but it’s meaningful.”

The Feb. 18 briefing did not include any details about how many challenge coins have been produced or how much they cost. But Lothery framed the coins as an investment.

“Having opportunities to recognize some of those wonderful things that our citizens do is just further investing in, you know, reminding people why Colleyville is such a special place,” she said.

Gazette Vignettes

• Feb. 14 was the deadline to file a candidacy for the May 3 election. Between the Grapevine City Council, the Colleyville City Council, and the Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Board of Trustees, seven seats were up for grabs, but only one of those races was contested. Trustee Tammy Nakamura faces a challenge from Matt Foust in her bid for a second term, but fellow Trustee Kathy Florence Spradley will be automatically reelected. The same goes for Colleyville Mayor Bobby Lindamood and incumbent Council Members Mark Alphonso and Brandi Elder. In Grapevine, Council Member Leon Leal will get a third term without a challenger, and Grapevine Historic Preservation Commission Chair Sean Shope will fill the seat that Darlene Freed is giving up after 27 years. (ADDED AFTER PUBLICATION: Please see the correction in the comments.)

• On Feb. 10, the Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Board of Trustees met behind closed doors for more than four hours to discuss Superintendent Brad Schnautz. The agenda for their Feb. 24 meeting includes this item: “Act on Superintendent’s Contract.”

• I don’t know why the school board’s special meeting on Feb. 6 was held at the district’s Professional Development and Education Center, and I don’t know who decided to place the camera behind the trustees. But I’m grateful for that decision, because it allowed me to see Nakamura’s special greeting for Trustee A.J. Pontillo, who arrived a little late.

If you enjoyed that greeting, then you might also like the way Board President Shannon Braun (in the red jacket) sent Pontillo on his way when he left early.

• On Feb. 4, the Grapevine City Council approved spending $49,615.30 on new furniture for the Dove Waterpark and Dove Sprayground. “Replacing this furniture will ensure that our guests continue to have a comfortable and enjoyable experience at the park, and it will help maintain the overall appearance and functionality of the facilities,” City Manager Bruno Rumbelow wrote in a memo to the council.

• As I cruised down John McCain Road, so I could lay my peepers on the agricultural land mentioned in this edition’s second article, I was confused by this sign outside Pro RV.

I got the dad joke on my return trip, when I got to see the other side.

Colleyville Calls $20M Bond Election

Colleyville voters will decide whether the city should borrow $20 million to fund an expansion of the recreation center.

On Feb. 4, the City Council unanimously approved placing this proposition on the May 3 ballot: “The issuance of $20,000,000 in general obligation bonds for parks and recreational facilities and related improvements including expansion of the Colleyville Recreation Center and the imposition of a tax sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds.”

If a majority of voters say they are “For” that proposition, then the Colleyville Recreation Center would be expanded by about 31,000 square feet. The new components would include a two-level fitness center, a third gym, and an elevated walking track.

The average taxable value of a Colleyville home is $731,417. If the bond proposition passes, the average Colleyville homeowner would pay an additional $226.74 worth of property taxes each, which equates to $18.89 per month.

The only person who signed up to speak during the Feb. 4 public hearing was Kathy Hadley. Although she has plenty of experience speaking at public meetings, Hadley said uttering the phrase “20 million dollars” made her nervous.

“You’re screwing the businesses in Colleyville that have the ability to do the walking-rec center stuff,” Hadley said. “Y’all are now going to build one at the taxpayers’ expense and hurt other businesses in Colleyville. You’re just kind of like stabbing yourself in both feet.”

Hadley referenced only Life Time by name, but Colleyville features other fitness-related businesses such as D1 Training and Orangetheory, and another one — Crunch Fitness — is coming to town soon.

Hadley also questioned why the city had to borrow funds. She quoted Mayor Bobby Lindamood and his predecessor, Richard Newton, as saying, “Colleyville has plenty of money.” Lindamood took exception to that.

“I don’t know that I used the words ‘plenty of money.’ I said that we are financially stable,” Lindamood said. “We have our rainy day fund full. We are very strategic in how we use our money here in Colleyville.”

Lindamood also framed the bond proposition as something residents requested. Last May, this question was on the ballot: “Should the City of Colleyville place a proposition on a future election ballot asking the City’s voters to authorize the issuance of ad valorem tax bonds for expansion of the Colleyville Recreation Center, which may include a fitness center, locker room, indoor track, and multi-use field?” The answer was “Yes” from 74 percent of voters.

“We did exactly what the people asked us to do, and now we’re doing exactly what’s right with democracy: The citizens will vote on it,” Lindamood said. “They’re telling us what to do. They are the bosses, and we are to sit up here and listen. If we go against what the citizens want, then you might as well throw us out. That means we are running like a dictatorship.

“But really and truly, we are the most open, most transparent council that I think — along with Richard Newton and all the other groups we’ve had the last couple of years, this council is very open. And that’s why we said, ‘Hey, look, we’re gonna put it out there for a vote.’”

The voter registration deadline for the May 3 election is April 3. Early voting will begin April 22.

Speaking of Money …

This is the first edition of the Grapevine Gazette that has most of the content behind a paywall. That content includes these quotations:

• “I will tell you I was the last one to be on board with this, but I do think it’s a better option than what we have right now.”

• “I come from a longstanding family of motorheads.”

• “Maybe a wife will curse her husband out, and he’ll have to go settle somewhere one night, but we hope that doesn’t happen here.”

To see who said those things, you need to be a paid subscriber. That costs $50 per year, which is the minimum fee my partners at Substack will allow. If you signed up as a free subscriber, I hope you’ll consider an upgrade.

School Days Extended by 10 Minutes

Students in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD will show up five minutes earlier and be dismissed five minutes later next school year.

Approved by the Board of Trustees on Jan. 13, this schedule change will allow the district to meet the minimum number of instructional minutes (75,600) while providing teachers with two more student-free days for instructional planning.

Those instructional planning days will be added at the end of the first nine weeks and at the end of the third nine weeks — in other words, in the middle of each semester. The staff already had an instructional planning day at the end of each semester.

“These days are not for professional development,” Chief of Schools Holly Ray told the trustees. “They are days that allow our teachers to plan, to collaborate, to participate in PLCs [professional learning communities], to complete any grading that they need to do, to analyze data — those are the purposes of those instructional planning days.”

These are the new start and end times for the 2025-2026 school year:

• Elementary school — 7:35 a.m. to 3:05 p.m.

• Middle school — 8:05 a.m. to 3:35 p.m.

• High school — 8:35 a.m. to 4:05 p.m.

Trustee Dalia Begin asked whether there was any consideration of adding 10 minutes to the end of each school day, rather than five minutes before and after.

“I’m particularly concerned about the littles and the length of their day and the early start and the sleep deprivation that will certainly affect teachers when they arrive,” Begin said.

Kalee McMullen, the district’s Executive Director of Instructional Leadership, said pushing back the dismissal times by 10 minutes would have significantly impacted transportation to extracurricular activities.

“Even now, we struggle to get bus transportation coverage to all the extracurriculars that are happening across the district all of the time,” McMullen said, “and so by continuing to push that back later, it would exacerbate the issue even further.”

Board President Shannon Braun said moving from a 440-minute day to a 450-minute day will align GCISD with other districts in the area, and she asked Ray to provide some examples:

• Aledo ISD — 450 minutes

• Birdville ISD — 455 minutes

• Coppell ISD — 445 minutes

• Keller ISD — 450 minutes

• Lewisville ISD — 455 minutes

• Northwest ISD — 455 minutes

“So we are somewhat splitting the middle,” Ray said.

Trustee Dianna Sager said she got a preview of this policy change because she serves on the District Excellence Committee.

“I will tell you I was the last one to be on board with this, but I do think it’s a better option than what we have right now,” Sager said.

Grapevine to Sell Surplus Cabins

Grapevine’s Parks and Recreation Department plans to sell some lakeside cabins that kept ending up in the lake.

When Grapevine Lake rises, the water engulfs the land around these cabins. If the city’s staff had enough warning, they would disconnect the cabins from their utilities and move them to higher ground. But that was an expensive and painstaking process.

“It’s better than losing 14 cabins to flood,” Randy Sell, the Assistant Director of Park Operations, told the City Council last week. “Especially when it begins happening more often, we have to consider whether it’s in our best interests to keep doing that.”

On Feb. 4, the council approved a plan to sell seven cabins to the general public. A memo from City Manager Bruno Rumbelow said the prices will be between $25,000 and $40,000, depending on the unit. Four of them were built in 2006, two were built in 2010, and one was built in 2016.

Four of the vacated cabin sites at The Vineyards Campground & Cabins were fully converted to RV sites by November; Sell said the goal is to convert the remaining sites by spring break.

The seven remaining cabins, which are newer than the seven for sale, have been moved to higher ground that should make them less prone to flooding.

Sell said the cabins’ average occupancy rates are between 30 and 35 percent, while the RV sites’ average occupancy rates exceed 85 percent, and there are five times as many RV sites as there are cabins.

Given those statistics, Council Member Sharron Rogers asked why the city wasn’t selling all of the cabins.

“We do know people would like that option,” Sell said, “especially a lot of our locals who don’t have an RV, but they like to get away, because you can feel like you’re, you know, getting away by just going to the campground.”

Vote Delayed on Luxury Garages Proposal

A proposal to build a set of luxury garages in Colleyville has been tabled so the developer can work on allaying neighbors’ concerns.

Skye Thibodeaux, a Lewisville resident who grew up in Colleyville, is the point person on the project. He said the garages would be a place where collectors would show off their cars rather than work on them. He also said many of the buyers might use them as meeting venues or as alternative locations for remote work.

However, they will not be for residential use at all, Thibodeaux said. Although some garages may be equipped with showers, a covenant agreement for property owners will prohibit overnight stays.

“You know, maybe a wife will curse her husband out, and he’ll have to go settle somewhere one night, but we hope that doesn’t happen here,” Thibodeaux said during the Jan. 13 meeting of the Colleyville Planning and Zoning Commission.

Several residents of the neighborhood directly to the south showed up at that Jan. 13 meeting to express their concerns.

Mary Dede said she has looked into these types of garages “because I come from a longstanding family of motorheads.” That said, she doesn’t necessarily want such garages so close to her home.

“Would you want to live by a facility like this?” Dede asked the commissioners. “Would you want this by your property?”

Dede said Thibodeaux had not committed to selling the units rather than leasing them. She would prefer they be sold.

“If it’s gonna be leased, people aren’t gonna have that pride in ownership and make it a show-type unit,” Dede said. “It’ll be more of a garage, and people will be working on it, and you’ll have the noise factor.”

Cathy Mielke said many of her neighbors might be in the target demographic for these luxury garages.

“We’re very much aligned in spirit with the intent of this project,” Mielke said. “If we could make some edits there to bring it up to what the residents want to see in terms of a better visual and sound barrier, I think you could find a lot of synergy with the residents and the applicant.”

Those sentiments were echoed by Barbara Shea: “We want to control the noise, control the lighting. We want good landscaping. You know, we want to be good neighbors, but you know, we want good neighbors, too.”

Thibodeaux said he could relate to the neighbors’ concerns and was willing to revise the plans accordingly.

“My window faced Hall-Johnson when it was widened, and all of a sudden the street was much closer to my bedroom,” he said. “I get it, so happy to have those conversations.”

Commissioner Jerome Obinabo suggested tabling the matter until Feb. 10, but Thibodeaux asked for more time. A motion to table it until the commission’s March 10 meeting passed unanimously.

Gazette Vignettes

• The debut edition of this newsletter included an article called “Prayer Site Concerns Some Neighbors.” The Colleyville Prayer Room’s plans to move into The Village at Colleyville were supposed to be considered during last week’s City Council meeting, but the Prayer Room’s leadership withdrew their request for a zoning change. “Due to the concerns that some neighbors expressed during the time of the meetings with the city councilors, we have decided to look for another option that does not cause concern,” Avaro Matehuala said in a Jan. 31 letter to the council.

• The Grapevine High School girls basketball team will open the playoffs with a home game against Brewer High School at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

• The stretch of Tinker Road between Ponderosa Lane and Caldwell Hughes Road is about to undergo improvements related to water lines, drainage, and the installation of a sidewalk. Consequently, the road will be closed to westbound traffic starting Feb. 24.

• While the supply lasts, each Colleyville household can pick up a $35 gift card that can be used at participating restaurants in the city through March 9.

• The Bull Lion Ranch Winery, which is on Main Street in Grapevine, plans to move around the corner to a new space on College Street. Last month, the Grapevine Historic Preservation Commission signed off on plans for a mural that should appeal to oenophiles. (That’s a fancy word for wine lovers.)

• Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Superintendent Brad Schnautz recently published a legislative update in which he encouraged people to contact their representatives in Austin to advocate for an increase in funding for public education.

• Friday is the deadline to file a candidacy for any of the elections on the May 3 ballot. Between the Grapevine City Council, the Colleyville City Council, and the Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Board of Trustees, seven seats are up for grabs. But as of Monday evening, only one of those races was contested. Trustee Tammy Nakamura faces a challenge from Matt Foust.

Community Calendar

Parents’ Night Out: The Colleyville Recreation Center will host children ages 6 to 12 between 6 and 9 p.m. on Friday, so their parents can enjoy a kid-free Valentine’s Day dinner. Registration is required.

Sweetheart Wine Train: The Grapevine Vintage Railroad will offer a Valentine’s Day ride for adults only on Friday. Boarding begins at 7 p.m., and the train will depart at 7:25.

Almost, Maine: Grapevine’s Runway Theatre will stage two performances of John Cariani’s play about residents of the title town falling in and out of love in unexpected and hilarious ways. They’re scheduled for 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Foods for a Healthy Heart: Nutritionists Debra Payne and Richard Tettamant from Meals Matter will be at the Colleyville Public Library between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 22 to discuss how you can strengthen your heart health through simple diet and lifestyle changes.

Black History Month Fair: The Grapevine Public Library will commemorate Black History Month between 2 and 6 p.m. on Feb. 22.

Keeping It Real Nonfiction Book Club: Colleyville residents with a thirst for knowledge will discuss The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt at 11 a.m. on Feb. 27 at the Colleyville Public Library

Mustangs Officially Have New Head Coach

Nearly a week after his hire was announced, Ryan Smith was officially named the new head football coach of Grapevine High School on Thursday morning.

The Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Board of Trustees approved his employment during a special meeting that began bright and early at 8 o’clock. Smith thanked the trustees and the administration, and he also took a moment to express gratitude to his wife, Kristi Smith: “Honey, we’ve done this a lot, and I just want to say thank you.”

By “done this,” I assume the coach meant “changed jobs.” Here’s a rundown of his most recent gigs:

• 2024: Offensive coordinator at East Texas Baptist University

• 2023: Athletic director at Ovilla Christian School

• 2022: Offensive coordinator at Midlothian Heritage High School

• 2018-2021: Head coach at Southwestern Assemblies of God University, his alma mater

• 2016-2017: Head coach at Newton High School in Mississippi

Smith said becoming the head coach at a Texas high school had been a long-term goal.

“As you go down this journey and you start this pathway of coaching, and you go through those things, you get to a place and you start to identify things that align for you — with family and your future goals and aspirations and those type things — and we identified this very early,” he said.

Smith is replacing Bob DeBesse, who retired after two seasons at the helm. Grapevine went winless in 2024, which ended a streak of nine years with winning records.

Board President Shannon Braun, a graduate of Grapevine High, said she’d love to see the Mustangs get back on track, as she pointed out that one of her fellow trustees, Dianna Sager, was a longtime coach at Colleyville Heritage.

“That rivalry exists, and we need to, you know, make sure that Grapevine High School’s competing,” Braun said with a smile.

Smith seemed up to that challenge.

“We feel we have a clear vision on what direction we needed to go, being very process-driven, but getting results, as Ms. Braun told me I need to get very soon,” he said with a laugh.

Smith brings more than a process and a playbook to the position; he’s also adding a player to the Mustangs’ roster. He and his wife were joined at Thursday’s meeting by their teenage son and daughter. Trustee Tammy Nakamura asked the kids whether they would be going to school in GCISD, and Sager asked specifically whether they would attend Colleyville Heritage or Grapevine.

“He’s a quarterback,” Smith said. “Yes, he is going to Grapevine High School.”

A coach’s son who plays quarterback? Who’d have thunk it?

Car Wash Proposal Washes Out Again

The second time was not the charm for developers who want to build a car wash on Ira E. Woods Avenue.

A vacant lot west of Pool Road is zoned as a Professional Office District, but the developers represented by Grapevine resident Matt Carnes want that changed to a Community Commercial District. The City Council rejected their request in 2023 and again last Tuesday.

At the beginning of Tuesday’s public hearing, Planning Services Director Erica Marohnic said the request is not consistent with the city’s Comprehensive Master Plan, which designates the property for low-intensity commercial uses. Carnes said his clients had commissioned a traffic study since the 2023 rejection, but the city officials were unmoved.

“This is still an intense use right there by the schools,” Planning and Zoning Commissioner Jason Parker said. “Crazy intersection right there, with the train coming through and everything. I still think this is not a good fit for that space.”

When Commissioner Beth Tiggelaar pointed out that the proposal doesn’t conform to the master plan, Carnes said that’s why his clients had asked for the rezoning. That prompted Mayor William D. Tate to chime in, even though council members usually hold their questions and comments until the commissioners have had their say during the panels’ joint hearings.

“We zone to a master plan. And if it doesn’t fit the master plan, then it’s spot zoning; it’s not legal zoning,” Tate told Carnes. “So it’s not that just we go out there and just zone something because somebody wants it zoned that way. Zoning has a purpose, and it has a plan. And it makes things fit together.”

The commissioners took two unanimous votes against the zoning change and the associated request for a conditional use permit. The council’s votes were both 5-2, with Darlene Freed and Duff O’Dell dissenting.

After the votes, Tate said this: “The problem is we just don’t have enough land for this type of facility left. We’re nearly built out.”

Knowing he would probably see Carnes the next day at a Grapevine Rotary Club meeting, Tate then referenced one of the questions in the Rotarians’ Four-Way Test: Is it fair to all concerned?

“If it’s not on the master plan, then we, legally, we don’t have any right to do it,” Tate said. “So you need to check that out if y’all look for another site, but it’s gonna be hard to find a place in Grapevine, I’m afraid. We just don’t hardly have any land left.”

‘Tricky’ Corner Primed for Development

Although Grapevine may be running out of developable land, Colleyville still has some. But the number of available parcels in the latter city is about to dwindle by one.

On Wednesday, the City Council approved a zoning change for the tract on the north corner of Colleyville Boulevard and Tinker Road. Its zoning was switched from “AG Agricultural” to “CC 1 Village Retail,” which will allow a developer to build something along these lines.

“I’m amazed that it could look like that,” Council Member Ben Graves said. “That’s a tricky corner, man, and it always has been. You know, if they can pull it off and make it profitable for them, even better for us.”

Whether the project will be profitable is a key question. A creek channel running through the property will need to be diverted, and that process involves approval from the Army Corps of Engineers. A representative for the developer has estimated the diversion could cost $2 million.

“It just throws up a — I don’t want to say a red flag. It throws up the caution flag when you talk about 2 million dollars on that water,” Mayor Bobby Lindamood said. “That’s a lot of money.”

Mayor Pro Tem Brandi Elder wanted to know what would happen if this developer walked away. Would the zoning change let a future owner build anything they wanted on the land?

City Manager Jerry Ducay said the “CC 1” zoning would allow many “typical office-type things,” such as “professional offices, chiropractic, engineering offices, general business office, insurance agencies, optometrist, psychologist, physician, dentist, real estate, security broker, telemarketing.”

As for retail uses, Ducay said anything involving alcohol would require a special-use permit. He then began listing other potential retail operations: “Antique stores, apparel stores, arts and crafts, bakery, banks, credit union, barber shop, bicycle shop, books, stationery …”

At this point, I flashed back to my sons’ toddler years, when I would read to them from Richard Scarry’s What Do People Do All Day? Meanwhile, Ducay continued reading his list:

“... civic, social, or fraternal organizations, copy centers, print shops, dance studios, commercial arts, department store, a dry cleaner, florist shop, grocery, hardware, home decoration, jewelry, mailing and shipping stores, meat and fish market, pet stores, pharmacy, photography studios, restaurants and cafes, and sporting goods, shoe repair, tailor — so it’s all the traditional retail uses is my point.”

Elder asked whether a car wash would be permitted. Because the property backs up to homes on Kingston Drive, she was worried about anything that would make a lot of noise.

Ducay said a car wash would not be allowed. He then launched into a list of other unpermitted businesses, most of which concerned vehicles: auto, truck, or trailer rentals, auto repair, upholstery repair, boat or watercraft service or repair, commuter transit (“That’s kind of funny, but no,”), gasoline sales, motorcycle sales and service, paint and body shops, etc.

“All of those uses that would catch your eye as concerning are not allowed,” Ducay said.

Speaking of eye-catching things, when the property’s landscaping was trimmed up a few years ago, city officials learned that a house stood among the trees. That abandoned structure’s days are numbered.

“It’s been a mystery for years,” Lindamood said on Jan. 7, during the council’s first public hearing on the zoning change. “Nobody’s known who owned that thing.”

Most of the remaining trees on the property will need to be removed to accommodate the construction and diversion. The developer will pay more than $22,000 worth of mitigation fees associated with the removal of 16 heritage trees, but the plans call for 35 new ones to be planted.

Garage OK’d Despite Neighbors’ Concerns

A homeowner will get to add a detached garage to his property, even though it will be accessible only via what his neighbors thought was their private driveway.

The home at 713 E. Texas Street backs up to the front doors of five condominiums with a shared address of 223 Wood Street. There is a paved driveway that leads from Wood Street to the condos. The condos’ owners pay for maintenance of that concrete, which they assumed was private property.

As it turns out, 15 percent of the drive is owned by the city. That means it can be used by the homes on Texas Street as an alley.

This kerfuffle came up during a Dec. 18 public hearing before the Grapevine Historic Preservation Commission. Because the house on Texas Street is within the Historic Grapevine Township District, the commissioners were being asked to consider the appropriateness of the new garage’s architecture.

Peggi Martinelli, who owns one of the condos, had other concerns. In the short term, she was apprehensive about the construction process.

“For me to pull out of my driveway to go somewhere — with construction trucks, et cetera — is going to be an issue, as it would be for my neighbors,” Martinelli told the commissioners.

In the long term, Martinelli said, she and her neighbors don’t like the idea of the new garage’s owner using their driveway without sharing in the responsibility for its maintenance.

“Concrete cracks. I mean, we all know; we’ve had our driveways do it,” she said. “We’ve all had to pay for that, and that’s not inexpensive.”

The owner who submitted the plans to build the two-car garage, Larry France, did not attend the hearing. He and his partner have moved to New Mexico, and their home on Texas Street — also known as the Harrington House — is listed for sale. Historic Preservation Officer David Klempin said many potential buyers have indicated they’d like to see a garage added to it.

“I’m struggling with this whole thing being done by an owner we know is selling the house,” Commissioner Taylor Bunn said, but Klempin said that’s not within the commission’s purview.

“Our purview is, this is the proposal,” Klempin said. “We have to take it seriously and look at it in terms of what it is that’s being built.”

Commission Chair Sean Shope put it another way: “That’s the challenge, is hearing from our friends and neighbors and abiding by our rules.”

When Shope eventually called for a motion, nobody immediately raised their hand. “We’re between a rock and a hard place, aren’t we?” said Vice Chair Margaret Telford.

That led City Attorney Matthew Boyle to remind the commission of their charge.

“This body is not charged with things like setbacks and the like, because those are already pre-established,” Boyle said, “and as long as the property owner is in compliance, then you are down simply to look at it from an appropriateness standpoint. And in fact, the action that is before you today is to consider a certificate of appropriateness.”

With that, Bunn made a motion to approve the certificate of appropriateness, and Jana Garcia seconded it. The motion was approved unanimously.

Gazette Vignettes

• This is only the second edition of this newsletter, and I’m already publishing a correction. The debut edition includes an article called “Preservation Presentation Confuses Council” in which I misidentified Grapevine Mayor Pro Tem Darlene Freed as Council Member Sharron Rogers. I regret the error, which has been corrected on the website.

• I won’t have many more opportunities to misidentify Freed, because she announced she is not seeking a 10th term on the City Council. Sean Shope, who chairs the Grapevine Historic Preservation Commission, is the only candidate to replace her so far, but the filing period for the May elections doesn’t close until Feb. 14.

• All of the other incumbents on the Grapevine City Council, the Colleyville City Council, and the Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Board of Trustees are unchallenged so far, except for Trustee Tammy Nakamura. She’ll contend with Matt Foust in her bid for a second term on the school board.

• On Tuesday, the Grapevine City Council approved a permit that will allow three electric vehicle charging stations to be added to the Grapevine Mills parking lot. The three stations, which will each be able to charge two vehicles at a time, will replace 12 parking spaces near Fieldhouse USA and Meow Wolf.

• On Wednesday, the Colleyville City Council approved a lease at 35 Veranda Lane, Suite 100, which will be the new home of the Colleyville Business Center. The Business Center has been at the former Wachovia building at 5601 Colleyville Blvd., but the city’s lease there will expire at the end of April. The Colleyville Chamber of Commerce will sublease space from the city at the new location.

• Also on Wednesday, the council approved issuing $35 gift cards that residents can use at Colleyville restaurants through March 9. Details about how to acquire one of these gift cards will be posted here.

Community Calendar

A Virtual Inside Look at Working with a Literary Agent: Attention, aspiring authors. The Grapevine Public Library will host literary agent Seth Fishman for a virtual 90-minute session starting at noon on Tuesday. Registration is required.

Art Night for Adults: The Grapevine Public Library will host adults between 6 and 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 5 for a fun evening of feel-good, no-pressure, crafty creativity. Admission is free, and all supplies will be provided.

State of the City: Mayor Bobby Lindamood will discuss a variety of topics — including economic development, infrastructure, and public safety — at 7 p.m. on Feb. 6 at the Colleyville Center.

Valentine’s Yoga: For the second year in a row, the Colleyville Center will host a free class courtesy of Colleyville’s Inspire Yoga. It will begin at 10 a.m. on Feb. 8. No registration is required, and anyone 12 or older is welcome.

Champagne Yacht Club: The band that bills themselves as Texas’ premier yacht rockers will perform at Grapevine’s Palace Theatre twice on Feb. 8, at 3 and 7:30 p.m.

Parents’ Night Out: The Colleyville Recreation Center will host children ages 6 to 12 between 6 and 9 p.m. on Feb. 14, so their parents can enjoy a kid-free Valentine’s Day dinner. Registration is required.

Welcome to the first edition of the Grapevine Gazette, a newsletter that aims to be a resource for residents of the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District. I will watch every meeting of the Grapevine City Council, the Colleyville City Council, and the Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Board of Trustees, because you don’t have time for all that. I’ll tell you about the most interesting parts and leave out the boring stuff.

For nearly four years, I’ve been writing a similar newsletter called the Coppell Chronicle that’s enjoyed by hundreds of people in the city that’s been my family’s home since 2012. I consistently hear two things from Chronicle subscribers that make me swell with pride:

1. They say my reporting is thorough and unbiased.

2. Every edition makes them laugh at least once.

Although I publish the Chronicle on a weekly basis, the Gazette will come out on the second and fourth Sundays of each month — for the time being. It may eventually ramp up to a weekly schedule, if the demand is there, but we have to walk before we can run.

I have a day job that has nothing to do with either newsletter, but I was a full-time journalist for nearly 20 years. The last of those gigs was as the managing editor of Park Cities People, where I would tell new reporters that our ideal stories were ones that were really important to residents of the Park Cities but utterly meaningless to people who lived elsewhere. We wanted to provide news that our readers wouldn’t find anywhere else.

That’s what I aim to do here. Let’s get to it.

Prayer Site Concerns Some Neighbors

The Colleyville Prayer Room has designs on a new home in a largely residential facility, and some neighbors aren’t comfortable with that.

Debbie Pilgrim owns a condo in The Village at Colleyville, which she said has other spaces that might be better options than the one offered to the Prayer Room. That ground-floor suite is between 55 Main Street and 33 Main Street, but it doesn’t face Main like those buildings’ businesses.

“I’ve lived there for years, and when this came out, I could not find where this was, because it’s so well-hidden,” Pilgrim told the Colleyville City Council on Tuesday.

This matter was on the council’s agenda because religious uses are not permitted within The Village at Colleyville. By a vote of 4-2, the Colleyville Planning and Zoning Commission recommended adding a “Religious” category to the planned development’s zoning ordinance. It would be defined as “Religious institution use including, but not limited to, prayer, ministry, religious studies, and pastoral counseling.”

Avaro Matehuala is the Colleyville Prayer Room’s president. For nearly 15 years, he and his colleagues have provided prayers and Biblical counseling in a storefront on Thompson Terrace, just across State Highway 26 from The Village. But their landlord wants to raise their rent to an amount that Matehuala said they can’t afford.

The Prayer Room does not charge any of its patrons, which Matehuala said include doctors, lawyers, and entrepreneurs. “In different moments of their life, they need some counseling,” he said. “And through the years, we see transformation.” Without naming names, he said these people in crisis have included a former Dallas Cowboy and a former Texas Ranger.

Matehuala said the Prayer Room was offered two years rent-free in Suite 100 at 55 Main on two conditions: add a restroom to the space and replace its floors. “For us, it’s an answer from the Lord,” he said. But that answer requires action by the council.

Pilgrim told the council she’s not eager to see more vehicular and foot traffic around her building. She’s also concerned about the Prayer Room’s emphasis on people in crisis.

“What is the training and experience of this prayer room to handle people in crisis?” she asked. “It only takes one incident, and we’re done.”

Douglas Gilliland, who also owns a Village condo, shared those concerns.

“The type of folks that are going there are certainly in need,” Gilliland said, “but we read too many newspaper headlines about people who are in need, and places of worship are attacked, or things happen.”

Matehuala assured the council that if he and his team think someone needs to see a mental health professional, then they refer that person to a counselor or doctor.

“When we describe ‘crisis,’ I’m not talking about crazy people,” he said. “I’m talking about normal people that’s facing situations that they cannot handle.”

Gilliland said Matehuala had not reached out to any of his potential new neighbors. He asked the council to table the matter until residents can get more details.

“It could be that we’re all going to get along fine, but I think we’re pushing this at a pace that doesn’t allow us to have good input,” Gilliland said. “I want to be supportive, but I don’t want to put people at risk, and I think the people that live there feel that way.”

Tuesday’s public hearing was the first of two before the council on this item. The second hearing was scheduled for Jan. 22, but Mayor Bobby Lindamood proposed that it be delayed until Feb. 4 so Matehuala and the residents would have more time to talk. The rest of the council agreed.

“That’s the cool thing about Colleyville,” Lindamood said. “Neighbors sit down with each other, and we figure it out, and then we can move forward.”

Anonymous Donor Clears Cafeteria Debt

In what’s becoming a habit, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD trustees recently approved an anonymous donation of $10,000 to cover students’ unpaid meal balances.

The unanimous vote for approval happened during the school board’s Dec. 16 meeting, which featured an amusing exchange between Trustee Tammy Nakamura and Superintendent Brad Schnautz.

• Nakamura: “Is this the same person who did it last year? Do we know?”

• Schnautz: “It’s anonymous.”

• Nakamura: “Well, I know it’s anonymous. But is it the same anonymous person?”

• Schnautz: “It’s the same anonymous person. It’s anonymous.”

• Nakamura: “Yeah. I can read. It says that right there.”

• Schnautz: “It’s synonymous with anonymous.”

Trustee A.J. Pontillo thanked the mysterious benefactor, whom he said has made multiple donations since Pontillo joined the board.

“It means a lot to the district and to the students and to the families that really need it,” Pontillo said, “so we appreciate you.”

Pontillo’s comments prompted me to review the minutes of the board’s meetings since he was elected in May of 2023. The $10,000 donation they approved in December was the third such gift of 2024. They also accepted anonymous $10,000 donations in February and April.

None of those $10,000 donations were assigned to specific schools. But in August of 2023, the trustees accepted $5,400 from an anonymous donor to cover negative balances at Timberline Elementary and Bear Creek Elementary; that donation was supplemented by $1,000 divided among 10 Timberline students’ accounts.

Some donations to cover negative cafeteria balances are not anonymous. For example, Jan Lasater gave $5,000 in September of 2023, and First United Methodist Church of Colleyville donated $5,000 last May.

What’s amazing about the repeat anonymous donor, Board President Shannon Braun said, is that she or he initiates each of these donations — as opposed to responding to requests for funds.

“They’re not asking for credit or a pat on the back,” Braun said. “And you’ve always got to love that active generosity and kindness, because their heart is truly in the right place.”

A Brief Promotional Interruption

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OK, that’s enough sales pitching. Let’s get back to the news.

Preservation Presentation Confuses Council

At some point, the Grapevine City Council will vote on amended architectural standards in the Historic Grapevine Township District. But before they can vote on these amendments, the council must understand the amendments. And they’re not quite there yet.

P.W. McCallum, the executive director of the Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau, discussed the proposed amendments at length during Tuesday’s council meeting. He said time is of the essence because developers are planning to add six homes to the township district.

“There is some urgency to establish standards that will protect the visual appearance and architectural style, and give future homeowners a chance to potentially realize more living space in an architecturally appropriate home,” McCallum said.

McCallum took the council through the proposed amendments page by page, and he spoke for more than 25 minutes before Mayor Pro Tem Darlene Freed posed the first question. She interrupted him to ask whether he was talking about building more livable space outside of required setbacks. “No,” McCallum said, but then he mentioned verandas and wrap-around porches that could be added without moving the main house. Freed summarized that as encroaching into the setbacks, and McCallum said, “Yes.” As McCallum continued his explanation, Freed said, “I don’t understand that.”

The ensuing 15 minutes of discussion did little to clarify things for Freed, who — like the rest of the council — received her copy of the proposed amendments the night before Tuesday’s meeting.

“It needs to be spelled out where we can understand it, though,” Freed said. “If we’re having a hard time understanding it, is a citizen going to understand it? I agree with what you’re trying to accomplish. It’s just hard to understand with the way it’s written.”

I can’t tell you how it was written, because a copy of the proposed amendments was not included in the public version of the council’s packet. Council Member Duff O’Dell described what they were discussing on Tuesday as the “Cliff Notes version” of a document they received in August of 2023. O’Dell said that first draft was like “War and Peace written in Greek.”

Council Member Chris Coy suggested that the amendments should be broken down in a workshop, rather than during a formal council meeting. “This is important stuff, and I don’t want to just gloss over it,” Coy said.

Nearly an hour after McCallum began talking, City Manager Bruno Rumbelow promised that a workshop would be scheduled and a simplified presentation would be prepared. Like other council members, Mayor William D. Tate said the presentation should include an executive summary.

“You know, what you can do and what you can’t do — that’ll tell a lot of people whether they like it or not,” Tate said.

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Who’s Ready for Another Election Season?

If you want to run for public office in the May 3 election, then get your paperwork together. The filing period opens on Wednesday and runs through Feb. 14.

Here’s a look at which seats will be up for grabs in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD and its namesake cities.

Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Board of Trustees

Two of the seven at-large seats will be on the ballot:

• Tammy Nakamura was elected to the Place 3 seat in 2022.

• Kathy Florence Spradley was elected to the Place 4 seat in 2022.

Grapevine City Council

Two of the seven at-large seats will be on the ballot:

• Leon Leal was elected to the Place 3 seat in 2019 and was reelected in 2022.

• Darlene Freed was elected to the Place 4 seat in 1998 and was reelected in … [deep breath] … 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2022.

Colleyville City Council

Three of the seven at-large seats, including the mayor’s, will be on the ballot:

• Bobby Lindamood was elected mayor in 2022 after two terms in the Place 2 seat.

• Brandi Elder was elected to the Place 1 seat in 2022.

• Mark Alphonso was appointed to the Place 2 seat in 2024, after George Bond — who won the seat in 2022 — resigned in the wake of his second DUI arrest in a three-month span.

Gazette Vignettes

• Grapevine High School’s new head football coach should be introduced during Monday’s meeting of the Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Board of Trustees. A memo attached to the agenda says a finalist has been identified, and Superintendent Brad Schnautz is prepared to make a recommendation. The new coach will replace Bob DeBesse, who retired after an 0-10 season.

• If you’ve ever lamented Grapevine’s lack of a Burger King, here’s some good news. According to a form filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the chain aims to sell flame-broiled Whoppers at 834 E. Northwest Highway, which is a vacant lot between Chicken Express and German Car Care. That form says construction is supposed to begin March 1.

• On Tuesday, the Colleyville City Council held the first of two public hearings regarding a 2.8-acre lot on the north corner of State Highway 26 and Tinker Road. The land is zoned agricultural, but a developer wants to construct two retail buildings there. One would be 9,268 square feet, and the other would be 15,118 square feet. The second public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 22.

• Also during Tuesday’s council meeting, Mayor Bobby Lindamood announced that Diamond Rio will perform at the Stars & Guitars concert on June 20. Because the new Heroes Park is under construction, the show will happen on the baseball field behind City Hall.

• During the pre-meeting work session, the City Council gave the go-ahead to spend $38,500 on the installation of new street signs bearing the CV monogram at Colleyville’s 12 signalized intersections. The council members agreed that the design with the white square was their preference.

Community Calendar

The Magic of Found Family: In Conversation with Author TJ Klune: The Grapevine Public Library will virtually host New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, when he will discuss his Cerulean Chronicles, with special emphasis on the newest book in the series, Somewhere Beyond the Sea.

Daddy Daughter Dance: Under the Sea: Foundations Church will host Grapevine’s dance for girls ages 2 to 18 and their dads on Saturday, when there will be three sessions — 1 to 3 p.m., 4 to 6 p.m., and 7 to 9 p.m.

Winter Ball: The Colleyville Center will host a tropical-themed dance for children ages 4 to 12 (and their parents) from 7 to 9 p.m. on Jan. 24.

Raptors of North Texas: Experts from the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center will bring live birds to the Grapevine Public Library between 2 and 3 p.m. on Jan. 25.

State of the City: Mayor Bobby Lindamood will discuss a variety of topics — including economic development, infrastructure, and public safety — at 7 p.m. on Feb. 6 at the Colleyville Center.

Champagne Yacht Club: The band that bills themselves as Texas’ premier yacht rockers will perform at Grapevine’s Palace Theatre twice on Feb. 8, at 3 and 7:30 p.m.

Want to send me some private feedback? You can reach me at bydankoller@gmail.com.