With the Flower Mound election season in full swing, it’s important to look back on the last few years of leadership in our charming little hamlet in North Texas. To that end, Councilman Kevin Bryant wanted to say a few words about his years as one of the voices for our town. Kevin was elected in May 2015, re-elected in 2017, and with the incorporation of the changes to the Town Charter making council member terms three years and the term limit to be “two full terms,” is ineligible to run for re-election this year. However, he would be eligible to run for council next year, if he chooses. During Councilman Bryant’s term he has experienced many changes, accomplished several items, and believes he still has work to do. He expresses those thoughts in the video interview and in the following info he sent to accompany it.
“Something that I am very proud of is that I did not miss a meeting or a single vote while on council. I was prepared for every meeting to contribute to the dialogue on the items before Council as well as understanding the process.” Recently, Bryant wrote on his Facebook page: “A bit of advice to those who seek to be elected to Council in the future. Be ready for this part-time, volunteer job to command A LOT of your time. Serving on Council is very demanding and can be very fulfilling. There is no better feeling than when someone comes to you for help and you are able to help them.”
“When I was elected, social media was not used much by individual council members to discuss their thoughts and reasoning on town issues.” Bryant created a Facebook page so he could expand upon his reasoning for different votes and actions. “Also, this was to be a place to deep dive into many topics. It seems that my council member page was successful, as nearly all council members (and not just in Flower Mound) are doing similar things today.”
“During my term, I had the opportunity to meet and talk with many groups and individuals. From Boy and Girl Scouts, classrooms, School Boards, Chambers, civic organizations, individuals, and elected officials from around our state engaging in meetings to exchange knowledge in both directions. Meeting with the youth of our town gave me energy. Talking with these inquisitive young minds, hearing where their passions are and helping them learn, let me know that our future is in good hands.”
Councilman Bryant listed some of the accomplishments during his term in office:
Budget/Taxes/Process
- Passing four budgets without raising the tax rate, keeping it among the lowest in the region
- Passing the Homestead exemption for Flower Mound residents to help lower their property taxes while continuing to maintain the services our residents deserve
- New Town Hall
- Holding a Charter Review and election with six of eight proposals passing, most with wide margins of approval. One of the most significant is the transition of Council Member terms to three years
- Protecting our home values by working with the realtor websites to have our schools’ scores reported accurately
- Moving forward with our Library expansion
- Reviewing our codes and ordinances to streamline the government process; removing obsolete items; consolidating them into a more easily to define and use tool
- Leading the effort to have Town Council meeting to be broadcast on Facebook Live
Environmental and Sustainability
- Updating our design codes to remove obstacles for energy efficient and environmentally sustainable building, landscape, and design
- Strengthening and improving our Tree Ordinance; encouraging and rewarding developments to design with more open space and tree preservation
- Approving measures for re-conditioning Rheudasil, Wilkerson, and Cortaderra ponds
- Protecting the historic cabin while keeping it on its original location
- Improving and upgrading our Tree Farm
- Passing the Parks, Trails and Open Space Master Plan
- Implementing the Water Reuse Master Plan
- Helped facilitate the controlled burn of the Flower Mound
Economic Impact
- Initiating the Economic Development scorecard
- Keeping Stryker in Flower Mound and assisting to have many great new businesses, restaurants, and industries to call Flower Mound home
- Opening our first hotel, and it become a major success story
- Bringing the Flower Mound Farmers Market first to the Town Hall parking lot then successfully Moving it to its current home at Parker Square
- Implementing the Senior Housing Overlay and seeing it bring at least two Senior Living facilities to Flower Mound
Public Works and Safety
- Improving pedestrian safety by implementing the process for reviewing street lighting in our neighborhoods, getting more light in the needed areas
- Opening Fire Station No. 6; Fire Station No. 7 under construction; updates to Central Fire Station; and updating many FMFD apparatus
- Approving expansions to the Police and Courts building, including our jail renovation
- Working with FMPD and LISD to expand our award winning Student Resource Officer program
- Opening the Hound Mound
- Completing Heritage Park phase 2, phase 3, and phase 4 improvements along with many public park upgrades
- Lead the discussions and approved projects designed to improve traffic flow on Morriss road without adding lanes
- Many road repair or reconstruction projects including: Yucca road, McKamy Creek, Waketon road, Forest Vista Drive, and Skillern Road
- Seeing our Town to continually be ranked among the Safest and Best places to live, raise a family, and do business.
Veterans Affairs
- Creating the position of Veterans Liaison to help promote Veterans programs, coordinate Veterans events, and to be a point of contact for Veterans resources in the area
- Restarting the Memorial Day “A Day of Remembrance” ceremony
- Getting our town recognized as a Purple Heart Town by the Military Order of the Purple Heart. The first “town” to have this recognition
