April 14, 2025 • 31 mins
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Crossroads might be small in size, but its vision for the future is anything but limited. In this fascinating conversation with Councilman Ron King, we discover how this unique North Texas town is managing explosive growth while maintaining its remarkable property tax-free status - a distinction held since its founding in 1973.
Councilman King, a 10-year resident and four-year council member, takes us deep into the Vision 2035 plan that's transforming Crossroads. This citizen-informed blueprint guides development decisions, ensuring new businesses align with community values and needs. Most impressive is the innovative partnership with Denton ISD for the new high school project. Rather than simply surrendering valuable land to institutional use, Crossroads negotiated a revenue-sharing agreement for 29 acres of commercial development adjacent to the campus - a masterclass in municipal-educational cooperation.
Highway 380's status as a development "hotspot" gives Crossroads tremendous leverage with potential investors, despite temporary disruptions from ongoing construction. The strategic location near Frisco and major regional developments positions the town perfectly for sustainable growth without sacrificing its small-town character. While challenges remain - including increasing citizen engagement and managing traffic concerns - the town's proactive approach to planning ensures a bright future.
Beyond governance talk, we get to know Ron as a family man deeply invested in his community's future. His passion for transparent, citizen-focused leadership shines throughout our discussion. For anyone interested in how small towns can thrive amid rapid regional growth, this conversation offers invaluable insights and inspiration.
Don't miss upcoming town meetings and development presentations - your voice matters in shaping Crossroads' next chapter. Subscribe to the podcast for regular updates on local governance and community events!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Steven Killfoil (01:06):
Good morning Cross Roads.
Welcome to Cross Roads Podcast.
I'm your host, Steven Killfoil,and on the show today I am
calling one of our distinguishedtown councilmen from Cross
Roads, Councilman Ron King.
Here goes morning steven.
(01:57):
Good morning Ron.
Uh, are you?
I'm great.
Are you ready to get this showon the road?
First, Ron all want to thankyou for coming on the show today
, Ron.
Okay, and so right now, whydon't you just tell our
listeners a little bit aboutyourself?
I know most folks definitely inyour neighborhood know you well
, we know you well, but I stillthink there are quite a few
folks here in Cross Roads andthe area who may not know about
(02:18):
Mr.
Ron King.
So why don't you tell us alittle bit about yourself and
what you do for the town ofCross Roads?
here on council as an Stevenelected official and it's been
great.
It's been a great opportunityto get to know people and learn
(02:39):
about what the town's prioritiesare and what the people want to
do with the Vision 2035.
It's been really exciting.
But yeah, my name is Ron King.
I've been Cross Roads now foralmost 10 years.
We bought our house there inthe village of Cross Roads, got
a great neighborhood.
A lot of great people thereCame about maybe about four or
(03:00):
five years ago that I decided torun for town council and just
to get involved and be adecision-making.
That's been exciting, justseeing things kind of rolling
through the town ideas,developments and I want to be a
part of that.
I've got my wife, Christy, andshe's been wonderful.
We've been married oh, probably23 years now November uh and
(03:24):
we've got four children.
So Derek, Chase, Mary and Allyare my children, and what an
exciting family.
What an exciting place to beliving in Cross Roads, Texas.
Absolutely, I agree.
100 percent, yeah, we, we fellin love with this area when we
were house hunting and, um, whenwe first moved up here where my
(03:47):
neighborhood is now, it wasnothing more than a horse
pasture with a trailer in themiddle of it.
Oh yeah.
And I've got to pick out the lotand all this good stuff and I'm
so glad I chose the crossroadsside of the development because,
wow, no property taxes.
(04:08):
That, just that's our cityproperty taxes.
There's county but there's nocity property tax, and that's
amazing.
But why don't you tell us someof your goals as a councilman
Ron King (04:28):
So, 2035 vision has been something that has been put
into play.
Two years ago the town wasissued an opportunity to be
involved with decision-making onall fronts.
You know what they'd like tosee in the town, what they'd
like to see developed, the kindof restaurants they'd like to go
to places, they'd like to havebigger park areas, you know.
(04:49):
And so it's been excitingseeing the Vision 2035 take off
because it gave us a chance toget an idea, kind of feedback or
input from the citizens, and sowe ran with that and we
implemented that.
That was approved by the towncouncil in 2021.
And so we, from that point on,we began working on developers
(05:13):
and people that were interestedin making, you know, taking
parcels of land in our town anddeveloping them into something
that we are that, you know, thatis consistent with our 2035
vision, into something that isconsistent with our 2035 vision.
And so, by doing so, some ofthe goals that we have are
(05:35):
attending certain ICSC show,regional shows, which is kind of
a developer show where realtorscome and developers come and
they learn about who you are,what your town is who the mayor
is and we talk about.
Why is it worth developing intown and in our town off of 380?
Why is our town a place thatwould be a great development
site?
Looking at the parcels of landthat we have a lot of land
around us and it gives us achance to talk with them about
(05:59):
how busy 380 is that's the mainhighway going right through our
town and so, with these kind ofgoals in mind, they'll talk to
us about what they see a visionon.
380 is.
That's that's the main highwaygoing right through our town.
And so, with these kind ofgoals in mind, they'll talk to
us about what they see a visionon on three.
You know 380 and what theycould do for us as far as
developing some of these parcels.
And so that's been exciting,kind of getting to see and know
them and giving their feedbackbecause, as you know, uh, this
(06:21):
whole area in the state of texas, if you were to go to any kind
of a developer's trade show andyou would say to them, hey, are
you in Texas?
They say yes, we are, and yousay, well, I'm on 380.
I'm on 380.
And we are in this town ofCrossroads and all of a sudden
you either get two looks.
You get a look that says, oh, Iknow exactly where you're at
(06:48):
because that's a hotspot for thestate of Texas right now that
Highway 380 is blowing up, it'sgoing into PGA Tour towards
Frisco, and then you got all thedifferent companies coming in.
So that is definitely a hotspot.
And so we would either see thator we'd say I don't really know
much about that area, that, orwe'd say I don't really know
much about that area and so gaveus two.
You know, we had to come out.
Come out of that, thoseregional shows, as either people
know our area and they know itwell, or they don't.
(07:11):
And that's kind of our goal isto find those developers that
know the area, they're, they'rein the north texas area and they
develop these areas.
You know the frisco area, thatpeople that have had experience
doing that, and so all of asudden they look across and say
you know you, you are a hot spot, you are a place we would love
to develop.
And so that's kind of what ourgoals have been in the last two
years is just talking todevelopers.
(07:32):
And then, aside from all that,you have the DISD that came in
to build school high schoolnumber five and their CTE school
, which is going to be locatedright on the west east side of
Naylor Obviously it's underconstruction right now, so most
people can see it and with theCTE school and with the high
school number five, or DISD,these are exciting times for the
(07:56):
town.
You know there's a lot going onwith that.
We have council meetings wherewe discuss the MOU, and the MOU
is important because it has ouropportunity for us to be have
our input in with the DISD andfor them to to hear what we want
to say about how they want todevelop that area around the
high school.
And they've been very, verygood partners and so that's.
(08:17):
We've been very busy in thelast two years with that
absolutely.
Steven Killfoil (08:22):
Well, I'm gonna ask you real quick, Uh, the
groundbreaking obviously hasstarted for our Cross Roads
esteemed High crossroads Schoolfinally.
yes if anybody drives downNaylor heading towards work or
coming back from work, you cansee that it looks like somebody
took a giant cake knife and cutthe top of the cake off.
I mean, that used to be reallyhilly and now it's just flat.
(08:45):
Pretty amazing how fast thosemachines can really move that
earth.
It's pretty cool.
But can you tell the listenersabout this a little bit more and
how it ties directly in withthat 2035 vision for our town?
Ron King (09:05):
Darrell Bock.
Oh sure, yeah, there was.
You know, that whole area ofland, that parcel of land that
the school is being built oncurrently was considered to be
the additional phases of the OakHill Ranch subdivision, and so
when the landowner decided tosell out the last phase of that,
(09:26):
the future last two phases ofthat, then the DIC came in and
told us that they wereinterested in, you know,
building a high school there.
And so we said, okay, well,let's have a meeting.
And we started talking withmany of their leaders and their
board members and we kind of hadto come up with some ideas.
And the nice thing that wasabout you know how they
approached us was look, we knowthis is going to take a good
(09:48):
section of land out of your townand we don't want to just come
in and build a high school andbe done.
We want to actually partner upwith you and we'd like to see
how we can come and make itfeasible for both you and us
both.
And so we began puttingtogether the MOU, which is the
Memorandum of Understanding, andwe began to lay out all the
bullet points and the mayor wasvery, very good at how he got
(10:12):
into these meetings and was ableto express to these leaders,
these DISD leaders, how this MOUwould have to be written up,
and they agreed on many of theseitems, and so we developed the
idea that maybe having a 50-50split of developing the
remaining 23 acres of landlocated in front of the school,
(10:35):
which is on the north side ofthe school, and they allowed us
to have the 29 acres to develop.
And they gave us and granted usa 2.5 acre track of land for
future government facilities sothat we could develop the 29 and
a half acres as commercial andretail with the help of the town
.
They said we really want todevelop that with you, and so
(10:57):
the great thing about all thatwas they said we'll be able to
give you the ability to have 50%of the developing part of the
revenue.
In other words, if you're goingto get all you know, the
revenue tax from that or thesales tax, because we know that
you do not have property taxeshere.
So they gave us the opportunityto be a partner with them on
(11:21):
developing that, and so thatwhole 29 acres of land is going
to be going into developingstages as we are talking to
certain developers on it.
But you know, that's a really,really nice way for a school
district and the first that I'veever seen to say, hey, we're
not just going to come in andbuild what we want to build.
We know that we're taking adent on your town, so let's
(11:43):
figure out how we can bepartners and how we can help
each other out.
And if they're going to be ableto take the property taxes,
because they're going to ownthat land, they're going to make
revenue for the DIC and thetown is going to be able to make
its tax revenue, which is goingto keep us further and further
away from having to ever have topay a property tax, because
we're such a small town, we havesix square miles, and here's
(12:03):
the DIC partner and up with usand saying, hey, we want to come
along and be a partner.
Steven Killfoil (12:08):
Yeah, and the driving force behind that was
the population explosion in ourarea.
I High School Braswell isbusting out at the seams and
more and more people keep movinginto this part of the of state
and it's just it's justincredible.
(12:29):
So I'm pleased that we were ableto actually do that and feed
many, many more of the bulletpoints from that 2035 vision.
I'm really happy about that.
Here's a question for you,though, and I think you'll agree
with me this I think you'llagree with me this uh, it is a
(12:55):
bit of a challenge to gettingour citizenry more involved,
wouldn't you agree?
Ron King (13:00):
yeah, I'd have to totally agree on that.
Steven Killfoil (13:02):
I'll say in kind of a how is a way, and you
guys that are listening out here, I know most of my listeners
you participate, you advocate,you come to meetings, but we
need to get our neighbors moreinvolved.
So what is a way that we canget the citizens of Cross Roads
(13:23):
more involved and active withthe town council in
participating in our meetings,with our growth becoming more
informed?
I mean, you guys are doing agreat job.
You put out that newsletter.
I get it in the mail, I get theelectronic copy of it, I'm on
top of it, I'm always in and outof the town website, um, but I
(13:50):
still.
I still don't see more peoplethere and there needs to be more
people there.
So what is a way that you thinkwe could strategically
encourage people to participatemore?
Ron King (14:06):
That's that's a great question.
the million-dollarmillion-dollar question that
we've always asked ourselves.
How do we get people to comeout and be a part of the town
and celebrate being part of itand volunteering their time,
whether they're on a committeeboard or whether they're on any
kind of a volunteer board thatthey're just giving input in,
whether it's Parks parks,whether it's MBD, whether it's
(14:28):
P&Z hasn't been anycommunication with the people,
and so he was encouraged to goahead and start putting out the
mailer, which was important.
It kind of gives an update week, month to month, on what's
going on, and we've enhanced ourwebsites, we've put out emails
(14:49):
and sometimes the councilmembers and committees just put
out texts to different peoplethat they know in the community.
I think we're trying to figureout if it's worth investing in
an app where people can just goon their phones phone.
We've talked to severalinstitutions that offer that
service services.
expensive, so we have to besure that we're not able to uh
(15:11):
become, you know, over over,done up with too much um
electronics and apps, and is itreally working so?
It's going to be an interesting, an interesting.
Steven Killfoil (15:22):
Well, I've proposed and it's still an open
invite If, if you guys want todo this, I'll be happy to do
this.
Once a month we meet andunfortunately the only place we
really could meet would be thePrairie House uh, but we could
set up a time for a one-hoursegment coffee with the mayor or
(15:45):
coffee with the town manager.
They do it up at Pilot Point.
All the time, their townmanager goes into the local
coffee house.
I frequent that coffee house.
He does it early in the morningand people come in and they
just ask questions and, uh, it'sbeen a very effective uh deal.
(16:07):
If you, if you go and look atthe Pilot Point Podcast, you can
go and get those clips and seehow well that does work.
And I'm in the process ofgetting Cross Roads Podcast put
up on visual on a YouTubechannel.
So, yeah, yeah, this is coming.
(16:30):
This is going to be both audioand visual eventually.
I'm hoping to do that within thenext 30 to 60 days.
So once that's done, then yeah,that'd be great.
Like I said, it wouldn't takeme very little time at all to do
(16:50):
this at the Prairie House.
And if you didn't want it onvideo, fine, we'll do it all.
Audio one, no problem.
But that's not the point, audioor video.
The point is trying to get morepeople to come out and to enact
with him, ask him questions,get to know him.
(17:11):
That's what it's all about.
So I'm willing to do it.
He just, you know, tell him,tell, mayor, next time you see
him reach out to me, let's,let's get together for a cup of
coffee and plan it out.
I'm all for that, yeah.
That is a great idea.
Sure, sure.
And you know it doesn't have tobe but once a month and it'd be
(17:34):
perfect, I think.
But again it's up to him, so Ishall wait for him to call me on
that.
Have you heard when theconstruction will be scheduled
to start on the actual buildingof our town square?
(17:57):
Is it going to be after thehigh school is finished?
, a of , MOU a deal.
Agreements a district and townofficial not because certain
(18:20):
that we and want and not it'sconsidered be binding yet
But good is is and is forwardthat a step now
How do we look at thisdevelopment phase on the 23
acres, on the 29 acres, I'msorry?
(18:41):
And looking at what do we wantto how to?
The first thing that we decidedto do was let's get some
consulting from some developersthat have been in this area and
know the area well and we'veshown them our parcel of land,
the 29 acres, and they aredeveloping it and they are
putting into into playrenderings and building
locations in town square and allthat has been been very well,
(19:05):
you know, very well received bythe town.
We've had open forums at thegovernment building there on 424
, where we've last year invitedeverybody to come and take a
look at what we're developing onthat parcel of land, and so we
got some really good feedbackfrom people and that's been a
big help.
And so now it's going to gointo the second phase of its
design and as soon as we get tothe point where the MOU is solid
(19:28):
and the school district and thetown are completely satisfied
with all the arrangements, thenwe go ahead and start making
that design idea, that rendering, into something where
developers can begin looking atit.
So it's still in the processphase, but we've moved very far
ahead in the last year on it andit's been really, really
exciting to see it coming along.
(19:50):
That's great, yeah, yeah, hey, do me a favor
the the next time, because Iknow that they have to do these
updates with you guys to showyou new processes, plans of how
it will look the next time wehave a big one come up like that
where we're going to have to goover to the county building.
Let me know in advance so I canget the word out on the podcast
(20:12):
and hopefully we can.
Uh, I'll put it out on my HOAwebsite and everything and maybe
we can get a little bit more,uh, citizenry participation,
because I'm I'm positive thatthese people around here would
love to see that.
Wow, this is coming.
You know it.
Oh, no, this is an idea or aplan.
No, this is coming and this ispotentially what it may look
(20:35):
like, and I think that justexcites me and I'm pretty sure
that will excite our listenerstoo.
Absolutely, absolutely.
Well, Ron, what do you thinkabout the progress of TxDOT in
regards to the construction thatdirectly impacts the residents
of Crossroads?
Ron King (20:55):
No, there's no doubt about it, it's been an eyesore
to see them kind of, you know,running behind schedule and
we're hoping to see them wrapthis up, you know, hopefully
within this year.
They were giving us datesearlier than this year, but and
they were supposed to be meetingthose dates but they weren't
able to do that.
So it looks like we're justgoing to have to kind of hang in
(21:17):
there a little bit longer.
I know it's kind of beenaffecting sales revenue.
It's been, you know, cause mostpeople that are kind of caught
up in that will just go aroundthat to a different place to eat
, and we kind of felt that alittle bit on that side of the
side, you know, the revenue side.
Oh, yeah.
It's definitely the talk of thecouncil and the mayor, and the
(21:39):
faster we get them out of hereand get them done and move on,
the better off we're all goingto be and happier we're going to
be.
Steven Killfoil (21:44):
So, no, I feel your pain, brother yeah.
Has Commissioner Williams uhcommunicated when Denton County
is planning on widening Fishtrap Road from 380 to Main Street
?
It's on the books I know that Ihave an answer for you yeah,
that one has to be almost has tobe done, but it seems like they
(22:08):
won't be able to do that untilafter they get 380 lined out and
running because right nowthey've got to get that one
completely done.
Yeah, right now.
Fish trap is the bypass gopeople around, all the
construction on how well I knowin the morning if I'm not out of
(22:29):
my neighborhood by 6:15, I'm ina half-hour almost wait just
to cross 380 on either side,either going down Naylor or
going down Oak Grove Lane.
It just is either going downNaylor or going down Oak Grove
Lane.
It just is.
One thing I am very gratefulfor is TxDot fixed the timing on
(22:51):
that light there at Oak GroveLane where you cross over to go
to 720.
Oh wow, Once it turns green, ifI'm as far back as the entryway
to my neighborhood, I'mactually able to go across the
highway on one green light.
So I'm very happy with that.
They've retimed thatbeautifully, so traffic is
(23:12):
beginning to flow a lot betterthan it was previously.
Previously, man, it was ahalf-hour painful wait getting
out of your neighborhood.
It was like no, this is notacceptable full weight getting
out of your neighborhood.
You know it was like no, thisis not acceptable.
So now we had this event, comeup with um little elm approving
another housing division andthey're gonna slap 50 houses
(23:33):
into a 10 acre lot yeah I saw itright on the corner there,
right on the corner, yeah, yeahnot good.
So we we tried to, uh, we triedto buck that and it it failed.
So I've actually got thedistrict representative from the
little town council scheduledto come on the show, uh, at the
(23:56):
end of the month and to explainto the the citizens exactly what
happened.
Why, right, we went from athree, four and three against to
a unanimous vote, and he'sgonna lay it out and explain
what happened there.
So I can't wait to hear thatexplanation.
So, yeah, and it was.
Ron King (24:16):
It was definitely a good thing to see the bond
package approved years ago andthat's been a help, that $22.3
million Absolutely.
Oh, we needed it Becausethey're just tearing up our
roads, we know, with all theconstruction, and Judge Eads and
Commissioner Ryan Williams andRon Marchant have been kind of
spearheading that together as ateam and getting all that
(24:38):
approved.
So you know, I'm glad that theystepped up their game on that
for those projects and, like yousaid, it's just a matter of
time the bond package isapproved and ready to roll.
It's just you got to do it incertain sequences, certain time
frames, you know.
Steven Killfoil (24:53):
Right, yeah.
Well, isn't it amazing thatsince we were founded as a town
back in 1973, we have maintainedour town property tax free
status?
I mean, we have the county tax,of course, but no, we don't
(25:13):
have any ad valorem taxes.
We've maintained that statusall these years.
Do you think we can hold it fora period of time, much longer?
Ron King (25:26):
You know we're very, very optimistic about ES on that
because we're really gettingpacked tight with businesses and
restaurants and we have sixacres of, you know, six square
miles of land.
But we have a very heavy fronton Highway 380 with so many
incoming businesses that aredeveloping that area based off
(25:48):
the 2035 vision and, of course,the overlay which has been put
into place over the town, whichbasically allows us to have
input of what comes in and whatdoesn't, and what's good for the
town and what coordinates withthe vision.
But in all seriousness, it islooking very, very good for us.
We have a big parcel line nextto walmart and we have
applications in for that, I know.
Steven Killfoil (26:11):
Uh, yeah, I thought they were bringing a
Lowes or something or Home Depot.
That'd be nice yeah, they kindof have us on a list.
Uh, you know, they only canbuild so many stores across the
country, across the state.
Oh, yeah.
Ron King (26:25):
We're on that waiting list, yeah, but you would think
with all the construction goingon, that would be the place to
put a Lowe's.
Yeah, exactly, oh well, justsaying right, yeah, yeah, all
right, yeah, yeah, all right.
(26:50):
Well, ron, thank you again forcoming on the show and y'all
heard it, ron, king crossroadstowns councilman.
Uh, things are happening andmoving up and if y'all want to
know more, start showing up tothose meetings uh, oh yeah, we'd
love to have people at council.
Steven Killfoil (27:04):
We'd like to see some bodies in there.
Yeah, it's nothing more boringthan talking into a camera and
nothing is in the chambersexcept your wives.
So yeah, let's get a little bitmore involved and come on out
to some of those meetings.
I know I'll do my best to tryto get out to them.
So anyway, thank you again, Ron, and you have a blessed day.
Ron King (27:28):
Thank you, Steven.
Appreciate it, enjoy your week.
Thank you.
Steven Killfoil (27:31):
You too.
Thank you so much Okay.
Bye-bye, okay, local eventsaround the area.
Cross Roads Town Hall will beclosed Friday, April 18th, in
observance of Good Friday.
Monday, April 21st, TownCouncil meeting is at 6 pm.
Saturday, April 26th, from 11am to 3 pm there will be a
(27:56):
homeschool and resources expo atthe park in Crossroads at 2042
Farm to Market Road 424 andFishtrap Road.
There will be raffles.
Live music with Greg Davis ofGreg's Guitar Studio in
Providence Village.
For more information, email: aubreyhomeschoolers@ gmail. (28:11):
undefined
com.
Up in Pilot Point Tuesday, April15th, at the Pilot Point Coffee
House, starting at 6 to 9,sessions, Jimmerson and his
lovely wife Wendy bring us awonderful time of entertainment.
(28:32):
So bring your voice or favoriteinstrument out and jam with us
old timers, have some suds andshow off your duds.
Be there or be square.
If you want a chance to chatwith the Pilot Point City
Manager.
Go on out to Jimmerson's coffeehouse on Thursday morning
bright and early, just after therooster crowed on April 17th, 7
(28:54):
am, and grab a great cup of joeand an amazing egg sandwich
from the bar and join in withthe conversation.
Mark, mark your calendars forApril 26th.
From 8 am to 12 noon, the PilotPoint Market starts up.
For more information, contactWendy Atkins at 940-293-7434.
(29:19):
Don't forget to go to Amazon andcheck out the latest book by
local Cross Roads author, StefanMcDermott Achieve Optimal Brain
Health with Nutrition.
The book was written so anyoneat any level could read it and
it includes great practicalrecipes that anyone can use
(29:40):
daily.
The name of the book, again,Achieve Optimal Brain Health
with Nutrition by StefanMcDermott.
It's a great read, folks.
Anyway, beautiful been a dayand thank you all for coming on
the show and listening.
Until next week I'll see you atthe top!
Good morning Cross Roads.
Welcome to Cross Roads Podcast.
I'm your host, Steven Killfoil,and on the show today I am
calling one of our distinguishedtown councilmen from Cross
Roads, Councilman Ron King.
Here goes morning steven.
(01:57):
Good morning Ron.
Uh, are you?
I'm great.
Are you ready to get this showon the road?
First, Ron all want to thankyou for coming on the show today
, Ron.
Okay, and so right now, whydon't you just tell our
listeners a little bit aboutyourself?
I know most folks definitely inyour neighborhood know you well
, we know you well, but I stillthink there are quite a few
folks here in Cross Roads andthe area who may not know about
(02:18):
Mr.
Ron King.
So why don't you tell us alittle bit about yourself and
what you do for the town ofCross Roads?
here on council as an Stevenelected official and it's been
great.
It's been a great opportunityto get to know people and learn
(02:39):
about what the town's prioritiesare and what the people want to
do with the Vision 2035.
It's been really exciting.
But yeah, my name is Ron King.
I've been Cross Roads now foralmost 10 years.
We bought our house there inthe village of Cross Roads, got
a great neighborhood.
A lot of great people thereCame about maybe about four or
(03:00):
five years ago that I decided torun for town council and just
to get involved and be adecision-making.
That's been exciting, justseeing things kind of rolling
through the town ideas,developments and I want to be a
part of that.
I've got my wife, Christy, andshe's been wonderful.
We've been married oh, probably23 years now November uh and
(03:24):
we've got four children.
So Derek, Chase, Mary and Allyare my children, and what an
exciting family.
What an exciting place to beliving in Cross Roads, Texas.
Absolutely, I agree.
100 percent, yeah, we, we fellin love with this area when we
were house hunting and, um, whenwe first moved up here where my
(03:47):
neighborhood is now, it wasnothing more than a horse
pasture with a trailer in themiddle of it.
Oh yeah.
And I've got to pick out the lotand all this good stuff and I'm
so glad I chose the crossroadsside of the development because,
wow, no property taxes.
(04:08):
That, just that's our cityproperty taxes.
There's county but there's nocity property tax, and that's
amazing.
But why don't you tell us someof your goals as a councilman
Ron King (04:28):
So, 2035 vision has been something that has been put
into play.
Two years ago the town wasissued an opportunity to be
involved with decision-making onall fronts.
You know what they'd like tosee in the town, what they'd
like to see developed, the kindof restaurants they'd like to go
to places, they'd like to havebigger park areas, you know.
(04:49):
And so it's been excitingseeing the Vision 2035 take off
because it gave us a chance toget an idea, kind of feedback or
input from the citizens, and sowe ran with that and we
implemented that.
That was approved by the towncouncil in 2021.
And so we, from that point on,we began working on developers
(05:13):
and people that were interestedin making, you know, taking
parcels of land in our town anddeveloping them into something
that we are that, you know, thatis consistent with our 2035
vision, into something that isconsistent with our 2035 vision.
And so, by doing so, some ofthe goals that we have are
(05:35):
attending certain ICSC show,regional shows, which is kind of
a developer show where realtorscome and developers come and
they learn about who you are,what your town is who the mayor
is and we talk about.
Why is it worth developing intown and in our town off of 380?
Why is our town a place thatwould be a great development
site?
Looking at the parcels of landthat we have a lot of land
around us and it gives us achance to talk with them about
(05:59):
how busy 380 is that's the mainhighway going right through our
town and so, with these kind ofgoals in mind, they'll talk to
us about what they see a visionon.
380 is.
That's that's the main highwaygoing right through our town.
And so, with these kind ofgoals in mind, they'll talk to
us about what they see a visionon on three.
You know 380 and what theycould do for us as far as
developing some of these parcels.
And so that's been exciting,kind of getting to see and know
them and giving their feedbackbecause, as you know, uh, this
(06:21):
whole area in the state of texas, if you were to go to any kind
of a developer's trade show andyou would say to them, hey, are
you in Texas?
They say yes, we are, and yousay, well, I'm on 380.
I'm on 380.
And we are in this town ofCrossroads and all of a sudden
you either get two looks.
You get a look that says, oh, Iknow exactly where you're at
(06:48):
because that's a hotspot for thestate of Texas right now that
Highway 380 is blowing up, it'sgoing into PGA Tour towards
Frisco, and then you got all thedifferent companies coming in.
So that is definitely a hotspot.
And so we would either see thator we'd say I don't really know
much about that area, that, orwe'd say I don't really know
much about that area and so gaveus two.
You know, we had to come out.
Come out of that, thoseregional shows, as either people
know our area and they know itwell, or they don't.
(07:11):
And that's kind of our goal isto find those developers that
know the area, they're, they'rein the north texas area and they
develop these areas.
You know the frisco area, thatpeople that have had experience
doing that, and so all of asudden they look across and say
you know you, you are a hot spot, you are a place we would love
to develop.
And so that's kind of what ourgoals have been in the last two
years is just talking todevelopers.
(07:32):
And then, aside from all that,you have the DISD that came in
to build school high schoolnumber five and their CTE school
, which is going to be locatedright on the west east side of
Naylor Obviously it's underconstruction right now, so most
people can see it and with theCTE school and with the high
school number five, or DISD,these are exciting times for the
(07:56):
town.
You know there's a lot going onwith that.
We have council meetings wherewe discuss the MOU, and the MOU
is important because it has ouropportunity for us to be have
our input in with the DISD andfor them to to hear what we want
to say about how they want todevelop that area around the
high school.
And they've been very, verygood partners and so that's.
(08:17):
We've been very busy in thelast two years with that
absolutely.
Steven Killfoil (08:22):
Well, I'm gonna ask you real quick, Uh, the
groundbreaking obviously hasstarted for our Cross Roads
esteemed High crossroads Schoolfinally.
yes if anybody drives downNaylor heading towards work or
coming back from work, you cansee that it looks like somebody
took a giant cake knife and cutthe top of the cake off.
I mean, that used to be reallyhilly and now it's just flat.
(08:45):
Pretty amazing how fast thosemachines can really move that
earth.
It's pretty cool.
But can you tell the listenersabout this a little bit more and
how it ties directly in withthat 2035 vision for our town?
Ron King (09:05):
Darrell Bock.
Oh sure, yeah, there was.
You know, that whole area ofland, that parcel of land that
the school is being built oncurrently was considered to be
the additional phases of the OakHill Ranch subdivision, and so
when the landowner decided tosell out the last phase of that,
(09:26):
the future last two phases ofthat, then the DIC came in and
told us that they wereinterested in, you know,
building a high school there.
And so we said, okay, well,let's have a meeting.
And we started talking withmany of their leaders and their
board members and we kind of hadto come up with some ideas.
And the nice thing that wasabout you know how they
approached us was look, we knowthis is going to take a good
(09:48):
section of land out of your townand we don't want to just come
in and build a high school andbe done.
We want to actually partner upwith you and we'd like to see
how we can come and make itfeasible for both you and us
both.
And so we began puttingtogether the MOU, which is the
Memorandum of Understanding, andwe began to lay out all the
bullet points and the mayor wasvery, very good at how he got
(10:12):
into these meetings and was ableto express to these leaders,
these DISD leaders, how this MOUwould have to be written up,
and they agreed on many of theseitems, and so we developed the
idea that maybe having a 50-50split of developing the
remaining 23 acres of landlocated in front of the school,
(10:35):
which is on the north side ofthe school, and they allowed us
to have the 29 acres to develop.
And they gave us and granted usa 2.5 acre track of land for
future government facilities sothat we could develop the 29 and
a half acres as commercial andretail with the help of the town
.
They said we really want todevelop that with you, and so
(10:57):
the great thing about all thatwas they said we'll be able to
give you the ability to have 50%of the developing part of the
revenue.
In other words, if you're goingto get all you know, the
revenue tax from that or thesales tax, because we know that
you do not have property taxeshere.
So they gave us the opportunityto be a partner with them on
(11:21):
developing that, and so thatwhole 29 acres of land is going
to be going into developingstages as we are talking to
certain developers on it.
But you know, that's a really,really nice way for a school
district and the first that I'veever seen to say, hey, we're
not just going to come in andbuild what we want to build.
We know that we're taking adent on your town, so let's
(11:43):
figure out how we can bepartners and how we can help
each other out.
And if they're going to be ableto take the property taxes,
because they're going to ownthat land, they're going to make
revenue for the DIC and thetown is going to be able to make
its tax revenue, which is goingto keep us further and further
away from having to ever have topay a property tax, because
we're such a small town, we havesix square miles, and here's
(12:03):
the DIC partner and up with usand saying, hey, we want to come
along and be a partner.
Steven Killfoil (12:08):
Yeah, and the driving force behind that was
the population explosion in ourarea.
I High School Braswell isbusting out at the seams and
more and more people keep movinginto this part of the of state
and it's just it's justincredible.
(12:29):
So I'm pleased that we were ableto actually do that and feed
many, many more of the bulletpoints from that 2035 vision.
I'm really happy about that.
Here's a question for you,though, and I think you'll agree
with me this I think you'llagree with me this uh, it is a
(12:55):
bit of a challenge to gettingour citizenry more involved,
wouldn't you agree?
Ron King (13:00):
yeah, I'd have to totally agree on that.
Steven Killfoil (13:02):
I'll say in kind of a how is a way, and you
guys that are listening out here, I know most of my listeners
you participate, you advocate,you come to meetings, but we
need to get our neighbors moreinvolved.
So what is a way that we canget the citizens of Cross Roads
(13:23):
more involved and active withthe town council in
participating in our meetings,with our growth becoming more
informed?
I mean, you guys are doing agreat job.
You put out that newsletter.
I get it in the mail, I get theelectronic copy of it, I'm on
top of it, I'm always in and outof the town website, um, but I
(13:50):
still.
I still don't see more peoplethere and there needs to be more
people there.
So what is a way that you thinkwe could strategically
encourage people to participatemore?
Ron King (14:06):
That's that's a great question.
the million-dollarmillion-dollar question that
we've always asked ourselves.
How do we get people to comeout and be a part of the town
and celebrate being part of itand volunteering their time,
whether they're on a committeeboard or whether they're on any
kind of a volunteer board thatthey're just giving input in,
whether it's Parks parks,whether it's MBD, whether it's
(14:28):
P&Z hasn't been anycommunication with the people,
and so he was encouraged to goahead and start putting out the
mailer, which was important.
It kind of gives an update week, month to month, on what's
going on, and we've enhanced ourwebsites, we've put out emails
(14:49):
and sometimes the councilmembers and committees just put
out texts to different peoplethat they know in the community.
I think we're trying to figureout if it's worth investing in
an app where people can just goon their phones phone.
We've talked to severalinstitutions that offer that
service services.
expensive, so we have to besure that we're not able to uh
(15:11):
become, you know, over over,done up with too much um
electronics and apps, and is itreally working so?
It's going to be an interesting, an interesting.
Steven Killfoil (15:22):
Well, I've proposed and it's still an open
invite If, if you guys want todo this, I'll be happy to do
this.
Once a month we meet andunfortunately the only place we
really could meet would be thePrairie House uh, but we could
set up a time for a one-hoursegment coffee with the mayor or
(15:45):
coffee with the town manager.
They do it up at Pilot Point.
All the time, their townmanager goes into the local
coffee house.
I frequent that coffee house.
He does it early in the morningand people come in and they
just ask questions and, uh, it'sbeen a very effective uh deal.
(16:07):
If you, if you go and look atthe Pilot Point Podcast, you can
go and get those clips and seehow well that does work.
And I'm in the process ofgetting Cross Roads Podcast put
up on visual on a YouTubechannel.
So, yeah, yeah, this is coming.
(16:30):
This is going to be both audioand visual eventually.
I'm hoping to do that within thenext 30 to 60 days.
So once that's done, then yeah,that'd be great.
Like I said, it wouldn't takeme very little time at all to do
(16:50):
this at the Prairie House.
And if you didn't want it onvideo, fine, we'll do it all.
Audio one, no problem.
But that's not the point, audioor video.
The point is trying to get morepeople to come out and to enact
with him, ask him questions,get to know him.
(17:11):
That's what it's all about.
So I'm willing to do it.
He just, you know, tell him,tell, mayor, next time you see
him reach out to me, let's,let's get together for a cup of
coffee and plan it out.
I'm all for that, yeah.
That is a great idea.
Sure, sure.
And you know it doesn't have tobe but once a month and it'd be
(17:34):
perfect, I think.
But again it's up to him, so Ishall wait for him to call me on
that.
Have you heard when theconstruction will be scheduled
to start on the actual buildingof our town square?
(17:57):
Is it going to be after thehigh school is finished?
, a of , MOU a deal.
Agreements a district and townofficial not because certain
(18:20):
that we and want and not it'sconsidered be binding yet
But good is is and is forwardthat a step now
How do we look at thisdevelopment phase on the 23
acres, on the 29 acres, I'msorry?
(18:41):
And looking at what do we wantto how to?
The first thing that we decidedto do was let's get some
consulting from some developersthat have been in this area and
know the area well and we'veshown them our parcel of land,
the 29 acres, and they aredeveloping it and they are
putting into into playrenderings and building
locations in town square and allthat has been been very well,
(19:05):
you know, very well received bythe town.
We've had open forums at thegovernment building there on 424
, where we've last year invitedeverybody to come and take a
look at what we're developing onthat parcel of land, and so we
got some really good feedbackfrom people and that's been a
big help.
And so now it's going to gointo the second phase of its
design and as soon as we get tothe point where the MOU is solid
(19:28):
and the school district and thetown are completely satisfied
with all the arrangements, thenwe go ahead and start making
that design idea, that rendering, into something where
developers can begin looking atit.
So it's still in the processphase, but we've moved very far
ahead in the last year on it andit's been really, really
exciting to see it coming along.
(19:50):
That's great, yeah, yeah, hey, do me a favor
the the next time, because Iknow that they have to do these
updates with you guys to showyou new processes, plans of how
it will look the next time wehave a big one come up like that
where we're going to have to goover to the county building.
Let me know in advance so I canget the word out on the podcast
(20:12):
and hopefully we can.
Uh, I'll put it out on my HOAwebsite and everything and maybe
we can get a little bit more,uh, citizenry participation,
because I'm I'm positive thatthese people around here would
love to see that.
Wow, this is coming.
You know it.
Oh, no, this is an idea or aplan.
No, this is coming and this ispotentially what it may look
(20:35):
like, and I think that justexcites me and I'm pretty sure
that will excite our listenerstoo.
Absolutely, absolutely.
Well, Ron, what do you thinkabout the progress of TxDOT in
regards to the construction thatdirectly impacts the residents
of Crossroads?
Ron King (20:55):
No, there's no doubt about it, it's been an eyesore
to see them kind of, you know,running behind schedule and
we're hoping to see them wrapthis up, you know, hopefully
within this year.
They were giving us datesearlier than this year, but and
they were supposed to be meetingthose dates but they weren't
able to do that.
So it looks like we're justgoing to have to kind of hang in
(21:17):
there a little bit longer.
I know it's kind of beenaffecting sales revenue.
It's been, you know, cause mostpeople that are kind of caught
up in that will just go aroundthat to a different place to eat
, and we kind of felt that alittle bit on that side of the
side, you know, the revenue side.
Oh, yeah.
It's definitely the talk of thecouncil and the mayor, and the
(21:39):
faster we get them out of hereand get them done and move on,
the better off we're all goingto be and happier we're going to
be.
Steven Killfoil (21:44):
So, no, I feel your pain, brother yeah.
Has Commissioner Williams uhcommunicated when Denton County
is planning on widening Fishtrap Road from 380 to Main Street
?
It's on the books I know that Ihave an answer for you yeah,
that one has to be almost has tobe done, but it seems like they
(22:08):
won't be able to do that untilafter they get 380 lined out and
running because right nowthey've got to get that one
completely done.
Yeah, right now.
Fish trap is the bypass gopeople around, all the
construction on how well I knowin the morning if I'm not out of
(22:29):
my neighborhood by 6:15, I'm ina half-hour almost wait just
to cross 380 on either side,either going down Naylor or
going down Oak Grove Lane.
It just is either going downNaylor or going down Oak Grove
Lane.
It just is.
One thing I am very gratefulfor is TxDot fixed the timing on
(22:51):
that light there at Oak GroveLane where you cross over to go
to 720.
Oh wow, Once it turns green, ifI'm as far back as the entryway
to my neighborhood, I'mactually able to go across the
highway on one green light.
So I'm very happy with that.
They've retimed thatbeautifully, so traffic is
(23:12):
beginning to flow a lot betterthan it was previously.
Previously, man, it was ahalf-hour painful wait getting
out of your neighborhood.
It was like no, this is notacceptable full weight getting
out of your neighborhood.
You know it was like no, thisis not acceptable.
So now we had this event, comeup with um little elm approving
another housing division andthey're gonna slap 50 houses
(23:33):
into a 10 acre lot yeah I saw itright on the corner there,
right on the corner, yeah, yeahnot good.
So we we tried to, uh, we triedto buck that and it it failed.
So I've actually got thedistrict representative from the
little town council scheduledto come on the show, uh, at the
(23:56):
end of the month and to explainto the the citizens exactly what
happened.
Why, right, we went from athree, four and three against to
a unanimous vote, and he'sgonna lay it out and explain
what happened there.
So I can't wait to hear thatexplanation.
So, yeah, and it was.
Ron King (24:16):
It was definitely a good thing to see the bond
package approved years ago andthat's been a help, that $22.3
million Absolutely.
Oh, we needed it Becausethey're just tearing up our
roads, we know, with all theconstruction, and Judge Eads and
Commissioner Ryan Williams andRon Marchant have been kind of
spearheading that together as ateam and getting all that
(24:38):
approved.
So you know, I'm glad that theystepped up their game on that
for those projects and, like yousaid, it's just a matter of
time the bond package isapproved and ready to roll.
It's just you got to do it incertain sequences, certain time
frames, you know.
Steven Killfoil (24:53):
Right, yeah.
Well, isn't it amazing thatsince we were founded as a town
back in 1973, we have maintainedour town property tax free
status?
I mean, we have the county tax,of course, but no, we don't
(25:13):
have any ad valorem taxes.
We've maintained that statusall these years.
Do you think we can hold it fora period of time, much longer?
Ron King (25:26):
You know we're very, very optimistic about ES on that
because we're really gettingpacked tight with businesses and
restaurants and we have sixacres of, you know, six square
miles of land.
But we have a very heavy fronton Highway 380 with so many
incoming businesses that aredeveloping that area based off
(25:48):
the 2035 vision and, of course,the overlay which has been put
into place over the town, whichbasically allows us to have
input of what comes in and whatdoesn't, and what's good for the
town and what coordinates withthe vision.
But in all seriousness, it islooking very, very good for us.
We have a big parcel line nextto walmart and we have
applications in for that, I know.
Steven Killfoil (26:11):
Uh, yeah, I thought they were bringing a
Lowes or something or Home Depot.
That'd be nice yeah, they kindof have us on a list.
Uh, you know, they only canbuild so many stores across the
country, across the state.
Oh, yeah.
Ron King (26:25):
We're on that waiting list, yeah, but you would think
with all the construction goingon, that would be the place to
put a Lowe's.
Yeah, exactly, oh well, justsaying right, yeah, yeah, all
right, yeah, yeah, all right.
(26:50):
Well, ron, thank you again forcoming on the show and y'all
heard it, ron, king crossroadstowns councilman.
Uh, things are happening andmoving up and if y'all want to
know more, start showing up tothose meetings uh, oh yeah, we'd
love to have people at council.
Steven Killfoil (27:04):
We'd like to see some bodies in there.
Yeah, it's nothing more boringthan talking into a camera and
nothing is in the chambersexcept your wives.
So yeah, let's get a little bitmore involved and come on out
to some of those meetings.
I know I'll do my best to tryto get out to them.
So anyway, thank you again, Ron, and you have a blessed day.
Ron King (27:28):
Thank you, Steven.
Appreciate it, enjoy your week.
Thank you.
Steven Killfoil (27:31):
You too.
Thank you so much Okay.
Bye-bye, okay, local eventsaround the area.
Cross Roads Town Hall will beclosed Friday, April 18th, in
observance of Good Friday.
Monday, April 21st, TownCouncil meeting is at 6 pm.
Saturday, April 26th, from 11am to 3 pm there will be a
(27:56):
homeschool and resources expo atthe park in Crossroads at 2042
Farm to Market Road 424 andFishtrap Road.
There will be raffles.
Live music with Greg Davis ofGreg's Guitar Studio in
Providence Village.
For more information, email: aubreyhomeschoolers@ gmail. (28:11):
undefined
com.
Up in Pilot Point Tuesday, April15th, at the Pilot Point Coffee
House, starting at 6 to 9,sessions, Jimmerson and his
lovely wife Wendy bring us awonderful time of entertainment.
(28:32):
So bring your voice or favoriteinstrument out and jam with us
old timers, have some suds andshow off your duds.
Be there or be square.
If you want a chance to chatwith the Pilot Point City
Manager.
Go on out to Jimmerson's coffeehouse on Thursday morning
bright and early, just after therooster crowed on April 17th, 7
(28:54):
am, and grab a great cup of joeand an amazing egg sandwich
from the bar and join in withthe conversation.
Mark, mark your calendars forApril 26th.
From 8 am to 12 noon, the PilotPoint Market starts up.
For more information, contactWendy Atkins at 940-293-7434.
(29:19):
Don't forget to go to Amazon andcheck out the latest book by
local Cross Roads author, StefanMcDermott Achieve Optimal Brain
Health with Nutrition.
The book was written so anyoneat any level could read it and
it includes great practicalrecipes that anyone can use
(29:40):
daily.
The name of the book, again,Achieve Optimal Brain Health
with Nutrition by StefanMcDermott.
It's a great read, folks.
Anyway, beautiful been a dayand thank you all for coming on
the show and listening.
Until next week I'll see you atthe top!
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