By R.J. Morales | TX3DNews.com
Residents During the July 15, 2025, McKinney City Council meeting, community members voiced escalating concerns about homelessness and its impacts on residents and local businesses, highlighting the urgent need for city action and support.
Several residents addressed the council directly, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation:
Wendy Gallagher, a longtime resident and business owner, expressed significant frustration and disappointment with the city’s handling of homelessness downtown. “My employees, young women, have been approached aggressively, verbally harassed, items thrown at us, including me, and intimidated just trying to open the doors for business,” Gallagher stated passionately. She also criticized a council member’s response to her concerns, which suggested relocating as one solution, describing it as “deeply disappointing and frankly, offensive.”
Kim Black, who has lived downtown for nearly 35 years, brought dramatic evidence to highlight the urgency. “I’m a little bit late tonight because I had to run back to the house because I forgot my crack pipe,” she stated sarcastically, showing the council the pipe left on her driveway. Black described witnessing drug use openly in front of her house and stated, “It’s also sad to see properties downtown covered in trash. We love the library…but because of the homeless attraction, the bathrooms usually don’t smell good and there are people sleeping on the chairs and couches.”
The issue resonated with Paul Ballesteros, founder of local nonprofit Emmanuel Labor, which aims to address the root causes of homelessness. Ballesteros, emphasized humanizing the issue, stating, “The root cause of homelessness is a breakdown of nuclear relationships. The challenge or the mystery is where the breakdown began.”
Beth Bentley of St. James Church added a compassionate perspective, urging the council to take structural action. Bentley suggested establishing a dedicated board or commission to tackle homelessness comprehensively. “These are human beings, and it’s a very tender conversation,” Bentley reminded council members. “What impacts the least of these impacts all of these.”
Residents like Kyle Sims supported increased dialogue. Sims called for informal town halls to address homelessness collaboratively, emphasizing, “How can we as a community come together and help with this a little bit more…there’s got to be some stuff we can do and some ways we can help.”
Council members acknowledged residents’ frustrations and they announced a downtown-focused town hall scheduled for Thursday at 8:30 AM at IMPACT, aimed at addressing security and homelessness concerns. The meeting will include multiple city departments and is described as “one of many discussions that we will have moving forward,” intended to promote transparency and public input. Mayor Bill Cox acknowledged the emotional weight of the issue, stating, “These are heavy conversations, and it’s not a big deal until it happens to you, and it’s happening to you.” He emphasized the city’s commitment, noting, “Job one is to keep our citizens safe, and then we go from there.”
In addition to addressing homelessness, City Manager Paul Grimes shared an update on McKinney’s deployment of seven personnel to assist with flood recovery efforts in Kerrville. “They are still there. It’s part of our special rescue team and some of our mutual aid agreements we have,” Grimes said. “McKinney is working and representing—showing the care that, of course, we all feel for the terrible situation they’ve had to deal with down there.
Mr Grimes also celebrated city staff achievements, announcing, “Our procurement staff received the 2025 Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award…McKinney is proud to be one of just 216 recipients nationwide.” He noted that the city is being recognized alongside just 85 other cities, highlighting McKinney’s commitment to high standards and fiscal responsibility.
In fiscal updates, the council approved a revised interlocal agreement with Collin County regarding animal shelter services. Councilman Cloutier moved to authorize the city manager to enter the agreement, noting McKinney’s participation would be capped at $546,693 for FY 25–26. If other primary cities fail to approve the agreement, McKinney’s fallback participation in the existing agreement would be limited to $623,918. “Those funding levels are estimated and calculated on a pro rata basis,” explained Assistant City Manager Trevor. “If they don’t get enough entities to participate…we will still be under our current interlocal agreement.”
The meeting highlighted both the depth of the city’s challenges and its stated commitment to respond with transparency and resolve.
Mayor Bill Cox underscored the urgency with a sobering reminder: “These are heavy conversations, and … it’s happening to you. and we acknowledge that we have an issue.”
McKinney residents aren’t asking for miracles—they’re asking for urgency, accountability, and leadership. The coming weeks will show how City Hall rises to the challenge.