Brandon Grumbles

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share your background?

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I am a BRIC (Born and Raised in Celina). I graduated from Celina High School in 1999. My grandmother was the 3rd grade teacher for many years, my grandfather was a postal carrier in Celina after WW2 and my father was the AG teacher at Celina during the 1970's. In 1978 my dad and grandfather started R&R Pest Control, which my dad and I co-own still today. When my wife, Elizabeth, and I got married in 2010, I asked her to move back to Celina to raise our family and my wife absolutely fell in love with Celina immediately. Our oldest son, Army, graduated a few years ago and is currently a senior at Texas A&M University (WHOOP). Mason is going into High School next year and Fisher will be starting Kindergarten next year.  

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What inspired you to run for City Council in Celina?

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I am a 5th generation Celina resident. Its safe to say that my family really loves Celina. With my kids getting older, I really want Celina to be the place that they decide to live while they are raising their families. All the men in my family served Celina in some fashion, with my dad being on City Council in the 1990's. My ultimate goal when I first decided to run was to be a voice of the people that are here now and to respect the foundation of the residents that came before us. Celina is rich in traditions, and keeping people involved that have experienced those traditions is key to keeping our small town values and charm. I really want my kids, and other families, to have some of the same experiences I had when I was growing up here. My goal is to help Celina grow in a way that keeps family legacies local.  

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What is your overall vision for the future of Celina?

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I really see Celina as a destination for families. From our great events to what the City offers in regards to living and playing. With the extension of the tollway through Celina, it really opens up the door for major corporate entities to relocate here and offer more opportunities for work. Its a really hard thing to say in todays society that you work and live in the the same place....but that is key component to a healthier family life. Some of the plans that are in the works with new parks, you can see that keeping Celina a family oriented community is top of mind with the City Council.  

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How do you plan to balance growth and development while preserving Celina’s small-town charm?

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Keeping our traditions and small town charm should be front lines for anyone on or wanting to run for City Council. The only way we don't loose these foundational aspects, is to not bend when it comes time in executing them. A great example of is our Homecoming Parade...It has become SIGNIFICANTLY larger over the past few years. It literally shuts down the town! This is something, no matter how big we get, we must continue to do this every year, and it must stay on the square. That is a big part of our small town charm.

 

Another great example of this is waving. So simple, right?!? I remember when my wife and I moved back to Celina, and I would wave at people when driving. She would ask me who that was and I would just say, " I don't know"! But, they would wave back anyway....Sometimes is just the little simple things that make people feel welcomed and fall in love with Celina.

 

I feel like with a lot of the new subdivisions and roads that are going in around the area, the city has done a great job with honoring our past residents. Either naming subdivisions after the farmstead that was on that land or naming streets after influential residents....but then they take it a step further and will make videos or have articles written about these families explaining the history and making the newcomers feel like they are a part of the past.

 

What strategies would you implement to attract new businesses and create jobs in Celina?

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Working directly with the EDC and the EDC Board to talk about what Celina is missing. Large retailers will come to Celina regardless because of the growth...We dont have to incentivize every one to come here. Incentives can be important for things like first to the market and speed to market, but not every business needs them. Every once in a while, we get that non chain business that wants to come here because of the atmosphere that Celina Creates. The businesses that come here and truly impact the people and the community is what I like the most. A great example of this is Grace Bridge. There a a few more that are looking at Celina right now that will be great for the community and schools.

 

How will you support local entrepreneurship and small businesses?

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We hear it everyday, small business is the backbone of Celina. I myself am a small business owner. The Shop Local is a great campaign here in Celina. When people visit the local restaurants or have a local service company out, the honest reviews that put out on social media is more impactful than they think. The City Council has in the past interviwed small businesses, and I enjoyed seeing those. Right now the EDC and the Chamber of Commerce do a great job of showcasing some of our local business....and it FREE! I would like to see the City, the Chamber and the EDC work more closely together to highlight the small businesses in Celina. to help feed that entrepreneur spirit, I would like to see the Celina School district have a career fair filled only with small business and entrepreneurs in Celina. this is also another great way to keep some of our kids here after high school or bring some of them back after college.  

 

What are your priorities regarding infrastructure improvements in Celina?

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Priority number one is water. Thats not just a Celina thing, but a State wide issue. We need water for growth, we need water for our current residents. The City is working on some things that can help provide more access to water, but it must be a priority now for every single council person. Downtown roads, sidewalks and drainage would be a close second. Downtown Celina is the heartbeat, and its what most people say really attracted them to Celina. They came here for an event downtown, and just loved it. But the roads, sidewalks and drainage have been neglected for so long, that now it's not a quick fix. But it's time to start fixing them. We have events on the square that bring in thousands of people, but there are no sidewalks and some of the roads have such large waves and potholes, that damage can be done to vehicles.

 

A great many of the houses in downtown are pier and beam homes, and when we do have those bug rains, the water has nowhere to go except under the homes. this can cause a safety issue and a health issue. We have such a great requirement for new roads and drainage in our new subdivisions, but such poor conditions in downtown....We need to stop neglecting our heartbeat and protect our historic homes and our residents. Like Bob Wills said, you gotta dance with who brung you.

 

What steps would you take to ensure the safety and security of our community?

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Police and Fire are a huge component of safety for our community. Making sure that they have all the equipment they need to be successful at their jobs. Making sure that they have all the continuing education they need and facilities here local to train in is a must. But it extends further than that. Making sure that we not only keep our first responders physically fit, but also mentally healthy. I praise these men and women for the job that they do, the things that that see and the experiences that they have daily. then to go home to their families and start that part of their life must be difficult. Having the ability to talk with mental health professionals should be a part of their job duties. Keeping these men and women mentally fit and healthy is crucial not only to their safety, but to the communities safety that they serve.  

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How do you plan to work with local law enforcement and community organizations to address public safety concerns?

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We are very blessed to have great leadership in our Police Chief and Fire Chief. Anytime that I have reached out to either of them, their doors have been open. I appreciate that they both have plans with their departments and they are executing extremely well.

  

What are your plans for maintaining or increasing affordable housing options in Celina?

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I believe that we will see the amount of affordable housing start to increase in our community. We have some large developments that are coming in with several options for builders. Some of the things that we could be doing is streamlining the development approval.make the process clear for developments and helping out with permits. Encouraging more mixed use developments with house and retail on the same parcel. We dont want to start throwing up apartments everywhere, and we also must be careful on lot size, by not allowing a bunch of 40 foot lots to come in. While this could increase affordable housing, the strain that it would put on the city and the school district could be catastrophic.

 

How will you ensure that new development projects align with the community’s needs?

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This is where it becomes important to know who you are voting for to be your voice on City Council. Like I said earlier, I see Celina being a family oriented community where families can work and play. This means that new developments need to have good green space for families. Having some light retail/restaurants on their area, ease of access to main roads and proximity to schools.

 

How do you plan to manage the city’s budget while addressing both current needs and future growth?

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Its all about priorities. With a growing community comes increased concerned with public safety. That was a main priority on last years budget. Public safety extends beyond first responders. Roads are a public safety concern. Proper lighting on roads and subdivisions. Some of these things we can be looking at the developer to provide. I feel that this year I will have a big push for public works and engineering when it comes time to look at the budget. I would also like to have a butter understand of our procurement process as it pertains to the contractors that we are hiring to build our infrastructure and that contractors that are hired to maintain our infrastructure. How can we get the invitation to bid out to more businesses? How can we get it out to more local contractors? Are the local contractors trained and understand our procurement process? I would like to get more information on the change orders that are coming in from these contractors after they are awarded a bid.

 

What specific areas do you believe require increased funding or reallocation of resources

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Public works and permitting. Celina has a growing need for a large public works department with well trained and well compensated employees. When it comes to city departments, public works is the heartbeat of Celina. I feel like with the growth we are experiencing, the permitting department and inspectors are overwhelmed. Getting them more staffing and more streamlined policies will not only make it easier to work with the city, but it will also increase the speed to market for residential and commercial properties.

  

How will you ensure that the voices of Celina residents are heard and reflected in decision-making processes?

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For the past year, I have accepted any and every phone call or in person meeting with any resident wanting to speak with me about something. I take notes during those conversations and always give them a time frame in which they will hear back from me. I live here...I am from here...its all about respecting everyone around you, and understanding that whatever they are dealing with, its the most important thing to them at that time. I don't hide behind policy. Common sense and a love for people will go a long way. I urge people to get involved, show up to events, speak at Council Meetings. At the end of the day, the people have more control of what goes on in the city than they think. If you have anything questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me. My cell is 972-363-5716

 

What methods will you use to keep the community informed about City Council initiatives?

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Social media is one of the most powerful tools today. I have proposed that City Council and the Mayor produce more community videos. Get back to doing the city council recap. More opportunity at events to speak with council members, and more events designed just to speak with council members. Open forums are good. As council members, be shouldn't be afraid to speak in public with our own thoughts.

 

How do you plan to promote environmental sustainability and enhance the quality of life in Celina?

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Making sure that the developers are sing some of these green areas and retention ponds for watering. I would like to see a push on more native grasses and plants being used at the city level, and maybe some form of incentive for residential and commercial properties to use native plants to lower watering. With new commercial, making it a requirement to use energy efficient lighting or solar.

  

Are there specific green initiatives or projects you would support or introduce?

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Parks with detention ponds used for watering and harboring a local ecosystem. incorporating more nature trails in parks and developments. Not putting a lot of flowers and trees in the medians that require high maintenance. A push or incentive for businesses to encourage sustainable practices.

 

What is the one message you’d like Celina voters to take away from your campaign?

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I am not a politician. My ultimate goal is to make Celina a place that kids and future generations want to live. That doesn't mean bring in as many rooftops that we can, and just start packing businesses in all over the place. It simply means listen to the people that are here now. What are their concerns? What made them choose Celina out of all the other cities? How do we make Celina the city of generational legacies? That is my ultimate goal. My great grandfather got here in the late 1890's.....I want to build upon the foundation that he built, and that my grandfather built upon and that my father helped to refine.  

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How do you plan to work with fellow council members to achieve your goals?

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I have said it in the past and it still holds true today. I don't care who sits to the left of me or the the right of me....at the end of the day we all should have the same goal. We can difference in opinions, that fosters good conversations. I don't play sides and I don't play politics. I reach out now to council members ( without breaking quorum laws) to ask questions. I try to get as much information and understanding that I can before I make a vote on items. I might disagree with some votes, but hey....thats what makes America great. We have the right to disagree with each other and still be friendly at the end of the day.