Grandview administrator sets sights on new view for town

By Pete Kendall/reporter@trcle.com

GRANDVIEW — Jerry McGlasson doesn’t act or look like a big-city cop. His demeanor is closer to a feed store salesman’s or your favorite uncle’s or grandfather’s. And the mustache, cavalry-style cowboy hat and tweed jacket lend him the sophisticated air of a professor in good standing at the local college.

He is a person to whom Grandview citizens frequently gravitate when they seek plain talk, plain thought and a sympathetic ear.

As police chief and city administrator, he is among the community’s most accomplished spokespersons.

He has the gift of gab and knows how to use it to his, and his employer’s, advantage.

“This town has a lot to offer,” McGlasson, a former Fort Worth police officer and North Richland Hills police chief, said.

This is true. It is also accurate that Grandview City Council wants to capitalize on Grandview’s assets through commercial and residential growth, improved infrastructure and historic revitalization.

These are topics McGlasson warms to in an instant. All were addressed in a town hall forum last month.

“The council wanted to be the catalyst for making it happen,” he explained. “What kinds of businesses do we need to attract, and what can we do in order to attract them? The first step is developing a land use plan.

“I don’t think you ever stand still. You either move forward or backward. Grandview needs to grow, but it doesn’t need to be Cleburne. You don’t need 30,000 people here. But there’s plenty of room for some small businesses. We have all this vacant land up on the Interstate. There’s lots of room for development.”

Some remnants of old Grandview have been forgotten and need to be refurbished, he said.

“There are some neat old buildings downtown that need to be occupied. One across the street (from his downtown office) is in the process of being developed. We have a man wanting to put a donut shop next to the newspaper. An insurance agency is going to establish an office here. Edward Jones investments is looking to establish an office. They already have a representative, but he has to walk around town to talk to people because he doesn’t have a storefront.”

I-35W frontage would be ideal, it seems, for a large chain motel — for travelers who get sleepy between Alvarado and Hillsboro.

“There is no motel in Grandview,” McGlasson said. “Put in a motel, and you’d have a restaurant component next to it. They’d feed off each other.”

Grandview commercial real estate prices are not excessive, he maintained.

“We don’t have the same infrastructure costs that you encounter in a Fort Worth,” McGlasson said. “They have inherent overhead that drives up prices. Council here wants to work with new business.”

The council is also in favor of residential growth, McGlasson said, as long as it doesn’t outpace the infrastructure.

““There are residential developments on the drawing board. We have to get our infrastructure in such a state that we can attract both commercial and residential development at the same time. If you don’t have a water and sewer system, if you don’t have streets in place ... if all that’s not there, you’re not going to get either commercial or residential development.

“There have been good moves made in the direction of infrastructure. We’re looking at making significant improvements in the water and sewer system. We just spent a quarter of a million dollars on a sewer outfall line. It will be a much larger and better quality line, not the old clay or cast iron pipe but PVC.”

Water is a concern for a growing Grandview, but water is a concern for all communities.

“I’m old enough to remember when oil was a big deal,” McGlasson said. “I’ll tell you what. Water’s a bigger deal. We’re not going to last very long without water.”

Grandview pulls from the Trinity aquifer.

“We’re a groundwater exclusive city,” McGlasson said.

If the old guard in Grandview is resistant to the proposed changes, McGlasson said he’s not aware of it.

“If so, they did not come to that town hall meeting. If we were trying to put in an entertainment district and start building apartments willy nilly, we would probably have resistance. A lot of the citizens at the town hall meeting were old guard. One woman said, ‘I’ve only lived here a year, and I saw ya’ll were doing this, and I want to be part of it.’ So, this seems to include those who have been here forever and those who just got here.”

Grandview has fewer eyesores than many small communities. But it has them.

“A man just bought three vacant lots,” McGlasson said. “Before the downturn in the economy, his intention was to build three spec houses on those lots.”

One vacant lot in the business district “will be parking for lofts and a health center,” McGlasson said. “We have a number of building permits that are active right now. People are renovating existing structures. That’s desirable. One of the things being rebuilt is on the railroad right-of-way. It used to be a fertilizer plant. I asked the man what he was going to do with it, and he said, ‘I’m going to build an office warehouse complex.’ It has lots of good warehouse space.”

All occupied downtown buildings meet code, he said. Some of the unoccupied structures do not.

“Council recently had a public hearing, and the owner of one of the buildings is on the clock,” McGlasson said. “Thirty days after the hearing, the building has to be up to code or have some substantial improvements made. That 30 day clock is running.”

Housing is available for families wanting to move to Grandview, he said.

“There are a number of houses for rent. There is an upscale housing developing out toward the Interstate. There’s a good bit of residential space available.”

Revitalization consultant Jack Thompson is in favor of Grandview remaining Grandview, McGlasson said.

“He said, ‘All the cities now are trying to build what’s already here in Grandview. They want to establish a town center.’ He said, ‘You’ve got that. You’ve got this neat old town center.’ ”

McGlasson relocated to Grandview in 2002. Previously, he resided in Briaroaks for 10 years.

“When I left, I was a lieutenant in the police academy in Fort Worth,” he said. “In ’82, I took the chief’s job in North Richland Hills. I was chief there till ’99. Here, I’m police chief and city adminsirtator. That was something council wanted me to do. I had to tell them I had never worn the hat of city administrator, but I was willing to try it if they were.

“I’ve been pretty happy with them. I’ll let them speak for themselves.”