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Visit McKinney board hears city finance and event reports; approves March minutes
Summary
At its April 29 meeting, the Visit McKinney board received reports on city credit ratings, airport infrastructure planning, building-inspection ISO improvements, MEDC grant considerations and tourism sales metrics. The board approved the March minutes and later adjourned by voice vote.
The Visit McKinney board received briefings April 29 from city and staff liaisons on credit ratings, airport infrastructure planning and departmental performance, and it approved the minutes of the March 25, 2025, board meeting by voice vote.
City manager Paul Grimes told the board that Standard & Poor’s reaffirmed the city’s A rating and Moody’s reaffirmed an A (double A) rating; Grimes said these investment-grade ratings are timely because the city plans to issue debt for capital-improvement projects. Grimes also said the council has approved issuing debt for East Side infrastructure work at McKinney National Airport to prepare for commercial passenger service and that the council will consider a guaranteed maximum price contract (GMP) for that work on May 6.
Why it matters: Reaffirmed investment-grade ratings can lower borrowing costs for municipal projects; the airport infrastructure work is part of council direction to prepare the airport for commercial passenger service.
Other staff reports and committee updates: - Building inspections: Grimes reported that the building inspections department received an ISO rating upgrade to a “2” for both commercial and residential inspections, the highest McKinney has received and placing the department among the top 2–3% in Texas under Chief Building Official Suzanne Arnold. - MEDC/MCDC: Chris Wilks, MCDC board liaison, said the board voted on or reviewed several project presentations, including a sidewalk accessibility project at the Main Circle and an application from a farming project north of State Highway 380 (identified as Project 613). He said promotional grant applications are open through May 30 and that the MEDC previously granted conditional approval to a construction-related request tied to a tournament sponsor, contingent on a signed agreement with the CJ Cup for an eight-year sponsorship; Wilks said the matter is still being finalized. - Finance and tourism metrics: Alicia Holmberg, Visit McKinney assistant director, reported that the visitor store’s net sales were about $23,000 at the midpoint of the fiscal year (the store’s annual target is $35,000–$40,000). Hotel occupancy tax revenue for March was about $227,000; an STR report showed 72.9% occupancy for the period. Holmberg said one hotel’s data was not included in the report and that staff will follow up to reconcile the figures. - Sales and trade shows: Marie Woodard, Visit McKinney sales manager, summarized the organization’s approach to trade shows and sales outreach, emphasizing reverse trade shows, industry-focused shows and consumer shows as ways to generate RFPs and event leads. Woodard and staff noted ongoing efforts to attract sporting events and other group business and to host the Sports Invitational in 2026.
Votes at a glance: - Item 25-2695 — Approval of minutes for the March 25, 2025, Visit McKinney board meeting. Motion made by Keith Gall; seconded by Patrick McGuire. Voice vote: unanimous in favor; motion passes. (Board members present: Keith Gall, Patrick McGuire, Brian Medina, Jamie Pena, Whitney Nash; Katie Scott absent.) - Motion to adjourn. Motion made by Patrick McGuire; seconded by Brian Medina. Voice vote: unanimous in favor; meeting adjourned.
Meeting context: Several reports were informational; the board took no formal policy actions aside from approving minutes and adjourning. Multiple committees (finance, marketing, sales) reported operational metrics and upcoming events.
Ending: Board members were reminded of upcoming community events and programming tied to Visit McKinney, and the meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn that passed by voice vote.
