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McKinney presentations outline McKinney Roots plan for Grama Branch Park; no council action
Summary
Parks staff and McKinney Roots presented concepts to renovate an existing barn, add a community/education center, parking, and limited site improvements at Grama Branch Park; staff will return with an agreement for council consideration later this year.
City parks staff and representatives from McKinney Roots presented conceptual plans for a McKinney Roots facility at Grama Branch Park and outlined design, operations and negotiation points; the council took no action and staff said it will return with an agreement later this year.
Amy Kinkade, director of parks and recreation, said the project would reuse the existing barn for community and equipment space, add a catering/food-processing kitchen and a rear deck overlooking Grama Branch, and formalize parking (an asphalt lot to replace a gravel lot). She said the Parks and Recreation Board reviewed the plan and voted 5–1 on Feb. 13 to recommend moving the project forward.
Rick Wells, who the city identified as leading the project for McKinney Roots, discussed operational details including a rotational chicken operation. Wells said McKinney Roots currently operates about 350 chickens and rotates them across small plots every three to five days; he reported a recent weekly production of 197 dozen eggs. Wells and Kinkade both emphasized preserving existing trails and open field areas, addressing lighting to limit neighborhood impacts, providing accessibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act, complying with floodplain regulations, and coordinating site design to minimize disruption to nearby residents.
Kinkade said staff and the McKinney Roots team are negotiating terms similar to other city lease arrangements (she cited agreements for tennis courts and the local golf course as examples) and expect to return to the council for consideration next week on preliminary support and then again toward the end of summer with a finished agreement. The presentation included potential education partnerships with McKinney ISD, North Texas schools, and private schools; Kinkade and Wells noted existing school outreach and interest from Collin College and senior programs.
No formal vote was taken. Council members asked about parking, trail connectivity, floodplain constraints and whether active sports fields were considered for the site; staff said previous evaluations found the parcel largely unsuitable for sports fields and that the project would focus on activating largely unused portions of the park while preserving trail uses.
