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Farmers Branch staff recommends careful, business-focused restart of sister‑city program
Summary
Deputy Director Darren Harris presented travel costs and a selection matrix for expanding Farmers Branch’s sister‑city program to Mexico City, Seoul or Taiwan, urging the city to proceed only when business, diplomatic and higher‑education leads justify the investment.
Darren Harris, the city’s deputy director of economic development, presented a plan to reactivate and potentially expand Farmers Branch’s sister‑city program, recommending the city move forward only when a matrix of business recruitment, diplomatic contacts and higher‑education or workforce leads are in place.
Harris told the council his office compared three candidate locations. “Looking at Mexico City, it came in at $2,088. Looking at South Korea, it came in at $5,046. And with Taiwan, it came in at $5,500,” he said, describing estimates for a four‑person, 10‑day delegation. Harris said the estimates used the lowest reasonable costs for flights and ground transportation.
The presentation ranked expected benefits: Mexico City was rated moderate given an established Hispanic population and corporate presence in the Dallas‑Fort Worth area; Seoul and Taiwan were described as strong candidates for business recruitment and foreign direct investment. Harris said workforce and higher‑education collaboration would likely score highly across all three because of existing student‑exchange connections.
Several councilmembers signaled support for restarting the program with an economic focus rather than solely cultural exchanges. Councilwoman Villafranco said she favored beginning with one city and singled out Mexico City as “the most logical at this time,” noting contact with the Mexican consulate and a desire to use the program to attract companies already doing business in North Texas. The mayor and other councilmembers stressed that any travel funded with taxpayer dollars should yield measurable economic outcomes.
Harris recommended reactivating existing sister‑city relationships, selecting a new liaison and considering expansion to Mexico, South Korea or Taiwan only when the city’s investment‑justification matrix is met. Councilmembers requested additional outreach to current sister cities to confirm interest and asked staff to return with further details before any commitments were made.
The council did not take a formal vote on expansion at the study session; members asked staff to provide follow‑up information and return with targeted recommendations.
