McKinney council appoints members to restructured capital improvements advisory committee and fills other board vacancies

The McKinney City Council on Jan. 27, 2026, during a special work session appointed members to the restructured Capital Improvements Advisory Committee (CIPAC), moved an alternate into a Building & Standards Commission seat and made changes to the Parks and Recreation and Open Space Advisory Board.

The appointments responded to a state-driven reorganization of CIPAC that requires a seven-member panel with at least four members (50% of the board) representing the real estate development or building industries; those four may not be elected or appointed officials of any governing body. Staff advised the council that the board may include up to two Planning & Zoning Commission representatives and one extraterritorial-jurisdiction (ETJ) representative.

Empress, a city staff member who presented the agenda, told the council that the CIP advisory board is “required to meet at least once, but typically 2 to 3 times per year” and reiterated the composition rules, including the prohibition on the four industry seats being elected or appointed public officials. A council member said recruiting four industry representatives who have “nothing to do with McKinney” will be difficult; that concern framed several nominations and the council’s vote to stagger member terms to preserve continuity.

The council approved motions by voice to fill the CIPAC roster. Motions recorded in the session named the following appointees to CIPAC or its alternates: Steve Wilson (ETJ seat), Scott Woodruff (member 1), James Craig (P&Z-designated slot), John Reedy (engineer), Greg Curry, Brian Hazelwood, Taylor Blanchard and Ben Montgomery (alternate). Several nominees were noted by the council as having relevant professional experience; the transcript does not specify term lengths for each individual appointment beyond the staggered-term action described below.

To avoid all appointments expiring at once, the council voted to create staggered terms for the CIP advisory committee. After discussion and an amended motion, the council approved a staggered schedule so that some member positions will serve two-year terms and others one-year terms (motion recorded as by councilman Bellerner, second by councilman Cloutier); the council recorded the vote as unanimous.

The council also handled an item on the Building & Standards Commission. A vacancy created by a relocation was filled by moving alternate Michael Colbert into the regular seat (term through 2027 as noted by staff) and then appointing Ryan Fenton as an alternate; those motions were approved unanimously on voice votes.

On the Parks and Recreation and Open Space Advisory Board, the council moved James Jenkins from alternate to a full member and appointed Brian Wilnack as an alternate; the council discussed attendance challenges for a current member, Monica Escamilla, and treated Jenkins’s elevation as responsive to that attendance issue. The motion passed unanimously.

Chair (the meeting’s presiding official) described the appointments and staggered-term decision as a way to “get this running” and the council concluded its business by adjourning the meeting after confirming there were no additional public comments.

What’s next: the CIP advisory committee will convene under the restructured membership; staff noted an initial ramp-up period when the committee will likely meet more frequently as it adopts policies and work plans. Specific start dates for each member’s term were not stated on the record and are recorded here as not specified.