Your trusted source for community news
Beneath a bridge off Denton Drive, wooden pallets form a makeshift shelter tucked into the overpass structure. It's nearly invisible from the road above, and City Manager Ben Williamson and Deputy City Manager Jawaria Tareen are surprised to see it.
"We haven't seen those before," said Wiliamson.
This hidden encampment represents one of the most complex challenges facing Farmers Branch: homelessness that doesn't originate within city limits but manifests along its borders with Dallas.
"Being homeless is not a crime, and we approach it as these are their personal belongings," Williamson said during a recent ride-along with Branch Herald journalists. "So how do we help them get into a place that's better for them?"
The city contracts with Metrocrest Services for unhoused outreach, but the issue requires regional cooperation. Williamson and Tareen have been meeting with Dallas and surrounding cities to coordinate responses, recognizing that when Dallas conducts sweeps of encampments, individuals often return within 24 hours or relocate to neighboring jurisdictions.
"It's a regional problem," Williamson said. "The root issue is homelessness itself, not the symptoms that we're seeing, which is the unhoused."
While homelessness requires regional collaboration, other public safety initiatives fall directly under city control. Residents may have noticed a two-second pause when all traffic lights turn red at major intersections. The operational change, implemented without requiring council approval, aims to reduce serious accidents caused by drivers running red lights.
"You realize that if you hit the gas, you would have been T-boned and could possibly have lost yourself or someone you love," Williamson said, explaining the philosophy behind the safety measure.
Small indicator lights installed on traffic signals allow police officers to see from any position whether a light is red, making enforcement easier. The enhanced traffic enforcement reflects Police Chief Kevin McCoy’s priorities since joining the department about two and a half years ago.
"Under Chief McCoy, you've seen a 300% increase in traffic interactions," Williamson said, noting that McCoy remains an active patrol officer who writes tickets himself.
As the tour moved from the city's periphery to its developing West Side, the conversation shifted from enforcement to growth. The West Side continues its transformation with Mercer Park under development on land donated by Centurion American. The city has allocated $1 million for the park, with potential funding reaching $3 million depending on council decisions, community feedback and grant availability.
Wide concrete trails, 10 to 12 feet across rather than standard three-foot sidewalks, wind through the Mercer development, reflecting modern urban planning principles that prioritize walkability and connectivity.
"When we say trails, there's a distinction," Williamson said. "Sidewalks are not trails."
Not all development comes without growing pains. Oakbrook residents recently witnessed the removal of median trees, sparking some controversy. The city is bringing the medians up to municipal standards, which requires trees to be centered rather than positioned on the edges where roots can damage streets and sidewalks.
"The location of each tree was too close to the sidewalk," Williamson said. The project includes infrastructure improvements and new landscaping aligned with citywide standards.
These visible changes in neighborhoods reflect broader organizational restructuring behind the scenes. Over the past three years, city leadership has reorganized operations, consolidating 14 department heads into nine and converting five executive positions into frontline roles.
"We leaned out the leadership team to make sure we had the right people in the right place," Williamson said. The restructuring included standardizing policies for vehicle allowances and pay scales that previously varied by department.
“We made some people upset. We made some people happy. But it was all due process," Tareen said about the organizational changes. "The collaboration wasn't just city management. We worked very closely with our HR department, our city attorney."
This emphasis on efficiency becomes especially important when considering the city's aging infrastructure needs. The Senlac facility on Senlac Drive, built in 1967, houses traffic engineering offices and serves as a staging area for public works and parks operations. The building originally functioned as the city's animal shelter, with external-facing kennels now used for storage.
"This is a 60-year-old building," Williamson said, noting that addressing aging facilities remains a priority as the city plans for the future.
The contrast with the newer Keenan Bridge facility, completed in 2020, illustrates both the challenges and progress the city faces. The modern fleet operations center provides adequate space for vehicle maintenance and upfitting, unlike the cramped Senlac location where workers previously serviced vehicles outdoors in extreme weather.
Even as the city addresses aging facilities, it continues to attract new investment. Warehouse and light industrial development continues along the city's periphery with Dallas, which Williamson emphasized brings strategic benefits such as lower demand on public safety resources, strong water consumption and favorable tax revenue with minimal service requirements.
Brinks Home, formerly known as Monitronics, recently agreed to remain in Farmers Branch long-term, representing a significant economic win for the city.
Throughout the tour, city leaders emphasized their commitment to transparency and efficient use of taxpayer dollars while acknowledging that serving a community requires constant balancing of competing priorities and limited resources.
"The city has changed," Williamson said. "And you've got to have that capacity for change too."
