The city is purchasing these buildings and all the property around it from Van Alstyne ISD.

Story and photo by Mary Jane Farmer

Van Alstyne Mayor Steve Riley opened the first of several meetings Tuesday night (May 14, 2019) with the City Council, acting as the Zoning Board of Adjustments, voting on a request for variance. A resident asked to allow for a residential back yard to be less than five feet from the lot line and for an accessory structure located closer than 15 feet to the house. This house is at 448 North Main. No one spoke up either for or against the request. The ZBA approved it unanimously, the ZBA adjourned and the regular City Council meeting began.

Council members Ryan Neal, Marla Butler, Robert Jaska were present along with Mayor Riley, with Council member Lee Thomas absent.

The Council adjourned into executive session to discuss several items, including the Mantua Development and the purchase of properties to be used for city facilities and parks, according to the agenda.

About 30 minutes later, they reconvened in open session. Other items on the night’s agenda are reported separately here.

At several recent meetings, also following discussions in executive session, the Council approved that City Manager Lane Jones look into land purchases. He has been doing that, and found four that could be of advantage to the city during this time of growth. These are the property owned by the Van Alstyne ISD and formerly used as its administration building, before that it was the elementary school, and has an historical marker in front depicting it was the original college property; about 10 empty acres between Dallas and Kelly streets now owned by the First Baptist Church; the Railcar Park on South Main owned by the Van Alstyne Chamber of Commerce; and, farther north and also paralleling the railroad tracks, the empty lots between Van Alstyne Parkway and Jefferson Streets, owned by S6 Ranches. These last two are designated to be used for downtown parking lots, the uses of the first two have not yet been finalized.

First in the order of business was a presentation to the Council and the public regarding the status of the city’s financial situation. The money necessary for these purchases will not, according to presenter Jim Sabonis of Hilltop Securities, make no differences in the taxable assessed value nor increase the city’s Interest & Sinking Rate of $0.1205. He showed, too, that the city’s TAV has increased from $155,249,590 in 2009 to its current $292,933,177 rate of 2018. Also, he showed that the city’s tax rate has lowered from $0.65 in 2009 to its current $0.596 of 2018.

“It’s a modest plan based on our resources,” Sabonis said.

The first order of business was to approve the tax and revenue certificates of obligation for an approximate $1,205,000 to cover the costs of these purchases. That was approved unanimously. The time frame for this process shows that the city must give public notice twice during May of this intent. At the July 9 meeting, the results of the loan request will be presented to City Council, and, should the process continue to be successful, the funds are expected to be delivered to the city about August 7.

The total costs for these properties, individually broken out, are S6 Ranches, $170,000; Chamber of Commerce, $46,000; the ISD property, $525,000; and the church property $390,000. There will also be figured in $250,000 for planning, engineering and architectural work and $84,000 for the cost of issuance.

Speaking against the purchases was resident Teddie Ann Salmon, who said she is “Hoping it is not a done deal. This is the second time the church property has been presented for purchase. Yet there are no for-sale signs on the property.” She also pointed out that the school district is planning a move to the west side of U.S. 75 for its new possible high school site, yet the city is not considering property on that same side. She also expressed her belief that the city’s use of the property belonging now to the church will depreciate the property values of the homes in that area. “Sometimes a bargain is not always a bargain.”

Suzon Crowell also spoke out against the purchase of those 10 acres on Kelly Lane and against the proposed purchase of the ISD property. “We don’t have the money to repair what we already have. We are looking at expanding our debt, but not for improvement.” She said, “I ask that the city reconsider spending $1.2 million of our money on these purposes.”

The purchase of all four properties plus the certificates of obligation were approved, individually and unanimously, following the discussions.

Story by Mary Jane Farmer, Courtesy photo UPDATE: If it rains, the concert will move indoors to The Roost, on South Main across from the government building..

Tuesday night brings the second of the 2019 Music in the Park series to Dorothy Fielder Park in downtown Van Alstyne, presenting Denison songwriter and singer Casey Baker in concert from 6-8 p.m.

Music in the Park is presented by the Van Alstyne Chamber of Commerce with assistance from sponsors and the Community Development Corporation. It is held on the third Tuesday of each month and is free to the public. This year’s series has expanded and will continue through October.

Baker recently released a CD named When The Party’s All Over, and which features 10 original songs she wrote. One of those, “It Was Only Me,” has been moving up the Texas Regional Radio Report chart, hitting No. 9 this recent week. With lyrics such as “Don’t both running, I won’t chase you anymore,” it is a good-bye song in true, real country style. And the instrumentation on this song is spot on, enhanced by steel guitar and banjo.

The title cut, “When The Party’s All Over,” is another of lost love, but with the hope of finding true love, co-written with producers Jesse Sims and Pat Manske, of Bent Leaf Music.

Baker grew up in a music-loving family. When she appeared on stage at 14 years of age with her mother, she knew performing country music was her calling. Two of the songs recorded on this CD were her first two penned songs, written in 2010, and by 2017 she knew she was set and ready to pursue that calling, to be a performing artist.

After moving to Denison, one of her first projects was to record the CD, and that was released in January. No dream this, that Baker knows that music can bring people together. And that’s a goal for the Chamber of Commerce, as well, to bring Van Alstyne residents and visitors together in a friendly and fun-loving atmosphere.

The sponsor for this concert is LeCore Nutraceuticals, with free water provided by Texas Star Bank, wine available from Cooley Bay Winery, and food available for purchase from Little Ernie’s food truck. Lawn chairs are recommended, and ice chests allowed, also. Dorothy Fielder Park and its gazebo are at the corner of North Main and East Jefferson streets, or for GPS purposes, 107 N. Main in Van Alstyne. And the Railcar Farmers Market is only a block away on South Main.

Story and photos by Mary Jane Farmer — and stay tuned for an update when it’s OK to let everyone know what else is going on!

Austin Michael Robinson has not been idle since his time on TV’s American Idol ended. In fact, the Van Alstyne teenager

Austin Michael rides one of his horses during a video recording session this week at the family acreage in Westminster. The horse did well, without getting riled up at all, notwithstanding all the strangers and equipment surrounding him.

and his family have been quite busy on career-enhancing projects for the aspiring country artist.

He, along with Colton Gilbreath and Chris Romain wrote a song, “Country Cred,” he recorded it, followed by scripting and filming a video based on “Country Cred” lyrics.

When Austin Michael, 16, played an afternoon show recently at Tener’s Western Outfitters in Sherman, two of the people he met were Chris Romain and Tony Giarraputo, who had only a few weeks earlier opened their new recording studio, Split Window Studios, in Sherman. Austin and his mom and dad, Summer and Sheldon Robinson, checked the studios out, liked what they learned, and solidified that business relationship.

Austin Michael, now a recording artist, fans the campfire flame with his hat, supplied by Tener’s Western Outfitters, during a video shoot at the family property this week.

Austin, he admits, is not a full-fledged songwriter, yet, but got his feet wet when he worked on the new song with music industry veterans Romain and Gilbreath. When on American Idol, the panel of judges (Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, Luke Bryan) questioned the teenager about just how country was he, really. He explained it, saying the family had horses and other livestock, then showed them his skills not only in music, but also in using his lasso.

And that’s what he’s singing about in this new song—being country to the core.

Split Window Studios‘ Chris Romain and others video Austin Michael during scene of the video being produced of Austin Michael’s new song, “Country Cred.”

The Split Window Studios team strives to make the entire recording process as painless, as productive, and as much fun as possible, Romain said earlier, and for that they found the studio musicians that were the best fit for this song. That included Jake Cox on B3 organ, Gilbreath on guitar, Milo Deering on fiddle, and Nathan Brown on drums. That project is now in the process of being mastered, which is the final step of audio post-production, and balances the elements of a stereo mix to optimize playback across all systems and media formats — essential in these days of advanced technology.

Then came the video production. Again, it was Split Window Studios coordinating this—pleasant—work. They hired the film crew and spent last week documenting the country side of life at Lake Texoma. This week, they went to the Robinsons’ acreage in Westminster to take advantage of its lake, horses, and dirt bike trails—

Film crew members at the recent video shoot for “Country Cred.”

everything country that it offers, which is just about everything country can offer up.

Since his time on American Idol, too, Austin has been inundated with country apparel. Tener’s gave him a summertime straw cowboy hat, Wrangler supplied him with numerous jeans and shirts, Justin provided him with new boots, and BEX with sunglasses. And he sports them all in the video.

The friends his age at the video shoot were just that, friends his age, and willing to ride a few dirt bikes for the shoot. All through the day, his sisters, Trinity and Destiny, helped as they could; and when they couldn’t be of help, they took off on a dirt bike or a horse. Country runs in the family.

Giarraputo said their deadline for 100 percent completion of these two separate-but-related projects is May 16. And that’s when they’ll start the radio-promotion portion of the entire recording process. And, as the real country folks say, “This ain’t their first rodeo,” either. Split Window Studios drew from

Austin Michael herding cattle, one scene of the upcoming video for “Country Cred”.

their video shooting expertise a month earlier to complete one for Cole Ferguson, another North Texas country artist. And if it all goes as planned, fans can start calling their favorite country radio stations by June 1 and asking to hear “Country Cred.”

And Summer and Sheldon Robinson? Well, there’s no holding them back, no matter if it’s this project or one of their other children’s. They tackle each dream, each opportunity with equal determination and drive.