Mayoral summit addresses statewide challenges

Mayors from some of the state's largest cities met Monday at Texas Motor Speedway for an informal summit to discuss issues such as transportation, water and aging infrastructure.

Plano Mayor Phil Dyer was one of the mayors in attendance at the event, which was organized by Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price. Dyer said the summit allowed the mayors to get to know one another and create a dialogue that will hopefully lead to solutions to some of the state's biggest challenges. The mayors of Arlington, Dallas, Denton, Garland, Grand Prairie and Irving also attended the summit.

"We have many of the same issues, just on a different scale based on size," Dyer said. "Some cities have had successes in some areas more so than other cities, so we want to share our best practices among one another. ... It was all positive and we were able to find the areas where we can lock arms and work together."

As the state legislature prepares to enter into session in January, cities are beginning to amp up the pressure to make sure their voices are heard. If the group of 15 mayors sticks together, it could have considerable influence in Austin since it represents about 9 million Texans, Price said.

"It was great to all have the chance to sit down and share many of the common challenges and opportunities that connect all of us," Price said in a press release. "I think we have a good dialogue and we committed to supporting each other as we head into another state legislative session in the coming year. We've got a lot our collective plate, but together we are much stronger."

The group, which has dubbed itself the Big Texas City Mayors, didn't get into any real discussions dealing with solutions to the challenges, Dyer said, but future meetings are planned where more in-depth discussions will take place. Dyer said cities such as Amarillo, which is not dealing with the severe water shortage facing much of the state, will have keen input into ways cities such as Plano, Dallas and Fort Worth deal with their lack of water.

"I think the state legislature has really elevated the importance of the water issue over the past few years," Dyer said. "They don't need a tremendous amount of prodding from us, but we do want them to know that the cities are going to be a part of the solution. We are going to really help with pushing conservation."

Dyer said that while the meeting only included the mayors of the largest cities in the state, he didn't feel the problems discussed only affected urban areas. The solutions that come out of these meetings should help all Texans since the majority of the challenges are found statewide, he said.

"The rural areas have transportation issues such as road and bridge maintenance that is pretty critical to them, just like we do," he said. "We all have a stake in making sure the legislature starts looking at ways to fund transportation appropriately. The outlying rural cities also have water issues like we do; and obviously the public education system is found throughout the state."

Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne will host the next meeting of the Big Texas City Mayors, which will take place this fall.

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