Paying it Forward: You can’t go home again, but you can build what’s next #147
Oscar Wilde's 1940 book title rings true. Opportunity and hope spring forth in Wichita Falls. TIF #3 inputs rebuild after the 2007 flood. MLK Scholarship and Prayer Breakfast shares scholarships.
Jack Browne, Wichita Falls Times Record News edition, Sunday January 4, 2026
Oscar Wilde wrote about the impossibility of returning to the past in “You Can’t Go Home Again,” published posthumously in 1940. Influenced by the turbulence of the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and the rise of Nazi Germany, Wilde captured a universal truth: time changes everything.
His character Webber realized that nothing stays the same — family, places, or dreams. That truth resonates today. Holiday visits remind us how much has shifted since childhood. The streets we knew, the homes we loved, even the rhythms of life — they evolve.
Here in Wichita Falls, that reality hit hard on June 30, 2007, when the Wichita River flooded to a record 24 feet, its highest level since 1941. Entire neighborhoods — East Side, Tanglewood, Wrangler’s Retreat, Horseshoe Bend Estates — were devastated. Between 167 and 600 homes were damaged, many beyond repair.
The city responded with resilience. Federal Emergency Management Ag3ency grants purchased and demolished roughly 100 homes in the floodplain with restrictions ensuring no new construction would occur on those parcels in the 100-year floodplain.
In 2009, city leaders created Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Revitalization Zone #3 to breathe life back into areas scarred by the flood. This zone, set to sunset in 2029, channels incremental tax revenue into infrastructure and community development.
As of early 2025, TIF #3 has accumulated funds exceeding $1.5 million due to increases in city and county property tax receipts since 2009 that are set aside for reinvestment.
The board — led by Chair Kenneth Haney includes Ray Dixon, Sandra Gross, Wichita Falls councilors Robert Brooks and Tom Taylor, and Wichita County Commissioners Mark Beauchamp and Barry Mahler — recommends how funds are allocated: 40% for private projects, 40% for public projects, and 20% for community-driven discretionary investments.
State law sets boundaries and rules, but there is flexibility — and a real opportunity for residents to shape what comes next. Recommendations from the TIF #3 board will be finalized by the Wichita Falls City Council and Wichita County Commissioners Court.
Ideas in discussion include demolition assistance to remove hazardous structures, as well as acquiring vacant parcels — many small lots — combining them into larger parcels that offer commercial opportunities. With the city undertaking these tasks, the results are more attractive for further investment in new properties that attract businesses and residents to the East Side.
Processes are in place for residents and developers to engage in renew actions with some funding available from TIF #3 funds. City planning staff has details and works with applicants who meet requirements — such as current on property taxes — to make dreams reality.
Additional discussions at the December TIF No. 3 meeting included engaging with Falls Forward in economic development discussions. Several good-sized commercial parcels are nearby the business park with an ample sewer, water and electrical supply available. These are good alternatives for new business investments as the city owned business park has filled existing developed parcels.
More information is available on the city web sites with TIF No. 3 info at https://www.wichitafallstx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/22394/TIF3?bidId=.
For agenda’s on January meetings, check the city agenda and minutes web site: https://www.wichitafallstx.gov/1542/Agendas-and-Minutes.
Correction: The next TIF No. 3 meeting is 5:30–7:30 p.m. Thursday January 15 at the Martin Luther King Center, 1100 Smith Street. If you care about the future of the East Side, show up. Your voice matters.
Community engagement doesn’t stop there. On January 17, the 37th annual Martin Luther King Scholarship and Prayer Breakfast will be held at the Ray Kclymer Exhibit Hall at the Pulti-Purposew Events Center, 1000 5th Street. Serving line opens at 7 a.m. Dr. K. Schlett Stuart — associate director of executive education at SMU’s Cox School of Business — will speak on leadership and service. Scholarship awards to local students will follow, with some sharing their thoughts as well.
Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for children. Contact MLK Center coordinator Michael Davis at 940-761-7980.
Why attend both events? Because paying it forward means investing in people and places.
Wilde was right — you can’t go back to the old forms and systems. But you can help create what’s next. Wichita Falls has weathered storms before. Now, with vision and collaboration, we can turn vacant lots into vibrant spaces and dreams into reality while honoring leaders and awarding scholarships to the next generation.
This is what community looks like — neighbors showing up, voices being heard, and plans taking shape. It’s about more than rebuilding; it’s about reimagining. When we invest in infrastructure, we invest in opportunity. When we support scholarships, we invest in hope.
Opportunity and hope create better, more vibrant futures for our residents.
Join us. Let’s honor the past by building a future worth coming home to.
Jack Browne is a community activist and former technology executive who believes in the power of connection and service.
The TIF #3 approach to post-flood redevelopment is a model worth studying. Buying and demolishing homes in the 100-year floodplain rather than trying to rebuild there shows real long-term thinking. The 40/40/20 split between private, public, and discretionary projects creates balanced incentives for development without letting any single stakeholder dominate. What caught my eye was the vacant lot consolidation strategy, since fragmented parcels are one of the biggest bariers to redevelopment in flood-affected areas. I've seen cities try to rebuild in place and then face the same problems a decade later.