Martin Schelling is Southlake Style's 2013 Community Impact Winner.
As class president his senior year in high school, MartinbrSchelling never imagined that he'd continue to pursue leadership roles inbrpolitics — he just liked talking to people. Fast forward 30-plus years,brand Schelling has held some of the most esteemed positions in the city ofbrSouthlake, where his commitment to bettering the town has been instrumental inbrmaking it a safe and wonderful place to live. From serving on the SPINbrcommittee (Southlake Program for the Involvement of Neighborhoods) to cocreatingbrSouthlake's Crime Control and Prevention District to his current role on citybrcouncil, Schelling has devoted years to community service without expectingbranything in return. Southlake Styleis honored and excited to present Martin Schelling with the 2013 CommunitybrImpact Award.
A born leader
Martin Schelling grew up on a small farm in rural Iowa,brwhere his father was a farmer and his mother was a teacher. The town had 1,600brpeople, and there were only 32 in his high school graduating class. Schellingbrchose to attend the University of Tampa in Florida — mainly drawn to thebrappealing weather — where he graduated with a major in management and a minorbrin economics. After returning to Iowa for a year to farm alongside his dad, hebrrealized he wanted to try to pursue real-estate opportunities outside the state.brIn 1977, he moved to Dallas, taking up residence near White Rock Lake. With abrjob in Grapevine, he tolerated the commute until increasingly congested trafficbralong I-35 got the best of him. In August of 1992, Schelling moved tobrSouthlake.
“I bought abrhouse and a plot of land off of White's Chapel, but it was a mess,” Schellingbrrecalls. “You couldn't even see the house from the road, and the people livingbrthere had it very run down. For about seven years, every weekend, all I did wasbrwork on that place.”
In 1996,brSchelling met his wife, Linda, an equestrian professional from Scotland whobrreceived her formal training at a London riding school. At the time, Linda wasbrworking at Showtime Farms, right up the road from Schelling's home.
“She would drive by every day, butbrwe never knew each other until a mutual friend at the barn introduced us,” hebrsays. The couple married in 1997 and now has two daughters, born and raised inbrDragon Nation — Sydney, who attends Durham Elementary, and Sarah, who attendsbrCarroll Middle.
“When I first moved to Southlake,brthe only things here where the Dairy Queen and the Magic Mike's. I didn't havebrkids, and I wasn't married,” Schelling says. “My wife and I had careers andbrwere kind of late bloomers. But we love Southlake for its school district and forbrall the amazing amenities it has, from the roads to the close airport to the topography.brEverything you need is here — except for Pappadeaux's; I wish that was inbrSouthlake. But I don't ever want to leave, because I love it here.”
Ensuring safety and security
Wanting to get involved in his community, Schelling joinedbrSPIN when it started in 1994 and served on it for eight years. It was at a SPINbrmeeting that he was first introduced to Brian Stebbins — then giving abrpresentation about his vision for what would become Southlake Town Square — andbrwhere it was discussed that Southlake didn't yet have any sales-tax revenue. Inbr1997, Schelling, City Manager Curtis Hawk and Chief of Police Billy Campbellbrgot together and decided something needed to be done about generating revenuebrto pay for things like city real estate, special initiatives (i.e. schoolbrresource officers) and technology.
“We didn'tbrhave two nickels to rub together,” Schelling says. “So we created the CrimebrControl and Prevention District to be authorized for five years — it wouldbrraise funds through a half-cent sales tax.” Once the legislation passed, abrdecision had to be made about whether the city council would serve as the boardbrfor the district or they would create a separate board. In the end, a separatebrboard was formed and Martin served one year as its vice president followed bybr12 years as president.
“At thebrtime, city council was not very unified, and neither was the city,” recalls BobbrMundlin, a partner at Lifetime Benefits Insurance and longtime friend ofbrSchelling's who currently serves on the CCPD board. “Martin was keen to listenbrto everyone's perspectives and then work to build a consensus. His skillset —brreal estate, zoning and building — phenomenally benefitted what we were doingbrthere.”
One of thebrfirst things on the agenda for Schelling and the CCPD was to buy into thebrNortheast Tarrant County consortium, which allowed the public works, fire andbrpolice departments of Southlake and surrounding towns like Keller and Grapevinebrto be on the same radio system. It cost $1 million, which was steep, but itbrmeant the city could respond more quickly and effectively if emergencies like abrtornado or chemical spill occurred.
Four yearsbrinto the CCPD, Schelling and other board members decided not to wait until thebrfifth year to authorize it for the next 15 years. The reauthorization passedbrwith success and is set to expire in 2016.
“We stuckbrto our guns and were pretty frugal with our money,” Schelling says. “DPSbrheadquarters is paid off, DPS West is paid off, and the bonds on the DPS Northbrfacility will be paid off in about five or six years. Then we'll havebreverything paid for.”
Frugality,brMundlin says, is one of Schelling's many strong suits. “Martin's not a guy whobrspends money that he doesn't have. He handles his civic endeavors the same waybrhe does his personal endeavors. He's an independent thinker and has abrfinancially conservative perspective.”
ShanabrYelverton, Southlake's current city manager, worked alongside Schelling whilebrhe served on SPIN and collectively with him for the better part of 20 years.
“Martin isbrvery dedicated to his work,” she says. “When you are one of the first boardbrmembers for a brand new program, there is a lot of setup that goes into that.brThere's a lot of careful consideration about how you're going to move forward.brMartin wasn't someone who came in and then moved on to something differentbrquickly. He really dug in and dedicated himself to that work.”
SPIN andbrCCPD aside, Schelling's resume also includes past board positions with thebrNortheast Leadership Forum (of which he is still a member), the SouthlakebrChamber of Commerce and Bicentennial Park's Adventure Alley. He served on bothbrthe 2025 and 2030 Southlake steering committees and is a member of thebrMetroport Cities Partnership — during his time as a board member and chairman,brhe playing a significant role in lobbying TxDOT to transform S.H. 114 from abrstate highway full of gravel trucks barreling down the road to the freeway itbris today. And, rightfully so, Schelling was voted Volunteer of the Year inbr2001. Yet of all his accomplishments, he counts building the main DPS facilitybras the most memorable.
“We werebrstruggling to find a spot, and real estate was not really available,” hebrremembers. “We needed to buy some land from Cooper and Stebbins, which was anbrextremely pleasant experience. Brian couldn't have been fairer or morebrforthright. That was the most meaningful contribution, that we got it built andbrunder budget. It's a beautiful facility.”
It's good to be inbrSouthlake
Twelve years ago, Schelling, Mundlin and others involved withbrCCPD bought the 47 acres of land that now houses the brand new DPS Northbrtraining facility. Available for use by local police and fire departments, thebr37,000-square-foot, $16.6 million facility includes classrooms, a clinic and abrfiring range.
“Thebrbuilding really fits into the setting,” Schelling says. “I think the brickbrselection is fantastic, and the interior is exceptional. It's just a timelessbrbuilding. Fifty years from now, someone will say, ‘That building really looksbrgood.'”
In 2010, Schelling stepped backbrfrom his role on the CCPD to focus on his position as a partner in Conifer RealbrEstate and on running for Southlake City Council — a position he won in 2011 thatbris set to expire in May of next year. However, Schelling says he is consideringbra second three-year term.
“I've talked to my family aboutbrwhether I'm going to run again in 2014, and my plan is to do it,” he says. “IfbrI am reelected, I'd have my second term and then be term-limited out. Then, Ibrthink I might spend more time with my family and more time golfing.” Once hisbrdaughters are older, Schelling says he and his wife plan to downsize — but thatbrthey'll never leave Southlake, and Yelverton can understand why.
“When youbrstay on a board for a long period of time like Martin did, you really get tobrsee your ideas through to the end,” she says. “I can imagine it's immenselybrsatisfying for him to see his work on the ground come to life. Martin has beenbra wonderful volunteer in Southlake, a really committed person who worries aboutbrthe future and is willing to put his own time into making it the best it canbrbe. It's hard to complain about living here — as we say, ‘It's good to be inbrSouthlake.'”