The public has made it to the polls, and the unofficial election results are in! We'd like to extend an early Congratulations to Bradi Dewald-Diaz!She has re-claimed the position as Mayor of Copperas Cove. Bradi was elected Mayor of Copperas Cove from 2004-2006. She has the honor of being the youngest Councilman and the first woman along with being the youngest Mayor in the history of Copperas Cove.
Out of a population of about 32,700, Copperas Cove has about 19,000 registered voters. Of those 19,000 registered voters, 751 voters showed up to the polls. The election results will be made official during the May 7th city council meeting. Thank you to everyone that came out to vote.
Editorial Comment: Mayor-Elect Diaz was the only candidate to spend campaign funds in the paper, Bill board, Facebook, and signs. The other three did not campaign hardly at all and one of them was totally non-existent. Ms Weiand set example of what not to do when running for office (she received only 15 votes). The only way to turn the voter turn-out back up is to get candidates to actively campaign. This also means that they need to raise money from citizens. This is an investment in your future. If you don't then only wealthy and well to do people will run for office. The average citizen that would like to serve our great city will not be able to afford the price of campaigning. Less than 4% of registered voters just determined who will be the mayor of Copperas Cove for the next 2 1/2 years.
Committee:
David Wellington, Staff - Present
Brian Wyers, City Staff - Present
Catherine Sharbeno, Member - Present
Jenny Shotwell, Rescue Organization - Present
Ann Slanis, Resident Representative - Present
Veterinarian- Vacant
Loretta Bell, Resident Representative - Present
Council Liaison:
Kirby Lack -Absent
Mayor Candidate:
Ron Nelson - Present
Bradi Diaz - Absent
Joey Acfalle - Absent
Brandi Weiand - Absent
Welcome back for another update with the blog! Today, we were at the Animal Shelter Advisory Committee meeting. While this is a far lesser known about committee, they play an important part in managing the pets and wildlife that need help in our community. The meeting was about 30 minutes, but they covered a few good topics.
Agenda:
Reports: F1 - Brian Wyers gave an update on the new animal shelter project they have been working on. After the latest needs assessment, they came up with two quotes on two different types of shelters. They took the one that most accurately met the needs of the city up to City Council for approval. At first, it was approved, but then after further discussion it was shut down for being too expensive. After further research into what some other area shelters are looking like and other options are out there, they he came across a few observations. The first being that just because a shelter is advertised as being a lower cost, those are usually only preliminary numbers and only cover the structure. Once they factor in the things going in the building, the final cost always goes up within range of the quote that was originally taken before City Council. They did look at one shelter that did cost less like what the City Council wanted, but that one was the same size as the shelter we currently have. Our problem is our needs have outgrown our shelter so that won't work.
Secondly, it's hard to compare facility needs simply based on community size. For example, they were looking at another community that is far larger than ours in population, however our animal input/output rates are higher than theirs. So when we're looking at a new animal shelter, you can't really say "well Killeen (for example; I just pulled it off the top of my head because they're next door) is bigger than us, so why is our shelter going to be bigger/more expensive than theirs? It's not simply about population size and tax dollars. They're looking at the needs for the amount of animals coming and going that they deal with.
For one example, right now they're having to count on donations to transport animals out to be seen by a vet as needed. With this new building, they will have an area onsite where the vets can set aside time and come to them for medical issues as well as getting all their vaccinations. They would have to increase adoption rates a little bit to accommodate for these vaccinations, but then we would have a selling point of our adoptable pets being ready to go and current on vaccinations. They have people find out that their adoptable pets are required to be taken out for vaccinations by the new owner, and those people will say they're going to Harker Heights instead where the pets already come vaccinated. For now, he has a few more meetings scheduled with some other architects to see if they can come up with other designs to save costs but still meet our needs. Once they are done with those meetings, he will take this before the Animal Shelter Advisory Committee once more for a vote, and then back to City Council.
F2 - David Wellington gave a report on the effects and requirements of them transitioning to the three year rabies vaccination for dogs. Right now, this is still in the early proposed stage, so he was out doing some research on this. Vet Associations around the country are going by core shots and non core shots. Core shots being things like your Parvo and Distemper, and non core shots being more along the line of antibiotic lines of shots. So basically, Core shots are proactive, and Non Core shots are reactive as I understand it. (Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong in the comments). They consider the rabies shot separate of both of those. So they consider a majority of the core shots to actually be good for 7 years, but prefer to have them renewed every 3 years. Rabies shots are good for 5 years, but they're starting to recommend either a 1 year shot or a 3 year shot and they're talking about going to a 4 or 5 year shot down the road. They're starting to find out that you can over-vaccinate your pets with the Core shots so they're trying to get away from that. Currently, the Veterinarian Association recommends 3 year rabies and core shots. Cat vaccinations have recently came to 3 year shots as well. Out of all the research David did on this subject, he could find no research against the 3 year shot. He did talk to the local vets in Copperas Cove and has their full support.
One of the resident representatives expressed concern over a beloved dog of hers who recently passed away almost a year ago. She took it in for it's recommended shots all the time and the vet never mentioned anything about over vaccinating, so now she's worried about what she may have done to her pup. David let her know that research on this is still in its early stages, and there are some vets who don't agree. Another resident representative asked if the city is currently enforcing rabies shots, to which the answer was no. When asked if they could, she was told they could by having a resident provide proof with vet records. Another resident representative asked where we can get tags renewed, to which she was told she could go to any local vet. She asked if there was a way to do this online, but was told there is not.
F3 - David Wellington provided a monthly report on statistics and activities of the Copperas Cove Animal Shelter. He said they have switched to a new program to pull this report together and it has a lot of great info, but they're also still working some of it out. This new system not only tells numbers, but it breaks down every species that they pick up or do anything with. So far this calendar year, we have had 153 adoptions, and 141 euthanasia's. Some of those euthanasia's have been animals that were in critical condition. We have had 4 animals who were sick to the point that they didn't make it, and 160 were deceased on the local roads. 153 animals have been returned to their owners, 15 rescues have been transferred out to local rescue centers, and 1 cat had escaped the compound. That happened when a visitor to the cat visiting area didn't properly secure the door and a cat found its way out. They have had 47 animals that were returned to the wild. They have a new vet volunteer at a local vet clinic who has been helping and has neutered two animals in January. They have been busy with classes these past few months, but are expected to be able to get back to helping out soon.
Upcoming Events:
June 20 and Aug 14 - there will be low cost shot clinics
Oct 26 will be Puppypalooza. All that is required to enter are donations.
Council:
Mayor: Vacant
Joann Courtland- Present
Fred Chavez - Present
Dan Yancey - Present
Jay Manning - Present
Kirby Lack - Present
Marc Payne - Present
Charlie Youngs - Present
Mayor Candidate:
Bradi Dewald Diaz - Absent
Joey Acfalle - Absent
Ron Nelson - Present
Brandi Weiand - Absent
Hello again Copperas Cove! It's great to have you back for another recap of the latest City Council meeting. We appreciate each and every one of you for checking in and sharing these blogs with your fellow residents. The more we can educate the citizens of Copperas Cove, the more educated people will be going to the polls and knowing what's going on in our little corner of Coryell County. If you haven't already - remember to subscribe!!
Breaking News for our concerned citizens!!!
Two weeks ago, Jonathan Haywood spoke during Citizens Forum about a shopping center entry way between the Laserwash and Valvoline that was very dilapidated with pot holes. The city and all the businesses in the responsible area thought the other entity owned the area so it was never repaired. James Pierce followed up a couple days later at the building department (they are responsible for business code enforcement) and filed a complaint against all the business' in order for the city to resolve the issue of ownership. Ryan Haverlah told Mr. Pierce Tuesday evening that the owner of the property where Lazerwash is located is in fact the rightful owner of that particular piece of concrete and has been notified by letter of the issues at hand.
The Agenda:
Announcements:
Ryan Haverlah: Parks and Rec has a Parks Improvement Plan survey out right now and they would appreciate all the input they can get. That survey can be found here: Survey Monkey Cove Master Park Plan . Also, the Easter Egg round up was postponed due to weather and is now going to be this Thursday (18 April, 2019), starting at 6pm at City Park.
Dan Yancey: Voting for our next Mayor is going on right now, so be sure to get out and vote!
Editors Note: Voting for the Central Texas College Board of Trustees will be starting next week (April 22-30). Technically, you can get out and vote Monday and Tuesday and be able to vote twice in one day! Copperas Cove Citizens can vote for the CTC Trustees at the new CCISD Administrative Building, next to Lil Tex/across from the Library.
Citizens Forum: Just a quick friendly reminder to our citizens - All citizens are allotted a 5 minute block of time for which to speak. There are 30 minutes set aside for the citizens forum. Additionally, by State Law, the Council Members and City Staff are not allowed to answer questions during citizens forum. Any questions asked will be met with helpless faces of "We wish we could answer, but we can't". However - you can show up early and ask council members questions, or stay late and ask them questions.
Nick: In reference to tonight's Action Item #1, he supports it and encourages the council to as well.
Wendy: Just showed up from Virginia, but owns property in Copperas Cove. She asked how is code enforcement enforced if violations are not addressed. She also asked is there a 5 year plan for Copperas Cove, and if so is it available for the public to see online or via email.
Terri: There will be a major disaster drill on May 7th. An application has just been released and she reviewed the general basis of it. She did mention that it says registration does not guarantee participation. Stay tuned for more on this in a future blog.
Siggi: Touched on the topic of transparency in government. There was a City Council Workshop on March 19th that was listed as "Presentation and discussion on a Downtown Transportation Feasibility Plan". When reading this, she took it as they were talking about a bus route or something to do with buses. She did not understand that it would be discussing road work that would possibly be going under the railroad tracks and she feels like it was intended to mislead the public so the City Council could push this through.
Public Hearing:
1. This hearing had to do with the applicant shutting down Kids World Daycare Center. The building has been a business for at least 50 years that she could track, and she's been running it for over 20. She shut the business down last July and the property has been for sale the past 4 years. She has been having problems selling it, and she thinks that's been in large part to it being zoned as B-2(Local Retail District) business in the middle of a residential (this is a house that was running as a business). She would like to have it rezoned to R-1(Single Family Residential) to make it easier to sell. PASS
2. This hearing had to do with rezoning from an R-3 (Multifamily Residential District) to a B-3(Local Business District). This will bring the lot in line with all surrounding lots. PASS
3. This hearing had to do with a local resident wanting to change his conditional use permit from a Commercial Office Building, to a retail store to put in a food mart. This has years of backstory and as well as a lot of recent events to it, so bear with me as I try to condense it down a little while still getting everything in here.
In mid 2013, the property owner, Mr. Amr Abdelazeem (we'll call him Mr A - with all due respect), requested the property be rezoned to R-3 (Multi-Family Residential) District with a Conditional Use Permit to allow for the construction of a commercial office building for a branch of his business office and an additional office space to lease to a future tenant. The item was passed through the P&Z Commission on May 28, 2013 and presented to City Council on June 4, 2013. The Conditional Use Permit was granted by Ordinance No. 2013-29 and was limited to the operation of certain conditional uses outlined in the Zoning Ordinance for two (2) professional office uses being Engineering Services and Architectural and Planning Services.
In addition to granting the Conditional Use Permit for them to run a business office, they presented Mr A a long list of standards that had to be met covering everything from numbers of parking spaces to the privacy fence in the back and lighting that couldn't leave his northern property line. Somewhere along the line, Mr A decided that the business office wasn't going to work out, but he wanted to put up a convenience store instead.
He took this to the P&Z Board and showed he had plans to meet all the criteria, and then some. However, upset citizens were taking notice as well and were also showing up as well as writing letters to show their displeasure. Eventually, the P&Z Board shot it down, which sent it to the City Council where it could only pass with a 75% vote in favor. Ryan Haverlah updated the council and showed that every specification asked for was met. They wanted 6 parking spots, he put in 7. They wanted a plan to show how the delivery trucks and trash truck would get in and out - he had it. They wanted a well let back area as an emergency exit, with privacy fence and a way to keep kids out from that back area - he had it all figured out. Then came the public forum.
Anna is a nearby resident and she spoke out against this. She and her neighbors are fine with it being an office space because then they would only be there during normal office hours, there would be no increase in crime, and traffic wouldn't be affected. The roads nearby aren't wide enough to handle big delivery trucks or a lot of traffic and they have had 5 hit and run accidents recently to prove it. There's not enough parking here, the building doesn't have enough square footage, and she saw mention of this needing a generator as an office building, so as a convenience store with all those cold beverages, it would need an even bigger generator which would be loud and smelly from all the gas they use! There's not enough room in the back for a privacy wall, bushes, and sidewalk as required by the city. There's not enough sidewalks in the area so kids would be walking in the streets being a hazard to traffic, or walking on peoples lawns, damaging property. Since 2013, there have been 31 code violations to this property and on average they take 1 month to resolve the issues. On top of that, the property is a construction mess that should be closed off because people are getting hurt on it as well as stuck, needing help from Cove PD to get them off the property. There's also a fire hydrant right next to the parking spots which isn't allowed, too small of a loading zone, and the city setback lines aren't met. Lastly, they have a fear of reduced property values, which their values have already been dropping in recent years because of this building.
Ginger is also a nearby resident and spoke out against this. Cove prides itself on being a community built on family living, so they need to keep citizens where they belong and businesses where they belong - not mixed together.
Mr A finally had his chance to speak up. He argued that they have complied with every city and ADA condition thrown at him. He's also on the corner of a residential, not mixed in it, and there's other convenience stores around town that are actually IN the residential areas, such as the Family Food Mart on S 23rd and Urbantke. Furthermore, there has never been any discussion about him needing an external generator for his business because they will be using city water, power lines, and everything else typically supplied to a business via service carrier. No shrubs will be needed in the back because of the fence he's putting up which leaves plenty of room for the sidewalk and fence. The fire hydrant not only isn't in the way, but he's already gotten the fire marshal to approve its location in relation to parking. The new building will be better than what was there before and will actually raise property values once it's done because it will look very nice and be nearby shopping. Trucks won't ever need to be on Megg Street, so the tight spots aren't a concern, and in fact his impact on extra traffic is 0%. Nobody is coming across town just to use a convenience store. They have met all city requests and have had no code violations, so he's not sure where this 31 number came from. When this is done, not only will the building be very clean, but it will also be run by a property management company - not him. So there should never be any code violations. This project complies with all ADA, Federal, and City codes. The sidewalk in the back will have a back door from the building as required by fire code, but there will be a gate with a one way latch on it so you can only open the gate from the inside to keep trouble makers out.
Dan Yancey said that in June 2013, this was approved for a conditional use permit issued for commercial office use - not a store. Why did you not complete that office space? Mr A stated he was told by the city planner that he could lease the space instead to make a store. He provided papers that I am assuming were backing up this claim.
Marc Payne proposed that the original use of the term "High Volume Generator" when describing the property may be where the generator confusion came from. The proposed parking use is doubling use of the loading zone/handicap zone. The area that should be allowed for vans to unload wheel chairs is also marked as a loading zone, so if a delivery truck is there, that driver may not be able to get in their van for at least 15 minutes. Mr A stated that the loading zone for vans is actually on the other side of the parking spot and is plenty of room, as dictated by the ADA standards.
Mr A's Son came up after some slight deliberation among council members and stated that he was also available for any questions they may have. Their family has convenience stores all around the area so they're used to doing things right.
Siggi spoke up and said she stands with the local residents. If they don't want it, she doesn't approve either. This sentiment was met with support from other Cove residents supporting the neighborhood residents directly affected. One resident stated "This store can't be there to support the community when the community doesn't support the store".
With that, this went to vote and was REJECTEDby the council - with no votes approving.
Action Items:
H-1 On the west side of town, the owner of the land by the SE Bypass and Dollar Tree wants to develop his land for commercial purposes. Before it can be developed, water issues need to be ironed out. The Certificates of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) belongs to KWSC (Kempner Water Supply Corporation) and they can supply the water for the Copperas Cove property but they can't supply the 1500gpm for for fire flow to fire hydrants. That is the city standard in order to supply fire suppression from hydrants. If it can't be provided then you can't build. The Interim City Manager offered three options to the council. Option one, let KWSC provide everything (they can't). Option 2, Let KWSC provide water and Copperas Cove provide fire suppression (many concerns of long term maintenance and right of way). Option 3, Copperas Cove purchases the entire CCN for $810 per acre and does it all. The council chose Option three, unanimously. This was a very wise vote because we needed this to spur development on the west side, of Copperas Cove.
H-2 Darrell, with The HOP presented a summary of it's operations the past 6 months, since the last time it was before the council asking for funding. This funding is to cover operational costs such as fuel, insurance, maintenance, salaries, etc... They have a goal of 10 passengers per service hour, and have been averaging out at around 11.5 passengers per service hour. They run Monday - Friday from 6:45 - 5:45 and recently had cut back an hour to adjust for this fiscal years budget. Jay Manning says he remembers them from their last presentation. It's not very often they get someone up there asking for 3x more than their normal asking funding like the HOP did last fall. With all these increases in funding requests, have they increased their fee schedule? Darrell stated they have not yet, but they are working towards that point. Jay responded with it's unfair to ask tax payers to increase how much they are funding the HOP if the HOP isn't going to reflect the raise on their riders. Right now, tax payers are paying about $4 per ride. Darrell responded that their fairs only cover about 4% of their operating costs right now. Additionally, the more business they get, the more federal dollars they can bring in. The less business they get, the fewer Federal dollars they bring in which in turn makes them rely on local communities more. So if they raise fairs up too much and people stop riding because of that, then that will affect how much they come to their local community for.
PASS
H-3Clarence with the National Mounted Warfare Museum presented a slide show and video showing how the new museum would affect the area, where it would go, and what it would look like. He then requested the $25,000 payment from the council. PASS You can find out more about the museum here: http://nmwfoundation.org/
H4 and H5 were both having to do with approving some new homes coming in off of Lutheran Church Road as well as approving ordinances to do with Water Conservation and the Drought Contingency Plan. Both of those were a solid PASS. REPORTS:
Fred Chavez was recently at an event in Killeen where they were discussing I-14 and it's entirety. Since I-14 passes through Copperas Cove, he started asking how Cove could be a part of this "14 Forward" initiative. He was told we should continue expansion, and look into these 5G efforts. Get with CCISD because they are looking to bring fiber optic into their schools and we could implement that into the city. One attraction for a lot of people these days is moving to areas that are fiber equipped. When it comes to the rail head - joint use can be difficult because the Army is known for taking what they want when needed. But, don't let that shy us away because this can be very good for the area. The feasibility study was easy, finding partners and funding is the hard part. This will bring rail access to the local area that we haven't ever had. Our relationship with the Heart O Texas Defense Alliance is good to have. Don't get so focused on only us that we isolate our community. We are encouraged to keep regional cooperation and awareness going.
Future Agenda Items
Marc Payne would like to see a workshop on purchasing of CCN's.
Early voting starts on April 10, 2019, in Copperas Cove, to determine who will fill the remainder of the term of Mayor Frank Seffrood, who passed away this past December 2018. Whoever wins on April 27 or later if there is a run-off will serve as Mayor until November 2021. We are at a crossroads in our city and it is important for us to choose who will our city and the council as we move forward.
While we will not endorse any candidate on our blog, we would like to give everyone in Copperas Cove some tools to help in their decisions. At the bottom of the blog are the candidate forum videos. Choose wisely!
Early Voting: April 10, 12, 15-18, 22: 8am - 5pm April 11 & 23: 7am - 7pm
The candidates: Ron Nelson - Present Joey Acfalle - Present Bradi Dewald Diaz - Present Brandi Weiand - Present Council Members present: Fred Chavez Joann Courtland Dan Yancey
Point Of Disclosure
"Speak Up!!! Copperas Cove"
will not endorse any candidate.
The Copperas Cove Chamber of Commerce sponsored a voter's forum for the upcoming Special Election for Mayor. They organized it into two part like the VFW did on Saturday. The first hour was for all the candidates to "Meet and Greet" possible voters and present to them and attempt to earn their vote. The second part was for questions and answers. People were allowed to pre-write questions and five were drawn at a time and individually drawn. Ron Nelson drew the right to answer first. After the first four there was a break and then four more were asked.
"Meet and Greet"
"Question Time"
Candidate Introduction
Ron Nelson: He is a four year resident of Copperas Cove. Previously lived in Austin for ten years before being priced out of the area and found Copperas Cove. He is originally from Chicago. Ron is a member of the Maker's Club at the library. The death of our Mayor in December caused him to run for the seat.
Brandi Weiand: Worked at Central Texas College for ten years, including as a professor. Presently working on her double Master's Degree in Business and Culinary Arts. She prefers a small town environment. She wants to build on the foundation of past generations.
Bradi Dewald Diaz: She is a lifelong resident of Copperas Cove and received her college degree at Tarelton State. Started serving in the community in 1994. Bradi was elected to the City Council in 2002 and to Mayor in 2004 (She is the first woman and the youngest person to be elected mayor in the history of Copperas Cove). Some of the areas where she has served is the Economic Development Corporation, Economic Development Board, and the Chamber of Commerce. She wants to get back in and work with the community again to encourage growth.
Joey Acfalle: Joey is a 21 year military veteran (US Army and USMC). He was stationed at Fort Hood in 2010, retired from the Army in 2014, and stayed in Copperas Cove. He wants to continue to serve the community and is presently on the EDC and Board of Adjustments. He wants to move the city forward.
Question 1
Why did you decide to run?
Nelson: He saw a great need in the community and got out to see the different groups and committees to see what is going on in Copperas Cove. Win or lose; he said he's going to stay involved in the community.
Weiand: She spent most of her life in Copperas Cove. She is not here to talk but to listen and to help people. Brandi will use her skills here to bring progress to the community.
Diaz: Bradi was born and raised here and wants to be involved again. She wants to be involved in projects, in Copperas Cove. She looks forward to working with the different entities in Cove and she loves working with people.
Acfalle: He is a volunteer and wants to continue as Mayor. He will not just listen but will research problems and come up with solutions. He will go to CTCOG and continue to tell the story of Copperas Cove.
Question 2
What do you want Copperas Cove to look like in three years:
Nelson: He wants to continue to make the parks look better, Aldi's on the west side of town. He wants and knows that Cove can solve their own problems. Cove will be a prettier town. He wants real business' here (not another chicken joint). He said this will take time.
Weiand: Three years is not a lot of time. We need sustainability and business growth. Better education brings better everything else. She likes to research and plan and has a home town heart and is independent. Brandi is education focused.
Diaz: Bradi wants business' in the Business Park, park improvements need to finish. Copperas Cove needs the Multi-Modal Rail head, and a new streets program.
Acfalle: Three years is like being in the Army where you PCS in and three years later you PCS out. We need to get business in for jobs and tax revenue. How do you expect to pay for all these projects without money? He wants to continue with high voter turn out and community interest.
Question 3
Where is your favorite place to spend time in Copperas Cove?
Acfalle: He says where ever Lisa tells him to go! He likes to go to Ogletree Gap and City Park. Now that he is clear to do so, start playing golf. He will go any where and every where in Copperas Cove that helps people out.
Diaz: Friends and home (Family and Friends), Taco places!
Weiand: Likes food and to spend time around family and food. Started at Disney. Loves Lil Tex and the Hicks family. She has two Artic Huskies and likes to take them to Ogletree.
Nelson: He likes the new trails at Olgetree Gap. Ron is part of the work group building the hike and bike trails (non city affiliated). He loves his work shop will go anywhere he can volunteer.
Question 4
What are three way to help Copperas Cove?
Acfalle: Research community better to improve the community and family.
Diaz: Better relations between entities in the city, which will help everyone in the city. Responsible growth in the city (economic and residential). We need to get the Multi Modal Rail head.
Weiand: Work on relationships (functional work relationships). We need to work on family relationships, small town government foster more involvement, work smarter not harder.
Nelson: We need to do everything everyone else just said, be rational in discussion, be respectful. Right now, citizens don't feel they have a voice. Would love to have a Maker's space in the city (community workshop/library).
Question 5
Will you be willing to attend all events as out mayor?
Nelson: Absolutely yes. He has the time available like our previous mayor.
Weian: She has the time available even though she is in her Masters programs. Brandi is willing to travel to events and represents Cove to see the bigger picture. She loves to see the solar panels at Ft Hood.
Diaz: Bradi also said absolutely and it is imperative and will go in the community and region; and anything required she will go.
Acfalle: He also said yes. He will be at all activities, events, and meetings. If it will bring it influence to Copperas Cove, he will be there.
Question 6
How do you see Cove in health, thriving, and success?
Acfalle: Joey said it is in the eye of the beholder because there is always room to improve. It is healthy and growing and thriving. We are not Hood but Copperas Cove. Copperas Cove is the family place to be.
Diaz: She said yes to all three and said there is always room to improve.
Weiand: She also said there is room to improve. Thriving (not yet) but getting there. Healthy (personal opinion). Successful, yes.
Nelson: He said sometimes the mayor needs to bring the bad news, Financial; We are not good financially. Thriving; No, but getting along (go to Bastrop and see what they are doing). Successful; Yes, we created cool community and doing the best we can but realistically.
Question 7
What are your three reasons to be elected?
Nelson: He said he is hansom, well spoken, and caring.
Weiand: "What is the worst that can happen". She was raised here and Cove is home. Brandi wants to leave a better legacy. She has three Associate Degrees, three Bachelor Degrees, and working on two Master Degrees.
Diaz: She said that she has the experience and did a good job, she is passionate about Copperas Cove and has the leadership skill set for Copperas Cove.
Acfalle: He said volunteerism, being in the community, and being in good and bad experiences in order to go to the next level. He loves Copperas Cove.
Question 8
What are your plans for not neglecting the west side of Copperas Cove?
Acfalle: Joey wants to get the facts and issues then bring it back to council. It is hard to answer because the land belongs to others.. He will work with the Chamber of Commerce for help and the EDC for infrastructure.
Diaz: Bradi said we need a grocery on the west side of town. Economic development marketing; We are at the mercy of footprints of business traffic counts. When we show more traffic on west side, that will attract these larger businesses such as grocery stores.
Weiand: Brandi noted that the west side of Cove is the side away from Killeen. She doesn't know what the problem is. The west side is just as good as the east side. The mayor is a position of influence.
Nelson: He has heard a lot of people talk about all areas. from housetops, improving infrastructure, and that no part should be neglected. He also said we need a current traffic count from the north side.
Question 9
Explain the vision how you and council will bring more business to Copperas Cove not dependent on Ft Hood?
Nelson: We require certain skills proving that we can bring people with those skill and supply middle class wages.
Weiand: We have a shortage of skill trade workers and we need more of them. College doesn't mean success but only one part of it. We need more trade training.
Diaz She said we shouldn't depend on Ft hood but work with it. When we do that then the jobs will come.
Acfalle: He said this is a hard question. Joey agrees with Diaz and that Ft Hood is and asset. We need to work with Ft Hood and surrounding communities.
Question 10
What experience do you have in community groups and city projects?
Nelson: He has worked in the private corporate world and never with the government. Ron said he has led teams of all sizes. Some of the projects in our town need more people with more experience.
Weiand: The city problem; volunteers involves people who don't get along but she can bring people together. We need to find the right mix to get jobs done. Plans always change.
Diaz: She served on the first comprehensive plan in 1994, P and Z, Board of Adjustments, City Council, Mayor, Education Foundation, Heart of Texas Defense Alliance, Chamber of Commerce, Central Appraisal District.
Acfalle: Joey said be will involved fully and that the military is his experience, Community groups around the area, teen and adults abuse groups organizations. Joey is also a paralegal.
Question 11
What will you do to build the local economy in Copperas Cove but keep the small town feel?
Acfalle: Doesn't have enough facts to properly answer the question.
Diaz: She said we need economic development and that more business will cause Copperas Cove to grow more and believes Cove will always have the small town feel.
Weiand: She said she is not a career politician but need the heart (family feel) to grow and nurture the city. She said community gardens will help us out.
Nelson: He wants to find out what we really need for the city and to focus on the little things for destinations and tourism. He recommended a BBQ place. Cove need non traditional jobs.
Question 12
What have you done to educate yourself to the city budget and local government?
Weiand: Studying the city budget is easier said than done and needs to be approached with a business sense. Plan for the future and here for the future.
Diaz: She elaborated that she has been involved since 1994. Bradi has read the budget and understands it. She has attended all the council meeting except one since her announcement. She is familiarized with the different projects.
Nelson: He gets out to the community and at the boards, read the 600 page budget. He went through the master plans and spoke to some of the writers.
Acfalle: He stated that he would do it like the rest of the candidates. He would continue to be involved and learn. He looks for challenges in the community. The budget is a story in itself and would bring the information back to the community.
Candidate Forum Part 1 of 2
Candidate Forum Part 2 of 2
Early voting is April 10-23, 2019, and will be at the Coryell County Justice Center, 210 South 1st Street. On Saturday, April 27, voting will be at the same place.
The candidates: Ron Nelson - Present Joey Acfalle - Present Bradi Dewald Diaz - Absent Brandi Wieand - Absent
Council Members present: Fred Chavez Charlie Youngs
Today, there was a voter's forum in Copperas Cove, sponsored by the Veteran's of Foreign Wars Post 8577. It was divided into two sections. From 0800-1000, there was a Meet and Greet with the candidates and, from 1000-1200, a question and answer forum for the candidates. The citizen's were able to ask questions to the candidates. Ron Nelson and Joey Acfalle were the ONLY candidates to participate in the forum.
Candidate Introduction: Ron Nelson- He and Evelyn moved to Copperas Cove four years ago, to escape Austin. Ron said he is running for Mayor out of a sense of community. There are voices inside the city not being heard and he would like to represent them. The mayor needs to be the face of the city. Joey Acfalle (Afagge)- He is a USMC and Army veteran and is originally from Guam. Joey is presently representing the city on the Board of Adjustments and the Economic Development Corporation. He also is a member of several non-profit groups in the area. He likes to use the phrase "One Family, One Voice". He is also a paralegal. Question:With the recent 140th Copperas Cove birthday celebration, would you be interested in establishing a Copperas Cove Historical Society, possibly located at the Allen House? Nelson: Yes because the city's history is spread about and in doing so could all be brought back to the city where the younger generation could learn about our city. Acfalle: He agreed with Nelson but also added that the city would need to figure out how to fund it. Question:What do you bring to the city in order to be elected? Nelson: He said that he is the new guy. He said the majority of residents are not from here and don't have an understanding of the history of Copperas Cove. It is time to stand up and be a voice for everyone. Acfalle: One family, one community, be the example to the younger generation. We need family entertainment, Outsiders are looking, listening, and learning. We need to let people know where Copperas Cove is. Question:How do we pay for these projects? Nelson: The city needs to generate more sales tax and by that increase business representation. Acfalle: As an EDC member, he understands the need for a greater tax base (more business') and greater growth of the city. Is it time to look at the ETJ? The Multi Modal needs to come to Copperas Cove. Question: Citizens need to be listened to! The citizen's didn't want Fathom, but the council voted for it anyway and the citizens didn't want the Business 190 project and still again the council voted for it. How would you regain the citizen's trust? Nelson: The only real way he can gain the citizens trust is for them to give him the chance.The city needs the right leadership. Fathom needs to be fixed. He is against the 190 project as it stands, but also agrees there's problems with cars playing chicken in the median so it will be tricky to fix. Maybe only have medians at known problem areas? Acfalle: Should we go beyond the 1% audit of Fathom? What would the find? He stated that he is against the 190 Project. How would EMS navigate the medians and the medians will create gridlock. Question:When will we recycle glass? Can we get a grocery store on the west side? Nelson: Aldi would be great here and they are a different store than they were just a few years ago. Recycling is a huge problem in the country. Most recycled material ends up in China to be processed. It is starting to cost more to recycle than it is to deposit into a landfill, Glass is not cost effective. Maybe the city can look into having a few mobile centers around the city. Acfalle: The cost of land on the west side is stirring business away from going there. We need to look at improving our existing business' and to the North side where there is tremendous growth. We need to figure out what our needs are as a city. If memory serves correct, we are already taking it to Fort Hood. If you'd like to recycle glass, you can take it to solid waste and get information from them. If it's anything else, he needs to get more information.
Question:How would you bring the council and citizens together? Nelson: We need to set the culture correctly, set the example because citizens feel neglected, and we need to hear both sides. Acfalle: We are one family, one community. We need to bring diversity together, establish ownership of the council, get the answers. We have differences and how do we bring this together. Question:Will you bring the Business 190 Project back to council, to remove the islands? Nelson: He will bring it back to council. The plan is not firm until the bid is granted. He said it is a busy road and that we need the lanes. We need to see if it can be done better. Acfalle: He will bring it up to see if can be done better. Question:How would you handle the interchange with other entities that contribute towards the growth of Copperas Cove? Nelson: We need to be a community. Short term (Military) residents don't feel like this is home and we need to change this. Acfalle: Citizens and Soldiers need to shut down the talk that this is a "transit city". Copperas Cove is a city for everyone. We need to encourage growth. Question: How would you ensure that council doesn't go behind the Mayor and City Manager to get stuff done in the city? Nelson: Laws and ordinances are in place to prevent this from happening. City employees should be encouraged to go to the City Manager about interference with there assigned job. Open Meetings Act covers this. Acfalle: This is covered by the Open Meetings Act. The Mayor and Council must go through the City Manager but can't interfere with their daily work. He will actively engage the Council and City Manager in all areas. Would like the City Manager to inform him if this ever happens and also ask council members if they are doing this that they need to stop and why would they be doing it? Video of the VFW Meet and Greet can be foundhere. The next forum will be Monday evening from 530-8pm, at the CCISD Admin building (next to Lil Tex). It is sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. Hopefully all the candidates will be there.
Hello again Copperas Cove! Thankyou for checking in on another City Council Update! This one was rather short (Just over an hour long), but as always - there was some good info that was put out. So, lets get started!
Council members:
Joann Courtland-Present
Fred Chavez-Present
Dan Yancey-Present
Jay Manning-Present
Kirby Lack-Present
Marc Payne-Present
Charlie Youngs-Present
Mayor Candidates:
Bradi Dewald Diaz-Present
Ron Nelson-Present
Joey Acfalle-Absent
Brandi Weiand-Absent
The Agenda:
Announcements:
Ryan Haverlah:
-This Saturday, from 8:30-11am, there will be a "Texas Trash Off" taking place. Please meet "Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful" at the Library for step off.
-Also on Saturday from 8am-Noon, there will be a Mayoral Candidate Meet & Greet at the VFW. There will be breakfast offered for $7.
-That following Monday (April 8th), there will be a Mayoral Candidate Political Forum held at the CCISD Board Room (Across from the Fire Station, Next to Lil' Tex). This will start at 5:30 pm and go until 8pm. The first hour of it will be a meet and greet, so if work has you running late, you still have time to get in and catch the topics.
-April 13th (Saturday), there will be an Easter Egg Roundup at City Park from 9-11am
Citizens Forum:
-Richard Smith started things off with concerns about the neighborhood he lives in. He bought a house over near Courtney Lane, near SC Lee and JL Williams. He's noticed that there is a heavy amount of traffic in the area trying to merge out into and in from FM116 - and it will only be getting heavier as they add in more houses. He's requesting a traffic light be installed at the FM116/Courtney intersection. (Editors Note: This is a common problem brought up with the area, and Mr Richard is not the first person to bring this topic up. I wouldn't be surprised to see a traffic light in this area by the end of the year - Jeremy). He also brought up that the same intersection is starting to deteriorate and a dip is starting to form. He had brought this up to Councilman Marc Payne in the past and it was promptly filled in and road re-striped. He would like to see the city address this issue once again. To end, he brought up a concern that for his road, there's really only one way in and out, so if there should be an emergency that would block that road, he could find himself stuck in the area. There could be a second route out, but the second route has a locked gate blocking anyone from going through. (Editors Note: This may be a tough issue to have addressed. Technically, if the city were to add a second way out simply because a citizen brought up an issue with it, they COULD be opening themselves up to complaints from everyone living on a cul-de-sac street. Also, there usually isn't anything they can do without impeding on someones personal property - such as would be the case with the gated access that's locked up. I feel like Mr Richard brings up a valid point, but that may just be something homeowners have to pay attention to before we buy a house - Jeremy)
-Terri Deans brought up once again that the city is still experiencing problems with Fathom in regards to billing and customer service. She would really like to see the city address these problems. With that aside, she is an admin with Central Texas Disasters Response Team. They are currently planning a mass casualty drill on May 7th and are looking for as many victim actors as they can get. They need everyone - all ages. Also, if you have a group that could use some emergency preparedness training, they can send someone out to give that training. If you are interested in training, being part of the mass casualty drill, or joining the team - please give Terri a call at 254-238-1839. Please be aware that she does not answer phone calls from numbers she doesn't recognize (dang phone scammers ruined that for all of us - amiright), so just leave a brief voicemail and she will call you right back.
-Alicia Menard: I believe she may have been with the Copperas Cove Chamber of Commerce. She was speaking about some other events going on in the area, but she was speaking so fast that I wasn't able to get most of it down. I did catch that there will be an Ambassador Garage Sale at the Cove Terrace Shopping Center on April 6th. (Editors Note: A little tip I recently learned for those of you who get nervous when you speak in front of groups like I do- talk slower than you think you should. Because things are going so fast and racing in your head, if you slow down slower than you think you should be, you generally wind up talking at a very good pace. I've tried it and it seems like it works. If nothing else, it calms me down - Jeremy)
-Jonathan Haywood closed things out by bringing up the driveway between the post office and the car wash. All of us locals know the one - it has MAJOR pot holes in it, and a lot of us drive in the grass to avoid it all together if we have to go that way. The problem with it is that is not a city owned road, and the business owner who owns that parking lot/driveway/road refuses to fix it. John realizes the city can't do anything themselves since they don't own it, but he asks the council if they could reach out to the business owner and help influence them to fix that road.
Consent Agenda:
All four items passed unanimously. They were for past minutes from previous meetings.
Action Items:
H1: The Chamber of Commerce came to the council with a request for HOT funds that was about nine months after the deadline for some of the expenses for the Rabbit Fest. The date of submission was March 21, 2019. Alicia Menard, the new president of the CoC, is requesting $13,375 in HOT funds. Hotel Occupancy Tax funds are the extra taxes you pay to stay in a hotel or motel and can be only used to promote tourism in a city where it is collected. The deadline for this fiscal year was last spring. The Interim City Manager informed the CoC that only $3880 remain in the fund for promotion of Arts so that the total amount would be $11,255. Mr Yancey asked the Chamber president why the request was not submitted last year and she told him that there was no interest in requesting HOT funds with the prior Chamber President. However, she is new in her position and rather than linger on the past, she is trying to look to the future and make things better for everyone - including she wants to rebuild the relationship between the Chamber of Commerce and the City Council. All of the CoC members have been working hard at trying to get things in a better position, and she fully expects to be able to turn that relationship around between them and the city. She came into this realizing that the request was late and that it could very well be shot down because of that. But she wanted to at least try to get it late rather than never, and she fully plans on going for all the HOT funds she can moving in the future to help promote the arts. Councilman Youngs stated the the previous City Manager and Council destroyed the relationship between the city and both the EDC and CoC so he's all for this to help rebuild that relationship. Kirby Lack stated that he's trying to get away from bending rules for everyone, and the CoC has missed their deadline. Alicia stated she fully understands his point, and reiterated that she is trying to slide this one in with the intention of doing things right moving forward. To get the full $13,375, they would have to do some adjusting of the budget after the fact, so Jay Manning requested an amendment lowering the amount to $11,255. The amendment and the action item that passed lowered the request to $11,255 .
Vote was 5-2. (Lack voted no based on principle/Youngs voted no because he wanted the full amount) PASS
Our question is that on the line "Registration of Convention Delegates" for $1260.
Who are the delegates for the "Rabbit Fest"?
Side note: Mayoral Candidate Bradi Dewald Diaz is listed on the board of trustees for the Chamber of Commerce.
H2: After many long, agonizing discussions regarding fee reductions at the Civic Center, the council voted to approve reducing the daily fee from $500 to $250 for everyone - again, with no discounts for any special groups. PASS
H3: For this item they were just making a few name changes with some positions and jobs. One of the bigger changes that citizens will see is the Planning Dept will now be called the Developmental Services Dept. PASS
H4: This was just Councilmembers Joann Courtland and Fred Chavez swapping some external board positions with each other. Nothing that 99% of us citizens will notice. Just like with H3, it was more of a formality. PASS
CITY REPORTS:
Ryan Haverlah gave report to staff on utility billing complaints and meter replacements.
-With the recent update to the Fathom online portal, customers can set a payment date that is after the due date. A problem that has been coming up is some customers have been setting their online payment date for after their due date, and in some cases it has fallen on their water shutoff date. So, they think they are ok because they have an auto-draft, but don't realize that if the money isn't to Fathom by their shutoff date, that water is getting shut off. Additionally, all calls to Fathom or the city after 3 pm to turn water back on aren't processed until the next business day. This is because the final 2 hours is to allow employees to close out work orders generated during the day. Fred Chavez asked if the city can have Fathom get with whoever does their code and set calendar parameters so you can't select an auto-pay date that falls after your due date. Ryan explained that there are some complications with that such as if someone sets up auto pay today (April 2nd) to have it take effect May 1st, but then they don't pay their bill for the month of April manually and it's due on the 12th. Well, now it's going to be received very late and will most likely lead to water being shut off. Dan Yancey asked if we can have Fathom allow customers to set their own due date since some customers are on a monthly income. Ryan said he will look into both options.
- There have been problems with multiple bills being sent out within days of each other. A lot of these have been resolved by now and most of those were due to either local meter reading issues that happened before all the meters were changed, or connectivity issues with the meters and data collectors that are placed around the city. There's been other cases that have popped up - one recent one being a customer who was VERY public about the fact that they were double billed and couldn't pay for other essentials because they had such a high amount to pay for their water bill. This was found to be that they were actually behind on payments. Several failed attempts have already been made to get in contact with this customer, but the city will keep trying to reach out and talk to the customer about this issue.
-There have been concerns regarding high water usage alerts. Typically with these alerts, a fast leak (burst pipe, for example) will send you a notice after one day of continual leak, and a slow leak (leaky faucet) will send you a notice after two days of continual leak. You can adjust these parameters in your Fathom online account settings. If a customer can provide proof that the leak was professionally repaired, they can request a sewer use credit for the period of time that they had the leak. This will be based on normal usage. These are limited to 1 credit every 12 months.
-One customer recently stated they had a bill showing 50,000 gallons of use. This was found to not be true both with an account search and in talking with the customer.
-In regards to double billing complaints, there is a base rate that everybody with a water meter pays. This is just to have access to that water connection and for maintenance of the city water system. After that, you are charged $4.75 per 1,000 gallons used, and that is calculated down to 1/1000 of a gallon. The sewer rate is $6 per 1,000 gallons used. Seniors get a 20% discount on all charges up to 5,000 gallons used as approved by the city council recently.
-Recently, a customer got two bills that were received two days apart. It was legitimate, and they were even for the same billing cycle. What happened was the first bill sent out was found to be incorrect, revised, and sent out again with an updated balance. But, nobody every reached out to the customer to let them know what was going on which put them into a panic - rightfully so. Everything was eventually straightened out, and I'm assuming this is an issue that has been addressed internally.
- The city began installing meters in October 2016. They did a full swap of meter and sensors. There were originally about 1,500 unreplaced meters that they could not replace safely without interrupting service to surrounding areas. A lot of times, this was due to things such as someone pouring concrete all around the meter, preventing the city from replacing anything without breaking up the concrete. The city employees have been making significant progress in replacing those problem meters, but they do still have some that have not been replaced yet. There have been recent comments about only the sensor being replaced and not the meter, or vice versa (basically a retrofit). This simply is not true.
Future Agenda Items:
Marc and Fred both would like to look at having their absences approved
Charlie Youngs would like to look at procedures for selecting EDC staff. He would like to allow the EDC staff to review applications and submit comments before sending to council. He explicitly stated the EDC staff would not be allowed to remove any applications - only provide their own comments on applicants.
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