Chamber of Commerce City Council Voter Forum

Chamber of Commerce City Council Voter Forum

Candidates Present:

Place 3
Dan Yancey
Jayme Sigler
Dario Eubank

Place 4
Jay Manning
Matt Russell

Place 5
Dianne Campbell
Gary Kent

Place 7
Jack Smith
Terri Deans

We would like to thank all the candidates that sacrificed their time and came out tonight.

Place 4 candidate Ben Beck did not show up to the forum and has not been to any meetings or functions since he filed for election.

Thank you to the 95 citizens that came out for the forum on Wednesday. It shows there is a lot of interest in the upcoming election. Copperas Cove has of 19,000 registered voters. If we have a 25 percent turn-out there would be 4,750 voters to direct Copperas Cove which direction it needs to go. Our next forum will be at 1PM, on October 26, at the VFW 8577.

Candidates Forum Link

Rough notes from questions and answers. The question and corresponding answers are color-coded.

1 History and Infrastructure make a priority
2 Making priority for small business
3 Changing city current direction
4 Support economic
5 Want better parks how do we pay
6 Feeling on fathom and city manager
7 Have a function community central and senior center
8 Factory for 18 and older for people who don't want to go to college and military
9 Experience with planning and zoning

Terri Deans- Place 7
1 Yes but build infrastructure cleaned up first.
2 Support, take a look at ordinance, and not grant exception be fair across the board
3 Right direction, let past go, admit mistakes support city give but listening to the people and must work together.
4 Headed in right direction,
5 Want to see better stuff but not raising taxing, grants, sponsors ships,
6 Renegotiate the contract. Make them do right by us and move forward
7 Senior have paid their dues they deserve a place of their own
.8 Trades school are available, we must take care of younger people. And tone their skills
9 None but will seek council and will learn

Dario Eubank- Place 3
1 Don't put off
2- Look at EDC and Titus, look at the closed business.
3 Council must stick to a blueprint, and must talk to the citizens
4 Deregulation, being a cheerleader for cove, stop taxing business
5 Council must prioritize the items we have money, grants.
6 Keep it in-house and make it a regulation
7 Yes, re-purposed a building and create one.
8 Put a industry in cove
9 None, learn and will seek answers

Jack Smith- Place 7
1 Put a museum, have city council help fund it
2 Didn't really say
3 City going in right direction. Park must be priority, kids must get out to park,
4 Support the EDC and chamber work with the council to make council write better regulations
5 Grow revenue or taxes, paying more taxes
6 Just work with them,
7 Yes the are important,
8 You can go to any company you can get hired.
9 Served on board of cadence, been to to planning and zoning meeting

Dan Yancey- Place 3
1 Is very important, but money is involved find which way to go then go,
2 Taking care of rules and regulations
3 City going in right direction everything is going good.
4 Rewriting regulations, work with partners in region,
5 Agree with several, but proper growth.
6 Fathom has best interested in
7 Yes important, he is their,
8 Its a big shortages not enough of the trades, they must be help to learn.
9 Working with customers to be things zoned, have no problem seeking info

Dianne Campbell- Place 5
1 People want to come in to a community that's quaint and charming, bring back tourism,
2 Make business friendly cultural
3 Agreed with Yancey everyone came together and was making city better
4 Look at ordinance to bring in business shop in cove we all have a part, write. Plans
5 Not in favor of raising taxes bring in more business, grants, bringing in revenue
6 Hold them to the fire,
7 Yes support it, they need a sense of purpose and this will help that.
8 Constructions there is a lot of opportunities for a job,
9 None known for digging deep and getting guidance

Jay Manning- Place 4
1 Works on it everyday,
2 Writing good rules
3 City and school and EDC didn't work together. Now we must find common ground
4 Business take care of themselves.5
 No single answer,
6 Moving on,
7 Believe all segments are important,
8 There are many jobs and few people to do it, and show up on time, the opportunity out there
9 2 terms served on planning and zoning

Matt Russell- Place 4
1 Cove was known for a lot now we are not we don't honor tradition,
2 Standardize building ordinance, EDC must get involved, 75 vacant business
3 EDC hasn't done anything,
4 Agree with manning, but EDC must step up
5 Agree with manning, EDC has to approve projects. And voters must approve
6 Push Fathom farther,
7 We must take care of seniors, value we can't lose that
8 CCISD need to change mindset  from it to college isn't for everyone.
9 Yes been around it,

Gary Kent- Place 5
1 Will make it one priority but build the infrastructures
2 Most was said but support, be a partnership.
3 Bring in business.we need to good to great we must work harder. We must work together with the citizens.
4 Agree with manning, don't tell a business how to run a business,
5 Pay with grants, citizens must come together to help.
6 Monitor the deal if not good then make a better deal to the city. Do what's best for Copperas Cove.
7 Yes and yes we will be there one day
8 We need to do more in school to help make those career and objects can be met. You will have to do some type of study.
9 Have listened to P&Z so yes

Jayme Sigler- Place 4
1 History must be preserved must have a link to the past
2 Bringing new business, listening to current, and listen to the business owners.
3 Want people to feel unity with the government and more from the people, public safety a priority and sidewalks
4 Speak with people who do know, don't know much
5 Sales tax reduce spending on money that's not important citizens can pay for it
6 Work with the company and hold them account able, get rid of the council members who did vote for it.
7 Yes we all need to be community and not be isolated. Family is community- city motto
8
9 None but will seek council

Rough quotes from the candidates:

Dan Yancey
Proper growth through orderly development

Jayme Sigler
Bring, keep, and support small business
Sidewalks need to be a priority
I don't have the experience but will seek out counsel by those who do

Dario Eubank
We have to attract business to Cove
We must prioritize projects on a 5 year plan and go after grants

Jay Manning
Sign Ordinance is a problem
Subdivision Ordinance is a problem
We need to be a family and work together
All segments of society are important

Matt Russell
75 vacant business building in Cove
EDC needs to place quality of life projects on the ballot yearly
Senior Citizens need a place to enjoy and be worth while

Dianne Campbell
Make Cove more business friendly
We need to work together to make Cove better
Not in favor of raising property taxes
I would support a Senior Citizen Center

Gary Kent
Go from good to great

Jack Smith
We either grow the revenue or raise taxes
We have a great Development Services person for city named Bobby Lewis

Terri Deans
Infrastructure should be cleaned up before history preservation starts
If we support small business, they will stay and more will come
Leave the past behind and move forward
Yall know how I feel about Fathom

These are the questions submitted but not chosen in the draw (We encourage any candidates reading this to submit their answers to as many of these as they would like, and we will share them):

1. How will you work to increase job opportunities for our community?
2. What are your plans to attract and retain new business?
3. What do you believe is the role of a council member? What unique qualities would you bring to that role?
4. What are the most important challenges facing our community and how do you propose to address them?
5. Do you think our Main St/ downtown is healthy? If not, what will you do to help change it?
6.Why do you think we need a median in Business 190?
7. If you don't get get elected, would you consider serving on a municipal committee such as Board of Adjustments, P&Z, Cemetery, Quality of Life, Etc?
8. Between Fathom and the 190 Median Project, citizens didn't want these projects. The current city council members approved these projects anyways. Thanks to this there is mistrust and the citizens feel like their voices aren't being heard, anymore. How would you gain the citizens trust back and make us feel like we are being heard?
9. There was a lot of talk about bringing business and deregulating for business. What would you do to bring in and keep residents to Copperas Cove and how would you propose looking out for the residents?
10. How important is transparency about city matters between you as city government and the citizens that you represent?
11. If there is an ordinance requiring homeowners to maintain sidewalks in front of homes, is there some sort of reimbursement for the expense, considering cost for concrete and cost of labor? Shouldn't repairs be the city's responsibility since the sidewalks are considered a public route? Or can I have a no trespassing sign posted?
12. In 60 seconds or less give your platform on what you stand for?
13. How do you plan to sustain the current housing boom without adding family oriented entertainment and additional shopping options?
14. How do you anticipate assisting the Chamber of Commerce expand tourism?
15. Would you work to rebuild the downtown like Temple and Waco (Chip and Jo Silos)? Older buildings like the Silos, the revitalized grain silos in Gatesville or old Lampasas are tourist attractions.
16. Did you vote for Ave D redo?
17. How would you, while on council, make it possible for small business to excel and succeed? Chapter 20-28 in the City Ordinance says a home based business in an R-1 can't have any employees at the house but most small business' have less than 5 employees and can't afford a storefront yet and do not sell or manufacture from the residence. Most small business are veteran owned!