Last City Council meeting before Mayor election!

Last City Council meeting before Mayor election!


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 REJECTED by 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-3 Clarence 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.

Chamber of Commerce Voter's Forum for Mayor

Chamber of Commerce Voter's Forum for Mayor


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.

VFW Mayor voter's forum with Meet and Greet

VFW Mayor voter's forum with Meet and Greet



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 found here. 

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.

City Council Regular Meeting and Workshop - 19 Mar 2019

City Council meeting and workshop for March 19, 2019

The Council:
Joann Courtland-Present
Fred Chavez-Absent (Sickness)
Dan Yancey-Present
Jay Manning-Present
Kirby Lack-Present
Marc Payne-Present
Charlie Youngs-Present

Mayoral Candidates:
Bradi Dewald Diaz-Present
Ron Nelson II-Present
Joey Acfalle-Absent
Brandi Weiand-Absent

Hello again Copperas Cove! As always, we appreciate you checking in - here's the recap from the latest City Council Meeting.

Announcements:
Ryan Haverlah (our Interim City Manger) started the night off with a few announcements.
-The city of Copperas Cove will be celebrating it's 140th birthday! March 25th at 5:30 pm at the City Library, there will be a proclamation, showing of historical photos, story telling, cake, cookies, punch, and other activities. Everyone is encouraged to show up!
-Copperas Cove recently was given an award from the United Way for showing the biggest improvements during the past year

Citizens Forum:
-Terri stepped up first and kicked things off with her continued disappointment in the Fathom mess. They are still conducting improper services with 30-45 min phone calls to fix an issue and there have been a lot of hard times in trying to get answers. She would really like to see these issues her tenants are having be resolved. Moving on from that, she is a volunteer with a local emergency response team and on May 7th, they will be holding a major  mass casualty exercise around Fort Hood. They are needing a lot of volunteer actors to help out with this and can use everyone from children to the elderly.
-Mari (hopefully I spelled that correct) Cruz is an 18 year citizen with Copperas Cove. She's recently had an issue with Fathom where they pulled a scheduled auto draft of her bill and disconnected it on the same day! Then, to add insult to injury, they wanted an additional $55 up front to reconnect it, wouldn't let her authorize it to be turned back on since she wasn't the account holder (although her husband tried to have her added as having permission twice in the past), and then told her that because it was after 3 pm, they wouldn't be able to reconnect her water that day. She added that she has Lupus, her husband is a disabled vet, and they need water for medical reasons. As a final touch, she also noticed added fees on her following bill that resulted from the water shutoff.
-Debbie spoke out about payment issues she's had with Fathom. They have a small family who have been taking measures to cut back on water usage in the past months, yet she see's her bill continuing to go up. This past one, it was over 5,000 gallons. She's noticed that there's two different water and sewage fees instead of one of each like normal and doesn't believe Fathom should be double dipping like that. Editors Note: I've sat in on discussions about this by the council. It's my personal belief that there is a misunderstanding in this case. The city applies a discounted rate for everyone if they use UNDER 5,000 gallons. Once you reach the 5,000 gallon mark, your rate goes up to the "normal" rate. Most of us don't use over 5,000 gallons so we will never see the difference. It is MY personal belief that what is happening with the two line items of water and two line items of sewer is one line item is the discount rate up to 5,000 gallons, and the second line item is the standard rate applied after the 5,000 gallons. If I have this wrong, feel free to let us know in the comments - Jeremy
-Linda with the Five Hills Art Guild is inviting the public to next weekends (May 30-31)Five Hills Art Festival - "Bridge the Gap!". It will have free parking and entry, dancers, art from all across the state as well as one artist coming in from New Mexico, and dance off competitions. It will be Saturday from 10 to 7 and Sunday from 11 to 4.

The Agenda

Action Items:

H1 - The Heart of Texas Defense Alliance came out and gave its quarterly report on activities and requested payments for professional services provided. Keith Sledd was not near the microphone and the A/C was kind of loud, so we missed some of what he was saying, but I did pick up a few things.  

The Department of the Army has approved a Recycling Inter-Governmental Support Agreement (IGSA) allowing Copperas Cove to use their recycling program. The lawyers looked into policy and it doesn't prohibit this type of relationship. To make things more secure, they are now moving to include language specifically authorizing a relationship like this, and then Fort Hood and Copperas Cove will work to put this in effect. 

The Governor is working on some actions to be more supportive of military spouses and families. In the second slide (GCSM Findings and Recommendations), check marks are next to items that are already in place, and the unchecked items are being worked on to be put in place. I also heard some talk about Fort Hood resources being used towards construction of a wall on our southern border, but I think it was something being worked on. PASS

H2 - The Five Hills Art Guild made a presentation discussing the expenses put into the "Bridge the Gap" going on this weekend, and they requested a reimbursement for $8,760 out of the $12,000 already allocated in the city budget. PASS

H3 - The council assigned three members to the sign committee. Two are locally recognized business owners and one is a commercial sign contractor licensed by the State of Texas. Douglas Aldrich (All American Signs), Teresa Lange (Lamar Advertising), and Jennifer Snelling (Quine and Associates) were selected. PASS

H4 - The Copperas Cove Police Dept is looking to get rid of a number of firearms that no longer serve a purpose in the Police Department. Since they legally can't sell them to the public, they are looking to trade them in towards new firearms through a certified dealer (85 used weapons for 15 new weapons) with no financial liability to the city. PASS

H5 - Weaver (the same company that conducted the FATHOM Audit) presented an FY2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. When conducting this audit, they look at cash disbursements, payroll, utility revenue, tax revenue, and capitol projects. In all the areas they reported on, there were no problems found. Jay Manning asks why is this late again? The auditor stated no blame on the city, all the city staff were very helpful and prompt. Weaver took extra time in making the report presentable. Charlie Youngs motioned to approve the report. Jay Manning stated he was just given this report, and it is quite heavy. He can't vote to approve acceptance of this report with so many pages and so little time to review it. He would like extra time to review it.  The rest of the council concurred with his thoughts. FAILED 5-1 with Charlie Youngs being the only one to approve. They will revisit during a special meeting at 5:00, next Monday (March 25th).

H6 - Joe Brown with Parks and Rec gave a presentation on the current fees being charged at the Civic Center. He reminded the Council that it used to be $800 a day and $400 for half a day with a $400 refundable deposit, $100 Kitchen use fee, $100 Audio equipment use fee, $100 Stage use fee, and $40 restoration fee applied to everyone. They were getting a LOT of requests for fee reductions, so  last year the council voted to drop the rental fee and get rid of the half day fee to make it fair for everyone and stop entertaining requests for reduced fees. Now, here we are again with the council requesting a report of the daily operating expenses for the Civic Center to see how much more we can reduce the cost and still cover operating expenses. He took the overall expenses of the Civic Center for the past 5 years, and for each year he divided the amount of expenses for that year by amount of rentals for that year. Then he took all 5 years expense costs and averaged them out. Expense costs are everything from toilet paper being used to the grounds employees being paid to set things up in the civic center, to the floor wax being applied and time to do it. He did not factor in electricity used for the lights and HVAC or administrative staff time which is used towards each rental as well. The number he came up with was $560 a day or $70 an hour to run the civic center. Marc Payne started asking a bunch of questions about how many A/C units the building has, and he noticed that as prices went up over the years, rentals went down. He then factored in the city and school district using the civic center and said that means that hardly any citizens are actually renting the building. Marc further stated that we should not be so tough on tax payers already paying for these buildings or Charities trying to help the community.

From there the council started making form adjustments to specify who can receive up to a 50% discount when seemingly out of nowhere, Charlie Youngs pulled out of thin air that he wants the rental fee to be a flat $250 for anyone and everyone, no discounts applied. Take it or leave it. Joann and Marc immediately agreed. Jay Manning said he would hate to see the city losing money on renting this building and thinks we should stay at cost. Charlie Youngs then said that he thinks the people that are going to rent it are mostly citizens who are already paying for it in their taxes, and he would rather drop the price now with the hopes that rentals go up, and if they don't go up then go back and raise the fee to make up for lost costs. With that, the council voted on the new fee of $250 a day, Sound/Kitchen/Stage usage are $100 each, $400 refundable deposit, and a $40 restoration fee applied to everyone.Editors Note: Why are we as a city renting OUR Civic Center to a customer for half of what it cost to operate it- James  PASS A future agenda item will cover applying the new fees to the schedule, so the fee isn't being applied just yet.

Reports from Staff:

Ryan had some reports for the council tonight. 

-With the ongoing Texas Legislative Session going on, several bills have been presented. SB1 and HB1 both are similar bills (SB- Senate Bill, HB- House Bill) They have to do with relief payments the state gives out to help offset veterans who don't have to pay property tax. With these bills, Copperas Coves budgeted relief would more than double from prior years. Attached to those are some bills - one would expand this to Central Texas College and municipalities that lie in counties that share a border with military installations. 

-SB1152 States that local governments can't use any public funding to lobby at the state level. The problem with this is most cities are part of the Texas Municipal League which goes and does lobbying for the different cities around the state. They play a big part in staying in tune with the Texas Government and fighting for the cities. If this bill passes, the Mayor would have to be the one who goes to lobby for their city, taking some of their attention away from events going on in their city or needs of the city. 

-The Business 190 project is now in its 60% review phase which is expected to be complete by May 1st. The report from the TxDOT public meeting should be ready by the end of April, and will be made available to the public when the city gets it. 

- City employees have recently gone to South Park and cleaned out all the cat shelters (over 70) that had been placed around the park. They then reached out to the local concerned citizens and assured them that this was not a preliminary step to removing cats, but rather a measure to clean up the park. The city would like to remind residents that personal property is not permitted to be left on city property. 

Copperas Cove Workshop Notes

The workshop consisted of a discussion of the Downtown Transportation Feasability Study and the Downtown Masterplan of 2008. Neither plan dealt with traffic flow cor Copperas Cove.

The next 12 million dollar project from KTMPO road project will be the FM 116 railroad underpass project. They plan to start it in 2022 and will need two years of planning with BNSF before that due to coordination of the project. It doesn't address the traffic flow issue or the continued growth on the north side of town. Here are the options the council discussed:

1. FM 116 Railroad Underpass

2. Shift Main St to FM 116

3. FM 116 Realignment

4. FM 1113 Realignment

5. FM 116 and FM 1113 Realignment

The council agreed to have the Interim City Manager plan for the study and bring it back to them. 

With that, the meeting was a wrap! We appreciate your stopping by - be sure to subscribe, comment, and share this blog with other Copperas Cove residents! 

Copperas Cove Mayor Candidates

The Mayoral race for April 27, 2019, is on!

When the filing period ended on the evening of February 25, four citizens were up to the challenge to run for Mayor and lead our great city.

All voting will take place at the Coryell County Justice Center
Early Vote is: April 10, 12, 15-18, and 22
Election Day is: Saturday April 27, 2019

There are no forums as of yet for the candidates.

Look for them at all city meetings and ask them their positions!

Bradi Dewald Diaz

Ron Nelson II

Joey Acfalle

Brandi Weiand

Copperas Cove City Council for February 19, 2019

Copperas Cove City Council for February 19, 2019



The Council:
Mayor-Vacant
Joann Courtland- Present
Fred Chavez- Present
Mayor Pro Tem Dan Yancey- Present
Jay Manning- Present
Kirby Lack- Present
Marc Payne- Present
Charlie Youngs- Present

Mayor Candidates:
Bradi Dewald Diaz-Present
Ron Nelson-Present




The Workshop

The workshop tonight lasted about forty minutes. It was basically a summary of the CIP Town Hall from last Monday. Since all the council members were not at the Town Hall, this was a good briefing for them. The Interim City Manager briefed almost the entire time.




This is what was briefed to council:

Fire Station #3 expansion- Will be included with the upcoming Certificate of Obligations for $2,050,000 but has not been planned yet. It will be discussed next month. This project would double the current fire station into a fully functional station with a full compliment of fire fighters.

Animal Shelter- Still in the planning stages to reduce the cost of $7,473,000. It was first discussed last year and is badly needed.

Business 190 Phase 1 project- $11,435,212 funded by TxDOT and KTMPO, with the design  funded by the city. You can still send comments in and the link is on the city web site. Construction is scheduled to start in 2020. Councilman Youngs asked why they have not received any written feedback. The ICM said he will send it to him.

South 116 and FM 3046 Sidewalk project- $1,300,000 for bike lanes and sidewalks on both sides of the streets. Bike options will be brought to council.

Narrows sidewalk project- $2,116,838 for year 2020. It is currently be replatted for to easement for a 10 foot sidewalk and bike facilities. Councilman Payne asked the progress of the replatting.

South 1113 Sidewalk Phase 2-  Cost is only $61,855. This will connect the existing sidewalks and is already funded. Councilman Youngs why are we not funding street projects. They are different sources of funds.

Pecan Cove rebuild will start this year at a cost of $1,477,156 but has not been planned out yet. It will be done in conjunction with a drainage project ($404,000).

The library renovation project cost $564,000. The Five Hills Art Guild debuted their new mural.

SCADA System Replacement for $200,000. Both proprietary PCs are permanently down and are manually manned at this time until replaced.

South West Water improvement II and III at a cost of $4,500,000 will be fore the Valley of Great Hills subdivision.

The Killeen/Copperas Cove 24 inch water line replacement for 29,500 feet will cost $6,700,000.

There was a lengthy discussion of parks project. Lack asked about when the 2 pavilions that were donated by the Rotary Club would be finished. Joe Brown said it would be done in the first week of April. Councilman Youngs complained about the amount of money being spent on the park when the condition of our streets are so bad. Councilman Chavez said the amount being spent is because of all the years the city neglected the parks. This set off a heated exchange between Chavez and Youngs. Youngs told Chavez something to the fact that you don't need to worry about it because you won't be up here much longer. Watch the video at about the 18 minute mark for the real quote. It should be available by Thursday afternoon.

Thinks we spend to much on parks

The Council Meeting

The Agenda

The council meeting part of the evening lasted for approximately two hours and had three public hearings and four agenda items.







Citizens Forum: One gentleman came forward to speak in opposition to the medians that are being proposed for Business 190. He stated that they would be an impediment to safety to the contrary.

The 1st public hearing dealt with the rezoning from AG1 to R1 for low density housing along Grimes Crossing by the railroad tracks. Kempner Water Supply will provide the water service. There were no speakers. Vote passed 7-0.

The 2nd public hearing dealt with the youth curfew in Copperas Cove. There was no speakers and it passed by a vote of 7-0.

The 3rd public hearing was about Chapter 12 in the Code Of Ordinances. There was only one speaker from the Chamber Of Commerce President. They spoke about the entire ordinance and the ramifications of changing it. The intent of the change was aimed at the illegal gaming places in Copperas Cove. Her recommendation was to to separate it into two sections (Eliminate 12.81) so to just deal with the gambling. That is what the council did eventually. Councilman Payne asked about ten minutes worth of questions. They were very good question.  Watch the council video, also. It passed by a vote of 7-0.

One problem during the debate was that Councilman Payne was interrupted several times while he had the floor. Roberts Rules of Order says he has the right to finish his statements unless he yields the floor to another speaker. This happens way to much during the council meeting.

Agenda H1 was about paying the Lady Dawg Tip-Off tournament HOT funds for $3,691.50. I did not think HOT funds could be used to pay for hotel rooms. http://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=279577 and https://comptroller.texas.gov/economy/fiscal-notes/2016/june-july/hotel-tax.php also https://www.tml.org/p/What%20Cities%20Need%20to%20Know%20to%20Administer%20the%20Local%20Hotel%20Occupancy%20Tax%20(20%20%20%20.pdf . Please read these documents.

It passed by a vote of 7-0.

Agenda H2 was for the Certificates of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) from Kempner Water Supply Corp. The rejected the council proposal from November of $732.32 ($173 from the city and the balance from the developer) per acre. KWSC said it is worth $810 per acre. The developer also then made his lots larger to reduce his cost on his side. There was no vote on this item but the council authorized the ICM to continue to negotiate with KWSC.

Agenda H3 simply authorized the ICM to inter into a Interlocal Agreement with the Centex Fire & Arson Task Force. It passed 7-0.

Agenda H4 was about IChoosr LLC and Texas Power Switch. They are are a new international company which only US operations are in Texas. They partner with cities and bring to the city a variety of power company options for people to choose. It is an volunteer only opt in service. There are lots of questions about this company. Lack and Youngs wanted to contact other cities individually about the service. Manning had a problem with lending the city logo and credibility to anybody. Payne said he disagrees with this service after what we went through with Fathom. He also wants to see more of their company history. It failed by a vote of 1-6. Fred Chavez For, Everyone else Against. 

Future Agenda Items:
Councilman Manning wants to repeal Appendix D in the Fire Code
Councilman Payne wants to discuss widening 6th Street near the Ave E school to make it easier for school buses, Fire Trucks, and Ambulances to pass through.