Coppell Chronicle Vol. 4, No. 21
Coppell Gripped by Gator Mania • Council Tightens Watering Restrictions • Slate of Parks and Rec Projects Proposed • Irving Rejects 24-Hour Poker Club
For the second consecutive week, this newsletter includes an article I never could have predicted publishing. Can we make it three weeks in a row? Meet me back here next Sunday to find out.
Coppell Gripped by Gator Mania
Hey, did you hear there’s an alligator in Coppell? Yes, yes, of course you did. The gator spotted in the northeast corner of our city was featured on Fox 4, NBC 5, and WFAA last week.
Two of those stories featured interviews with Johnny Ahrens and Joanne Eubank, who have seen the gator multiple times in the creek behind their home on Inglenook Court. Eubank invited me over to see it for myself on Friday evening, but the reptile didn’t show up for our interview. Perhaps the gator had already grown weary of all the media attention.
Ahrens and Eubank saw the creature for the first time on Sunday evening, while they were hosting a family event. Eubank told me they also spotted it on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, between 8 and 8:30 each evening. Twenty-four hours after ducking me, the gator showed up again last night.
“Normally, you wouldn’t want to be close to an alligator, but it’s kind of like you’re at the zoo,” Eubank said on Friday, as we stood next to the metal fence separating her yard from the creek.
The initial sighting happened on July 6 in a pond near Castle Creek Drive. A July 7 email to members of the Estates of Cambridge Manor Homeowners Association said Coppell Planning and Zoning Commissioner Freddie Guerra and his wife, Deeann Bennett, alerted Coppell Animal Services to a gator’s presence. The email also said a resident had informed Mayor Wes Mays, who I’m sure never envisioned receiving such a call as part of his civic duties.
That email, and another one from the homeowners association’s board on Tuesday, made it sound like Coppell Animal Services would work with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to make Coppell an alligator-free city. But Lerrin Johnson, a public information officer with Texas Parks and Wildlife, told me alligator relocations are not a common practice.
“This is considered a last resort and generally only done if a nuisance alligator has been identified and is an immediate danger to the public,” Johnson said via email. “The majority of alligators are not nuisances.”
In case you’re not aware (and I certainly wasn’t), the Wildlife chapter of the Texas Administrative Code includes a legal definition for a nuisance alligator: “an alligator that is depredating or a threat to human health or safety.” I had to turn to Merriam-Webster to find out that “depredating” means plundering or ravaging. (Like this?)
The City of Coppell publicly acknowledged the gator for the first time on Wednesday afternoon, when it posted this image on social media:
Those social media posts included a link to a Living With Alligators document featuring information provided by Texas Parks and Wildlife. The posts also inspired all of the TV coverage.
By Friday, the city had leaned into the absurdity of the situation. A banner referencing “our reptilian resident” and featuring a picture of an inflatable alligator had been added to the city’s website. The inflatable gator subsequently appeared in video clips recorded at The CORE’s outdoor pool, at Grapevine Springs Park, and on a treadmill at the Coppell Senior and Community Center.
Meanwhile, The Dallas Morning News published an editorial billed as “a letter from the Coppell alligator.” Here’s an excerpt: “I mean, just look at this place! You’ve got everything. I’ve got a Market Street just up the road. A little south of here is my Tom Thumb. I’ve been wanting to try Rosa’s Café, maybe get a membership at the Coppell Family Y.”
More than one of my subscribers suspected that I had something to do with that letter. If I had, I would have gone with a much more Coppell-centric restaurant than Rosa’s. In my version, the gator would have wanted to dine at J. Macklin’s.
Council Tightens Watering Restrictions
Coppell’s rules for water conservation have grown more restrictive, and the penalties have increased by a factor of four.
Until Tuesday, Coppell had a five-stage water conservation plan, and residents weren’t restricted to two days of watering per week until we reached Stage 3. According to an ordinance approved by a majority of the City Council on Tuesday, we now have a four-stage plan that restricts us to two days of watering per week by default.
A memo to the council from Director of Public Works Mike Garza labeled this as a “simplified” breakdown of the new watering restrictions:
This item was on the council’s consent agenda, but Jim Walker pulled it for individual consideration because he thinks the new restrictions are too severe.
“It seems like such a significant overlap that it almost renders Stage 1 meaningless,” Walker said. “We’re effectively moving everyone into Stage 2 automatically for five months a year.”
Garza said he’s no lawn expert, but the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service recommends a quarter-inch to an inch of water per week. “Two days a week will get you that amount of watering for your yard,” he said.
The new ordinance also increases the daily penalty for noncompliance from $500 to $2,000. Council Member Biju Mathew asked how many customers were fined last year; Garza said none, because our city government’s philosophy is to educate residents before penalizing them. Mathew then asked how many repeat offenders there were; Garza couldn’t come up with that number on the fly, but he said the city had to contact several people who were watering their lawns when they weren’t supposed to.
“The majority of our phone calls were related to people who had leaks and didn’t realize they had leaks,” Garza said.
Given all that information, Mathew asked why the penalty was being increased from $500 to $2,000. Garza said fines would be reserved for the most flagrant abusers during severe drought conditions.
“We did have some folks tell us, ‘Just fine me. I need to water my yard,’” Garza said.
Coppell’s maximum daily allotment from Dallas Water Utilities is 18.5 million gallons. If we exceed that just once, the city’s contract calls for an automatic increase of one million gallons that will cost Coppell an additional $320,000 annually for at least five years.
Before Tuesday’s 5-1 vote on the new ordinance — with Walker voting against it and Mark Hill being absent — Walker asked this question: “Is there going to come a point where just normal usage would exceed that 18.5 million, I mean, just by virtue of the larger scale of development that we’ve experienced?”
Garza said a fully built-out Coppell could use as much as 25 million gallons daily by 2040. “What we’re doing today is trying to begin practices that can reduce that amount,” he said.
On Tuesday, the City Council also …
• Approved the issuance and sale of up to $53.5 million worth of certificates of obligation. (See “Council to Consider $53.5 Million Worth of Debt” in Vol. 4, No. 20.)
• Adopted new guidelines, criteria, and procedures for tax abatement agreements. (See “Pathology Firm Expected to Get Tax Breaks” in Vol. 4, No. 14.)
• Received a report from the Coppell Chamber of Commerce on the “Discover Coppell” marketing campaign. (See next week’s edition for a summary of that report.)
Slate of Parks and Rec Projects Proposed
If you patronize Coppell’s parks and recreation facilities, then you may be interested in how they will be improved over the next several months.
On Monday, the Coppell Recreation Development Corporation (CRDC) board voted to recommend their annual work program to the City Council and request a 60-day period of public review. Since they asked, let’s review it:
The majority of those projects will be covered by the $2.5 million devoted to capital outlay in the CRDC’s proposed budget for fiscal 2025, which begins in October. Only one project’s specific price tag was discussed on Monday; Director of Community Experiences Jessica Carpenter said an inclusive playground at MacArthur Park will cost about $500,000. However, Carpenter said contracts for each project will be approved by the board and council throughout the fiscal year.
Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Nevels, who is a member of the CRDC board, asked about the plans for the basketball goals at Andrew Brown Park West. Carpenter said the curved concrete bases will be replaced by powder-coated metal poles.
“The integrity of the concrete is not lasting,” Carpenter said. While the poles will be “not as visually interesting, from a maintenance standpoint, it makes more sense for us.”
The board also voted to recommend their proposed budget for fiscal 2025 to the council. It calls for about $5.6 million worth of revenues (81 percent of which will come from sales taxes) and more than $5.8 million worth of expenditures, which adds up to a loss of more than $235,000. However, Nevels pointed out that the city is budgeting as if Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar’s proposed changes to the distribution of sales taxes (aka Rule 3.334) are already in effect. That’s why the CRDC’s adopted budget for fiscal 2024 included about $4.4 million worth of revenues, but the amended version of that budget boasts more than $9.9 million.
“We are assuming that [Rule] 3.334 will go into effect,” Nevels said, “unless there are results to a lawsuit that are favorable to us.”
(In 2021, Coppell and a handful of other cities sued Hegar to block the implementation of Rule 3.334. The suit is supposed to finally go to trial on Oct. 14, but that date has been delayed many times.)
Before the CRDC board voted on their proposed budget for fiscal 2025, Director of Strategic Financial Engagement Kim Tiehen provided a summary of how fiscal 2024 is going, and it’s going well. Through the end of May, the CRDC had raised nearly $6 million but spent less than $2.6 million.
One line item in the 2024 budget jumped out at Mayor Wes Mays, who is also a member of the CRDC board. He noticed that the Coppell Arts Center had already generated $267,000 worth of revenue, even though the budgeted amount for the entire year was $209,000. Carpenter attributed the bulk of those bonus dollars to facility rentals.
“Rentals have done very well with the support that council provided,” Carpenter said. “ With the extra staff, it allowed them to increase their rentals significantly.”
(See “Arts Center to Nearly Double Its Staff” in Vol. 2, No. 40.)
After 60-plus days of review, the CRDC board will host a public hearing on their proposed work program in September. Meanwhile, the City Council will discuss the CRDC and other special revenue funds tomorrow, during the first of their three July budget workshops.
Irving Rejects 24-Hour Poker Club
Following the lead of their Planning and Zoning Commission, the Irving City Council unanimously rejected a zoning variance requested by a developer who wants to open a 24-hour poker club along Interstate 635.
The request was filed by Prosper resident Karim Kargozar, who wants to turn a shuttered repair shop called T&K Automotive into the Irving Social Lounge. His submitted plans show the space formerly occupied by repair bays would be filled with poker tables.
Kargozar needed a variance because the building due west of MacArthur Boulevard has 25 fewer parking spaces than the city’s minimum requirement for a business with “indoor amusement” uses. During the council’s meeting on Thursday and the commission’s meeting on July 1, he showed photos and videos demonstrating that the parking lot is fairly empty at most times.
Commission Chair Joshua Skinner said that evidence was irrelevant, because the T&K space is vacant, as is a restaurant suite at the other end of the building. So any reasonable person would expect the parking lot to be full of empty spaces. (A notice in the window of the restaurant suite indicates it will soon be occupied by a New Jersey-based chain called Bikanervala.)
Council Member Al Zapanta, whose district includes the property, made the motion to reject Kargozar’s request on Thursday. He cited the lack of sufficient parking and the fact that there are plenty of homes nearby in the Hunters Ridge subdivision.
Council Member Brad LaMorgese, who lives near Zapanta in Hackberry Creek, said he knows plenty of people who live in Hunters Ridge and walk their dogs near the building in question. “It’s a terrible place for an indoor amusement use,” he said.
In other Irving news …
• Also on Thursday, the City Council approved a largely symbolic resolution supporting a 25 percent reduction in Irving’s financial contribution to Dallas Area Rapid Transit. Before that unanimous vote, Mayor Rick Stopfer — who has been Irving’s representative on the DART Board of Directors since 2013 — couldn’t resist getting some things off his chest. At one point near the end of his 26-minute (!) diatribe, the mayor said this: “Everybody on that board’s gonna be really pissed at me when they watch this, and believe me, they all will.” If you’d like to watch it, click here and skip to Item 5. Stopfer’s “dissertation,” as he described it, begins at about the 55-second mark.
• In Vol. 4, No. 5, I reported that LaMorgese said there are plans to install Texas U-turns on either side of Belt Line Road where it crosses I-635. That news prompted Coppell ISD Trustee Jobby Mathew to raise both hands, as if he was saying “Hallelujah” or signaling a touchdown. On Tuesday evening, Coppell City Manager Mike Land told his council that the Texas Department of Transportation informed him that work should begin on Aug. 12.
• If you’re a female Irving resident and at least 60 years old, then you may want to enter the Ms. Mature Irving pageant. The entry deadline is July 26.
Chronicle Crumbs
• Thursday was the first anniversary of the Coppell City Council approving the zoning changes associated with the plans for a Tim Hortons at the corner of State Highway 121 and Freeport Parkway. A form filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation last November indicated that construction would begin in March, but ground has not yet been broken. Meanwhile, the leasing flyer maintained by The Shop Companies makes it look like the pad site where we were expecting to enjoy Timbits is still available. Given these facts, I reached out to the Canadian coffee chain’s local PR firm, Champion, for an update last week. I was assured that the Coppell store should open before the end of this year. Merry Christmas, eh?
• The site where Tim Hortons is expected to set up shop is a stone’s throw from the intersection of Freeport Parkway and Northwestern Drive. On Tuesday, the Coppell City Council approved a $583,872 contract with a company called Road Solutions to install a traffic signal there. “Due to the recent and upcoming development in this area and the increased congestion at this intersection, it is appropriate to install this traffic signal at this time,” Director of Public Works Mike Garza wrote in a memo to the council.
• On Wednesday, the City of Coppell issued a certificate of occupancy to a business called Zayn Global Market. The certificate is associated with the space formerly occupied by Rozana Market and Restaurant on the corner of East Belt Line Road and South Belt Line Road.
• A judge in Nigeria will reportedly decide this week whether Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the African nation’s central bank, can travel abroad for medical treatment. Last Monday, an attorney for Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission argued that use of Emefiele’s passport should be denied, because he is considered a flight risk and because there are plenty of doctors in Nigeria who can treat whatever ails him.
(See “Nigeria Aims to Seize Coppell Estate” in last week’s edition.)
• During Tuesday’s Coppell City Council meeting, Mayor Wes Mays asked Meagan Wolfe, a special events coordinator with the Community Experiences Department, how many drones lit up the sky on June 29 during Celebrate Coppell: Party in the Park and how many people enjoyed that light show. Wolfe said there were 200 drones enjoyed by an estimated 15,000 people.
• The mayor posed that question while issuing a proclamation recognizing July as Park and Recreation Month. After answering him, Wolfe promoted Community Experiences’ Sweets 16 competition, which will culminate with a July 25 celebration featuring free samples of the winning treat.
Personally, I disagree with the results of Rounds 2 and 5, but I don’t get to complain about those results, because I didn’t bother to vote. Keep that in mind come November.
Community Calendar
James Wand Magic Show: The magician will be at the Cozby Library and Community Commons between 3 and 4 p.m. on Tuesday, when he will perform for elementary-age children only. Parents and younger siblings will be asked to wait in the lobby or Toddler Zone. (Teenagers may want to attend the Magic Class with James Wand between 1 and 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday.)
Soul Escape: The nationally recognized professional dance company will perform at the Coppell Arts Center at 7 p.m. on Tuesday and at 6 p.m. on July 21.
July Paint & Sip: Sea Turtle: Kate Shema of Createria Studios will guide participants through a relaxing evening of creating a painting of a sea turtle. This event, which will begin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, is for adults only because alcohol will be available.
Commemorative Pictorial Postmark Event: Area philatelists (postage enthusiasts) are expected to converge at the Cozby Library and Community Commons between 10:30 and noon on Saturday. That 90-minute window is the only time they’ll be able to get the U.S. Postal Service’s unique postmark commemorating the library’s 50th anniversary.
Dallas Zoo: Animals from the Dallas Zoo will be at the Cozby Library and Community Commons between 2 and 3 p.m. on Saturday. This is a free event, but a limited number of tickets will be made available.
Texas Gypsies: The eclectic band featuring a violin and a horns section — on top of the requisite guitar, bass, and drums, of course — will perform at the Coppell Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Texas Plant Tales: Dallas County Master Gardener Caroline Rozier will be at the Cozby Library and Community Commons between 2 and 3 p.m. on July 21 to tell the tales of Texas’ native plants.
DART Silver Line Community Meeting: Officials with DART and its Silver Line contractor, Archer Western Herzog, will be at Town Hall in Cypress Waters at 6 p.m. on July 24 to answer questions. If you can’t be there, let me know what you want me to ask.
Greater Tuna: Theatre Coppell will stage nine performances of the beloved play about the wacky inhabitants of Texas’ third smallest town. The first show is scheduled for 8 p.m. on July 26 at the Coppell Arts Center.
I hate to be so dense but you provided so much information I can’t figure out what stage we’re in and exactly when I can run our sprinklers
Much was said about watering lawns, what about those who chose to ditch their lawns and install flower beds instead? Do we face the same restrictions? Why doesn’t the city do like some other cities do and “pay” per square foot for homeowners to replace their lawns with native plants? I also think the city needs to get onto all these overbearing HOAs who demand pristine lawns, plant unsuitable trees that shade those lawns, usually too close to the house as well! They are the bigger culprits here! And lastly, the city runs a “Best garden of Coppell” each month. I bet all the winners have pristine lawns too! Can you tell I’m just a little cheesed off. And I’m happy to pay for whatever water I use!