Coppell Chronicle Vol. 4, No. 22
City to Cover School Officers’ Salaries • Chamber Seeks More Funds for Marketing • Library’s Anniversary Marked by Postmark • Plans Call for 3 Homes on Mockingbird
Coppell was ranked fifth on a list of the 10 Best U.S. Suburbs published by Travel + Leisure last week. The only other Texas suburb listed was Cinco Ranch near Houston; it was the runner-up to Johns Creek outside Atlanta.
Seems like a bogus list, if you ask me. I refuse to believe there are four American suburbs better than Coppell.
City to Cover School Officers’ Salaries
Coppell is poised to do Coppell ISD a financial favor: fully paying for the school resource officers at the district’s 14 campuses in the city.
When the Texas Legislature mandated armed security officers at all public schools, the city and the school district agreed to split the costs 50-50. On Monday, Council Member Don Carroll suggested that the city could pick up the district’s half of that bill for the upcoming school year.
“Public safety certainly falls in the realm of the city to a great extent,” Carroll said. “We know the school district is going through its own challenges.”
Carroll made this suggestion as he and his peers were discussing the fiscal 2025 budget for the city’s Crime Control and Prevention District. That budget calls for a $735,000 reimbursement from Coppell ISD for the school resource officers.
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. Carroll pointed out that the Crime Control and Prevention District’s budget for fiscal 2024 includes between $2 million and $3 million worth of excess revenues, because it is funded by sales taxes and because Rule 3.334 is on hold pending the outcome of a lawsuit.
“I completely agree with the way we budget, because we have to budget like sales tax is going away. The reality is it hasn’t,” Carroll said. “So I would like to look at this on a year-to-year basis and see — do we have additional funds that could be utilized for something like helping out the school district with public safety?”
Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Nevels thanked Carroll for his suggestion: “This is something that we could do to help that unfunded mandate that Austin has imposed on our school districts.”
After stressing the importance of public safety, Council Member Ramesh Premkumar played devil’s advocate: “By footing this bill from our side, are we going to be encouraging Austin to be doing more unfunded mandates because cities like Coppell can afford it?”
Carroll’s response was that Coppell’s close working relationship with Coppell ISD is a rarity in Texas, but Mayor Wes Mays said that was a moot point: “Austin’s not even gonna see this. It’s not even gonna be on their radar screen.”
Council Member Jim Walker was also on board with Carroll’s idea, but he said it must be made clear to Coppell ISD that it would be reassessed on a year-to-year basis. 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.) If the cities don’t prevail, Walker said, then the financial buffer Coppell has built up will dwindle over time.
“If someone asked me, ‘Well, five years ago, when you spent a little bit of the buffer on the safety of our schoolchildren,’ I’d be able to defend that all day long,” Walker said.
The City Council will have two more budget workshops tomorrow and on July 29. The city’s full-length proposed budget will be posted for public review on Aug. 5.
Chamber Seeks More Funds for Marketing
Before their budget workshops began, the City Council was briefed on the “Discover Coppell” marketing campaign managed by the Coppell Chamber of Commerce.
Ellie Braxton, the chamber’s president and CEO, told the council on July 9 that she is requesting $374,000 for fiscal 2025, which would be about 4.5 percent more than the campaign’s current budget of $358,000. Braxton attributed the increase to two factors.
1. Brochures: Using about $8,000 worth of leftover funds, the chamber produced 1,000 brochures that were placed in Coppell’s four hotels plus the city’s real estate brokerages. Braxton said they’re all gone, but I cruised through the hotels’ lobbies on Saturday and got my paws on a dog-eared copy.
Discover Coppell’s proposed budget for fiscal 2025 includes $30,000 for the production of more copies of the brochure, which includes maps of Coppell, Old Town, and the Dallas-Fort Worth region.
“We’re positioning ourselves as ‘We’re the hub,’” Braxton said. “There are so many excursions to do outside of Coppell. Stay here because we’re in the heart of the Metroplex, and you can reach everything you need to reach from us.”
2. Group assistance programs: The proposed budget includes $5,000 for each hotel to offset discounted group rates or to pay for shuttles to offsite events.
Discover Coppell is funded by hotel occupancy taxes. The Texas statute that allows cities to collect such taxes says the revenues they produce “may be used only to promote tourism and the convention and hotel industry.” That led Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Nevels to ask whether group assistance programs would be a lawful expenditure; City Attorney Bob Hager said it would be OK.
Since October, Braxton’s team has been working with a Southlake company called Hotel Resources, which touts its “best in class hospitality marketing services.” Braxton said Hotel Resources focuses on people who are coming to events at the Coppell Conference Center within the Four Points by Sheraton hotel, the Coppell Arts Center, or VariSpace Coppell.
“We have not participated in anything outside of Coppell,” Braxton said, “because, quite frankly, we don’t know that people are going, ‘Hey, let’s go to Dallas and go to Coppell.’ So what we’re focused on is people who are already coming here.”
Although Belmont Icehouse, the Dallas firm that runs the campaign’s advertising, would get less money than previous years, it would still account for more than half of Discover Coppell’s budget ($200,800 out of $374,000). Council Member Ramesh Premkumar encouraged Braxton to “lean on” Belmont Icehouse to produce key performance indicators that would justify their fees. Braxton replied that no leaning would be necessary. Belmont Icehouse provides key performance indicators; she just didn’t include them in her slide presentation for the council, which you can download here:
Premkumar also suggested that Belmont Icehouse analyze where the people who visit the Discover Coppell website are located. For example, if they knew whether the visitors were in Texas or outside of it, “that might help us change our offering,” Premkumar said.
Braxton replied, “I don’t think they can tell us exactly where it’s coming from,” but Premkumar — who owns a firm that touts its data analytics services — begged to differ. “Most analytics companies can,” he said.
Library’s Anniversary Marked by Postmark
Although the Cozby Library will loan you a variety of things, books remain the facility’s bread and butter. So what better way to mark the library’s 50th anniversary than by applying ink to paper?
Employees of the U.S. Postal Service were at the library on Saturday morning to offer a pictorial postmark commemorating the anniversary. Catering to patrons who may have been unprepared for this event, the Friends of the Coppell Library gave out envelopes bearing a photo of the library’s original location on Coppell Road.
I walked out with a pair of the pictorial postmarks, but only one of my envelopes features a stamp. That’s because I had just enough change in my car to afford a first-class stamp at its recently raised price: 73 cents.
Lori Carey, a customer relations coordinator with the Postal Service, said these postmark events are rare. In the year and a half she’s been in her position, she’s attended only one other, and that was at a stamp convention in Terrell. Carey was kind enough to share this document with more details about the program:
The Cozby Library event was initiated by Mathew Ittoop, vice chair of the Coppell Library Board and a lifelong stamp collector. He took up the hobby as a sixth-grader in India, shortly after being enthralled by a stamp from Kuwait featuring a sailboat atop blue water. On Saturday, Ittoop had clerk Marcus Jones apply the anniversary postmark to 15 envelopes.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event,” Ittoop said with a smile.
I wondered whether my stamped envelope featuring the pictorial postmark could be mailed. That was confirmed by Ashley Holmes Mullenix, who covered Saturday’s event for the Postal Service’s corporate communications department. She said a separate postmark would be applied by the sending post office, indicating that the letter is valid.
However, Ittoop advised me that it might be smarter to hold onto my souvenirs from Saturday.
“There’s a philatelic value to these,” said Ittoop, thereby becoming the first person to ever utter “philatelic” in my presence. “There are stamp collectors who will want these in their collection.”
If you missed Saturday’s event, don’t fret. The 50th anniversary postmark will be available at the Coppell post office through Aug. 20.
Plans Call for 3 Homes on Mockingbird
Do you remember the Frontenis Center? Saturday was the third anniversary of several Coppell residents being startled by the unusual sports facility’s demolition.
Despite the outrageous noise on that particular Tuesday in 2021, things have been quiet since the site near the south end of Mockingbird Lane was cleared. However, a few of my subscribers have notified me of recent activity there, which led me to investigate what’s in the works.
Before the Frontenis Center came down, the Coppell Planning and Zoning Commission approved a replat that divided the property into three lots. From north to south, 702 Mockingbird is more than a quarter of an acre, 706 Mockingbird is almost a third of an acre, and 710 Mockingbird occupies an acre-plus.
In May of this year, developer Jordan Love — who told me he’s a 2007 graduate of Coppell High School — submitted three sets of architectural plans to the city. They call for a 4,300-square-foot house at 702 Mockingbird, a 4,200-square-foot house at 706 Mockingbird, and an 8,000-square-foot house at 710 Mockingbird. Those plans include these renderings:
(By the way, we’re not talking about this Jordan Love. I apologize if that name triggered post-traumatic stress disorder for any Dallas Cowboys fans.)
Love told me he’s working with a financing firm out of Austin called Loan Ranger Capital. Dallas Central Appraisal District records indicate that Loan Ranger Capital purchased 702 Mockingbird and 706 Mockingbird in January of 2023. But DCAD records also show that 710 Mockingbird has been owned by a firm called 710 Mockingbird LLC since January of 2024.
In all three cases, the previous owner was AAA Mockingbird Homes LLC, which took possession of the properties in November of 2021. AAA Mockingbird Homes LLC shares a Carrollton mailing address with AAA Home Builder LLC, the company that purchased the land from the Frontenis Center’s owner in March of 2021.
Love told me he was under the impression that Loan Ranger Capital is the current owner of all three properties. When I asked why DCAD would indicate a different owner for the largest lot, Love suggested I get in touch with Paul Carpio, the chief revenue officer at Loan Ranger Capital. I called Carpio’s cell phone on Friday, and his recorded greeting said he prefers to communicate via text messages. He has not yet responded to my text seeking clarity.
According to DCAD, 710 Mockingbird LLC has a mailing address in Coppell’s Belmont Landing subdivision along East Belt Line Road. I mailed a letter to that address, asking about the owners’ plans for their property on Mockingbird, on July 10. I have not yet heard from them.
I’m sure this will not be my final article about the former Frontenis Center land. Stay tuned.
Chronicle Crumbs
• Last week’s edition included an article about Coppell’s new watering restrictions. The city has since posted the graphic above on social media, issued a press release about the restrictions, and updated the webpage about its Water Conservation Plan. It’s important to note that the restrictions apply to automated sprinklers only. You’re free to use soaker hoses, or water your lawn and plants by hand, at all times on all days.
• The opening ceremony for the Olympic Games in Paris will begin at 12:30 p.m. Central on Friday, and it will air on NBC. Here’s the preliminary schedule for the U.S. indoor women’s volleyball team, which includes Coppell High School graduate Chiaka Ogbogu:
Their match against China will air at 10 a.m. Central on July 29 on USA.
Their match against Serbia will air at 10 a.m. Central on July 31 on USA.
Their match against France will air at 6 a.m. Central on Aug. 4 on NBC.
• A form filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation last week says the fuel station that’s being built on Kroger’s parking lot will cost nearly $1.6 million.
(See “Kroger’s Landlord Agrees to Move Pumps” in Vol. 3, No. 26.)
• On Tuesday, a judge in Nigeria denied Godwin Emefiele’s request to travel abroad for medical treatment, according to Reuters. The former governor of that African nation’s central bank is on trial in multiple courts there, and Emefiele is on my radar because he has ties to multiple properties in Coppell.
(See “Nigeria Aims to Seize Coppell Estate” in Vol. 4, No. 20.)
• The fall registration deadlines for the Coppell Baseball Association and the Coppell Girls Softball Association are coming up on Aug. 1 and Aug. 4, respectively.
• The Coppell Arts Council is soliciting artwork created by children between the ages of 5 and 13 for an exhibit that will be displayed in the Coppell Arts Center lobby from July 29 through Aug. 29. I’m expecting to see lots of drawings of alligators.
Community Calendar
Texas Plant Tales: Dallas County Master Gardener Caroline Rozier will be at the Cozby Library and Community Commons at 2 p.m. today 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 Wednesday 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 Friday at the Coppell Arts Center.
Mastering Your Voice: The Coppell Community Chorale will offer a two-part workshop on Aug. 5 and 12. Both sessions will begin at 7 p.m. at the Coppell Arts Center.
Viviz: The Korean band’s world tour includes a stop at the Coppell Arts Center at 7 p.m. on Aug. 7. The marketing materials say Viviz “are prepared to do a full musical takeover of your city,” so stand apprised of that.
Thanks, Dan! I appreciate your investigative reporting on behalf of the citizens of our fair city! I always enjoy your commentary! I wonder what’s going to happen to the old DQ on Denton Tap?
Why didn't you mention, in CAPITAL LETTERS than the property was a stone's throw from the soon-to-be finished railroad track for DART?
signed Marcie Sandall