Coppell Chronicle Vol. 2, No. 6

New Price Locked in for Locker Rooms • City Wants Your Feedback on Budget • CISD Also Wants Your Input • All Signs Point to Another Election

Apr 03, 2022

Here’s a rendering of the building that should be finished by December.

Last summer, the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees increased the budget for adding locker rooms at the district’s Baseball and Softball Complex from $672,000 to $1.2 million. When I reported those figures, one of my subscribers asked this question:

“Can someone please explain how $670,000 is not enough to build changing rooms? You can build a fantastic house with that.”

If that particular subscriber is enjoying a beverage as she reads this, she’s about to do a spit take. On Feb. 28, the trustees unanimously approved an amended contract with Northstar Builders Group that raised the guaranteed maximum price of the locker rooms to $2.5 million.

Coppell ISD Chief Operating Officer Dennis Womack reminded the board that the guaranteed maximum price is the most the district would pay. (Editorial comment: That’s assuming the contract isn’t amended again.)

“Any savings that’s realized during the project, we would retain all of those savings at the end of the project,” Womack said.

In theory, that sounds great. But Board President Nichole Bentley asked how often Northstar is saving money on projects these days, given all of the issues with supplies and labor in the construction business. Chadd Guitreau, who is Northstar’s chief estimator, didn’t sugarcoat his answer.

“We’ve not hit a budget, really, since COVID began,” Guitreau said, before explaining that it’s a seller’s market regarding supplies. His firm has received multiple notices this year about price increases. “They’re able to charge basically what they want, and we still don’t really know when we’re going to get it.”

I acquired a copy of the amended contract via an open records request. After the $343,000 worth of “general conditions,” the priciest section is the $279,000 devoted to mechanical and plumbing supplies. The contract also includes $225,000 worth of metals, $216,000 for concrete, and $193,000 for electrical work.

Fortunately, the district has money to move around. Womack said about $16.5 million from the 2016 bond package was unallocated, either due to savings on completed projects or because other projects were put on hold.

Before making a motion to approve the amended contract, Trustee David Caviness said the new locker rooms will solve a couple of safety issues at the Baseball and Softball Complex. First of all, teenage athletes are changing clothes in the parking lot, for a lack of anywhere else to do it. Secondly, those athletes have nowhere to hide if inclement weather hits the complex.

“While it’s hard to see us with an overage, we’ve got some padding here for that, and I think these are projects that are worthwhile,” Caviness said.

After seconding Caviness’ motion, Trustee Anthony Hill said, “With the price increases that are taking place, in the foreseeable future these things may go up even more, so locking these prices in now are definitely a benefit.”

A couple of weeks later, Womack had to speak to the Coppell Planning and Zoning Commission regarding the same project. To this viewer, watching a CISD official speak at Town Center was like watching Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza drink coffee at Central Perk (or like watching Ross Geller and Chandler Bing drink coffee at Monk’s).

The only question Womack had to field at that March 17 meeting came from Commission Chair Edmund Haas, who wanted to know why the design plans called for the baseball locker room to be bigger than the softball locker room. Womack said that was due to the programs’ sizes; baseball typically has about 70 athletes, while softball usually has about 40. The plans include 90 lockers for baseball and 60 for softball to account for growth (in the programs, not the players).

City Wants Your Feedback on Budget

If you want to weigh in on how the City of Coppell spends money, you have an opportunity to do so on Thursday evening. (Hooray!) The budgeting process for the next fiscal year will begin with a Budget Town Hall that’s scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Ideally, I would have given you homework in advance of that event by providing a link to the city’s latest Five Year Forecast document. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a link to it on the city’s website. When I scrolled to the end of the Budget Process webpage this morning, the link on that page was to last year’s edition of the forecast. I’m sure it will be updated to the 2022 edition before long.

Director of Finance Kim Tiehen previewed the latest Five Year Forecast during the City Council’s March 22 workshop. She provided a caveat that the city’s various departments were asked to submit their requests for capital expenditures, additional staff, and new programs in December.

“That means that the document you’ve received is based on knowledge we had in December,” Tiehen told the council. “That knowledge did not include the invasion of Ukraine or a 7.9-percent inflation rate that we’re now seeing, as well as an increase in fuel costs.”

Tiehen reminded the council that the Five Year Forecast is not the same as the budget. The former is a planning tool that requires no action by the council, while the latter definitely needs the council’s seal of approval. The council is scheduled to consider the final budget on Aug. 9, and the new fiscal year will begin on Oct. 1.

Once she got all of the disclaimers out of the way, Tiehen got to the meat of the forecast. The document says all city departments have streamlined their budgets because 18 percent of Coppell’s annual revenue could disappear if Comptroller Glenn Hegar is allowed to change how sales taxes for online transactions are distributed. Coppell and three other cities filed a lawsuit against Hegar last July, and the next court proceedings won’t happen until September.

That said, a few city departments have requested additional staff. For example, Community Development wants to add a code compliance officer and a position related to a proposed business incubator, and Enterprise Solutions would like to hire a systems administrator.

Tiehen also highlighted a few proposed strategies regarding special revenue funds, such as reducing the 35-percent transfer from the Coppell Recreation Development Corporation to the general fund and moving all personnel out of the Crime Control Prevention District’s budget, except for school resource officers. I’d love to explain what all that means, but I haven’t been able to read the Five Year Forecast yet.

If Thursday’s Budget Town Hall conflicts with something else on your schedule, don’t worry. There will be four budget workshops scheduled in June and July when you will be able to voice your opinion. (Hooray again!) A condensed version of the estimated budget will be made available on July 8, and a full-length version should be accessible by Aug. 5.

CISD Also Wants Your Input

As I reported in the March 20 edition, Coppell ISD wants the community’s input on the priority areas and statements developed by the district’s Visioning Committee, which is helping outline the future of CISD. You have four opportunities to weigh in, starting tomorrow:

April 4, from 3 to 7 p.m., at the Vonita White Administration Building
April 7, from 8 a.m. to noon, at Coppell Middle School West
April 11, from 3 to 7 p.m., at Coppell Middle School West
April 14, from 8 a.m. to noon, at the Vonita White Administration Building

To be clear, you’re not expected to be at the Vonita White building or CMS West for four hours on those dates; you can pop in at any time during those four-hour windows, read the statements, take as long as you need to provide feedback via sticky notes, then carry on with the rest of your day. Click here for more information.

During last week’s Board of Trustees meeting, Superintendent Brad Hunt summarized what I reported in the March 13 edition about forming a committee to shape the district’s next bond package. If you’re interested in serving on that committee, contact the district ASAP. The aim is to finalize a committee roster by May 24.

All Signs Point to Another Election

You’ve probably noticed that campaign signs for Carol Lacey McGuire are sprouting up all over town. She’s aiming to unseat Anthony Hill, who is seeking a sixth term on the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees. If you click their names, you’ll be taken to their websites, where you can order a sign for your own yard if you’re so inclined.

If you want to help decide who wins this election and you’re not yet registered to vote, Thursday is your deadline to get that done. As a Dallas County Volunteer Deputy Registrar, I’ll be happy to help, so contact me. Early voting is scheduled for April 25-May 3, and Election Day is May 7.

Meanwhile, here’s an update for my subscribers in Irving: I’ve reported that three people were seeking the Place 2 seat on your City Council, one of two positions on that panel with no geographic restrictions. But on March 10, your council approved an ordinance that said Hackberry Creek resident Brad M. LaMorgese is unopposed and therefore automatically elected.

I contacted City Secretary Shanae Jennings to ask what happened to J.C. Gonzalez and Kailen Kasky, who both filed paperwork appointing campaign treasurers with intentions of pursuing the Place 2 seat.

“Just because someone files a campaign treasurer does not mean that they have filed for a place on the ballot, or turned in the requisite amount of signatures needed to become a candidate for any place on the ballot,” Jennings told me via email.

Jennings said Gonzalez never attempted to file for a place on the ballot. She said Kasky did try to file even though he had only half the number of required signatures as well as “fatal flaws” in his application.

“He said to me that he knew it was not completed before he brought it in,” Jennings wrote, “but he wanted to file it anyway.”

All righty then!

Chronicle Crumbs

• Coppell Middle School East Principal Steve Glover has announced that he’ll be resigning at the end of the semester. At 6 p.m. tomorrow, Superintendent Brad Hunt and the district’s Human Resources Department will be at East to gather parents’ feedback on the qualities and attributes they’d like to see in Glover’s successor.

• If you’re against Comptroller Glenn Hegar’s proposed changes to how sales taxes are distributed, the Coppell Chamber of Commerce wants you to be in Austin on April 21 so you can testify before the House Ways and Means Committee. Contact the chamber for more info.

• I was planning on being at the Earle Cabell Federal Building on April 25 for the trial of Michael Gaston Feathers and Marissa Patrice Gonzales, the former Ashford Drive residents who were arrested last June on drugs and weapons charges. It’s a good thing I called ahead. The trial has been delayed — for at least the third time — until September, a full 12 months after its original start date.

Community Calendar

Front and Center: Solomon Thomas: It’s not too late to buy tickets to hear the San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle (and Coppell High School graduate) discuss mental health and suicide prevention at the Coppell Arts Center this evening. The event is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. — which will be about 30 hours after my delighted wife shook his hand at the Coppell Deli.

Party in the Parks: The Coppell High School baseball and softball programs invite families to their games on Tuesday night at the complex behind CHS9. All youth players wearing jerseys will get in for free, and the first 100 to show up will get a free T-shirt. The varsity softball game against Plano West is scheduled for 7:15, and the varsity baseball game against Hebron should start at 7:30.

Coppell Softball Easter Egg Hunt: The Cowgirls will host an Easter egg hunt on their field behind CHS9 at 11 a.m. on Saturday. This is a BYOB event. (Bring your own basket.)

Coppell ISD Job Fair: If you’d like to work for the district as a teacher, crossing guard, or cafeteria staffer, sign up to attend the job fair scheduled for Saturday morning at Coppell Middle School West.

Volunteer Fair: Various community organizations that need volunteers will be at the Cozby Library and Community Commons on Saturday afternoon.

Humvee Challenge: If you and up to five friends think you can pull a 7,000-pound Humvee across the First United Methodist Church parking lot, sign up for Claymore Operations’ second annual Humvee Challenge, which is scheduled for May 7.