Coppell Chronicle Vol. 3, No. 15
Will You Sign for More Drinks? • Prospects Brighten for Batteries Facility • Veterans Memorial Likely Headed to Plaza • Coppell ISD Adding More Music Classes
Will You Sign for More Drinks?
The City Council was briefed last week on what they can do to loosen alcohol rules in Coppell. To put it simply, not much.
City Secretary Ashley Owens explained that local option elections “are citizen-driven; they are citizen-led. There is nothing City Council can do to call the election.”
This topic was on the council’s most recent agenda because alcohol was the predominant theme during their “community conversation” about Old Town in late March. (See “Old Town Coppell May Get Wetter” in Vol. 3, No. 6.) Earlier during Tuesday’s meeting, the council was briefed on the results of a survey about Old Town, which indicated a portion of respondents would like to see more nightlife in that part of Coppell.
Owens explained that a local option election must start with an application for a petition, which would need the signatures of 10 Coppell residents who are registered voters. Once the application is received, the organizers would have 60 days to gather enough signatures to trigger an election. That threshold is 35 percent of the city’s registered voters who participated in the most recent gubernatorial election. Owens estimated that would be a little more than 5,750 signatures.
Her office would then have 30 days to verify those signatures. Assuming they’re all valid, Owens would ask the City Council to schedule a vote for the next uniform election date, in either May or November.
Coppell’s most recent votes on alcohol happened in November 2006. Proposition 1, which allowed grocery stores to sell beer and wine, was supported by 68 percent of voters. Proposition 2, which allowed restaurants to sell mixed drinks, was supported by 77 percent of voters.
Although city elections are typically held in May, November elections with state and federal offices on the ballot usually have larger turnout.
“The strategy is, do you want to be the one to run for office when liquor’s on the ballot?” City Attorney Bob Hager said. “It used to be, back in the old days, when I first started practicing law, no one wanted to call that election for May, ’cause the Baptists would come out and defeat you if you were pro-liquor. And the attitude about that’s probably changed a lot.”
Chapter 501 of the Texas Election Code, “Local Option Elections on Sale of Alcoholic Beverages,” dictates the exact language that would appear on the ballot, depending on the scope of the petition. Owens explained the different types of local option elections, and she warned the council that a vote to legalize bars would also legalize liquor stores.
“It’s about whatever the citizens decide,” Council Member Brianna Hinojosa-Smith said. “They could actually open up Pandora’s box.”
Assuming voters approve changes to the city’s liquor laws, and it turns out to be a bad idea, Council Member John Jun asked what could be done to reverse that decision. Owens and Hager said the same process would have to start over, with a new application for a petition signed by 10 registered voters.
“If you want a vibrant nightlife, what do you envision that to be?” Hager said. “Then that may dictate what you’re willing to support or what you’re looking for.”
Prospects Brighten for Batteries Facility
The companies that want to a build a battery energy storage system in Coppell have cleared their first hurdle. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval by a vote of 5-1 last month.
As proposed, the battery energy storage system (BESS) would accumulate up to 9.9 megawatts of power during periods of low demand. This energy would be stored in lithium-ion batteries until needed, when it would flow back into the grid.
A firm called Prologis wants to place the BESS on the northwest corner of its property at 360 Freeport Parkway, due north of a Subaru training facility. The storage system would be built by a Georgia company called RavenVolt.
The commissioners peppered a RavenVolt vice president with questions during a hearing in March, when a motion to recommend approval failed on a 3-4 vote. (See “Commissioners Wary of Batteries Facility” in Vol. 3, No. 4.) Rather than move forward to the City Council at that time, as was their right, Prologis and RavenVolt regrouped and returned to the Planning and Zoning Commission with more information on May 18.
The only vote against them that night came from Commissioner Cindy Bishop, an attorney and chemical engineer who practices environmental law. As such, she is familiar with the three levels of exposure delineated in the Emergency Response Planning Guidelines (ERPGs) developed by the American Industrial Hygiene Association: ERPG-1 (mild effects), ERPG-2 (serious effects), and ERPG-3 (life-threatening effects).
Bishop noted that RavenVolt’s paperwork estimated a fire at the BESS would produce concentrations below ERPG-2. She said that statement implies the concentrations would be above ERPG-1.
“I’m just worried about all these homes to the east having to experience odor and noticeable discomfort for two to four hours,” Bishop said.
Two to four hours is the estimated amount of time that it would take a fire inside one of the battery cabinets to burn itself out. Matt Steer, the city’s Development Services Administrator, said RavenVolt is confident that a fire would not spread from one battery cabinet to another, but they have not proven that via a full-scale test. Such tests are in the works, though, and RavenVolt proposed this condition for the issuance of their building permit: No test results? No permit.
Steer said the Coppell Fire Department met with RavenVolt and Fisher Engineering — a firm that specializes in fire prevention — to go over the concerns raised during the March hearing. The companies promised to provide training to Coppell firefighters before the BESS is operational.
“The Coppell Fire Department is comfortable with the proposal,” Deputy Fire Chief Tim Oates told the commissioners on May 18.
We’ll see if the City Council is comfortable with it on June 13, when their hearing on the proposal is scheduled. The council’s newest member, Jim Walker, was a planning and zoning commissioner back in March, when he did most of the grilling.
“I’m sure there’ll be some questions from Councilman Walker when you go before City Council,” Commission Chair Edmund Haas said with a smile.
Veterans Memorial Likely Headed to Plaza
Two weeks ago, I reported that the Coppell City Council had discussed soliciting more designs for a veterans memorial, which might end up in Andrew Brown Park East instead of Town Center Plaza.
After watching the council’s latest meeting, here’s what I have to say about what I reported two weeks ago: Never mind.
(If you missed that article from two weeks ago, see “Vets Memorial Sent Back to Drawing Board” in Vol. 3, No. 13.)
Although a task force comprised mostly of veterans had designated Town Center Plaza as the preferred location for a memorial, some people have been lobbying the council to place it in Andy Brown East. The most consistent voice on that front has been Phil Laberge, who showed up at the council’s April 11, April 25, and May 9 meetings to argue for the park as a more prominent site that would increase the memorial’s visibility.
Last Tuesday, the city’s leaders heard from Mark Smits, a veteran who challenged Biju Mathew for his council seat in 2021. Smits is opposed to Laberge’s suggestion and his logic, and he said so during the “citizen’s appearance” portion of Tuesday’s meeting.
“When a veteran raises his right hand and swears to defend the country, that veteran is writing a blank check, payable to the United States of America, for an amount up to and including the cost of his or her life,” Smits said. “A monument expressing this city’s gratitude for our fellow citizens willing to risk everything deserves a special location with a singular focus. It should not be co-located in a park designed for recreation.”
Tuesday’s meeting was also the second time in two weeks that the council heard from one of the city’s more influential individuals, someone who certainly holds more sway than the author of this newsletter and perhaps holds more than any of the council members — Michelle LaFountain, the administrator of the “Coppell, Texas” group on Facebook. LaFountain is also a veteran who’s not on board with the Andy Brown Park idea, nor does she like Council Member Mark Hill’s suggestion of launching a design competition among architecture students.
“I implore you not to commercialize it. I implore you, please, do not make it a contest,” LaFountain said. “Just make it something your veterans can be proud to visit.”
I can report that the contest concept is off the table; City Manager Mike Land said as much after listening to the council’s debate on Tuesday. Meanwhile, I’m fairly confident that the idea of placing the memorial in Andy Brown East is also over. The council seemed amenable to another suggestion from Hill: The seven of them, plus the mayor, and the veterans task force should all meet in Town Center Plaza as soon as possible and discuss how the conceptual design created by Olsson Studio for that location could be tweaked — if it needs to be tweaked at all.
Coppell ISD Adding More Music Classes
Coppell ISD doesn’t have an orchestra program yet, but Cowboys and Cowgirls will be strumming stringed instruments this fall. The district is adding guitar classes, and more than 100 high school students have already registered.
Director of Fine Arts Gerry Miller has advocated for eventually introducing orchestra one grade at a time, starting with the sixth grade. But he’s taking a different approach with guitar, which he described as an “on ramp” for kids who didn’t live in Coppell ISD when they were in middle school or are having second thoughts about giving music a shot.
“Guitar is a good way for a 10th-grader to go, ‘You know, I never really learned to read music. I wish I would have done that,’” Miller told the Board of Trustees on May 22. “Then here’s a great on ramp for a kid who’s at CHS or at New Tech who wants to come and learn guitar.”
(Three years’ worth of guitar lessons in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades ought to be enough time for a kid to learn how to play this, right?)
Miller said the guitar teacher will also be responsible for another new music program: a drum line for kids in Coppell High School’s special-education program. Following the “Partners P.E.” model, each of the Transitional Pathways students will be paired with a peer tutor as they learn the music together. Miller said 24 special-education students have already signed up, and we may see those drummers perform at Buddy Echols Field sooner than later.
“A football game in year one might be a little bit too — we’ll see how it goes,” Miller told the trustees.
Miller also showed the trustees this slide that demonstrates the percentages of middle school students (first column) and high school students (second column) who are registered for a fine arts class this fall. Miller noted that the percentages are off by just a few points in most areas, and some of those losses can be attributed to students switching to dance or guitar, which aren’t offered in middle school.
The numbers in those columns add up to more than 100 percent because some students have signed up for multiple disciplines. That’s also why this next image shows that more than 1,000 freshmen and more than 1,000 sophomores were enrolled in fine arts classes in each of the last three school years.
“The one number that I continue to monitor is the students who are not engaged in fine arts,” Miller said. “Now, I’d like to think they all make a varsity team, and so [Athletic Director Kit Pehl] gets them full-time, and that’s OK, because then they found their tribe, and I’m happy. But we continue to monitor and make sure that all of our kids who want to find a place, that we have a place for them in fine arts, that we have a place for them in athletics, because that, I think, is just so pivotal to their high school experience.”
Miller did not provide an update on his years-long analysis of where Coppell ISD’s top graduates end up going to college, which I wrote about two summers ago. (See “Extracurriculars Can Broaden Horizons” in Vol. 1, No. 15.) But he did touch on that topic when Trustee Nichole Bentley asked how parents can ensure that a student who is interested in academics, athletics, and the arts can find time for all of them. Miller said high school students have plenty of time to try different things, considering a four-year schedule has slots for 32 courses.
“A college or university wants to see a student who’s engaged; they don’t want to see a student who has all these late arrivals and early releases and things,” Miller said. “Kit and I talk about this a lot. We want kids to be engaged. We want them to be at school from sun up to sun down, because then we know they’re with and around other great kids, and they’re learning.”
Updates From the Sports Desk
• The Coppell High School softball program is seeking a new head coach, and whoever gets the job will be the Cowgirls’ fourth leader in four seasons. Mike Dyson wrapped up a six-year stint in 2021, and he was followed by Ashley Minick in 2022. The latest head coach, Kim LeComte, recently announced that she had “chosen to pursue a new opportunity that I feel is better for myself and my family.”
• Coppell Middle School North student Sriya Gomatam was eliminated from the Scripps National Spelling Bee during Tuesday’s prelims for misspelling “hogsteer.” As someone on Twitter said, that’s “gotta sting for a Texan.”
• Coppell ISD Athletic Director Kit Pehl recently told the Board of Trustees that the district’s three middle schools will be joining a league with our neighbors in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD. Previously, the East Broncos, North Cougars, and West Wranglers were grouped with teams from Argyle ISD, Keller ISD, and Northwest ISD. “As a parent who’s rolling off, thank you for that,” Superintendent Brad Hunt said during the May 22 board meeting. “I wish we could have participated in that previously, because that travel is tough.” As the father of an athlete who’s in the same grade as Hunt’s son, I’ll add this: “Amen, brother!”
Chronicle Crumbs
• The latest edition of Community Impact says there are 82 restaurants in Coppell, and that statistic prompted one of my subscribers to send me this: “Is that true? It seems impossible. We need a list!” If you count eateries operating within stores — such as Taqueria Dulce, which is inside Speedy K Mart — I came up with a list of 88 restaurants within the city limits. That doesn’t include San Daniele Italian Eatery & Bar or Taqueria La Ventana, which are not yet serving, nor does it include Fellowship Coffee & Tea, which has already shut down after being in business for less than three months.
• My list of 88 Coppell restaurants also doesn’t include Rakkan Ramen, a national chain that is about to open a “Coppell” location in Cypress Waters, specifically at 3121 Olympus Blvd. That’s the stretch that already includes Ascension Coffee, Eno’s Pizza Tavern, and the Flying Saucer.
• On Tuesday, The Dallas Morning News published an interview with Cypress Waters developer Lucy Billingsley, who said, “We’re becoming a fun destination — that’s what we want. We are cranking out more amenities this year.” According to the article, those amenities include two hotels, four more restaurants, a nine-hole putting green, volleyball courts, and pickleball courts.
• Two seats on the Irving City Council that overlap with portions of Coppell ISD will be on the runoff ballot this Saturday. In District 3, which includes the Parkside West neighborhood, voters will choose between Abdul Khabeer and incumbent Mark Zeske. In District 5, which includes Parkside East, the choice is either Mark Cronenwett or Heather Stroup.
• The City of Carrollton is accepting proposals from contractors who would like to oversee improvements to the R.E. Good Sports Complex and the McInnish Sports Complex, both of which are just outside Coppell’s city limits. The deadline to submit a bid is 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, if you’re so inclined.
• The City of Coppell will be performing road striping on segments of various streets this summer. Each job is expected to take no more than two days, but traffic may be reduced to a single lane. Get more details here.
Community Calendar
National Anthem Auditions: If you want to sing the national anthem at the City of Coppell’s Party in the Park, which is scheduled for the evening of July 1, you must submit a video by “midnight on Monday, June 5.” Does that mean midnight tonight or midnight tomorrow night? Either way, get your video turned in ASAP.
James Wand Magic Show: This performance, which is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Tuesday at the Cozby Library and Community Commons, will be limited to students who will be enrolled in elementary school (K-5) this fall.
Four Day Weekend: The acclaimed improv comedy troupe will be at the Coppell Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and on July 13.
Caring for Your Orchids: Charles Hess of the Greater North Texas Orchid Society will offer information and hands-on assistance, so bring your orchids to the Biodiversity Education Center in Wagon Wheel Park at 10 a.m. on Saturday. This program is free, but registration is required.
The History of Juneteenth: Richard Fleming will be at the Cozby Library and Community Commons at 2 p.m. on June 11 to discuss the events that led to the celebration of Juneteenth in Texas and beyond, the importance of the holiday, and how it can be used to celebrate freedom for all.
Hit Like a Girl: The Coppell Police Department will offer a self-defense course for recent high school graduates from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on June 13 and 14. Attendance on both days will be required to earn a certificate. Reserve one of the limited spaces by sending an email to Officer Kelly Luther via that link.
Tracy Walder Q&A: Speaking of girls who know how to hit, Tracy Walder was recruited to join the CIA when she was a student at the University of Southern California. After a few years, she began working for the FBI. Walder will be at the Cozby Library and Community Commons at 6 p.m. on June 14 to discuss her book, The Unexpected Spy.
Civilian Response To Active Shooter Events: The Coppell Police Department will host a free class at 6 p.m. on June 14 at the Coppell Arts Center. There is no need to RSVP; just show up.
Work in Coppell Job Fair: Need a new gig that’s close to home? Stop by the Coppell Conference Center within the Four Points by Sheraton hotel between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on June 15.
Superhero Adventures: Theatre Coppell will offer two workshops for young thespians during the week of June 19-23. Superheroes in first through third grades will assemble between 9 a.m. and noon; superheroes in fourth through sixth grades will team up between 1 and 4 p.m.
Parade Down Parkway: If you want to participate in the City of Coppell’s parade, which is scheduled for the morning of July 4, you must submit a completed application by 5 p.m. on June 23.
The Hit Men: Relive rock’s greatest hits with a band comprised of five musicians who have shared stages with Billy Joel, Elton John, and Sting, as well as members of Cheap Trick, Foreigner, and Journey. The amps will get cranked up at 7 p.m. on June 24 at the Coppell Arts Center.
How to Make Great Coffee Every Time: Coppell resident Justin Runyon, who sells his Runyon Coffee Roasting Coffee beans at the Coppell Farmers Market, will discuss how coffee is grown, sourced, and roasted at 2 p.m. on June 25 at the Cozby Library and Community Commons. This free event, which is for adults 18 and older, will include tastings of different preparation methods.
Wings of Fire Fest: Fans of this dragon-centric series of novels are invited to stop by the Cozby Library and Community Commons for crafts, activities, and games between 2 and 3 p.m. on June 28. When I texted my 14-year-old about this, he replied, “I haven’t read those since I was 11.” Well, excuuuse me!
Thank you!
Thanks for the info.