Coppell Chronicle Vol. 3, No. 2

Trustees Can’t Officially Advocate for Bonds • City Considers Funding Senior Village • Contractor Finally Found for Thweatt Park • Groundwork Laid for Complex by Walmart

Two Tuesdays ago, I stopped by Heritage Auctions in Irving because my radio heroes from The Ticket were broadcasting from there. During that show, I unexpectedly got to deliver an on-air promo for this newsletter — which I failed to identify by name. D’oh! (Click here to listen to how that went.)

Despite my questionable marketing techniques, my brief interview must have made an impression. Nine days later, when “The Musers” were discussing how their brains fail to process certain topics, former Coppell resident George Dunham said this: “Let me tell you about the latest bond election in the city of Coppell and see how long you last.”

I think he accidentally coined a great new slogan for the Coppell Chronicle.

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Trustees Can’t Officially Advocate for Bonds

Before the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees called a $321.5 million bond election on Feb. 13, they had a private discussion regarding their “duties, roles, and responsibilities as related to a possible bond election.” That same item was also discussed behind closed doors during their Feb. 6 workshop.

Fortunately for curious minds like mine and yours, the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD Board of Trustees had an open-session briefing on that topic during their Feb. 2 meeting, when they called a $716 million bond election. This briefing was delivered by Lesley Weaver, the director of communications for Huckabee, an architecture firm that specializes in educational facilities.

Weaver, whose resume includes stints directing communications for Northwest ISD and Irving ISD, wanted to dispel any notion that a district’s trustees are not allowed to talk about bond propositions during an election.

“You absolutely are allowed to talk about it,” she said. “In fact, I would encourage you to talk about it.”

However, Weaver said trustees have to walk a fine line between communicating and advocating. As private citizens, she said, they are free to express their views on bond propositions via face-to-face conversations, signs in their yards, or stickers on their bumpers. But they have to be careful when performing their duties as elected officials.

“When you have your school board member hat on — when you’re wearing a school board member nametag or badge — you can always educate; you just can’t advocate,” Weaver said. “You can always share facts; you just can’t share your opinions.”

Weaver’s presentation included this slide with examples of advocacy.

Weaver also posed several questions on another slide that began with this headline: “ALWAYS share facts, but THINK before you advocate.” Those questions included “Are you using district resources?” and “Are you perceived to be on duty?” This was my favorite one: “Do I want this email or comment to appear in the newspaper or go viral?”

Speaking of comments, I saw this one on Nextdoor.com after the Coppell ISD election was called: “Get ready now for a propaganda blitz from the school board in support of the bond issues. And, of course, the propaganda blitz will be paid for with our tax dollars.”

Coppell City Council Member Mark Hill tried to set that commenter straight: “It is, in fact, against state law for any school board to put out propaganda in support of a bond,” Hill wrote. “All they are allowed to do is state the facts regarding items contained in the bond and provide information on the costs. Private citizens and groups may, however, distribute information supporting the bond.”

Ah, yes — private citizens. When Coppell ISD had its most recent bond election in 2016, groups of private citizens formed political action committees on either side of the issue. The one against the bond package was called “A Better CISD,” and its leaders included four-time City Council candidate Davin Bernstein. The one in support of the bond package — which was called “Yes! Our kids. Our future.” — was co-chaired by Nichole Bentley, who would become a Coppell ISD trustee two years later after besting two opponents: Victory Place teacher Lynne Ryan and some bald, bespectacled bozo whose name escapes me.

The “Yes!” committee purchased newspaper ads that listed their supporters, and the biggest, boldest names were those of Hill and his fellow City Council members, who were identified only as “Local Elected leaders.” Below their names were those of 15 PTO presidents. All seven of the Coppell ISD trustees at that time were sprinkled among more than 175 smaller names at the bottom of the ad. Because they were not identified as school board members in the ad, they were supporting the bond package as private citizens.

Don’t bother typing that URL from this 2016 ad into your browser. It don’t work no more.

If any political action committees get organized around this bond election, they’ll have to submit campaign finance reports to the district, just like candidates do. Those reports will be due 30 days and eight days before the May 6 election, so you can look forward to my analysis of them in the April 9 and April 30 editions.

I’m going to lift the paywall for all bond articles, so if you’ve lasted this long, you know what to do.

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City Considers Funding Senior Village

It’s been nearly a year since I’ve written about Coppell’s Future Oriented Approach to Residential Development Task Force. This group of volunteers has been formulating a business plan for a “senior village,” which would be a suite of services offered to older residents, rather than a geographic location.

(See “Seniors Eager to Learn About Village” in the April 10 edition.)

Last Tuesday, Task Force Chair Peggy Quinn presented the business plan to the City Council. It calls for hiring a full-time “Village Coordinator” with a starting salary of $65,000. That employee’s benefits, equipment, and software — plus a few other associated expenses — would bring the total starting cost to about $112,000.

The business plan calls for charging households about $60 per year to participate. Quinn said the goal would be to have 250 households signed up by the end of the village’s first full year. That number represents about 10 percent of the 2,526 Coppell homes that in 2022 claimed the homestead exemption available to senior citizens and disabled residents. The Task Force assumes participation will grow by 25 percent each year, as more Coppell residents learn of the village concept, so the income would be nearly $37,000 by the end of Year 5.

Quinn said the Task Force’s list of proposed services for a Coppell village mirrors what’s provided to members of You Are Not Alone in Fort Bend County.

The Village Coordinator would be assisted by three committees comprised of village participants. Quinn said Boston’s Beacon Hill Village is the oldest and most successful senior village in the nation, and it has committees focused on membership recruitment and engagement, programs, and services.

The City Council members said a senior village is something they’d love to offer Coppell’s older residents if money was no object, but they’re well aware that money is an object. Just in case, City Manager Mike Land reminded them of that fact.

“If you have a desire to move in this direction, it’s gonna take some manpower — it’s gonna take an expense,” Land said. “If that’s what you’re gonna struggle with, I’m telling you up front: It’s gonna cost money.”

The council directed Land and his staff to begin calculating how a Village Coordinator could fit into the city’s budget for fiscal 2024, which begins in October. Meanwhile, Quinn’s Task Force plans to conduct a survey in April to gauge interest in the senior village concept.

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Contractor Finally Found for Thweatt Park

Faithful readers may recall that the City of Coppell has had trouble securing bids for refurbishing the pond at Thweatt Park. As I wrote last September, it seemed no contractors wanted to bother with a $250,000 project.

“That is, in the current state of things, just small potatoes,” Director of Community Experiences Jessica Carpenter said then.

(See “What’s Up With All These Parks Projects?” in the Sept. 25 edition.)

Since then, the city has reached out to a few contractors it is already doing business with to see if they’d be willing to take on the project at the southwest corner of Sandy Lake and Coppell roads. On Tuesday, the City Council approved a deal with McMahon Contracting, the firm that is working on the reconstruction of South Belt Line Road. McMahon said they could dredge the Thweatt Park pond, replace the pond liner, and install an underground storm drain system for $414,000.

According to a memo from the Public Works Department, the other bids came in at $627,000 and $818,000, which make $414,000 sound like a bargain. Because the Coppell Recreation Development Corporation had budgeted $250,000 for this project, the remaining $164,000 will come from Drainage Utility District funds.

Per the aforementioned memo, “The placement of the clay pond liner will help the pond retain water as it should. The underground storm drain system, coupled with re-grading the existing channel and removal of the riprap, will produce better drainage results from the pond to the creek while eliminating erosion.”

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Groundwork Laid for Complex by Walmart

The Irving City Council barely approved a resolution of support for a firm that wants to build a mixed-income multifamily development in Coppell ISD. (Correction posted on May 20: This property is in Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD.)

That resolution will help Palladium USA secure tax credits from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs for its proposed 90-unit complex at 8000 Walton Blvd., directly north of the Walmart near Interstate 635. The vote for the resolution was 5-4, and the four Irving officials against it included the only three who live north of State Highway 114: Mayor Rick Stopfer, Mayor Pro Tem Al Zapanta, and Council Member Brad LaMorgese.

Twelve people spoke in favor of the proposal during the council’s Feb. 23 meeting, and at least seven of them were Palladium employees. (Talk about a full-court press!) Mike Patel, who owns the land on Walton Boulevard, also spoke in favor of it. City Secretary Shanae Jennings read the names of 13 other supporters who didn’t wish to speak, and 10 of those individuals were also named Patel.

Nobody spoke against the proposal during the meeting except Zapanta. But he, Stopfer, and LaMorgese had plenty to say during the council’s work session. “It doesn’t fit that location, for what they’re trying to do,” Zapanta said, and LaMorgese echoed those sentiments: “To me, it’s a right case, wrong place. … There’s a lot to like about this. I think it’s just the wrong spot.”

Mark Zeske — who represents the west side of Irving, including the Parkside West neighborhood in Coppell ISD — said he was told before he joined the council in 2020 that Irving needed 10,000 affordable places for seniors to live. “This is a decent partner that builds really great stuff,” he said of Palladium.

This was Zapanta’s response: “Well, you know, then you can talk them into going down in your district. At the end of the day, it doesn’t fit.”

Dennis Webb — who resides in south Irving but is, like LaMorgese, an at-large council member — spoke in favor of the resolution: “They’re asking us to help them score more points by getting a letter of support. That’s all this is about. We can deal with whether it fits — or whether we don’t want more apartments north of 114 — at some other time.”

Although nobody showed up at the Feb. 23 meeting to speak against the proposal, Stopfer said he and LaMorgese had already heard from residents who oppose it.

“We’re smart enough to understand when people call us and say, ‘Enough is enough. Enough is enough,’” the mayor said. “It has nothing to do with the price of the home. It has to do with — and this is what I’ve been preaching, you know, and I’m going to get tougher about it. This idea that we try to squeeze stuff into neighborhoods, just because we want more people or more things, has gotta quit.”

The Lewisville City Council had two similar requests from Palladium USA on their Feb. 20 agenda. That council unanimously approved a resolution of support regarding a mixed-income development at 305 E. Round Grove Road, but Palladium withdrew its request regarding a similar complex along State Highway 121, due east of MacArthur Boulevard. Mayor TJ Gilmore said the city received nine emails opposed to the latter development.

Meanwhile, back on 635, a 6-3 majority of the Irving City Council rejected a zoning change that would have allowed a developer to build a self-storage facility on the southwest corner of the highway and Olympus Boulevard. The Kinwest Mustang Park Homeowners Association, which represents the adjoining neighborhood, issued a letter of support for the proposal, but Zapanta said the HOA in his and LaMorgese’s neighborhood, Hackberry Creek, was against it.

“It’s going to very much change the saleability of those houses, in my opinion, and the value of them,” LaMorgese said of the Kinwest Mustang Park properties.

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Chronicle Crumbs

• The best season in the history of the Coppell Cowgirls basketball program ended in heartbreaking fashion on Friday. That’s when the Clark Cougars hit a three-pointer with one second on the clock to secure a 49-48 win in the state semifinals. (For more details on the game, turn to someone who was there: Ava Johnson of Coppell Student Media.) Clark went on to defeat DeSoto, the two-time defending state champions, on Saturday by a score of 42-37.

• If you want to run for the Place 7 seat on the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees, you have until 5 p.m. tomorrow to turn in your paperwork. That seat will be on the ballot again in May 2024, because all that’s at stake in this election is the final year of the three-year term that Tracy Fisher vacated last fall. At the moment, the only candidate is incumbent Jobby Mathew, whom the other trustees appointed as Fisher’s temporary replacement in November.

• I noticed on Friday that one of those blue signs about a proposed zoning change is back in front of the dormant church at Main Street and Bethel Road. (See “Old Church Remains Standing For Now” in the Dec. 18 edition.) The Coppell Planning and Zoning Commission has a meeting scheduled for March 16, but the agenda has not yet been posted.

• The Coppell City Council held an executive session on Tuesday “to deliberate the process for appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a public officer or employee: City Manager.” They took no action as a result of that 50-minute discussion, but Mayor Wes Mays said this when it ended: “I apologize that we took so long. I was not expecting that.” Hmm …

• Coppell City Council Member Don Carroll, who also serves as treasurer of the Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition, reported some eye-opening statistics to his fellow council members on Tuesday: 80 percent of Texans live in 12 of the state’s 254 counties. About 1,100 people move to Texas every day, and 90 percent of those people are moving to those 12 most populated counties.

• James Whitfield, a former principal at Colleyville Heritage High School, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Grapevine-Colleyville ISD and Trustee Tammy Nakamura. According to WFAA-TV, the suit filed on Feb. 24 was prompted by a speech Nakamura delivered last summer at the Republican National Committee Community Center in Coppell.

• For his New Tech High capstone project, Sammy Vrla has challenged students and staff at Coppell Middle School East and Coppell Middle School West to improve efficiency and help the environment by replacing incandescent light bulbs with LED bulbs. The school that collects the most old bulbs by Wednesday will earn a surprise treat for its sixth-graders.

• On Feb. 19, Ms. Mary’s Southern Kitchen hosted a gala to celebrate owner Mary Davis’ 20th anniversary in business. Eight days later, the restaurant announced its permanent closure after 22 months in Coppell.

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Spring Break Activities

Beep, Beep: Jeeps! This safety event for kindergartners and first-graders, which is scheduled from 9 to 10:30 a.m. on March 13, is the first of several events that Life Safety Park will host during spring break.

Coppell Junior Historian Program: The Coppell Historical Society invites kids ages 5 to 13 (and their parents) to stop by Heritage Park and earn an official Coppell Junior Historian patch. Activities will be available between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on March 13 through 17.

Super STEAM Week — Science of Animals: The Cozby Library and Community Commons kicks off Super STEAM Week with an event for elementary school students featuring live animals from six of the seven continents. They’ll be there between 2 and 3 p.m. on March 13.

Cozby Cares — Animal Services: Teens can earn service hours by decorating bandanas for the critters at Coppell Animal Services between 4 and 5 p.m. on March 13 at the Cozby Library and Community Commons.

Teen End of Spring Break Bash: Teenagers are invited to stop by the Cozby Library and Community Commons between 10 a.m. and noon on March 17 for a breakfast bash featuring a variety of cereals along with games and activities.

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Community Calendar

The Odd Couple: Your last chance to see Theatre Coppell’s rendition of Neil Simon’s classic comedy will at 2:30 p.m. today at the Coppell Arts Center.

Musician’s Choice: The Coppell Community Orchestra’s latest show was crafted by the musicians themselves. They’ll perform at 3 p.m. today at the Coppell Arts Center.

First Responders Luncheon: Coppell Fire Chief Kevin Richardson will provide some behind-the-scenes insights on the inner workings of his department between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Thursday at Fire Station 4, which is at 440 Northpoint Drive.

Sunset Socials — Movie in the Park: Thanks to my sons, I’ve seen Pixar’s Ratatouille more times than I can count. But I’ve never seen it outdoors, as it will be shown at 7 p.m. on Friday at Andrew Brown Park East.

The Re-emergence of UFOs: We’re all fascinated by stories of unidentified flying objects, but Neil Pinto researches them. He’ll be at the Cozby Library and Community Commons at 2 p.m. on Saturday to discuss the most compelling UFO cases, identify where the social stigma came from, and predict what revelations may emerge in the near future.

Sunset Socials — Music in Old Town: I assume we’ll hear plenty of hits by Billy Joel and David Bowie when The Elton Johns perform at 7 p.m. on March 24.

Carter BloodCare Blood Drive: The City of Coppell invites you to roll up your sleeve and donate a pint of blood between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on March 25 at Fire Station 3, which is at 133 Parkway Blvd.

Homelessness in CISD and Neighboring Communities: Did you know there are homeless students in Coppell? Speakers from Coppell ISD, Metrocrest Services, the Assistance League of Coppell, and Christian Community Action will be at the Cozby Library and Community Commons between 2 and 3 p.m. on March 25 to discuss homelessness and ways you can help.

Silver Line Community Update: Representatives from DART and contractor Archer Western Herzog will be at George Coffee + Provisions to answer questions about the Silver Line from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on March 27. If you know people who insist on driving south on Mockingbird Lane, despite the recent closure of the southbound lanes, invite them to this meeting.