Coppell Chronicle Vol. 3, No. 51

Trustees Inch Closer to Closure Decision • Our Dairy Queen's Reign is Officially Over • Irving Voters to Consider New City Hall • Flood District Inspires More Questions

I know it’s late. I know you’re weary. I know your plans don’t include me. But this edition starts off with a bit of a downer, and I didn’t want to ruin your Super Bowl party.

---

Trustees Inch Closer to Closure Decision

I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that one of Coppell ISD’s elementary schools will be closed in a few years. If you care about this district, start wrapping your brain around that concept now.

Ironically enough, Trustee Leigh Walker broached the topic during the school board’s budget workshop on Monday. Less than a year ago, Walker wanted a potential closure to be removed from the trustees’ priorities list.

(See “Trustees Remain Open to Closing Schools“ in Vol. 3, No. 6)

On Monday, Chief Financial Officer Diana Sircar painted a dire picture. The district has been dipping into its fund balance to cover expenses, which is not sustainable. So Sircar presented a few budget scenarios that call for multimillion-dollar reductions in payroll. I’m not sure how you cut that much payroll without closing a campus.

Various trustees made allusions to “hard decisions” and “pain points” on Monday, but Walker was the only one who plainly talked about a closure.

“I’ve said this from the very beginning: If we’re going to close a school or eliminate a program, we don’t just say that the next week,” Walker said. “There has to be a very intentional lead-up to that.”

Trustee Manish Sethi countered that the lead-up has been going on for a few years.

“Last time, when we were talking about pushing these hard decisions, it was based on, ‘Let’s see what [the] Legislature does,’” Sethi said. “They did nothing, other than pass more underfunded or non-funded mandates.”

He later added: “We know how the cookie has crumbled — not in our favor — and there’s some hard decisions to be made.”

Sircar said the district’s December snapshot showed that 31 elementary classrooms had 16 or fewer students. (Coincidentally, there were 31 elementary classrooms with 22 or more students.) And she reminded the trustees that the total enrollment of the district’s 11 elementary schools represents 83 percent of the campuses’ combined capacity. By the 2028-2029 school year, that stat is projected to drop to 76 percent.

(See “Coppell ISD Student Body Expected to Shrink” in Vol. 3, No. 37)

“There are some pretty obvious pain points that we keep coming back to,” Walker said, “and I think one of those big ones is that we have more space in our northern elementaries than we have kids for.”

That space inspired one of the colorful metaphors Board President David Caviness used during Monday’s discussion:

• On budget cuts — “We’ve been very diligent to not come at it with a hacksaw. We’ve used scalpels.”

• On vacant elementary seats — “It’s a blinking neon sign when we look at the data.”

• On the district’s financial future — “The house isn’t burning down, and there’s no big thunderstorms outside yet, but the clouds are rolling in, and we’ve got to be mindful of that.”

The district’s leaders are by no means happy about any of this. On the contrary, they’re hopping mad. Walker said the lack of financial support from the Legislature makes her “want to kick people.” Superintendent Brad Hunt said, “This, to me, is all a part of the plan to break down public education.” And Trustee Nichole Bentley encouraged voters to “raise some hell” until the next regularly scheduled legislative session in 2025.

“Be ready as a community to take action and protect the reasons why we moved here,” Bentley said, “and protect the things that we value and the things that we care about.” 

Monday’s discussion was just that — a discussion. The board didn’t take any actions during the workshop, other than approving $1.5 million worth of bond funds for replacing playgrounds at all but one elementary school. (Canyon Ranch got left out because the school and its playground are so new.)

“I don’t want anybody in the community to think that we’ve landed on one scenario,” Hunt said in regards to the budget. “It’s still very fluid.”

Sethi’s response: “The only thing we’ve landed on is we need to have more deeper discussion.”

---

Our Dairy Queen’s Reign is Officially Over

DK at DQ

Tips about breaking news are always welcome via bydankoller@gmail.com (or by responding to any emailed edition of the Chronicle). I received such a tip on Wednesday morning, when somebody told me they’d seen equipment being moved out of our shuttered Dairy Queen.

To seek confirmation that this was the final nail in the coffin for what was once Coppell’s only restaurant, I sent an email to April Garner. When we spoke a little more than a year ago for an article called “New Reign Begins at Dairy Queen,” she was the “market lead” for Lonestar DQ. My email generated a terse response from a guy named David Wenneman: “Unfortunately, the store is permanently enclosed.”

According to LinkedIn, Wenneman is an area supervisor for Lonestar DQ. I had to turn to that social network for his title because this dude doesn’t even sign his name to his emails. When I asked him if the permanent closure means the property is for sale, he replied thusly: “Not our property.”

Sure enough, the parcel is owned by the Dallas-based Willingham Property Company, which has long had a sign on the corner of Denton Tap Road and Southwestern Boulevard touting a “pad site.” I’d always assumed that sign was about the land between Dairy Queen’s parking lot and Southwestern. Maybe it also applies to the DQ property. I called Willingham’s number last week to seek clarity, but my call was not returned.

Longtime subscribers may recall that the land west and north of the Dairy Queen is owned by Valley Ranch resident Gurav Madana. Ten years ago this month, the Coppell City Council approved a zoning change that would allow “The Avenue at Denton Tap,” a condominium complex with retail elements, to be built there. In October of 2021, the Coppell Planning and Zoning Commission approved a replat related to those plans.

I’ve emailed Madana twice recently to ask whatever happened to The Avenue at Denton Tap. Alas, he has not replied to my inquiries.

On this schematic, the Dairy Queen building is marked by diagonal lines.

---

Irving Voters to Consider New City Hall

Irving voters are about to consider whether a new City Hall is worth an increase to their property taxes. On Thursday evening, the City Council approved placing this proposition on the May 4 ballot:

“THE ISSUANCE OF $200,000,000 GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS FOR A NEW CITY HALL COMPLEX [LOCATED BETWEEN THE 400 BLOCK AND THE 800 BLOCK OF W. IRVING BOULEVARD], AND THE LEVYING OF A TAX SUFFICIENT TO PAY PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST THEREON.”

A portion of the ballot language is in brackets because Irving officials are still finessing exactly where a new City Hall would be built. Suffice it to say it would be constructed on Irving Boulevard, not far from where the current City Hall has stood for nearly 50 years.

This initiative has a dedicated page on the city’s website. That page says Irving’s population has more than doubled since City Hall was dedicated in 1976, and so has its municipal workforce. The page also says City Hall has 110,000 square feet of space, but a complex with 190,000 square feet would be ideal. Additionally, it says portions of the building don’t comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which became a federal law in 1990.

If a majority of voters approve the $200 million bond proposition, Chief Financial Officer Bret Starr told the council, the city’s debt-service tax rate would increase by up to 1.81 cents. That would translate to a maximum annual increase of $18.12 per $100,000 of valuation, Starr said, and the average home value in Irving is $279,000. So the average Irving homeowner would see a maximum tax increase of about $50 per year.

Thursday’s council vote was not unanimous. Brad LaMorgese, who occupies the at-large District 2 seat, and Mark Cronenwett, whose District 5 includes a portion of Coppell ISD, dissented because they thought putting the bond proposition on the November ballot would be a smarter move.

“I do agree: We do need a new City Hall — no question. To give it the best chance, I don’t know if this cake is baked yet or not,” LaMorgese said. “I would prefer this pass, but everybody be educated about it.”

Irving residents have had multiple opportunities to tour City Hall recently. Abdul Khabeer, whose District 3 also includes a sliver of Coppell ISD, said he spoke to 17 people who took the tour, and 12 of them said the building needs to be replaced.

“Sooner is better, I think. It’s long due,” Khabeer said. “To Brad’s point, if you are able to communicate properly to the citizens and the voters, I think Irving is ready for a new one — most likely.”

Mayor Rick Stopfer said if the bond election were delayed, May of 2025 would be preferable to November of 2024. “It would get lost in the shuffle of a major election, especially this major election that’s coming up,” he said.

However, the mayor said further delaying the bond election would only exacerbate the maintenance costs for the existing facility. “The sooner we know whether we have money or not, the better off we are,” Stopfer said.

To that point, Thursday’s agenda included approval of a $648,000 contract to replace City Hall’s cooling tower. LaMorgese asked whether that expense is necessary if voters are considering whether to replace the entire building.

Assistant City Manager Orlando Sanchez said a new City Hall wouldn’t be complete for at least four years, assuming voters approve the bond sale. In the meantime, the city’s staff must continue to work in the existing complex.

“We definitely need to replace it,” Sanchez said of the cooling tower, “unless we don’t want heating and cooling in the building.”

LaMorgese’s response inspired a lot of laughs: “You probably do.”

---

Flood District Inspires More Questions

Do you remember my September article about the Northwest Dallas County Flood Control District, the article that merited a shout-out from The New York Times? (I still can’t believe that happened.) If not, here’s the main takeaway: The Coppell residents who pay taxes to this district feel that they don’t know nearly enough about its activities.

I heard from a couple of these residents recently, because the flood control district’s board of directors met on Jan. 30. I found out about this meeting just a few minutes before it started at 11 a.m., thanks to an email from Lydia Goulas. She was lamenting what she said was a last-minute change to the start time, because she’d been told the meeting would begin at high noon.

Another district resident, Patrick Silver, forwarded me a Jan. 23 email from CMA, the company that manages the affairs of the Riverchase Owners Association. That email said the Jan. 30 meeting would begin at noon, and it also said this: “All decisions made by the FCD Board impact the taxes of homeowners in the Riverchase Owners Association, so we hope that some of you will be able to attend the meeting.” I emailed CMA to ask where the information about a noon start time came from, but I did not get an immediate response.

I also had a brief phone conversation last week with Pete Eckert, the flood control district’s general counsel. He told me an agenda that included the 11 a.m. start time had been posted on the Dallas County clerk’s website five days prior to the meeting. Stephanie Granberry, the county clerk’s administrative services coordinator, confirmed that, and she said notices of future meetings would be posted on this specific page. If you reside in the flood control district, you may want to bookmark it.

01302024 Northwest Dallas County Flood Control District Agenda

3.67MB ∙ PDF file

Download

This agenda for the Jan. 30 meeting of the Northwest Dallas County Flood Control District's board of directors was posted on the Dallas County clerk's website.

Download

Eckert also said an agenda touting the 11 a.m. start time had been taped to the front door of the Oaks Riverchase apartment complex’s clubhouse, because that’s where the flood control district’s board meets. However, the clubhouse hosted a party on the Sunday before the meeting, Eckert said, and someone evidently removed the agenda from the door when they were putting up or taking down ribbons and other decorations.

I knew about the board’s September meeting only because I saw a legal notice published in the Coppell Gazette, so I asked Eckert why a similar notice hadn’t been published in advance of the Jan. 30 meeting. He said a newspaper notice is required only if the meeting will include a public hearing; the September meeting did include one, but the January meeting did not.

However, the Northwest Dallas County Flood Control District has its own chapter in the state law governing special districts, and that chapter includes a section on meetings. It says this: “The board shall … publish notice of the meeting time and place in a newspaper with general circulation in the district.” I don’t see any language in that chapter about newspaper ads being required only for public hearings.

I’ll ask more questions about this the next time the board gets together — assuming I’m notified in advance of that meeting’s date and time.

---

Chronicle Crumbs

• If you want to run for any of the seats that will be on May 4 ballots, you have until 5 p.m. on Friday to turn in your paperwork. Unless more candidates step up, the only choice Coppell residents will have to make is whether Freddie Guerra or Ramesh Premkumar will occupy the City Council seat that John Jun is vacating. Meanwhile, the only Coppell ISD residents who will have to choose between multiple candidates are the ones who live in Lewisville; Mayor TJ Gilmore has a challenger named Tiffany Karim, and Mayor Pro Tem William J. Meridith will compete with Penny Mallet and Ainsley Stelling.

• Remember the unfinished house on Arbor Brook Lane that I wrote about in “Code Violators Given 90-Day Deadlines?” (That stalled project also inspired my Instagram reel about the difference between irony and coincidence.) According to the Dallas Central Appraisal District, Coppell residents Scott and Paula Orr purchased the property last month.

• If you were wondering why you heard fireworks on the west side of Coppell on Friday evening, here’s your answer: Fellowship Church set them off to celebrate a marriage conference they were hosting. The Grapevine City Council approved the permit last month. I meant to warn you in last week’s edition, but I forgot.

• New York Jets defensive lineman and Coppell High School graduate Solomon Thomas was nominated for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award, which the Steelers’ Cameron Heyward won on Thursday. In advance of the NFL Honors ceremony, D Magazine posted a profile of Thomas.

• Another professional athlete who once roamed the halls of Coppell High School, Corey Kluber, announced his retirement from Major League Baseball last week. Kluber is a two-time winner of the Cy Young Award.

• If I’ve learned nothing else from listening to recordings of Coppell public meetings for the past three years, I’ve learned this: Whoever has a persistent cough will invariably sit closest to the microphone.

---

Community Calendar

House District 115 Candidates Forum: Scarlett Cornwallis, Cassandra Hernandez, and Kate Rumsey are the Democratic candidates in House District 115, which encompasses the vast majority of Coppell; John Jun is the lone Republican candidate. They have all been invited to an education-focused forum at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at the Coppell Arts Center.

Valentine's Day Puzzle Competition: Pairs of adults will compete to see who can complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle the fastest. The fun begins at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at the Cozby Library and Community Commons. Registration is required.

State of Coppell Luncheon: Mayor Wes Mays is the headliner, but this luncheon will also include remarks from officials with DART, DFW International Airport, and the Coppell Chamber of Commerce. The gabbing begins at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday at the Coppell Arts Center.

Frost Fest: Irving’s free winter festival will feature plenty of activities plus tons of fluffy snow. It’s scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Levy Event Plaza in Las Colinas.

Celebrating Black History Month: Valley Ranch Elementary School Principal Cynthia Arterbery and community activist Crystal Bates will be the featured speakers during a Black History Month program scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Cozby Library and Community Commons. The 90-minute program will also include entertainment provided by Grace Johnson.

House Districts 105 and 115 Candidates Forum: Democrat Terry Meza represents District 105, which includes the south end of Coppell ISD. She and her Republican challenger, Rose Cannaday, have been invited to an Irving League of Women Voters forum scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 20 at Dallas College’s North Lake Campus. The aforementioned District 115 candidates have also been invited.

Crimes of the Heart: Theatre Coppell will stage nine performances of Beth Henley’s play about three young Mississippi sisters betrayed by their passions. The first show is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Feb. 23 at the Coppell Arts Center.

Intro to Podcasting: At 2 p.m. on Feb. 24 at the Cozby Library and Community Commons, Vanessa Todora Crixell from Romeo Music will cover the basics of podcasting for those looking to create and share content. Registration is required.

Coppell Chamber Singers: Join the Coppell Community Chorale at 3 p.m. on Feb. 25 at the Coppell Arts Center for the premiere of their newest ensemble.