CM 1978-06-13 Minutes of June 13, 1978
The City Council of the City of Coppell ~et in regular session on June 13, lg78 at 7:30
p.m. in the Coppell High School Cafeteria.
The following members were present:
John R. Burns, Mayor
Andy Brown, Mayor Pro Tem
Roy Brock, Councilman
David Phillips, Councilman
Glen White, Councilman
Andy Grant, Councilman
Also present were City Administrator James Elium and City Secretary Dorothy Tin,nons.
The meeting was called to order and everyone asked to stand while Councilman Phillips
gave the invocation.
Following the invocation, Councilman Brockmoved that the of the minutes of
reading
May 23 be waived; Mayor Pro Tem Brown seconded and motion carried 5-0. A correction
was noted in the minutes on the item concerning the public hearing on the proposed
Imm Water and Sewer Rates. It was noted that those persons who commented from the aud-
ience included Mrs. June Chenault and did not include Mr. Charles Lambert. Councilman
Brock moved that the minutes of May 23 be approved as corrected; Councilman Grant
seconded and motion carried 5-0 with the mayor showing his approval. Councilman Brock
then moved that the reading of the minutes of June 1 be waived; Councilman White sec-
onded and motion carried 5-0 with the mayor showing his approval. Councilman Brock
moved that the minutes of June 1 be approved as submitted; Councilman Grant seconded
and motion carried 5-0 with the mayor showing his approval.
The first item to come before the Council was a citizen's appearance by Mr. Sam Davis
,-- to request a temporary water connection on Coppell Road for the purpose of providing
water for his cattle. Councilman Grant moved that this temporary water connection be
approved; Councilman Brock seconded and motion carried 5-0 with the mayor showing his
approval.
Next, Mr. Mike Arrington of Texas Power & Light was present to present a request that
the City Council approve an ordinance adopting the rate increase for Texas Power &
Light Company. He stated that the overall increase amounts to 6.8%. Following dis-
cussion on this item, Councilman Grant moved that the ordinance #lal be adopted; Council-
man Brock seconded and motion ca~ied 2-1-2 with Councilman Phillips against, Council-
man White and Mayor Pro Tem Brown abstaining from showing approval or disapproval, and
the mayor showing disapproval.
Mayor Burns then stated that Mr. Erwin Beal was present in the audience and had made
a previous request to him to be placed on the agenda. However, he had been inadvert-
ently left off. Mr. Beal was asked to present his statements to the Council but was
informed that no action could be taken at this time. Mr. Beal came forward and questioned
whether his comments would be a matter of record. Mayor Burns informed Mr. Beal that
his comments would be on tape as well as in the m~nutes of the City Council meeting.
Following is a transcript of Item 4, B:
Mayor Burns: We will move back to Item B under No. 4. Mr. Erwin Beal to talk about the
recent burglaries at his residence. Mr. Beal had requested to be on the agenda, but
"-- due to a slip-up, he wasn't placed on the agenda, so we can put him on the agenda, but
we can't take any action. Any Council vote on anything that he would request, if he
requests anything, could not be taken tonight, but we can hear him out.
Mr. Beal: I would like to ask, as a matter of law, if my statements will be of record?
Mayor Burns: They will be recorded on tape and in the minutes, also.
Mr. Beal: Very Good. Maybe, much to the surprise of some people, I am not up here to
~ raise hell. I hope all of you will relax, and I wish to thank Tom Griffin for coming.
Tom, to be perfectly frank, the reason why I wanted you here, I wanted you to hear what
I said and I didn't want it coming to you second and third-hand. I want to tell you
how I feel about the police, whether it be the Coppell police, the Dallas police, or
whoever they might be. As a matter of fact, this is an excellent illustration of how
my philosophy runs. Not too long ago, I was going over an overpass pretty fast. As
a matter of fact, I was going 70 miles per hour and I got picked up by a radar officer.
He stopped and gave me a ticket and he started to apologize, and I said that you don't
owe me an apology. In fact, I owe you my~h~p)s,~ You might have saved my life be-
cause I wasn't thinking of what I was d0ingjl S6, I would like for it to be known by
all of you, and particularly by the Coppell Police Department, that I'm not up here
trying to get anybody's job, or tear them up over anything, I just want to let you
know what my miseries are, if I can put it in that vernacular. Anyway, in that--con~
nection,~I would like to ask if all..of you Council.members and Mr. Elium haye read my cor-
respondence that I addressed to you? (All Council members and Mr. Elium indicated that
they had read the letters) Everybody read it - Dorothy,.have you read it?
City Secretary Dorothy Ti~rnons: Yes sir, I have.
Mr. Beal: Now, I would like to ask those people who are here if they know what I am
talking about; if they have read my correspondence? Tom, did you read it? (Tom in-
dicated with an affirmative nod that he had.) Inasmuch, gentlemen and lady, that there
are some people here who have not heard this, and this is a public meeting, I would
like to read my correspondence. Needless to say, you don't have to - you can refer to
it in your notes, rather than type all this over again. On May 27, I wrote to the
Mayor of Coppell, the City Manager, and the City Council of the City of Coppell, and
this is my message. (See attached letters) All right, I feel like that I have had
enough experience in this area in my own particular home to question whether or not
the police department here can gain some assistance from other police departments, other
police agencies which might possibly contribute something to a better protection system.
I'm not saying that the Coppell Police are not doing their very best. I'm not saying
that they could do better. I'm merely asking the question - Can somebody who makes a
profession out of police work possibly lend them a hand, or if they can't evaluate
themselves, to tell them how they might do it. I feel no animosity toward the Coppell
Police Department. Some of you people are in business, and you know from time to time,
somebody totally unrelated to your particular business, makes a contribution to it.
Is it, therefore, unwarranted, that we should say to ourselves, somewhat complacently,
had we done all that we can do? Now, in the matter at hand, and my concern as to what-
ever efficiencies or inefficiences may exist, I feel like that the last robbery, I
have absolutely no communication from anybody within the City after I wrote my letters,
all of which all copies went to them. I did hear from the Mayor, and I appreciate ~
that, but he is neither the City Manager nor the police force, and the City Manager,
I frankly expected some response from, but got none. Now, in that connection, with
respect to the con~unication that I have received, they are zilch, absolutely zero.
Tom, maybe you didn't want to talk to somebody, but you could have talked to me, and,
you know I had to be concerned. That's the only criticism I can make of you. You
should have let me know because you knew I had to be interested, and you didn't. Now,
what do I think about you? Look, I'm not a pack rat; I'w got two papers here. Your
articles appear in both of them. Those are well written articles. Now, they're al-
most vendettas. I have no grudges. I am not after you, but I think you owe me the
courtesy of letting me know what's going on and you didn't do it,.and that's the only
criticism I'm going to make while I'm standing up here or outside of here. The Mayor
had the courtesy to call me. It made me feel good, John. I had some response, not
fully, just about - not really as much as I expected, to be perfectly frank. I had
a very nice personal letter from Jim Collins, a member of Congress. The reason why
I know that it's very personal is because after he signed it, he wrote me a hand-
written note and his signature which was a p.s. on the thing,=a~d he showed some in-
terest. I'm sure his interests are far more, far broader geographically, economically,
socially, and every other way than just the members of this Council or the members of
this City Administration, and yet, I have had not one word from anybody. Now, on the
other hand, when there was another house robbed, for what values I don't know, this
same day, I understand they walked out of the house - I may be wrong - I'm just going
by heresay, with a fruit jar full of costume jewelry; well there have been a lot of
communications with that. Incidentally, Tom, if I'm wrong in my inventory, excuse
me. I'm just trying to draw (unintelligible) What was my loss, in terms of dollars, ~
it ran $2,000 at least. Well, I'm a concerned citizen, but I didn't hear anything
from anybody and that angers me. I think I have a right to be angry.
Councilman Grant: I agree.
Mr. Beal: So now, with respect to my statements, I would like to repeat them ex-
temporaneously, if I may, and that is this. I have had courtesies from this police
department. I said in my letter that I haven't forgotten that. I have no way in the
world to criticize this police department, but I have every right in the world to ask
why it is that I have been jumped on four times, ripped off, invaded. I guess if I
had been there, I would have been kicked in the teeth as well. I felt like I did
anyway. I'm not a professional police officer. I think Tom is. Tom wrote an article
in the newspaper in which he - as I say, Tom, it was very well written. I can't put
you down at all for it, but I feel like that I've asked a question - If you're doing
the very best you can in the police department, then tell me what I might do, but I
haven't had a word from anybody. Why didn't you come up there and tell me,"Mr. Beal,
you might be better off if you moved out~Q~e~ity." That would have been some con-
solation, even though I'm not about to"~mo~,~'W~e been here too long. My roots are
twenty-five years deep. But, I've stood around, sat around, thought day and night -
what else can I do. Well, Tom, I figured I could go out and knock my mail box down
and get a post office box, because in reflection, you told me, after the third robbery,
they got my name out of the mail box and went up there and phoned my house to see if
I was home and then robbed me. Well, I guess'Iwas pretty stupid myself that time.
I didn't recognize at that point that I ought to get rid of the mail box. Well, yes,
so I got to thinking lately that ! can do that. Well~ what,else can I do?. Well;.I
almost felt like I ought to leave my doors unlocked. That would be a whole lot bet-
ter than have them tear them up. The second thing I can do, I can have an unlisted
telephone number. But these are thoughts that I've had to generate. If you want to
hear an exclamatory sentence - Hell, I'm no policeman. I'm not a professional police
officer. I ask you the question. Come and tell me what can I do? If you're doing all
you can do to protect me, surely you can think of something I can do to protect my-
self, but not a peep out of this City. Now that's a criticism. Well, I don't know,
but I'll tell you what. I'm no better than anybody else, but I've been robbed four
times. And that's just the break-ins, not all the robberies. You know, it gets
~ pretty disenchanting to go home and find that mess, and I guess that unfortunately I
furnished them a garden tool that they used to tear my door down wi%h, in the nature of
0 a pickax. Tom, I'm going to ask you the question right now. Have you got any ideas
LO what I can do? Well, I have the same right to ask you a question, again, another one,
Ll.J or for you to ask yourself. Is there something somebody else can help you with? I
~ mean, assuming that there's some remote chance that the rankest stranger could make
~:[ a contribution to added effectiveness, and I say added effectiveness, of that police
department? Is anybody trying to do that? Well, I want to tell yo9 something. You
can take me off your black list. I want some communication. I want to know if, and
the Mayor I'm sure had some misinformation. He said the reason why he didn't say
something about me not being on the agenda was that he thought maybe that I had taken
myself off because he had heard it said that the police had recovered all my goods.
Now, we've got a question of law here, the constitutionality of which I rankly question.
Why con~nunicate with the Mayor that my stuff has been recovered? Why not tell me?
"-- But not all of it has been recovered. At least if it has, I haven't been told that
it has. All right, I think it's up to the people here to decide whether you have got
the best you can have out of this police force. If you feel like they're doing a
good job, then tell them so and tell me. If you feel like they can do a better job,
they ought to be the first ones to want to know it. I would like for this Council to
take into consideration my statements from the standpoint.of appreciation as well as
criticism and see if you, as a responsible people for the organization of this City,
can possibly come up with changing the route that the police cars go, or whether they
change their hours or their bodily temperatures or whatever in the hell it is. Just
do something. If I'm a sitting duck, then come out with that as a professional con-
clusion and let me know it, but don't expect me to read minds. I need co~unications.
Thank you.
Mayor Burns: Thank you, Mr. Beal
City Administrator James Elium: Mr. Beal, could I ask you one question? Are your
lines of communication with Mrs. Beal as bad as the ones between you and the City?
Mr. Beal: Well, I'm not aware of it.
City Administrator James Elium: Well, are you aware that I spent over an hour on the
telephone with Mrs. Beal on this same subject?
~ Mr. Beal: I'm aware. I asked her, as a matter of fact, Mr. Elium, whether you called
her or she called you.
City Administrator James Elium: Well, I don't think that's very significant. It's
the fact that we ....
Mr. Beal: It was significant.
City Administrator James Elium: .... we spent the time with her and I would expect that
you would at least say that. That's all I ask.
Mr. Beal: Well, I think it is of some import that she did call you, and yes, she did
tell me about that.
City Administrator James Elium: With very sincere efforts and doing everything that
I knew possible .....
30
Mr. Beal: I believe, Mr. Elium, that's been in the last two or three days?
City Administrator James Elium: Oh, it~Was ~me~ime last wee~, the middle of last week.
Mr$._Beal: Thursday.
City Administrator James Elium: Thursday of last week. I don't recall exactly the
day. I think the audience should know that.
Mr. Beal: Well, I think that's fine. However, I will take note of the fact that
my letter to you was dated on May 30th.
Mayor Pro Tem Andy Brown: Mr. Beal, I sympathize with your break-in and your burglary
situation. I doubt that anybody in the room can really appreciate the frustration of
four break-ins. I think the first burglary was probably a dramatic shock, the second
one the breast, and finally when you were broken in for %he fourth time, it was pro-
bably just about the last straw, so I recognize the great anxiety that you and Mrs.
Beal are feeling from this. The fact that you haven't had feedback from the City
Council is something that I would take exception with, a small exception with. You
know, it's really not our place to conduct police business with you and us being
citizens like yourself, we're not really expert on break-ins and preventative measures.
From your statements, I have concluded that you're interested in if the Co~pell
Police Department doing the best that they can, should they be evaluated by others,
and the fact that you haven't had feedback or response from our local personnel with
regards to the actions that have been taken. And I was under the impression - Tom,
I don't really think you need to speak or anything, but could you, didn't you re-
cently go talk to Mrs. Beal about the suspect you apprehended and the merchandise you
had discovered in the pawn shop?
Police Chief Tom Griffin: Yes, I did. I went to her house the same day that Mr.
Beal was talking about that they made contact with the other lady and I brought some
stuff to Mrs. Beal's house, to the front door, and asked her if she could identify
it, and she said no. That's the only contact I have had with either one of the
people.
Mayor Pro Tem Andy Brown: Did you tell her that you had a candidate for a burglary
who...
Police Chief Tom Griffin: No, I had one in the jail at the time who committed her
burglary and had warrants out for two others.
Mayor Pro Tem Andy Brown: But you gave her feedback that you had apprehended criminals
that you believe had committed the burglary?
Police Chief Tom Griffin: A very small amount at that time. There really wasn't alot
of details. We were in the front yard at the time, and I asked her if she could
identify some items in a ditch near her residence, and she could not, and we talked
real briefly. There was several people in the car with me, and I was real busy, and
I've been busy since then, and I briefly spoke with them (unintelligible) I don't even
recall how detailed we went into conversation with them (unintelligible) and I believe,
I may be wrong, but I believe that was on Thursday or Friday.
Mayor Pro Tem Andy Brown: Okay, in the form of more feedback, for the benefit of our
audience, didn't you pretty much on your own, the Coppell Police Department, initiative,
determine the burglary suspects and make the arrests ourselves?
Police Chief Tom Griffin: Yes, we did. I'~ rather ~ot go into alot of details. We
still have it under investigation, and we have some people that we're hunting at this
time, that's why we don't have alot of communication.
Mayor Pro Tem Andy Brown: Okay. And didn't you talk to Mrs. Beal about the suspect
being in the Dallas County Jail?
City Administrator James Elium: I did, and the circumstances around the robbery. Our
telephone conversation was in excess of an hour. We talked about numerous things
that had happened and numerous things, situations that existed around your {the Beals}
residence. We talked about burglar alarms, noise maker devices; we talked about the
type of people that had actually broken into your house and so forth, and I felt like
that certainly Mrs. Beal would have communicated with you and passed it on because I
did spend over an hour of my time speaking with her on the phone, and she was quite
upset when she called me, and I think that she was in a whole lot better frame of
mind after we finished our conversation, and I'm not complaining about spending the
time. I was very delighted to do so because Mrs. Beal was drastically upset when she
called me, and I think without any volition, and Mrs. Beal is sitting there, I think
that she can tell you that she was a whole~lo~happier when she got through talking
to me than she was prior to talking to me.
Mr. Beal: I believe you're right.
City Administrator James Elium: I believe so, and I just think we should be given a
small amount of credit where it's due.
?-Mr. Beal: Mr. Elium, I would like for the record to show that you are entitled to a
small amount of consideration there. I have not addressed myself except as an indi-
vidual, and to be perfectly frank, but not to be arbitrary, necessarily, Mrs. Beal
does not act for me vicariously. I wrote the correspondence. There has been no cor-
respondence with me nor any communications with me, and though she is the most im-
portant member of my household, it - for the same reason that I asked for Tom to be
here, I wanted him to hear what I have to say, and I'll stand here and take any re-
buttals that I must, but I didn't get the kind of response that I was looking for.
Mayor Pro Tem Andy Brown: Mr. Beal, excuse me for interrupting you again, but as an
~interested City Council member, when. I read your letters, I called Tom Griffin and
~discussed your situation with him and he informed me that on previous burglaries he
,~-~had talked with ya'll and given you a handbook of police protection things that the
m~police department furnishes to residences here in Coppell..In alot of your statements,
L~in one of your letters, referred directly to some of those ingresses and so forth that
~:~were in that literature, and that he went throughLthe burglar alarm things with you
~:~the last burglary, didn't he?
Mrs. Beal: No, that's not true, Andy. Let's see, the other burglary was in January a
year ago, 1977. Now Tom's brochure came out not too long ago, and we had already done
all the things that it mentions {unintelligible) We thought we had them where they
would be so discouraged they would not get in; but no, we had not gone over anything
with Tom. He did give me the brochure when I came to CityHall one day, and we'had done
everything except use the pen to mark everything.
Mayor Pro Tem Andy Brown: Prior to the bur§lary, he gave you the book, Mrs. Beal?
Mrs. Beal: This last burglary, but ....
Mayor Pro Tem Andy Brown: Not the third burglary?
Mrs. Beal: Not the third burglary, and we had already done all of these things (un-
intelligible)
Mayor Pro Tem Andy Brown: On the third burglary, didn't you also get most of your
merchandise, about 80% of your merchandise back? Didn't he catch the criminals,
the Police Department apprehend the suspects on the third burglary?
Mrs. Beal: Well, I think through the co-operation of Carrollton and all of the sur-
rounding areas, they caught the gang of them in Carrollton. Pete Cole, who is one
of the super sleuths in this part of the country... Of course, they can't help when
the judge lets them out in two or three days on bond after they are caught.{unintelligible)
Mayor Pro Tem Andy Brown: I guess what I'm working down to is a central - in the
appeal that you have made to the City Council, I really don't know what course of
action that we have, or that I have personally to control your burglaries. If it were
in my domain to stop the burglaries at your residence, I would be more than willing
~_. to share those ideas and that power with you. The fact that you have had four bur-
glaries and two of them, suspects have been apprehended, is, I think, commendable;
well, I mean, the fact that they have been burglarized four times and that the third
burglary group had been caught and then this last burglary attempt, that we caught
one of the suspects and there are still two of them that are still at large.
Mrs. Beal: (unintelligible) and one thing that I had thought of and then I saw it
the other night on television was the Rangers watching the border, the Texas border,
they used binoculars. Some of the houses are set back and away from the road (un-
intelligible) and to be very alert to any cars that are stopped. {unintelligible)
I imagine that he's kind of laughing out of the corner of his mouth the third time.
One of the men had stopped the car down by the Brazos light, and he was waiting for a
signal {unintelligible) gotten a way into the house, and Tom had gotten another phone
call and here he comes with his lights and siren on and the feller told him, I just
knew I was caught, and Tom went on by {unintelligible) check that number out.
Mayor Pro Tem Andy Bro~n: I agree with that.
Mrs. Beal: Every officer should be very, very alert to anything suspicious that goes
Mayor Pro Tem Andy Brown: I think your first suggestion has already been followed.
Tom, don't ya'll have binoculars in the car?
Police Chief Tom Griffin: Yes, we do, and I would like to respond to that last in-
cident that she was talking about. Mrs. Beal, I don't know if any of you have ever
driven in a police car with the red lights and siren and going to a - but, I remember
the incident you were talking about, and I didn't particularly laugh out of the corner)
of my mouth (unintelligible) at the time or after it. I don't know if you have ever
ridden in a police car in what we call code 3 with the red lights and siren, but that'
almost a (unintelligible) in itself, driving a police car with the red lights and
siren going to a fight in progress, and that happened the call that I was going to
that night. And, I'll agree with you; I didn't see that car. If he saw me, I didn't
see him because I had my mind on I'm going down here and I may get shot when I step
out of the police car, so that's probably why I didn't see him. He may could have
been out there waving a flag and I might not have saw him because I'm thinking about -
I'm running red lights and siren and I'm watching the road for kids with bicycles and
motorcycles and my mind is macing a little bit ahead because when I roll up to that
trailer park (unintelligible) the man's going to shoot me dead when I step out of that
car, and I kind of like to go home at night. So I think just a little bit, and I'm
not putting you down; don't get me wrong. I'm responding to you. That was one com-
ment I did want to respond to. I'm not saying I'm perfect {unintelligible)
Mayor Pro Tem Andy Brown: Well, my final comment is that I was particularly proud of
the recent information furnished me by Griffin that they had apprehended one suspect
in the burglary and they had the other two identified and were trying to get those
now. I just thought it was a compliment, not only to the citizens that you were talk-
ing about for furnishing the information, you know, they were alert enough to see
a suspicious car, but I think it was a compliment to the police department because it
was their initiative that these tags were identified, at their initiative, they
located the suspect, at their initiative, they went through the pawn shop lists and
identified some of the merchandise. I mean, all of this took fairly good police in-
vestigative procedures to apprehend this suspect. I guess what I'm saying is from the
Council's interest, Mrs. Beal, Mr. Beal, from the Council's interest, I knew of this.
From my interest, I'm able to speak to the fact that they had the license number. The
next process was to identify the suspect and where he was located. From my interest,
I know that the fact that Griffin looked at the burglary lists around the City to
determine where he might best look for your merchandise in a pawn shop. From my
interest, I also know that he went over on his own, I mean, he and one of his other
officers, to a pawn shop and identified some of the stolen merchandise to start making,
or to start identifying the suspect. Now I guess from the feedback that he has fur-
nished the Council and the Council's interest, we know, I know, that the night that
he apprehended the suspect late at night, and just like on TV, which you referred to,
he busted in the room to apprehend the suspect, which could have been shot and killed
and so forth, and this was with his own, our own Coppell Police Department that made
this arrest in Dallas. So, I would have to say that the challenge you have given to
the Council or the questions you have addressed the Council - Are we doing, are we
interested, are we involved in your situation, I would have to speak directly to -
Yes, we are very concerned about it, and I appreciate you coming to the Council meet-
ing and speaking to us, and I hope that we're able to recover the rest of your mer-
chandise.
Mr. Beal: I would - for the benefit of those in the audience that haven't seen all
this correspondence, read a letter which I wrote to James Collins. I think that it
should bear some significance to the City of Coppell in that it really got to the
root, more to the root of our problem; me not being the only one, obviously, that has
been robbed. I feel - I sent him copies of the correspondence, I went on to say (see
copy of letter to Honorable James Collins, attached) Now, I want it to be well known
that I have not come here to attack this police department. I've come here solicit-
iously to ask if it is doing the best that it can? And, if it's doing the best that
it can, nobody can have any criticism, but I would like to point out that there's a
remarkable difference between prevention and arrest after a felony. Now though it -
and I commend the police department that has done what it has, but I would whole lot
rather, in those four times it has proved to be impossible, to not have my placed
wrecked, because catching a felon does not put the walls back or the doors back and
rebuild and refurnish and repaint and all that other stuff plus the mental anxieties
that go along with all this. So, gentlemen, if I have given you offense in something
that I've said, I will be the first one to apologize. I admit, Mr. Elium, that Mrs.
Beal remarked to me about her conversation with you. It is a fact that she felt more
comfortable, but somehow or another, I felt like, you know, I'm the bastard in the
family. I didn't hear anything. Thank you.
Mayor John Burns: Thank you, Mr. Beal.
Mayor Pro Tem Andy Brown: Thank you, Mr. Beal.
The next item to be considered by the Council was the recommendation of an open
park site for Dallas County. City Administrator James Elium stated that he had
been informed that there is approximately $2.million dollars funding approved for
park sites. These parks are to be for passive recreation only. The County is
~ asking the City to recon~nend an area for a park site of at least 20 acres. The
~ land East of Coppell Road, South of Bethel Road, and North of the Railroad was
suggested as a possible site, since the area has some historical background.
Following discussion on this item, it was the recommendation of the Council that
Mrs. Joe Eby and Mrs. Sallie Brooks be contacted to provide more information on
this site.
Next, the Council considered approval for the City Attorney to proceed with con-
demnation proceedings on unobtainable easements for the EPA Grant. Following
discussion, Mayor Pro Tem Brown moved that if there are any easements that are not
~ granted, the City will proceed with condemnation; Councilman White seconded and
C) motion carried 5-0 with the mayor showing his approval.
~ Consideration of an ordinance setting the percent of the assessed value of taxes for
)mm the 1978 tax year was the next item to be discussed by the Council. It was the
· :~ consensus of the Council that this item not be approved at this time. No official
~:~ action was taken at this time.
Mayor Burns left the meeting following the discussion on this item, and Mayor Pro
Tem Andy Brown presided over the rest of the meeting.
Consideration of the proposed subdivision ordinance was the next item on the agenda.
It was the consensus of the Council that since this is such a lengthy matter, a
work shop would be held with the members of the Planning and Zoning Commission to
~-' discuss this item. The three dates that were suggested for the work shop were
June 17 and June 24 at 8:O01in the morning, also on June 29 at 4:00 p.m. It was
decided that the meeting would be held in the Holiday Inn at Interstate 35.
The City Administrator's Report was the next item on the agenda. City Administrator
James Elium informed the Council that Mr. Foy Layton had been elected Chairman of
the Planning and Zoning Commission and Mr. Geren Burton had been elected as Co-
Chairman. He.also informed the Council that the office hours for the sunnier ~°nths
of June, July, and August will be from 7:00 to 4:00 rather than 8:00 to 5:00. An
item concerning the office hours has been put in the paper to inform the residents
of the City. Next, Mr. Elium informed the Council that budget preparations have
begun, and that a copy of the Mayor and Council's Budget is enclosed for any sug-
gestions that they might have. The Council was then informed that the City Attorney
Larry Jackson was not able to be present at tonight's meeting, since because of a
special meeting held June l, he had had to cancel a prior committment, and it had
been rescheduled for this night. The last thing under the City Administrator's Re-
port was the monthly Budget Report for the month of May.
Approval of the bills was the next item on the agenda. Councilman White moved that
the bills be approved for payment; Councilman Grant seconded and motion carried 5-0.
A short recess was held befor~ the Executive Session which is allowed under Article
6252-17, Section 2 (g), discussion concerning personnel. Following the Executive
~-- Session, the meeting was then declared open to the public.
Councilman Brock moved that Dan Carroll, Gene Carder, and Dudley Penick be appointed
as members of the Board o~ Equalization, and that the first meeting be set for July
12, 1978, at 7:00 p.m. in City Hall.',._C~uncilman Grant then moved that Debbie Layton's
salary be supplemented .35 per hour ove~.k~hat the Manpower Program is paying; Council-
man Brock seconded and motion carried 5-O.~k. Councilman Grant then moved that Gary Dutt,
David Baker, Chuck Dyer, Martin Dowdy, Jack~J~na~-C~,~and Harold Neal be hired for the
summer work program under Mr. Vanbebber; Councilman~hite seconded and motion car-
ried 5-0.
The meeting was then adjourned.
Jol ~ Roy BUrns, Mayor
AI'FEST:
City Secretary' Dor-~h~ Tigons
Ervin W. Beal
152 South Stata Road
Coppell, Texas 75019
May 27, 1978
Mayor of Coppell, ..
City Manager of Copse11, and
City Council of the City of Coppe11, Texas
Coppell, Texas 75019
Sirs:
I suggest that before you read this letter that you stop now
and read the letter copies attached . . .
On the assumption that you have read the referred to letters,
I will proceed:
In an effort -- as a private citizen -- I have done the following
things to protect myself from intruders:
1) Installed a gate to restrict, if not to totally
obstruct, unwanted persons fro~ driving into my
property
2) Installed special window bars in locations most
likely to be used for ingress
3) Installe~ internal door braces on all hinged doors
4) Installed an audible alarm system
5) Installed double dead-bolts on various doors
All of these things have not succeeded in protecting my property;
rather, it would appear that they have, on the contrary, made
robbers more determined to gain entry and to be more destructive.
Frankly, I believe my property would be less violated if I were
to make it EASY for robbers to help themselves.
In the final analysis, it would appear that protection of my property
is not to be had except (in some measure) to the degree that the
Coppell Police Department can be effective. This is not to say,
however, that I would have not been robbed more often than I have
had it not been for ~_he Coppell police. There is no way of knowing;
but, ! have the right to ask, "Is the Co~pell Police Department
doing its best and should it not evaluate itself or be evaluated
by others to see if it can do better with its present facilities
and personnel to be more effective in crime prevention, detection
and arrest?"
Although ! have been agonized by each of the four break-ins (the last
one more than the first three) I know that the Coppell Police can
not afford to 'stand guard' as it were over my property. Yet,
something must be done! Where, possibly, is the Cop~ell Police
Department not doing its best?
Undeniably I am much' upset by what has happened; but, I can not
forget that the Coppell Police Department and its individual
members have been of known service -- and in the past years,
the Sheriff's officers as well. If the ~olice can not do any
better than they are doing, will they, then, tell me what I
can do to stop these marauders fro~ preying upon me?
Very truly yours,
Ervin W. Beal
Encl: Ltr copy to Texas Dept. of Public Safety
Ltr copy to Sheriff Carl Thomas
Ltr to Monorable James Collins, M. C.
Ltr to Honorable John Tower, United States Senator
Ervin W. Beal
15E~ South State FIoad
C~oppe]l, Texas 75019
May 27, 1978
Sheriff Carl Thomas
Dallas County Sheriff's Department
600 Commerce Street
Dallas, Texas 75202
Dear Sheriff Thomas:
I understand that the Dallas County Sheriff's Department has
~osi{ive, resolute, and fundamental responsibility for initial
and basic proficiencies of municipal police organizations in
Dallas County.
· On the assumption that this is-so, I desire.~o inform you,
for matter of record to say th6 least, that the Sheriff's
Department might possibly cooperate with the l~Olice department
of Coppell, Texas to determine whether or not improved standards
can be established for the protection of citizens and their
property.
My basic reason for requesting your consideration is not to
complain and allege inefficiencies, incompetence, or dereliction
-- but, rather to request your evaluation to learn if all is
being done that can be done-in the circumstances to give Coppell
citizens protection against crime.
In support of this letter to you I submit a colmY of another letter,
dated this date, addressed to the Director of Public Safety, State
of Texas and to the City of Coppell. Details therein are explanatory..
Very truly yours,
Ervin W. Beal
Encl: Ltr copy to Texas Dept of Public Safety
Ltr co/~y to City of Coppelt
Ervin W. E~eal ,'
152 South Stats Road
Coppell. Texas 75019
~ay 27, 1978
Director . ·
Department of Public Safety
Austin, Texas
Dear Sir:
I do not know whether or not your Department establishes
minimum standards for Texas municipal police departments,
particularly as to elementary training directed toward the
protection of property within tx>lice jurisdiction.
In this regard, ! am certainly interested in an evaluation
of 'possibilities for adding to the' polic, e protection in the
City of Coppell, Texas, where I reside.
My interest is not whimsical; it is solely due to the fact
that last Friday -- May 26, 1978 -- my house was broken into
for the fourth (4th) time. Each break-in has been progressively
more severe. This last break-in resulted in total destruction
of one rather expensive door, partial damage to two other doors,
door hardware loss, total destruction of two double-hung windows
with companion storm windows, damage to internal walls, and the
theft of several hundred dollars of personal goods, electronic
ca]culators, TU, etc.
Though the Texas Department of Public Safety might not have any
answerability for the proficiencies of any law enforcement
division in this State other than that which applies to itself, I
feel it is necessary for me, a private citizen, to make some effort
to let it be known that my cmplaint should be made a matter of
record to anyone charged with ,_he responsibility to protect.
Very truly yours,
Ervin W. Beal
Encl:Ltr copy to Sheriff Carl ~homas
Ltr copy to City of Coppell
Ervin W. Beal
15~ South ~tst~ F~oed
Coppsl]. Texas 75019
May 27, i978
Honorable Jmes Collins, M. C.
National Capitol Building
Washington, D. C.
Sir:
~ne letter copies enclosed explain, very well my concern.
I feel that this concer~, not mine alone, might be of federal
interest no~ unlikely the ~redators, often, are either
or both interstate 'felons (with fences trafflcing across
state lines) or narcotic aadlcts who feed their lecherous
appetites with the value of other ~ersons ~roperty wrongfully
acquired.
'Our governments . . . beginning with the Federal judiciary . . .
need to make 'fear of consequence' for wrong doing the
fundamental roll of protection . . . rather than providing
antithetic, kindly, country club atmospheres for the felon
an~ hop-head.
Very truly yours,
Ervin W. Beal
Encl: Ltr to Director of Dept. of Public Safety
Ltr to Sheriff Carl Thc~nas
Ltr to City of Coppell
Ervin V~. Beal
152 South Stats Road
Coppell. Texas 75019
May 27, 1978
~onorable John Tower, United States Senator
National Capitol BuiIding
Washington D. C.
Sir:
I desire to make the accompanying material'a matter of record
in your office.
Respectfully,
Ervin W. Beal
Encl: Ltr to Mort. James Collins, M. C.
Ltr to Director of Dept. of Public Safety
Ltr to Sheriff Carl Thomas
Ltr to City of Coppell