CM 1980-08-12 151
Minutes of August 12, 1980
The City Council of the City of Coppell met in regular session on August 12,
1980, at 7:30 p.m. in the Coppell High School Cafeteria.
The following members were present:
Andrew Brown, Jr., Mayor
David Phillips, Mayor Pro Tem
Roy Brock, Councilman
Orville Mayo, Councilman
Dale Ware, Councilman
Councilman Glen White was not present. Also present were City Administrator
James Elium, City Secretary Dorothy Timmons~ and City Attorney Larry Jackson.
The meeting was called to order and everyone asked to stand while Mayor Pro
Tem Phillips gave the invocation. Following the invocation, Councilman Brock
moved that the reading of the minutes be waived; Councilman Mayo seconded and
motion carried 4-0. Councilman Brock then moved that the minutes be approved
as submitted; Councilman Mayo seconded and motion carried 4-0.
The first item to be considered was a request of Mr. Joseph Driscoll for an
extension of time on the preliminary plat for filing the final plat on Coppell
LO Village. Mr. Jim Blythe was present to make this request and stated that they
are requesting a 120 day extension on the plat which expires September ll.
Following discussion, Councilman Ware moved that the 120 day extension be
given; Councilman Brock seconded and motion carried 4-0.
Next, a report from Cadco, Inc. on Cable TV service in Coppell was made by
Mr. Bill Barnhardt. Mr. Barnhardt introduced Mr. Jim Bass who has been in
charge of construction and will be the initial manager of the system. They
anticipate that they will make their first hook ups in October. A copy of
this report is attached as a permanent part of these minutes.
Consideration of an ordinance calling a public hearing on the 1980-81 Municipal
and Revenue Sharing Budget for September 9, 1980 was then considered by the
Council. Councilman Brock moved that this ordinance No. 221 be approved;
Councilman Mayo seconded and motion carried 4-0.
Consideration of a resolution changing the method of allocating the cost of
operation of the Dallas County Appraisal District was then discussed by the
Council. City Administrator James Elium stated that the cost for the City
of Coppell would be approximately $3,500.' Following discussion, Councilman
Mayo moved that this resolution be approved; Councilman Brock seconded and
motion carried 4-0.
Consideration of entering into a contract with Perdue, Brandon, Blair, Shiever,
and Fielder for collection of delinquent tax accounts was then discussed by
the Council. Following consideration, Mayor Pro Tem Phillips moved that this
contract be approved; Councilman Mayo seconded and motion carried 4-0.
Consideration of Invoices Numbers 92 and 116 to Hogan & Rasor, Inc. in the
total amount of $2,786.44 for engineering and additional field surveying on
the Esters Road Project was then discussed by the Council. Following con-
sideration, Councilman Brock moved that these two invoices be approved for
payment; Councilman Ware seconded and motion carried 4-0.
Approval to authorize First Southwest to prepare for the sale of Revenue Bonds
for the Water Works Improvements Project was then discussed by the Council.
Mr. Boyd London was present to discuss this item and to provide the Council with
preliminary figures. Mayor Brown stated that this item would be deferred until
after consideration of the final plans on the Water Works Improvements System
which is the next item on the agenda.
Mr. Frank Rasor of Hogan and Rasor was present to discuss the final plans with
the Council and to ask for authorization for bids to be opened at 2:00 p.m. on
September 18, 1980 at City Hall at Coppell, Texas. Following the presentation
by Mr. Rasor, Councilman Brock moved that the City approv6 the plans and autho-
rize the bids with the City reserving the right to reject any or all bids;
Councilman Ware seconded the motion which carried 4-0.
152
Mayor Brown then stated that the Council would consider authorizing First
Southwest to prepare for the sale of Revenue Bonds on this project. Council-
man Brock moved that the City authorize First Southwest to prepare for the
sale of Revenue Bonds on the Water Works Improvements Project; Councilman
Mayo seconded and motion carried 4-0.
Approval of the bills was the next item on the agenda. Councilman Brock moved
that the bills, in the amount of $20,305.72, be approved for payment; Council-
man Mayo seconded and motion carried 4-0.
The City Administrator's report was the next item on the agenda. City Adminis-
trator James Elium stated that there is a possibility of SH 190 being extended
westerly from I35 to SH !21, which would run it through Coppell or just to
the north of Coppell's city limits.
The meeting was then closed for an executive session allowed under Article 6252-
17, Section 2 (e) discussion with City Attorney and Article 6252-17, Section 2
(g) discussion concerning personnel.
Following the executive session, the meeting was declared open to the public.
Councilman Brock moved that John Talley be hired in the Street Department
effective August 18, 1980 at a salary of $4.87 per hour; Mayor pro Tem Phillips
seconded and motion carried 3-0. Councilman Ware was absent when the vote was
taken.
The meeting was then adjourned.
Andrew Brown, Jr., Mayor
ATTEST:
Dorothy Timn~n$, C~y Secretary
COPPELL CABLEVISION
PROGRESS REPORT
This report is submitted to the Coppell City Council to inform
the Council as to our progress in bringing the finest cable television
system to Coppell.
The highlights of the report are that construction is well underway
with the majority of homes to have cable television available by December
of this year, and that super new programming of general interest is
available and will be carried.
1. FCC approvals required by the Franchise Ordinance.
A suitable earth station location was found after extensive testing
by Rockwell International. The Council approved the zoning changes in late
November. The purchase was completed and all calculations along with
pertinent data prepared for the FCC was submitted by December 20, 1979.
The FCC completed registration of this system on February 8, 1980, and
granted the earth station permit on June 9, 1980.
2. [~aterials purchasing.
Distribution electronics materials, that is trunk amplifiers and
line extenders, were placed on order with Sylvania shortly after the
grantingof the franchise. Due to complications arising from earth
station site selection, delivery of these items was placed on hold.
After certification of site was obtained, Sylvania's delivery schedule
had been extended, making it necessary to place the order with Magnovox
for delivery starting in mid-August 1980. All other material has been
ordered for delivery consistent with the construction program in the
period August to October, 1980.
3. Head End Site Preparation.
Head end and office site has been cleared, leveled and fenced.
Office building plans have been submitted to a local builder. Construction
is planned to comn~ence September 1, 1980. The earth station and associated
electronics are expected to be installed in late September.
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4. Construction - Aerial.
Pole attachment agreements have been negotiated with General
Telephone and Texas Power and Light. Pole rearrangements have been
agreed upon and work orders were prepared in early spring. All poles
not requiring rearrangement of lines, that is, approximately 75%, have
been drilled, and hardware installed in one-third of these poles. The
remaining 25% of the poles are waiting on rearrangement of lines by the
utility companies.
· 5. Construction - Underground.
The majority of all streets, alleys, and driveways in the Fox and
Jacobs and other new additions have been underlaid with conduit to eliminate
the need for boring during laying of cable. This amounts to approximately
one mile out of 4½ miles of underground plant,
6. Construction completion schedule.
The aerial trunk llne is expected to be completed in September,
the majority of aerial feeder lines by October, and a majority of the under-
ground lines by the end of November.
The system turn-on and initial hook-ups will begin in early October,
and 60 to 70 percent of the homes will'be served by the middle of
December, with the system substantially completed by F~cbrua~j', ]981.
7. Programming.
Since. our last report to the Council, a number of positive changes
have occurred in cable television. Coppell Cablevision has mod]fled it's
plans so as to build a substantially higher capability system than
originally contemplated. The major change is in the type of home con-
verter and the means of coding programming. The Jerrold converter, which
is planned to be used now, is a multi-code converter with full 3S-channel
capability and capable of handling multiple tiers of programming as they
become available.
At turn-on, Coppell Cablevision will offer one additional tier of
premium televison, the HBO Cinemax.
It is now feasible to include additional independent stations.
Coppell Cablevision will be carrying NOR (New York) with it's heavy
sports programs, or WGN (Chicago) with general interest programming,
in addition to the planned ~TBS (Atlanta) and K23/U (San Francisco).
Furthermore, there will be two additional programs of family content,
SPN, a full entertainment network highlighted by movies, talks, celebrity
shows, and public affairs programs, and Modern Satellite Network,
the alternative daytime television network.
Best of all, ESPN {Entertainment Sports Programming Network) has
become a reality. This channel is the sports fanatic's Shangri.La
featuring 1400 NCAA events, and will be carried by Coppell Cablevision.
William T. Barnhart, Jr.
President