ST9302-CS 941006I OA [] THE METROCREST NEWS October 6, ! 994
Coppell mulls $13 million bond package, 13-cent tax hike
By DAN EAKIN
* ~l~ 73taff Writer
- A bond election, to pay for bury-
ing' power lines in the middle of
Sandy Lake Road when it is wid-
ened from two lanes to four lanes,
-was being discussed, by the end of a
t~re~hour hearing Tuesday night
a~t4~e, Coppell Town Center.
~ fF]~e discussion of a possible $13
G~ilJiqfl bond election came after
~,'oral persons in the standing-
~Op~-only crowd raised their
. ~rjd~ to say they would be willing
to~h~p pay the cost.
'~ Rqn Roberison, mayo.r, pro tem
/t~d.chairman of. the city s finance
,¢oinmittee, told the crowd that the
t/tk 'rate, with current property'val?
.(te~ ~would need to increase one
,cdnt ~)er million to cover the bonds.
"'iTttat would raise the tax rate
~'om'67 cents to 80 cents, but Rob-
~'L/son said the city is also in need
Of't~o fire stations and a police sta-
tt(~n,/so to cover public safety
needs, the tax rate would need to
go to about 85 cents.
However, with projected city
growth, some of that could be ab-
sorbed and the tax rate could drop
back to about 80 cents, he said.
The bond election could be held
sometime next year.
Tuesday night's hearing was
opened and closed by the mayor
and city council members, who sat
at the back of the auditorium after
opening the meeting.
Ken Griffin, city engineer and
assistant city manager, provided
introductory remarks, then turned
the meeting over to Kirk King, TU
Electric district manager, who
along with other TU officials dis-
cussed options and fielded
questions.
Griffin said ~the purpose of the
hearing was "for the city, citizens
and TU Electric to work together
to develop the best solution."
He listed the four main con-
cerns for the erection of ll0-foot
transmission poles along Sandy
Lake Road as aesthetics, health,
cost and legal rights.
He said TU. Electric has the
right to erect the power lines, be-
cause Brazos Electric Cooperative
purchased the easement in 1941 or
1942 and TU Electric took over the
easement in 1985.
He also said that TU Electric
has the right to upgrade the system
from 69 ky to 138 kv without a
hearing with the Public Utilities.
Commission (PUC).
"We have looked at re-muting,"
Griffin said. "If you leave the
northern city limits, you get into
Lewisville, which is not served by
TU. TU woald have to get permis-
sion from the utility company
which serves that portion of
Lewisville."
"TU would also have to get prior
owner consent," Griffin said. "How
many of you would give consent to
have a power line cross your prop-
erty? Probably not very many."
Another route at which the city
and TU have looked is to the south
of Coppell, and would go through
an industrial area and along the
raUroad tracks. The railroao corn- industry.
pany would have to approve.
"To change routes, you must go
through PUC hearings, which
would take up to a year," Griffin
said.
"We don't want to just move the
problem into someone else's back
, i/Coppell notes I_
.~ Coppell/Valley Ranch Early
fhiidhood PTA meetings are held
frOm 9:30-11:30 ~a.m. at the Round
t}r0ve United Church, located at
249 E. Round Grove Rd. in Carroll-
tbff. The meetings are as follows;
~ Oct. 10 "Stranger Danger" Cop-
pell Police Department
-': Nov. 14 "How to Raise YOur
I{idS Without Raising Your Voice"
Dr/Mike Roberts
: Dec. 12 Holiday Brunch
For information and nursery
reservations call 432-0559.
' ~ The third annual Coppell
Family YMCA's Patron's Ball, Dia-
monds and Denim, is scheduled for
6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, at the
Doubletree Hotel Park West at LBJ
and Luna.
The event will feature dinner, a
hve auction, a silent auction and a
dance.
Tickets will be $35 per person.
Corporate sponsorship packages
are also available.
Proceeds will benefit the
yMCA, Indian Guide/Indian Prin-
cess programs and will be used for
land acquisition.
For information, call 393-5121.
· The 15th Annual Suburban
Northwest Kiwanis Club Pancake
Breakfast has moved to become
part of the Carrollton Country Fair.
Pancakes will be served starting at
5 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15 at the
Kiwanis Pancake Center just north
of the gazebo in Old Downtown
Carrollton during the 'Carrollton
Country Fair celebration. Tickets
for the all-you-can-eat breakfast
panorama are $3.50 per person. All
funds raised will benefit local
charities and college scholarships
for students of The Colony High
School, Newman Smith High
School, and R.L. Turner High
School. Members of the Newman
Smith High School Key Club have
volunteered to help serve the flap-
jacks, and a major contributor of
food is the Trinity Medical Center.
A drawing will be held for a color
tv. For tickets or mofe informa-
tion, call Bob Watkins at 418-6795.
· A committee is now forming
to make plans for the 1995 opening
of the William T. Cozby Public Li-
brary. Organizers are asking for
citizen participation and atten-
dance at an organizational meeting
of the Grand Opening Committee.
The meeting will be held at 7:30
p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22, in the li-
brary Rotary Room.
Volunteers will be needed for
the following subcommittees: Pre-
sentation (in charge of the actual
ribbon cutting and ceremony); Vis-
iting authors and guests (special
presentations to be made during
the grand opening month); Food
and Beverage (for the pre-opening
party, grand opening day festivities
and other scheduled events); Tours
and Information (tours of the
building and explanation of ser-
vices); Entertainment (music, ac-
tors dressed in character to add to
the festivities); Special Events
(possible contests to help celebrate
the libary's opening); Promotion
(news releases and promotional
activities); and Fund-raising (ideas
for raising funds for the event, in-
cluding t-shirt sales).
· The Keep Coppell Beautiful
Committee is being formed after
the Coppell City Council passed an
ordinance on Aug. 23 calling for'
the establishment of the
committee.
This comittee was created for
the purpose of assisting the city
council and city staff in establish-
ing a city-wide policy for the beau-
tification of of Coppell and
decreasing the amount of loose re-
fuse in the city.
The 13-member committee will
consist of citizens representing in-
terest groups such as business and
industry, civic organizations, edu-
cation, communication, funding,
members at large and a director of
public works designee.
Applications to become a mem-
ber of the committee are available
at tahe Public Works Department.
Call 462-8495 for more
yard," Griffin said.
Also, Griffin said, "If we make
TU move, we (the city) must incur
the cost. Also, nothing requires TU
to bury it. So if we require them to
bury it, we must pay for it."
Some in the audience suggested
that, if TU wants to keep Coppell
electric customers happy, TU
should share in the cost of either
burying or rerouting the lines.
But King refused to offer any fi-
nsncial help from TU for burying
the lines or for re-routing.
"If a business or industry came
to us and asked us to reroute lines
or bury them, we would say we
would be happy to do so if they pay
the cost," King said, indicating TU
will treat the city like a business or
lines are.
information.
· The Coppell Symphonic Band
rehearses in the Coppell High
School band room every Thursday
night at 7:35 p.m. All musicians are
welcome. For more information,
call Larry Mendez at 393-0866.
· The Coppell Lions Club meets
at 7:30 p.m. on the first and third
Mondays at Gibbs Station
Restaurant.
King said TU could have built
the 138 kv line along Sandy Lake
Road last year, giving only a 30-no-
tice, "but that's not the way we do'
business."
He also said for the lines to re-
main on Sandy Lake Road is a
"win-win" situation because re-
routing would incur all kinds of
problems, including PUC hearings,
right of way acquisition, etc.
Answering questions for those
concerned about electromagnetic
fields (EMFs), King indicated that
buried lines would have shorter
EMFs, but that the conductors
would be further away from people
if they were on the ll0-foot poles.
King also contended that the
EMF of overhead power lines
would not likely go beyond 60 feet.
One man in the audience said he
would not be concerned about chil-
dren running across the street un-
der the power lines, but he would
be concerned about health risks of
children riding bicycles up and
'down the street where the power
Becky Chairez, a Coppell resi-
dent who led a petition drive ask-
ing the city to look into
alternatives, said President Clinton
has asked for a study to see if those
who live, work or attend school
near high-voltage power lines ar~
in danger of getting cancer, leukq-
mia or other diseases. The federal
overnment is reportedly spending
165 million to make the study.
King was asked if he would have
any reservations about having his
family live near high voltage pow-
er lines.
"No," King replied. "Our em-
ployees are around them all the
time, and many of our employees
like to live close to them for conve
nience. They can park their bo~S
under them, and play football m-
der them."
Dan. Mulkey, a Coppell resi~nt,
said the primary iSSUe is not ~the~
tics or health, but real esta~/val-
ues. He said an increase in taes to
bury the power lines wou~/be a
small price to pay.
f
RHD, and Ron Martin, Lions Club ranStadl~ea~tGhieb~oS/d.La~e~Rle~/ta?~
items were'offered` silent
· Dr. Steve Gellman, past presi-
dent of the Lions Club of Coppell,
presented a plaque of appreciation
to James R. Shafer, executive dir-
ector/CEO of RHD Memorial Med-
ical
Center on Sept. 2. The plaque
recognizes RHD's support of the Li-
ons Club Community Calendar
from 1989 to 1994. Jeri Uhlman-
siek, director of marketing for
director, were also on hand for the
presentation. The calendar has
earned more than $50,000 for the
community of Coppell.
· The fifth annual pre-game
spaghetti dinner and silent auction,
sponsored by the Coppell High
School Lariettes, was a big success
on Friday, Sept. 23, just prior to
Coppell High School's victory over
Bryan Adams High 'School.
The event, which was to raise
funds for the drill team's competi-
tion fees and expenses, attracted
over 450 persons who enjoyed a
spaghetti dinner, then bid on nu-
merous items at the silent auction.
The event also included a raffle.
The event was held in the high
school eommop, s.
New Orleans, a ca~r~[~ i~eYSn~m,
jewelry and other 0% .
w.o
number of raffle t: ~n
Cross, Allison ps, C~rt ey
Parker and Reneau~n'
Karen Said-. ~.rgpnizer:
thanked the 15~nrrl°ut~ ~na
sponsor, and ~ommumty, lor
supposing the .m
Stock~v----------~
in America
",. $8 flu vaccines rom
:YOur health care eam:
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l_ St. Paul Medical Associates - Valley Centre wprovide 1
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