Monthly Archives: February 2014

This Week at St. Peter’s Church of Coupland

Submitted by Pastor Frank Dietz:

Sunday on the hill at St. Peter’s we’ll be deep into matters of the heart. Guided by both the Deuteronomy lesson and a continuation in Matthew’s fifth chapter, we’ll see Jesus after Joshua pointing toward critical choices to express and uplift life “in the neighborhood” very local and very global.

We hope those joining will “take time to be holy” and find the way of the heart, challenging as that may be. Indeed, “Choose life!”

Some of the beautiful stained glass artwork in the sanctuary.

Some of the beautiful stained glass artwork in the sanctuary.

City Council Meeting Highlights from January 9, 2014

L-R: Susan Garry, Barbara Piper, Jack Piper, Karen Marosko, Eldridge Tidwell, Susan Schmidt (September 12, 2013)

L-R: Susan Garry, Barbara Piper, Jack Piper, Karen Marosko, Eldridge Tidwell, Susan Schmidt (September 12, 2013)

At its last regular meeting, the Coupland City Council addressed some major issues and continued to work on the administrative foundations that will affect Coupland in the years to come.

The City Secretary (Yours Truly) was absent but the digital secretary faithfully recorded the meeting. The Mayor and four Aldermen were present. Eldridge Tidwell was unable to attend.

Here are the highlights of the meeting:

  • As of December 31, 2013, the City had a bank balance of $24,419.20. Mayor Piper noted that the City had receive a franchise fee payment from Oncor of $9,539.
  • The Council reviewed a proposal for engineering services on an as-needed basis from Waeltze & Prete, Inc. This firm worked with the incorporation committee to draw up the map of the proposed city limits and ETJ of the City of Coupland before the City incorporated. The firm’s base fee is $220 with an hourly rate of $145. The proposal was unanimously approved.
  • No action was taken on a plat application from a local land owner because a properly completed application had not yet been received by the City. There was some discussion about some of the potential issues of this first application after the adoption of Coupland’s Subdivision Ordinance. The Mayor asked the Aldermen to review the plat application form. Once a proper application is received and the associated fee is paid, the City has 30 days to act or the plat is automatically approved.
  • The Mayor summarized a proposal for repairs to CR 458 from Naivar Construction. There was some discussion about whether or not the City should  approach the Williamson County Commissioners Court for help with the road and an assessment of the City’s limited political power to affect County policy in this situation.  Susan Garry discussed her findings on two companies that were recommended to her. She said the Naivar representative was concerned about other areas in need of repair. She said Naivar would work to get us in their schedule as soon as possible because of the serious condition of CR 458. A motion was made and seconded to accept Naivar’s bid and to authorize the Mayor to discuss other areas with them. The vote on that motion was unanimous. There was also some discussion on the responsibilities of TXDOT with regard to FM 1660 within city limits.
  • There was a discussion about the process of amendments to City ordinances and the opportunity for the public to become involved in that process. One topic involved a potential grandfathering of family grants as an amendment to the new subdivision ordinance. It was noted that such a clause was in one of the subdivision ordinances that was reviewed by the Concerned Citizens Committee but it had been inadvertently left out of the ordinance that was finally adopted by the City. No formal action was taken but it appeared that the consensus of the Aldermen was that a proposal for such an amendment would be well-received.

There were no events or citizens recognized by the Council and no citizens signed up to address the Council. The Mayor noted that since there was no plat application to consider at this time, a second January meeting should not be necessary but would be scheduled if the situation changes. Otherwise, the next regular meeting will be on February 13.

[Publisher’s Note: I regret the delay in publishing this account. Other priorities have had to take precedence. I am sure readers have noticed a reduced number of published articles since December. I will continue to post articles as time permits with priority going to stories with the greatest potential to affect the citizens of Coupland. I welcome submissions from the readers, since editing submitted content takes much less time than creating original content. Thank you for your patience and for being a reader of the Coupland Times!]

Emergency Services District to Meet on Tuesday

Submitted by Dean Rumel:

Notice of public meeting

towncrier1Williamson County ESD 10 will meet Tuesday, Feb 11th. At 7:00pm at the Coupland Fire Station

Agenda

  • Call to order / review & approval of the last meeting’s minutes
  • Add / approve meeting addendum’s & corrections
  • Financial report
  • Old business
  • Fuel dispensing island
  • 3rd party billing through Fire recovery USA
  • County audit
  • Skid unit grant and loan
  • New ESD board member update
  • Board member C.E.’s
  • New business

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The public is encouraged to attend

City of Coupland Repairs CR 458 Potholes

Photos by Stewart Dale Spencer

IMG_1167

Coupland residents and others who travel on CR 458 are relieved that the large potholes are now fixed. Before Coupland incorporated as a city, Williamson County was responsible for maintaining CR 458. Once Coupland city limits included the road, the county was not responsible. Before incorporation, Coupland residents were left with the understanding that the county would continue to help with maintenance on this road, because the new city would not yet have the resources for road work. However, after incorporation, it turned out that the county would not help.

IMG_1168

 

As Mayor Jack Piper reported, “We were all disappointed to find out that Williamson County would not ‘take back’ CR 458 unless the City gave them 1000 feet of land on either side of the road. When asked whether we could execute an Inter-local Agreement to do road repair, the response was that anything was possible but not probable. Thus, the City must take the responsibility to repair and maintain City roads and streets as best we can.”

IMG_1169

 

The Coupland City Council voted to select the bid of $4,750 from Naivar Construction of Taylor to repair the potholes on CR 458. Naivar Construction also repaired the potholes at the intersection of Hoxie and Commerce in downtown Coupland.

The Travis County side of this well-traveled road has its problems but at least it has no significant potholes and is clearly marked. The Williamson County side is very dangerous to drive at night, without even warning signs on two significant curves.

 

James Naivar, owner of Naivar Construction, reported that as he and his crew were working on CR 458 several drivers stopped to tell him how glad they were that these potholes were being repaired. So the first major project and expenditure of our new city has been a welcomed success.

[Publisher’s Note: Susan and Buz Garry would never toot their own horn so I’ll do it for them. They provided the wood and the supplies to create the warning signs. They put them up . . . and then put one up again after a wind storm blew it down. After the repairs were done, they picked them up and are saving them in case they are needed again. They asked for nothing in exchange and didn’t even ask for reimbursement for their costs. This is community spirit in action! Williamson County would do well to emulate their example.]

Crime Report for January 2014

Submitted by Jack and Barbara Piper, Neighborhood Watch Coordinators:

Vehicle fire – CR 460

beatcrime1st Burglary of a Building – Wagon Wheel Road

2nd Burglary of a Building – Wagon Wheel Road

Theft of Property – CR 466

Possession of a Controlled Substance – FM 973

 

Traffic enforcement along HWY 95, FM 973 and FM 1660:

  • Driving while License Suspended
  • Fail to Maintain Financial Responsibility
  • No Drivers License