On November 13, Coupland Mayor Jack Piper officiated the swearing in to office of three people. Sarah Torluemke began her duties as a new Alderwoman, replacing Eldridge Tidwell, who chose not to run for a second term. Barbara Piper and Susan Schmidt were also sworn in for a second term. Additionally, during the meeting, Ms. Piper was elected by her fellow Alderwomen to serve as Mayor Pro tempore for another year.
Barbara Piper
Susan Schmidt
Sarah Torluemke
Especially in Coupland!
Three Alderman positions are up for consideration in November. Interestingly, this is a majority of what is formally known as the Board of Aldermen, which — together with the Mayor — form what we know as the Coupland City Council. So, if you like the course of the city government so far in its young life, this is your chance to keep it moving in that direction. If you’re not happy with its performance to date, this is your chance to make a change. Regardless of where you stand on the issues faced by Coupland as a community, get informed and get involved. The city council needs your input and your participation to have a fair chance at representing all of Coupland.
The Aldermen whose terms expire in November responded to a questionnaire sent by The Coupland Times. Here are the questions:
1. Do you intend to run for a second term as an Alderman? If not, please share your reason for not running.
2. What would you say was your most important contribution(s) to the City in your first term?
3. If you intend to stand for re-election, what issue(s) do you propose to focus upon in your second term?
Here are their responses, in the order received: Continue reading
Submitted by Jim Huntington:
Mess and weeds vs. messy freedom….or manicuring, by ordinance, the “wild” out of the wild west.
Coupland has not been incorporated for even one year, yet much of the content addressed by and concomitant action of the board has been to establish strictures regarding what people can or cannot do.
Coupland seems to be gripped in a “what-if” scenario, that it is better to enact a whole passel of ordinances and restrictions as a putative risk averse, protective bubble around us based on fears, prejudices and projections as to what might happen, along with what they think should happen. In my opinion we are on a dangerous trajectory down the proverbial ignominious slope.
I am more distressed by the imposition of official ordinance on people’s benign actions or inactions than I am by the putative aesthetic offense of weeds and mess.
Freedom is often messy. I’ll opt for messy freedom any day over imposed constriction and intrusion, having lived both.
As I keep stressing, our ostensible reason for incorporation was to preserve the hands-off attitude that held sway in Coupland since its inception. Wm’son County’s ample laws worked fine for us for years yet gave us room to breathe.
Virtually every advance of government is usually at the expense of personal liberty. We have seen the most egregious governmental intrusion in history, over the six years of emperor 0’s reign of coercive terror.
If the City of Coupland wants to clean up the messiness, I strongly suggest we first do what was done in the past and that is solicit volunteers who will work in concert with those who are offending certain sensibilities, to help clean their properties, persuading rather than compelling.
From The Tao:
“When taxes are too high, people go hungry.
When the government is too intrusive, people lose their spirit.
Act for the people’s benefit. Trust them; leave them alone.
The March meeting of the Coupland City Council was a mixture of old and new business, including the establishment of a Planning and Zoning Committee. Susan Garry was unable to attend. Here are the highlights:
Section 7, Exemptions, in Ordinance No. 2013-9-22-01, Subdivision Ordinance of the City of Coupland, are amended as follows:
A. Paragraph (6) was added to read as follows:
A plat is not required when a person makes a conveyance of one or more tracts, each of which is two acres or more in area, to members of his or her immediate family for their personal use; provided, however that each daughter tract is either located on a public road or has access to such a road by a private easement. However, if the family member sells the land to a non-family member within two years, it will be presumed that the conveyance was not for personal use.
During the discussion, it was clarified that if a family member were to sell the land to a non-family member within two years, all applicable provisions of the subdivision ordinance would apply retroactively to the original conveyance. Also, Mayor Piper noted that the City Council considers amendments to existing ordinances four times per year. (See the story on the October 10, 2013 meeting of the City Council for details.)
The next meeting is scheduled for April 10.
L-R: Susan Garry, Barbara Piper, Jack Piper, Karen Marosko, Eldridge Tidwell, Susan Schmidt
(September 12, 2013)
Submitted by Jim Huntington:
Resolution of honor/support
I realize the Coupland City Council has its plate quite full of business relating to our little community in its inaugural year but we are also part of the greater American community and what we are witnessing from the petty, vindictive, out of control tyrant, of questionable moral authority, posing as president/CIC is unconscionable.
This moral cretin has specifically directed some of his recent infantile attacks on the precious few living WWII veterans by punitively denying them access to their WW II Monument and at the same time has pointedly deprived volunteer Catholic priests from administering mass to active duty military personnel.
This is an outrage of epic proportions and our country and community forsakes its American heritage, reason and compassion if we do not take the time to raise our voice in formal resolution of support and honor for those who served and now serve, and also condemnation of the errant, repugnant actions of this spiritual dwarf who postures as a leader, while soiling himself, insulting the American people and profaning the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice as well as those currently volunteering to do the same.
The time is way past due to push back against the outrages of the punk pretending to be president and it must start from the bottom up.
Jim Huntington
In Memoriam : U.S. Constitution BORN 1787. DIED 2012.
Vietnam Veterans being arrested in New York on October 7
Submitted by Jim Huntington:
Coupland survived just fine from the 19th century, when it was founded, through the whole 20th century and now into the 21st century.
I strongly encourage the Coupland City Council to use a fine filter for enacting rules, regulations, ordinances, impediments, intrusions, circumscriptions, etc.
For any actions being considered, simply ask, “If it hasn’t been necessary for well over a century, what justifies it being imposed now?”
Circumscribing people’s privacy/property rights to ostensibly “protect” us from nebulous possible incursions is itself an incursion. To quote the estimable contemporary philosopher, Dirty Harry Eastwood, “We got too much government.”
How do we “Keep Coupland, Coupland” if the political and bureaucratic enactments set as backfires, to prevent becoming any other over regulated municipality, become uncontrollable fires that will putatively destroy us and a way of life as surely as if we had been “annexed” by another municipality ?