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

The Coupland City Council covered some nuts and bolts issues pertaining to the Subdivision Ordinance, future elections, and the first re-platting of an existing property to be handled by the City. There was also a discussion about zoning. Present for the meeting were Mayor Jack Piper and Aldermen Barbara Piper, Susan Garry, Eldridge Tidwell, and Susan Schmidt. Karen Marosko was unable to attend.

Here are the highlights:

• The Mayor presented the financial report. As of January 31, the City hd $31,103 in the bank. He directed the Aldermen to the itemized income and expenses report. The City has collected about $24,000 in property tax revenue so far. The budget calls for $32, 000 but he expects more to trickle in over the coming months. He also noted that about half of the annual budget for street repairs was used to make repairs to CR 458.
• Susan Garry had proposed an amendment to the Subdivision Ordinance to incorporate family grant provisions that were inadvertently left out of the final version of the ordinance. The Council approved a motion to amend the ordinance accordingly. Mayor Piper pointed out that when the exact wording is developed, the revised ordinance will be on a future agenda and will require a vote.
• An application to replat the Prinz property was received by the City. Mayor Piper reported that it was submitted to the City’s engineering firm. They found some issues that required correction. The Mayor pointed out that they were all minor and easily corrected. A motion to accept the preliminary plat with the caveat that the exceptions be resolved to the satisfaction of the City Engineer was approved by the Council.
• In a discussion about road maintenance, the Mayor said that now that the repairs to CR 458 were complete, we could look at other needs in the city. More than one Alderman expressed a concern that illegally overloaded grain trucks cause excessive wear and tear on the roads, thereby increasing road maintenance expenses.
• The Council adopted an ordinance changing the City election from May to November and altering the terms of office of all Council members accordingly. This was made possible by a state law allowing newly incorporated cities to make such a change within 2 years of their incorporation date. The Mayor said that this move would save money for the City.
• A resolution to form a Planning and Zoning Committee was tabled by the Mayor. He said he was still waiting to hear back from some potential members of the committee.
• During the recognition portion of the meeting, Barbara Piper mentioned the Annual Coupland Volunteer Fire Department Chili Supper on Saturday, February 22 and asked everyone to come out and support the event. She also mentioned that Dr. Dana Boehm will make a presentation at the Coupland Civic Organization General Meeting on Monday, February 24. She will be talking about her mission trip to Kenya, which involved teaching sustainability to villagers. Eldridge Tidwell mentioned that some members of his church were going on a mission to the University of Ghana. Finally, Mayor Piper announced the early voting dates for the County elections in May. Early voting will take place April 28 through May 3 and May 5 through May 6. The election is on May 10.
• During the Citizen’s Communications portion of the meeting, the City Secretary (yours truly) read a letter from local resident Jim Huntington, which he had asked to be read into the record of the meeting. Mr. Huntington expressed his opposition to the establishment of zoning in Coupland. Although at least one Alderman said she understood and sympathized with Huntington’s comments, other council members expressed their concerns about things like junk vehicles, the possibility of gun ranges, and the possibility of the establishment of a wild boar slaughterhouse within city limits.

The next meeting of the Coupland City Council will be on March 13.