Ayoung Jo
Staff Photographer
@ayoungjojo

As the start of the city council meeting neared, a group of businessmen and women, a boy scout, Friends of Coppell Nature Park and other Coppell residents started to fill the seats in the conference room at the Coppell Town Center.

The meeting began with an invocation led by Kelli Warren from Gracepoint Church, followed by the pledge of allegiance.

Mayor Karen Hunt presented a proclamation to the City Council on behalf of the Friends of Coppell Nature Park. All the council members gave a unanimous approval to the proclamation that named Oct. 31, 2015 Arbor Day in the city of Coppell. Though the national observance of Arbor Day takes place in the springtime, a day in October was chosen for the proclamation because trees in Texas tend to grow better when planted in the fall rather than spring.

“We are hoping to start a trend in Texas and start celebrating Arbor Day in the fall and raise awareness and education of tree planting,” Coppell community programs manager Jennifer Ferguson said.

All citizens are encouraged to celebrate by participating in Community Planting Day at the Bioeducation center, which has recently been rescheduled to Nov. 7.

Jeff Hargrave, the vice president of pipeline operations of ATMOS Energy then gave a presentation regarding the company’s Right-Of-Way project. Hargrave stated that the Coppell gas lines were submerged in 1970 and have not been officially renovated. He presented concerns to the City Council regarding the dangers of broken gas pipelines. The company believes deep tree roots present major threats to the condition of the pipelines. The project involves clearing of all trees and canopies within 50 feet of the pipeline right-of-way, as well as easement issues between the company and the property owners whose backyard may be potentially be drastically changed as a result of this project.

After his presentation, the City Council members addressed their concerns about the removal of the various types of vegetation as well as issues of road cutoffs and housing readjustment issues and discussed potential alternatives such as root barriers.

Next, during the Citizens’ Appearance portion of the meeting, Mr. John Jun, as a representative of his neighborhood, stepped up to address the issue of traffic on Allen Road. A nearby construction on Deforest Rd. has significantly increased traffic onto Allen Road, a new problem that the residents now have to deal with. In addition to the unusual amounts of traffic, Jun is also concerned about the drivers who violate the speed limit of 25 mph by driving at 40 to 50 mph on Allen Rd.

Jun marked this especially important because there are many school children that walk or bike across the road in their commute to and from school everyday.

“Safety is the number one issue for all of [the residents on Allen Rd.], because we [all] moved to Coppell in the interest of our children,” Jun said.

Jun hopes that the council members “take this matter into consideration and come up with a long-term resolution.”

After Jun’s request, the meeting moved onto the consent agenda.

Fire chief Kevin Richardson from the Coppell Fire Department then stepped onto the podium to request for the approval to purchase four department ambulances. Currently there are four ambulances that were purchased in 2008, all of which are reaching the end of their lifespan despite the quality maintenance by the crew. Richardson also highlighted some of the improvements anticipated with the purchase of the new ambulances which included “enhanced control of the drive, lighter-weight, economical designs, environmental control systems and enhanced safety features such as patient compartments.” A vote was held and this request was approved by the City Council members.

Mayor Karen Hunt then made council reports regarding upcoming community events for Halloween  and Christmas.

Mayor Hunt reported that there will be Movie in the Square on Friday, Oct, 30 at 7 p.m. The Avengers will be shown on the big screen, and there will be free snow cone provided for those that wear Halloween costumes to the event.

Afterward, Mayor Hunt also reported that the annual Holiday Parade will take place on Dec. 5. at 6:30 p.m. Application are now available for those that wish to participate in the parade.