On Tuesday night, the Coppell City Council awarded a bid of $214,000 towards construction of the Nature Explore Classroom at the Biodiversity Education Center by the William H. Company.

The center is intended to be a space both for recreational use by the public and educational use for Coppell Independent School District schools. It will include several stations including balance games, areas with natural elements such as logs and a water manipulation station, as it is designed to be both accessible and interactive.

“This project will have a broad impact on the community, not just in the education programs we have [at the BEC] … we served nine out of 10 elementary schools last year, and I’d love to serve 100 percent,” Community Programs Coordinator of the BEC Molly Bujanda said.

The number of visitors from the public and CISD to the BEC has grown over the past four years, with 11,000 visitors in the past year. The Nature Explore Classroom would be open to visitors free of registration, offering BEC services in a more accessible manner.

“When the Biodiversity Center was started, there was no way I would’ve believed you if you told me there were 11,000 visitors last year, so that is a phenomenal number,” city councilman Wes Mays said. “I think this outdoor Nature Explore classroom is going to be a perfect addition to what we’ve already gotten started, so I’m really looking forward to seeing this project executed.”

Construction begins in May and is expected to be completed in 90 days.

The council also moved to approve an ordinance adding no-parking zones on some streets within the Eastlake neighborhood. Streets affected by the ordinance include Eastlake Drive and Rock Springs Road; parking is still allowed in the cul-de-sacs of the neighborhood.

Coppell finance director Jennifer Miller presented an amendment to add $339,740 to the Tyler Technologies agreement from Nov. 15, 2017 to accommodate for additional software. This software would allow data and aging of Coppell infrastructure to be viewed on dashboards. The amendment was approved by the council.

Coppell Arts Center director Alex Hargis brought forth a change order to add an owner’s contingency of $478,000 into the Guaranteed Maximum Price for the center. This was approved by the council.

The council also moved to approve a replacement of the outdoor pool deck at the CORE. The aging pool deck would be replaced with Carvestone, a durable material and slip-resistant and therefore suitable for a pool deck.

A Concept Site Plan for a gas station, hotel, retail, restaurant and office use on the corner of State Highway 121 was approved by the council as well.

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