Copperas Cove city council directs staff to look into cost of decorating city facilities, light poles along Business190 for Christmas season

By BRITTANY FHOLER
Cove Leader-Press

Every year, as the Christmas season begins and residents begin to decorate their own homes, without fail, someone comments on social media about the lack of Christmas cheer in Copperas Cove, or more specifically, the lack of light and decorations along Business 190 through town. 
City council members were presented with a pricing list and asked for direction on whether to pursue Christmas lights and wreaths to decorate various city facilities during the City Council Retreat held Friday at Texas A&M University-Central Texas. 
Public Relations Director Kevin Keller explained the history behind the city’s displays and how it had dwindled over the years. He also mentioned the numerous complaints the city receives from residents each year, starting after Thanksgiving, about the lack of decorations. 
He and Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful Executive Director Roxanne Flores-Achmad began looking into lights and decorations, he said. Flores-Achmad was involved in the process when the city of Killeen purchased lights and decorations several years ago, and she still has a contact with Arnett Marketing, out of San Antonio. They met last week and toured the main public facilities and measured the linear feet of each facility, Keller said. 
“The concept is that we purchase lights and wreaths, and some garland for these facilities for the Christmas season,” Keller said. 
The estimate provided to the council members showed a total estimated cost of $37,000, which would be for the purchase of the lights, wreaths, garland and bows only for the city’s 15 facilities, not including the installation costs that would come with this. 
The facilities on the list to be decorated with lights and wreaths include the Technology Building, the Library, the Central Fire Station, the Municipal Court, the Utility Administration Building, Solid Waste, Fire Station #2, Fire Station #3, Public Works/Animal Shelter and the Police Station. The Civic Center and City Hall would be decorated with lights, garland and bows; while the Hills of Cove Golf Course, the City Cemetery and City Park would be decorated with wreaths only. The most expensive facility in terms of decorations is the Police Station at $5,700, with the library coming in second at $5,500, according to the list. 
“The things to consider are installation, putting these lights up every year at all these facilities, taking them down every year, and then storing them, so there’s certainly more consideration in the $37,000 for the purchase of them,” Keller said. 
Keller said that city staff are looking into other options for this as well and cited the Civic Center, which is decorated for Krist Kindl Markt by Window Genie, which is paid for by the Chamber of Commerce. 
Consensus from council members was to continue looking into the costs associated with this and to look into what it would take to decorate the poles along Bus. 190 again. Those poles are currently the responsibility of TxDOT, and the city would need to obtain permission to decorate them, according to City Manager Ryan Haverlah.  
Longtime residents remember when the city had different Christmas light shapes attached to the light/utility poles on the sides of the highway. After the light fixtures broke, the city did not replace them, and the poles have remained bare. 
From 2010 until 2015, the city continued to put the city’s Christmas Tree and light figures up where the current Technology Building is now located. Eventually, the tree and the light figures were installed at City Park, and in recent years, the Copperas Cove Chamber of Commerce has tried reviving the Christmas cheer by contracting with outside companies to expand the light displays to the City Park for Krist Kindl Markt, but complaints have still arisen due to the location.