Council to meet, call for special election

By LYNETTE SOWELL 
Cove Leader-Press 

The Copperas Cove city council is planning to call for a special election to fill the position of mayor after the passing of Frank Seffrood on Dec. 28.
At tonight’s city council meeting, the council will be setting the date for the special election. According to the city charter, an election to fil a vacancy for an unexpired term must take place within 120 days of the vacancy occurring. The recommended day by city staff, in conjunction with the city attorney, the Texas Secretary of State’s office, and the Coryell County election administrator, is Saturday, April 27, with a proposed early voting time of April 10-23. The cost estimate for the election is $7,400.80. 
Along with calling for a special election, the council will appoint a mayor pro tem for the year. Place 3 councilman Dan Yancey served as mayor pro tem for 2018.
Also tonight, the council will receive a report from Keith Sledd, executive director of the Heart of Texas Defense Alliance, on HOTDA’s quarterly activities and actions. The council will take action on approving a payment of up to $4,250 for its services.  
The council will make several appointments this evening, to include the mayor pro tem appointing an Emergency Management Coordinator and a Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator for the city, as well as appointing city representative and alternate to the Transportation Planning Policy Board for the Killeen Temple Metropolitan Planning Organization. 
For the upcoming Oak Hill Drive project, the council will take action on a bid from B-Corp Utilities, Inc. in the amount of $135,886.61. Thus far, $54,175 has also been spent on engineering services for that project.
Several ordinances are on the agenda evening, one to amend the city code regarding meter removal chares, reconnection fees, and miscellaneous charges; another to establish the city’s population number as of Jan. 1 of this year; and an amendment to the city’s Personnel Improvement Plan for fiscal year 2019-2023 and the position listing for fiscal year 2018-19. 
The first ordinance will make way for preventing disconnection of delinquent water accounts on a Friday, with language that states “if payment is not received by 7:30 a.m. on the next working date after the expiration of twenty-five (25) days on the delinquency date, which is hereby fixed at twenty-five (25) days after the date shown on the utility service billing or otherwise shown on the delinquency date on the billing, water service is subject to disconnection except if such day occurs on a Friday or the day before a City holiday, in which case the service is subject to disconnection on the next business day, and an additional charge is assessed over the usage charges for such delinquency, whether or not service is actually disconnected.” 
The proposed official population as of Jan. 1 of this year is 34,787, based on a formula which takes into account the average size of households as considered by the 2010 census, multiplied by the number of new single-family and duplex building permits issued during 2018. 
The third ordinance will create three more positions for the city’s Utility Administration services, that of one more customer service representative and two more meter reader/service technicians, along with reclassifying a position in the Water Distribution department to a SCADA technician due to increasing digitization of equipment. The other change in the personnel plans and positions increases the pay scale for Library Supervisor and Utility Administration Supervisor positions to keep those consistent with other city departments. 
Tonight’s meeting starts at 6 p.m., with a 5 p.m. workshop preceding it during which the city’s public works director will present an update to the city’s wastewater master plan to the council. 
Both the workshop and the meeting will take place in the city council chambers at the Technology Center, located at 508 S. 2nd St.