Diaz sworn in as mayor

By BRITTANY FHOLER 
Cove Leader-Press 

Bradi Diaz took her oath of office during the city council workshop meeting Tuesday evening, becoming mayor of Copperas Cove for the second time. 
Diaz was previously mayor of Copperas Cove in 2004 and was the city’s youngest mayor and the first woman to hold the office. Diaz won the special election held last month with 61.75 percent of the vote. 
As the new mayor, Diaz oversaw the rest of the city council’s workshop and regular meeting, where council held four public hearings. 
The council held the first public hearing regarding amending sections of the FY 2018-2019 Budget, using fund balance to fund increases in expenditures, which requires two public hearings be held. The next public hearing will be held at the next council meeting on June 4. Budget amendments included revenue increases and decreases and expenditure decreases to several funds, including the General Fund, the Water and Sewer Fund, the Solid Waste Fund, the Drainage Fund, the Interest and Sinking (Debt Service) Fund, the Gold Course Fund, the Hotel Motel Fund, the City-Wide Donations Fund, the City-Wide Grants Fund, the Court Efficiency Fund, the Court Technology Fund, the Court Security Fund and Other Funds to include Parks Improvements Fund, Street Maintenance Fund, Revolving Loan Fund, PEG Fees Fund, Police State Seizure Fund, Law Enforcement Explorer Fun and Block Grant Fund. 
Council also held the second public hearing on adjusting the FY 2018-2019 Budget to allot $11,255 in Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) Fund to the Chamber of Commerce for this year’s Rabbit Fest. With no testimony during the public hearing, council unanimously approved the funding request.
The two other public hearings dealt with Manning Homes Inc. for Phase II of the Liberty Star Addition. One was a request to amend the Future Land Use Plan from HD (High Density Residential) to LD (Low Density Residential) and MD (Medium Density Residential), and the other was a rezoning request to change the zoning from R-3 (Multi-Family Residential District) to R-1 (Single Family Residential District) and R-2 (Two Family Residential District). City council approved both actions. 
Council members approved three new members to serve three-year terms and fill vacancies on the Library Advisory Board in positions 3, 4 and 7. Only three applications were received, so council members approved appointing each of the applicants- John Gallen, Margi Holt and Edmundo Munguia. 
They also appointed new members to the Quality of Life Advisory Board, filling Position 1 and Alternate Positions 1 and 3. From five applicants, council members selected Rachel Baker to fill Position 1, Jeremy Tate to fill Alternate Position 1 and Michael Watson to fill Alternate Position 3. 
City council approved a final plat for Persimmon Springs, Phase I, consisting of six blocks with 39 lots, along Ivy Gap Rd within the city’s ETJ.  
The city council also approved amending the city’s Fee Schedule, deleting fees from the Police and Fire Departments and revising Parks and Recreation fees, changing the cost for the youth tackle football program from $120 to $150. They also deleted fees for poolrooms, game rooms and a domino hall license and added new fees for a game room license of $350, a coin-operated machine occupation tax of $15.00 and a coin-operated machine sealing release fee of $5.00. 
Council members approved declaring personal property of the City as surplus property, authorizing the interim city manager to dispose of out of service fire department equipment which includes 31 coats, 44 pants, 31 helmets, 30 pairs of boots, 53 gloves and 25 flash hoods. 
Council members also discussed and provided direction on procedures for the acceptance of applications, nomination and selection of applicants and general provisions regarding members of advisory bodies and boards. The council advised Interim City Manager Ryan Haverlah to review with the city attorney the language that identifies ETJ eligible applicants, making sure the language is specific and consistent with the nominating and selecting process, adding an exception for the planning and zoning commission.