KCCB attends conference, receives $210,000 grant

By LYNETTE SOWELL

Cove Leader-Press 

On Tuesday evening, almost the entire board of Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful were at the Westin Hotel at the Riverwalk to pick up a very large check--$210,000, to be exact. 

Copperas Cove was one of 10 Texas communities that will divvy up $2 million as the 2017 Governor’s Community Achievement Award winners across the state. 

On Tuesday, representatives from the communities of Athens, Bastrop, Flower Mound, Fort Worth, Longview, McAllen, Muenster, Murphy and San Saba were also recognized. Keep Texas Beautiful has more than 390 affiliate communities, government agencies, businesses and civic groups in the state of Texas. 

Bob Kaufman, director of communications and customer service for the Texas Department of Transportation, was on hand to formerly congratulate representatives from each winning community. 

The funds KCCB has been awarded will be spent on landscaping beautification along TxDOT rights-of-way within the city of Copperas Cove. 

Although the majority of the board were there for Tuesday night’s banquet only, KCCB’s executive director Silvia Rhoads, along with KCCB’s board president Adam Wolf and vice president Annie Zehr were in San Antonio Monday through Wednesday as they attended Keep Texas Beautiful’s 50th annual conference.

Copperas Cove won in category 6, for cities with populations of 25,001-40,000. 2nd place in that category went to Little Elm, with 3rd place going to Burleson.

The awards recognize the most comprehensive grassroots environmental programs in the state and are awarded in 10 different categories, based on population. 

To win, KCCB submitted a portfolio which included a six-page narrative addressing seven areas: community leadership and coordination, education, public awareness, litter prevention and cleanup, litter law and illegal dumping enforcement, beautification and community improvement and solid waste management. KCCB along with a total of 500 volunteers served a total of 1,444.5 hours to help land the grant. The narrative was supplemented with photos documenting the community’s activities throughout 2016. After the narrative was submitted, it was judged by a panel of judges from across the state, and not residents of the same category. 

This is not the first time Copperas Cove won the award, with KCCB winning the GCAA in 2013. The $210,000 awarded to KCCB in 2013 has already been designated to fund the landscaped median on Business 190 from Constitution Avenue through Dewald Street and this year’s $210,000 will make up the difference to make the first section of median a reality. 

The project will be let out for bid by TxDOT in the future.

Originally, the city had tried to go forward with the project in early 2016. However, that section of the project was removed from a summer 2016 mill and inlay project, of which it was originally intended to be a part.

The city held several meetings during the summer of 2015 to get citizen and business owner input about the proposed median. City manager Andrea Gardner and various representatives from TxDOT, BSP and LAN Engineering fielded questions, gave answers, and received input and comments, along with concerns, about the 16-foot-wide proposed median and its accompanying four-foot-wide turnaround lanes at both ends.