deMeet the City

By LYNETTE SOWELL

 

The City of Copperas Cove marked its 136th birthday on Wednesday, and the city welcomed all to attend the annual State of the City address at Cinergy Cinemas in the morning, followed by the annual “Meet the City” event at the civic center in the afternoon. City Manager Andrea Gardner gave the address, punctuated by narrative from Joe Lombardi. The multimedia event involved video and Powerpoint presentations. Some of the facts Gardner shared in her address included numbers of Cove’s population growth, with the city’s current population of 33,225 increasing from the year 2000’s number of 29,592. During the last year, the city has had 76 new businesses open and has annexed 286 acres. Additionally, the city’s AA bond rating of 2014 is up from the A- it had in 2003. Currently the city employs 269, and last year hired a new director of human resources, Roy Davis, along with a new fire chief, Michael Neujahr. She talked about strides and changes in de5Apartments, such as in Animal Control, which has had more animal adoptions and fewer impounds in the last year than in previous years. Also, the city-sponsored twice-a-year cleanups as well as the single stream recycling programs were lauded, and that the recycling program is absorbing the costs in order to not raise rates for solid waste customers. Gardner also spoke of the economic development corporation’s work to finish The Narrows, planned and developed for light industry and manufacturing businesses. In her presentation, she recognized the challenges the city faces, with a call to action for everyone. “We must all work together for the common good and continue moving our city forward,” Gardner said. At the conclusion of the presentation, Mayor John Hull was recognized and given a framed certificate and photo in commemoration of his more than four decades of service to the city and county, from his time as Coryell County judge, Coryell County commissioner, Copperas Cove school board member, as well as mayor. Hull’s high school sweetheart and wife of 62 years, Shirley, was presented with a bouquet. The mayor was visibly touched when a proclamation was read by mayor pro tem Mark Peterson, designating Wednesday, March 25, 2015, as John Hull day. “I don’t know what to say, and I’ve never been bashful about words,” the 82-year-old said after he was given the microphone. “I just want to thank the people of Copperas Cove. It’s been a great life. It’s not like being in Antelope, Texas, anyway. They were talking last night, ‘Don’t forget the people that actually made Fort Hood.’ Well, there’s plenty of us still around that helped make Fort Hood when they purchased our land for $13.55 an acre. But that’s neither here nor there. There’s a lot of people I’d like to thank for the fine life I’ve had in Copperas Cove, and I couldn’t ask for a finer bunch of people to serve.” After the state of the city address concluded, focus shifted to the civic center in the afternoon, where every city department had an interactive booth set up, with goodies and prizes galore. Held from 3:00 until 5 p.m., the event featured opportunities for learning about the city’s departments, from fitting the city’s “budget” items in a box at the Budget Department booth, to the Police Department booth, where kids could work a mock crime scene, glean clues, and then sketch a picture of the suspect to win a prize. Every so often, numbers were drawn for free door prizes donated by local restaurants and businesses. CCISD held a three-level game of “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader” with prizes at each level. The library gave everyone a chance to “fish” for a prize, ranging from erasers to pencils. Snacks abounded, from the Copperas Cove Economic Development Corporation staff handing out free hotdogs, to another department giving away cotton candy, and the city manager giving away chips to go with the hotdogs. The Finance Department gave away plastic diffuser bottles for correctly matching expenditure prices to the item, from a police car to a repair project at one of the water tanks. Sparky the fire dog, McGruff the Crimestoppers Dog, and Eddie the Eagle were on hand to entertain the kids, along with a roving motorized tiny fire truck that “talked” to people. Trisha Boardman played the budget in a box game and came away successful. “I heard about this in the Morning Exchange Club,” she said. Boardman attended the event with her mother and her aunt. “I like to keep informed about what our city’s doing and what the different departments do.” Seven year old Colten Huddleston attended with his mother and grandmother, and he enjoyed participating in the various activities. Huddleston’s mother said this isn’t the first time their family has attended Meet the City. “I found out about it on Facebook a few years ago, and I make it a point to put it on my calendar every year it comes around.” The free event is designed for residents to get acquainted with the different city departments and become more aware of how the community works.