COPPERAS COVE â City officials and volunteers gathered Tuesday to celebrate completion of the $149,897 shade canopy project that installed weather protective coverings at five different locations, including the small and large playgrounds at Copperas Cove City Park.
City Manager Ryan Haverlah and City Council Member Fred Chavez joined Parks and Recreation Director Jeff Stoddard and members of the cityâs Quality of Life Advisory Board to unveil the new coverings, designed to provide protection from the elements year-round.
Board member Susan Dick said she is excited about completion of the long-awaited project paid for with funds from the cityâs capital improvements budget.
As a result of the effects of Winter Storm Uri from Feb. 14-20, the city of Copperas Cove has nixed plumbing permit fees for plumbing repairs such as a broken water pipe.
In Tuesdayâs meeting, the Copperas Cove City Council will discuss and provide direction to City Manager Ryan Haverlah on actions related to plumbing repairs and billed water usage as a result of impacts from the winter storm.
The agenda for the meeting has been published on the cityâs website.
For this item, the city said, âA question has arisen in some discussions: What is the City of Copperas Cove going to do to help its residents as a result of the storm impacts?â
COPPERAS COVE â There was a steady flow of cars going through Copperas Cove High Schoolâs parking lot near the cafeteria Saturday as more than 500 area residents received their first dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.
Copperas Cove Deputy Fire Chief and Emergency Management Coordinator, Gary Young, said the city received a total of 564 registrants in the vaccine event.
Of those who received the vaccine Saturday was 55-year-old Copperas Cove ISD employee Barb Bednar.
âI checked my email 10 minutes before appointments opened up,â Bednar said. In her email she saw the notice about the drive-thru vaccination clinic.
Appointment registration opened on Tuesday, and all slots had been filled within an hour.
Copperas Coveâs population could skyrocket to near 50,000 within the next five to seven years, according to Development Service Director Bobby Lewis.
City Manager Ryan Haverlah briefed Lewis estimations to members of the Morning Exchange Club at Lil Tex Restaurant on Jan. 6.
If Lewis estimation holds true, the next five- to seven-year growth would indicate an increase of 33% over the current population figure.
âIn five to seven years, thatâs pretty quick for Copperas Cove,â Haverlah said. âThat may not be quick for other areas, but for Copperas Cove, that is very quick, considering that for the last 20 years, we have grown at 1% or just over 1% each year.â
The Copperas Cove Independent School District board of trustees approved the districtâs request to locally extend its emergency paid sick leave for coronavirus-related concerns.
In the most recent stimulus bill signed by the president, the United States Congress declined to extend the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which required certain employers to provide two weeks of paid sick leave to employees for coronavirus-related circumstances.
Covered private employers can receive the same tax credit for the paid leave if they voluntarily provide it between Jan. 1 and March 31, according to the National Law Review.
âWe do expect that once the new president is inaugurated, that extension may come back into play and get extended,â said Superintendent Joe Burns. â. We want to make sure that we treat every employee fairly, and so, we want to go back and say that we could continue to extend those 10 days of paid leave for staff who have the same kind of conditio