First Coupland City election results

Thanks to Stewart Spencer at Coupland Times for his good round-up of yesterday's first-ever City of Coupland election.  Coupland has its first mayor, Jack Piper, who has done an incredible amount of research and discussion during the past few months, preparing for a new city organization.  He ran unopposed.  Also unopposed was Russell Schmidt, who becomes Coupland's first marshal.  Six candidates ran for the five alderman places, and Stewart has these results here.

http://www.couplandtimes.com/breaking-news-coupland-elects-its-first-city-council/

Texas Tribune publishes Trans-Texas Corridor recap

Aman Batheja of the Texas Tribune has written a recap of the Corridor fight and has described how its tolling component can affect Texas highways into the future.

http://www.texastribune.org/texas-transportation/trans-texas-corridor/tolling-texans-impact-trans-texas-corridor-lingers/

The accompanying photo was taken by Coupland resident Dawn Fischer of her daughter Libby and of Caleb Ging on the Ging farm--near ours.  The article quotes me and also Ralph Snyder, who with his wife Marcia, fought the Corridor in the Holland (Bell County) area.

Coupland news in Taylor Daily Press

The November column of Coupland news is in today's Taylor Daily Press.  It covers the incorporation election, cooking class, school and church news, and more.
http://www.taylordailypress.net/lifestyles/article_c774e6f2-3459-11e2-94f0-001a4bcf887a.html

Incorporation Committee co-chair Jack Piper shows a map of surrounding cities advancing toward Coupland at the Oct. 29 Coupland Civic Organization meeting.

 Buz Garry buys a new custom-designed Coupland tote bag from Fundraising chair Ruby Wabbel.

Master Chef Peter Wabbel teaches the Oct. 27 cooking class in the beautiful outdoor kitchen of Cole Barton.

Coupland votes to incorporate

Coupland voted to incorporate, with 96 for and 19 against.  This was a huge turnout, considering that there are approximately 200 residents (all residents--registered voters, non-voters, children) within the proposed Coupland city boundaries.  Incorporation Committee Co-Chair Jack Piper said, "Thank you to the citizens of Coupland who voted to maintain our identity as a peaceful, small community."

To paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, who said, "We've given you a Republic, if you can keep it," today's Coupland citizens say to their descendants, "We've given you a close-knit, rural, beautiful community, if you can keep it." 

Coupland votes on incorporation tomorrow, Nov. 6

Over the past two years, the Coupland Civic Organization presented a series of meetings on the expansion of surrounding cities toward Coupland.  To keep Coupland from  being taken over by another city, the Coupland Incorporation Committee was formed.  They raised money, hired a surveyor, and arranged for the issue of incorporating Coupland to be on the Nov. 6 ballot.  Co-chair Jack Piper said, "We have obtained large maps of the proposed city limits for Coupland and posted them at the depot. There are three black & white maps showing the different sections of the total 2 square miles, which are inside the dark black lines. There is a large color map, thanks to Tony Prete with Waeltz & Prete, Inc., (Civil Engineers), showing the entire 2 square miles with all boundaries, including the ETJ, clearly marked."

Other points  from the Incorporation Committee are:

• Only qualified voters of Williamson County who reside within the geographic area described in the Application to Incorporate shall be entitled to vote in the incorporation election.

• During the November 6 election there shall be one election precinct for the election. The polling place for such election shall be the Coupland School, 620 S. Commerce Street.

Jack also notes:  "Due to the recent redistricting, on November 6th, some people will be required to vote at their assigned voting location for the general election and vote at the Coupland School for the incorporation election."

"Your vote will help determine the future for our community. We are fortunate to have a choice at this time. Do we want to remain a small farming and ranching community with the ability to make decisions for our citizens? Do we want to abide by another entity’s policies? The choice is yours! The Coupland Incorporation Committee believes it is of the utmost importance that we maintain the right to decide for ourselves the appropriate path for Coupland! Vote YES on November 6!"

Jim Garry speaks to Coupland students

On the evening of February 11, storyteller Jim Garry presented a program to students and their families in the Coupland School gym. Carolyn Lowry, the school's information technology director, who organized the program, treated attendees to hot chocolate and s'mores, in keeping with the theme of tales told around the campfire.

Coupland resident on the Trans-Texas Corridor in New York Times

Caleb Ging and Libby Fischer with anti-Corridor cotton trailer. Photo by Libby's mother Dawn.


Even though the Trans-Texas Corridor has been officially removed from all Texas statutes, it still pops up in the news from time to time. It was the subject of a December New York Times article that quoted Coupland resident Scott Ging and included a photo of the cotton trailer with anti-Corridor signs that Scott placed on his family’s farm on Hwy. 95 in 2007. Back at that time, ACRE distributed a news release with photos to area newspapers and received some coverage.




The New York Times article says, “Unveiled by Mr. Perry in early 2002, the public-private transit project was intended as a centerpiece of his governorship . . . 4,000 miles of road, rail and utility corridors each as wide as four football fields. . . . Can you imagine a farmer sitting on his ranch thinking of a 1,200-foot-wide corridor hacked through the middle of it?”




The article continues, “Scott Ging sat on his century-old family ranch in Williamson County and thought about just that. He imagined the corridor splitting his land, with no crossings ‘and for no good reason.’”




Scott said, “Traffic is not that bad in Texas; if we have to wait 10 or 15 seconds to get on the highway, that’s a traffic jam. The idea that they would take our land and give it to somebody else to make a profit on it — I don’t know how Perry thought that would ever fly.”

Coupland Incorporation Committee will meet April 18

From Susan Schmidt on Coupland Incorporation Committee: The Coupland Incorporation Committee met on Monday, March 21, at the Coupland Depot. Thanks to Tony Prete of Waeltz & Prete, Inc., Civil Engineers, the committee studied the first draft of a map encompassing the two square miles of surface area. After much discussion, the map was revised to include more people who wish to be part of Coupland. This is probably the first of many revisions. Also discussed was the need to inform residents of the Coupland community about the advantages of becoming an incorporated entity as opposed to being a part of another city. This will be our next priority. Another meeting will be held on April 18, 7 p.m., Coupland Depot. We encourage anyone who is interested in this topic to attend.

Coupland news in Taylor Daily Press

The latest news from Coupland:

http://taylordailypress.net/lifestyles/article_98916dfa-4131-11e0-b6e8-001cc4c002e0.html

Coupland Incorporation Committee

First report from the new Coupland Incorporation Committee, from Susan Schmidt in the January Coupland Herald:

The Coupland Incorporation Committee met on Monday, November 29. Members of the committee attending the meeting were Becky Sutton, Jack Piper, Jim Huntington, Luther Draehn, Karen Marosko, Charley Keating, Carey Franklin, and Chair Susan Schmidt.

Many topics were discussed, with more questions than answers. The highest priority at this point is having the correct number of people needed for incorporation within the two-mile radius.

The next meeting, slated for January 10, is being rescheduled due to scheduling conflicts experienced by several committee members. Anyone wishing to join this committee is more than welcome. Please call Susan Schmidt at 856-2588 for the next meeting date.

Christmas in Coupland

The Coupland Civic Organization (CCO) thanks Coupland teacher George McAdams and Superintendent Gary Chandler for bringing the school’s flutophone group and the guitar class to perform at the CCO’s Christmas program on December 16. A standing-room-only audience of parents, grandparents, and other community members greatly enjoyed the music. Also, thanks to the CCO’s hospitality committee for the holiday refreshments.

The steeple and windows of St. Peter’s Church of Coupland are outlined with Christmas lights, and together with the lights on the Old Coupland Inn and some elaborate displays on homes, Coupland’s Christmas lights make a beautiful scene in the middle of the countryside.

St. Peter’s choir presented their Christmas Cantata on December 19. Additional St. Peter’s Christmas activities include the Christmas bags that the Sunday School children have made for the church members who are not able to be out and about. Also underway is the annual Angel Tree project to provide gifts for children in the community.

Christmas time in Coupland--a wonderful time of year! Merry Christmas!

More on solar farm in Coupland area

Update on the 600-acre, $240 million solar farm at the intersection of Manda-Carlson Road and Felder Lane, about 3-1/2 miles west/southwest of Coupland:

On September 15, the Blackland Prairie Concerned Citizens Association hosted a meeting at the New Sweden Parish Hall to get more info to area residents.
RRE Solar, formed late last year, is the company doing the project. A consultant for RRE Solar, Angelos Angelou of Angelou Economics, said that they have not yet chosen a construction company. He said that when a company is chosen, RRE will put the concerns of the surrounding residents in the contract. He noted that RRE has purchased right-of-way for a line to connect the solar farm to the nearby LCRA transmission line and thus to the ERCOT grid.

They hope to break ground here in November; construction should take 2-1/2 to 3 years.

Clay Fischer presented the findings of Zephyr Environmental. Zephyr did not find any endangered species on the site, although nearby residents said they have spotted whooping cranes on their properties. Cottonwood Creek and a tank are on the RRE site. Fischer said, “All plant work will happen outside of these areas. RRE and Zephyr have developed stormwater pollution prevention plans to stop erosion during construction and operation.”

Fischer claimed that there were no cultural resources on the site or within one mile of the project boundaries. However, residents pointed out that the Carlson Community historical marker is across the road from the project, at the intersection of Lund-Carlson Road and Manda-Carlson Road.

Daven Mehta, CEO of RRE, explained that the solar panels will be 6 to 7 feet high, fixed at a 30 degree angle. Unlike some solar panels, these will not move, and there will be no noise. The panels will be set back from the property boundaries. There will be two fences with a gravel road in between, the fencing will be 20 feet back from boundaries, and the panels will be 50-70 feet inside. The fence and panels will be screened from view by berms and plantings of trees and shrubs around the property.

When asked about lighting, Mehta said, “We don’t work at night and only need lights for security.” RRE is considering new type of lighting that mitigates the brightness reaching neighboring properties.

At the previous BPCCA meeting, some attendees thought that the solar farm was not the worst project that could be put on this property. It is a large parcel that was owned by out-of-state owners, and some neighboring property owners were concerned that it was being considered for high-density housing or an Austin landfill.

Some adjoining property owners at the September meeting disagreed with the above analysis and are unalterably opposed to the solar farm. Some neighbors were considering having their own environmental study done.

Coupland area to be site of largest solar farm in U.S.

When we envision hundreds of acres of solar panels, we may think of an unpopulated area that is not good farmland. We probably don’t envision hundreds of acres of solar panels covering up our valuable Blackland Prairie. However, the Blackland Prairie Concerned Citizens Association (BPCCA), at their June 14 meeting, heard from a group who plans to put a solar farm on 550-600 acres on the west side of Manda-Carlson Road at Felder Lane, about 3-1/2 miles west/southwest of Coupland.

Over 70 attendees filled the New Sweden Lutheran Parish Hall to hear the group describe what they called “the largest solar plant in this country . . . one of the largest in the world.”

Marilyn Samuelson, BPCCA Vice President, moderated the meeting about the “City of Pflugerville Solar Farm Energy Project,” a project of RRE Austin Solar. In attendance was Victor Gonzales, the mayor pro tem of Pflugerville--the site is in the Pflugerville ETJ. The site also is in the Elgin ISD (EISD), but an EISD representative did not come. A representative came from the office of Travis County Commissioner Ron Davis.

Angelou introduced the people from the companies that are behind RRE: NEPC India Ltd. (Chennai, India), and Power Tech Pvt. Ltd. (Jamnagar, India). Raj Kumar Khemka is Vice Chairman of NEPC India. He was accompanied by two directors, Mr. Mehta and one other.

Angelou explained that the $240 million project will be built over a period of 2-1/2 years. He said, “This is going to be the largest project in the state of Texas. At 60 megawatts, it will be the largest in the U.S. There will be four to five permanent employees, with three to four hundred during the construction phase.” Construction could begin in January, 2011. The solar farm will connect to the nearby LCRA electric transmission line.

Elgin ISD and the City of Pflugerville have approved the project and will give it tax benefits. RRE is expecting the support of Travis County in the near future. The project has a letter of support from the State of Texas and will receive federal incentives. Angelou said, “Governments have to incentivize or the project can’t happen.”

Mehta mentioned that the project also would benefit from the carbon tax credits that will go into effect if a cap-and-trade system passes the Congress.

The RRE presentation referred to approval from and benefits for Elgin schools and Pflugerville, although the project is several miles from Elgin schools and Pflugerville. The people who are actually next to the plant have no authority or recourse. However, some attendees, realizing that this large site is available for any type of project, think that a solar plant is not the worst project that could be placed here.

Hazardous Freight Rail Bypass through Eastern Central Texas

The CAMPO 2035 Draft Transportation Plan shows a Hazardous Materials Rail Bypass between FM 973 and Coupland. If you are in the Southeastern Williamson or Eastern Travis County area, please be aware of this proposal.

You can send comments to CAMPO about this bypass; the deadline is April 13.

There are many reasons that the proposed rail bypass is not a good idea. The rationale for the bypass is to free up the line through Austin for passenger rail. However, there is not enough demand for passenger rail between these cities, and there is not enough public transportation to move passengers around these cities if they arrive by train. There will not be enough passengers paying enough for tickets to support the service. Texas and local taxpayers will all be paying for the rail transportation of relatively few passengers.

Since there is no need for the passenger rail through Austin, there is no need for the proposed bypass through the SE Williamson/E Travis Co. area.

The bypass will cause the unnecessary destruction of all the natural and cultural resources that will need to be studied in the Environmental Impact Statement that will be required for this project. The land east of Austin is part of the Blackland Prairie that is ranked as some of the most valuable farmland in the world by authorities such as National Geographic. (September 2008, “Our Good Earth—The future rests on the soil beneath our feet—Can we save it?”) The map on page 92 shows the Blackland Prairie through Central Texas as “highly fertile” and “highly fertile at risk.”

The bypass will unnecessarily cause damage to the natural resources, such as farmland, streams, vegetation, and wildlife. The bypass also will damage the cultural resources of communities, historic sites, and residences.

If rail advocates are determined to build this unnecessary bypass, they should place it along SH 130. SH 130 already forms a corridor east of Austin and already has overpasses. Use SH 130 rather than tearing up more land and dividing communities.

To send in comments, please go to:
www.campotexas.org
At the top of the page, there are links to see the entire CAMPO plan and a link to the comment page.
The section is entitled “Public Comment Opportunity on the draft 2035 Plan.”
The deadline for comments is April 13 at 5 p.m.

Coupland area does NOT go for Perry in the primary

Here we are, past the primary, and Gov. 39% has become primary winner 51%. I hope that if his victory in the Republican primary leads to another term, Perry's "vision" of the Trans-Texas Corridor is too far gone for him to resurrect it, at least through the Highway 95/Coupland area. The Corridor is still in statute--TxDOT still has the authority to create it. But TTC-35, the route paralleling IH-35 from the Oklahoma border to the Mexican border, is no longer on the drawing board, since its Final Environmental Impact Statement ended with a finding of "no action" or "no build." If Perry decides to come back and pursue TTC-35, the environmental process will have to start over, with years of work and more millions of dollars.

At least, we can see that in the Coupland area, the two precincts around Coupland did not follow the state-wide voting trend. Pct. 433, including Coupland and east of Coupland voted:

Perry 37%
Hutchison 37%
Medina 26%

Pct. 413, beginning just west of Coupland, voted:

Perry 32%
Hutchison 35%
Medina 34%

(percentages rounded)

New Wilco Transportation Plan looks like it might leave Coupland, Blackland Prairie, alone for now

Williamson County hosted the Precinct 4 Open House to present its updated Transportation Plan yesterday in the Taylor Public Library. The Plan covers the next 25 years. After the presentations to the public, the Commissioners will vote on the plan in early May. If they approve the Plan, it will be submitted to the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization to be included in its 2035 plan.

The maps displayed at the Open House projected that growth and congestion in Williamson County will occur in the cities along IH-35 and west, and somewhat in Hutto. Less growth is projected for the communities along Hwy. 95—Granger, Taylor, and Coupland. The growth that is expected for Taylor is projected for the northwest in the area of the Loop. With less population growth expected for Coupland, no new road projects were proposed for our area.

Johnny Sanford, Taylor School trustee, thinks that if any major road work occurs in the Coupland area for the next several years, it would likely be widening Hwy. 95 from two to four lanes. Adding capacity from this type of project that stays on existing ROW would certainly be preferable to paving over more of our Blackland Prairie.

To see some of the Transportation Plan material, go to roadbond.org. Click on Transportation Plan Update at the top left. The public can email comments on the Plan to roads@wilco.org or call 512-943-1195.

Freight rail has to stay on Austin line to serve quarries, Ben Wear notices

Ben Wear had an interesting column in the Statesman several days ago--at least interesting to those of us who hope that moving freight rail from the Union Pacific line through Austin will NOT destroy the Coupland community. His column explains why it might be harder than the "powers that be" have let on to remove the UP freight traffic. Compliments to Ben for noticing and analyzing this, and I wonder why the activists in the movement to run commuter rail from Georgetown to San Antonio have not mentioned it.


http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/02/23/0223wear.html

Quarries present quandary for commuter rail push

A half-dozen quarries line the Union Pacific track in Round Rock-San Antonio corridor, making it problematic to move freight traffic to a new line east of Austin.

Ben describes the "quarries out west of the interstate. First, one just south of Buda. Then a large one by the community of Hunter, between San Marcos and New Braunfels. I saw two more before I got to Loop 1604 north of San Antonio.

". . . They hug the east edge of the Hill Country, just as I-35 does. And just as does Union Pacific's rail line, the one that cuts through Austin and San Marcos.

"Moving Union Pacific's freight traffic off to some new track miles to the east [eastern Williamson County], something that Central Texas civic leaders have pursued fruitlessly for years, may be more complicated than I had been led to believe. Because all those quarries, plus Austin White Lime in Northwest Austin and an enormous quarry operation north of Round Rock send their rock off to market on that Union Pacific track.

". . . Without finding a way to move all or almost all of those freight trains to some alternate track in the Taylor-Elgin-Bastrop corridor [possibly through downtown Coupland], the grandly named, if ill-financed, Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District is just spinning its notional wheels.

"Asking them to truck all that rock 20 miles east to a new line would make little sense. . . .

". . . The Round Rock-San Antonio corridor was already going to have to compete with other parts of the state for what might be $1 billion to $2 billion, and a state study last year showed that relocating Union Pacific would cost between $883 million and $2.4 billion. [This is the Central Texas Rail Relocation Study that showed either a new line going from Taylor to San Antonio or expanding the existing line through Coupland.]

"No one has yet identified other funding sufficient to move Union Pacific, much less the additional $600 million or more to get the passenger trains up and running. . . . The Austin-San Antonio commuter line may eventually be the little train that could. But it may have to navigate around a bunch of limestone to get there. "

January Coupland Herald is out!

The Coupland Civic Organization January Herald newsletter is ready to hit the stands. If you would like to receive this print newsletter with news of the Coupland area, please send your email address to susan_garry@hotmail.com, and I will send you the pdf.

Coupland grain elevator tower--now you don't.

This photo is too dark to tell. I'll try to get a lighter one. The sunrise is still pretty.

Trust me, the tower is gone.

Coupland grain elevator tower--now you see it . . .

For many decades, the tower of the grain elevator along the railroad tracks graced the Coupland skyline.

Seen at sunrise, the tower is the triangular structure to the left of St. Peter's Church.

The elevators were recently torn down.