IT'S THE FREAKIN' APOCALYPSE, Y'ALL!!!

Here we go, Copperas Cove!!

Tuesday night will be a big evening for the city and its residents. Many will not know nor care until it is too late. 

Fall-o-Ween festival?

Buh-bye.

Christmas Extravaganza?

Buh-Bye.

Farmer’s market in City Park?

Buh-Bye.

Polar Bear Plunge?

Buh-Bye (after about 15 years!).

Food Truck Fetsival?

Buh-Bye.

All of the above will go away as we know them, Copperas Cove. 

If we’re lucky, durn lucky, we might see a shade of what these events used to be. Safe Trick or Treat, Christmas Extravaganza, and Polar Bear Plunge all existed before the city took on tourism with its 2016-2017 budget. They were very small, but were something.

Come Tuesday night, it looks as though the Copperas Cove city council will make all those go away when it will (LIKELY) designate the Copperas Cove Chamber of Commerce as being the “official” visitors bureau of the city.

The council will also let one full-time worker, the tourism director, know they don’t want her to have that job anymore. Who knows what she’ll be doing in the city, or if the job will be the same wage/salary as she has now. Maybe she can drive a truck for Solid Waste, but who knows????

If they approve that ordinance, they will ALSO approve GIVING the Copperas Cove Chamber of Commerce funding for ALL THEIR EVENTS and MONEY TO HELP RUN THEIR OFFICE AND PAY SALARIES.

Instead of events for our community, more events than the chamber used to “give” us.

All, for the sacred bunny and the Copperas Cove Chamber of Commerce.

Curmudgeon does not need to refer the reader to the wildly humorous and histrionic grandstanding of Copperas Cvoe city councilman Charlie Youngs, who from the dais made it very clear on Tuesday evening how he feels and how he is using his position to essentially say “UP YOURS” to five individuals – former City Manager Andrea Gardner AKA “Darth Vader” – Charlie’s moniker for her; and four Copperas Cove city councilmen – George Duncan, David Morris, James Pierce Jr, and Matthew Russell, whom Charlie also claimed “DESTROYED” our city and also “DESTROYED THE CHAMBER” ----- Um, what about the chamber was destroyed, Charlie?? – and “DESTROYED THE EDC” – maybe I’ll talk about that another time.

What  so HORRIBLE has happened to the chamber other than them NOT getting big fat checks from the city to help run their office and bring a handful of running and a couple bicycle races to the town,

and one large festival in dire need of revamping, and an open air Christmas market with plenty of plastic toys for kids and plenty of vendor things we can find anywhere else?

When will the voters of Copperas Cove get tired of Charlie? 

One more year, y’all, one more year, and his position will be up for election. 

Who knows what nonsense he will be able to do in the next year??

The four horsemen simply asked the chamber to be ACCOUNTABLE like EVERYONE ELSE getting hotel occupancy tax funding to provide receipts for what they used those funds. And a former president couldn’t do that. 

Not until she quit the job, they brought in a new president who conducted an extensive audit --- as required not only by the council BUT required by the chamber’s own bylaws when a president leaves.

Nothing “bad” was found but it was an interesting sight to see, I’m sure, what they spend their dollars on.

Here again is what the city wants to use the funding for:

Fall-O-Ween - $11,805

Tree Lighting - $12,550

Polar Bear Plunge - $8,325

Farmer's Market - $3,400

Food Truck Festival - $19,225

City of Copperas Cove Visitors Bureau - $75,147 to fund the CVB itself to include 1 fulltime staff person to run the office and plan events, 1 part time person for event setup etc.; advertising the city and what it has to offer; and publishing a quarterly recreation and activities guide.

Here is what the Copperas Cove Chamber of Copperas Cove wants to use the funding for:

Krist Kindl Markt -  $17,400

Jack Rabbit Run - $1,417   - Running event

Rabbit Fest - $18,375

Summer Run to Fun - $1,962  - Running event

Gallop or Trot - $1,499 – Running event

Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau operations, etc.  - $106,695

Staff – 2 full time, 1 contract worker. Also for advertising the city and what it has to offer. A tourism guide. 

Remember, dear readers, the chamber is a PRIVATE, DUES-PAYING organization.

It is a MEMBERS-ONLY CLUB.

There is nothing wrong with a members-only club.

But we are on the brink of going back to the same-old, same-old.

What’s the solution, council?? More on that in a moment.

OH, AND LET’S NOT FORGET A MUCH SMALLER THIRD PARTY –

The Five Hills Art Guild. They have requested $16,000 of hotel occupancy tax funds for their festival. Have you been, dear readers? The vendors at that fest pretty much blow away the vendors at Rabbit Fest. No commercial “vendors” as such. AND – somehow that group is able to put on a two-day festival run by VOLUNTEERS.

What will they do if the council does not give them the tiny slice of the pie they have requested?

Charlie Youngs is a hateful bitter man who is using his position to be vengeful and vindictive.

He’s a bully, and NO ONE has had the courage to tell him to shut his pie hole.

He’s like the creepy uncle who comes around at Christmas and makes people uncomfortable and says things that make the rest of the family cringe, but NO ONE says anything because they don’t want to “cause drama.”

Cause some drama, council. Why let him be a bully and act as he has? Call his behavior out on the dais, as he is conducting himself in a boorish manner. 

I've heard it said that my posts are "EMBARASSING" to the city. Well, Charlie Youngs is a HUGE EMBARASSMENT and is continuing to use his position for a special-interest group.

Chambers of Commerce historically help BENEFIT businesses in a city - um, their MEMBER businesses, that is.

 It is clear that both Charlie Youngs and councilman Jay Manning want the chamber to handle all  the tourism for the city. Jay Manning said he was ready to vote too, but wanted to let the presentations be made after hearing back from the Texas Hotel Lodging Association.

So, what would Curmudgeon do, if Curmudgeon had a seat on the dais and a vote? 

Fund the city events.
(But Don’t let the city pay for a recreation guide with hotel occupancy tax funds).

Fund the chamber for Rabbit Fest and Krist Kindl Markt. Don’t pass out, dear readers. At least give them something for their festivals and a chance to prove people wrong and make them better.

Fund the art guild festival.

And that’s it. It’s late and I have not crunched the numbers to see if it works and doesn’t dip into the HOT fund balance.

Has anyone checked to see how many of the seated council members own or work for businesses that are MEMBERS OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE?

Of COURSE you will vote for your own organization!

Joann Courtland AKA Dark Horse. Operation Stand Down Central Texas – chamber member.

Fred Chavez. Longtime chamber sympathizer. Unsure of his chamber affiliation.

Dapper Dan Yancey – First National Bank VP. Chamber member.

Jay Heartburn Manning – Manning Homes. Chamber member.

Kirby Reverend Lack – Minister and yes, chamber member – I believe.  

Marky-E-Marc Payne – unsure of his chamber affiliation.

Sorry-Charlie Youngs – chamber’s biggest fan. 'Nuff said  Sure hope former councilman Marty Smith is proudof his behavior.

Should the majority of the seated council recuse themselves???? Their own organization will benefit financially from the council’s action to approve funding. But it happens all the time, y’all.

The Copperas Cove city council would do well to remember that there at least 200 city employees and Curmudgeon would venture to think that they are ALL registered voters. It’s not a union, but they can share their voice with their votes.