Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The Coppell City Council met in Regular Session on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, beginning at 7:31 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Center, following a closed Executive Session (5:30 p.m.) and an open Work Session (6:07 p.m.). Mayor Wes Mays presided. All seven council members were present (Jim Walker, Brianna Hinojosa-Smith, Don Carroll, Kevin Nevels, Ramesh Premkumar, Biju Mathew), with Councilmember Mark Hill absent. Key actions included approving a demolition contract for a substandard property at 631 Stratford Lane, awarding a $115,000 Smart Cities Master Plan contract, and removing an inactive member from the Smart City Board.
Three neighboring residents from Stratford Lane addressed the council in strong support of the city-initiated demolition of 631 Stratford Lane (Agenda Item 8.F):
Items A through E were approved unanimously on a single motion (7-0).
Assistant Director Luay Rahil presented a detailed case history. The property was damaged in the 2021 winter storm, fell into severe disrepair, and became a long-term code enforcement case. The Building and Standards Commission (BSC) issued a final order for demolition in February 2026. The original contract amount in the agenda was listed as $63,760, but staff revised the contract to $58,128. City Attorney David Berman confirmed the owner had not appealed the BSC order and that it was final. A motion by Councilmember Premkumar to postpone the decision to June 9, 2026, failed for lack of a second. A motion by Councilmember Biju Mathew to amend the main motion for a 30-day extension was withdrawn after council conferred with the City Attorney in Executive Session (8:28-8:35 PM), who clarified that the council lacked the authority to delay the final order. Councilmember Walker argued the council owed a fiduciary duty to the neighbors and the community to proceed. Councilmember Nevels voiced empathy for the owner’s initial hardship but stated the timeline had passed. Key Outcome: A motion by Councilmember Nevels, seconded by Councilmember Carroll, to approve the demolition contract for $58,128 passed by a unanimous vote (7-0). Staff indicated they will file a lien against the property to recover costs and remain willing to work with the owner if a binding agreement with strict milestones is signed.
Director of Enterprise Solutions Josh Littrell presented the proposal for a $115,000 Smart Cities Master Plan consultant contract, intended to create a strategic roadmap aligned with the city’s Vision 2040. Key Outcome: The motion to approve the contract passed by a vote of 4-2.
City Secretary Lauren Thoden reported that Alternate Member Lynn Jenkins had not attended any meetings in the past year, and all contact attempts were unsuccessful. Key Outcome: A motion by Councilmember Premkumar, seconded by Councilmember Nevels, to remove Lynn Jenkins from the Smart City Board passed unanimously (7-0). The position will be considered during the upcoming Boards and Commissions recruitment cycle.
Howdy everybody today is Tuesday, May 26, 2026, and the time is 5 31 p.m. We're here for the regular session of the COPL City Council. We do have a quorum present, so I'm calling the meeting to order. We will be convening into executive session in the first floor conference room. At the end of the executive session, I will come out and announce work session at which time the public is invited and encouraged to join us. Thank you very much. Good afternoon, everybody. The time is 6.02 p.m. We have recessed from executive session, and we'll enter into work session in the first floor conference room. The public is invited and encouraged to join us. Thank you. We've got uh four items. The first one is discussion regarding the agenda itself. Uh we are gonna move item F on consent to the regular session. So we're gonna pull that one. There was a change in the price of the demolition for that item as well. Um and whoever makes a motion on that will need to know that number. It happens to be 58,128. Well, that's cheaper. Yes, it is. Don't need to write that down for something. That's a veritable part. You better, yeah. Any other comments on agenda. Seeing none, we will move on. This is uh item B is a discussion regarding council committee appointments, Ms. So I need to preface this before she gets up here. You guys sit on, and I apologize. I was not clear with Lauren. I needed everyone to give me a one through four on your ratings, and she just asked for four selections. So it actually worked out okay this time. Um there were a couple of you that asked for uh visits or ability to see other groups. You anyone is welcome to go to any of these meetings. And uh for example, Metro Crest, that they would welcome to have the entire council there every time. Um and even our representative doesn't actually vote, so it's a that's a courtesy position, but you are more than welcome. I believe Bijou, you said something about going to the senior center. If I had put you on that one, it would have thrown the whole thing up, but you are more than welcome to attend the senior citizens' luncheons on Thursday on Wednesdays. I go over now then. So you know, please don't think that just because you're not appointed to the committee that you can't attend, to be clear. One tomorrow. So come on over. And I think Don had a similar request for one. I don't remember what it was at this point, but I did what? You had a you had a request to to be participate in one of the committees. Maybe it was COG. I think that's what it was. Well,