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Boy Scout Troop 200 member Declan Davenport speaks to the Kempner City Council on Tuesday about his upcoming Eagle Scout project – the installation of concrete cornhole game boards in Sylvia Tucker Memorial Park. DAVID LOWE | DISPATCH RECORD -
Recently elected Place I City Councilman Norm Parker signs paperwork Tuesday after taking the oath of office. DAVID LOWE | DISPATCH RECORD -
Mayor Dr. Keith Harvey, left, administers the oath of office on Tuesday to new Place II City Councilman Jared Jones. With Jones are his wife, Ashley; his daughter, Victoria; and his son, Jackson. DAVID LOWE | DISPATCH RECORD
With the recently elected members Jared Jones and Norm Parker sworn into office, the Kempner City Council voted Tuesday to buy four military-grade, anti-microbial computers and related items for the police department.
The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act will reimburse the city for the entire $29,780 expense, according to Mayor Dr. Keith Harvey and Kathy O’Connor, regional sales manager for Peacemaker Technologies in New Braunfels.
The total cost includes four tablet computers, software, printers, invehicle computer mounting equipment and a three-year warranty, plus delivery and installation of the computer systems.
The vote to approve the purchase was 4-0, with Councilman John Wilkerson absent from the meeting.
Kempner has been allotted about $65,000 through the CARES Act, and funding is available for the purchase of the computer systems, O’Connor said.
“We have until Nov. 13 to spend it,” she said. “Otherwise, you lose it, and it goes back to the U.S. Treasury Department.”
Support ended for the Windows 7 operating system, and O’Connor said old computers cannot run police software on the newer Windows 10 operating system – which she said law enforcement agencies must use for government compliance purposes.
Harvey said if the City Council declined to use the CARES Act funding, Kempner would have to pay in full for replacement computers.
The replacement of old police computers could be required within about six months, Mayor Pro Tem Mack Ruszkiewicz said. Ruszkiewicz said based on his research, Peacemaker’s price is reasonable.
Jones asked if there will be additional software to purchase after Peacemaker finishes its installation. O’Connor said there will not be more software to acquire through Peacemaker, but she said recording systems are a separate expense for the city.
Commenting about CARES Act funding Kempner already has received, Harvey said he also is researching relief options for businesses affected by COVID-19.
In another item, the City Council voted 4-0 to approve Boy Scout Troop 200 member Declan Davenport’s proposed Eagle Scout project – the installation of two concrete boards for playing the cornhole bean bag toss game in Sylvia Tucker Memorial Park.
Davenport is raising money for the project.
Davenport said Troop 200 has a long history of Eagle Scout projects in Lampasas, but he wants to do something for his home community of Kempner.
Sylvia Tucker Memorial Park has many great amenities for children and spectating parents, Davenport said, but he added that he wants to create a recreational area oriented toward teenagers and adults.
Harvey and Ruszkiewicz said the cornhole stations sound like good additions to the park – which Harvey said “is always loaded with families.”
Jones asked Davenport what it would mean to him to earn the Eagle Scout rank.
Davenport said “the credential of Eagle Scout is immeasurably beneficial to anybody who receives it at any point in their life.” He said after spending basically his whole life in Scouting, “it means a lot to me to finally be here – you know, it’s been a long time coming.”
Davenport thanked the council for letting him present his proposed Eagle Scout project.
During the meeting’s publiccomment time, Harvey read a letter from Kempner Family Church Pastor Brian Parker – son of Norm Parker and former City Councilwoman Betty Parker.
Brian Parker invited the council and other Kempner residents to attend a prayer rally Nov. 22 in Sylvia Tucker Memorial Park. Free hot dogs and snacks will be offered at 5 p.m., the prayer rally will begin at 6 p.m., and a movie is scheduled at 7 p.m. The event is set to end at 9 p.m.
Materials promoting the event invite participants to “pray the light of Christ into the city this holiday season.”
The City Council will meet only once in November and once in December because of Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, Harvey said. The council’s next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall, 12288 East U.S. Highway 190.