Voters need to get correct information
Editor;
As Mayor of Laguna Vista, I was pleased at the participation and turnout at the Laguna Vista Candidate's Forum. At the meeting, however, one of the proponents for the Laguna Vista tax rollback made available with a pamphlet his take on our current Laguna Vista property tax situation and budget. Simply said, it is full of misinformation, items taken out of context and straight forward ignorance of the facts. As with most single-minded agendas, the rollback-proponent never bothered to research the facts. He never sat with those who put together the budget to see how numbers were arrived at. But then why would he? He was not looking for the truth - he simply has a school yard beef with the City.
I will ignore some of the more trivial and petty inaccuracies he presented, and concentrate on clearing up some of the more damaging misinformation.
He harps on the somewhat controversial purchase of the two lots across the street from City Hall. He states that the Cameron County Appraisal District valued it at $53,750 and that we bought it for $180,000. Yes, that is true. However, CCAD appraisals are based on comparables - or what similar land has sold for. The problem here is that there has been no commercial lots on 510 sold for a decade. So the appraisal value is extremely outdated. State law dictates that a municipality is required to use what is called "fair market value" or what one would receive if selling on the real estate market. And again, the same issue applies. No commercial lots have been sold in Laguna Vista for over a decade. And here we were, with the opportunity to buy two commercially-zoned, mainstreet-front lots for $90,000 each. This would ensure room to grow and we could always sell the land if necessary for a profit. As any businessman knows, land is an INVESTMENT, not a cost. Despite the difficulty with the appraisal process, we had Century 21 Real Estate provide us a Opinion of Value for those lots and they valued the land at $200,000 - more than we paid. He just wanted to cause shock and awe. Nice try!
The argument went on to say that we could have used the $180,000 to supplement the budget to buy many of the things we all agree we need. The flaw is, it would have STILL come out of reserves, continuing to leave the operating budget of the town insufficient. What about next year? And the year after that? Without that land purchase, we were still having to tap into reserves - not a good practice. Whether you agree or disagree with the land purchase, it does not change the financial need our town has. 'Nuff said.
The handout listed a slew of expenses that we supposedly prioritized. City manager salary and benefits being one of them. Duh!! We absolutely prioritized that. So did the vast majority of voters last year in changing our form of government to a City Manager form (which won by a landslide). And we didn't need some entry level manager. We needed someone who would have the responsibility of being the town's FIRST city manager. The town has existed for over 50 years. This person would have to create the position from the ground up. This was not a turn-key position. You get what you pay for!
The dribble then lashed out at another valued city employee stating that we have a City Secretary with a salary of $73,645. This is grossly inaccurate. Our City Secretary, who has been with the town for 19 years presently earns a salary of $47,000 and is worth every penny.
I could go on, but I will digress. It proves that someone did not bother to do his research. The fact remains that we need to maintain the low tax rate of .29 we currently have and vote AGAINST the rollback. Feel free to call (346-6356) or email me (stan@toucangraphics.net) to help clarify any other misinformation you might be receiving from those who just don't get it.
Stan Hulse
Mayor
Laguna Vista

Campaign tactics won’t work
Editor:
Here We Go Again
I must note with a degree of amusement that Mr. Ridolfi, who maintains that his campaign will be about the issues, is already taking shots at his opponent(s) for being beholden to special interests etc.. As usual, Mr. Ridolfi’s negative campaign tactics reflect the true extent of his statesmanship and ability to work with others. Plus, he sounds mighty defensive for someone who supposedly has a good relationship with the business community. So much for a clean and honest campaign. To me, it sounds like Mr. Ridolfi’s campaign from last year. Obviously, that didn’t work well for him. Hopefully, it won’t work for him this year either. Our Island wants leadership and vision, not more rules, codes and a my way or the highway approach.
Sincerely,
Alex Karl Grossman
South Padre Island

Enough Island for everyone
Editor:
With developers poised at the “replacement stage”, we need strong voices on the SPI Board of Aldermen to assure there will still be quality of life for residents, a business community and a tourism industry left on the Island.
The “replacement stage” means vacant land in the current Town limits is basically gone, and the developers now are looking to build condos in areas not zoned for that. They want to use existing neighborhoods to buy up homes and replace them with condos.
They want to buy the land small businesses are on in the Business District and build high rise condos. You can see some of this has been done already. But, residents and tourists need businesses, entertainment and recreation areas.
If tourism dies on the Island, it also affects Port Isabel. When a community becomes all high rise condos, traditional tourism tends to die. It has happened in many communities in Florida. The condos become mostly vacation homes for the very rich who visit once or twice a year. Even then, they stay close to home and do not venture out as a “tourist” does to shop, dine or seek entertainment or recreation.
The first step to this will be considered at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on May 15 at 3:00 at City Hall. They are considering reducing setbacks and removing height restrictions from zoning laws. Strong-willed developers sit on P&Z.
Some areas have resisted the sweep of developers and retained the flavor of their coastal communities, e.g., Amelia Island, Captiva and Santibel Islands, Longboat Key in Florida. But, others e.g., Boca Raton, Naples, have given over their communities to developers and are now concrete jungles of high rises with no personality or feeling of community. You have to go considerable distances to get to businesses and entertainment. We can learn from their experiences.
Not all development will bring negatives, but we need to guard against removing restrictions and consider proposed developments on a case-by-case basis.
It is up to our residents, our voters, our business people. It’s our future. We need strong voices and strong wills on the Board of Aldermen to retain South Padre Island as we love it. We have an election coming up. Vote accordingly and attend the P&Z meeting on May 15 to let your voice be heard. Save our beautiful Island..
Sandy Boswell
South Padre Island