By ABBEY KUNKLE
Special to the PRESS
The South Padre Island City Council met Wednesday night for their regular meeting following the Mayor’s annual State of the Island address. During the meeting, the City recognized retiring Assistant Fire Chief Juan Loya for his 30 years of dedicated service to the City.
The Council moved on to discuss the creation of a new Shoreline Management Department for the City. The current department is considered the Coastal Resources and Parks Administration under Administrator Reuben Treviño and currently has a program manager, a beach maintenance foreman, four beach maintenance crew members. Funding for the department comes from the beach maintenance fund, which is supported from two percent of the Hotel Occupancy Tax and is limited specifically for use on the beach.
Due to time constraints to the small department and the goal to direct attention onto the bay side as well, the City Council is considering the creation of the Shoreline Management Department which would incorporate additional staff for administrative support and project management. Initial proposals estimate at least an additional $220,000 after full implementation, and current legislation would not allow for those funds to come from the beach maintenance fund as some attention would be given to the bay side. Ultimately, unless a legislative change is approved, the creation of the department would affect the City’s general fund.
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