Inside the Moon
Barnum Bummer A6
Moon on a Spoon A7
Port A. Homecoming A9
The
Issue 666
Island Moon
The voice of The Island since 1996
January 19, 2017
Around The Island
By Dale Rankin The shotguns along the Laguna fell silent and it was just after dark when the flawed beauty serving the drinks flicked the lights and said to all in attendance, “You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.” As we filed out Oklahoma Robert Bob was heard to mumble his reply: “It was a cold winters evening, the guests were all leaving, O’Leary was closing the bar, When he turned and said, To the lady in red, Get out you can’t' stay where you are.” It’s been a week of reflection on our little sandbar as temperatures in the middle of the country have dipped below those of the North Pole driving Robert Bob south to our shores. If the world went spinning off its axis about now we Islanders might not even notice, as long as the reds keep running. Last week we saw a Winter Texan loading a bucketful of Sargassum weed into his trunk. We certainly hope this trend catches on and we encourage not only Winter Texans but anyone who wants to haul away a trunk load of Sargassum weed to help themselves. It has been a light year for the stuff but dribs and drabs have been washing up on the beach at the north end of PINS which should answer the Sargassum demand for seaweed hoarders. We also hear that the sandburs are good eating so help yourself.
Island knuckleheads The past week has seen reports of cars being broken into all over our Island and an uptick in the incidents of sneak thieves plying their trade up and down the neighborhoods. About a dozen vehicles along the area near the seawall had windows broken out along with several houses that were hit.
Think of it as the Willie Sutton Syndrome who when asked why he robbed banks replied, “That’s where the money is.” We’re the sweet spot of the city and when we leave our garage doors up and valuable items inside our cars the sneak thieves will find us. Lock up everybody and keep your eyes open for trouble.
Fourth of July Fireworks This just in from the Moon Planning Ahead Department…we’ve had several inquiries already about what day the 4th of July Fireworks show will be on this year. We get this most every year and on its surface it seems like a silly question until you find that in many cities the show goes up on the Saturday night nearest the actual 4th date. But not so hereabouts. Fireworks guru Jerry Watkins reports that the show which is now in its fifth year, will go up on Tuesday, July 4. The show is staged at the end of Whitecap and is paid for with donations which can be dropped off at the POA office on The Island. Enjoy the weather everybody. We leave you this week with the words of that great American Calvin Coolidge who famously said, “The collection of taxes which are not absolutely required, which do not beyond reasonable doubt contribute to the public welfare, is only a species of legalized larceny.” Say hello if you see us Around The Island.
Fishing A11
Free
Weekly
FREE Special Taxing Zone Holds Key to Island's Future
Funding on Public Amenities Around Packery Water Exchange Channel Moving Forward By Dale Rankin Bridge Delayed In February, 2003, about two years By Dale Rankin
The push to put the final piece of funding in place for the planned Park Road 22/SPID Water Exchange Bridge was delayed by at least a month on Tuesday as the Board of Directors of the Island Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) tabled a move to commit $4 million from that fund to cover potential funding shortfalls. The move came on the same day that bid proposals went out to potential builders of the bridge, which city staff said is expected to cost “between $8.5 million and $11.5 million.” City officials released a schedule on the project this month which calls for bids to be opened on February 1, City Council approval by mid-March, and construction to begin by the end of March with scheduled completion by April, 2018. The TIRZ funds would only be necessary if there is a need to supplement the $7 million currently available from savings on other bond programs. On September 13, 2016 the Island Strategic Action Committee (ISAC), which is an advisory committee to the Corpus Christi City Council, unanimously passed a motion to support the use of no more than $4 million from the TIRZ fund to supplement funding for the Park Road 22/SPID 22 Bridge only after all previously committed dollars to the project have been spent. The bridge, as currently designed, consists of three spans of forty feet each, the center span covering a waterway, the two adjacent spans covering pedestrian and cart paths. The plans call for fourteen feet of water depth with concrete sides and floor to prevent erosion, and fourteen feet of boat clearance from the waterline to the bottom of the bridge structure. The bridge would be located along SPID where canals to both sides are already in place as well as bulkheading on the Lake Padre side. The idea for the bridge originated in 2004 when a $50 million bond package contained no Island projects and then-District 4 City Council member Mark Scoot proposed adding
Bridge cont. on A2
after citywide voters approved the project to dig Packery Channel, the Corpus Christi City Council voted to approve improvements adjacent to the channel to be funded by money from the Island Tax Increment Refinance Zone. The resolution, which also founded the TIRZ, read: “Secondary development incudes proposed park amenities that encompasses approximately 14.2 acres providing access to Packery Channel, the beach, and the jetties; passenger and recreational vehicle parking; walkways; restrooms; and vendor facilities. The location of two potential City park areas is proposed
Photo by George Todt
Island by the numbers
Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone 2016 TIRZ#2 Fund Balance $6,992,623 Beginning Balance 2016
$3,405,001 TIF Collections 2016 ($6,000,000) Reserves (Dredging, Bonds, Maintenance) $4,397,624 Available Funds
Sources of Revenue
2009:
City of Corpus Christi $1,597,917 Nueces County $985,617 Nueces Co. Hospital District $406,158 Del Mar Jr. College $137,838 Farm to Market Road $12, 165 Total: 3,139,695
The shelters and tables along Packery Channel were part of the 6 Pack Project Pack cont. on A2
2010:
City of Corpus Christi $1,273,417 Nueces County $786,419 Nueces Co. Hospital District $324,072 Farm to Market Road $9,709 Total: 2,393,616
Cost Estimates for Remaining “Six Pack” Projects Project Phase:
2011:
Phase 1: Restroom Facilities at South Parking Lot Project Complete
City of Corpus Christi $1,203,508 Nueces County $745,121 Nueces Co. Hospital District $307,054 Farm to Market Road $9,201 Total: 2,264,884
Phase 2: Parking and Overlooks Project Complete Phase 3: Restroom Facilities at Packery Channel Current Budget $200,000 Design FY '15 Budget $815,000 Construction Request FY '16 Budget $1,051,000 Construction Request 2,066,000 Total Project Budget Phase 4: Ramps to Jetties Current Budget $274,000 Design completed under Phase 2 Phase 5: Pavilion Current Budget FY '16 Budget Request FY '17 Budget Request 1,281,200
Fund
2012:
City of Corpus Christi $1,372,033 Nueces County $849,855 Nueces Co. Hospital District $350,213 Farm to Market Road $10,494 Total: 2,582,595
Construction
$75,000 $200,000
Prelminary Design Design
$1,006,200
Construction
2013:
City of Corpus Christi $1,519,533 Nueces County $1,019,647 Nueces Co. Hospital District $387,968 Farm to Market Road $11,625 Total: 2,860,601
Total Project Budget
Phase 6: Administration and Maintenance Building FY '18 Budget $715,000 Design/Construction Request
2014:
City of Corpus Christi $1,645,468
Phase 7: Parking Lot Improvements at Jetty Ramps FY '18 Budget $879,000 Design/Construction Request
TIRZ cont. on A2
A little Island history
In 1915 South Texas was on the Edge of a War Between U.S. and Mexico The law of Ley Fuga – shot while trying to escape
Americans off a train in Chihuahua and killed them.
By Dale Rankin Editor’s note: This is the latest in a series of stories about the Border War that raged in South Texas in the early part of the last century. By autumn of 1915 The Border War was in full bloom. The Plan de San Diego that had been drawn up in the South Texas hamlet of San Diego had spawned full-blown combat as its adherents spread out across the South Texas’ Wild Horse Prairie in their attempts to bring about a revolution that would lead to, first the capture of Brownsville and Corpus Christi, then San Antonio and Austin, and finally lead to the return to Mexico the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and California. President Woodrow Wilson’s program of “watchful waiting” espoused by his Secretary of State William Jennings
Para Dios y tierra
Pancho Villa Bryan was thought by many to be seen as weakness south of the border which only emboldened the border raiders. Then in early September
Wilson’s administration recognized the government of Venustiano Carranza which so angered his rival Pancho Villa that Villa took seventeen
On the Texas border Mexican troops were dug in at the river crossings along the Rio Grande, with more than 400 Mexican troops on the south side of the border at Progresso alone and 5000 U.S. troops stationed in Kingsville. There was no longer any pretext or doubt about the fact that this was open warfare. This was not bandit raids or the roving bands of horse and cattle rustlers the border area was used to; this was a declared war aimed at territorial acquisition by the government of Venustiano Carranza who was trying to consolidate his hold on power during the Mexican Revolution. His chief rivals for power, including Pancho Villa, were concentrated along the
History cont. on A4