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Meetings & Discussions
Mayor Barry Patel, Mayor Pro-Tem Alita Bagley, Shoreline Task Force Chairman Troy Giles, and Interim City Manager Darla Jones met with Shoreline Management Director Patrick Barrineau, and Shoreline Program & Project Manager Brandon Hill to discuss current and future enhancements of the Island.
Mayor Barry Patel, CVA Chairman Wally Jones, Interim City Manager Darla Jones, Convention & Visitors Bureau Director Keith Arnold, Public Safety Director Randy Smith, Interim Fire Chief Albert Perez and Finance Director Rodrigo Gimenez met to discuss Spring Break 2017.
Transit Director Jesse Arriaga, and Interim City Manager Darla Jones met with officials from the Federal Transit Administration and Texas Department of Transportation to review plans for the Multimodal Phase II facility and to tour the project site.
Transit Supervisor Richard Martinez attended a Run Cutter training course in Charlotte, NC. The two day course covered bus route design, service development, service monitoring and evaluation, service scheduling, vehicle optimization, and run cutting - preparing operator work schedules.
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Finance Department Wins!
The City of South Padre Island Finance Department has won the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the 2015/2016 Fiscal Year Budget, honoring the City's excellence in governmental budget reporting for the fifth year in a row.
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Municipal Court Training
On May 20th, the Municipal Court hosted a free training event taught by Leah Huff from Municipal Services Bureau. There were 44 attendees, including municipal court staff members from Corpus Christi, Beeville, Port Isabel, Brownsville, Harlingen, and McAllen. Topics covered were "Case Processing from Citation to Case Disposition" and "Teamwork Busters." Thank you to Municipal Court Administrator Cindy Vasquez and Municipal Court Clerk Crystal Martinez for the planning and organization of this training.
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Texas Society of Association Executives
Convention Centre Senior Sales Manager Mike Flores, Convention Sales Manager Judith Lehn, and Schlitterbahn Beach Resort Director of Sales Mike Bigelow attended the inaugural Texas Society of Association Executives (TSAE) Top Golf Sponsorship in Austin, TX on May 17th. The TSAE boasts membership from over 500 Texas state associations. The South Padre Island Convention & Visitors Bureau sales team sponsored a 6-person team and met with the Texas Victim Services Association, Helms Briscoe, and with the Texas Workforce Commission.
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Sales in Austin
Convention Centre Senior Sales Manager Mike Flores, Convention Sales Manager Judith Lehn, and Schlitterbahn Beach Resort Director of Sales Mike Bigelow also conducted several sales calls in the Austin, TX area with the Texas Independent Producers Association, Texas Parent Teachers Association, Texas Ophthalmological Association, and the Texas Society of Architects.
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Police Department
This week Sergeant Gilbert Silva, Police Officers Michael Aguilar, Joseph Gonzalez, and Victor Espinosa attended a 40-hour Firearms Instructor class in Hidalgo, TX.
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On Tuesday, Chief Randy Smith, Lieutenant Johnny Herrera, and Lieutenant Claudine O'Carroll attended a Causeway Run meeting at White Sands Restaurant in Port Isabel.
On Wednesday, Officers Lance Hobbs, Albert Pelayo, and Carlos Gonzalez attended an 8-hour Competitional Use of Force class in McAllen, TX.
On Thursday, Chief Randy Smith attended a Spring Break planning meeting in the EOC Room.
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John L. Tompkins Park
The contractor began pouring the sidewalks between the buildings and parking lot this week. They also installed the aluminum fence around the perimeter of the playground and continued working on the electrical and plumbing connections.
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Drainage Projects
Los Fresnos Construction completed the construction of the valley gutter at 410 Frontage Rd. We are currently accepting bids from local area contractors for the concrete apron on West Redsnapper; the bids are due on May 27th.
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Recycling
Approximately 1,680 pounds of recyclable material was collected! Thank you to everyone for doing their part in keeping South Padre Island beautiful!
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Mosquito Control
Due to national attention of the Zika Virus and Chikungunya Virus, EHS staff have been aggressive in the fight to reduce the mosquito population. Pesticide spraying and larviciding has been conducted throughout the Island. Staff will diligently monitor both weather conditions and mosquito activity to target areas of need.
Additionally, due to recent rains, the public is urged to help keep their properties clear of mosquito breeding areas and remember the four D's to avoid mosquito bites:
*
Dusk and Dawn - Avoid being outdoors when mosquitoes are seeking blood for a meal. For many species, this is during the dusk and dawn hours.
*
Dress - Wear shoes, socks, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt when outdoors for long periods of time or when mosquitoes are most active. Clothing should be light colored and made of tightly woven materials to keep mosquitoes away from the skin.
*
Drain - Reduce the amount of standing water in or near your property by draining and/or removing it.
*
DEET - Use an insect repellant containing DEET. Spraying clothing with repellents containing permethrin or DEET helps prevent mosquitoes from biting through thin clothing. Always read the manufacturer's directions carefully before you put on a repellent.
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Zika Support Center
The Environmental Health Services Department have been using the ZIKA information center provided by CLARKE Mosquito Company to gain valuable information on this evolving mosquito-borne disease. A resident's guide pamphlet titled "Fight ZIKA Together" is available at City Hall.
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HOT Tax Permit Registration
Final compliance date was July 1, 2015!
Notices of Violation have been, and continue to be sent to several property owners on the island.
The City of South Padre Island has passed Ordinance 15-03 requiring all property owners who advertise their property for short term rental to register their residential rental unit (s (house, condo, apartment or bedroom) with the City, AND to comply with all applicable laws including the collection and remittance of hotel tax. Register today online at
www.myspi.org/hottax
, the final compliance date is July 1st 2015.
To learn how to comply with the new City Ordinance please view the pre-recorded webinar.
We will also be available by phone to answer any questions you may have. Call Georgina Ramos: (956) 761-8382 or Email:
[email protected].
If you have a Rental Property Manager on the island they may be handling the registration process for you.
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Brush Time
The Environmental Health Services Department would like to remind you to please place your brush and bulky items on the right-of way from the 25th to the last day of the month for pick up on the first three workdays of the month. Thank you for doing your part in keeping South Padre Island beautiful!
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Water Conservation
At South Padre Island we're no strangers to water, but we're also no strangers to harsh Texas droughts; which is why we need to remember to conserve water. Please don't leave sprinkler systems or water hoses running unattended for long periods of time and only water your yards and wash your vehicles when necessary. This is just one small step we can take to help reduce waste.
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GOING GREEN
Texas Commission of Environmental Quality reminds you - Resolve to Make a Difference in 2016:
Reduce Junk Mail
Resolve to save time, conserve energy, and preserve trees by opting out of junk mail! Households
and businesses receive over 80 billion pieces of junk mail each year; most of this ends up in
our landfills.
You can easily opt out of offers of credit and insurance on the Consumer Credit Reporting Industry
website at www.optoutprescreen.com. Visit the Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference
Service at www.dmachoice.org to stop receiving commercial mail from many national
companies. Important: Both secured sites will ask for personal information, such as your address.
Replace Older Toilets
This resolution is a little more difficult and a bit more costly. However, it makes a big difference in
water conservation. Toilets use the most water in the home. By replacing one older toilet with the
most water-efficient type, you can save up to 13,000 gallons of water and over $100 each year. If
just one in four families in Texas replaced one older toilet with a 1.28-gallon-per-flush toilet, it
would save more than 28 billion gallons of water every year. (takecareoftexas.org)
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Recycling
Recyclable items can be taken to Old City Hall every Saturday from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM.
Items that can be recycled are:
- Newspaper
- Cardboard
- Office Paper
- Aluminum
- Tin
- Plastic
To offer a better recycling service please:
- Compact, crush or break down plastic bottles, cardboard boxes, aluminum cans or any other items that may be reduced in size. This helps us use the most amount of space in the bins.
- Remove any food, liquid, metal fasteners, adhesive materials or other items that may contaminate the whole load.
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Animal Control
Friends of Animal Rescue operates the South Padre Island Recovery Center and Animal Shelter. The shelter is licensed by the State of Texas as an animal shelter and quarantine facility.
The shelter is located at 4908 Padre Blvd and open to the public Tuesday-Sunday from 10 AM to 4:30 PM. We do make arrangements to meet owners after hours if necessary in order to reunite pets with their families. Friends of Animal Rescue can be reached on their 24 hour hotline at 956-772-1171. Animals that are not claimed within 7-10 days are vetted (including Spay/Neuter) and adopted out to loving homes.
Friends of Animal Rescue is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. To see the latest animals found or furry friends up for adoption please check out the Friends of Animal Rescue
Facebook
page.
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Incentive Policy
The South Padre Island Economic Development Corporation and the City of South Padre Island have approved an incentive policy in order to assist qualified new and existing businesses and to benefit the economic climate on the Island. Businesses can apply for property tax abatements as well as sales tax abatements for improvements that will contribute to the economy of South Padre Island. The City and the EDC will evaluate the applications to determine if they meet the established criteria for the programs. You can find a link to the policy, guidelines, and applications on both the City web page (
www.myspi.org) and the South Padre Island EDC web page (
www.southpadreislandedc.com)
For more information, contact Darla Lapeyre, South Padre Island Economic Development Corporation Executive Director, at (956) 761-6805 or
[email protected]
; or Dr. Sungman Kim, City of South Padre Island Development Director, at (956) 761-8113 or
[email protected]
.
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FREE Business Listing
Calling all South Padre Island businesses! Please be sure to update your FREE business listing on the Convention & Visitors Bureau website (
www.sopadre.com
). If you haven't been provided with your login credentials, please contact Carlos Centeno by phone at (956) 761-8390, or email at
[email protected]
. By using your FREE business listing you have the ability to upload images, coupons, business description, and much more. Take advantage of this FREE marketing tool provided by the Convention & Visitors website.
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EVENTS
Looking for even more events? We've added and a new 'EVENTS' tab at the top of this newsletter! Just click that link and you can view our full calendar of events.
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Date
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Event
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Location
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Time
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| May 24 |
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Tequila Sunset
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5:00 PM
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| May 25-26 |
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The Garden Grille & Bar
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6:00 PM
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| May 25 |
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The Quarterdeck Lounge
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9:00 PM
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| May 26 |
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Louie's Backyard
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5:00 PM
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| May 27 |
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Louie's Backyard
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7:00 PM
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| May 27-28 |
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Tequila Sunset
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5:00 PM
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| May 27-28 |
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Clayton's Beach Bar
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9:15 PM
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| May 27-29 |
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Friday: Bayside & Beachside
Saturday: Beachside
Sunday: Bayside
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9:15 PM
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| May 28 |
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Louie's Backyard
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7:00 PM
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| May 28 |
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Clayton's Beach Bar
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9:00 PM
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| May 29 |
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NAMAR Event Center
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11:00 AM
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