|
Meetings & Discussions
Interim City Manager Darla Jones attended the Property Owners Who Care quarterly meeting where she provided updates on Beach Access Fee and parking areas, the Multi-Modal project, Dune Walkover & Park Projects, as well as updated TAP Grants and RESTORE Act projects and their progress. Convention & Visitors Bureau Director Keith Arnold presented the POWC with updates on the current Convention Centre renovation project, marketing, and wind sports. Public Safety Director Randy Smith presented updates on License Plate Readers and provided a spring break recap.
Interim City Manager Darla Jones met with Tom Grant and Katherine Utecht from Kimley-Horn and Stephen Walker from TxDOT for a field visit of Padre Boulevard.
Interim City Manager Darla Jones met with ADA Inspector Justin Walton for final approval of the Pearl Walkover.
Interim City Manager Darla Jones attended the Texas City Management Association Region 12 meeting to finalize plans for the annual conference that will be held here in June.
Transit Director Jesse Arriaga hosted the Leadership Laguna Madre - Leadership Class 20 last week for an informational visit of our transit system. The class met at the Transit administrative offices where Mr. Arriaga presented a short program describing our services, followed by the class touring our local and regional transit systems.
|
|
|
New Shoreline Management Director
Shoreline Management Director Patrick Barrineau started last Wednesday and spent his first day with the Human Resources Division completing new-hire forms. Welcome to our team Patrick!
|
|
|
National Travel & Tourism Week
The South Padre Island Visitors Center celebrated National Travel & Tourism Week 2016 on Tuesday May 3rd. Thank you to all Convention & Visitors Bureau staff, City staff, and the local venues that supported us.
|
|
|
Texas Travel Fair & Texas Travel Counselors Conference
Senior Marketing Manager Katy Drake and Information Counselor Robert Garza attended Texas Travel Industry Association's Texas Travel Fair and Texas Travel Counselors Conference in San Marcos last week. The fair was comprised of nearly 100 booths representing towns and cities across Texas, and attendees consisted of city and CVB representatives, TXDOT travel counselors and Texas Parks & Wildlife Department employees.
|
|
|
RGV Texas Society of Respiratory Care
RGV Texas Society of Respiratory Care is back with us for their annual training and they expect over 300 attendees. Continuing Education classes will be the main focus for their two day event and vendors will be on-hand with information and displays of the latest in medical equipment for their review. We are always happy to welcome them back.
|
|
|
Administrative Professionals Appreciating Day Program
World Class Training held an Administrative Professionals Appreciation Day Program at the South Padre Island Convention Centre on April 28, 2016. Among the attendees were Executive Services Specialist Rosa Zapata from the CVB, and Environmental Health Services Administrative Assistant Angie Cantu. Our Convention Centre Administrative Assistant/Receptionist Julianna Barron also took part in the class. They received a completion certificate and six hours of Continuing Education Units. Great job ladies!
|
|
|
Police Department
On Monday, the South Padre Island Police Department confiscated over $30,000 after a call of suspicious activity, which later was determined to be part of a possible money laundering operation.
|
|
|
Community Center
The Public Works crews painted tables that were donated by the Convention Center to the Community Center. They also trimmed and pruned the landscaped corners along Padre Boulevard.
|
|
|
John L. Tompkins Park
Last week the contractor began installing the roof deck on the restroom building and working on the subgrade for the parking lot area. The technician from Terracon was on site to test densities on the subgrade. The subgrade density was tested and found to have met the specifications called for in the plans.
|
|
|
Gulf Boulevard Landscaped Corners
The contractor began preparing and installing the brick pavers on the smaller beds along Gulf Boulevard from Sunset to Gardenia. Rick Guerrero is scheduled to plant the Sabal palm trees on Friday along the same area.
|
|
|
Texas Environmental Health Association Training
The Texas Environmental Health Association-South Texas Chapter held a training for state mandated continuing education units for an Animal Control Officers at the Gladys Porter Zoo. Staff learned what animals the zoo accepts and what animals to transport to the wild. The training also provided a hands-on, behind the scenes tour of a portion of the zoo.
|
|
|
Mosquito Control
Due to the threat of the Zika virus, EHS staff is aggressively fighting to reduce the mosquito population. Pesticide spraying and larviciding is being conducted all over the Island. EHS staff is diligently monitoring weather conditions and mosquito activity to specifically target potential 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.
|
|
|
Vector Management Workshop
Daniel Torres participated in a webinar titled Zika Virus Disease presented by Texas Department of State Health Services. He learned what the symptoms are, virus identification, who needs to be most vigilant, and what role government and public health officials have. Lessons learned will improve the safety of the public by enhancing the methods used to minimize the mosquito count.
|
|
|
Recycling
Approximately 1,340 pounds of recyclable material was collected! Thank you to everyone for doing their part in keeping South Padre Island beautiful!
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
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!
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
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)
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
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]
.
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
Date
|
Event
|
Location
|
Time
|
| May 11-12 |
|
The Garden Grille & Bar
|
6:00 PM
|
| May 11 |
|
The Quarterdeck Lounge
|
9:00 PM
|
| May 13-14 |
|
Clayton's Beach Bar & Grill
|
9:15 PM
|
| May 15 |
South Padre Island Farmers Market
|
NAMAR Event Center
|
11:00 AM
|
| May 16 |
|
The Quarterdeck Lounge
|
9:00 PM
|
|
|
|
|
