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Meetings and Discussions
Active Transportation:
Mayor Barry Patel, Interim City Manager Darla Jones, Transit Director Jesse Arriaga, and Program Administrator Debbie Carpenter attended the final stakeholder meeting for the Lower Rio Grande Valley Active Transportation and Active Tourism Plan in Rancho Viejo to discuss revisions to the plan, implementation updates, and determining dates to take the plan to each partner City's Commission/Council for approval.
Future Planning:
Interim City Manager Darla Jones, CVB Director Keith Arnold and Business Development Director Michael Flores met to discuss ideas in planning this year's Christmas Tree Lighting!
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South Padre Island Convention & Visitors Bureau
"Jesp Fest":
We had a great new event last Monday and Tuesday at the South Padre Island Convention Centre with Church of Camino Del Rey. "Jesp Fest" drew a crowd of about 700 for the evening spiritual concerts. The days were filled with breakouts featuring activities for young and old alike. They are already making plans to return!
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Ladies Kingfish Tournament:
The 35th Annual Ladies Kingfish Tournament took place last weekend at the South Padre Island Convention Centre. This all ladies tournament had both a Bay and Offshore division. Bay Division anglers vied for trophies in the categories of Redfish, Trout and Flounder. The Offshore Division participants for catches of King, Bonito, Blackfin Tuna and Dolphin. The first four places in each category received a trophy along with the Grand Champion Bay and Grand Champion Offshore winners.
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Fire Department
The South Padre Island Fire Department Training Division received $1,250 from Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System. These funds are designated for specialty courses such as Fire investigation, Fire officer and Driver/Operator Certifications.
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Police Department
Training:
SPI Police Officers are training this week on the AR15 assault rifles with new Aimpoint Scopes. The previous scopes that the department was using are outdated and in extreme heat and cold are not effective.
Theft Call:
On Wednesday night officers responded to a theft call that involved 2 jet skis and trailer stolen from a driveway on South Padre Island and headed westbound on HWY 100. The vehicle towing the jet skis was being followed by the owner of the property. The vehicle was stopped by Laguna Vista Police Dept. on HWY 100 and South Padre Island Detectives responded to their location making contact with the victim. Further investigation revealed that the vehicle (Black Hummer) was also stolen out of the McAllen area. The jet skis, trailer and black Hummer were recovered by South Padre Island Police Department and the two suspects were arrested and charged in the incident.
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Tow Truck Inspection:
SPI-PD Detectives were busy inspecting three Isla Towing's vehicles that will be added to the department's rotation.
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Public Works
Queen Isabel Memorial Causeway:
On Thursday morning, the Public Works Crew used the Street Sweeper to clear the causeway of trash and debris.
E. Hibiscus Improvements:
Foremost Paving began work on Monday on the south side of E. Hibiscus to install curb and gutter.
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Environmental Health Services
Mosquito Minimization:
EHS staff have been aggressive in the fight to minimize mosquitoes. To increase public safety, staff conducted both larvaciding and pesticide spraying throughout the entire Island. Staff will diligently monitor both weather conditions and mosquito activity to target areas of need.
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Anti-Litter Beach Program:
Nearly 80 people from around South Texas and Mexico conducted a beach cleanup on Friday, August 5th. An organization of churches, "Union Cristiana de Iglesias Menonitas", held its annual youth camp on South Padre Island last weekend for ages 12 to 22. Youth participants from Mennonite churches from Mathis, San Juan, San Benito, Los Fresnos, Brownsville, Texas and Reynosa, Mexico contributed to the community with a beach cleanup. The City of South Padre Island's Environmental Health Services Department assisted and distributed rubber gloves and garbage bags that were used to clean up litter from the beach. They started at La Quinta and worked their way north and south, leaving the beach looking beautiful!
UTRGV volunteers met and educated approximately 285 beach-goers this past weekend. Thank you to all the volunteers for your time and dedication!
Litter Patrol Officers:
Educational Outreach: 3,548
Warnings: Littering: 9 Glass on Beach: 4
Citations: Glass on Beach: 73
Recycling:
Approximately 1,110 pounds of recyclable material were collected! Thank you to everyone for doing their part in keeping South Padre Island beautiful!
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Shoreline Management
Beach Access Improvements:
Operations Manager Joe Vela and the Shoreline Management Crew wrapped up the work at Sapphire Circle with the installation of the trashcan stand. Sapphire Circle is the first of many beaches accesses to undergo improvements.
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The Pearl Walkway:
The Pearl walkway now has a fence in place between the walkway and the driveway. The fence is complete for the full distance of the walkway. The bricks and pavers are laid and now being filled with the mortar. The final walkthrough was scheduled for last Friday.
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USACE and ASBPA Meeting:
Shoreline Department Director Patrick Barrineau and Project & Program Manager Brandon Hill attend the Texas Chapter American Shore and Beach Preservation Association and United States Army Corp of Engineers meetings in Galveston. Networking discussions were held on beach renourishment and potential coastal surveys.
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Transit
TIGER Press Conference:
Mayor Barry Patel, Council Member Dennis Stahl, and Transit Director Jesse Arriaga attended a TIGER Press Conference at Brownsville City Hall to celebrate the announcement that the City of Brownsville will be receiving $10 million under the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grant Program for its Connecting Communities project. The Connecting Communities project includes $4.5 Million for widening the Queen Isabella Causeway on SH 100 to create a 14-foot wide dedicated, barrier protected, bike and pedestrian lane - a key component of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Active Transportation and Active Tourism Plan.
TxDOT Webinar:
Program Administrator Debbie Carpenter participated in a webinar hosted by TxDOT to demonstrate the new eGrants online process for submitting its 5310 Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities formula grant application.
Grant Application Submission:
Program Administrator Debbie Carpenter completed and submitted the FY17 State Rural transportation grant application on the TxDOT online eGrants system.
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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
To learn how to comply with the new City Ordinance, please view the pre-recorded webinar by
clicking here
.
We will also be available by phone to answer any questions you may have. Call Georgina Ramos at (956) 761-8382 or contact by email at
[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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| Aug 17-18 |
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The Garden Grille & Bar
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6:00 PM
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| Aug 17 |
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Louie's Backyard
|
8:00 PM
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| Aug 17 |
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The Quarterdeck Lounge
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7:00 PM
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| Aug 17-21 |
|
The Quarterdeck Lounge
|
9:00 PM
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| Aug 18-20 |
|
Art Space
|
10:00 AM
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| Aug 18 |
|
Art Space
|
1:00 PM
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| Aug 18-20 |
|
The Quarterdeck Lounge
|
6:00 PM
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| Aug 18 |
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The Hilton Garden Inn Beach Deck
|
7:00 PM
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| Aug 18 |
|
Louie's Backyard
|
7:00 PM
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| Aug 18-19 |
|
Louie's Backyard
|
9:15 PM
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| Aug 19-20 |
|
Tequila Sunset
|
5:00 PM
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| Aug 19 |
|
The Hilton Garden Inn Beach Deck
|
6:30 PM
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| Aug 19 |
|
Louie's Backyard
|
7:00 PM
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| Aug 19-20 |
|
The Hilton Garden Inn Beach Deck
|
8:45 PM
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| Aug 19-20 |
|
Clayton's Beach Bar
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9:15 PM
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| Aug 20 |
|
Art Space
|
10:00 AM
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| Aug 20 |
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La Copa Inn
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1:00 PM
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| Aug 20 |
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Paragraphs on Padre Boulevard
|
1:00 PM
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| Aug 20-21 |
|
The Isla Grand Beach Resort
|
3:00 PM
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| Aug 20 |
|
Louie's Backyard
|
7:00 PM
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| Aug 20 |
|
La Copa Inn
|
7:30 PM
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| Aug 20 |
|
The Hilton Garden Inn Beach Deck
|
7:30 PM
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| Aug 20 |
|
The Hilton Garden Inn Beach Deck
|
8:30 PM
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| Aug 21 |
|
NAMAR Event Center
|
11:00 AM
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| Aug 21 |
|
Louie's Backyard
|
7:00 PM
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| Aug 22 |
|
Louie's Backyard
|
7:00 PM
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| Aug 22 |
|
The Quarterdeck Lounge
|
9:00 PM
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| Aug 23 |
|
Tequila Sunset
|
5:00 PM
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| Aug 23 |
|
The Garden Grille & Bar
|
6:00 PM
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| Aug 23 |
|
Louie's Backyard
|
7:00 PM
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| Aug 23 |
|
Louie's Backyard
|
7:45 PM
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11th Annual "Fishing for Hope" Tournament
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RGV Fishing & Hunting Expo
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SPI Wahoo Classic at Jim's Pier
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