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City Manager Update
Darla Jones was appointed as Interim City Manager on Wednesday by the City Council.
Council-member Theresa Metty, Council-member Dennis Stahl, Council-member Alex Avalos and
Wendi Delgado met on Friday at 10:30 a.m. to discuss the process for hiring an executive
search firm to recruit for the next City Manager.
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Meetings & Discussions
Acting City Manager Darla Jones, CVB Director Keith Arnold, and Transit Director Jesse Arriaga
met with South Padre Island Chamber President/CEO Roxanne Harris to discuss the Multi-
Modal Project, and the Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center office space needs for the new building.
2016-2017 Budget Planning has begun! Interim City Manager Darla Jones, Administrative
Services Director Wendi Delgado, and Finance Director Rodrigo Gimenez have reviewed staffing
requests.
Interim City Manager Darla Jones, Finance Director Rodrigo Gimenez, and Technology
Director Juan Infante reviewed technology requests.
Acting City Manager Darla Jones, CVB Director Keith Arnold, Transit Director Jesse Arriaga and SPI Chamber staff gathered for a design meeting with Gignac Architects regarding the lease space area of the multimodal facility at City Hall this week.
Environmental Health Services staff participated in a webinar titled "From Ebola to Zika, What providers
need to know," presented by modern health care. Staff learned what the symptoms
are and how cases can be identified, who needs to be most vigilant, and what role
government and public health officials should have. Lessons learned will improve the
safety of the public and the methods used when minimizing mosquitoes.
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SPI Convention Centre Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
On Wednesday Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr.,
Cameron County Commissioner Sofia C.
Benavides, Mayor Barry Patel, Mayor Pro-Tem
Alita Bagley, Council-member Theresa Metty,
Council-member Paul Munariz, Council-member Dennis
Stahl, Acting City Manager Darla Jones, and
CVB Director Keith Arnold attended the
Convention Centre facility rededication
ceremony. The event culminated with a
ribbon cutting, signifying the reopening of
the South Padre Island Convention Centre
after extensive renovations and upgrades to
the 24-year-old facility.
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Reverse Sales/Media Mission Marketplace and FAM Tour
Senior Marketing Manager Katy Drake, Content/Communication Specialist Nancy Botello, Digital/Interactive Specialist Carlos Centeno and Information Counselor Robert Garza co-hosted a Reverse Sales and Media Mission Marketplace and familiarization or "FAM" tour of South Padre Island along with the Governor's Office of Economic Development and Tourism. The attendees consisted of fourteen international tour operators and travel writers from both Canada and Mexico, and six staff from the Governor's Office. Prior to receiving an educational and fun full-day tour of the Island, the visiting tour operators and travel writers took part in the Reverse Sales and Media Mission Marketplace. The Marketplace, which was held at the Schlitterbahn Beach Resort, offered partners from around South Texas the opportunity to showcase their travel products or destination in a "speed dating" format with one-on-one appointments.
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Texas State Association Meeting Planners FAM Tour
Senior Sales Manager Michael Flores, Sales Manager Judith Lehn, and CVB Sales and Service Assistant Vedette Garza hosted a familiarization tour of South Padre Island with several Texas State Association Meeting Planners from April 18-21, 2016. The Texas State Association Meeting Planners participated in their first SPI CVB Familiarization Tour in more than 5 years.
This
cornerstone event was the result of 6 continuous months of sales calls, trade shows,
direct marketing efforts and an Island-wide sales blitz aimed at revitalizing the
City's footprint in Austin, TX. These key decision makers represent over 10,000
room nights in future business and more than $2 million in potential economic
impact should they choose South Padre Island as their host city for an annual
conference or state-wide event.
As part of their familiarization tour, the Texas State Association Meeting Planners
were special guests at the Convention Centre's, by invitation only, Grand
Reopening Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.
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Visitors Center Special Guests
The Visitors Center welcomed over 100 3rd grade students, teachers, and chaperons from Palmer Lasco Elementary in Los Fresnos. Visitors Center Manager Lili DeRousie gave a presentation regarding the duties of a visitors center, and Information Counselor Robert Garza showed them the postal machine and explained the process and use. Thank you Ms. Magdalena Alviar for bringing your students to our Visitors Center.
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Fire Department
On April 12th, the Texas Department of Emergency
Management held a workshop at the South Padre Island Convention
Centre. The purpose of the workshop was to
introduce local authorities to the phases of
emergency management and how to relate to them.
On Wednesday April 20th, Interim Fire Chief Albert Perez, and Fire Inspector/EMC Robert Garcia attended the Mitigation Workshop in the Town of Indian Lake, Texas. Hazard mitigation was discussed for future planning.
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Police Department
On Thursday, Detective Victor Carranza was invited to be part of the Career Day activities at Garriga Elementary School.
Lieutenant Claudine O'Carroll attended a Law Enforcement meeting in Brownsville on
Thursday.
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City Park
The contractor assembled the playground equipment on the north side of the park and the remainder of the equipment was assembled over the weekend. They also striped the basketball court and are working on the concrete piers for the transformer pad.
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Laguna Madre Water District Waterline Project
By weeks end, the contractor will have
completed installing the new eight (8) inch
water line and will have connected it to the sixteen (16)
inch main line and begun pressure testing the new
connection.
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Mosquito Control
EHS staff have been aggressive in the fight to minimize mosquitoes. To increase public safety, staff conducted pesticide spraying and larviciding throughout the Island. Staff will diligently monitor both weather conditions and mosquito activity and continue pesticide spraying.
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:
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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.
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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.
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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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Phone Book Recycling
The Environmental Health Services Department (EHSD)
encourages everyone to recycle old phone books. You can
drop them off during regular Saturday recycling hours
from 8:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. at 4501 Padre Boulevard. If
you require special assistance, please make arrangements
with EHSD by calling 761-8123, and we will gladly assist
you with your recycling needs.
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Recycling
Approximately 1,200 pounds of recyclable material was collected! Thank you to everyone for doing their part in keeping South Padre Island beautiful!
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Routine Maintenance
Public Works crews have replaced the soil on the landscaped medians along Gulf Boulevard. They will be planting new plants and also replacing some of the Sable Palm Trees in the next couple of weeks. We are also accepting bids to install brick pavers on the smaller areas and should have the bids soon.
The facilities maintenance department is sanding and painting the light posts at City Hall as a preventive maintenance, and have shampooed the carpets in the Council and EOC rooms.
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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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| Apr 26-30 |
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The Quarterdeck Lounge
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9:00 PM
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| Apr 27-28 |
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The Garden Grille & Bar
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6:00 PM
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| Apr 27 |
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The Quarterdeck Lounge
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9:00 PM
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| Apr 28-May 1 |
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| Apr 29-30 |
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Clayton's Beach Bar & Grill
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9:15 PM
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| Apr 30 |
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On the Beach!
Behind La Quinta
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8:00 AM
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| May 1 |
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Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark
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| May 1 |
South Padre Island Farmers Market
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NAMAR Event Center
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11:00 AM
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| May 2 |
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The Quarterdeck Lounge
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9:00 PM
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South Padre Island Sand Crab Beach Bike/Run Challenge
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