Inside the Moon Spring Break A2 Souper Bowl A2 Container Gardening A4 Fishing A11 Live Music A18 Issue 674 The Island Free The voiceMoon of The Island since 1996 March 16, 2017 Weekly FREE Around The Island Grocery Island Big Spring Break Weekend Store Looking By Dale Rankin The weather threw a cool, windy, Like a Reality and overcast blanket on the first By Mary Craft weekend of Spring Break 2017 as scattered showers caused many After decades of waiting the potential breakers to party in place possibility of a grocery store on rather than head for The Coast. Padre Island looks like it is finally Things began picking up during going to become a reality. the week and by Tuesday afternoon Island Developer Moshim Rasheed our beaches were fairly full from said this week he is well into Newport Pass south to PINS with discussion with two grocery chains most of the Spring Break beach who have both expressed an interest action taking place in the usual spot in opening branches on The Island. just south of the bollards in Port “There has been a lot of activity Aransas. Ronnie has been reporting lately on this project and right now busy beach traffic all along the Port it looks like the shopping center Aransas beaches but lines in the may open June 2018,” Rasheed said restaurants have been bearable. Look Wednesday. He said renderings have for things to pick up considerably been sent to the store chain 365 by this week if the weather holds. Whole Foods Market and Sprouts Police this year are allowing two- Farmers Market and we are waiting way traffic from Zahn Road north. for them to send back proposals and There have been the expected demands. They will dictate the shape smattering of violations which and location inside the shopping attach to a Spring Break crowd Spring Break 2017 may have started out rainy, but some people just can't be stopped. center so work will be started once but so far no serious problems. More Spring Break 2017 photos, page A2 the anchor store is determined.” One of the annual Rites of Spring here at the Word Factory is listening to the police scanner from Port Water Exchange Bridge Bids Come in High Aransas and it has been active so far Negotiations for design modification to begin this Spring Break. On Tuesday police By Dale Rankin designer Chip Urban. “We will start 40 feet each, the middle span would answered a call for a golf cart broken to look at some design engineering be slightly wider at 48 feet which When bids for the proposed Park down in the middle of the street. and see if we can get to the number would cover the waterway allowing Road 22/SPID Water Exchange “Eight people on a six-person cart,” that we need to be.” for fourteen feet of boat clearance Bridge on The Island were opened at came the call. “A wheel fell off.” from the water line to the bottom of City Hall on Wednesday there were Urban and District 4 City We suggest the police call for that the bridge. The two adjacent arches The store would be located at a two bidders and both came in at about Councilman Greg Smith who should be a “four-minus-one.” There would each be 40 feet in width and new development on land owned $1 million more than is currently attended the bid opening said the have been several calls for kids doing cover cart and pedestrian paths by Rasheed along SPID, between available for the project. designers and city staff will now donuts on the beach, people passed connecting the east and west side of Whitecap and Seashore Middle work with the low bidder to bring the out, one naked man, two lost kids (or Local company Hass-Anderson the roadway. Academy. Rasheed said the planned project in with the funds available. It lost parents) and one case of charges Construction. Ltd, was the low bidder Sprouts store would be about 12,000 is not clear if the issue will have to City staff told the Island Strategic filed after visitors trashed a condo. at $11,696,319 with North Texas square feet and a 365 Whole Foods go back before the city council. One Action Committee last week that But for the most part things have based, Structural Assurance, LLC., store would be 12,000 – 14,000 option, which surfaced within hours construction on the bridge could gone smoothly. bringing a bid of $12,101,062. Both square feet. Rasheed has also recently of the bid openings was to award the begin as early as October. Still to be are above the $10.7 million available been communicating with the Aldi Island troublemakers bid to Hass-Anderson and do a re- completed is an agreement to finish for the job with $6.7 million of that store group. The 365 by Whole Foods design of the bridge by lowering the dredging the last piece of the canal to A check of police reports in this coming from city bond money and Market is a chain that was launched retaining walls along the sides of the connect the water from the bridge to issue will show that the roving band the remaining $4 million from funds about a year ago with the concept of bridge. the existing canal system on the west of troublemakers that have been committed to the project from the smaller more affordable natural and side of SPID. Less than 500 feet of a vandalizing Padre Island for the past Island Tax Re-Investment Zone. The current design of the bridge organic food stores than the larger new canal remains to be dug. several weeks moved their operations calls for three concrete spans of about Whole Foods stores. “This is not a deal killer,” said bridge to the south end of The Island where The second largest unit planned there were seven reported incidents for the new center is a 5,000 squre of vandalism and/or theft in a twenty- POA to Hold Second Vote for Board foot space where there has recently four hour period last weekend. So been an interested party considering far none of the crimes are serIous, No candidates reached a majority in first round placing a bank branch at the site, but unless of course it is your car which By Dale Rankin of the organization, both voting and The requirement for a majority it looks like that will not develop. is burglarized, but keep your garage Island property owners will face non-voting, when the usual number, vote caught many of the members door down and if you leave valuables “There was a bank interested but a second round of balloting to according to Board President Brent assembled by surprise as POA in your car at night they may or may their walk in business has slowed due fill two seats on the Padre Isles Moore, is about 12 percent. officials initially said only a plurality not be there the next morning. would be needed with the top two to the popularity of online banking Property Owners Association Board so they are hesitant to open another Bravo District of Directors after none of the eight vote getters taking seats on the board. POA attorney John Bell said that branch,” Rasheed said. “Instead I candidates in the race garnered may put in a 24 hour restaurant like an The CCPD’s Bravo District which a majority of the votes at last changed last week. includes The Island covers 403 IHOP. There will be 8 – 9 other shops Saturday’s annual members meeting. “The POA has adopted Robert’s square miles and stretches from The each 12-1500 square feet and there Rules of Order,” Bell said Monday, Island to Staples Streets, and out west A total of 1549 ballots were have been many people showing an “and those rules require a majority all the way to the OSO wind farms, cast, members could vote for two interest. The rent is $1.50 per square vote for board seats unless the Bravo commander Captain Chris candidates, with 774 votes required foot plus triple net which is very organization’s bylaws have been White told an Island neighborhood to reach a majority and a seat on reasonable for this neighborhood.” amended to only require a plurality group last week. It is staffed with a the board. The vote total marked and the POA has not done that. I Rasheed is also working on a total of 45 officers, divided into five a high water mark in terms of A crowd gathered at the P.O.A. informed the POA of that last week.” Microtel hotel at a site along SPID shifts with nine officers on duty at participation constituting about 20 AnnuaL Homeowner's Meeting on the south end of The Island which any given time. White said that he percent of a quorum of all member last Saturday is set to open in spring 2018. tries to keep at least one active officer POA cont. A4 on The Island at all times and officers are distributed around the Bravo A little Island history district according to the number of crimes reported in a given area. The Island, not surprisingly, is not at the A Pirate Story for our Visitors By Dale Rankin Channel now cuts through The Island high end of that list. In January there gave him a way to quickly get out were a total of 30 property crimes We have a lot of visitors to our to open water and pursue his prey.