Crossroads of South Texas Shining a Light on All the Great Happenings in Our Area!
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See what's inside this FREE ISSUE of positive South Texas News: Drive-through vaccinations, 3 Carry Out for a Cause, 4 Sharing hope and love, 4 Robstown local pursues dream, 5 Dinner and a show, 7 Money Talks, 10 Crossroads of South Texas Shining a light on all the great happenings in our area! Volume 2, Issue 1 Follow us on Facebook Coastal Bend Community Newspaper February 2021 MARKETING NEW VISION AND NEW NAME FOR FOR ROBSTOWN FORMER ROBSTOWN OUTLETS Crossroads District: intersecting trade, community and growth Local Business Owners unite to help town become Shopping Capitol of Texas By Jane Kathleen Gregorio Local Business owners plan market day (L-R) Cathy Villafuerte An artistic rendition of the new sign of the Crossroads District - the new name to replace Outlets of Corpus Christi Bay. David Petrick, Ruth Gnirk and Gary Gnirk. Photo by Jane Gregorio The multi-zoned venue can host a variety of businesses as well as dining and entertainment. (Courtesy photo) By Jane Kathleen Gregorio Is the city of Robstown poised for success as a was a place where their parents worked, or where their family dined or shopped future commercial hub for Texas? "A place to build memories or shared quality time; where they met Located just 25 minutes from Corpus Christi, for future generations" This is their future spouse or had their first job,” between US-77/Interstate 69 and State Highway the vision Tiffany Ritchie has in Ritchie said. 44, Robstown occupies a region known as ‘The mind when she considers the The 300,000 square foot facility Crossroads of South Texas’ and is within two to potential for The Crossroads was acquired as a foreclosure December three hours driving distance from major cities like District, the new name of The 7, 2020 by Stonewater Properties, a San Antonio and Austin to the north, Houston to Tiffany Ritchie, property Outlets of Corpus Christi Bay. British Columbia based real estate the east, Laredo and the Mexico border to the and leasing manager, Stonewater Properties, “I want something permanent investment firm which owns over one west, and the Rio Grande Valley to the south. believes that Crossroads so that the kids of today can look million square feet of property in the Considered a transportation crossroads with its District can help improve economy for Robstown. back 20 years from now and say it Coastal Bend. three railways and close proximity to the Ports of (Courtesy photo) Continued on page 6 Corpus Christi and Laredo, and CC International Continued on page 3 The South Texas Shoppers World premier event will be held in downtown A DRAINING ISSUE Robstown on March 6, Local Residents voice their concerns over 2021. Vendors, food trucks, and local where money will flow to help repair flooding businesses are invited to reserve space. Courtesy photo in Petronila and surrounding areas (See Page 2) Courtesy photo Karina Amaro © 2021 - Crossroads of South Texas is an independent, locally owned and operated newspaper. STAFF Reproduction in part or whole is prohibited without express written consent of the publisher. PUBLISHER / CEO .......Cathy Villafuerte EDITOR IN CHIEF ...... Jane Kathleen Gregorio This paper is FREE and is for YOU! Please read it, and when you're done, SHARE it! Please send us story leads and YOUR articles, photos, and art for upcoming COPY EDITOR / GRAPHICS .... Ruth Gnirk newspaper issues www.CrossroadsofSouthTexasNewspaper.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Gary Gnirk, Chris Ardueser 2 February 2021 www.CrossroadsofSouthTexasNewspaper.com Volume 2 Issue 1 Nueces County and Drainage District No. 2 make history and A map of Petronila Creek and San Fernando Creek Watersheds from Join forces through TWDB grant By Jane Kathleen Gregorio Texas Water Resources Institute (Courtesy twri.tamu.edu) With all the exponential growth on the and surrounding areas. on, “between the letters, emails horizon for The Crossroads region, which “Nobody has ever put forth a Nueces conference calls, and documentation is made up of Robstown and surrounding County-Wide drainage plan, and that's we’ve received from the TWDB, we found towns, residents and leaders alike were what was needed. Nobody is losing, we're out that both grants can survive as long excited to learn that a $550,000 Grant only gaining,” Canales said passionately. as both entities work together in was approved for a much-awaited study. “In the beginning of 2019 when I took conjunction to help each other out. That is But the excitement was short-lived. office, I said it was the number one priority the good news. The disconnect was that County Judge Barbara Canales proposed for us to do a regional drainage study both entities had the impression that only that Nueces County Drainage District because one was never done before in one grant can be awarded. That's why No.2 (DD2) withdraw their application the history of Nueces County.” She went we're here today to give them the good Nueces County Judge Barbara after a letter from the Texas Water District on to explain the reason a tri-county study news that TWDB said both grants can be Canales sharing the Nueces County was needed. awarded.” Regional Drainage Master Plan. Board (TWDB), dated December 22nd, Photo Jane Gregorio 2020, stated that the projects would “Water doesn’t understand boundaries Tensions gradually eased as both overlap the Petronila and Oso Creek and it doesn’t stop at the county line. It sides discovered they shared a common watersheds, and duplicate efforts will not runs through all the counties and then goal of fixing the drainage situation. be recommended for funding. dumps into the ocean. We believe Canales reassured Amaro that nothing On Saturday, January 23rd, 2021 a Hurricane Harvey and the awful floods of would be taken away from DD2. Canales session was held at Nueces County 2015 have made us recognize that if we gave a copy of the proposal to Amaro, Drainage District #2 office in Robstown, to don’t understand how water moves now, and explained how this would be a win- discuss the issue. we’re never going to be able to help our win session for all concerned. Petronila resident Karina Amaro and people.” “There's no doubt that the people lose her family have struggled with the flooding Jesus J Jimenez, CEO of International if we don't work together, and that is why In session January 23, Nueces issues and have been appealing to civic Consulting Engineers (ICE) and president it was so important we come over here to County Drainage District #2 of Robstown Area Development DD2 and explain how it's more beneficial Commissioners (L-R) Balde Torres, leaders to act on the drainage issues. Jesse Rojas, and David Martinez. Upon learning that DD2 was considering Corporation (RADC), also volunteers his to do it in this fashion.” Canales said. Photo Jane Gregorio giving up the grant, Amaro felt the need services to the City of Robstown. He had The discussion was tabled until to voice her concerns to the seen the original County proposal and January 25th when an emergency Commissioners at The District's executive shared his observations during the meeting was held and voted upon by the session. She even began an online January 23 meeting. commissioners of both Nueces County petition for any grant money given by the "Basically right now there is a and DD2. state specifically for DD2 to stay in the disconnect between Nueces County and On January 29th, 2021 Nueces Petronila area. Drainage District 2 in which they both County Drainage District #2 issued "The issue that we are fighting for, and were awarded a grant to perform a Resolution Number 100, announcing its the reason our officials were elected, is to drainage study,” Jimenez said. “The support of the regional drainage master have our district accept the grant so that county is looking at a regional drainage plan application, which will be inclusive of Nueces County residents unite to we can get the flood issues fixed. Why are study which covers three counties and DD2. As a result, DD2 will withdraw its address community drainage issue. we going to give the money away to other focuses on high-level solutions and big TWDB infrastructure fund Category 1 (L-R) Sara Lopez, Karina Amaro, Ivan Luna, and Willy Garcia Jr. counties, if we can use it here for the projects that would benefit the area. application. Photo Jane Gregorio Robstown area? We need our drainage Drainage District #2 applied for the same "The grant application covers all of here,” Amaro said. grant, but is focused on a more narrowed DD2 under one grant, allowing DD2 to Willy Garcia Jr works for the city of and detailed approach that mostly choose their own consultant and keep the Robstown utilities and has witnessed the benefits the residents of the drainage $550,000 price tag, and exclude that from impact of the poor drainage system in his District." the scope of our work. And we will also be hometown of Bluebonnet. Garcia was also According to Jimenez, both proposals sharing our data from the regional study present at the January executive session. had jurisdictions and scopes that overlap, teams from Texas A&M Research Center. Although he and Amaro had never met and one of the requirements of the grant So, the District gets two studies for the prior, both stood for the same cause. is that they analyzed the Hydrological Unit price of one,” Canales said. Flooding in the Petronila neighbor- "I came out here today, and I agree Code (HUC) 10, which is a large area Despite being initially against the hood after the storms.