Inside the Moon Playground Opening A3 Art About Port A A7 Remember When A10 Fishing A13 Pumpkin Patch A17 Issue 757 The Photo by Lori Moraine Island Free The voiceMoon of The Island since 1996 October 18, 2018 Weekly www.islandmoon.com FREE Around Time to vote New and Improved Early Voting The Island Begins Monday By Dale Rankin Early Voting in the November 6 We had one for the record books General Election begins on Monday, this week. The Island must have had Billish Park October 22 and runs through the shortest autumn on record when November 2. Voters are reminded Cold Front Abraham rolled in over that in Early Voting and on Election the Laguna late Monday morning. they are not required to vote in the If autumn is defined as the time precinct in which they are registered, between the heat of summer and the registered voters can cast ballots at first cool breeze of the oncoming any polling place in Nueces County. winter ours lasted literally less than There are 7734 registered voters in three seconds. the two Padre Island Precincts and about 60,000 votes are expected to be cast in Nueces County in the November 6 General Election. You can download a sample ballot for Island voting Precincts 40, 81, and 19 by going to our website islandmoon.com. If you have ever wondered what Early Voting hours are as a Blue Nothern looks like this follows: is it. October 22nd - 26th We Islanders stood in mid-eighty 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. degree weather as we gazed across October 27th the Laguna at the first blue northern of the season blew in and in the time 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. it takes to say “hey, that looks like a October 28th blue northern” the first blast of cool, even cold, air hit and within seconds 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. the temperature was in the fifties. October 29th - November 2nd We went straight from the balmy climes of summer to the cold grip of 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. what passes for winter around here Some convenient Early Voting justlikethat! The good news is that Island Playground Opens the arrival of Cold Front Abraham Island kids turned out in flocks on Saturday to celebrate the opening of the new playground at Billish Park. sites for Islanders are: announces the effective end of It took wise Island dogs a while to get used to the notion they can walk on the new turf at the park without Schlitterbahn 14353 Commodores Hurricane Season 2018 as cold fronts getting attacked by stickers. Work on the park is nearing completion. It’s time to start thinking about an Drive and hurricanes don’t like each other. Island softball league! Photo by Laurie Lyng Nueces County Courthouse 901 Litter Critter Leopard Street The Litter Critter is coming back Voting cont. on A2 to The Island and is normally on the Effort Continues to Fix Problems third Saturday of each month but this By the Numbers Saturday, October 20, was booked for with City Water Bills another event so the next arrival of The Critter will be Saturday, October By Dale Rankin 4800 did not receive bills originally getting the results I would hope. We City Numbers and 800 still have not. The accounts are working in a black box world.” 27. Save up your detritus, your The Corpus Christi City Council of the remaining 4000 who were 2018 flotsam and jetsam, your relatives this week continued to wrestle with He reported that about 1000 meters identified as not receiving bills were that showed up for Labor Day and problems with water bills across were not read last month due to a Editor’s note: These numbers contacted and told their accounts haven’t left, and anything else you the city. Two weeks ago the city glitch in communication between the were presented to the Corpus had been reconciled but then another can’t get Island sneak thieves to steal hired consultant Peter Collins to meters and the receivers and crews Christi City Council on Tuesday problem arose. and head on over there a week from sort through the problems and as are working to find out why. as required by the Texas Tax Code Saturday. which is the last step in complying we reported last week tracked much “Due to a glitch in the computer “This is low hanging fruit so we of the problems with the bills to software their data was not entered,” with the “Truth-in-Taxation” ISAC are not sending out crews to repair a guidelines as it relates to the problems with communication of Collins said. “We are fixing the transmitter which is in fact working,” The Island Strategic Action data between meters on homes and problem.” adoption of a property tax rate Committee meeting for October was he said. and the assessment of property the receivers which transmit the data Collins said investigators have held Wednesday night after we put back to city hall. Collins said no changes are currently taxes. They come from Constance the paper to bed so we will have a discovered problems with the 82 being made to the system to avoid P. Sanchez, Director of Financial report on what happened in the next This week Collins told the council receivers designed to take in data from confusion between longstanding Services and Kevin Kieschnick, issue. that the Water Department has redone automated meters and 75 of them problems and any new ones Nueces County Assessor and the bill to make it easier to read and were not allowed to be mounted more introduced by new changes. Collector of Taxes POA show the customer what is owned, than 20 feet off the ground which is “We need to freeze the system so City Tax Values and Levy for The next Board of Directors how the figure was arrived at, how causing some of the problems, but we can repair it. Any change can meeting of the Padre Isles Property much water was used, if there is credit the meters seem to be operating as 2018 trickle down and if you chase those Owners Association is on Tuesday, owned by the city, and reconciling the designed but there are problems. $85,525,645.81 Tax revenue down you use staff time that needs October 23, at 5:30 P.M. at the Island numbers so they add up from the top supporting the City’s “The meters are working fine,” he to be used to find the problems we Presbyterian Church, 14030 Fortuna to the bottom. maintenance and operations said, “We are going around to check already have. If we change it now Bay. Collins reported that of the 84,000 the operations of each one, and $46,138,176.87 Tax revenue Items on the agenda include updates customers with meters in the city moving in the right directions but not Water Bills cont. on A2 supporting the City’s debt on the ongoing audit, Billish Park, service discussion on filling an anticipated A little Island history $4,886,473.27 Amount of tax vacancy on the board, progress on not collected due to Over-65 replacing channel markers, updates years of age deduction on finances, and reports from the The 380 Island Tax Incentive Agreement various POA committees. $124,013,598 Total City Budget Billish! What is it and how does it work $78,516,438 General Fund Budget This week will be remembered By Dale Rankin Padre Island but the political and under which the city “has the for the opening of the playground fiscal reality was that property tax authority to make loans or grants $42,356,947 Debt Service Fund In 2012 as development of the at Billish Park. It will always be an abatements for the property were out of public funds for the purposes Schlitterbahn waterpark and 498.6 $2,412,597 Collected in TRZ #2 indelible Island memory to see kids of the question because the property of promoting local economic acres of land around it was in the on Padre Island playing in the new park and Islanders tax on new development on the development and stimulating planning stages negotiations began $131,663,822 Total Ad Valorem and their dogs able to walk on land in question had already been business and commercial activity.” between the developers and the Tax Levy before exemptions grass there without worrying about committed to Investment Zone #2 city for a tax abatement plan that The resulting agreement is stickers. A big Island Thank You to which dedicated increases in property $126,930,210.19 2018 Total would incentivize the developers to commonly referred to as the 380 all the people who stuck with the tax after 2003 to Packery Channel Ad Valorem Tax Levy after move forward with $551,215,000 Agreement and was signed on May project and made it happen. and the land around it. (See the story exemptions of investment stretched over 22, 2012 between the City of Corpus in the last issue of the Island Moon). Then the next day the Art Walk was several years. The footprint for Christi, and the owners/developers Another way had to be found that Taxable Value held there, the first of what hopefully development was bordered on the of the property, Texas Limited would provide incentives without the will be regular events now that the east by the Gulf of Mexico and on Partnership Upper Padre Partners, $27,706,080,927 Total direct commitment of city funds, the park is usable.