Issue 767 the 27° 37' 0.5952'' N | 97° 13' 21.4068'' W Island Free
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Inside the Moon Seashore Construction A2 New Projects A4 Works in Progress A7 The Year Outdoors A13 Photo by Brandi Grahl Issue 767 The 27° 37' 0.5952'' N | 97° 13' 21.4068'' W Island Free The voiceMoon of The Island since 1996 December 27, 2018 Weekly www.islandmoon.com FREE Around The Island 2018: The Year in Review By Dale Rankin 2018 saw completion of some longtime Island projects, several new ones, and some that The Island moon this week has ended the year right where they began. Here is an overview of been bright enough to read The Island Moon by and we are happy to 2018 on our Island. say that the days are now officially getting longer as the Winter Solstice came and went at 4:23 p.m. on Schlitterbahn Friday. Local beaches looked almost summerlike on Tuesday as the balmy Park Gets New weather drew crowds for Christmas Island style. Owner New tradition By Dale Rankin It took only seven minutes for the Schlitterbahn Riverpark & Resort to change hands on the steps of the Nueces County Courthouse in May, 2018 as the prime creditor in the project bought it out of bankruptcy in a foreclosure proceeding for $20 million. By year’s end ownership of the park had been transferred to Diamond Beach Holdings, LLC, a wholly- In what is becoming as regular a owned subsidiary of the buyer, tradition as Christmas on our little International Bank of Commerce sandbar Padre Island National which was the sole bidder on the Seashore is going through the annual project bidding $20 million against shutdown of the federal government. This sign you see here is actually from Schlitterbahn cont. on A4 a previous year. This year’s event is only a partial shutdown meaning that park roads, lookouts, and trails Water Exchange remain accessible to visitors, but emergency and rescue services are Bridge Stalled limited and public information, By Dale Rankin restrooms, trash collection, and Billish Rising! Several Island projects began 2018 facilities and road maintenance are much like they started it and the shut down. Malaquite Campground Opening of new park tops list of 2018 stories still-proposed Park Road 22 Water is closed due to public health and Exchange Bridge is one of the items sanitation concerns but visitors can By Dale Rankin It began in 2012 when voters at the top of the list. If anything the still camp on the beach and at Bird approved $550,000 bond issue for future of the $11.5 million dollar It took six years and three revisions Island Basin. improvements at Billish Park. A bridge is less certain at the end of the of the plans but 2018 will go down as planning meeting in April, 2014 year than it was at the beginning. Rules set down in the documents the year that the new and improved resulted in a set of plans calling for which dedicated the land for the park Billish Park opened to the public When 2018 opened a construction a shallow pond to capture ground require that it remain accessible to marking the first usable public park bid on the project was in place along water to use for irrigating the new the public and that includes during on Padre Island in decades. Lack with funding and the only thing and improved park. That $80,000 federal shutdowns. A complete of funding from the City of Corpus holding up the launching of work was plan managed by the City of Corpus shuttering of the park several years Christi for over two decades left the a $3.5 million pledge by the owners Christi was discarded after the sudden ago, including prohibiting owners 11.15 acre park an unusable sticker of land on the west side of the bridge death of the project consultant and of floating cabins from going to patch and home to a small army of the decision by the city to provide Billish park in 2012 Bridge cont. on A4 their cabins if they were within one subterranean pocket gophers but free water to irrigate the new park. thousand feet of the park boundaries profoundly bereft of human activity. came to $78,000 for new playground caused some pushback from locals Even Island dogs cast a wary eye on By the end of 2014 a third revision equipment through donations and who cited the deed restrictions and the visually inviting open green space of the plans for the park were bake sales. But changes in the now the park remains open during after a few tries and romping. in place and $170,000 had been POA board over the next two years Whale of shutdowns but without the services spent on the planning process, but effectively stalled the project and by But 2018 was the year that all listed. By then the Padre Isles Property the end of 2016 work had still not changed as Island kids were able to Owners Association had pledged an begun. But 2017 was the year things a Find! In an aside, after a few years of do the unthinkable; walk in the park additional $200,000 and had taken began to change. quietude we have once again been without their shoes and enjoy the new Victoria Hedges (in photo) and over management of the project. That fielding complaints from parkgoers playground equipment paid for with A new design and construction her fiancé John Tegge like many same year two Islanders, Jennifer about the treatment they received money raised by two Island mothers contract went out and the project Islanders spent part of their Seymore and Madelyn Garner began from particular park rangers who over three years. began to move. Construction began Christmas Day on the beach and seem to be a bit over the top in how an effort to raise what eventually Billish cont. on A4 while digging in the sand found they react to infractions either actual this very large piece of whale or perceived. This was an ongoing vertebrae. It is a little over five problem in years past and resulted in Axys Capital Becomes Largest feet wide and makes us The Only pushback from locals when the park Island in Texas with More Whale tried to expand northward. Vertebrae Than Grocery Stores… Island Landower at least for now. The Only Island in Texas… By Dale Rankin In two sales in 2018 Axys Capital Management of Austin who loaned $18 million on the Schlitterbahn project in 2015 became the largest single landowner of North Padre Island by paying $15.5 million for a total of 952 acres of undeveloped Island land in two foreclosure auctions on the steps of the Nueces Six years after his death friends County Courthouse. of Island Moon founder Michael In early 2018 the company bought J. Ellis scattered his ashes on the 230 acres of land located between the beach now named after him. Aquarius Extension and the Laguna Madre along Commodores for $3 We lost long-time Moon staffer million. In the same auction they and friend Miles Merwin this year paid $6 million for forty acres of land Land including the Ski Basin sold for $5 million in 2018. and, six years after his passing we along the west side of SPID at the the Cape Summer area is 642 acres Cape Summer property and the 230 scattered the ashes of Island Moon site where the proposed SPID/Park for which Axys paid $5 million. The acres adjacent to Commodores. Prior founder Michael J. Ellis on the beach Road 22 Water Exchange Bridge is 6.29 acres on the seawall just north of to 2018 all of the purchased parcels that now bears his name. planned. Island House, sold for $1 million, and had been in the hands of Asset When Mike started the paper way Then in August the company was the the SPID/Whitecap corner lot sold Development since 1993. back in 1996 the masthead included only bidder on three separate parcels for $500,000. The Cape Summer land Axys Capital is an Austin based of land including Cape Summer, the consists of about forty fingertip firm which lists $330 million under Around cont. on A4 land surrounding the popular ski basin streets which currently are without management which has traditionally Th deadline for Display area, the lot at the southwest corner of infrastructure and as 2018 Axys been primarily a bridge loan company Advertising for our the SPID/Whitecap intersection, and officials have not announced plans for projects and companies in need of January 3rd issue is a tract which includes 300 feet along for the site. Renewals on permits a short-term infusion of cash, which December 31st at 5 p.m. the Michael J. Ellis Seawall. from the U.S. Army Corps of is how they became involved on Padre By far the largest of the three parcels Engineers are pending on both the Axys cont. on A4 December 27, 2018 Island Moon A 2 2018 Success Stories Island in the Son Reopens Groundbreaking Island Songwriter for New Seashore Pens New Island Learning Center Anthem Classrooms “Thank God it’s Seashore Charter Schools saw the construction of new classrooms in 2018, they are nearing Padre” completion as the year ends. Islander Stevie Start by the way of Yonkers completed the final mix of his Island anthem “Thank God It’s Padre” in 2018. It is now available online and has been getting play on podcasts around South Florida. He recorded the song at The Zone sound studio in Dripping Springs in late 2018 with the help of musicians from the band the Georges and it is available on ITunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora and YouTube.