Inside the Moon Island Poker Run A2 Business Briefs A3 Demolition A4 Turtle Release A7 Three Chords and the Truth A16 Issue 907 The 27° 37' 0.5952'' N | 97° 13' 21.4068'' W Photo by Mary Craft Island Free The voiceMoon of The Island since 1996 September 2, 2021 Weekly www.islandmoon.com FREE Photo by Evelyn Pless-Schuberth By the numbers Convention Center and Hotel By Dale Rankin The most asked question of the week Occupancy Tax Around The Island this week is when the tower at Waves Resort is coming Taxpayers down. As crews have removed the remainder of the building surrounding subsidize the the Island most visible structure it has taken on the look of one of Elon operation $14.5 Musk’s rocket ships about to blast into space. The second most asked million question is how it will be taken down. We are told that some additional The following are numbers equipment will be brought in for from the 2021-2022 City of the job. We will know the answer to The Texas Women Anglers Tournament was held last weekend. Photo by Kimberly Zahn Wilson. Corpus Christi Budget. The both questions when the tower finally Results and more photos on page A2. city-owned facility is run by a comes down but when that will be is private contractor with the city unknown. responsible for maintenance of both the Corpus Christi Waves project Convention Center and the Funds for Packery Channel American Bank Center Arena. The developers of the property at Waves Resort have been meeting A report to the city council this with residents of the Whiskey Streets week showed that the amount of that border the land on the west as Repair in Place funds generated from the Hotel they roll out plans for redevelopment Occupancy Tax (HOT) is up for of the property. The rumor mill has the year even as the Convention fired up along with the phone line City Council approves $4 million in safeguards Center is inactive, meaning that here at the newspaper so we went to By Dale Rankin the total HOT funds raised come the source for information. We talked from non-convention sources. The Corpus Christi City Council on which clears the way for the repair to Jennifer Hoff, Vice President of remaining 20 percent coming from Tuesday approved the final piece of work to go out for bids. The city is $16,441,995 total revenue Diamond Beach Holdings, LLC., local sources. If the FEMA money stopgap funding for the estimated $15 currently applying for funds from generated from Hotel who is in charge of the project and is not forthcoming the $4 million million needed to repair the damage the Federal Emergency Management Occupancy Tax citywide here is what we found out. in Certificates of Obligation would to the Packery Channel Jetty system. Agency which city staff has said they fill the funding gap between funds $4 million HOT generated on Preliminary plans for the property believe will be approved but are not As part of the 2021-2022 city Padre and Mustang islands are in the hands of the various city finalized. FEMA funds typically pay budget the council approved $4 departments involved and should be for 80 percent of repair costs with the million in Certificates of Obligation Packery cont. on A3 Convention Center taxpayer available for public viewing within subsidy three to four months. Hoff said the plans have not been released publicly $6,988,000 in Hotel Mizzen cont. on A4 because city regulators may not allow Occupancy Tax to fund the some of the elements of the plan to go Water Exchange Bridge Project Update Convention Center forward and Diamond Beach officials $7,283,709 Arena Tax don’t want to release plans until they (tax money paid into arena know where the city rules will land. operations) She also said International Bank 7,602,617 Revenue of Commerce plans to develop fromConvention Center and the property themselves and is American Bank Center hiring a National Master Planning Community Developer to manage the $22.1 million operating budget development. for Convention Center and American Bank Center She also said that the homebuilders D.R. Horton are not involved and $5,587,092 annual debt service that the property will not be solely on Convention Center and houses or condos. She said the plan American Bank Center bonds is to use Planned Unit Development $14,590,617 total taxpayer zoning to build a combination of subsidy for arena and retail, residential, and green space Convention Center operations that will connect to the current canal on the south end of the property and Work on the south approach to the Water Exchange Bridge is underway and City Manager Peter Zanoni to the Water Exchange Bridge. The told the Corpus Christi City Council on Tuesday that installation of the vertical panels that support the plans also call for the current canal approach to the bridge on the south side of the bridge structure will begin within the next two weeks. which runs along Cabana East and No Wake dead ends at Commodores Drive Zanoni said the $15 million project is on schedule to be complete by December, 2022. to be extended under Commodores Zone south of to the development at the Waves site. We will print the plans for the A little Island history JFK Bridge project here as soon as they become Gets Council available. The Texas Revolution Comes to Turtle Release Approval The turtle release on Michael J. Ellis the Coastal Bend Beach last weekend drew a good $500 fines along crowd. The turtles were rehabilitated This story is based on the at the Texas Sealife Center. It was a writings of Herman Ehrenberg the Intracoastal great Island event and we hope to see who in 1836 immigrated to Texas more. from his native Germany to fight Waterway for Texas’ independence from By Dale Rankin Two items Mexico. He fought at many of More than a decade of attempts to This issue contains columns from the early battles of Texas’ War make the section of the Intracoastal Mayor Paulette Guajardo and City for Independence and was one of Waterway south of the JFK Bridge Councilman Greg Smith. The the few to escape the massacre of a No Wake Zone came to fruition in Mayor addresses the work to write Texian troops at a Goliad by the less than two minutes at the Corpus a city ordinance regulating Short- Mexican General Antonio Lopez Christi City Council on Tuesday. Term rentals by the end of 2021. de Santa Anna. Fortunately for Councilman Smith writes about our us Mr. Ehrenberg was a literate It took longer for the City Clerk’s friend and Islander Richard Martinez man who kept a full diary of his office to read the contents of the who died suddenly this week. experiences in the struggle. But his proposed city ordinance into the Martinez came to town to overhaul journal was lost to history for 100 record than it took the council to the way the city builds and maintains years until 1936 when “an ancient unanimously approve it on a voice streets and in the short time he was German manuscript was found vote. A second vote is needed here he did just that. He was a very by instructors at the University of for final approval but following Texas” but the language was old nice man and did a great job here and San Patricio Graveyard. Tuesday’s council action the second he will be greatly missed. German that was not understood reading, scheduled for Tuesday, by any of the professors at the he recognized the language as the versions; one is still on file at the September 14, the second reading Hunker down everybody the tourist University. old German dialect that his mother University of Texas Library, the will likely be listed on the council’s season is over after this weekend and had taught him as a child and he other was a red-bound folder Consent Agenda and approved with the heart of the hurricane season isn’t As fate would have it a student from Refugio was working on his translated the 100 year-old story to which was passed down through no discussion. far behind. Say hello if you see us English and wrote it down in two Around The Island. Master’s Degree at the time and History cont. on A4 No wake cont. on A4 September 2, 2021 Island Moon A 2 Texas Women Angler's Padre Island Poker Run Tournament Benefitting the Riley P. Dog Park Best decorated The Texas Women’s Anglers Tournament was held last weekend in Port Aransas. Twenty- Seven boats participated bringing in a total of Sixty-Nine Billfish. The overall winner was Tenacious with 1,291 points. Overall 2nd place was the Rebecca with 1,086 points. The top woman angler was Cole Scott. This month's Island Poker Run raised $515 for the Riley P. Dog Park. Photos by Neesy Thompkins and Kimberely Zahn Winton Photos by Jan Rankin. $100 OFF FOR EVERY $1000 SPENT FRIDAY - MONDAY (3RD-6TH) NORTH PADRE & PORT ARANSAS STORE 10-4PM *IN STOCK ONLY ITEMS Largest In-Stock SelecEXCLUDEStion o PATIOn the Island! 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