Issue 561
The
FREE
Island Moon
The voice of The Island since 1996 When business is good, it pays to advertise; When business is bad, you've got to advertise." ~Henry Ford, Founder of Ford Motor Company
Around The Island By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com
Our Winter Texan friends are here in numbers so we are including some things for them to do in this issue, one that goes without saying is swimming. We mention this because we locals are annually amazed when we see anyone in water of any kind, be it swimming pool or ocean, this time of year. It’s easy to tell the Winter Texans from the locals on the beach when the temperature is below 70 degrees. The Winter Texans, if not in the water, are the ones wearing shorts, a coat, and flip flops. The locals are the ones wearing three pairs of pants, a wool cap pulled low over the eyes, the biggest coat they own, which is probably a windbreaker, and the only pair of shoes with toes in them they can find in their closet. Our blood runs thin and we are amazed at the Winter Texan’ hardiness. The only blizzards we have ever seen are at Dairy Queen. So welcome you guys, send us some pictures of yourselves as you move about The Island and tell us some of your stories. We could use some new ones. We’ve worn most of ours out and are down to telling outright fibs.
Island News Bureau We have had several readers comment in recent weeks that if you watch local television news on Thursday and Friday nights you will see a lot of the same stories you have already read in the Island Moon that week. We have become the Island Bureau for local television news operations who use the Moon the way the Indians used the buffalo ringing out every bit of information they can use. That’s okay. We’re in the information business and we thank them for reading. One thing you will notice is the difference in Island News and OTB News (that’s Over The Bridge for our Winter Texan readers). OTB News usually involves somebody getting shot somewhere; the story usually starts out “Shots Rang Out early this morning in the so and so block of a street we Islanders never heard of and ends with a number for Crimestoppers. Or a car turned over in a ditch somewhere on a road we never heard of, or the robbing of a store which starts out with, “A Unidentified Robber….” and ends with a number for Crimestoppers. We’ll say one thing for the OTB newswriters, they avoid clichés like the plague.
Gambling ships Last week the Big Story that migrated OTB was about the new gambling ship that has arrived in Aransas Pass and a few weeks ago it was the new gambling ship that was/is coming to downtown. As of this writing the Pride of Texas casino ship, (the downtown ship) according to their booking agent and their website, is still scheduled to depart at 11 a.m., Sunday, January 25. The ship was originally to leave from the downtown marina and as of this writing it has not arrived there and marina officials say they still have a lot of inspecting to do once the ship does arrive. However, the company’s website now says the ship will dock in Aransas Pass and as of this writing it hasn’t arrived there yet either. It goes on to say “the vessel may arrive past the schedule date.” Calls to the ship’s operator, Vidal Conde went unanswered this week but their website says the first voyage is sold out at 1000 tickets and buyers can get a refund by calling 1 888-71-TICKETS. Mr. Conde’s Linkedin site says he is seeking “49% investors, and qualified casino personnel.” Just a guess so far, but look for some OTB headlines this week along the lines of “Arrival of Gambling Ship Delayed.”
Island Moon Art Walk Don’t forget the Island Moon Art Walk is this Saturday, January 17, from 10-2 at Schlitterbahn. We’ll see you there. Say hello if you see us Around The Island.
Free
Weekly
January 15, 2015
Photo by Ronnie Narmour
Extension of Schlitterbahn Tax Incentives Headed to City Council By Dale Rankin A decision on whether to extend the $117 million in sales and Hotel Occupancy Tax for the Schlitterbahn waterpark is scheduled to go before the Corpus Christi City Council on January 27. At issue is whether the park’s developers, local businessman Willard Hammond, Paul Schexnailder, Vice President of the Upper Padre Group, and the Henry family, owners of Schlitterbahn waterparks, have met the conditions of the incentives. Those incentives include the opening of a park capable of holding 3000 visitors last summer, a condition which developers park contend they have met since they opened the completed portion of the park before the required deadline last summer, even as they doubled the scope and size of the park adding more rides, 80 additional hotel rooms,
and expanding the size of the main building from 27,000 square feet to over 100,000 square feet. So far the city has refused to guarantee the tax incentive package, known as the 380 agreement, until further construction is complete which will comply with the terms as they interpret them. In its vote the council will decide whether to extend the time to comply with the terms of incentive agreement until September 15, 2015. Under the terms of the 380 agreement the $117 million in tax incentives are almost entirely performance based with only $5 million committed upfront; that coming from the city’s 4A funds which are raised through sales tax and committed to new economic development. $2.5 million of that has already been released to the developers with the additional coming when the terms of the 380 agreement are met.
The investment group is undergoing a change as Hammond seeks to be bought out from his investment; a move which is complicated by the uncertainty of the definition of the terms included the incentive package. Potential investors want certainty on the incentives before committing more resources. Currently about $49 million has been spent on the park and another approximately $25 million is expected to be need to complete it at the current, expanded scale. The 60acre waterpark is the centerpiece of a total 574 acre planned development which would cover the area from the park on the west side of SPID to Lake Padre on the east and would include two marinas, restaurants, retail space, hotels, condominiums, and more than 3000 feet of newly dug canals which would tie it all together.
Schlitterbahn continued on A5
Statement from the Padre Isles Property Owners Association
Island By the Numbers
How Many Vehicles are Crossing the Port Aransas Ferries?
There has been much discussion of late about the numbers of vehicles coming to The Island over the JFK Causeway, but what about traffic arriving over the Port Aransas ferry?
A look at the numbers shows that the total number of vehicles crossing on the ferries increased by about 2000 last year but dropped off by 35,000 vehicles from the year prior. Surprisingly traffic there has increased by only about 18,000 vehicles per year since 2005. The ferry crossing is the Island bottleneck where two of the area’s largest economic generators compete for space – tourism and the Port of Corpus Christi. For complete numbers on ferry crossings see the charts on Page A14 .
An Open Letter to the Padre Isles Property Owners Association membership
Barefoot Mardi Gras Parade Saturday February 14
From the PIPOA Board of Directors:
Full Schedule A5
Owners, Friends, Neighbors: Over the past months, the Board of Directors has pursued building a Community Center and new POA Headquarters at Billish Park with input from the owners and the best intentions in mind for all of the PIPOA membership. We have received many visits, emails, and phone calls supporting this project and some opposing it. We have taken all of them seriously. However, in recent days it has become apparent that the Board has not done a good job incorporating the desire of many of our owners to allow each member an opportunity to cast a formal vote to approve or not approve a project of this magnitude and importance while explaining all aspects of the Community Center and how it is to be operated.
POA Statement continued A3
Inside the Moon
Morgan Faulkner takes flight- Surfing Magazine was on the Island this week doing a story on Texas surfing. Photo by Jeff Dolan More on A9.
Flour Bluff High School Wind Ensemble Goes SAXsational! with Corpus Christi Live! Friday, January 16 at TAMCC Performing Arts Center
Seashore Charter Schools 2013-2014 TAPR Report Card Released Island Foundation Board presentation January 19th By Brent Rourk Every year the Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR) provides information for all Texas schools. On Monday, January 19th at 6:00 PM in room 108 of Seashore Middle School, Seashore Charter Schools will review the 2013-2014 TAPR report. The public is invited to attend. Both Seashore campuses attained a “Met Standard” rating, the highest rating attainable. SMA also attaining distinctions in Reading/ ELA, Science, Social Studies, Top 25% Student Progress, and Top 25% Closing Performance Gaps. There was no measure for Post-Secondary Readiness because Seashore Schools do not have a high school.
Report Card continued on A8
Turtle Rescue Volunteers A4
On the Rocks A7
By Bob Copes On Friday night, January 16 at 7:30 p.m. the Flour Bluff High School Wind Ensemble will take the Big Stage at the Performing Arts Center at Texas A&M Corpus Christi backing world- renowned saxophone virtuoso Rob Verdi. Verdi will lead them through a performance of his brainchild “SAXsational!” which celebrates one of the world’s most versatile and beloved musical instruments, as Verdi and the ensemble explore a repertoire of classic melodies that includes swing and jazz standards, movie and television hits and pop favorites. The program is sponsored by Corpus Christi Live!, a local non-profit that has been bringing live entertainment to the Coastal Bend for over 75 years. Victor Lara, Flour Bluff’s Music Supervisor and head band director, was “excited and honored” when he was asked whether his group would perform in the concert.
Sports A8 “This will be a very educational opportunity for the Flour Bluff band students to have a master class on jazz styles, performance techniques and careers in music from a professional musician.” The students didn't know how to react initially, but their excitement grew as they studied concert video. For Corpus Christi Live! board member Nick Colosi, choosing “SAXsational” for their 2014/2015 concert season was a perfect fit.
Birth of the Internet A14
“Corpus Christi Live! has an Outreach Program wherein visiting artists hold a Masters Class for students selected by their teachers from local colleges and high schools. The Concert Committee selected Rob Verdi’s 'SAXsational' both as a fascinating concert and an opportunity to highlight talented local student musicians,” he said.
Sax continued on A2
Winter Texan Roundup A15-16