Solving the problem of flooded beach parking lots is a top priority. North Beach Community Association proposes that the flooded beach parking lots be closed and street parking be improved. Photo by Carrie Robertson Meyer/Third Coast Photo
Beach maintenance just got a big boost at the bank with the passage of legislation granting the city of Corpus Christi the use of 2 percent of the hotel occupancy tax collected each year. Port Aransas, which already receives 1 percent, was included in House Bill 1915, doubling its percentage. Galveston and South Padre Island have collected the full 2 percent of the tax for five years.
“This will make a significant difference,” said Tom Tagliabue, the city’s director of intergovernmental relations. “We currently spend $2.3 (million) to $2.8 million a year out of our own revenues on gulf and bay beach maintenance.”
That will now be offset by tax money that could amount to as much as $3.2 million or more annually. Also significant, is that the city’s bay beaches — McGee and North — will now be part of the equation.
“We can now use the hotel occupancy tax to maintain the bay beaches,” Tagliabue said. “We got that language added to the bill. This is a first. This is a major step.”
According to Tagliabue, the city now will be able to rake and clean those two beaches more than once a week. The city most likely will buy new equipment and more trash cans and could hire more lifeguards.
Members of the North Beach Community Association also have plans for how it would like to see those funds used to make improvements along the 1½ miles of sand north of Harbor Bridge. Raking the beach is not part of that plan.
“Raking the beach fluffs up the sand, which causes it to dry out and blow inland and get washed away by the waves,” said Carrie Robertson Meyer, president of the North Beach Community Association, echoing sentiments sent in a recent letter to the city.
The letter points out that raking destroys native plants, which also prevents sand from blowing away, necessitating expensive restoration projects.
“Parks and rec workers are doing a fantastic job keeping North Beach clean,” Robertson Meyer said. “It’s not that long. They don’t need tractors to rake the sand. They can pick trash up by hand.”
First priority at the beach should be to drain and reclaim flooded parking lots as grassland. Currently, the parking lots are mostly unusable and unattractive.
“It’s the first thing people see when they arrive, and it’s ugly,” Robertson Meyer said. “It gives our visitors a bad impression of an area that is home to two of the biggest tourist attractions in the city: the Texas State Aquarium and the USS Lexington.”
Angled street parking can substitute for the parking lots. The association also would like to see wooden boardwalks built over the new vegetation connecting street parking to the beach.
Port A plans
The battle for clean beaches in Port Aransas involves more than raking, Mayor Keith McMullin said. Sargassum invasions often necessitate tractors scraping the seaweed from surf to dunes to make way for tourists. Storms, such as Tropical Storm Bill in mid-June, make the job harder, uncovering buried trash and charred wood from bonfires that have to be cleaned up as well.
“This is going to allow us to do the kind of things that people expect when they come to enjoy our beach,” he said. “The beach is a huge asset for all of us community-wise, but, ultimately, it’s an asset to the state of Texas. We’re spending local funds beautifying and maintaining and providing services for this state asset. We spend a great deal more than the sum we are given.”
While the bill takes effect Sept. 1, the first check won’t come in until January 2016. The bill was authored by State Rep. Abel Herrero (D-Robstown). State Rep. Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi) was joint author.
