Bob Hall Pier is home to the popular eatery Mikel May’s Restaurant. Part of the commercial business uses an observation deck that was expanded with federal grant money. That money might have to be repaid. Staff photo
Nueces County might have to refund a $746,000 grant to the federal government initially given for expansion of an observation deck at Bob Hall Pier. The expansion is now part of Mikel May’s Restaurant, something the federal government says is not allowed and it did not know about until making a site visit last December, about five years after the grant was awarded.
Nueces County leases the space to Mikel May’s and collects sales tax revenue. Last year, that totaled $120,000, which was used to offset operating costs for the pier and Padre Bali Park, where it resides. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which granted the money, said using a federally funded structure for a private business is against government regulations. Mikel May’s renewed a five-lease with the county just this year.
A decision on how to pay the money back is stalled for now in back-and-forth letters between county and federal entities.
The county received a letter from the federal government in February charging that Mikel May’s restaurant and bar did not comply with with “the original plan of the pier.” The letter was sent after the feds paid a visit to the site in December 2017.
The county responded in May with its own letter asking the federal government for an opportunity to repay the grant money over time. The idea is to use the income from Mikel May’s to repay the grant.
A June response from the chief of the Coastal Impact Assistance Program asked for a formal request to repay the funds, plus interest. If the money is repaid, the pier can be used for a commercial interest. The federal government would no longer have a say.
The answer came quickly but added another bureaucracy. The Department of Justice has to make the decision about repaying the money.
“When the amount of debt due, exclusive of interest, penalties, and administrative costs, exceeds $100,000, the agency does not have the authority to apply installment payments as a debt compromise,” wrote Penny Le. Bartnicki, chief of the Coastal Impact Assistance Program, a state program in the Texas General Land Office that awards grant money from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Nueces County Judge Loyd Neal responded with a request for instructions on how to apply for repayment of the debt through the Department of Justice and what alternatives the county has if the request is denied. Five months later, and still no response, reported county officials.
“This was our mistake, and we own that this was our mistake,” Commissioner Brent Chesney told reporters. “But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to remedy a mistake that helps the county.”
For now, Mikel May’s remains open for business, while the county asks U.S. Sen. John Cornyn for his help in resolving the issue. Cornyn notified county officials recently that he has contacted the Department of Interior, which oversees Fish and Wildlife, and is waiting for a response.
