Corpus Christi City Council Meeting Summary – November 12, 2024

The City Council of Corpus Christi met on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, at 11:30 a.m. in Council Chambers at 1201 Leopard Street. Mayor Paulette Guajardo presided. City Councilmembers Roland Barrera, Sylvia Campos, Gil Hernandez, Michael Hunter, Jim Klein, Mike Pusley, Everett Roy, and Dan Suckley were present, along with City Manager Peter Zanoni, City Attorney Miles Risley, and City Secretary Rebecca L. Huerta; a quorum was confirmed. The council heard a city manager’s report, took public comment, acted on consent and individual agenda items, approved two historic overlay zoning cases, and held an executive session on water-related legal matters. The meeting opened with an invocation and pledges, and the mayor recognized a Ukrainian energy delegation visiting through the Rotary Club of Corpus Christi.

City Manager’s Report

• H-E-B is sponsoring free admission for November and December 2024 at the Art Museum of South Texas, the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History, and the Texas State Museum of Asian Cultures. City Manager Peter Zanoni said H-E-B provided monetary donations to the museums to offset admission costs. The Art Museum welcomes over 125,000 visitors annually, and the Museum of Science and History sees about 100,000 visitors each year.
• The Rotary Club of Corpus Christi’s seventh annual Flags for Heroes display is up along Ocean Drive. The city sponsored 80 flags; about 1,800 total flags were installed by 175 volunteers in about an hour and a half. Alan Wilson of Charter Bank and the Rotary Club spoke, and the display will remain up through Sunday. Public events that evening included a honk-for-heroes drive from 5:00 to 5:45 p.m. and taps at Ropes Park at 6:00 p.m.

Public Comments & Testimony

• John Weber (609 Naple Street) raised water supply concerns. He said posted reservoir levels are 20.9%, argued the city has not implemented water conservation and smart rate design, and said desalination is too expensive and too slow to solve immediate needs. He referenced a former 10 million gallons-per-day groundwater contract with an estimated total cost of $23.125 million and a 17-24 month timeline, with water to be delivered to the Mary Rhodes pipeline, and urged the city to re-enact that contract or one like it.
• Marilyn Garza (also identified herself as Martilena Garza) supported the proposed decorum change to require name and city rather than a full address. She criticized the library board as a circus and said the City Secretary’s office sent a letter on November 8 to Alice Upshaw Hawkins before the November 18 election certification. She said NAACP and LULAC had advised waiting for certification and urged council members to distance themselves from the situation.
• Deanna King, vice president of the local NAACP branch, spoke on behalf of Alice Upshaw Hawkins. She asked who instructed the City Secretary to send the letter, said the issue should have been discussed in a public meeting, and asked that Hawkins remain on the library board. She said the council could change an ordinance if that was the problem.
• City Secretary Rebecca L. Huerta responded that the issue comes from City Charter Article VII, Section 5, which ties board service to elected office, and from a 2022 legal opinion. She said a clarification on Monday determined the forfeiture occurs upon canvassing, not immediately upon election; Judge Joe Benavidez resigned, and Hawkins was notified. She said registration for public comment will still collect address information for follow-up but it will not be stated publicly. Councilmember Hernandez noted the charter can only be changed by referendum and cited prior examples of removals. Councilmember Hunter asked about the next reappointment opportunity, and Huerta said it would be in January with the new council.

Consent Calendar

• After Councilmembers pulled items 5, 6, and 8 for separate consideration, the council approved the remaining consent items by one vote: approval of the October 29, 2024 regular meeting minutes (Item 3); a construction contract with Gerke Excavating, Rockport, Texas, for Phase 2 of the Cefe Valenzuela Landfill internal roadway replacement, not to exceed $2,643,574.91 (Item 4); and an ordinance accepting $120,500 in grant funds from the Office of the Governor Homeland Security Grants Division for four sworn police officers under the FY 2025 Local Border Security Grant Program (Item 7).

Discussion Items

• Item 5 – Design-Build Industrial Park Roadway Improvements: Council considered a Design-Build Agreement with Mako Contracting, LLC, up to $7,827,277, for Industrial Park Roadway Improvements in Council District 5, including concrete pavement, curbs and gutters, ADA-compliant curb ramps, signage, pavement markings, street lighting, and utility improvements. City Manager Peter Zanoni and Public Works Director Ernie De La Garza explained that funding combined Type A sales tax dollars, certificates of obligation, and capital fund sources. Councilmember Hernandez expressed concerns about design-build and certificates of obligation but voted for the project after noting a debt management policy update with guardrails is expected. Councilmember Roy raised equity concerns for District 1 industrial streets. The motion carried.
• Item 6 – Rules of Decorum Amendment: The council considered amending City Council Policy 5 G to require public speakers to provide their name and city instead of their full address. Councilmember Pusley opposed the change. City Secretary Huerta said a survey of 15 cities found 4 require name and city, 8 require name only, and 3 require name and address. Councilmember Campos offered an amendment to allow all in-person public commenters three minutes; that amendment failed. The main motion passed.
• Item 8 – Type B Budget Amendment: Councilmember Klein pulled this item and voted no, saying the city should not increase the Regional Economic Development Corporation’s budget by 62 percent given the city’s budget situation. The ordinance authorizing a $221,284 increase in the Corpus Christi B Corporation’s FY 2025 operating budget for economic development services passed by a carried motion.
• Public Hearings 9 and 10 – Industrial District Annexations: The council opened and closed second public hearings on proposed annexation of properties in Industrial Districts No. 1, 2, and 4 in Nueces County and Industrial Districts No. 5, 6, 7, and 8 in San Patricio County that have not executed new 15-year Industrial District Agreements effective January 1, 2025. No public comment was offered, and no action was necessary.
• Item 11 – Zoning Case ZN8420, 314 Clifford Street: Staff presented a request to rezone the property from RS-6 Single Family 6 to RS-6/H Single Family 6 with a Historic Overlay. The 1928 Tudor-style home was fully renovated under Secretary of Interior standards; the Landmark Commission and staff recommended approval. The motion carried, with Councilmember Suckley abstaining.
• Item 12 – Zoning Case ZN8419, 601 North Water Street: This request would rezone the property from CBD Commercial District to CBD/H Commercial District with a Historic Overlay. The property was built in the early 1970s as a La Quinta hotel. Staff said the historic overlay could make the property eligible for federal and state historic tax credits and exempt from most FEMA rules. Councilmember Pusley raised a question about whether tax credits would affect the tax increment reinvestment zone, and the item was tabled for more information. After executive session, the economic development director said the federal and state tax credits do not affect local taxes or the TIRZ, and the motion carried.

Executive Session

• The council entered executive session under Texas Government Code Section 551.071 and Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 1.05 to consult with attorneys about legal issues related to potential water purchase contracts, risks, costs, and regulations concerning the integration, use, reuse, delivery, and transfer of water, including matters involving TCEQ, EPA, PUC, and other government entities, and other water or industrial district legal matters. The council reconvened and took no reported open-session action on these executive session matters.

Key Outcomes

• Consent items 3, 4, and 7 were approved by one consent motion; items 5, 6, and 8 were considered individually.
• Item 5 was approved, authorizing the Mako Contracting design-build agreement up to $7,827,277.
• Item 6 was approved as presented (name and city instead of full address); the amendment to grant three minutes to all in-person speakers failed.
• Item 8 was approved; Councilmember Klein voted no.
• Public hearings 9 and 10 were closed with no action.
• Item 11 was approved; Councilmember Suckley abstained.
• Item 12 was tabled for the tax-credit/TIRZ question, then approved after the answer was provided.
• An executive session was held; no open-session action was reported.
• Staff will bring back an industrial park street map and a debt management policy update with certificate-of-obligation guardrails.