Corpus Christi City Council Meeting - April 29, 2025

The Corpus Christi City Council met in Council Chambers at 1201 Leopard Street on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, beginning at 11:30 a.m. Mayor Paulette Guajardo presided. The meeting opened with an invocation by Pastor Rob Bailey, pledges led by Elizabeth Franco, and a roll call of charter officers. The agenda included city manager recognitions, public comments, a consent agenda, several individual contract and ordinance items, a FY2026 General Fund budget briefing, and executive session.

City Manager’s Report and Recognitions

• City Manager Peter Zanoni introduced Brook Kaufman, the new CEO of Visit Corpus Christi. Kaufman began April 15, 2025, and said her early priorities are relationship building, group and convention sales, and evolving the sports commission.
• The council recognized Fire Chief Brandon Wade, who was reappointed on April 4, 2025, by Governor Greg Abbott to the Texas Commission on Fire Protection for a six-year term ending in 2031. Chief Wade said he would continue to help set statewide fire service standards.

Consent Calendar

• The council approved the consent agenda (Items 4–25) by one motion, with Items 11, 17, 19, and 25 pulled for individual consideration.
• Approved routine items included: April 15, 2025 meeting minutes; law enforcement and fire grants totaling approximately $58,733.34 for police/fire training; a $100,000 TxDOT Routine Airport Maintenance Program grant; two zoning cases (ZN8561 and ZN8584); the Holly Road Train Trestle to Tourism Trail Advance Funding Agreement with $11,797,839 from TxDOT; water/gas supply and service agreements (Omicron Controls $98,633.72; American Generator Services $146,500 with potential $732,500; Firetrol access control replacement $189,236.60; Wilnat gas meters $408,750); Flour Bluff Elevated Storage Tank demolition ($216,495); Bonner Drive reconstruction ($3,618,872.60); property insurance renewal ($3,178,178.61); the 2025 Annual Audit Plan; Operation Stonegarden grant ($247,669); and Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation grant ($30,734).

Public Comments & Testimony

• Stephen Clapper, District 2, former city auditor and 27-year city employee, expressed concern that the 2025 Annual Audit Plan was postponed by leadership despite a city code timeline, and questioned organizational independence of the audit function. City Manager Zanoni responded that he and his staff were not involved in delaying or placing the audit plan and that the auditor reports directly to the mayor and council.
• Susie Luna Saldana, District 2, addressed a prior exchange about her wearing hats, provided medical information to legal counsel, and voiced support for building a desalination plant. Sylvia Campos clarified that she is not suing the city and that the matter is a petition for discovery.
• Dr. Christina Nelson, board president of the Children’s Advocacy Center of the Coastal Bend, reported that Nueces County was removed from the center’s designated service area effective April 22, 2025. She said the center served more than 1,000 children in 2024, including 525 from Nueces County, and is working to ensure uninterrupted services.
• Jason Hale criticized city staff for omitting details from a March 25 desalination modeling presentation, including a March 19 GHD document about expanding the model domain, confirming near-field results, running scenarios, and assessing hypoxia. He also questioned the timeline, citing GHD’s statement that it was about halfway through with roughly two months remaining.
• Adam Rios promoted the West Good Skate Games on May 4, 2025, at 9720 Up River Road, and announced a June 17 proclamation recognizing Ray High School’s skateboard club.
• Isabel Areisa, co-founder for the Greater Good, District 2, said crime control funds go almost entirely to police rather than prevention programs, that clearance rates for burglary and larceny are low, and that crime rates are above national and state averages. She called for metrics and prevention investments.
• Maggie Peacock said the Carlsbad desalination plant visit was misleading because Carlsbad discharges into the open Pacific Ocean, whereas the proposed Hillcrest plant would discharge into the closed Corpus Christi Bay system.

Individual Consideration Items

Item 11 – Engineering Services Additional Positions (Failed)

• An ordinance to add 20 full-time positions and equipment to Engineering Services, with an FY 2025 impact of $1,705,243 and FY 2026 recurring cost of $1,969,676, was pulled by Councilmember Hernandez. He voted against it and the motion failed. He recommended the city pursue an RFP for contracted project management services; the City Secretary noted that would require a future agenda item.

Item 17 – Cathodic Protection IDIQ Contract (Approved)

• The council awarded a construction contract to RUTS Construction, LLC, in an amount up to $2,500,000, with two renewal options for a potential total of $7,500,000, for the Citywide Large-Size Water Line Cathodic Protection System. Staff explained the project was bid three times; the first two attempts drew zero bids, and the low bid exceeded the engineer’s estimate. The motion carried.

Item 19 – Wastewater Maintenance Building (Approved)

• The council awarded a construction contract to Barcom Construction, Inc., in an amount up to $8,476,293 for a new Wastewater Maintenance Building at the Greenwood Wastewater Treatment Plant. The Director of Water Systems Infrastructure said the project addresses decades of deferred maintenance, protects more than $500 million in assets, and supports the consent decree. The current workspace is about 5,000 square feet; the new building will be 16,000–18,000 square feet for roughly 50–51 employees. About $6 million was already encumbered in the capital improvement program; the remaining $2.5 million would add approximately three cents per year to the average residential wastewater customer’s bill. Councilmembers Hernandez and Paxon spoke against the project, but the motion carried.

Item 25 – GLO Grant for Wastewater Plant Resiliency (Approved)

• The council accepted and appropriated $15,092,700 from the Texas General Land Office Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation Program for operational resiliency at the Greenwood and Oso wastewater treatment plants. Staff said the grant funds flood mitigation and backup power generation, and is separate from the $102 million treatment-process project. The motion carried.

Item 27 – Greenwood WWTP DAFT Rehabilitation and Odor Control (Approved)

• The council awarded a construction contract to RAVA Construction, LLC, for up to $102,000,000, and approved a resolution waiving bid irregularities. Jeff Edmonds, Director of Engineering Services, said the low bidder had not yet met the five-year business requirement but brought seasoned staff, and the city manager accepted the risk because the bid saved about $7 million. Staff said the project will change the treatment process from anaerobic to aerobic and could address the odor within roughly the first year of the four-year project. The motion carried.

Item 28 – Bond 2024 Residential Streets IDIQ Contracts (Approved)

• The council authorized indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts with JE Construction Services, Anderson Columbia Co., Inc., and Tex-Mix Paving, all local firms, for up to $18,000,000 each, with a combined aggregate not-to-exceed amount of $35,187,388.41, for the voter-approved Bond 2024 Residential Streets project in the Rapid Pavement Program. The motion carried.

Briefing: FY 2026 General Fund Financial Forecast

• The Office of Management and Budget presented an informational forecast for FY 2026, which begins October 1, 2025. The forecast projected a $7 million gap: beginning fund balance of $73.5 million, revenues of $341.5 million, total available of $415 million, expenses of $351.7 million, and an ending balance of $63.3 million compared to a required 20% reserve of $70.3 million.
• Revenue assumptions included 2.5% property tax growth (0.5% from existing properties and 2% from new value), flat sales tax, and renegotiated industrial district payments-in-lieu of tax. The FY 2025 budget had reduced property tax revenue by about $12 million through doubling the homestead exemption to 20% and increasing the over-65/disabled exemption.
• Expense assumptions included no additional general fund transfers to streets, a $13 million increase in required street contributions, and a $1.5 million placeholder for commodity and equipment increases.
• City Manager Zanoni said closing the gap will require difficult expenditure reductions, potentially affecting library hours, code compliance services, and park amenities. The next budget goal-setting workshop is scheduled for May 8, 2025, with a proposed balanced budget expected at the end of July.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the consent agenda with the exception of Items 11, 17, 19, and 25.
• Failed Item 11 (Engineering Services 20 FTEs).
• Approved Items 17, 19, 25, 27, and 28.
• Item 26, the outside-city-limits water mediation settlement item, was pulled by the City Manager after receiving late legal information; it will be considered at a future meeting.
• The council went into executive session on Item 32 pursuant to Texas Government Code Sections 551.071 and 551.072, then adjourned.