Corpus Christi City Council Meeting - February 24, 2026

The Corpus Christi City Council met on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, in Council Chambers. The meeting included a $6.5 million North Beach grant announcement, the FY 2027 budget calendar briefing, board appointments, consent agenda actions, a lengthy public comment period, and a 5-3-1 vote to authorize negotiation of an Inner Harbor Seawater Desalination Plant design-build contract with Corpus Christi Desal Partners. Council also held public hearings on annexation/rezoning cases and considered a motion to reconsider the Northside Aquatics Center award. Minutes for this meeting were not included in the provided source material.

Board & Committee Appointments

• The council appointed Nicholas Rhodes to the Reinvestment Zone No. 7 (London) Board for the London area taxpayer/property owner seat.
• The council confirmed Nueces County appointments Rob Leon and Jaime Garcia to the board.
• Councilmembers Sylvia Campos and Everett Roy were appointed to two open board seats created by Del Mar College’s decision not to participate.

City Manager’s Report and FY 2027 Budget Calendar

• City Manager Peter Zanoni announced that the Texas General Land Office awarded the city the full $6.5 million requested for North Beach renourishment. The project will address erosion along about 3,500 feet of beach from Surf Side Park to the USS Lexington, with the GLO managing the work.
• Amy Cowley, Director of Management and Budget, presented the recommended FY 2027 budget calendar. Key dates include financial policy review and financial forecast briefing in March, online community budget survey and community input sessions in April, budget goal-setting in May, proposed budget delivery at the end of July, community input in August, and budget adoption readings on September 1 and September 8.
• Cowley said clearer deficit information would be available by the end of March after the FY 2025 annual comprehensive financial report and FY 2026 re-estimates are complete. She noted sales tax and hotel tax collections were not showing significant changes.
• Zanoni said street funding will be tighter following elimination of the street user fee and draws on fund balances, but staff will bring recommendations.

Consent Calendar

• The consent agenda was approved by one vote after pulling Items 5, 12, 14, and 15 for individual consideration. Item 17 was postponed to the next agenda.
• Item 5: Ordinance authorizing a contract with FCC Aqualia USA Corp. for a containerized brackish water desalination plant in the amount of $43,548,474, with ancillary improvements up to $11,451,526 and emergency pump station/conveyance work up to $120,000,000. Councilman Eric Cantu raised unsolicited claims from two companies that they could save $10 million to $18 million, but staff said the Aqualia pricing was vetted and the emergency timeline required moving forward. The item was approved unanimously. Councilwoman Carolyn Vaughn said she changed her vote in favor while reiterating opposition to river wells.
• Item 12: Motion authorizing a two-year waste disposal agreement with Republic Services for delivery of tonnage to the Cefe Valenzuela Municipal Landfill was approved. Staff said it is a revenue-generating contract and was not bid out.
• Item 14: Motion awarding a construction contract to McDonald Municipal & Industrial for the Ben Garza Gymnasium generator, $205,069, was postponed to March 17 after Councilwoman Kaelin Paxson questioned the funding sources and a discrepancy involving $500,000 originally earmarked for the generator.
• Item 15: Motion awarding a construction contract to Barcom Construction for the Greenwood Sports Complex Westside Pony/Universal League/Sparkling City Youth project, $7,097,714.86, was approved unanimously. Council noted irrigation will use reuse water from the Gabe Lozano Golf Course.
• Item 17: Lease amendment with Elizondo Tennis Foundation was postponed to the next council agenda.

Public Comments & Testimony

• There were 67 public commenters, including in-person, WebEx, and phone participants. The mayor read decorum rules after warning about disruptions; at least one commenter was removed for refusing to state name and city and using profanity.
• A large majority of comments addressed Item 18. Opponents, including Armand Alex, Blanca Parkinson, Marida Forrest, Rachel Caballero, Deanna King of the NAACP, Reverend Henry Williams, and many Hillcrest and District 1 residents, argued the Inner Harbor desalination plant would harm the bay, marine life, and the Hillcrest neighborhood; that far-field modeling is incomplete; that the project serves industry rather than residents; and that ratepayer costs would be too high. Several called it environmental racism and asked council to vote no or table the item.
• Supporters included Scott Lewis, John Hanslick, Wendy Herman of Associated Builders and Contractors, Ginny Cross of the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce, Beth DeTomo of HEB, Callie Walker of Gulf Coast Growth Ventures, Bob Paulison of the Coastal Bend Industry Association, and Nelda Martinez. They argued the project is drought-proof, fully permitted, ready to move forward, and necessary to avoid curtailment and protect jobs. Some supporters said the far-field study should continue in parallel.
• Public comments also included complaints about public comment timing, a request for investigation of a police incident involving Officer Manuel Hernandez, and concerns about industrial water use and rate fairness.

Item 18 – Inner Harbor Seawater Desalination Design-Build Negotiation Resolution

• Corpus Christi Water staff and the Corpus Christi Desal Partners team presented a revised proposal for the Inner Harbor Seawater Desalination Treatment Plant. The partnership is a joint venture of Acciona Agua Corporation and MasTec Industrial Corporation, with Ardura, RAVA, and other firms on the team.
• The revised total project cost is $978.8 million, about 25 percent lower than the earlier $1.3 billion estimate. Annual operation expense was estimated at $32 million, with a projected cost of $8.05 per thousand gallons. The raw water rate would increase by $2.30 per thousand gallons to $3.48 per thousand gallons.
• Estimated monthly bill impacts were presented as: average residential customer using 6,000 gallons per month, +$13.80; average commercial customer, +$46; and average large-volume user using 90 million gallons per month, +$207,000.
• Staff said today’s vote had no fiscal impact and only authorized negotiation. A proposed contract would return in April or May for a 60 percent design, a demonstration plant, and a guaranteed maximum price. Far-field modeling was still underway; modeler qualifications were due February 23, and the next advisory committee meeting was scheduled for March 5.
• Council discussion included concerns about cost certainty, debt levels, ratepayer impacts, and design changes. Councilman Gil Hernandez presented debt projections and warned that combined water projects could roughly double the city’s water-related debt. Councilwoman Paxson compared the new rate impacts with the previous QIT proposal and questioned why residential impacts appeared higher despite lower project cost; staff explained changed assumptions, including removal of a $6 million drought surcharge credit, a 5 percent bond interest rate, and lower current water sales volumes.
• Additional public comment was taken immediately before the vote. Opponents again cited incomplete science and harm to Hillcrest; supporters urged council to keep the project moving.
• The resolution carried 5-3-1.

Public Hearings

• Item 19: Ordinance annexing and rezoning a 1.00-acre tract along FM 43 in London from FR Farm Rural District to CN-1 Neighborhood Commercial District for a dental office, requested by BRBG Investments, LLC. Staff and Planning Commission recommended approval; the Emergency Services District did not contest the annexation. Council approved the item.
• Item 20: Zoning Case ZN8771, Jason Luby, request to rezone property from RS-6 Single Family 6 District to CG-1 General Commercial District. Staff and Planning Commission recommended denial because commercial use would be incompatible with surrounding residential uses. The applicant said his family has used the property as a construction/farm yard since before annexation and sought zoning to match decades of existing use. Councilman Hernandez argued the family was being treated unfairly by an administrative zoning designation imposed at annexation. Council postponed the item to March 17 to explore a special permit or other solution.

Item 22 – Reconsideration of Northside Aquatics Center Award

• The agenda included a motion to reconsider the February 17, 2026 award to South Texas Building Partners for construction of the Northside Aquatics Center in the Hillcrest area in an amount up to $8,709,077.22.
• Councilwoman Vaughn said she wanted to change her vote, but the council record showed the original motion passed 9-0 and that she voted on the prevailing side. No reconsideration action was taken.
• Council discussed the need to explain to the public that the Federal Highway Administration is requiring the pool as mitigation for the harbor bridge project, and that failure to build it could jeopardize federal transportation funding. Council directed staff to produce an explanatory video or social media message.
• Councilman Hernandez raised a question about pool depth, saying it should be eight feet rather than six feet, but no formal action was taken on that point.

Executive Session

• Council entered executive session on Item 23 under Texas Government Code Sections 551.071 and 551.072 to consult with attorneys about groundwater rights, property acquisition, and related contracts, including matters involving the Evangeline Aquifer in San Patricio County. The council resumed the open meeting afterward, and no action was reported from executive session.

Key Outcomes

• Approved board appointments to the Reinvestment Zone No. 7 (London) Board and confirmed two related Nueces County appointments.
• Approved the consent agenda with the exception of pulled items; Item 5, Item 12, and Item 15 were approved after individual consideration; Item 14 was postponed to March 17; Item 17 was postponed to the next agenda.
• Passed the Item 18 resolution authorizing negotiation of an Inner Harbor desalination design-build contract with Corpus Christi Desal Partners by a 5-3-1 vote, with the actual contract to return for later council approval.
• Approved the Item 19 annexation and rezoning for the FM 43 dental office site.
• Postponed Item 20, the Luby zoning case, to March 17.
• Took no action on the Item 22 reconsideration of the Northside Aquatics Center award.
• The scheduled public Water Supply Update briefing was skipped; council indicated the topic had been addressed in executive session.