Local News
| News | Sports | Business | Weather | Opinions | Archives | E-mail Us |

Saturday, Feb. 27, 1999

Four huge projects, one plan

Bond issue proposed for funds

By JENNIFER STUMP
Staff Writer

   Four ambitious public projects from Padre Island to western Nueces County have been wrapped into one $90 million plan, compared in magnitude to the Corpus Christi seawall.
   The package -- a boat channel through Padre Island, an elevated causeway to the island, a Robstown fairgrounds and Calallen roadway expansion -- will go before the Nueces County Commissioners Court on Tuesday.
   One key feature would be a $38.5 million bond election this summer that would raise property taxes by a penny for 20 years. State and federal funds would pay for the rest.
   If approved, the package would be the area's most ambitious public works project since the seawall was built 60 years ago, said County Judge Richard Borchard, who tied the four together.
   The projects have eluded the grasp of various public officials, developers and groups of residents for years.
   Corpus Christi City Council members welcomed the plan.
   "I could have just kissed him," Councilwoman Betty Jean Longoria said of Borchard. The Calallen roadway project is in her council district.
   The plan would:

Build a $20 million county fairground in Robstown at State Highway 44 and U.S. Highway 77. The project would include a 5,000-seat main arena, a recreational vehicle park, horse stables and two showbarns.

Dredge 1 million cubic yards of sand from Packery Channel, opening a direct path from the Laguna Madre to the Gulf of Mexico. The Packery Channel project has been described as the key to developing Padre Island on a grand scale.

Raise the JFK Causeway to provide a more reliable storm escape route from Padre Island.

Widen Farm-to-Market Road 624 to seven lanes between U.S. 77 and Farm-to-Market Road 1889 in Calallen. The five-lane roadway has become a major traffic artery, with as much traffic as Crosstown Expressway.
   "It's always backed up," said Diana Herrin, a Calallen resident who travels on FM 624 most days. "The other day I waited and waited and waited to get off of the access road."
   

`Would it raise my taxes?'

   While Herrin said FM 624 desperately needs work, she isn't convinced that a bond election is the way to do it. "Would it raise my taxes?" she asked. "Our property taxes are already high."
   Padre Island resident Harriett Mullin said all of the projects sounded worthwhile. "We would like all of those things done," she said. "I just don't know how the proposal would go over right now. There are so many necessities."
   The plan shows a shift in philosophy for how the county traditionally has spent money on large-scale projects.
   "It's time for the county to move forward to the next level," Borchard said. "I'm fed up with building jails. Let's do something in the county that benefits people who are not in trouble."
   

Funds linked in formula

   Money for each project would be linked in a formula the commissioners will hear Tuesday.
   John Michael, principal and project engineer at Naismith Engineering Inc., will tell county commissioners the results of a three-year, $650,000 feasibility study on the plans.
   "These are things for people to do in this community that have to do with quality of life," Michael said. "We were looking at whether economically, environmentally and socially this makes sense."
   If approved by voters, $38.5 million in bonds would be combined with $51.5 million in federal and state money to pay for construction.
   The county would commit $12 million up front to secure state funding for the JFK Causeway, Borchard said. This would relieve the city of Corpus Christi from its struggle to find money for raising the causeway, which has flooded twice in the past three years because of tropical storms.
   

State and local funding

   If the bond election were to pass:

$10 million of local money would be matched by $30 million in state money to raise the JFK Causeway.
   Two of three members of the Texas Transportation Commission have said they are committed to the project. They can tap the department's strategic priority fund, which is used for projects that can't meet the regular funding criteria because the traffic count isn't high enough.

$10.5 million of local money would be matched with $19.5 million in federal money to dredge Packery Channel. The Army Corps of Engineers has determined there is a federal interest in reopening the channel because it may provide environmental and navigational benefits and reduce storm damage to the area.

$18 million in local money and $2 million in state grants would pay for a county fairground in Robstown. A 5,000-seat main arena on a 200-acre piece of property would allow the county to hold a large fair with a livestock show and rodeo each year, Borchard and Michael said. Nueces County is currently the largest metropolitan area in the state without a county fair.

$5 million from the Metropolitan Planning Organization would pay for widening FM 624 from five to seven lanes. The money was pledged earlier to help raise the JFK Causeway, but could be diverted to this project because the county has taken responsibility for the local match for JFK.
   However, commissioners have not heard the funding proposal yet. If they agree with the idea, they would probably call a bond election within a few weeks, Borchard said.
   Money to pay for the projects would be in place by the end of the summer.
   

Level tax rate for 3 years

   Borchard is expecting Congress to approve $19.5 million in March for dredging Packery Channel. The countywide bond election would probably be in July and $30 million in state money for JFK would come through in August, he said.
   "The county is strongly moving toward getting funding for these projects," Borchard said.
   While the city of Corpus Christi cannot raise the JFK Causeway on its own, Borchard said, the county would be financially able to get all four projects done at once if the bond proposal passes.
   In 1996, the county's reserve fund rose to $19.2 million. Nueces County owes about $8.6 million in bonds for improvements to the jail and juvenile facilities.
   Although the county has been dipping into its reserve fund for the operating budget, Nueces County has maintained the same property tax rate -- 33 cents per $100 property valuation -- for three years.
   A $38.5 million bond election would mean raising the property tax to 34 cents, Borchard said. County taxes on a $50,000 home would go from $165 to $170. Taxes on a $75,000 home would go from $247.50 to $255.
   

Multiple elements

   Three years ago, the commissioners court hired Naismith Engineering to study Packery Channel and the fairgrounds as quality-of-life projects. Michael said 11 consultants from around the country worked on the study.
   "Corpus Christi is an area where the West and cowboys meet the beach," Michael said. "This county has both of those elements in it. The judge wanted to do something that reaches both of those groups. Packery deals with the beach and the fairground deals with the country."
   An Atlanta-based consulting company said dredging Packery Channel would bring an additional $786 million to Nueces County over 20 years.
   It was the original outlet to the Gulf of Mexico, but silted up after the Port of Corpus Christi was dredged. Proponents expect reopening the channel to bring more hotels, condominiums, homes, marinas and other businesses to the area.
   Packery Channel has a long history, with dredging attempts dating back to the 19th century. The current proposal has been around since the early 1980s and has met with controversy. Some environmentalists say it would endanger marine life and cause uncontrollable erosion. Port Aransas officials fear that it would draw potential development away from their city.
   

County fairground

   The county fairground would cost $30 million to $35 million to build in its entirety. Naismith has recommended that the county start with a $20 million investment to develop the site and build a main events center, horse arena, showbarns, horse stalls and maintenance facilities.
   The fairground would be used for rodeos, livestock shows, banquets or concerts, Michael said. It's not meant to be a sports complex, he said.
   "It's just a big barn. It's not a coliseum for downtown Corpus Christi for ice hockey or basketball," Michael said. "This is about the country."
   Staff writer Jennifer Stump can be reached at 886-3778, or by e-mail at stumpj@caller.com
   

Post your comments on this story in our forums.

---

  © 1999 Corpus Christi Caller Times, a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.