Proposition 3 would fund city hall repairs, expansion
BY PHIL REYNOLDS SOUTH JETTY REPORTER

The third proposition on the Port Aransas-only part of the Nov. 7 ballot deals not with streets and drainage, but with what city officials call a deplorable state of city facilities.

Proposition 3 asks voters to approve $3.776 million in general obligation bonds for what the ballot calls "city hall improvements."

Those improvements would provide a roof that doesn't leak as well as eliminating storage of archival material in hallways and two people sharing an office made for one. It would also take the city's Parks and Recreation Department out of a second-hand portable building that has holes in the ceiling and floor.

Included also is construction of a new building behind the city hall and to the side of the Civic Center to provide more office space, as well as a passage from the existing parking lot to Cut-off Road.

None of that money would be used repairs to the Civic Center; those will be paid for through the city's hotel motel tax. Hotel-motel tax money can legally be used for expenses related to tourism.

The Civic Center-city hall project is one of the city facilities updates recommended in a July 2006 study conducted by Gignac Architects of Corpus Christi. City council members decided that renovation of the city hall and repair of the Civic Center were top on their list of maintenance projects.

Also recommended for the future are updates to Roberts Point Park and the Harbormaster's office; construction of a new fire station and city public works center; and conversion of the existing fire station into a storage building.

Council members have told City Manager Michael Kovacs to find the money from existing city funds to begin upgrades at Roberts Point Park; a council workshop on projects to be included in that is expected before the end of November.

Plans for city hall call for replacing the roof and repairing walls, improving accessibility for handicapped patrons, improving energy efficiency and technology in the building and improving parking and site circulation.

The auditorium at the Civic Center would also get improved acoustics through the upgrade project scheduled for that building.

Early voting in the bond election - which is also part of a mid-term general elction - began Monday, Oct. 23, at the Community Center. The polls will be open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. through Friday, Oct. 27; 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28; noon-5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29; and 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Oct. 30-Nov. 3.

Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 7; polls will be open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. that date.

Election results will be available at the South Jetty, (361) 749-5131, as soon as they are released by election officials. The South Jetty Web site at www.portasouthjetty.com will also be updated as results are available.