City council may ask for volunteers to fill vacancy
BY PHIL REYNOLDS
SOUTH JETTY REPORTER

City council members will face the task today, Thursday, Jan. 18, of filling the vacancy left by the death on Tuesday, Jan. 9, of councilman Jerry Watson.

Mayor Claude Brown said this week that he would ask the council to call for volunteers to fill the council seat until the next city election. That's scheduled for Saturday, May 12.

The council is expected Thursday to ask for applications from anyone who's interested in serving the three months until the election fills the seat for a full term.

According to the city charter, the council has 30 days to fill any vacancy that occurs. Brown said he expected the council to give potential applicants 10 days to submit their qualifications, with a special council meeting called shortly after that deadline to choose a final applicant.

The charter says to serve on the council, the applicant:

+ Shall be a qualified voter of the city

+ Shall have resided in Port Aransas for at least 12 months

+ Shall not be in arrears in the payment of any taxes or other liabilities due the city

+ Shall not be a city employee

+ Must live in Port Aransas during the length of his term.

The council will begin its meeting Thursday with a presentation by representatives from Southwest Securities, the city's financial advis- ers, on the scheduling of sale of bonds approved by voters in November.

Those bonds will go to pay for repair of streets and drainage in the city, mostly in the older part of Port Aransas.

A project already under way, to replace a major storm sewer that runs the length of Oleander Street, is being paid for with city reserve funds.

Also on Thursday, council members will:

+ Vote on the third and final reading of an ordinance limiting where sex offenders can live relative to spots where children congregate

+ Vote on the second reading of ordinances making it illegal to burn wood containing nails on the beach, re-setting the date when city utility bills are due and updating the city's noise ordinance

+ Authorize City Manager Michael Kovacs to contract with the Coastal Bend Bays Foundation for the shoreline stabilization project

+ Vote on the first reading of ordinances to close an alley off Avenue A, amend the city's ordinance on the discharge of firearms and amend the Recreational Development Corporation 's budget for the coming year for repairs to the city swimming pool

+ Consider a beachfront construction application for property at 983, 963, 989, 932, 928 and 936 Banyan Beach Drive.

One of the final items on the council's Thursday agenda calls for "discussion and ... appropriate action on minimizing agenda items for meetings."