Contractor selected; Amos honored




Port Aransas Municipal Court Judge Duncan Neblett, left, administers the oath of office to, from left, newly elected Mayor Wendy Moore and newly elected City Council Members Kelly Owens and Tanya Chambers. The swearing-in took place during a council meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, May 24. The election was on May 7. Staff photo by Dan Parker

Port Aransas Municipal Court Judge Duncan Neblett, left, administers the oath of office to, from left, newly elected Mayor Wendy Moore and newly elected City Council Members Kelly Owens and Tanya Chambers. The swearing-in took place during a council meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, May 24. The election was on May 7. Staff photo by Dan Parker

From planning a building’s demolition to honoring the late Tony Amos, the Port Aransas City Council addressed a variety of topics on Tuesday, May 24.

It’s going down

The council approved a resolution awarding a contract to Coastal Bend Demolition Inc. to tear down the city’s shuttered law enforcement center building.

Located in the 700 block of West Avenue A, the structure has been vacant since being ruined by Hurricane Harvey in August 2017. Police, constable’s deputies and municipal court employees have been operating out of temporary quarters ever since.

Coastal Bend Demolition will be paid $110,000 to tear down the building.

The city is planning to build a new law enforcement center at the same location.

City Manager Dave Parsons said he expects demolition to begin in late June. He estimated that ground could be broken for construction of the new law enforcement center around January.

Tribute

The council approved a resolution to memorialize Beach Access Road 1 as Tony Amos Beach Road.

Amos was a University of Texas Marine Science Institute researcher and founder of the Amos Rehabilitation Keep (ARK). It was called the Animal Rehabilitation Keep for years, then was renamed after Amos died in 2017.

A staff report said new signs will go up on the road, but Parsons said people’s official addresses there won’t change.

Amos’ wife, Lynn Amos, spoke briefly at the meeting.

“I just want to thank everyone for the gesture,” she said. “I love you all.”

Good compliance

Beachgoers have done a good job of complying with a new city ordinance requiring that RVs must be parked perpendicular to the water, Port Aransas police Lt. James Stokes told the council.

“ I can tell you, in 25 years, I have never seen compliance as well as we (have) had. This was almost 100 percent self-policing,” Stokes said.

“We got almost zero pushback when we did have to contact people,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it when we had to do something new like that.”

The change went into effect on Friday, May 20. The purpose of the ordinance is to prevent RVs from taking up so much parking space on the beach.

4 responses to “Contractor selected; Amos honored”

  1. orobinson@austinwhitelime.com says:

    A friend and family are going to Port Aransas next week and he is asking if he can order a beach parking permit online?
    Please advise if you know.
    Thanks,
    Oscar Robinson

    • jettyadmin says:

      The permits are not available online. You can purchase one at City Hall, Family Center IGA, the Stripes convenience stores, the Tourism Bureau & Chamber of Commerce or from Bron’s Beach Rentals on the beach near the Avenue G entrance and various other retailers in town.

  2. TADDY MCALLISTER says:

    Our Tony. He still lives within us.

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