Let’s do this together



 

 

We’re at a crossroads in Port Aransas, and opportunities abound.

About 25 residents out of a crowd of more than 100 told the city council last week what their concerns and priorities are going forward in the wake of Hurricane Harvey (see story by news editor Dan Parker on Page 1A).

The council was not only receptive, but seemed eager to hear from the community they represent. Plans are to continue to gather input – at meetings as well as in one-on-one sessions. My hope is that council members and city staff will not wait for the community to come to them, but will, instead, reach out individually to community members who play major roles but who may not want to speak publicly or come forward for whatever reason, including conflicts (I wanted to attend Thursday’s meeting, but was not able to get back to town in time).

The city should seize this opportunity to gain insight from our long-time residents, from members of the business community, and from newcomers who were attracted to Port Aransas by that old-time charm that still exists, to develop a way forward that embraces the old and accommodates the new. All residents, whether long-term or short-term, as well as employers and employees, retirees and everyone else in between, should contact their city council members and/or the mayor and let their views be known. Their contact information is on the city’s website: www.cityofportaransas.org.

The priorities expressed at last week’s meeting: workforce housing, the environment and our small-town ambiance parallel my own concerns.

Draw a line from the ship channel east across Cut-off Road and Avenue G to the Gulf, wrap it around the waterfront until it meets back at the ship channel, and you have embraced the heart and soul of Port Aransas. Of course, there’s more to Port Aransas than that, but let’s start there.

That area includes some of the oldest establishments and homes in town. It is where much of our workforce called home before Hurricane Harvey.

Maintaining the ambiance of that area is crucial to retaining the small-town atmosphere that attracted anyone who wasn’t born and raised here, and it’s what keeps the natives here. Issues of architectural style, scale and more should be addressed to insure that no further damage is done to our character and our environment.

If Harvey did any good, it was to give us the opportunity to re-evaluate how we move forward, to decide as a community what we want Port Aransas to look like and feel like in the next several decades and to gain control over how we grow into that vision.

Be part of that discussion.

Mary Henkel Judson is editor and co-publisher of the South Jetty. Contact her at editor@portasouthjetty.com, (361) 749-5131 or P.O. Box 1117, Port Aransas, TX 78373.

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