It is really hard to provide coronavirus updates because things change so quickly. We have been fortunate in Nueces County. As I write this on Tuesday, April 14 we have had 84 confirmed cases in Nueces County. 5 people are still in the hospital, two in critical condition, and one recovering. Eight have recovered and the rest are recovering. By the time you read this, the numbers will have changed as they do every day. That said being proactive in Nueces County has been a blessing. I do not agree with every decision every local, state, or national leader has made but I respect their decisions and the unbelievable stress they are all under. I have tried to respect these decisions by trying my best to follow the rules. I have had no input on the decisions made in Nueces County but I still try and follow the rules.
Being proactive to some might indicate we have done too much because we do not have the situation that other more affected areas do. The other side of the argument is doing so much has prevented so much from happening here. I will continue to pray for those Americans who have lost their lives and have been affected so much by this. Either way, let’s do all we can to keep the Coronavirus out of our lives as much as possible and try to keep our economy from crashing. It is a delicate and tough balance.
There is talk of creating a COVID hospital unit at the old Memorial Hospital. I only know what I see on the news and a little that I have gotten from the Hospital District so let’s see how that unfolds.
Scott Cross our Coastal Parks Director has asked me to give a special shout out to some folks who have really helped him and our Coastal Parks staff at the beach on North Padre Island and Port Aransas during this Coronavirus. In all the years I have been here he has not asked me to do this so that should indicate how much of an impact these people have had on the Nueces County Coastal Parks staff. Those who according to Scott who have really stepped up are Deputy Chief White and Captain Russell Sherman of the Corpus Christi Police Department, Nueces County Constable Bobby Sherwood, Nueces County Sheriff John Chris Hooper and Nueces County Deputy Sheriff Erica Garza. Thank you!
NUECES COUNTY CONTINUES TO WORK AS HARD AS EVER
Nothing has slowed down at Nueces County. Everyone is working harder than ever. In addition to our daily activities add on the Coronavirus and all the extra work around Nueces County has been heavy. I currently have millions of dollars of projects under construction or about to be under construction in Precinct 4 alone. Trying to keep up with those projects and the daily work of running Nueces County with the Coronavirus has been a challenge. It is an honor to serve and I appreciate the opportunity. I have tried regularly through my Facebook account, articles like these, and email updates to keep people up to speed on what I know. It took a while to get some of the information given to me but now that I am getting it I am sharing as much as possible.
IB MAGEE PARK AND BUILDING UPDATE
We had a great presentation at our last 6-hour commissioners court meeting about IB Magee RV Park and where it stands. The 4 million dollar project in Port A is on time and on budget. Drive out there and take a look from afar. As of March 31, 2020, the RV part of the project is 69% complete. They have been making great progress. Thanks to Mako Construction, Scott Meares, project manager, and Scott Cross our Coastal Parks director in conjunction with our County Engineer this process has gone very well so far.
As a distinction, the park building at I B Magee has also been approved by the Nueces County Commissioners Court, and that project (1.5 million approximately) will be started as soon as possible. We are still fighting with the insurance company(and that fight will continue) to get reimbursed but we can wait no longer on this project and are moving forward. Thanks to the Nueces County Commissioners Court again for their unanimous support for this project.
LONDON AREA PROJECTS STILL MOVING
We are waiting to get the final documents back from the engineer the county hired on this project and this will go out for bid as well. There are two road projects in the London area. The first one is a larger project to improve several miles of county roads on the opposite side of FM 43 from London school. This will increase traffic flow between FM 43 and 2444 and allow better flow with all the anticipated growth in that area upcoming.
The second project ongoing is in conjunction with the City of Corpus Christi to stabilize CR 33 by London school until the City of Corpus Christi can annex that road. This is just another example of the city and county working together to get things done and not duplicate services.
I am also looking at a drainage project in the London area to help with future drainage in that area. With all the growth comes potential traffic and drainage issues. I am trying very hard to be proactive and attack these problems before they occur. The Nueces County Commissioners court thus far has been very supportive of these efforts. I thank them for that.
BEACH MAINTENANCE LAND SWAP WITH THE CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI LOOKS PROMISING
For years the discussion has been how can the City of Corpus Christi and Nueces County work better together to clean and maintain our beaches. One of those ideas that I recently had on the Nueces County agenda was to swap properties from a maintenance standpoint only. There will be no ownership change of hands and absolutely no monies changing hands either. Currently, the City of Corpus Christi maintains a portion of beach, then the County has a piece, then the City has a piece then the County has a piece. That provides for a lot of jumping around and some real inefficiencies. The proposal simply says the County will maintain the contiguous property as will the City of Corpus Christi. How will that help? There will be a much more efficient system that allows both governmental entities to stop jumping around and just get it done. That will save wear and tear on machinery and allow our great crews to get it done quicker. I want to thank the City of Corpus Christi for working with me on this and the Nueces County Commissioners Court for also embracing this. It has passed unanimously at Nueces County and is on its way to the City of Corpus Christi now. The document we passed was drawn up by the City staff so I would think there should be no real issue there.
Also as a quick mention, The 5th annual Sandcastle Run is still set for Saturday, August 1 on North Padre Island. I will write more about that and our great sponsors in my next article. I certainly hope to keep the run on schedule.
As you can see there is a lot going on at Nueces County. I could write about so much more but I feel like this gives a pretty fair overview of what is going on in Precinct 4. I am honored to represent you. Please feel free to call me at 361-888-0268.