Pictured: Lydia Caballero (left) Senator Eddie Lucio Jr.(right)
Swearing-in
Senator Eddie Lucio Jr. gifted Lydia Caballero a Bible with her name engraved on it and a personalized Veteran flag case in honor of her service to the United States. Senator Lucio told the attendees before he swore her in that Caballero is a close friend, cares about her community, and that he is confident in her abilities to get things done.
Caballero made a public comment thanking former Councilwoman Alita Bagley for all her hard work throughout the years, saying that there was not one block that she had not touched. Mayor McNulty presented an award for Bagley, who could not make it to the meeting.
Food Trucks
After not being able to obtain a food truck permit following a summary judgment declaring SPI's city food truck ordinance unconstitutional, the local owner of Porky's Pitt, Scott "Bull" Bovee, made a public comment regarding agenda item 10.1 Discussion and possible action regarding SurfVive vs. City of South Padre Island lawsuit. "I recently renewed my food truck permit and was very surprised to hear from the city staff that nothing has changed, despite a Texas court issuing a court order ruling that the two of the city's food truck permit requirements violate the Texas constitution. This is quite troubling because it means that the city and it's officials insist on violating small business owners' constitutional rights by enforcing laws that a court just declared unconstitutional after 20 months of litigation," said Bovee.
Bovee read the summary judgment aloud and explained to the audience that this means the court has decided on the claims without holding a trial. He went on further to say that this case, in particular, had a motion for the city to strike down it's cap on food truck permits and ask vendors for a local restaurant's signature to qualify. "The court order reflects that the food truck plaintiffs (SurfVive, Chile de Arbol) proved their case. They argued that the city's permit cap and restaurant permission requirement violated the Texas Constitution. The court agreed and granted the summary judgment."
Bovee expressed his hope for City Council to act in good faith and to put the issue to rest.
Later after the executive session, Mayor Patrick McNulty announced that they would be making a public statement soon regarding the lawsuit. There was no action made concerning agenda item 10.1.
City Boards and Commissions
McNulty announced the new community board members' results and encourages those who were not selected to re-apply in the future. Decisions on revoting will be discussed and approved at the next city council meeting, however no date has been set for that meeting.
Appointed Board and Committee Members
Board of Adjustments & Appeals
Chris Huffman
Gordon Garlock
Joe Praster (New)
Alternates
Carol Bolstad
Jerry Pace
Board of Ethics (Revote)
Mayor McNulty announced a three-way tie.
Convention & Visitors Advisory Board
Bryan Pinkerton
Chad Hart
Bob Friedman
Sean Till (New)
Development Standards Review Task Force
Gary Johnson
Gabby Vanounou
Brian Kohl (New)
Cindi Love (New)
Economic Development Corporation
Glenda George (New)
Gayle Hood (New)
Lynn Tate (New)
(Revote)
Planning & Zoning
Norris Fletcher
Gord Garlock
Dina Rich
Gary Ollie
Joe Praster
Parks & Keep SPI Beautiful
Javier Gonzalez
Evelyn Alpert (New)
Travis Kayser (New)
Julie Berman (New)
Shoreline Task Force
Rob Nixon
Michael Sularez
Stormy Wall
Abbie Mahan
(Revote)
Special Events Committee
Sean Slovisky
Doyle Wells
Christian Hasbun
