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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Watershore And Beach Advisory Committee - 02/10/2011 • WATERSHORE AND BEACH ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING Regular Called Meeting,Thursday, February 10,2011 5:30 p.m. Staff Conference Room, City Hall 1201 Leopard Street, Corpus Christi, TX Members Present Member Absent Staff Present Jake Herring Keith Arnold Derek Herzog Neil McQueen JoAnn Gilbertson Tara Mireles John Powell Joanna Mott Cameron Perry Cody Bates I. CALL TO ORDER Chair, Jake Herring called the meeting to order at 5:32 p.m. II. ROLL CALL The recording secretary called roll and announced that a quorum was present. III.ADOPTION OF MINUTES Regular called meeting- September 2, 2010. Neil McQueen made a motion to approve the minutes with changes made. John Powell seconded. Minutes approved. IV. HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC—none. Jake introduced the new members of the committee, Cameron Perry and Cody Bates. Cameron Perry is a coastal engineer employed by HDR, Inc. Cody Bates sells plastic and has an environmental consulting company. Keith Arnold with the CVB is also a new member, but was not able to attend. Jake explained that the committee serves as an advisory committee to the City Council. As items come up, they are presented to the Watershore and Beach Advisory Committee. The committee will discuss each issue presented and will submit recommendations to Council. V. BUSINESS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION New Business Review and Revise Committee Bylaws Derek asked the committee to review the current bylaws and recommend changes, if any. One issue the WBAC has faced is failure to make quorum. It was suggested that the committee can change the number of minutes a year, but cannot change the amount needed to make quorum. If the committee fails to make quorum,those absent are not held accountable because no meeting is called to order. The committee decided a monthly meeting is in the best interest of the committee and its goals. Neil asked that a change be made to the bylaws to read "Any member who fails to attend more than 25% of the regularly scheduled meetings per calendar year shall automatically be deemed to have resigned from the Watershore and Beach Advisory Committee." Neil made a motion to make the change to the bylaws. John seconded. Motion approved.Absences will be reviewed as they occur to determine whether they are excused or not. Neil asked that the function be clarified to explain how much of the shore falls under the WBAC's jurisdiction. Derek stated if there is an issue, it should be presented to the committee for discussion. It will then be presented to the appropriate committee, if needed. Public Awareness on Rip Tides JoAnn asked that the City increase public awareness on rip tides. Derek presented the signs that are currently placed at Gulf Beach where rip tides are present. Signs are placed on beaches, mile markers, and lifeguard stands and warn patrons of the dangers and how to escape them. Ideas on How to Get Beach Watch Out to the Public Charles Marschall had requested the WBAC work on getting information on the Texas Beach Watch Program out to the public. The City does have signs that warn of problem conditions as they occur. Every morning City Staff reports beach conditions to the GLO which is linked to the Texas Beach Watch website. Cody recommended linking the Beach Watch site to informational websites such as noaa.gov SCANNED or local surfing and fishing shops. It was also suggested to approach area hotels to provide information to visitors. Beach Budgets Derek reported there are 3 parts to the Beach budget. It is broken down into personnel services, operating cost, and allocations. Allocations are not touched by the department. Of the$1,333,568.10 budget, $671,645.85 is distributed to personnel services, $422,774.25 to operating costs, and $239,148.00 to allocations. The totals are then divided among Gulf Beach Lifeguards division, Beach Operations division, and Beach Parking division.The Lifeguard operating budget covers the cost of lifeguard stands, fuel, uniforms, supplies, rescue boards, etc. The Beach Operations crew is responsible for Sargassum removal, road maintenance, turtle patrol and monitoring, building and grounds maintenance, and trash removal. It also covers the rental of heavy equipment to maintain the beach. The Beach department now covers all of the Island parks in addition to the beaches. The Beach Parking Permit division personnel costs go to one full time employee and 8 temporary employees to sell permits. The operating cost is$35,950.25 with$25,000 of it going to the purchasing of the Beach Parking Permits to be sold. The revenue received from the sold permits goes to Beach Maintenance, Beach Safety, and Beach Parking. The department receives a percentage of their budget through the HOT fund (Hotel Occupancy Tax). Old Business Update on Water Quality Joanna Mott was not in attendance. Update will be given at next meeting. VI. Staff Liaison Report No Report VII. Committee Concerns, Request for Information,Agenda Items Identify Items to be placed on next agenda The following items will be placed on the next agenda: • Spring Break Plans &Recycling • Developing Packery- Discussion of TIF Funds • Update on Water Quality VIII. ADJOURNMENT As there was no further business, Cody Bates made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Cameron Perry seconded. Jake adjourned the meeting at 6:22 pm. Tara Raith Administrative Assistant Parks and Recreation Department