In This Issue

Booking a trip to South Padre Island just got easier. Browse the Advanced Reservation Systems, Inc. (ARES) booking engine on book.sopadre.com

South Padre Island City Hall will be closed Wednesday, December 24 and Thursday, December 25 in recognition of Christmas Eve and Christmas. City Hall will reopen on Friday, December 26 for regular business hours.

The South Padre Island Fire Fighters Association is collecting new and unwrapped toys for children in the Laguna Madre area. Toys will be accepted until December 21st at the SPI Fire Station. Please help put smiles on children's faces by donating.

The contractor has constructed the pending curbs, sidewalks and valley gutters. They should complete the paving of Gulf Blvd. from Morningside to Sunset this week including parking spaces and parking lot sections within the right-of-way. Pending items are several pedestrian crosswalks, striping, pavement markings, one concrete driveway, and cleanup of the entire project.

The Public Works crews began the restriping project of the bike lane pavement markings along the designated bike lane route on Padre Blvd. The crews are currently working on the south bound shoulder form Red Snapper to the 900 block.

The invitations to bidders for the new City Park Project were advertised in the Port Isabel Press on Dec. 4th and 11th. The sealed bid opening will be held on Dec. 22nd at 10:00 AM and a pre-bid meeting will be held on Monday, Dec. 15th at 10:00 AM at City Hall. Bid packets are available for pick-up at the Public Works office.

Recyclable items can be taken to Old City Hall every Saturday from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM.

Items that can be recycled are:

• Newspaper
• Cardboard
• Office Paper
• Aluminum
• Tin
• Plastic

To offer a better recycling service please:

• Compact, crush or break down plastic bottles, cardboard boxes, aluminum cans or any other items that may be reduced in size. This helps us use the most amount of space in the bins.
• Remove any food, liquid, metal fasteners, adhesive materials or other items that may contaminate the whole load.

Lost or found an animal on the Island? The South Padre Island's Animal Control is working together with the Friends of Animals Rescue Group. Their foster-based recovery center helps reunite lost and found pets with their families. Friends of Animal Rescue will make every effort to reunite lost animals with their families. Animals that are not reunited will be vetted by Friends of Animal Rescue and placed with new families. Lost or found a pet please call:

The South Padre Island Economic Development Corporation and the City of South Padre Island have approved an incentive policy in order to assist qualified new and existing businesses and to benefit the economic climate on the Island. Businesses can apply for property tax abatements as well as sales tax abatements for improvements that will contribute to the economy of South Padre Island. The City and the EDC will evaluate the applications to determine if they meet the established criteria for the programs. You can find a link to the policy, guidelines, and applications on both the City web page (www.myspi.org) and the South Padre Island EDC web page (www.southpadreislandedc.com)
 
For more information, contact Darla Lapeyre, South Padre Island Economic Development Corporation Executive Director, at (956) 761- 6805 or email [email protected]; or Dr. Sungman Kim, City of South Padre Island Development Director, at (956) 761-8113 or email [email protected].

Calling on all South Padre Island businesses. Please be sure to update your FREE business listing on the Convention & Visitors website (www.sopadre.com). If you haven't been provided with your login credentials please contact Sam Ballenger by phone: (956) 761-8135 or email: [email protected]. By using your FREE business listing you have the ability to upload images, coupons, business description, and much more. Take advantage of this FREE marketing tool provided by the Convention & Visitors website.

Date	Event	Location	Time
Dec. 16-21	Javier Marin Tres Cabezas Colosales	Queen Isabella Memorial Park
Dec. 16-21	Sebastian Zodiac Sculpture Exhibit	South Padre Island Convention Centre
Dec. 17	City Council	South Padre Island City Hall	5:30 PM
Dec. 17	Leslie at Palm Street Pier	Palm Street Pier Bar & Grill	7:00 PM
Dec. 18-21	Habitat Tour of Bayside Drive	Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge	9:00 AM
Dec. 18	Convention & Visitors Advisory Board	South Padre Island City Hall	9:00 AM
Dec. 18	Leslie at Coral Reef	Coral Reef Lounge	1:00 PM
Dec. 18-21	Habitat Tour of Bayside Drive	Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge	1:00 PM
Dec. 18	Planning & Zoning	South Padre Island City Hall	3:00 PM
Dec. 19	Rockstar Denied at Clayton's	Clayton's Beach Bar & Grill	2:00 PM
Dec. 19	Holiday S'mores at the South Padre Island KOA	South Padre Island KOA	6:00 PM
Dec. 19-20	The Mixed Bag Live at The Garden	The Garden Grille & Bar	6:00 PM
Dec. 20-21	Leslie at Boomerang Billie's	Boomerang Billie's	1:00 PM
Dec. 20	TR3N at Clayton's	Clayton's Beach Bar & Grill	2:00 PM
Dec. 20	Leslie at Palm Street Pier	Palm Street Pier Bar & Grill	7:00 PM
Dec. 21	South Padre Island Farmers Market	NAMAR Event Center	11:00 AM
Dec. 21	The Coin Collection at Clayton's	Clayton's Beach Bar & Grill	1:00 PM