Mayor Barry Patel, Council Member Julee LaMure, Assistant City Manager Darla Jones, and Transit Director Jesse Arriaga met with Senator John Cornyn's representatives State Projects Assistant Josh Jemente and South Texas Regional Director & Community Outreach Advisor Ana Garcia on Wednesday, May 13, 2015. 

Mayor Pro-Tem Alex Avalos, Council Members Alita Bagley and Julee LaMure, City Manager Bill DiLibero and Assistant City Manager Darla Jones attended the 4th Annual TML Region 12 Training Workshop on Friday, May 15  and Saturday, May 16, 2015. 

Public Information Officer & Film Commissioner Adrian Rodriguez attended the SPI Marathon Press Conference on May 14th, 2015. He also coordinated interviews and press coverage for the City's new Ordinance 15-03. Thank you Mayor Patel and Eleana Jones for taking the time to give interviews! 

The Region One School Board Association Spring Conference occupied our facility this past Saturday, May 16, 2015. The 200-250 attendees had breakout sessions to educate them concerning the latest laws, changes in standards, finance, school policies and procedures and other topics related to the many campuses in the Rio Grande Valley. 

 

Sales Manager Michael Flores is in El Paso, TX, from Friday May 15 to Wednesday May 20, to train with TACVB and CVB's from all over Texas on FAM Tour planning, selection, execution, operations and logistics. The knowledge he will be bringing back will help increase SPI CVB's ability to identify and attract larger groups from across Texas and throughout our operational market landscape. 

 

Jack and Carmen Ackermann stopped by the Visitors Center from Siegen, Germany. They are here for a week, going to Austin, and coming back next month. They were very interested in South Padre Island and took plenty of information with them for their return trip.

TxDOT completed the sealcoating project last week and they will do the re-striping this week. We are bidding out the new bike lane pavement markings and additional signs to submit the plan to TxDOT for approval. 

At South Padre Island we're no strangers to water, but we're also no strangers to harsh Texas droughts; which is why we need to remember to conserve water.  Please don't leave sprinkler systems or water hoses running unattended for long periods of time and only water your yards and wash your vehicles when necessary. This is just one small step we can take to help reduce waste. 

 

The Port Isabel Chamber of Commerce is pleased to introduce its 2015 Summer Longest Causeway Run & Fitness Walk, scheduled to be held Saturday, June 6th. The event is expected to attract thousands of participants wanting to take advantage of the unique opportunity to cross the 2.6 mile Queen Isabella Causeway on foot. The 6.2 mile (10k) course starts at Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark on South Padre Island and ends at the new Port Isabel Event & Cultural Center (PIECC). Runners will also be treated to a waterfront loop through Isla Blanca Park before continuing on to the causeway and Port Isabel. Walkers along the 3k course will also start at Schlitterbahn and end at the PIECC, where awards ceremonies will be held immediately following the race. 

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.

Friends of Animal Rescue operates the South Padre Island Recovery Center and Animal Shelter. The shelter is licensed by the State of Texas as an animal shelter and quarantine facility.

The shelter is located at 4908 Padre Blvd and open to the public Tuesday-Sunday from 10 AM to 4:30 PM.  We do make arrangements to meet owners after hours if necessary in order to reunite pets with their families. Friends of Animal Rescue can be reached on their 24 hour hotline at 956-772-1171. Animals that are not claimed within 7-10 days are vetted (including Spay/Neuter) and adopted out to loving homes.

Friends of Animal Rescue is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. To see the latest animals found or furry friends up for adoption please check out the Friends of Animal Rescue Facebook page.

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 Carlos Centeno by phone: (956) 761-8390 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
May 19-24	Sebastian Zodiac Sculpture Exhibit	South Padre Island Convention Centre
May 19-24	Platinum Cafe Live in the Quarterdeck Night Club	The Quarterdeck Lounge	9:00 PM
May 20	Parks, Recreation & Beautification Committee	South Padre Island Municipal Building	9:00 AM
May 20	Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone #1 Board of Directors	South Padre Island Municipal Building	4:30 PM
May 20	City Council Meeting	South Padre Island Municipal Building	5:30 PM
May 20	Crab Races at The Quarter Deck	The Quarterdeck Lounge	7:00 PM
May 21-24	Fiesta Padre at The Pearl	The Pearl	10:00 AM
May 21	Planning & Zoning Committee Meeting	South Padre Island Municipal Building	3:00 PM
May 22-23	The Mixed Bag Live at The Garden	The Garden Grille & Bar	6:00 PM
May 22-23	Bands on the Beach at Clayton's	Clayton's Beach Bar & Grill	9:15 PM
May 22-23	Fireworks on the Beach	Hilton Garden Inn	9:00 PM
May 23-24	Clay Underwood Live on the Hammerhead Deck	Isla Grand Beach Resort	5:00 PM
May 23	Memorial Day Padre Paddle Festival	Parrot Eyes	12:00 PM
May 24	Fireworks on the Beach-Memorial Day Weekend	Hilton Garden Inn	9:00 PM
May 24	South Padre Island Farmers Market	NAMAR Event Center	11:00 AM