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Annexation
The Aransas Pass City Council has adopted a three-year Municipal Annexation Plan which includes City by the Sea, LaBuena Vida, Islands of Rockport, and most of Bahia Bay. Larry Moore is in contact with officers of the Citizens for Responsible Annexation and is keeping abreast of annexation activity as it develops. Additional information will be posted to this web site as it becomes available.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 - Report from Larry Moore, Chairman of the BBPOA Annexation Committee: In a meeting held on 5/26, we were successful in getting the Aransas County Commissioners to approve, by a 5-0 vote, a resolution supporting us as we attempt to remove the affected subdivisions from the Aransas Pass Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction. We had a good turnout of property owners. Tom Berkenkotter and I represented Bahia Bay, and there were other property owners from City by the Sea and LaBuena Vida who spoke. The topics covered included: fire protection, police protection, and emergency medical services. The information presented made it clear that these life support services would be negatively impacted by annexation by Aransas Pass.
Larry Moore and his committee will keep the residents of BBPOA informed of the next steps as plans for additional action are developed. He asks that residents let him know if they have any close contacts with the Texas House of Representatives as support is needed to get a bill introduced at the next legislative session.
Wednesday, March 5, 2010 - The BBPOA Board of Directors recently met informally with Bahia Bay’s annexation committee (Larry Moore, Merlin Hartdegen and Mike Watkins) to review current activities. The committee have been researching the annexation issue as well as meeting with local officials to determine the best way to proceed. They also have continued to meet with the CRA which represent property owners in City by the Sea and La Buena Vida subdivisions. Recently the CRA completed a survey of affected property owners and we were pleased that a good number of Bahia Bay owners are willing to support fighting annexation by Aransas Pass. A newsletter is planned which will report the results. Additionally, the group is looking at legal counsel to determine who can best represent our interests. If you have questions or comments please contact Larry (790-8771) or Merlin (729-9006).
Saturday, February 13, 2010 - At the BBPOA Annual Meeting, Larry Moore thanked Randy Chandler and Tom Berkenkotter for their presentations before the Aransas Pass Council. He reported that the Committee for Responsible Annexation (CRA) had sent questionnaires regarding the annexation to the 345 households in City by the Sea, LaBuena Vida, Bahia Bay, and other properties affected. At that time, 112 responses had been received and of that number three-fourths were in favor of fighting annexation. Because Bahia Bay has approximately 13 lots in the Rockport ETJ, our situation in regards to annexation is a little different than that of the other developments. Larry spoke of the expense of a lawyer to represent us in the fight against annexation and how the funds could be raised. Merlin Hartdegen will join Larry in gathering information to present to the Bahia Bay Board as to which direction our subdivision should take in the annexation issue.
Monday, Nov. 16, 2009 - The Aransas Pass City Council met in their regular session, to consider and act on a resolution adopting a three-year Municipal Annexation Plan. Before the vote, several speakers (Jim Rummage and Judith Vlasek from City by the Sea, Randy Chandler and Tom Berkenkotter from Bahia Bay, and Jack Chaney - Aransas County Commissioner, and Steve Fischer - an Ocean Drive resident) spoke out against the annexation. The Council voted unanimously to adopt the Plan . This is the first step in the annexation process. If, in three years, the sitting Council votes accordingly annexation would take place. The Citizens for Responsible Annexation remain active and will continue their efforts against annexation. For more information about the committee and their work, contact Jim Rummage (rummage@cableone.net/ 361-758-4416) or Judith Vlasek (djvlasek@earthlink.net/ 361-758-6832/ 832-259-3451). (Click here for a copy of the Annexation Plan.)
Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009 - Larry Moore reported the following: The meeting at the Crab'n yesterday had a decent turnout but still not over forty or so. Jim Rummage discussed the history to date and gave an overview of options. He determined from the audience that the Payment in Lieu of Taxes idea was not going to be supported so he said he would not talk to the Mayor about it again. Rummage talked about the legal strategies and the need to make the City of Aransas Pass do everything by the book. A Mr. Hasslocher was in attendance and spoke about the need to make sure the annexation plan was legal. He has hired lawyers in San Antonio to review the plan. Also, attorney Steve Fischer spoke about the need to have a more aggressive strategy beyond the legal side that would put pressure on the City Council. He spoke of advertising with billboards, bumper stickers, etc that would show the AP business community the negatives of allowing the City Council to proceed with the annexation plan. The group decided to attend the Nov. 16 city council meeting en masse with signs and banners. They plan to meet at 5PM on the 16th near Commercial Motors. Fischer is devising a plan to contact C of C members in the meantime. Also, the City Mgr. from Rockport was at the meeting and he said they are still actively negotiating with the City of Aransas Pass on making State Highway 188 the boundary between Rockport and Aransas Pass. Were Rockport to be successful in this effort, that would put Bahia Bay and Islands of Rockport in the Rockport ETJ.
The Citizens for Responsible Annexation Committee has worked long and hard in an effort to stop Aransas Pass's effort to annexation the subdivision north of Aransas Pass. They are asking for your help as the fight continues. If you have questions about planned events, have additional ideas for fighting the annexation, or want more specifics about how you can help, contact one of the committee members.
November 1, 2009 - Annexation has once again raised its ugly head. The topic was on the agenda for the Monday, November 1, Aransas Pass city council meeting. Larry Moore attended the meeting . The news is not good. Following a very brief presentation by Naismith Engineering the council voted to have the city attorney draft a resolution that would create a three year plan to annex all land north of the Aransas Pass city limits east of Hwy. 35 that is in the Aransas Pass ETJ. This includes City by the Sea, La Buena Vida, Islands of Rockport and most of Bahia Bay. Action to approve this plan may come as soon as the next city council meeting.
A meeting, coordinated by Jim Rummage from City by the Sea, will be held at Crab-n on Saturday 11/7/09 at 1:00 PM to discuss annexation. All interested parties are invited to attend.
Click here to see the proposed Aransas annexation plan. Anyone interested in receiving e-mails from the Aransas Pass city secretary regarding annexation should email Ada Owens at aowens@aransaspasstx.gov to have their name added to the annexation email list.
June 29, 2009 - Larry Moore, BBPOA's new chairman of the BBPOA Annexation committee, attended a workshop held by the Aransas Pass City Council to discuss on-going projects, grants, and future projects. Annexation was mentioned at a topic, but there was little no reaction by the council. Underbring, a consultant from Naismith Engineering, stated that no work had been done an annexation since the last workshop. He stated that the Council could re-start the project and that the project would pay for itself through tax revenue from the annexed areas. Again, there was no reaction by the Council. Time was spent discussing how to get grants and stimulus money. There was one comment about getting stimulus funds for sewer which would come in handy if they ever wanted to annex to the west and north of the city, but there was no further discussion from an annexation standpoint. Annexation does not seem to be a high priority for the Council as they have numerous other problems and projects to address. Larry will stay on top of future agenda items and attend Council meetings as appropriate.
May 19, 2009 - Things are somewhat in limbo concerning the annexation plans of Aransas Pass. B.J. Thomas was not granted a place on the April 4 agenda, and no further action or public discussion regarding the annexation has taken place. It is believed that any decision regarding the matter has been put on hold until after the recent election. One of the major proponents of the annexation was defeated, so hopefully the new Council will decide not to move forward with the plans at this time. The Bahia Bay Annexation Committee is monitoring the Council Agenda and will let owners know if more needs to be done in the effort to stop any annexation.
April 4, 2009 - B.J. Thomas, chairman of the BBPOA Annexation Committee, requested a place on the Aransas Pass City Council agenda to formally present Bahia Bay's opposition to the proposed annexation. Letters from property owners and petitions are being collected to present to the Council. The posted agenda does not indicate that the request was approved. An inquiry as to the reason the topic is not on the agenda will be pursued and plans on how to proceed with presenting opposition letters/petitions to the Council.
March 25, 2009- Bahia Bay Board of Directors Meeting. Bahia Bay has joined with City by the Sea and La Buena Vida in forming a Citizens for Responsible Annexation group. This group’s intent is to avoid annexation by educating the Aransas Pass community about the costs involved in annexation. The Board voted to make available $500 for ads that will be placed in the local papers and other expenses at the discretion of the BBPOA annexation Committee.
March 16, 2009 - Aransas Pass City Council Meeting. Jim Rummage, a City by the Sea resident, presented an idea that the "southern Aransas county home owners associations" could enter into a contract with Aransas Pass to furnish an Economic Development officer to work to bring industry or other business into Aransas Pass for a period of three years with a possible extension of another two years at an estimated cost of Seventy-five thousand to ninety thousand dollars a year with an inflation clause on the out years.In exchange they would not annex the areas for the period of the contract. A board would be formed to pick and manage the operation, including a city council member and a representative from the paying organization. This was not an action item. The Council provided no feedback. (Note: The chairman of the Bahia Bay committee involved with the annexation had told Mr. Rummage prior to the meeting that Bahia Bay cannot commit to supporting this idea at this time.)
February 23, 2009 - Aransas Pass City Council Meeting. David Underbrink of Naismith, AP's engineering consultant, gave the city council new maps and recommendations. The area being considered still goes all the way from AP's northern border through Bahia Bay. Four or five lots in the northwest corner of BB are outside the ETJ and cannot be annexed with the rest of the community. The city is also thinking about annexing another area near Wal-Mart and Lowe's on the northwest edge of Aransas Pass. Underbrink is recommending that the annexation plan include a little more property than the city expects to annex. He said when the final decision is made, the city can eliminate some land but they cannot expand the area being annexed. Underbrink estimates the cost of providing sewer service to the areas being considered at $12 million. That includes the cost to repair pavement dug up to install sewer lines. It is also based on the ultimate development of the area, by which he presumably means Islands of Rockport plus the proposed development south of CBTS. The council asked Underbrink to get some more hard figures, including the cost to run sewers up to SH 188 rather than all the way to Bahia Bay. See Corpus Christi Caller Times article; Aransas Pass Progress article (note the $12 million estimate is to Bahia Bay not to Hwy 188 as stated in the article).
February 18, 2009 - Bahia Bay Board meeting. An annexation committee was appointed to coordinate information regarding the annexation. The committee, chaired by B.J. Thomas, will keep abreast of events as they occur, keep Bahia Bay property owners informed, and recommend actions in Bahia Bay's effort to avoid annexation.
February 16, 2009 - Aransas City Council Meeting. Council members set Monday, February 23, for an annexation workshop meeting in Aransas Pass City Hall (600 Cleveland) at 7:00 p.m. Naismith Engineering is expected to present information that will help the Council members make decisions about the annexation plan. Questions from citizens may be allowed but presentations probably will not be.
February 7, 2009 - Bahia Bay Property Owners Association Annual Meeting. The annexation issue was discussed with the consensus of opinion being that Bahia Bay should join City by the Sea and La Buena Vida in the efforts to stall the annexation. Representatives from City by the Sea shared information about concerns and plans for the campaign. A handout regarding public service issues was distributed.
January 26, 2009 - Aransas Pass Annexation Workshop. A representative from Naismith Engineering presented a report and recommendations for annexation. Citizens were allowed to speak. A well-organized presentation organized by residents of City by the Sea outlined the concerns of citizens in the affected areas. . . more
January 12, 2009 - Aransas City Council Meeting. Council members set Monday, January 26, for an annexation workshop meeting in Aransas Pass City Hall (600 Cleveland) at 7:00 p.m.
January 4, 2009 - Awareness Meeting held by City by the Sea - Speakers County Commissioner Jack Chaney and attorney Ben Wallis spoke to the group about the annexation and ways it could be fought. Recommendations included attending city council meetings in mass, wearing stickers to visibly show opposition to the annexation at city council meetings and when in Aransas Pass, writing letters to council members and newspapers, gathering petitions, and presenting a united front. A fact sheet was distributed.