IT'S ABOUT STORMWATER POLLUTION - STUPID (CAPTAIN TOMMY MOORE)
First things first. I have officially filed to run for Navigation District Commissioner, Precinct 3: Malcolm Dieckow’s position. As of today, he has not entered the race and there is only one more day, this coming Monday to do so. I do have an opponent, Dominic Dominguez has entered the race. He is the son of Tony Dominguez and a respected businessman. He is the CEO of Spohn Health Systems and certainly a formidable opponent. We met for coffee this past Monday and agreed to be nice to one another.
There are 2 topics in tonight’s Blog. One, the Districts financials or lack thereof. And two, an analysis of their continued claims that stormwater pollution is an imminent threat to human life as we know it. Tongue in cheek of course. Does water containing contaminants reach Little Bay, sure it does. All water that reaches streams, rivers, tributaries, bays and eventually the Gulf of Mexico has some level of contaminants picked up along the journey. But first their financial situation.
The last internal financial statement the District completed was in August of 2023 and that was for year-end 2022. That’s the correct date; Balance Sheet and Income statements that now are 20 months stagnant. Nothing in the period between then and now. And it gets worse. They dismissed their long-term Auditor because she asked for information that they either could not or would not produce. They then hired a Corpus Christi firm and started over - seriously past due.
This is a serious problem. They have Bonded Indebtedness that requires
them to produce Audited financials yearly as a condition of the Bond. All entities that issue Bonds for projects
have the same requirements. It is
possible, even likely that their rating agency could downgrade their
rating. Kiss goodbye to any future Bond
projects.
And why? An off-the shelf QuickBooks or similar software could produce proper monthly and year-end financial statements with the push of a button. All the local government entities produce timely financial statements (balance sheet and income statements) for their constituents and their rating agencies. The only explanation is, it is by design.
“It’s about Storm Water Pollution – Stupid” (Captain Tommy Moore}. The Pilot printed this statement from Commissioner Moore as a part of his rambling diatribe about pollution supposedly entering the Marina. Don’t statements like this from your elected officials make you proud? At issue is that the Navigation District of previous years inked an agreement with the City to properly drain a roughly 80-acre portion of central Rockport into the Marina through Concho Street. Homes, Business and Churches in this area have been severely damaged with flood waters multiple times over the years. But the new edition of the District Commissioners bowed their collective necks at the signed agreement and refused to abide by the deal struck. And businesses continue to be flooded, Churches see their institutions out of service for months and homeowners continue to deal with Flood Insurance claims. The Navigation District claims they have Sovereign Immunity. The Water Code is very specific in this matter: “They can be sued in any competent Court in Texas.”
Let’s take a look at towns and cities whose water drainage eventually makes it to the bays east of their locations, starting with Falfurrias and Riviera. Their stormwaters and wastewaters make their way east to Riviera Beach through Los Olmos Creek. There are no catch basins and no Best Management Practices in place there. Likewise, floodwaters and wastewater that originate in Alice, Bishop and Kingsville make their way to Loyola Beach through a small tributary that leads to Baffin Bay. No Best Management Practices along the journey here either.
Further north is Banquete, Robstown, Rabb and Petronilla whose floodwaters and wastewaters reach the northern portions of Baffin Bay through Petronilla Creek. Sorry, no catch basins or BMP’s here. Mathis and San Patricio drain their floodwaters and wastewater through the Nueces River into Nueces Bay, Corpus Christi Bay and eventually the Gulf of Mexico without any BMP‘s or catch basins there either. Flour Bluff empties its floodwaters and wastewater directly into Laguna Madre without catch basins or BMP’s. Corpus Christi apparently has some catch basins in use along Ocean Drive, but won’t say exactly where or how many. South and west Corpus Christi drains its stormwater and treated wastewater into Oso Creek, Oso Bay and finally into Corpus Christi Bay without the assistance of catch basins or Best Management Practices.
How much is this smoke and mirrors
presentation costing? This Monday August
19th, the Nav District is scheduled to approve unbudgeted
expenditures in the following amounts and associated recipients.
Creative Marketing Consulting Legal
Services ? $13,800
Headway Environmental Legal Services ? $15,570
Law Office of Ryan Henry Legal Services ? $6,922
Tim Tuggy Law Firm Legal Services ? $15,951
CD&P Marketing Marketing $31,532
Total $83,532
The total unbudgeted expenditures
of $83,775 represents nearly 40% of the total bills to be paid for this month’s
payables. Four of the above invoices are
for Legal Services. Apparently smoke and
mirrors requires a bunch of lawyers.
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