b'what the assignment wasand it wasnt to faithfully carry out the will of the citizensSHOWDOWN AT CITY HALLof Corpus Christi, via their representatives on City Councilit was only to sabotageBy October 2019, after an entire summer of news about the North Beach redevelop-the work of the Task Force. They didnt even bother to be the least bit subtle about itment plan had circulated throughout the Coastal Bend, as well as having sparked eitherit was a classic and ongoing F-U, to the point of the group breaking down.interest from investors in the hospitality industry, from hotels to cruise ships, the At least Everett Roy deserves a modicum of credit for expressing his indifferencetime for real votes at City Council had arrived. The first was for the establishment toward the North Beach Task Force with some degree of decorum. of Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) No. 4, covering North Beach. A TIRZ is In the weeks before the Mayors absence at all eight public presentations inan agreement among property taxing authoritiesthe City, County, school districts, April 2019, he ignored one invitation after another to visit the North Beach warDel Mar College, and othersto reserve tax revenue above that which in collected rooms, three thousand square feet of flexible office and meeting space donatedin year zero, for a fund that will pay for infrastructure maintenance and incentives to the effort by the Ed Rachal Foundation, where any interested citizen can seedesigned to attract future developers. Considering that there has been virtually no the entire redevelopment plan in action, in real time, and with complete transpar- private investment on North Beach for more than 40 years, no funds would funnel ency. In other words, not in the dark, backrooms where most big deals in this cityinto a North Beach TIRZ until someone pulled the financial triggerand that only are usually done. Maybe it is Jeff Blackards transparency in business, along withwould be the Frazier-Blackard partnership.the unambiguous way in which he carries it out, that is Mayor McCombs Kryp- La Vista Pointe will be a 160-unit, luxury apartment complex on Nueces Bay, at tonite. In his first of a very few meetings with the group, the Mayor came acrossthe northern tip of North Beach. For those of you who travel from Portland, you have as offended that the Task Force did not seek his blessing before presenting ideas,seen it under construction on the right side, as you pass the fishing pier and bait and made it clear that Blackard Global should not expect a free ride to the Northstand, and what you have seen is how Jeff Blackard, and his company, Village Build-Beach finish line, as far as he was concerned. ing Group, operates. Its fast, solid and professional. You will see no shovel-leaning The challenges Frazier and Blackard are facing with the City of Corpus Christi on the La Vista Pointe job sitethese guys build like theyre on a deadline. The iconic roadblocks put in place by a Good Ole Boy system determined to keep new moneyfeature of the $24 million project, that will feature multiple waterfront amenities out, less their own shareshould be childs play to two men who have had to sleighincluding a resort swimming pool, will be a 140-foot lighthouse that will house a dragons every single day of their illustrious business careers. Its their combined5,000 square foot restaurant at its base. An initial investment of this magnitude, be-persistence and resilience that sets them apart from all the multi-millionaires andfore and with no guarantee of a canal or even a passable road that doesnt flood with billionaires who have gone before them, and who finally threw their hands in the air,the full moon, is hard evidence of the second, and maybe most significant, difference shouting, To hell with this place! as they burned rubber out of town. between Frazier-Blackard and those who have failed in Corpus Christi, over decades If we, and they, win, that is, see the North Beach vision come to reality, therepastthey put their money where their mouths are. Lots of it.will be hundreds of investors lined up at their side and behind them. If we citizens ofAfter dozens of presentations on North Beach, workshops, community meet-Corpus Christi lose these guys, there is no one lined up behind them. And there neverings, television interviews and published news stories, the first milestone was the will be, at least not in our lifetimes. City Councils October 15th debate on the TIRZ. More than three dozen citizens lined FIRE IN THE CHAMBERSTuesday October 15, 2019, at Corpus Christi City Council(Clockwise from Top/Left): (1) Radio host and pastor, Bob Jones, speaking in favor of North Beach improvements, We elect fellow citizens not to rule over us, but to be our voice.North Beach has, for far too long, been neglected; (2) Van Vlecks satellite photo depiction of tidal flood-ing on North Beach; (3) Chip Urbans PowerPoint slide to which $32 million for streets was added by City staff, with-out his knowledge; (4) Contract engineer and consultant to the Task Force, Chip Urban; (5) Former Assistant City Manager Mark Van Vleck; (6) District 5 City Councilman Gil Hernandez holding up the March 2015 memo in which Van Vleck reported that there were no problems with storm sewer infrastructure on North Beach.48 THE COASTAL BEND MAGAZINEQ2.2020 TheCoastalBend.com'