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ISLA BLANCA SHOWDOWN: Multimillion Dollar County Park Development Draws Praise, Criticism

Posted on: Monday, 3 April 2006, 03:03 CDT

By Tony Vindell, Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, Texas

Apr. 1--SOUTH PADRE ISLAND -- While groups opposed to a resort project in Isla Blanca Park argue that the development threatens ever-dwindling public access to the beach, the people behind the project say they are being misunderstood.

They said they have no plan to sink the park but to enhance it, and pointed out that the county has given them the right through a 50-year concession and lease agreement.

The multimillion-dollar Wyland Aquarium Complex and Gulf Beach Resort could turn the southern end of the Island into a first-class destination that would attract people from not only the Rio Grande Valley and other parts of Texas but the entire nation and Mexico, they said.

"We are talking about pumping millions of dollars into a project that will provide access to more people in this region," Doyle Wells, project manager for the Laguna Madre Enhancement Group, said, speaking on behalf of a group of investors. "We are talking about making this end of the Island like no other place along the Gulf Coast."

The project calls for a hotel, restaurant, marina, aquarium and IMAX theater.

However, the project is irking some of the Island's 2,000-plus permanent residents and seasonal visitors who come here during the winter months.

"I just wish the Island would have stayed like it was before," said Maria Kumpe, owner of K's Jewelry and Beads. "I wish there were no bridges, just a ferry to take people back and forth."

Amy Alvis and Josh Kay, with Psychadeli Gourmet Sandwiches, said there is no need to build something on land that is already getting its share of visitors.

"Development is inevitable," Kay said. "But why develop something that is already developed?"

Luke Kithcart, a 26-year-old surfer, believes in leaving Isla Blanca Park the way it is. But he concedes that the development wouldn't stop fellow surfers from enjoying their sport.

"When it comes to surfing, hardly anything can prevent us from surfing," he said. But he added, "We don't like the concept of having a development there."

Don Childers, a Winter Texan from Pottsboro, Texas, said the project would hurt the local economy.

"I don't see anything positive about it," said the 75-year-old Childers, who generally stays in the park's RV section for about five months of the year. "It could happen, but not during my lifetime."

Childers said he spends hundreds of dollars to stay at the park, which has 600 RV spots and charges anywhere from $242 to $480 a month, depending on the location and time of year.

But Al Salazar, owner of the popular Dirty Al's Sea Ranch Grocery & Tackle, is indifferent about the proposed project.

"Either way is fine with me," said Salazar, whose 19-year-old business is a stone's throw away from the Isla Blanca Park entrance. "In the short run, it could hurt me. But it could also help me in the long run."

Wells said the lease agreement was signed in March 2005. A check for $50,000 was delivered in December and another check for $150,000 is due by September of this year.

According to the agreement, the county received $10,000 when the agreement was signed.

Phase I of the massive project would create more than 500 permanent jobs, would pump about $200 million in construction into the economy and would add more than $1 million in revenue annually to the Cameron County Parks System, according to an in-house economic impact study prepared for the investors of the project.

Money going to the parks system stays in the system and can only be used for its operations -- to improve existing park facilities or for new projects.

"It isn't just about money," said Wells, a former surfer, "but to increase enhancement by adding more facilities, such as more restrooms, showers and more access to anglers and to surfers to the park."

The Cameron County Parks System is a self-sufficient enterprise that depends on Isla Blanca's revenues.

The system made a little more than $3.9 million in fiscal year 2005, ending in October, compared to a little more than $3.8 million in fiscal year 2004, according to an audit report.

Isla Blanca Park brought in $3.2 million and spent $1.7 million in fiscal 2005. The entire park system made $3.95 million and spent $3.94 million, records show.

"We are barely breaking even," said Javier Mendez, parks system director. "But that's because this park helps the other county parks."

Wells said the development would generate a lot of money for the parks system and emphasized that it would not interfere with access to the public beach.

"One focus is to enhance the beach," he said. "There will also be a boardwalk connecting the two pavilions and even a surf city village."

The park's area designated for recreational vehicles would be impacted, Wells said. The plan initially is to get rid of some spots to create more parking for beachgoers, he said.

Wells said the original plan to redevelop the park was contingent on a casino bill, which the 79th Texas Legislature killed last year.

But now that the casino issue has been put on the back burner, he said the developers behind the project did not want to back down.

"There is a misconception that we are doing this to bring a casino," Wells said. "What we are planning to do here is not a secret."

Wells said the project is only in its early stages, and that a lot of things, such as obtaining construction permits from multiple agencies are up in the air.

However, the issue of having a casino here has been a thorny one.

Some Island residents and business owners said they like the idea of having a first-class facility, but are vehemently opposed to legalized gambling.

"I like the idea of having an aquarium for educational purposes," Al Sularz, owner of the D'Pizza Joint, said. "If this project is well done, I am for it. But what I don't like is the gambling aspect of it."

Stephen Reynolds, part owner and general manager of Budget Hotel, said the Island needs a project like this one.

"I would be willing to subsidize an aquarium," he said, "but not a casino."

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Copyright (c) 2006, Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, Texas

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Source: Valley Morning Star (Harlingen, Texas)

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