By KREIG KOHL
Special to the PRESS
March 21 saw the regular meeting of the South Padre Island City Council. After the convocation, the council opened the floor to public comments, the first of which was a congratulation to the SPIPD for handling spring break so well.
The third public comment was from a citizen concerned with why the council would be looking into building a casino on the Island, as this was an agenda item later in the meeting. The citizen cited research that supported claims alleging that casinos tend to have a negative impact economically and socially on communities.
Following public comments, the council approved two agenda items of an amendment to general fund reserves in order to purchase a new cargo trailer for the city and a new mobile hot wash rig.
The next agenda item was a forfeiture of federal funds in order to purchase 38 glock handguns, holsters and streamlights for the SPIPD. This would see the department change from their current .40 caliber handguns to a more standardized nine millimeter platform. The first reason for this change is that the current sidearms have been in use since 2016 and the environment they are employed in wears them down quickly. Another reason is that many state and federal departments are now using a nine millimeter, which led the SPIPD to determine the best option for them is the Glock with a red dot optic, flashlight and holsters. The forfeiture of the $34,000 for the purchase was approved by the council. The council then approved a grant application submission to the governor for Operation Stone Garden to help prevent and reduce criminal activity related to the border.
The following agenda item was the resolution to support a local option on casino gaming. The resolution was to see if the city wanted to lobby its senators and representatives to have SPI added to the list of cities seeking such an option in the state. This bill would not legalize gambling on SPI, and if passed, the state would have to make an amendment to the states constitution.
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