Council approves multiple budget amendments for parks, beach restoration, fleet and police technology; tables fire-station access control

South Padre Island City Council on an overall voice vote approved several budget amendments on items ranging from park repairs and dune restoration to vehicle replacements and police technology, and tabled a request to upgrade the fire station access-control system pending a more detailed cost breakdown.

The council approved a $15,510 budget amendment to repair structural elements and replace the roof at Turtle Park Pavilion. City staff said four bids were received and recommended awarding the work to cover structural repairs and the roof. A councilmember moved to approve, another seconded, and after no further discussion the motion carried.

Council also approved a $600,000 allocation for a dune-restoration project under the Coastal Erosion Planning and Response Act (CEPRA) Cycle 13; staff said expected reimbursable grant funds total $360,000. The allocation will come from the City’s beach-renourishment account (Fund 81).

The council approved an $84,000 budget amendment from Beach Maintenance excess reserves to replace two beach vehicles identified as SL201 (an F-250) and SL207 (a UTV). Staff said both vehicles had significant repair needs and were on the 2025 replacement list; the amendment covers purchase and outfitting (lights, undercoating and other items).

A $100,000 transfer from general-fund excess reserves to cover outstanding invoices and estimated repairs and maintenance for fire-department, public-works and code-enforcement vehicles was approved. City staff and the public-works director said the $100,000 breaks down roughly as $7,500 for environmental, $7,500 for public works and $85,000 for fire (including work on a fire truck and ladder truck); staff said about $40,000 of the $85,000 represented previously billed work.

The council approved $17,402.30 to purchase mobile data terminals (Toughbooks and related installation) for five police units. The police chief said units have been without in-car computers “well over 10, 15 years” and that installing terminals is necessary for compliance with CJIS (Criminal Justice Information Services) and to allow officers to retrieve records and incident information without relying solely on two‑way radio.

The council considered $17,800 for access-control upgrades and intercom repairs at the fire station but tabled the item after councilmembers requested a price breakdown. The IT director said the quoted vendor, Superior Alarms, is the only authorized dealer for the existing system and that replacing the entire system (to allow multiple vendors to service it) would require also replacing City Hall equipment at a significantly higher cost. After discussion the council voted to table the access-control item to the next meeting to allow staff to supply detailed line-item pricing and options.

Votes at a glance - Turtle Park Pavilion roofing/structural repairs: $15,510 — motion carried. - CEPRA Cycle 13 dune-restoration allocation: $600,000 (grant; $360,000 reimbursable) — motion carried. - Beach vehicles replacement (SL201, SL207): $84,000 — motion carried. - General-fund vehicle repair reserve transfer: $100,000 (public works, environmental, fire) — motion carried. - Police mobile data terminals (5 units): $17,402.30 — motion carried. - Fire station access control/intercom repairs: $17,800 — tabled pending detailed pricing.

Councilmembers who made or seconded motions were not consistently named in the public portion of the transcript; votes were taken by voice/hand and recorded as “motion carries” or “opposed” without roll-call tallies. Staff told the council the vehicle replacements and dune-restoration work are drawn from existing fund balances or are grant‑reimbursable and that the mobile-data purchase will be added to the city’s records-management licensing.

The council asked staff to return the access-control item with a line-item cost breakdown and options for either repairing the current proprietary system or replacing it with a system other vendors can service. The item will be considered at the next regular meeting.