CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Ongoing negotiations between the City of Corpus Christi and Nueces County regarding the future of the City-County Health District may come to a conclusion next week, according to Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni.
Negotiations began back in October of 2021 when Corpus Christi's City Council voted unanimously to form their own health department. However, Nueces County Commissioners expressed concern about the plan, and since then have been in negotiations with the City to develop an alternate business proposal.
According to Zanoni in a video update Friday, that alternate business proposal would have the County become a customer of the new health district, which will be exclusively operated by the City of Corpus Christi.
For the last couple of weeks, that business proposal has gone back and forth between the City and County as they make and approve changes to the contract. Zanoni said that this Tuesday, Council made some minor changes for Commissioners to consider; and on Wednesday, Commissioners sent the contract back to the City with four minor changes.
However, part of Council's additions to the contract including giving the city manager authority to finalize the negotiation process without an additional vote from councilmembers. So Zanoni said he has asked the County's chief negotiator, County Attorney Jenny Dorsey, to organize a special Commissioner's Court meeting next week to finalize the contract. Should that happen, the City of Corpus Christi will assume control of the health district beginning March 1.
Some of the County's additions to the contract include a new clinic to be put in the Calderon building in Robstown, Texas, something Zanoni said will begin this fiscal year. They also called for expanded service into rural communities using their recently purchased mobile bus clinic.
Zanoni said that initially, for at least the first few weeks or possibly even the first couple of months, services offered by the health district will not change, nor will the locations they're provided from. He did say those could change over time as the City works to better health outcomes for the community.
Another thing that Zanoni said will not change, at least for now, is the name of the health district. It will still be referred to as the City of Corpus Christi-Nueces County Health District.
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