CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — There is discord and dissention on Corpus Christi City Council after it was discovered that several councilmen are negotiating, on their own, for a memorandum of understanding with the Port of Corpus Christi.
Councilmember At-Large Mike Pusley told 3NEWS that it was finally time to do something about the discord between the city and the port over the desalination issue.
"There’s more than three of us on the council who think it’s high time for the city and the port to try and come together, to work together on solving the water-resource issue for the city of Corpus Christi,” he said.
The city and the port have been at odds over how to go about building a desalination plant.
The port wants to build one on Harbor Island, while the city wants to construct one on the inner harbor, but location is only a small part of the disagreement.
District 5 Councilmember Gil Hernandez joined Pusley in beginning negotiations with the port over the matter.
"What we, myself, and a few other council members have done is put together a memorandum of understanding to create the framework of how we will work together," he said.
Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo said she has been working on getting the lines of communication open with the port, and doesn’t think that the memorandum of understanding is something just a few council members should be working on.
"Three councilmembers cannot negotiate any kind of memorandum of understanding," she said. "That is not our role. We are policymakers."
District 3 Councilmember Roland Barrera agreed, saying that he, along with other city officials will discuss this issue at next Tuesday’s council meeting.
"Although I understand the spirit of what they’re doing, I think really our job is to legislate and vote up or down," he said. "As far as negotiating the details, staff needs to bring that to us and we vote it up or down."
Hernandez and Pusley said the intent is simply to have a better working relationship with the port, and to make sure taxpayer dollars are spent correctly.
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