Island Issues | Rita Hernandez for SPI City Council, Place 1

What Islanders Are Talking About

The September 8th Chamber of Commerce candidate forum built its questions from resident submissions: the convention center, parking and traffic, infrastructure, off-season tourism, and transparency led the list. At Rita's own meet-and-greets, residents put infrastructure and parking first. Where Rita has taken a position, it appears below in her own words. Where she has not, the facts are here as resident information.

The Convention Center

The facts

The city hired Hunden Partners in November 2025 for a feasibility study presented April 15, 2026. The concept would expand the 22,000 sq ft exhibit hall to about 50,000 sq ft, with the full plan framed at up to $60 million. City figures discussed about $42 million available without bonds: a $16M venue tax fund and $26M in CVB reserves. Residents questioned the plan at a March 3 open house, and a local hotel operator has questioned the revenue projections. (RGV Business Journal, Port Isabel-South Padre Press.)

Rita's position, her words: "I do believe we need to fix it. I do believe we need to repair. I do believe we need to study expansion. But... we need to do so in a manner that we can afford and be responsible about." And: "If you're going to address the size, let's address stability as well."

Parking and Traffic

The facts

The city is running a Parking Analysis and Long-Term Public Parking Strategy Study, with a public survey that ran February to April 2026 and an open house on March 31. Towing confusion near hotel beach accesses is a recurring visitor complaint. (KRGV, myspi.org.)

Rita's position, her words: "We need to address the parking before we start building other things." Reassure visitors "we're not going to tow them when they get here," and keep parking out of the neighborhoods.

Infrastructure and the Budget

The facts

The city's proposed 2026 tax rate was set at the same rate as last year. The Marisol Laguna Madre Boat Ramp opened as the first new public bayside ramp in more than 30 years, and the city added a $50,000 ecotourism sponsorship for the RGV Reef. (Port Isabel-South Padre Press.)

Rita's position, her words: "Come up with a plan and stick to the plan. Failure comes when we divert from the plan." She wants agenda items to show the funding source and a not-to-exceed amount before they are posted.

Transparency and Participation

The facts

The city launched a transparency resource page, and council meeting videos are indexed by agenda item.

Rita's position, her words: "We need to post them not because it's the law but because we want people to participate in their government." Her phrase: be "deliberately transparent."

Short-Term Rentals

Resident information (Rita has not taken a public position on this)

Ordinance 26-01, on first reading February 4, 2026, requires court convictions rather than complaints alone before a rental license can be revoked; deferred dispositions count. (Port Isabel-South Padre Press.)

A Second Causeway

Resident information (Rita has not taken a public position on this)

TxDOT's South Padre Island Second Access Project has an environmental study underway for a non-tolled second crossing of the Laguna Madre, aimed at evacuation safety and mobility. A public workshop was held in November 2025. (TxDOT project page.)

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