Lately, there’s been a lot of negative buzz floating around about the Port of Bay City’s proposal for a 28-acre recreational Matagorda Harbor expansion project.
Unfortunately, this project needs voter approval for the issuance of $68 million in bonds for the overall development.
As with everything involving money, growth, and future tax increases – it seems like the loudest voices are the naysayers.
Honestly, it gets pretty exhausting having to wade through the Negative Nancies in community and organizational meeting settings.
I’ve been on two separate school bond committees – one for Bay City and the other for Van Vleck ISD.
And I happened to be the youngest person in the room both times!
Each time the committee met, concerns were brought up and addressed accordingly and it’s the same process that the Port of Bay City has undergone, too.
But, like with life, you can’t please everyone, and sometimes you’ll have to bite the bullet and just deal with it.
I’m still salty about Bay City ISD not including a new or renovated pool in their 2016 bond and Van Vleck’s 2017 bond was an all-around success by my count.
While I’m not a property owner, I am a taxpayer and I fully endorse making your vote count whenever possible.
I don’t want to see such an awesome project like this one fall by the wayside and wither and rot because some folks are scared about change or taxes increasing.
Being scared of change is probably the most universal fear that all humans have and it’s inescapable.
Every minute, hour, day, week, and year we’re moving forward into the future and growing past our former selves.
I mean, most of us are, right?
The hardest part about personal growth is realizing that there will come a time when we all face it and resistance just makes life harder in the long run.
I get that there is a learning curve involved, but being able to recognize growth and accept it definitely makes it easier to experience.
Plus, I’ve got news for y’all – taxes are going to go up no matter what!
Why not make sure they go towards something worthwhile and meaningful?
An expanded harbor including new boat slips, public restrooms, an RV park, a public park, and picnic areas sounds like a better option than what we have now.
Not to mention, there are plans to include utilities for future development such as a hotel, restaurants, and other retail shops.
Also, the project is slated to be built on land the Port of Bay City Authority already owns – so money isn’t being spent on purchasing more land.
Now, I’m not an avid fisher or even an occasional recreational one, but, I like the idea of a public park and picnic areas so families and friends can spend time together on or off a boat.
I also think it’s pretty awesome that the Port looked at offering educational opportunities with their recreational expansion and know that area schools can totally take advantage of that, too!
But, I fully believe in the due diligence done for this project and am voting in favor of it.
After all, there are billions of dollars headed to our county for industrial projects and if we want families to stay in our area, we’d better start having more to offer them than Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, Walmart, and Schulman’s MBG.
And don’t get me started on the tax dollars that we’ll miss out on by losing out on this project!
