Resources, News, and Announcements

From the Mayor’s desk – 7/18/25

Happy Friday! 

I’ve been out on vacation most of the week, so a little briefer update today.

EMS & Emergency Management:

Reminder that if you want or know someone who would benefit from participating in community health checks, please contact Frank in EMS to set up this service.

Emergency Management is ramping up efforts.  The VOSB emergency action plan has been updated and signed off.  Residents can visit with Frank at the EOC any time to discuss the village’s plans for any future declared disaster events.  In addition, any members of the community that will need assistance getting off the island in the event of any natural disaster should register with either Frank of Tiffany in EMS.  If there are any citizens that want to volunteer to support disaster relief efforts, again, please contact Frank.

Beach & Parks:

All village walkovers are being cleaned up, with weeds, grass, and sand piles being cleared.  Evaluation of walkover repairs will also be completed at this time for future scheduled work to fix them.

The repairs at the intersection of Surf & Thunder will begin the first week of August.  Rain delays have impacted the contractor’s schedule.  A quote for repairs on portions of Canal is also in progress.

After a year of TXDot’s responsibility for the maintenance and upkeep of the corner landscaping of palms and plants, that agreement has expired.  VOSB is now responsible for the landscaping and it has gone out for bids/quotes for ongoing landscape on both garden features on either side of Bluewater Hwy.

Finance:

Very proud to announce that our very own Finance Director, Christie Briones has been officially accepted as a Certified Member of the Government Finance Officers Association of Texas (GFOAT).  This prestigious designation recognizes Christie’s commitment to excellence in public finance, her dedication to ethical financial stewardship, and her leadership in maintaining transparency and accountability in local government.

Public Works:

We are accepting applications for the open Utility Supervisor position.  The opening is as a result of John Foster moving on from Surfside, and I’d like to take a minute to thank John for his time in Surfside Utilities.  He will be missed.

Muni-Link utility billing is live and account set ups are required going forward for any autopayment choices.  Please see archived Mayor’s Letters with details, or contact Breana at City Hall with any questions.  She will be able to walk you through the set up of your account in Muni-Link.

Other Items of Interest:

Amanda and I had a productive meeting this week on the Groins project with GLO & Coast and Harbor.  This was the most recent of our recurring monthly meetings to stay on top of this project’s positive momentum.  All the design documents have been submitted to GLO for final review and approval.  This should take 1-2 weeks.  VOSB needs to issue a permit for this work, which is not a problem.  The next hurdle is the location of the east groin.  GLO is requesting of TXDot for the use of their right of way as the location of the upland portion of the east groin.  Once this is granted, along with the GLO approval of design documents in hand, then we can go out for bids.  Estimations are one months time to start the bidding process.  Their estimation of timeline for the remaining steps;  selection of contractor, procurement of materials, survey and construction set up, and finally breaking ground, should take a considerable amount of time.  As much as 8 months away from breaking ground with another 6-8 months of construction time planned.  Realistically, we are probably not finishing up the Groins project by this time next year even if it progresses as expected.  Government doesn’t quite move at the speed of light…more like the speed of smell!

As always, I hope that you have a great day and enjoy the weekend in wonderful Surfside Beach!  I hope to see you around soon.

Thanks,

Zach

05/01/2025

SCAM ALERT: Beware of Fraudulent Emails Posing as City Communications

The Village of Surfside Beach has been made aware of scam emails being sent to residents, falsely claiming to be from official city departments. These emails may request personal information, demand payments, or contain suspicious links.

Please Note:

• The City will never ask for Social Security numbers or bank details via email.
• Official emails from the City will come from addresses ending in @surfsidetx.org
• If you're unsure about the legitimacy of a message, do not click any links or download attachments.

If you receive a suspicious email claiming to be from the City, mark it as spam. When in doubt feel free to call the City first. 979-233-1531

Help us spread the word by sharing this post. Stay alert and stay safe!

— The Village of Surfside Beach

Notice

This year's levy to fund maintenance and operations expenditures exceeds last year's maintenance and operations tax levy. The following statements must be included in the ordinance, resolution, or order setting this year's tax rate. The statements must be in larger type than the type used in any other portion of the document.

VILLAGE OF SURFSIDE BEACH ADOPTED A TAX RATE THAT WILL RAISE MORE TAXES FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS THAN LAST YEAR'S TAX RATE.

THE TAX RATE WILL EFFECTIVELY BE RAISED BY 3.50 PERCENT AND WILL RAISE TAXES FOR
MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS ON A $100,000 HOME BY APPROXIMATELY $-1.99.

Notice

Public Works After Hours: 979-248-2085 (Please Text)

Notice

If you need help obtaining a WPI-1 for Windstorm Inspection, feel free to call the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) Angleton Office at 800-248-6032, option 4, then option 3; or you may hire a Texas Certified Windstorm Engineer.