From the Mayor’s desk – 3/20/26
Happy Friday! Thanks to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee and all the volunteers who put in many hours of preparation to make this year’s parade very special. It was bigger and better than I have ever seen. Our PD did a great job with traffic and crowd control. There were lots of smiling faces and fun was had by all. Thanks to all who helped make it happen!!
Human Resources:
We officially welcomed William Cox to Surfside Beach on Monday. He is located in the office that I had been “keeping warm” this year that was previously occupied by Amanda. Stop in and say hello. In addition, we will be hosting a public meet and greet next week at Stahlman Park, on Tuesday, Mach 24th starting at 6 p.m. Both our City Administrator, William Cox and our new City Secretary, Shirley Archuleta will be in attendance, along with many of the other Village of Surfside Beach department leaders.
Grants & Major Projects:
We will soon be submitting our project details and income survey to potentially receive $123,500 in CDBG grant funds for infrastructure improvements. The project area we have selected is a water line replacement along Seashell Drive. It appears that we should be able to successfully qualify for these grant funds and then use them to complete a major water line replacement along Seashell Drive.
We had a positive project review meeting this week on the Groin and Beach Nourishment grant project. These are monthly recurring project reviews with TxGLO and Coast & Harbor Engineering that are designed to keep all parties accountable and on track to meet deadlines. Reports from TxGLO on their body of work required to move into the construction bidding phase were in line with previous timelines. They confirmed that the onsite construction activities start date is still estimated to be 10/4/26. Progress is being made by TxGLO as planned, which is good.
Beach & Parks:
Reminder that asphalt overlay will be happening very soon on the entirety of Ft. Velasco Drive, Thunder Drive between Monument & Surf, and the entirety of Starfish Street. Expect that roads will be blocked off in sections, and detours will be in place while this work is being done. I’ll say it again, this is work that had been planned back in October to be completed in the spring, and here we are!
Other Items of Interest:
Today marks the official kick off of our outdoor stage that was built on the edge of the water near the boat ramp behind City Hall. Get out this weekend and enjoy the festivities on both Friday and Saturday. We will be hosting a free admission Market and Music Festival taking place March 20th & 21st. Gates open at Noon, with festivities running until 8pm both days. Plenty of parking will be available at the Public Boat Ramp near the Coast Guard Station. Take advantage of the Fort Velasco timeline fence & history museum tours, live music, food trucks, a scavenger hunt for kids, plus prizes and giveaways each day.
As always, I hope that you have a great day in wonderful Surfside Beach! Enjoy the sunshine and make sure to take in the Surfside, Sunset, and Sound market & music festival at the outdoor stage.
Thanks,
Zach