Resources, News, and Announcements 

From the Mayor’s desk – 8/29/25

Happy Friday! 

Labor Day weekend is upon us.  I hope that everyone has a fun and uneventful holiday weekend.  The flag decorations look great as usual down the main roads in Surfside, thanks to volunteers from SOBA.  Much appreciated!

PD:

Labor Day weekend command center is set for Stahlman Park to host various outside agencies.  We are asking for donations of food and beverages for the command center.  Please contact Christie at City Hall for any drop offs for the weekend or drop them off directly at Stahlman this weekend.  Thanks in advance for your donations!

City Council voted to approve the detonation of confiscated fireworks at the conclusion of the summer season.  The location and date are TBD, but we want to coincide with the 50 years of Surfside celebration later this year.  More to come on the topic from Barron in Tourism very soon.  I’m looking forward to the festivities!

EMS:

An update on the ambulance situation:  Frank has brought several options to City Council and we will be discussing actions on this subject as an agenda item at the next regularly scheduled meeting of City Council on September 9^th.  We currently have a rental unit in operation and ours is out for repairs.

Public Works:

Repeat information, but important:  The new utilities billing system Muni-Link is up and running.  If you were a Next Bill Pay customer in the past, then your payment ability did not transfer with the new system.  You will need to create and set up an account including e-billing.  We will be reviewing all past due accounts and making courtesy calls to our database of active phone numbers & email addresses.  We understand that there could be issues with transfers to the new billing system.  That said, after September billing cycle we will be making contact using red “Disconnect Notice” hang tags on doorknobs to all properties that are 60+ days overdue.  The utility bill must be paid in full within 10 days of notification with our hang tag.  If your bill is not paid in 10 days, your water will be shut off.  In order to reconnect water service, 1) your bill must be paid in full, 2) a reconnection fee of $200 must be paid, and 3) a deposit of $75 additional must also be paid.  Please make sure that you pay any outstanding utility bills in order to maintain water service at your home/property.  We DO NOT want to disconnect water to anyone’s home.

We will be offering a $5 credit to any utility bill account for those who sign up for e-billing by January 1^st.  The efficiencies for both the customer and utilities billing clerk are extremely beneficial with a move to e-billing and warrant an offer for a one time credit of $5 for those who make the switch by January 1^st next year.  Call Breana at City Hall if you need help moving to e-billing.

All three AIRVAC sewer lines are up and running.  The rains have damaged several sewer pits and therefore require manual pumping while we repair them.  High praise to Troy who has been taking care of this as a one man crew due to an extended absence.  If you see Troy running around with the tank trailer, let him know you appreciate his efforts and dedication.

Beach & Parks:

With summer coming to an end, we are winding down the beach booths.  It was a great summer with excellent staff managing the beach booth ticket sales this year.  Thanks to all involved!

Other Items of Interest:

Amanda and I had a very productive meeting at City Hall this week with HGAC on the sewer project grant.  They believe that we are less than 45 days from GLO issuing the grant contract to HGAC.  We then sign an interlocal agreement with HGAC and then next step is a kick off meeting with GLO that includes our Grant Administration (Grant Works), our engineering firm (Lynn Engineering), HGAC, GLO, and VOSB.  HGAC also provided critical paperwork from GLO that will be required as we move into the project execution phase.  We are moving and getting close to project kick off to replace one of three sections of our AIRVAC sewer system, specifically the section closest to the beach.

The City Hall Staff has made some really nice improvements to our VOSB website.  Starting with the Short Term Rental pages, and extended to others like Vendors, Utilities, and Courts.  Updating and modernization efforts will continue.  A shout out of appreciation to Amber for her hard work to improve the pages.

Our STR registration and management software implementation continues.  Full implementation of Granicus Host Compliance is scheduled for Nov 25^th.  Look for regular updates about Host Compliance on the City Website & Facebook pages along with this weekly letter.  The new registration numbers and licenses are in house at City Hall and can be picked up at any time.  These registration plates for all registered STRs must be displayed going forward on the rental property, visible from the street.  A full roll out and distribution will occur in September, but feel free to come on in early and pick yours up anytime you wish at City Hall. Please call 979-233-1531 ext. 106 or email csr@surfsidetx.org prior to pickup to ensure a quick and easy pick-up.

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

Thanks,

Zach

05/01/2025

SCAM ALERT: Beware of FraudulenPublish this paget 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  2024 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.