NewsLocal News

Actions

A near 2.3 million contract renewed with Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions

Posted at 10:34 PM, Feb 20, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-20 23:38:32-05

For many years, the City of Corpus Christi council members have made repairing city streets a top priority.

However, those upgrades come at a cost, which includes supplies.

This is why the council has approved a renewal contract of nearly 2.3 million dollars to Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions. In other terms, that is $750,000 every year over a 36-month span.

To refresh your memory, this is the same company who was involved with a citywide water ban back in December 2016 that lasted four days.

Showering, brushing your teeth or even boiling your water was completely out of the question.

Yet, Mayor Joe McComb says these subjects are different.

Although he says the water ban was unfortunate, there is ruling from the TCEQ or the EPA on how the Corpus Christi water crisis was Ergon’s fault.

“Well, one the incident was a non-incident and that it had no impact on our water supply other than it was just a temporary interruption, and two, it’s a product that they have been producing for years and we continue to use it following the incident,” says Mayor Joe McComb.

Mayor McComb adds “I guess it’s like your being charged with a crime and your not guilty.”

Council member Paulette Guajardo is not sold on the new contract.

“The State has not yet come back to say, what their determination is, so it’s a 2-million dollar taxpayer contract so I did not feel that was in the best interest of our citizens,” says Guajardo.

Guajardo says another contractor might cost the City of Corpus Christ more, but it would keep taxpayer money from a company that could still be found at fault for the previous Corpus Christi water ban.