CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The city of Corpus Christi will be getting a huge financial boost from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.
City Manager Peter Zanoni told the city council that our share will be $68.7 million.
The city will get the first half of that total in May.
The other half will be paid out in May of next year.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury is managing those payouts.
They'll be sending guidance on how the money can be used.
The city manager says a local team will be created to develop some recommendations.
"We'll bring those to city council in one of our council meetings in kind of a workshop format to share the recommendations and options that we have for the council and get your input at that point," Zanoni said.
There are four categories that the money can be used for.
- Responding to the pandemic's economic impact.
- Premium pay for eligible workers.
- Funds for government services affected by a loss in sales tax revenue.
- Investments in water, sewers and broadband connections.
Also, council discussed a multi-million dollar project to restore Ocean Drive. The proposal is making progress but its completion date has been pushed back.
Drone video shot by the city clearly shows the difference between the completed stretches and areas that have yet to be completed.
Zanoni told council members the $13 million "Revive the Drive" project was supposed to wrap up by the end of August.
But February's Arctic blast caused delays that have pushed the completion date back to the end of October.
The first phase of the project is just about done.
The second of four phases should begin in April.
It has been 46 years since any major repairs have been made to Ocean Drive.
