Corpus Christi's latest city council meeting Tuesday brought yet another delay to water emergency declaration and procedures, and marked the the beginning of pre-trial hearings for mayor Paulette Guajardo's removal.
Level 1 Water Emergency projection moved to December
The window for the city to declare a Level 1 Water Emergency has been moved from September to December. The update follows recent regional rainfall giving area reservoirs some much-needed relief.
Lake Texana, east of Edna, jumped over 20 percent in capacity over the past month. Lake Corpus Christi was back in double-digit capacity for the first time in weeks.
Votes to confirm what Level 1 Water Emergency would look like for residents was also delayed. So far proposed plans have looked like requiring customers to cut water use by 25% during a Level 1 emergency.
Council members also postponed a vote on proposed changes in the city’s drought contingency plan, citing a need to discuss with the Corpus Christi Apartment Association since, under the proposed water use plan, apartments would be classified as commercial water users.
"Treating them as a commercial unit actually benefits them in terms of looking at historic usage for their facility and understanding their needs," said Corpus Christi Water Operating Officer Nick Winkelmann on Tuesday.
"I just feel that apartments or homes ... I used to live in an apartment that was my home ... should be under residential, and I should be able to use 6,000 gallons of water per unit.," said District 3 Councilman Eric Cantu.
The city was expected to meet with the Corpus Christi Apartment Association this week.
City Council is set to vote on a final plan at its June 2 meeting.
Trail to remove Mayor Paulette Guajardo
Procedural discussions for the mayor’s pre-trial hearing were held in executive session. During that time, the council appointed former Nueces County Judge Terry Shamsie as special counsel. Council members also voted to schedule additional pre-trial hearings for May 27 and June 2.
Rachel Caballero filed a petition last year requesting the mayor be removed from office. The petition, originally signed by six residents, stems from a 2024 City Council vote on a $2 million taxpayer funded incentive for a downtown hotel project. Guajardo is accused of misconduct related to being aware of an altered FEMA screenshot in the project developer’s presentation.
“Truth fears no investigation, and they don't fight and sue your peers," Caballero said during public comment Tuesday. "And you don't fight to not be disposed again unless you have something to hide. So far, there's 2,489 votes on my petition to remove the mayor."
