Hurricane Hanna left the historic Bob Hall Pier in shambles, and ever since, the debate on what to do with it has been a hot topic.
At Friday’s Nueces County Commissioners Court meeting, commissioners voted to demolish the pier and have it rebuilt, along with Mikel May's restaurant, for a price tag of over $13 million.
Jacobs Engineering, the group that will be designing and constructing the new pier, laid out its reasoning behind a total rebuild, saying the pier would last at least 100 years if it was completely rebuilt.
The other option is remodeling it for $9 million, but officials said it wouldn't last as long.
The county is still in talks with FEMA to determine if they will be able to get disaster-relief funding.
"The way to find that funding, is through my opinion and this is what our financial advisor told us today is through certificates of obligations that can be procured at very low interest rates,” said Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales.
Canales said taxes should not be affected by this new project
"By refinancing some of our old debt, we can find a way to keep our tax rate the same or even lower it and still be able to bower this money, now we know there's a way to pay back this debt," she said.
The news of the rebuild left May Mendoza-Nardone, owner of Mikel May's Beachside Bar and Grill, excited saying her business could thrive once again.
"Everybody has just been rallying behind us and they have been so upset about us being closed, they have been asking when we're gonna reopen," she said. "So today is good news.”
Bob Hall Pier will be built to withstand another Hanna-like storm, it is expected to be completed the summer of 2022.
