Homeowners on island canals continue battle to get storm damage fixed

• The Hamann family who lives on island canals experienced major damage to their backyard and deck from TS Alberto.
• The PIPOA says it is their responsibility to fix the bulkhead damage, but no other damage is their responsibility to fix.
• The Hamann's have packed up a lot of their belongings in a U-Haul to relocate off of the island at any moment.
• PIPOA has not started any work to fix the bulkhead damage yet.

The Hamann family has only lived on Padre Island full-time for about 4 months now, and they are already preparing to move out of their home. Parts of their backyard and deck are caving into the island canals after Tropical Storm Alberto hit. The Hamanns have been working tirelessly to get answers and find out who is responsible for fixing the damage on their property.

“They’re responsible for the bulkhead, but their bulkhead failure caused all my damage. I think they could step in and influence the city managers or whoever it may be to close off the canals temporarily or provide an immediate solution to shore up our property, so we don’t lose our homes" Brent Hamann said.

Erin Holly

Members of the Padre Isles Property Owners Association (PIPOA) have visited the Hamann's residence multiple times to assess the damage.

“The bulkhead repair itself is a POA responsibility. There are some issues that have to be worked out on where the owner responsibility picks up and when the POA’S responsibility begins," Richard McGinley, Executive Director of the PIPOA said.

The PIPOA says that the reason for the bulkhead erosion from TS Alberto is that the canals were connected with the Packery Channel in the water exchange project.

"We're not here to quibble about who's paying for what. The ultimate responsibility here, I believe, is the water exchange project. It was cut over based on some simulation data that just was not valid, and we are immersed in the living proof of that," McGinley said.

The Hamann's have reached out to several city officials including members of Corpus Christi city council, the mayor, the state representative for distrcit 32, and the state senator to try to get answers.

Director of the Corpus Christi Engineering Services Department, Jeff Edmonds, said in a statement to KRIS 6 News, "The city does not own any of the canals of bulkheads and is not responsible for the maintenance of either."

The PIPOA has not provided the Hamann's and other neighbors on the canals with a solution to fixing the bulkhead damage yet.

“Everything has to lead to a permanent solution because there are no band-aids that will fix this," McGinley said.

The Hamanns and other neighbors are worried that with one more tropical storm, the erosion will reach the structures of their houses. The Hamanns have packed up their valuable belongings in a U-Haul, and Kristie Hamann took their cats and dogs up to Dallas just in case they have to evacuate on short notice.

“I will tell you that with the next storm, we will not be here if they don’t shore up this bulkhead or at least give us some confidence that our house isn’t going to end up in the canal," Brent Hamann said.

The PIPOA and Corpus Christi city leaders are going to discuss possible solutions to the bulkhead damage during a meeting on Tuesday evening.

We will be sure to keep you updated on-air and online.

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