Bay City Council to Back the Save Our Shrimpers Act and Remodel Its Permit Office

Bay City's council will be asked Tuesday to put the city on record behind a federal bill aimed at helping Gulf shrimpers. The same agenda includes a $146,000 remodel of the building where residents get permits and a new deal for selling the city's recyclables.

The council meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, in council chambers at 1901 Fifth St., according to the posted agenda.

Standing up for shrimpers

A resolution on the consent agenda backs the Save Our Shrimpers Act, H.R. 2071 and S. 4863. The bill would require the U.S. executive directors at international financial institutions to use America's "voice and vote" to oppose financial help for projects that support shrimp farming, shrimp processing or shrimp exports in borrowing countries.

The draft resolution in the meeting packet calls Bay City a Gulf Coast community whose economy, culture and heritage "have long been closely connected to commercial fishing and the domestic shrimping industry." It says American shrimpers follow U.S. labor, environmental and safety laws while competing with "substantial quantities of imported shrimp produced under differing economic, regulatory, and labor conditions." It argues that they "should not be placed at an additional competitive disadvantage" by international financial institutions in which the United States participates.

The House bill was sponsored by Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas. Congress.gov shows it passed the House on May 12, 2026, by a vote of 391 to 18 and was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee the next day. That is the latest action listed. The resolution says Sen. Ted Cruz introduced the Senate version, S. 4863, on June 23 with Sens. Raphael Warnock, Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy.

The resolution calls on Cruz and Sen. John Cornyn, who it says both serve on the Foreign Relations Committee, to keep pressing for "prompt committee and Senate action" on the bill. A draft cover letter from Mayor Robert K. Nelson is addressed to Cruz, Cornyn, Sens. Mike Lee and Tammy Duckworth and Reps. Michael Cloud and Nehls.

The resolution has no cost to the city, the staff summary says. It is a statement, not a law. But when a county seat on Matagorda Bay speaks up for the people who work the water, Washington ought to listen.

The Matagorda County Courthouse in Bay City. Photo: 25or6to4 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Permits, recycling and drainage

The council will also consider a $146,354.24 contract with Dunhill Development, through the TIPS purchasing cooperative, to remodel the inside of the Municipal Services Building. The packet says the work would add a customer service window for permit questions and applications, enlarge the permit technician's office, connect the permitting, code compliance and building official offices, turn an office into a meeting room, and replace 17-year-old flooring. The city budgeted $150,000. An asbestos survey on Sept. 23 found none.

A second item would sign a three-year agreement with Keep Texas Beautiful's Keep Texas Recycling program. The group would act as the city's sole sales agent for plastics, cardboard, newspaper and paper collected at the recycling center at 1702 Avenue K. It would find buyers, set up hauling and send the city its money. Keep Texas Beautiful would keep 12% of gross sales, and shipping and supply costs would also come out of the city's share. The staff summary warns the city "may be responsible for its share" if hauling costs ever exceed sales. If no new deal is signed when the term ends, the agreement would renew yearly at a 16% fee. Either side can cancel with 30 days' written notice.

On drainage, the council will weigh a $78,302 change order with JTM Construction for the Area 14 project along Whitson and Duncan streets. The city's engineering firm recommended switching from 24-inch plastic pipe to 24-inch reinforced concrete pipe. That would raise the contract from $1,382,178.50 to $1,460,480.50. The packet says the increase fits within the federal disaster-mitigation grant's construction budget and requires no city match.

The council will also consider applying for a state Community Development Block Grant of up to $750,000 and committing $112,500 in city matching money. That match is 15% of the maximum grant and earns the most points available for a city match, the packet says. Applications are due Nov. 19.

A consent item would push back the starting date of the city's development agreement for the old Texas Theatre property at 2231 and 2237 Avenue F to Oct. 1. That gives the developer, LG2 Rental, until Nov. 30 to put $160,000 in escrow. The packet says the delay came from extra roof inspections and warranty work.

Residents can find the full agenda and packet on the city's meeting portal.

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