A string of public comments and committee remarks at the Oct. 22 South Padre Island Special Events Committee meeting urged a review of how community and special events are classified and funded, with speakers calling the current approach unfair and inconsistent.

Business owner Andy Yankoq, who identified himself as a business owner on South Padre Island, told the committee the "system" needs restructuring and asked that legacy community events such as Sandcastle Days, the Christmas parade and other long-standing events be funded from a separate "community events" account rather than compete with special events for hotel-occupancy-tax dollars. He criticized what he described as a double standard: city-produced events receive permits, materials and equipment without the same scrutiny applied to outside event producers.

"There should be a complete restructuring of the special events system, not the committee, the system," Yankoq said, adding that separate funds for community events would clarify financing and reduce conflict between legacy events and commercial special events.

Bella Hernandez, who identified herself as a member of the special events committee, urged respect and collaboration among organizers, staff and committee members. She praised staff and told members that expectations and accountability must be clear going forward.

April Romero, the CVB director of communications, provided a line-item overview of the holiday programming budget and described vendor choices, marketing placements and logistical details for tree lighting, street parade, the lighted boat parade, winter wonderland and breakfast with Santa. Romero said most vendors are local and outlined marketing outlets (billboards, TV spots, radio, and social media) and estimated a roughly $50,000 budget for paid marketing and operations across the events.

Committee members and staff welcomed Brett, identified at the meeting as the acting interim director for the CVB, who the chair said will work with committees and boards to review standards and update practices. Members encouraged the new acting director to gather input and provide clearer guidance to organizers.

The conversation closed with repeated requests that the CVB and the committee clarify guidelines, create checklists and improve pre-meeting packet information so members can review post-event reports and line-item budgets in advance. Several committee members asked organizers to submit additional documentation when requesting funds so the committee can make informed decisions.

Outcome: No formal action was taken specifically on the public comment; the committee moved on to agenda items. The committee approved several funding requests later in the meeting and asked organizers to supply post-event documentation to demonstrate room-night and marketing impacts.