Mayor Charles Bujan, 74, had been through several hurricanes during his lifetime. He remembered Carla in 1961 and Camille in 1969. But it’s Harvey that brings tears to his eyes. He estimates the storm wrought as much as $1 billion in damages to the small island.
“This one was a monster,” he said, leaning back in the office chair where he slept during the weeks after the storm hit.
Bujan surrounds himself now with storm memorabilia. A hand-drawn map of Harvey’s path hangs on the wall. A scrap of paper is taped to his clock recording Harvey’s landfall: "8/26/17, time 0307.”
And on his desk sits a wooden carving of the word “strong” -- the way Port A sees itself now. Amid the devastation, residents found an opportunity. Many buildings were destroyed, but they’ve been rebuilt stronger to help withstand future storms.
Making Improvements
The RV campground Bujan operates was trashed, which he says gave him the chance to make improvements he’d long been wanting.
After the storm, local business owner Bron Doyle rebuilt his karaoke stage and concession stands and refurbished his fleet of rental golf carts. The whole town is getting an upgrade, he said. "A lot of things that got destroyed are better.”
The idea of recovery was daunting at first. Tracy Ellwood, a 53-year-old manager at Moby Dick’s restaurant, said her friends and family rely on local businesses for their livelihood. "The sooner you fix things and get going, the sooner everybody can get back to work and start to live again,” she said.
Hentz is still working out of a 60-by-24-foot trailer, but his ideas are back on track. Even with just half of the town’s 4,000 hotel rooms and vacation rentals re-opened, Port Aransas recorded 3.5 million visitors so far this year, down from 4.5 million the year before. Next year, he’s targeting a new convention center followed by a sports complex, launching the town past 10 million visitors by 2025.
Proof of Concept