Kemah Still Being Pretty Damn Casual About Its Future

Photo by Daniel Kramer

​Kemah is at a crossroads where some residents want to keep the city an eclectic, fishing-village-type place, and others want to turn the town into a mini South Beach, with high-rise condos lined up along the shore.

That's what Robin Collins, a city councilwoman, told us at the city's second strategic planning meeting this weekend. Collins has lived in Kemah most of her life -- her husband used to be mayor -- and she favors keeping the city the same.

She added, "How many of us wouldn't bolt if someone came in and offered us a million and a half for our homes?"

Hair Balls went to this meeting hoping to learn something a little more than we did at the last meeting, where residents basically just complained about lighthouses and parking meters. Unfortunately, other than the conversation with the councilwoman, the only thing we learned is that the most important issue in the city, as decided by the council and the Kemah Community Development Corporation, is drainage. Even Mayor Matt Wiggins said he didn't hear anything he didn't already know, but he was surprised that more residents didn't want to talk about implementing some type of zoning. But, Wiggins said, even if some people wanted zoning, it will never happen.

"We can barely pass an ordinance," Wiggins told Hair Balls.

So after a couple meetings, we've haven't heard much about the fate of the city, or how it will deal with a $400,000 budget shortage.

Tonight's council meeting in Kemah might get interesting, considering there's a proposal to expand the "entertainment district," an idea the most vocal residents seem to oppose. But maybe not, because Wiggins, who owns a large chunk of the Boardwalk property, said if that proposal passes, it will only result in a couple new parking lots.