PORT NECHES — Tex-Mex restaurant Iguana Joe’s may one day have a spot along the riverfront in Port Neches.

Port Neches City Council members on Thursday approved a Letter of Intent for riverfront development with Victor Ybarra of Iguana Joe’s.

Mayor Glenn Johnson said he is thrilled at the opportunity to have the eatery be part of the development along the river and looks forward to welcoming them to the community.

But there is work to be done first.

On Dec. 6 last year the council approved an agreement with LJA Engineering Inc. for riverfront development infrastructure improvements. The work includes roadwork, water and other such projects.

Roadwork would include reconfiguring the intersection of Merriman at Lee and widen the area. Funding for the necessary work would come from the Port Neches Economic Development Corporation, which has accumulated funds through the years, according to information from an archive story.

Erosion control

In related action, the council approved a change in its plan to stop/slow down erosion along the riverfront.

The previous plan was to construct a rock revetment or breakwater about 30-feet off the existing shoreline, but since the breakwater would be located in a waterway owned by the State, the city had to apply for a lease with the Texas General Land Office.

The lease was approved in December 2018 but certain stipulations were included that had not been previously discussed and that city staff and the engineering firm were not aware of, city manager Andre Wimer said. Part of the new stipulations was a requirement to remove derelict structures from the water as well as establish a timeframe for completion of the work.

But the city doesn’t have funding for removal of the structures, Wimer said. He also said the city might not actually be responsible for the removal, since the structures were in the water when the property was purchased, meaning it’s state property.

The new agreed-upon option is to go with sheet piling bulkhead, which would be installed inside the riverbank and not in the waterway, meaning the GLO would be out of the picture.

Every year the city loses about a foot of shoreline along the river, and during Hurricane and Tropical Storm Harvey the city lost about six feet of land to erosion.