Fredericksburg City Council Special Meeting: HOT Funding Interviews (January 13, 2026)

The Fredericksburg City Council met in special session on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, at 5:30 PM at New City Hall - East Campus to review applications and interview applicants requesting Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) funding for 2026. Mayor Jeryl Hoover presided. The council heard 29 applications representing approximately $651,000 in requests, took no final funding action, and scheduled the allocation decision for the following Tuesday.

Hotel Occupancy Tax Funding Applications and Applicant Testimony

Applicants presented requests in the categories of arts, historic preservation, and marketing/promotion. Council members asked questions about attendance, room nights, prior funding, and eligibility.

• Admiral Nimitz Foundation / National Museum of the Pacific War ($160,000, historic preservation): New president and CEO Rory Cartier had nothing to add to the application and answered no further questions.

• Church of the Colored People of Gillespie County Inc. / African American Museum ($45,000, arts): Dr. Mark Phillips described ongoing work, including preparing to show images of the original founders ahead of Black History Month.

• Fredericksburg Art Guild ($515, arts): No applicant appeared; the request covers advertising and marketing expenses.

• Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce – Light the Night Christmas Parade and Afterglow ($18,000, marketing/promotion): The applicant reported more than 20,000 attendees.

• Fredericksburg Community Orchestra ($10,000, arts): Teresa said the renamed Fredericksburg Summer Music Institute would bring 60 collegiate musicians and 20 professors for concerts in late June, with the final concert at St. Joseph's Hall.

• Systems Go education initiative ($5,000, marketing/promotion): Program director George Burns said the funds are used primarily to attract people from outside of town to launches.

• Farmers market arts and entertainment ($6,000, marketing/promotion): Tabitha explained the funding supports local bands during the farmers market, and this year's season would extend from March through mid-September.

• Fredericksburg Junior Chamber of Commerce – Crawfish Fest ($25,000, marketing/promotion): Applicant Slum McGride reported 7,600 attendees; the festival ran out of crawfish on Sunday and then opened the gates for free.

• Fredericksburg Music Club ($10,000, arts): Pamela noted the club was established in 1937, has no paid employees, and will feature a Van Cliburn gold medalist. Council clarified that the $10,000 request was less than the club's listed advertising and arts-promotion expenses.

• Fredericksburg Music Festival and School / Texas Cellos ($50,000, marketing/promotion): Joseph reported 2,920 tickets sold at the first two-week festival and more than three million internet views. He estimated 4,000 of 6,000 future tickets would come from outside the area. Council encouraged him to use Convention and Visitors Bureau data rather than a ChatGPT estimate. Joseph expressed strong interest in building more arts events in Fredericksburg.

• Fredericksburg Rotary Club – Craft Beer Festival ($10,000, marketing/promotion): Debbie and Dale had nothing to add; this will be the fifth annual festival in June.

• Friends of the Written Word – Book Festival ($5,000, arts): Deb reported the second festival would occur that weekend, with 1,366 Facebook views and 1,000 website visits; about 700 people attended last year.

• Frontier History Company Foundation – First Saturday Living History Day ($6,700, marketing/promotion): Russell had nothing to add; council noted travel expenses were listed and some attachments were missing from packets.

• German Choirs of Fredericksburg ($2,500, arts/promotion): Jim said the men's choir has existed since 1908 and the request supports Maifest and fest concerts.

• Gillespie County Fair ($75,000, sporting event): Jorge Rodriguez described jockey insurance, testing fees, and racing license fees; total racing costs are $260,000 and advertising is $50,000. He did not know the county contribution and agreed to provide it. Staff later noted the county's 2025 award information was not yet available.

• Historic house restoration (approximately $80,000, historic preservation): Heather described exterior and interior restoration work, including structural work, roof repair, painting, wood damage repair, stonework, and HVAC on the 1800s house added to museum property in 1967.

• Historic home tour and annual museum marketing ($20,000, historic preservation): Heather reported 1,200 home-tour tickets sold, with maximum capacity about 1,500; about 60% of tickets come from outside a 50-mile radius, 93% of museum admission is from out of town, and 60% of those guests say they spend money.

• Heritage School ($10,000, event sponsorship): The applicant reported 9,700 skaters and 24,000 total attendees, down about 500 from last year due to warm weather.

• Jack and Adams Bicycles – DOS Gravel ($12,500, sporting event): Josh described a new gravel bike race near Mason County, with 220 first-year registrants and 500 expected. The event is not a 501(c)(3), though organizers donate to local community and volunteer fire departments. Council noted HOT grants are normally given to nonprofits.

• Lone Star Heritage Foundation ($7,400, historic preservation): Jim said funds would pay for two interpretive signs with QR codes along planned heritage trails; the foundation did not receive funds last year and is also working with a film crew from Gonzalez interested in producing heritage films.

• Meals for Vets fundraiser ($5,000, advertising): Timothy described a one-day Market Platz music and family festival with four bands, food and beer, and 23 local vendors. He reported $80,000 raised from the organization's corner sales and $45,000 raised at the event.

• Fredericksburg Oktoberfest ($20,000, marketing/promotion): Debbie had nothing to add; council had no questions.

• Rotary Club of Fredericksburg Morning – Carfest ($2,500, marketing/promotion): A committee representative said the club took over the event in 2022 and had 197 pre-registered vehicles; the event is free and open to the public in June.

• Stonewall Chamber of Commerce – Peach Jamboree and Rodeo ($30,000, sporting event): Brian and Billy had nothing to add but noted about 35 lodging rooms in the Fredericksburg area are used for directors and rodeo crew.

• Kraut Run ($2,500, sporting event): Lori Hass said the run is the same Rotary Club's second event and its first city funding request. She estimated 350 room nights: at least 400 people drove more than 75 miles, and 75% were assumed to stay two nights. The run had 766 participants last year in its 16th year.

• Saint Mary's Catholic School ($15,599, historic preservation/beautification): A representative described campus beautification and a spirit magazine. A survey showed 5% of the school's 4,200 turkey-dinner plates were sold to out-of-town visitors, including a couple from New York.

• Texas High Country Higher Education Development Foundation / Forging Futures Education Fund ($10,000, marketing): Megan said the April event includes a dinner, live auction, golf tournament, and ceremony, drawing 150-225 for dinner. The 2,000-name invitation list was built over years, and the fundraiser is in its eighth year.

• Quilt Show ($5,000, arts/marketing): Jean said the biennial show would be held on Labor Day weekend, drawing 400-600 people and roughly 60 room nights.

Staff Discussion and Next Steps

After the interviews, the finance director said staff would provide missing attachments, fill in city-use-only sections, and send the council a spreadsheet of prior HOT awards and county contributions. Staff noted one applicant has not filed a required report and would be contacted. Staff also discovered a previously adopted HOT grant policy that may not have been reviewed by legal; staff will work with the City Attorney to align the policy with organization agreements and bring changes back in early February before award contracts are signed.

Key Outcomes

• No final HOT funding vote was taken. Council is scheduled to decide allocations at the next meeting on Tuesday, January 20, 2026.
• Council directed staff to deliver missing attachments, historical funding information, county funding data, and report-compliance details before the decision.
• The Gillespie County Fair applicant agreed to provide county funding information to the City Secretary.
• Staff will have the City Attorney review the HOT grant policy and will present contract updates in early February.
• Council encouraged the Texas Cellos festival to work with the Convention and Visitors Bureau to obtain verified visitor and room-night data.