Fredericksburg City Council Regular Meeting – January 20, 2026

The Fredericksburg City Council met in regular session at 9:00 AM on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, at New City Hall at East Campus, 2818 E. U.S. Hwy. 290, Fredericksburg, Texas. Mayor Jeryl Hoover presided with a full quorum. The agenda covered consent items, ordinance and resolution adoptions, 2026 Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) funding, a Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) funding agreement, annual department reports, future agenda items, and executive session. Unless noted, votes were voice votes with no audible opposition.

Consent Calendar

• Approved in one motion the January 6, 2026 regular meeting minutes.
• Approved three 2026 parade requests: Fourth of July Parade (July 4, 10:00 a.m., Main Street), Gillespie County Fair Parade (August 28, 10:00 a.m., Main Street), and Light the Night Christmas Parade (December 4, 6:30 p.m., with December 11 as the inclement weather date).
• Approved street closures for: City Hall Open House & Touch-A-Truck (W. Austin Street, March 26, 7:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.); Jaycees Crawfish Festival (N. Adams and W. Austin streets, May 22–24); Wildflower 5K/10K (W. Austin Street, April 25, 6:00–11:00 a.m.); and Fredericksburg Volunteer Fire Department Fish Fry (W. Austin Street, April 18, 7:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m.).
• Mayor Hoover thanked the owners of San Saba Soak for their continued cooperation with the repeated closures.

Public Comments & Testimony

• George Studer, a Fredericksburg resident, expressed support for Resolution 2026-02 opposing the Marshall Springs Solar Farm and Battery Energy Storage System, and urged the city to commission a formal risk assessment documenting emergency-services and community impacts. He noted the last major risk assessment followed the freeze a couple of years ago.
• Randy Briley, who identified himself as the prior council liaison, clarified during the HOT discussion that Placer cell-phone geofence data was provided last year through a specific request and was not an automatic part of applications; he favored using such data to give council objective guardrails for HOT allocations. During the CVB discussion, he supported a three-year fixed annual CVB budget on a five-sevenths formula and said his earlier proposed $1 million reduction was strategic rather than arbitrary.

Ordinances, Resolutions and Public Hearings

• Ordinance 2026-01: Repealed the 1990 Horse Drawn Carriage ordinance (Ordinance 5-018). City Secretary Leticia Vacek said Main Street is owned by TxDOT and the lengthy approval process caused past operators to abandon the idea; no comments in opposition were received. Motion carried.
• Ordinance 2026-02: Amended the Peddlers, Solicitors, and Canvassers regulations. Police Chief Brian Vorauer said changes add photo IDs, expand the disqualifying conviction list (10 years for felonies, 7 years for specified misdemeanors), and clarify permit denials. Councilmember Emily Kirchner raised concerns about a previous badge that looked like a City employee badge; staff had already revised the format to clearly say 'solicitor/canvasser.' Religious organizations remain exempt. Motion carried.
• Ordinance 2026-03/2026-04: The agenda included Ordinance 2026-03 to establish Community Room fees at City Hall and Ordinance 2026-04 to amend the Animal Control Ordinance and fee schedule. The available transcript does not clearly capture a separate discussion or vote on 2026-03; the recorded discussion covers animal control. Ordinance 2026-04 was approved, increasing dog and cat adoption fees by about $10–$15, discussing microchip pricing, and removing the horse-and-carriage exception in the livestock section because of the earlier repeal. Motion carried.
• Resolution 2026-01: Approved the purchase of Tasers through the Office of the Governor Criminal Justice Grant Program. The package—15 Axon Taser 10 devices, a virtual-reality training headset, batteries, and cartridges—costs $79,994, with the grant covering 100% and no city match. The current X26P Tasers are obsolete, and the department has 32 in inventory. Motion carried.
• Resolution 2026-02: Approved formal opposition to the proposed Marshall Springs Solar Farm and Battery Energy Storage System in Gillespie County. City Attorney Mick McKamie said the city is already involved in litigation over county drainage and floodplain compliance; the resolution directs staff and counsel to communicate the city's opposition and encourage relocation. Motion carried.

Purple Martin Conservation Project

• Emerson Kirchner of Gillespie County 4-H presented a proposal to install an 18-gourd Purple Martin nesting rack at the new City Hall campus. The project, funded partly through a Bexar Audubon Society grant, would be monitored weekly by 4-H members, and data would be submitted to the Purple Martin Conservation Association's scout-rival study. Councilmembers praised the presentation. Council approved site location #1 near the vineyard and directed staff to move forward.

2026 Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) Funding

• Finance Director Krista Wareham reported 29 applications for 2026 HOT funding. The distribution budget is $700,000, of which $219,000 has already been awarded to the Food & Wine Festival. Awarding all requested amounts would exceed the budget by about $171,000.
• Staff noted one for-profit application (Jack Adams bicycle event) was ineligible under the adopted policy and two applications were late (Fredericksburg Art Guild and the Heritage School event). Legal review flagged incomplete or insufficient documentation for several applicants, including attendance/overnight stay issues for the book festival, historical society, Lone Star Heritage Foundation, Meals for Vets, Rotary Club Car Fest, Rotary Club Crawd Run, and the Catholic school application.
• Placer data became a central issue: providers and some applicants noted the data was unavailable while the CVB account manager was out, and Randy Briley explained it had been a one-time request. Some councilmembers were open to making exceptions for late applicants, while others wanted objective data before decisions.
• Council voted to table all 2026 HOT funding allocations until the February 3, 2026 meeting so staff could obtain Placer data, complete legal review of the application/agreement, and resolve the policy questions. Staff apologized to applicants for the delay.

CVB Long-Term Funding Agreement

• Dr. David Shields, CVB Board President, requested a multi-year funding agreement with the City and permission to draw down CVB reserves over six months to a strategic reserve. He argued a guaranteed funding mechanism, using the historical five-sevenths HOT formula, signals stability and is important to recruiting a strong CVB CEO. CVB representatives said the current budget is about $4.3 million and that a percentage formula protects both parties if HOT revenue drops.
• Councilmembers debated whether to wait for a new CEO before committing. Bobby Watson initially favored waiting, while also noting the City has never failed to fund the CVB. Mayor Hoover challenged the 'begging for funds' characterization and said he did not accept the stress argument. Emily Kirchner questioned whether all five-sevenths funding was the best use and sought assurances about programmatic arts/culture spending. City Attorney McKamie said the agreement can use a dollar amount or percentage and is always subject to amendment.
• Motion to approve the CVB HOT funding agreement as presented by legal, including five-sevenths funding, carried on a voice vote.

Department Annual Reports and City Manager's Report

• Police Department: Chief Vorauer reported 27,000-plus incidents and 12,493 public calls for service in 2025, with average response time of 4 minutes 56 seconds and an average of 58 minutes 18 seconds per incident. Calls were up 10% over 2024 and 20% over 2023; traffic accidents rose 7%; arrests rose 25%. Of arrests, 36% occurred between midnight and 6 a.m., 53% were DWI/public intoxication, 54% were visitors, 64% of DWI arrests were visitors, and 62% of public intoxication arrests were visitors. The department logged 722 accidents, about 12,000 traffic stops, and 1,100-plus animal intakes. Citizen satisfaction was 93.8%, with 89% giving 5-star ratings. The chief said continued growth means the department will need additional staffing.
• Fire/EMS: Chief Bizzell reported a 10.2% increase (about 479 additional calls) in fiscal year 2025. EMS calls are 78.4% of all responses. Mutual aid rose 15.5%, with urban (+216) and remote (+223) districts posting the largest call increases. Daytime calls rose 13.7%; nighttime calls rose 4.5%. He warned of drought conditions, pointing to two weekend brush fires (about 30 and 40 acres), humidity as low as 15%, and three consecutive red flag days. He said the system can still handle current demand, but continued growth will stress personnel and equipment.
• Municipal Court: Judge Amy Becker reported cases filed rose 41% to 1,804, with 194 inactive cases reactivations likely; active cases rose 23%. City ordinance citations rose 73%, and parking citations are a growing issue. The juvenile diversion program served more than 40 juveniles; Team Court won the Impact on Justice award. Judge Becker said five DUI-minor cases were especially concerning.
• City Secretary Leticia Vacek reported on election administration (1,174 voters in the previous election cycle), 34 agenda packets, 9 proclamations, 40 board/commission applications, 208 public information requests through the online system, 135 boxes of records destroyed, and training for 42 staff members on the TxDOT Title VI plan.

Future Agenda and Executive Session

• City Manager Bailey previewed February 3, 2026: an ordinance calling the May 2 general election, an executive session on water rights negotiations, and the postponed HOT funding awards. February 17, 2026 will include ordinances on the location of SOVs, vape and tattoo shops, a resubmittal time frame, an SOP ordinance amendment, a UDC contract, and the Glock and Spiel project on Marktplatz.
• The strategic plan is projected to be completed by the end of April 2026. A new Citizen University class starts with 14 participants, and Coffee with the City Manager is scheduled for February 11.
• The council recessed into executive session for legal, real estate (US 290E/Heritage Hills Drive), and personnel evaluations. After reconvening, the mayor noted 'one motion to carry forward'; no other action was reported.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the consent calendar and all street/parade permits as listed.
• Adopted Ordinance 2026-01, Ordinance 2026-02, and Ordinance 2026-04; the transcript does not clearly show a separate vote on Ordinance 2026-03.
• Adopted Resolution 2026-01 (grant-funded Tasers) and Resolution 2026-02 (Marshall Springs opposition).
• Approved site #1 for the 4-H Purple Martin nesting/gourd rack at the new City Hall campus.
• Tabled all 2026 HOT funding allocations to February 3, 2026.
• Approved the CVB long-term HOT funding agreement including five-sevenths funding.
• Accepted department annual reports and noted the need for future staffing/resource planning.