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File #: 17-221    Name:
Type: Report Status: Filed
File created: 3/15/2017 In control: City Council
On agenda: 4/10/2017 Final action: 4/10/2017
Title: Approval of the Heritage Commission recommendations for allocating grant awards from hotel occupancy tax to various heritage organizations of the City and authorizing the City Manager to execute contracts with the aforementioned organizations for the purpose of disbursement and use of funding.

Presenter/Contact

Presenter

Patrick Aten, City Secretary

Contact Info

(830) 221-4010 - paten@nbtexas.org

 

Subject Header

SUBJECT:

Title

Approval of the Heritage Commission recommendations for allocating grant awards from hotel occupancy tax to various heritage organizations of the City and authorizing the City Manager to execute contracts with the aforementioned organizations for the purpose of disbursement and use of funding.

 

Body

BACKGROUND / RATIONALE:

The City Secretary’s Office posted notice of the application process for hotel occupancy tax (HOT) grants via the City’s bulletin board, press release, the City website, and in the Herald-Zeitung; and made the application available for interested arts organizations in January.  The Heritage Commission met on March 21, 2017, to review applications and make recommendations to the City Council.

 

ADDRESSES A NEED/ISSUE IN A CITY PLAN OR COUNCIL PRIORITY:

N/A

 

FISCAL IMPACT:

City ordinance requires that 15 percent of Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) collections be allocated to the “enhancement of arts and cultural organizations and programs”.  Customarily these proceeds are divided equally between the Arts and Heritage Commissions, who then make recommendations to City Council on the disbursement of their respective halves of the funding.  This year, $281,583 was made available to the Heritage Commission based on 2016 HOT collections.

 

Recommendation

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION:

The Heritage Commission voted unanimously for the allocation as listed in this table:

 

Name of Organization

2016 Award

2017 Request

2017 Recommendation

Heritage Society of New Braunfels

53,516.00

68,500.00

$60,644.40

Historic Museums Association of New Braunfels

41,681.00

39,290.00

$34,784.21

New Braunfels Conservation Society

62,217.00

62,000.00

$54,889.82

New Braunfels Historic Railroad & Modelers Society, Inc.

59,691.00

56,840.00

$50,321.57

Sophienburg Archives and Museum of History

68,512.00

91,428.00

$80,943.00

TOTAL

$285,617.00

$318,058.00

$281,583.00

 

 

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:

Staff recommends approval of the recommended allocations for the heritage organizations as listed in the above table.