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Commissioners allocate hotel-occupancy tax dollars to Floresville Opry and Peanut Festival
Summary
The court approved two hotel-occupancy-tax awards: $10,000 to the Wilson County Historical Society/Floresville Opry and $60,000 to the Floresville Peanut Festival Association. County staff said applications remained open until funds were exhausted and that applications were posted online.
Wilson County Commissioners Court on April 14 approved two hotel-occupancy-tax (HOT) awards aimed at promoting tourism and filling local hotels.
The court approved $10,000 for the Wilson County Historical Society’s Floresville Opry program and $60,000 for the Floresville Peanut Festival Association. The awards mirror amounts provided to those entities in previous years, county staff said.
County staff told the court that the HOT application period is posted on the county website and remained open through Aug. 31; awards are processed on a first-come, first-served basis until the fiscal-year HOT allocation is exhausted. The auditor’s office or the HOT administrator reported that the county’s HOT budget for the year is approximately $150,000.
The Floresville Opry application, submitted by Iola Heake, requests $10,000 to pay for headliners, master of ceremonies and advertising to attract out-of-town visitors. The Opry’s representative thanked the court for prior support and said monthly shows draw an out-of-town audience that uses hotels and local businesses.
The Floresville Peanut Festival Association requested $60,000 to help secure top-quality live bands and cover related production expenses, including stage sound and lighting. Association president Albert Saenz told the court that county support is essential to attract visitors, promote downtown businesses and sell tickets.
County staff said they had received post-event reports from prior recipients and were continuing to review those reports. The court noted it had historically distributed HOT funds to multiple local festivals and chambers of commerce and that additional organizations could apply while funds remain.
Motions to award the two grants were made and approved by voice vote.
Votes at a glance: - Wilson County Historical Society / Floresville Opry: $10,000 (motion made by Commissioner Aiken; second by Commissioner Perdau; outcome: approved by voice vote). - Floresville Peanut Festival Association: $60,000 (motion and second not specified on the record; outcome: approved by voice vote).
County staff referenced Chapter 351 of the Texas Tax Code as the legal authority for permitted uses of hotel-occupancy taxes — specifically promotion of the arts and activities that directly enhance the hotel and convention industry.
