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Council approves Visit Bastrop contract, bars use of hotel-tax funds for gifts
Summary
The Bastrop City Council approved a destination-marketing agreement with Visit Bastrop after adding a stipulation that public funds cannot be used to purchase gifts or alcohol. The council also discussed new performance measures the tourism group will report to the city.
The Bastrop City Council on Monday approved a destination marketing services agreement with Visit Bastrop, adding a specific restriction that public funds cannot be spent on gifts or alcohol.
The council voted 4-0 after Councilmember Sarah Plunkett moved to add the stipulation and Councilmember Cynthia Foster seconded the motion. Adam, the city secretary, recorded the roll call as Plunkett — yes; Foster — yes; Lee — yes; Meyer — yes.
The contract capstones months of negotiation between Visit Bastrop and city staff. Sylvia Trevino, the city manager, told the council the agreement was “the culmination of a very long year of work” and that Visit Bastrop’s policies were largely aligned with the city’s requirements. She said the council had also asked Visit Bastrop to bring forward measurable performance metrics that the council could use to define success.
Mike Pastana, who introduced himself as Visit Bastrop’s interim president and CEO, reviewed the organization’s mission: “Our mission is to promote and develop Bastrop through a targeted destination strategy that drives economic growth and quality of place.” Pastana said Visit Bastrop will invest in tracking tools to better link advertising to actual visits, including a website “impact calculator” and pixels to follow ad-driven traffic.
Councilmembers pressed staff and Visit Bastrop on accountability. Trevino said the contract now requires Visit Bastrop to adopt policies mirroring the city’s financial and human-resources rules and to return specific, measurable performance indicators to council. The amendment adopted on the floor makes explicit that city-funded hotel occupancy tax dollars may not be used to purchase gifts, or to buy alcohol, and that Visit Bastrop must maintain separate accounting for the private fund it raises through merchandise or other non-public sales.
The ordinance and resolution language approved Monday direct the city manager to execute the agreement and codify the restriction on public funds.
The council’s approval moves the contract to implementation; Visit Bastrop will report the new performance measures to the council in coming quarters.
Votes at the meeting also included a broader consent agenda and other land-use items (see "Votes at a glance").
