Conroe council approves Candy Cane Park event with hotel tax, authorizes hires for senior program and renames Oscar Johnson center; several administrative ordin

The Conroe City Council on Aug. 28, 2025, approved a package of administrative items including a $300,000 allocation from the hotel occupancy tax for the "Christmas in Candy Cane Park" event, authorization for additional staff in the parks/senior program, transportation operations reorganization and the renaming of the new Oscar Johnson facility.

Citizen concerns and parks context: Betty Avery, a longtime Conroe resident, raised concerns about the Candy Cane Park proposal and its $300,000 cost. "You're having another company put this up and they're gonna store it and they're gonna take it down, but there is no product that the city gets to keep," Avery said, and she urged the council to consider pausing the project for a year and to plan an event that better reflects the community and accounts for storage, security and traffic impacts.

Parks department briefing: Parks staff (identified in the record as Miss McCheska) reported on parks operations and budget context for the hires. She said the department manages at least 146 facilities and that rental income was about $300,000 in fiscal year 2024 and about $350,000 so far in the current fiscal year. She told the council that the department's personnel budget dropped from about $6.5 million to $4.5 million due to reorganization and open positions, producing roughly $1 million in personnel savings; staff said the requested additional hires would be covered by those savings and would not require a general-fund increase.

Senior program hires: Council approved hiring two additional positions for the senior program as originally presented and then amended the motion to add two more, for a total of four positions tied to the new Oscar Johnson facility. Council asked for clarification that the hires do not increase the budget because they fall within the savings McCheska described. The council requested a roll-call vote on item 3; the roll call recorded Mayor Pro Tem Wood, Councilman Harrell, Councilman Hartman, Councilwoman Porter and Councilwoman Arthur as voting "Aye" and the motion carried.

Candy Cane Park funding and scope: Council moved forward with the Candy Cane Park event using hotel occupancy tax (HOT) funds. Council discussion included reminders that HOT funds are intended for tourism-related expenditures; staff confirmed no general-fund expenditure is required and that generators will be provided for the event as needed. Council asked staff to evaluate alternatives that could increase tourism—such as an ice rink, carousel, ropes/low-element courses or disc golf—and to return with bids if appropriate.

Renaming Oscar Johnson facility: Council approved renaming the new facility "Oscar Johnson Enrichment and Recreation Center." Council members said the name reflects the facility's community and recreational mission and noted staff and committee support for the chosen name.

Other administrative actions: The council approved bringing transportation operations in-house (reorganization), approved a contract/proposal from Goodman Corporation for grant monitoring and funding services (item 1), approved procedural amendments to Chapter 2 of the city code regarding authentication of ordinances/resolutions (item 10), and approved combining council workshop meetings with regularly scheduled meetings (item 11). The council also approved the consent agenda (items 12'through 24) in one voice vote.

Vote-at-a-glance (selected items): - Item 1: Goodman Corporation proposal for grant monitoring and funding services — Motion approved (voice vote). - Item 3: Parks & Recreation reorganization / hires for senior program — Motion amended to authorize four new positions; roll-call vote recorded as unanimous among voting members present (Mayor Pro Tem Wood, Councilman Harrell, Councilman Hartman, Councilwoman Porter, Councilwoman Arthur). - Item 4: Transportation department reorganization to bring operations in-house — Motion approved (voice vote). - Item 5: "Christmas in Candy Cane Park" event — Approved; $300,000 to be funded from hotel occupancy tax (voice vote). - Item 7: Rename Oscar Johnson facility to "Oscar Johnson Enrichment and Recreation Center" — Approved (voice vote). - Item 10: Amendment to Chapter 2 regarding authentication of council ordinances/resolutions — Approved (voice vote). - Item 11: Combine council workshops with regular meetings — Approved (voice vote). - Consent agenda (items 12'24) — Approved (voice vote).

What was not decided: The meeting did not adopt the FY 2026 budget or set a final tax rate; that matter was postponed to Sept. 11, 2025.

Context and next steps: Council directed staff to return with any required bids or additional information about potential tourism additions and to notify the council if any upgrades to facilities become necessary. For the Oscar Johnson hires and facility staffing, council confirmed that the positions would be funded within identified savings and would be implemented as part of the new facility opening schedule.