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Port Arthur council authorizes legal action to collect hotel-occupancy taxes from Holiday Inn
Summary
After a closed executive session Aug. 26, 2025, the Port Arthur City Council authorized the city attorney to pursue legal actions to recover outstanding hotel-occupancy taxes from Holiday Inn Port Arthur Park Central at 2929 Jimmy Johnson Boulevard.
The Port Arthur City Council on Aug. 26, 2025, authorized the city attorney to pursue legal action to collect outstanding hotel-occupancy taxes from Holiday Inn Port Arthur Park Central at 2929 Jimmy Johnson Boulevard, the council announced after a closed executive session.
The action grew out of an executive-session agenda item listed under Texas Government Code §551.071 (legal advice) that explicitly named overdue hotel-occupancy taxes owed to the city by Holiday Inn Port Arthur Park Central. The City Attorney read a motion authorizing “the city attorney to proceed with the necessary legal actions to collect outstanding hotel occupancy taxes owed to the city by Holiday Inn Port Arthur Park Central located at 2929 Jimmy Johnson Boulevard, Port Arthur, Texas.” The motion was moved by Mayor Pro Tem Dusett and seconded by Council member Everfield and was adopted by voice vote; no no votes were recorded.
Council members discussed several items during the closed session under statutory exceptions for legal advice and property valuation. Those listed by the council before the executive session included: legal advice and valuation for 735 Freeman Avenue and 1148 Ninth Avenue; matters involving the Sabine (Nature's Navigation District); and a request by Council member Lewis concerning economic development and potential purchase and development of 35.24 acres on Pleasure Island. The transcript records those items as matters considered in executive session but does not record formal council decisions on the property items or Pleasure Island acquisition in open session.
The council subsequently moved to close the executive session; that motion also passed by voice vote. The mayor announced the meeting returned to open session at 5:31 p.m.
The City Attorney is now authorized to begin whatever legal steps the office deems necessary to recover the hotel-occupancy taxes; the transcript does not specify the exact legal remedies to be pursued, a timetable, or whether the city will seek civil litigation, collection procedures, or other remedies. No additional details about amounts owed or deadlines were provided in the open record.
