Visit Boerne board approves four event grants totaling $38,000 after budget trimming

The Visit Boerne advisory board approved funding for four local events on June 28, voting to award a total of $38,500 in hotel-occupancy-tax grants for 2026 programming after discussion about staying within a flat operating budget.

Board members and staff said the city manager’s directive requires the Visit Boerne budget to remain level with the prior year, so the board limited some requests and asked staff to verify projected hotel room nights when applications claim high returns. The board also recorded one recusal: board member Ross Partlow stepped away for consideration of Living Church of God’s grant request.

The board acted on four applications that had been presented earlier in the meeting: the Hill Country Mile (car show), Living Church of God convention, the Texas Corvette Association show, and the Tour de Boerne cycling event. Staff explained that hotel-occupancy-tax expenditures must both promote tourism and fall into one of nine statutorily enumerated categories for local hotel tax use.

Votes at a glance

- Hill Country Mile (car show): Approved $15,000 as requested. Motion passed by voice vote; individual tallies were not recorded in the minutes.

- Living Church of God (annual convention): Approved $6,500 (board trimmed the request from $8,000). Ross Partlow recused from this item. Motion passed by voice vote; individual tallies not specified.

- Texas Corvette Association (Corvette show): Approved $7,000 (reduced from the $10,000 request to align more closely with the event’s projected hotel-tax return). Motion passed by voice vote; individual tallies not specified.

- Tour de Boerne (bicycle ride): Approved $10,000 as requested. Motion passed by voice vote; individual tallies not specified.

Board discussion and rationale

Board members opened the funding discussion noting a directive from the city manager’s office that Visit Boerne’s budget remain the same as the prior year even as advertising and event costs rise. “Your budget cannot go up next year,” a staff presenter told the board, and members spent much of the discussion weighing how to allocate a single line-item pool for hotel-tax grants while still supporting events that generate overnight stays.

Several members advocated matching grants to projected hotel-tax generation and checking post-event reports against hotel data. A board member summarized the verification approach used on past events: registration data plus post-event phone calls to hotels. Staff said some applicants use reservation codes to help hotels track event-related room nights; the board asked that staff continue to “true up” awards with what can be verified after events.

The board also discussed a proposed $10,000 cap on individual grants. Members said a hard cap could be simple but might disadvantage long-standing events that demonstrably generate large numbers of room nights; instead the board trimmed some requests and kept flexibility to award incremental funding when justified.

Presenters and event details

Event organizers gave the board background on attendance and community benefits.

- Hill Country Mile (presented by Josh Mazur): Mazur described the event’s multi-day format (Friday–Sunday), an increase in family-oriented programming, and efforts to boost Friday-night activity and Sunday rides to encourage longer stays. “It’s all good to be back,” Mazur said after presenting plans to grow the event and convert the organizing entity to a 501(c)(3) for future years. Staff said most of the event’s requested funds would cover security, portable restrooms and related street-closure costs.

- Living Church of God (presented by Gary Stein): Stein said the church’s annual convention brings large volunteer groups and multi-night stays (the church previously picked up 1,395 room nights in a 10-night period, using a reported average hotel rate). The church requested $8,000 for 2026; the board approved $6,500, noting part of the applicants’ projected return included short-term-rental data and that staff would verify post-event figures.

- Texas Corvette Association (presented by event staff): The Corvette show is a long-running event and a Fiesta-sanctioned activity; organizers reported roughly 400 room nights last year and requested $10,000. The board reduced the award to $7,000 to align with the event’s projected hotel-tax return.

- Tour de Boerne (presented by Richard Maneses and Bruce Anderson): Organizers described the nonprofit cycling event, its growth to roughly 1,000 riders last year, and charitable distributions (organizers reported raising about $70,000 for local charities in recent years). They said about 90% of riders come from outside the immediate area and that registration tools (RaceEntry) and direct hotel calls are used to estimate room nights. The board approved the requested $10,000.

Recusals and minutes

The board recorded a recusal by Ross Partlow for the Living Church of God item. The board also approved minutes from the January 16 meeting earlier in the session.

What happens next

Staff will incorporate the approved grants into the Visit Boerne 2026 budget line item for hotel-occupancy-tax grants and will pursue post-event verification measures (registration reports, hotel calls, reservation codes) to compare awarded amounts to actual room-night generation. Board members asked staff to return verified post-event reports when applicants seek future funding.

The board adjourned after approving the grants and thanking long-serving board member Brad Wilson, who said, “It’s been a wonderful experience,” as he marked his final meeting for the time being.