Rhea County approves $150,000 tourism grant and Hotel-Motel support for summer fishing tournaments

Rhea County commissioners on Oct. 21 approved a $150,000 non-matching community development/tourism grant and separately allocated Hotel-Motel funds to support local fishing tournaments.

Chair described the $150,000 grant as non-matching and asked which county office would administer the award. Purchasing and finance staff were assigned to administer the bid and procurement processes that accompany the grant. The chair moved to accept the grant; the motion was seconded and carried by roll-call vote.

The commission also adopted a resolution to allocate $21,313.50 from the Hotel-Motel Fund to support four additional fishing tournaments slated for summer 2026. During discussion a resident (Speaker 2) said the frequency of tournaments has grown to "almost every weekend," making it difficult for local anglers to access fishing spots. A representative for event organizers (Speaker 6) responded: "My client organized it to where Well Organizing and the community is not frustrated," adding that events are spread out to avoid crowding.

Commissioners acknowledged some community complaints and suggested considering spacing events further apart to reduce weekend congestion. Both the tourism grant acceptance and the Hotel-Motel allocation passed on roll-call votes with no recorded dissent.

The tourism grant term in the meeting record is listed as Oct. 27, 2025, through Oct. 26, 2028; purchasing and finance were named to oversee bidding and administration.

Next steps: purchasing/finance will manage procurement and staff will coordinate event scheduling with tourism and parks staff to address local access concerns.