Llano council waives event-center fee for Red Top Jail fundraiser, approves permits and Itron meter purchase

Llano City's council approved a package of routine and community-focused measures at its meeting, including a waiver of the JLK event-center rental fee for a Red Top Jail two-day garage-sale fundraiser, approvals for multiple special-event permits, and a purchase of new utility meters.

The council voted to waive the JLK fee after Michael Herrera asked the body to consider the cost burden for the nonprofit fundraiser. "We cannot afford to give away money that we don't have," Herrera said while urging the council to weigh costs carefully. A representative of Friends of the Red Top Jail said the group previously paid $2,000 for a two-day rental and that the fundraising event is a major source for mortgage payments; the representative said the group still owes about $150,000 on the facility mortgage.

Council members discussed the group's nonprofit status (identified in the record as a 501(c)(3)), how the event draws vendors and out-of-town visitors, and the need for a consistent policy on fee waivers. After discussion, a motion to waive the fee was moved, seconded and carried by voice vote.

In related business the council: approved a special-event permit for a festival that includes vendor and artist participation after discussion of overnight camping, campfire restrictions and park maintenance; approved an agreement to conduct a joint election with the county elections administrator to elect three at-large alternates (council members stated combined-cost estimates in the $2,000'$3,500 range); and approved the purchase of additional Itron meters as part of an ongoing meter-infrastructure program, citing better outage detection and customer data.

The meeting record shows the consent agenda and multiple routine motions passed by voice vote. Where exact roll-call tallies were not captured in the transcript, the minutes record outcomes as voice votes with "aye" and "motion carries."