Council OKs HOT funds for pro rodeo promotion

By Jay Ermis Managing Editor

HUNTSVILLE — The Huntsville City Council approved giving Hotel Occupancy Tax money to the Walker County Pro Rodeo Committee and the mayor pro tem said the action corrects a long-standing wrong.

The nine-member council unanimously voted to give the rodeo group $10,000 with the majority of that figure used to advertise the event.

The rodeo will be held March 26-27 at the Walker County Fairgrounds and is part of the 32nd annual Walker County Fair.

The $10,000 is the last of $50,000 in discretionary funds the HOT board and council set aside to groups applying for the money and the rodeo committee’s application is the last to be considered in the fiscal budget.

The council also approved funds for the Stan Musial World Series, the Samuel Walker Houston Museum and Cultural Center, the Walker County Historical Commission, Sam Houston Folk Festival and the Veterans HEARTS Museum of Texas.

Mayor Pro Tem Lanny Ray said approving the funds for the pro rodeo committee “actually tops our agenda tonight for a couple of reasons.”

“One, because of its importance to the community and also the Walker County Fair and Rodeo, which is a huge event here, which brings people from all over the place and brings the community together,” Ray said. “Even if you’re not a huge rodeo fan or raising cows or chickens, you still can go out there and enjoy it.

“Second of all, this item corrects a long-standing wrong. This is way overdue.”

He then made the motion to approve the grant application for the Walker County Pro Rodeo Committee in the amount of the $10,000 to support the rodeo event in Walker County.

Prior to taking a vote on the funds, council members discussed the proposal.

At one point, council member Melissa Mahaffey asked if the Fair Association has never received any Hotel Occupancy Tax money?

“That is correct,” Ray responded. “They have asked for at least a decade from what I understand. I have talked to past presidents and one unsolicited one called me and said ‘thanks a lot. We have been asking for this for years and never got any when it was managed by the Chamber.’

“They wouldn’t approve. Like it or not, that is just the hard truth.”

“Again, this is a long-standing wrong,” Ray said. “The rodeo has never gotten any HOT money in the past despite requests. I think this is a very good use of this money.

“The HOT board met last fall and unanimously agreed that the rodeo should get some but we never had the opportunity to get an application packet and approve it and because of the time critical nature we thought it best to go ahead and bring it to council, get it approved, get them the money so they can get the advertising out and enhance this wonderful event here in Walker County.”

Ray repeated that providing funds to the pro rodeo group is long overdue.

“The Chamber of Commerce managed the HOT funds for the past decade-plus,” he said. “It has never given the rodeo HOT money to help advertise. They have been summarily rejected along with every other venue. No external entity or other events in town ever got any HOT money.”

Ray said the rodeo is a huge event in Huntsville and Walker County and “it is truly a tourism event.”

He said the city is allowed to assess a 7 percent tax on hotel rooms and “collect that money as long as the law that lets you do that requires it’s used to directly enhance and promote the tourism and the convention and hotel industry.”

“The city is now exercising direct oversight and management of these funds and we’ve had several folks come to the HOT board committee and then through the HOT board to council to approve them,” Ray said.

“Because of the timeliness of this one, I have talked to the chairman of the HOT board, Mr. (Charles) Forbus, and he graciously agreed we should go ahead and get this one to council,” Ray said. “This particular event qualifies under several of the specific statutory mandates you can use this for, specifically for a sporting event in a small town which we are by this definition, and advertising, solicitation and promoting tourism in the community.”

After meeting with Kevin Green, chairman of the rodeo committee, Ray said the advertising budget for the rodeo dropped dramatically and tickets sales have lagged and dropped accordingly.

“In working with Mr. Green, we came to the conclusion that if we can infuse the advertising, we can get the ticket sales back up,” Ray said. “That would also be a method for us to determine the effectiveness of this money and on the back end if the ticket sales go back up we have a direct measure of how effective the advertising was.

“Even coming in this late date, the rodeo is at the end of this month, but because of this and anticipating success here tonight they are already leaning forward to the fox hole to use this money and most of it will primarily be done under advertising to get it back up to the level it was in 2007.”

“Just bringing tourism to town isn’t the primary goal,” Forbus said, “but to put heads in beds, to bring people here to watch the rodeo and stay overnight. We will be able to determine how successful the use of this money will be.”

Forbus said he would like to see groups submit their applications at budget time and when the city approves its budget in July or August.

“All of the projects asking for HOT funds should have their applications in as soon as possible,” Forbus said.

Council member Mac Woodward said HOT funds can be used for promoting the rodeo, “which in turn will promote the Walker County Fair, which in turn will promote Huntsville.”

“I would like to see them think about it in the future of them expanding their marketing,” Woodward said, “and maybe include some other attractions in the community that would be available while attending the rodeo and the fair ... encourage people to stay a little longer and spend the night.”

Also Tuesday night, City Manager Bill Baine said Sam Houston State University contributed 30 percent or $15,000, of the $50,000 the city paid for the micro-drainage study with the Town Creek Project.

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