Brookshire committee recommends hotel-motel grant caps, 50% prepayment and $1,000 starting cap

BROOKSHIRE, Texas ' The council heard an update Sept. 4 from the city's hotel-motel committee and training provided by a consultant from the Texas Hotel and Lodging Association. Committee members recommended a revised application process that would hold 25% or 50% of grant funds until applicants submit receipts; the meeting included a working recommendation of 50% retention and a suggested starting cap of $1,000 per application.

Committee chair Miss Dunn and consultant Scott JossLove (identified in the packet) told council the city currently has roughly $298,000 in hotel-motel funds available but those funds are restricted to certain allowable uses. The committee proposed standard application and reimbursement procedures: (1) a clear application form, (2) a cap on per-application reimbursements (committee floated $1,000 as a starting cap), and (3) a partial advance with final reimbursement contingent on submission of receipts (committee recommended 50% advance, remainder on documentation).

Council members voted to approve the committee's recommended structure and to have staff work with the consultant to finalize application language, caps and processes. The council discussion emphasized that hotel-motel funds must be used for qualifying purposes (conferences, tourism promotion, convention center costs, hospitality-related capital improvements), that applicants must document uses with receipts, and that the committee should limit frequency of awards to a single recipient (committee to propose frequency limits).

Ending: Staff and the hotel-motel committee will return a formal application and policy with a recommended per-application cap, retention/advance rules and frequency limits for council approval.