Llano Commissioners OK tourism funding

by Phil Reynolds

The Highlander

Llano County commissioners dealt out $121,337 in hotel occupancy tax money on Monday, Jan. 23, to let eight different organizations continue to draw travelers to the county. Hotel occupancy tax funds, so-called “HOT dollars,” are to be used for tourism promotion by state law.

Among the grants:

$30,000 to Texas Hill Country Tourism to fund marketing on the county’s web site, Facebook promotion, and print magazines articles;

A total of $29,875 in three grants to the Kingsland Chamber of Commerce to continue to develop memberships for lodgings, to continue the promotion of Llano County through the Kingsland Magazine and to continue to develop Aqua Boom 2017;

$19,945 to Lakes & Hill Publications to fund website and advertising Mar. 1-Feb. 28;

$11,840 to Friends of the Llano Red Top Jail for restoration of the first level ceiling of the jail;

$11,557 to the Lake Buchanan Conservation Corporation to maintain and improve the effectiveness of Lake Buchanan as a recreational area for all who wish to use it;

$9,000 to Texas Hotel & Lodging Association for a group listing partnership with THLA providing free legal advice and advertising for Llano County lodgings;

$3,120 to Castell on the Llano (payable to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept.) for trout stocking on the west end of Llano County and Llano River;

$6,000 to Llano Fiddle Fest to educate, enrich and preserve the art of Texas style fiddling/music, and provide charitable contributions to non-profit organizations.

Kingsland representatives noted that Aqua Boom is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, celebration in the county; it’s held every Independence Day. However, Precinct 2 Commissioner Linda Raschke told the chamber it needed to provide definite attendance numbers so the county would have a better idea of what it’s getting for the money, and Precinct 3 Commissioner Mike Sandoval suggested that Burnet County should contribute to the funding since that county is adjacent to Kingsland.

The jail volunteers, who are renovating the building as a tourist attraction, said the ceiling restoration is one of the final steps needed to be able to open the building to the public. The jail, on Oatman Street near downtown Llano, was in use as recently as 1982 but dates back to the 19th Century. It includes a “hanging tower” where executions were carried out.

The next deadline for submitting grant requests to the county is Monday, March 27; commissioners will vote on those requests at their meeting on Monday, April 24.