Gonzales council hears about beer on the links

GONZALES — Last Thursday's city council meeting included more than the marathon Victoria College lease agreement discussion. Council members also heard ideas about authorizing alcohol sales at Gonzales Independence Golf Course.
Mainly, direction was sought on obtaining a beer license from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC). A license would cost the city $5,500 per year, but beer sales could make that up by a lot, said Parks Director Anne Dollery. For example, the City of Seguin golf course has already brought in $34,000 in alcohol sales this year, and towns like Hallettsville and Cuero see their golf course alcohol sales in excess of $1,000 per month, she said.
Discussion was had on who was liable for the license should an accident occur. It was decided that there were several ways to proceed, and more information was needed on the idea. All agreed to come back to council at a later date with more details.
Council also authorized a preliminary maximum ad valorem tax rate for fiscal year 2018-19 and scheduled public hearings for such. Members decided on an effective tax rate of .2761 per $100 of property valuation. This is .0011 more than the current tax rate. The rollback rate is .4639 per $100 valuation.
The council voted in favor of the rate, which can be approved at the next council meeting. District 2 Councilman Gary Schroeder was the lone vote against. He said that he thinks it is time for the city to back off of the tax rate. The public hearings will be Aug. 23 and Sept. 6 in council chambers.
In other business, council:

• Approved the purchase of 21 APX8000 Motorola Radios for the Gonzales Police Department in the amount of $94,573.50,
• Authorized an agreement for golf cart leasing at J.B. Wells Park to Jamie Crandall Equipment. Corp. for five years. This would provide a cart for the park to use for tours and would allow the corp. to lease carts to visitors during events. This would be of no cost to the city.