Visitors Center request to be voted on

Gonzales City Council will convene Thursday

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The Gonzales City Council will have the opportunity to vote on the Gonzales Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture’s request for increased Visitor’s Information Center funding at a special called meeting Nov. 21. After months of negotiations, the chamber’s request was notably absent from the Nov. 14 council agenda. Gonzales Tourism Director Ashley Simper said at the Nov. 14 Gonzales Convention and Visitors Bureau (GCVB) advisory board meeting that alterations to the contract forced that delay. 

“Legal and I had a little bit of difference of opinion on it, but that’s all right because we got right,” Simper said. “He (legal counsel) wanted to make sure that the use of the (hotel occupancy tax) funds were meeting statutory requirement and that was laid out properly as it should be within the contract.”

Language was added to the contract to ensure that in the event of a quarterly hotel occupancy tax (H.O.T.) funds disbursement being more than the chamber’s reimbursement, then the remaining funds must be deposited into a separate bank account. If the contract is approved by council, the chamber would be reimbursed $8,750 in H.O.T. funds for the operation and hosting of the Visitors Information Center.

Chamber Executive Director Daisy Scheske Freeman agreed to the contract changes at the Nov. 14 meeting. The Gonzales City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Nov. 21 at the Gonzales Municipal Building.

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