The details
During a Nov. 18 meeting, Bastrop City Council approved $433,825 to the Bastrop County Historical Society, $194,000 to the Bastrop Opera House, $167,950 to the Lost Pines Arts Center, $50,000 to the Kerr Community Center and $50,000 to the Bastrop African American Cultural Center.
Each funding amount will be distributed through community service agreements, and will be paid for in HOT revenue—generated from a tax levied on people who pay for the use of a hotel room or other lodging facility—allocated for fiscal year 2025-26, according to city documents.
A list of eligible uses of HOT revenue can be accessed online.
Zooming in
Discover Bastrop—tasked with promoting the city’s natural beauty, historic downtown and growing arts scene to visitors across Texas and beyond—recommended approval of each amount.
Bastrop City Manager Sylvia Carrillo-Trevino relayed her excitement for Discover Bastrop, the city’s new marketing department, during her State of the City address in September.
“What does that mean to you? That means the ability to be efficient,” she said at the time. “We’re going to be able to do all those things that the HOT fund was intended to do.”
The outlook
As part of the community service agreements, the Bastrop County Historical Society, the Bastrop Opera House, the Lost Pines Arts Center, the Kerr Community Center and the Bastrop African American Cultural Center will each need to submit written reports on a quarterly basis, according to city documents.
The first three reports will be progress reports, while the fourth report will provide an annual summary.
