The Lakeway Visitors Commission will determine if a conference and performing arts center is needed by its residents following the results of a feasibility study.

On May 12, commission members authorized staff to enter into contract negotiations with an arts consulting firm to assess what type of center would best benefit the Lake Travis community and the level of programming required to make the project financially viable.

The commission chose Janis A. Barlow and Associates over proposals from PKF Consulting and Strategic Advisory Group, former Chairwoman Sandy Cox said at the last meeting of her term. The study will take 12 to 16 weeks, she said.

Barlow has expertise in planning performing arts centers and did not recommend building a hotel alongside the facility to ensure the project's success, City Manager Steve Jones said.

Originally, the commission allocated $25,000 for the feasibility study but raised the amount to $50,000 during the May 12 meeting after reviewing three proposals and determining more funding would be needed to obtain sufficient results.

Construction of the center would be funded using the city's hotel occupancy tax, and can account for half of the HOT revenue, Jones said. He said the center design may include 1,200 to 1,500 seats, depending on what the study determines appropriate.

Commissioners voiced concerns that a conference center would compete with the privately-owned Lakeway Resort and Spa.

"The intent of the [proposed center] is to not compete, but to add facilities that are needed," Cox said. "We need to assess that before we put one shovel in the ground—we need to understand what the need is."

For fiscal year 2013–14, HOT funds are projected to be $678,000, Finance Director Julie Oakley said.

Based on the previous three years, HOT revenue for FY 2014–15 is anticipated to be $842,000, she said.

Oakley said her calculations were based on gross tax receipts and the stepped increase in HOT rates next year from 5 percent to 7 percent. She said the $842,000 revenue estimation is conservative.

Funding for the conference and performing arts center will be part of council's budget discussions for the next fiscal year, Oakley said.

HOT to fund other projects

The commission also approved using HOT funds for two projects proposed by Lakeway Resort and Spa, including $17,500 for a pay-per-click marketing campaign—Internet advertising used to direct traffic to a website—and $10,000 for a public relations campaign.

Lakeway Resort and Spa, owned by Dow Hotel Company, will contribute the remaining $17,500 and $10,000, respectively.

The city matches one-to-one whatever funds a successful applicant puts into the initiative, Jones said.

The commission also approved allocating $1,450 in HOT funds to the Lake Travis Chamber of Commerce for an economic impact analysis performed at Springfest on April 25–26. The total cost to conduct 200 surveys during the event was $2,900, said Lake Travis Chamber President Laura Mitchell.