City of LG Tourism Grant Funds Awarded

More from last week’s La Grange City Council meeting:

Community Development Director Stacy Norris said her office is working with Texas A&M’s Texas Target Communities program to develop a fiveyear plan for the La Grange Police Department. She said the plan will help guide the growth of the police department into the near future. She said the plan should be complete by August 2022.

In other business, Council unanimously approved a recommendation from the La Grange Tourism Committee to award eight tourism grants totaling $43,770. These grants are paid for with hotel occupancy taxes collected by the City. State law dictates that they may only be used for tourism related activities. Moreover, these are reimbursement grants. Awardees must present receipts to the City before any funds can be released. The eight grants went to the following organizations. A summary from the Tourism Committee is included in quotes:

• $4,275 to the Faison Preservation Society. “Funds will be used to support the operations of the N.W. Faison home. Specifically, the funds will be used to pay a salary for a docent and for advertising the home to promote increased visitation.”

• $2,500 to the Texas Quilt Museum. “This request is for exclusive online marketing of the Quilt Museum. Funds will be used for online ads for Facebook and Yelp for the second quarter of 2022.”

• $4,500 to the Texas Czech Heritage & Cultural Center. “Funds will be used to advertise the Slavnost/ May Fest to be held on May 14 and 15. The committee has allocated funding to this event for the past ten years.”

• $10,000 to Fayette Community Theater. “This is the first request from the Fayette Community Theater and is for marketing the performances and supporting the educational activities of the organization. This will be the only request from the organization for the year.”

• $5,000 to the La Grange Chamber of Commerce’s 4th of July Brisket and Brew event. “This is the inaugural 4th of July Brisket and Brew event sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. The one-day event will take place at the Fairgrounds on July 4 from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Funds would be for advertising and other costs associated with putting on the event.”

• $5,000 to the Friend of Monument Hill’s Bluff Schuetzenfest 2022 event. “This is the inaugural Bluff Schuetzenfest event sponsored by the Friends of Monument Hill. The one-day event will take place at Monument Hill on May 14 from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. Funds would be for advertising and other costs associated with putting on the event.”

• $2,500 to the La Grange Garden Club. “This is a onetime request to assist in the operational expenses of the Faison Home until it can be transferred to the Faison Preservation Society. Funds will be reimbursed on a monthly basis as incurred.”

• $10,000 to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Posse. “Funds are requested for advertising and promotion of Bull Riding and Rodeo event which will be held on April 8-9. The committee has allocated funding for this event annually since 2010.”