Uvalde City Councilor Chip King withdrew his own attempt to terminate the city’s contract with the Uvalde Area Chamber of Commerce, which provides for tourism promotion using hotel occupancy tax revenue.

The contract allows either party to terminate the 18-month contract they agreed to in September 2023 with 120 days’ notice. King, who asked that consideration of contract termination be added to the agenda for the Aug. 13 city meeting, told Chamber Director John Yeackle that the city wants to spend more money on advertising.

Yeackle responded that he was bound by a $25,000 marketing plan the city approved in February, which allocates every dollar spent and details where the money goes. In January, Yeackle presented city officials with three different tiers of potential tourism marketing plans, with price tags of $25,000, $50,000 and $100,000.

On February 27, council members voted in favor of the $25,000 plan, which included $5,550 for print ads, $15,996 for online advertising, including social media and possible influencer collaborations, $1,750 for community outreach, $500 for birdwatcher recruitment and about $1,100 for hunter recruitment. Council member Stephen Balke moved to approve the $25,000 plan and King seconded the motion, which passed 6-0.

Over the past three fiscal years, hotel occupancy tax revenue has totaled more than $2 million. The city received $704,500 in the 2021-22 fiscal year, $859,957 in the 2022-23 fiscal year and $529,844 in June, three months before the end of the 2023-24 fiscal year, according to figures the city released Aug. 15.

The City of Uvalde imposes a 7 percent HOT tax on overnight stays at lodging establishments. The revenue can be used to promote tourism and attract visitors.

During the August 13 meeting, former mayors Don McLaughlin Jr. and J Allen Carnes, as well as community residents Diana Olvedo-Karau and Jaclyn Gonzales, spoke in favor of the city continuing the contract.

Carnes, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce board, said the portion of the city’s HOT tax revenue that the Chamber manages has not been a windfall for them.

Carnes said both parties can come together, discuss any shortcomings and progress and move forward from there.

City Councilman Hector Luevano said he had not heard any complaints about Yeackle’s work and said he believes the problem is a lack of communication.

Yeackle said he and former city finance director Felix Castillo created an efficiency spreadsheet to allocate hours spent on tourism promotion and have stayed under the operating budget since the chamber began working for the city.

McLaughlin said he felt the City Council made it difficult for Yeackle from the start by setting its budget at $75,000 when it awarded the contract to the chamber in May 2022. City leaders entered into the contract with the chamber out of frustration that about $550,000 of HOT tax money was sitting unused in a bank account.

Yeackle expressed dismay that he was not informed of the meeting in advance, but learned through word of mouth that the contract with the chamber was on the city’s agenda for termination. City resident Olvedo-Karau echoed that, comparing the scenario to spring 2022, when the city forced the closure of the Uvalde Convention and Visitors Bureau by not renewing its contract to promote tourism through HOT revenue.

After a discussion lasting more than 35 minutes, King made a motion to continue the contract unchanged, and the council unanimously approved it.

Problems with community centers

Yeackle, McLaughlin and Gonzales addressed conditions at the Willie De Leon Civic Center, which the Chamber of Commerce is responsible for marketing but not maintenance or booking.

Yeackle showed pictures of weeds and poorly maintained areas at the civic center. He said it is difficult to have a single caretaker, explaining he is not criticizing the person’s efforts but rather the personnel decisions. In the past, there have been two caretakers. He said the chamber made an offer to maintain the landscape, but it was not accepted. Yeackle said the chamber is doing its best to market the civic center, but a lack of maintenance and access to internal data on rental availability make the job difficult. McLaughlin agreed.

“We’ve been arguing about the civic center and the leasing of that civic center since I was mayor 10 years ago, and we still have the same problem and the same deal,” McLaughlin said.

He said the city spent $3.5 million on the facility, but there were ongoing problems with the air conditioning, it was not suitable for conventions and no audio system had been installed.

Gonzales said that when she rented the community center in January for an event she described as a successful fundraiser for the church, community center staff initially refused to give her tables and then, after relenting, did not provide enough tables.

Gonzales said an employee started arguing with her and made a scene. She also said she knew someone who ran out of toilet paper at an event there. When he asked for more, community center staff advised him to buy his own.