Seabrook City Council on July 15 voted to dissolve the city’s hotel‑occupancy‑tax (HOT) advisory committee and approved the committee’s recommended fiscal‑year 2026 event funding with one amendment: an additional $20,000 set aside for the Texas Outlaw Challenge contingent on additional event activity taking place in Seabrook.

The decision followed public comments from event organizers and committee members, a staff presentation of recommended awards, and an extended council debate about the committee’s role, transparency and the difficulty of measuring “heads and beds” — the hotel stays that HOT funds are intended to support.

The HOT advisory board presented recommended awards for the 2025–26 year, including Bay Area Houston Ballet and Theater ($6,000 recommended), Keels & Wheels ($50,000 recommended), Seabrook Lucky Trails ($35,000), Seabrook Saltwater Derby ($10,000), Texas Outlaw Challenge (committee recommended $10,000 of $30,000 requested), the second annual Fall Fest at Barge 295 ($38,500 recommended) and Yachti Gras ($10,000 recommended). The council approved the full slate as recommended by the committee, and added a $20,000 contingency for the Texas Outlaw Challenge to be released if the event commits to additional, specified activity in Seabrook.

“One of the major things that we use as a benchmark is heads and beds,” said the committee presenter, noting longstanding difficulty getting precise hotel‑stay data. Council members and committee members discussed use of promo codes, QR codes and third‑party event tracking platforms as possible improvements to measurement.

Public speakers described economic impact and concerns. Event organizer Paul Robinson said his Texas Outlaw Challenge draws hundreds of teams and visitors and estimated local spending: “I had 100 plus, about 125 boat teams, 1,500 participants this year … Total event local commerce revenue that’s spent in the area from our guests this year was around $750,000,” Robinson said during public comment. He also said the event’s total costs were about $267,000 and described local vendor and volunteer involvement.

Several citizen members of the HOT advisory board defended the committee’s work. Kylie Wilson, a committee member, said the item on the council agenda had been intended to clarify the committee’s duties, not to expand its authority, and said questions about members’ qualifications were “offensive.” Committee member Kelly Stewart said the group had sought transparency while vetting a $45,000 request for Celebration Seabrook and added, “I will be delivering our committee’s recommendations as scheduled. And if my service ends tonight, it will not be because I failed to do the job.”

Council debate turned to whether the committee should be reconstituted with clearer charge language or suspended pending joint discussion with council. A motion to dissolve the committee passed (council recorded two opposing votes). Councilmembers also discussed holding a joint council/advisory‑board meeting to provide clear expectations before appointing or reappointing members.

On the funding vote, Council Member Hammond moved to approve the advisory board’s recommendations; the motion was amended on the floor to add the $20,000 contingency for Texas Outlaw Challenge and the final motion passed unanimously.

The council and staff said they will continue looking for improved ways to measure hotel stays tied to events, including promo codes, QR‑code tracking and event‑platform reporting, and they noted the budget workshops scheduled later in July will incorporate the HOT allocations for the 2025–26 budget year.

The council also discussed the committee’s timing and member recruitment; staff and multiple councilmembers suggested a joint meeting to clarify roles before future funding cycles.