The Seabrook City Council on July 1 instructed the reestablished Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) Advisory Board to complete its initial charge reviewing pending event applications and bring formal recommendations back to council. Council also discussed additional duties the board might assume in the future, and asked staff to draft revised conflict-of-interest language before the board proceeds further.

Jared, who brought the agenda item, said the advisory board wanted guidance on whether it should review all Hotel Tax Special Fund line items or limit its review to events and related grants. Angela and other staff explained that the board's original role included vetting event grant applications and providing recommendations.

Council agreed that the board should finish its first task'to complete recommendations on current event applications'before seeking any expanded authority. Council member Mary warned that conflict-of-interest language should be clarified so members are not automatically disqualified and instead follow the statutory approach of filing affidavits and abstaining when appropriate. Staff said it would prepare revised language and return the matter as a separate agenda item.

Transparency and meeting format were also discussed. Council members asked staff to evaluate whether advisory meetings should be subject to the Texas Open Meetings Act rules, meet in person or allow limited virtual participation for members who travel, and provide public access to discussions about how HOT funds are spent. Staff noted cities vary in their approach and said it would return with a revised resolution.

Related but separately debated, the council considered approval of up to $45,000 from the HOT special fund to underwrite Celebration Seabrook scheduled for Oct. 11, 2025. Staff described the festival's history (first held in 2015), the event budget (roughly $106,000'$108,000 total) and that the Economic Development Corporation had committed $10,000. Staff said post-event reports typically track vendors and art components; staff also said the festival is not a significant "heads-and-beds" driver and that previous estimates of attendance averaged about 3,800 people.

Council members raised concerns about the festival's effectiveness in driving hotel stays and whether the city has sufficient staff capacity to manage a larger event. Amanda, the city's director of communications, described vendor pricing and past volunteer recruitment efforts and said the city maintains a volunteer database but has had difficulty getting reliable volunteer turnout. One council member said the event has "lacked energy" in recent years and suggested pausing to redesign it.

The motion to proceed with the $45,000 HOT allocation for Celebration Seabrook was put to a vote after discussion. The mayor called for hands; the mayor's announcement indicated the council opposed the motion. No further HOT-authority expansion or resolution amendments were adopted that night; staff will prepare revised conflict-of-interest language and a separate resolution to return to council for action.