Ingleside Would Spend $120,000 in Hotel Tax on a Faire Expected to Fill 12 Rooms

Ingleside's Renaissance Faire is changing hands, and the price is going up. On Tuesday, the city council will consider taking over the December event from the local chamber of commerce and spending $120,000 in hotel-tax money on it. The city's own application estimates the faire will fill 12 hotel rooms.

The council meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, at City Hall, 2671 San Angelo St., according to the posted agenda.

From the chamber to the city

The meeting packet says the Ingleside Chamber of Commerce board met Oct. 14 and voted unanimously to turn this year's faire over to the city. The council had approved $64,640 in hotel occupancy tax money for the chamber to run the event. City Manager Brenton Lewis recommends rescinding that money.

A second item would have the city host the faire itself on Dec. 12 and 13 at Live Oak Park. It would approve a $120,000 hotel-tax application from the Parks and Recreation Department, let the city manager negotiate and sign agreements for the event, and allow an entrance fee of up to $10.

The staff memo, submitted by Infrastructure Services Director Gary Paredez, calls the faire "a cherished community tradition" and says its boost to the local economy "is extremely positive." It adds that city staff have "over 40+ years of experience in event planning and coordination."

The numbers

The application, submitted by the Parks and Recreation Department, breaks the $120,000 into $93,000 for promotion of the arts, $25,000 for advertising and $2,000 for signs. It says hotel tax would cover 100% of event costs. It expects 5,000 people to attend and 12 area hotel rooms to be filled.

The same application lists the faire's past hotel-tax support. In December 2025 it received $80,000 and used 10 hotel rooms. In December 2024 it received $101,000 and used 10 rooms. The chamber's 2025 application, also in the packet, requested $80,800.

That works out to about $10,000 in hotel-tax money for each room the city expects to fill this year. Last year it was $8,000 a room.

The city's own hotel-tax guidelines, included in the packet, note that state law limits hotel-tax money to directly promoting tourism and the hotel and convention industry. They add that "if an event will not generate any meaningful hotel night activity, it is not eligible." They also say continued funding for an event "should be in an amount commensurate with the anticipated return to the city in the form of HOT funds."

The San Patricio County Courthouse in Sinton. Ingleside is in San Patricio County. Photo: Larry D. Moore / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

The city's hotel-tax fund had $1,194,703.52 as of Sept. 30, the packet says. The application says any profit would pay for other events, with a portion going to the city's general fund.

A town fair is a good thing, and families who drive in for a day of jousting and turkey legs still spend money at local businesses. But hotel-tax money comes with rules. Ingleside's own policy says the test is heads in beds. A council that writes those rules ought to explain how an expected 12 rooms justifies $120,000.

Also on the agenda

The council will consider raising the hotel-tax amount for the Christmas in Ingleside event from $41,424.40 to $43,224.40. It will also take up permits for the Christmas tree lighting and parade on Dec. 4.

A second reading of an ordinance would remove a rule requiring parental supervision for children under 13 who ride bicycles, Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes or motor-assisted scooters on public streets. The state-law age limit for Class 3 e-bikes would stay.

Council members will also weigh a six-year street plan. The packet says 31 streets are on the list for year one, and 14 of them would be rebuilt with 2026 certificates of obligation. Four streets and two sidewalks would be contracted out with general fund money, and the street department would handle the other 13 through routine maintenance paid for by the street maintenance tax fund. Ten streets are on the list for year two.

Related on Dock Line: Round Rock Weighs Three More Years of Hotel-Tax Rent Help for Penfold Theatre; Escape to the Past With the Texas Renaissance Festival