CITY OF SAN MARCOS
City launches grant program for Heritage Tourism & Preservation
San Marcos is stepping up its commitment to local heritage with a new grant program that supports preservation projects while boosting local tourism.
San Marcos City Council received a presentation from Rebecca Ybarra, San Marcos Destination Services director, regarding the creation of a Heritage Tourism and Preservation grant that would be funded through the Hotel Occupancy Tax at a recent work session. According to city documents, the grant was created to provide nonprofit organizations, as well as the city, with funding assistance for projects and events that promote tourism through historic preservation projects and events that celebrate local history. This upcoming budget cycle, the amount allocated is $375K, but that would be assessed annually during budget workshops.
Ybarra said council direction was that 100% of the Fiscal Year 2026 funds of $375K would be used for city facilities that both promote and enhance local history and heritage and directly enhance and promote tourism and the hotel and convention industry.
The council will consider the allocation of funding to outside projects annually, starting in the 2027 budget cycle.
The grant will be administered by the City of San Marcos Arts and Heritage staff. In the future, grant applications will be reviewed and chosen by the Heritage Tourism Panel, which is composed of employees from the Administrative, Historic Preservation Facilities and Tourism departments.
City documents show several eligible categories with varying funding limitations: Capital expenditures — restore, preserve and promote historic sites and structures that support tourism: 80%, up to $100K Planning — expert planning services for preservation, architectural and engineering planning, and historic designation preparation: 80%, up to $30,000 Marketing — projects that help residents and tourists engage with, appreciate and celebrate the city’s historic sites and cultural stories: 50%, up to $10,000 Experiential — experiences that allow interaction with historic places, events or activities: 50%, up to $20,000 City documents state that an eligible nonprofit must prove operation in San Marcos for the last two years. There will be several workshops during the grant cycle with further information, and at least one workshop must be attended by the applicant. Dates, times and locations will be posted on the SMTX Arts website.
After the presentation, San Marcos Mayor Jane Hughson said the Dunbar Home Economics Building restoration has yet to be completed because the funds were not available. She felt the funds should be allocated to that project.
After Hughson asked for the remaining balance on Dunbar, Assistant City Manager Rodney Gonzales said he had not requested the exact cost of renovating the building but could confirm that it was “safe to say” that it was well over $375K.
Hughson asked City Manager Stephanie Reyes if this was realistically the only money set aside that could be spent on the Dunbar Home Economics Building without an external grant, and she said that it is.
Hughson explained her desire to keep the funds for city projects.
“At some point when we can afford to give some of this money away, we can look at it,” Hughson said. “But I think we need to take care of our own house first.”
Gonzales clarified that council direction is that “the $375K that we currently have allocated, will be 100% allocated to Dunbar. For future monies that we have available, we will use the policy to allocate those future monies.”
Hughson said, for her, it would not be just one year, it would be 100% allocated to Dunbar until the project is completed.
“This is not a one-anddone, but you can ask us every year how we’d like to spend it, maybe during budget workshops,” she said.
The grant application will be posted in the same portal as the Arts and Cultural grants with a link on SMTXarts.com.
