The existing grant policy allows eligible downtown owners reimbursement of up to 25% of approved project costs, subject to available funds, board and council approval, and a notice to proceed. Those are the published terms against which any eventual revision can be judged. The attached policy is dated Nov. 15, 2023; its appearance in this meeting packet does not make it a newly adopted policy.
One application for a relocated visitor center
Item 5B, file 26-1270, places one application received since Aug. 17 before the board. Braunfels Foundation Trust requests up to $4,651.25 toward an estimated $18,605 sign redesign and installation for its relocated Visitor Center and office at 161 S. Castell Ave. The requested amount is 25% of that estimate. Staff says the program previously approved 10 grants to eight applicants; that history is context for the current request, not an Oct. 26 decision.
If the board approves the sign application, it would advance to City Council for final consideration. The distinction matters to the applicant and to anyone tracking use of the grant program: a board recommendation alone would not establish a final grant or a final eligible project cost. The application's staff item provides the amount, location and proposed next step.
Tree funding is a separate decision
Item 5C, file 26-1271, proposes a $65,000 TIRZ contribution to an estimated $450,000 downtown tree project. The staff item describes 18 additional trees, seating and electrical upgrades. City Council approval would follow any board recommendation. This meeting's new question is whether the board supports that specific TIRZ expenditure; the project description and total estimate do not establish that the contribution has been approved.
The board's tree choice and its grant choices should be tracked separately. The sign request concerns reimbursement for one applicant; the tree item concerns a proposed contribution to a broader public-space project. Both have a further council step. The tree file is the primary route for checking the proposed amount and scope after the meeting, while subsequent board and council records will establish what, if anything, moves forward.
Meeting and public participation
The Reinvestment Zone No. 3 Downtown TIRZ board is scheduled to meet at 11 a.m. Oct. 26, 2026, in the Tejas Room at City Hall, 550 Landa St., New Braunfels. The agenda opens with a call to order and roll call, places approval of the Aug. 17 draft minutes at item 3A, provides a citizens' communications period at item 4, and ends with adjournment. That comment period is for general, non-agenda concerns; the board cannot take action on those concerns at that time.
Residents following grant eligibility, the sign request or the tree expenditure can inspect the posted agenda for the order of business and the linked staff files for each proposal. The next verification point is the board's Oct. 26 record, followed by any City Council consideration of a recommended grant, policy revision or tree contribution.
