BCFNS NEWSLETTER

June 2020

HOT Money for Retrofit Fixtures

Thanks to a lot of hard work done last year, Blanco, Johnson City, and Dripping Springs received legislative authorization to spend a portion of their Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) funds for night sky preservation. This is a special tax paid by visitors who stay in the city's motels and B&amap;Bs. It must be used to enhance tourism and, ultimately, put “heads in beds” in the city. As night sky tourism is growing segment of the tourism industry, the Texas Legislature authorized three cities (Blanco, Johnson City, and Dripping Springs) to use a portion of their HOT funds for night sky preservation.

In Blanco County, Johnson City reports that all their HOT funds for the year are already spoken for but the City of Blanco is pressing forward. In Blanco, the HOT funds are administered by the Chamber of Commerce. The Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky (BCFNS) is working with the Chamber to use HOT funds to retrofit aberrant outdoor lighting at the City's motels and B&Bs.

The first to benefit will be the Swiss Lodge on Hwy 281 in Blanco. The Chamber ordered 29 galvanized, gooseneck-type fixtures for the motel along with flat bottomed LED bulbs with a color temperature of 2700 Kelvin. These arrived today so we will be scheduling a presentation at the motel soon.

The biggest project for these funds will be the Best Western motel in Blanco. The owner has agreed to work with us to retrofit the motel's outdoor lighting to be night sky friendly. We hope to have this done by the end of summer. We will also work with the Blanco County Inn in Blanco as well as the B&Bs in the city.

The agreement with all recipients is that the Chamber of Commerce will use HOT funds to purchase the night sky friendly lighting fixtures and the business will be responsible for installation. We are excited about this and will work to make it a success that we can then take back to the Legislature when we ask for the authorization to be extended.

Sky Quality Meter Installations

The BCFNS is working with the Hill Country Alliance and the Texas Chapter of the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) to install Sky Quality Meters (SQM) at the Real Ale Brewery in Blanco and the Science Mill in Johnson City. When complete, these will be networked with other SQMs throughout the Hill Country to give a comprehensive, on-going picture of the status of the night sky and help determine success or frustration of night sky preservation efforts.

Blanco's International Dark Sky Community Application Status. IDA has informed us that the only thing holding up approval is a plan to bring 90% of the City's streetlights into compliance with Blanco's Outdoor Lighting Ordinance within five years and 100% within 10 years. BCFNS volunteers have just completed a comprehensive survey of all the City's streetlights. The next step is to work with PEC to determine which of these do and do not meet the criteria. With that information, we can go to the Blanco City Council with a plan and ask for funding commitment beginning in the next budget cycle.

Deep in the Dark of Texas, Vol 1 CD

Last year, our Night Sky Song Contest resulted in a terrific CD with 13 very good, original songs by mostly local songwriters extolling the virtues of the night sky or lamenting its demise. We have recovered our cost of production on these great CDs but still have over 700 to sell. This is the primary way we hope to raise money to fund our night sky preservation education and outreach projects. They make great gifts (hint, hint). You can buy them at Liz on the Square in Blanco and, soon, at Wittington's in Johnson City. They can also be purchased on the BCFNS website: Deep in the Dark of Texas. All monies go to protect the Hill Country's night sky.

Volunteer Needed!

Developers are pouring into Blanco County and we are working with the Hill Country Alliance on a Night Sky Friendly Neighborhood Program that will encourage developers to specify sensible outdoor lighting in their developments. We desperately need a volunteer who will take this project on! It is not a time hog; might require one or two days a month. Training will be provided (and it isn't hard).


Douse the Light and Enjoy the Night!