Fire Marshal finalizes small event application process

There is a new process in the county when it comes to organizing small events. Hays County Fire Marshal Nathan Mendenhall recently finalized the application process in conjunction with the County Judge’s Office.

“We made every effort to make the process easy and to clarify the language in the application to avoid ambiguity,” he said.

The small event application process is as follows:

All outdoor events occurring in the unincorporated areas of Hays County, including the extraterritorial jurisdictions (ETJs), and all county properties (e.g., the Historic Courthouse) that expect to have 50 or more people gathered must complete and submit the Small Event Request Application. The event will be reviewed by the Fire Marshal’s Office and sent to the Hays County Judge’s Office for recommendation of approval or denial based on the application.

Note: the small event application process can take up to seven (7) days, so it’s recommended to turn in all required documents and secure approval prior to advertising any event. Approval is not guaranteed.

Mendenhall said, “This is effective immediately for all events as described above. The application and instructions are on our website at HCFMO.com.”

The direct link to the application is: hayscountytx.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/69/2020/12/Hays-County-Small-Event-Request-Application.pdf.

There is no application fee for Small Events, which are events not meeting the Mass Gathering Statute – that statute is defined on the above web page.