##VIDEO ID:LXFHSP_51eg## e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e okay thank you all right ready down there all right good 
afternoon welcome to the scambi county tourist   development council meeting today is December 
17th and it is uh shortly after 3 pm uh Danielle   was the meeting properly advertised yes in the 
Pensacola News Journal on December 12th awesome   thank you would you please call the role Ashley 
hoffberger James Reeves Mary Hawking here Shirley   cronley here David beer here ronard Rivera here 
matish Patel here Charles Bayer here Jennifer   beer here great all right we do have a quorum 
so we'll call the meeting to order uh the agenda   has been distributed and um is there are there 
any additions anyone would like to make to the   agenda tonight any add-ons no add-ons Mr chairman 
all right hearing none can we get a a motion to   approve the a motion from Miss cronley second 
from Mr Rivera uh is there any further debate   or discussion regarding the agenda sir hearing 
none please show it adopted thank you uh also uh   distributed in the packet was the October 15 2024 
TDC meeting minutes um you've had the opportunity   hopefully to review those uh are there any 
additions or changes amendments motion to accept   amendments so we have a motion from Mr Rivera 
second from Miss Hawking any debate or discussion   hearing none please show those adopted thank you 
um all right next item on the agenda is uh oh well   public forum I forgot we have a couple of public 
speakers apologize y'all uh we have um Andy Rose uh to oh uh actually these are items to 
discussed during the during the the agenda   item we'll hold those is there anyone 
here from the general public who wishes   to speak to a non-agenda item today seeing 
no one jump we'll move on past that um so   the next item on the agenda is review 
of the financial statements um I had   accidentally put Mr Baker um but Stephan 
Hall would you please come on down thank you while we're waiting on you I want to 
welcome our two new uh well our three newest   members one unfortunately is not here this 
evening but um her lovely Aid Miss Melanie   Luna is here thank you welcome to the county 
and the TDC uh welcome aboard welcome aboard   uh but i' also like to introduce and 
welcome our new city council members   councilman Charles bear and councilman Jennifer 
barer so welcome thank you welcome aboard any comments my name is bear also alphabetical 
I'll figure it out thank you all right Mr   H good afternoon chairman council members uh 
Stephan Hall Finance director with the Escambia   County budget budget office today I will be 
presenting you with the status of tdt funds   through November of 2024 the clerk's office has 
already provided you with a copy of the breakdown   of those revenues and expenditures the fiscal year 
25 2025 collections through the end of November   2024 total 3,241 771 uh dollars as compared 
to the collections through November of 2024 uh   can totaling 3,200 55585 with a collection 
decrease of roughly 42% or $3,814 from this   year to last the fiscal year 25 collections 
through November again totaling $3,241 771   are 15.81% of the fiscal year 2025 tour 
development tax budget of $2.5 million   the expenditures through November 2025 total 
approximately $2.2 million uh clarification   $ 2.02 million with expenditures through 
November of 2024 the prior year totaling   $3.7 million or a decrease of $17 million 
in expenditures this year versus last year any comments or questions for Stefan we have in our our packet for the new 
members there's a document with a bunch of little   type on it that comes from the clerk's office 
that reports uh obviously there's the balance   sheet by fund and then there's the uh after 
that is the the revenue comparisons and then   it goes through and it's called the expenditure 
audit trail that shows all of the expenses per   scent by the penny uh and so uh well one to two 
cents and then in the different funds but for   the different expenditures so the the clerk's 
office provides that information there's also   um although it's not part of our packet 
uh each month or I guess it's is it every   yeah once a month the clerk's office reports 
to the County Commission uh the collection   in a much prettier format than this uh and that's 
not in our packet today but um you're going to   report on that information well you just reported 
on that information correct that's correct chairman Mr re uh does the 3.7 million include 
anything that is committed and not spent so   basically we have have a couple different 
things going on and and I'm going to delve   a little deeper into that here in just a moment 
but um the the 3.7 million which is again you   know that's what we spent uh during 2024 so so 
um versus uh again where we've spent 2.02 million   this year so some so some of the reason for that 
decrease in expenses has to do uh with the Marine   Resources budget has been uh it is no longer in 
the tour development tax fund it is now in the   County's general fund uh and the fourth Cent tdt 
had some uh changes uh had some negative entries   in the financials um I'm I'm not 100% clear 
on why the clerk has made certain entries but   that probably has to do with some purchase order 
entries and some final year adjustments the the   million dollars that we committed to sinking the 
ship so those dollars have not been spent yet so   ultimately so therefore it's not in the 3.7 
correct that it's going to be in the balance   of your reserves the tourist development tax 
reserves and we will touch up touch base on those momentarily any other comments or questions hearing none uh for the new 
council members uh the church Development   Council actually has a reserve policy 
um uh Danielle if you could send the the   council members our tdt Reserve policy 
and our T development tax policies and   procedures so they have access to 
to the governance of some of these dollars and thank you for that so 
uh council members the balance of   your tour development tax Reserves 
at fiscal year end of 20 24 was 20,7 2,478 the BCC reserves were roughly 9.9 million 
the special event Reserve was 1,465 1037 your   marketing Reserve was $ 4,322 74 your public 
facility Reserve was $3,500,000 and your uh   Pensacola Beach renourishment Reserve was $1.5 
Million so those uh five allocations total again   20,7 2,478 at fiscal year end for 2024 Stefan 
what was that event one more time a million   what million four the which one uh I think it 
was you said special event correct your special   EV special event is 1,465 137 okay thank you just 
so so essentially what happens is uh when there's   a there's some event that the council approves 
usually those are going to be paid out of that   particular bucket okay thank you unless Council 
says hey this is a marketing initiative here's   some additional marketing dollars right thank you 
Stefan I don't have those policies in front of me   do we we have put some Maximum levels on each one 
of those Reserve fund balances uh so that we don't   continue to bank the money and those I don't 
think any of those are at the maximum dollar   amount but do you have that information corre I 
I don't have it right in front of me but I will   we will make sure that gets sent out to count to 
the council okay great Darren says he knows and I   I think Council was smart because there there 
are some limits on some of those uh Reserve accounts um so at fiscal year end the tourist 
development tax uh fund collected 23,5 79,500   in Revenue expenses total 21, 295,000 for 
a net income to the tour development tax   for fiscal year 2024 of 2,284 41 so they 
again that is the net income to the fund   based on collected revenues interest earnings and 
salary income and booked revenues in the County's financials Mr chairman yes sir can I make a 
request after this meeting if what he's reading   I'm I'm here trying to write these numbers down as 
fast as I can if if we can get that even if it's   after the meeting or in future meetings if we can 
get that before the meeting just to I'm better if   I could have it in front of me right now I'm I'm 
scrambling like crazy I lost him back at Special   Reserve 1,465 137 and after that I didn't write 
any other number down but in the future we just   get those sure I can send that to you thank you 
thank you Stefan you mentioned of the um the net   Surplus or however you characterize that um 
2.2 something million yes sir it is the net   income to the fund is 2,284 401 401 and 
you said that made up of also uh interest   income that's interest income those are 
the the the per Penny collections um in   any other entries uh that that may have 
been entered into that fund so does the   interest income in fund 108 stay in fund 
108 or is it swep okay yes sir thank you   what do you know do you have the number what 
the portion of Interest was that was earned interest earnings look to be approximately $1.55 million thank you yes sir um so the next piece of that Council um we will be applying the tourist development 
tax Reserve policy to to uh the the fund   balance calculations um that ultimately will 
amend these reserves uh buckets for fiscal   year 2025 I will be working on that uh here 
here in the month of uh January February to   present and uh for approval to the board 
of County Commissioners but right now it   looks like the amount of Reserve reserves to 
be to have the tdt reserve policy applied is 8,733 6768 somewhere right right in that range 
um you may have a question why did it go down   by 2 million so certainly for the new council 
members uh we have a four-year Capital plan uh   which is the bulk of that difference uh for some 
some improvements to the Pensacola Bay Center   so as part of the the budget projection 
for 2025 we have a $3 million Reserve   plug that's ultimately coming out of 
the board's reserves not the council   policy reserves so that's that entry is on 
our side but the reconciliation is done by   Penny uh there are statutes of governance 
that govern how each penny can be used uh   per Florida Statutes um but ultimately that's 
that's the biggest part of that difference any comments or questions no does that conclude your report sir that 
concludes my report thank you Stefan thank you   Stefan all right so we had a great year uh tourism 
that sounds 23.5 million I think is a record year   uh so congratulations to everyone out there and 
all the effort and the work that you guys have   done thank you um it obviously is paid off so keep 
up the good work um all right uh next item on the   agenda is uh election of chair and vice chair uh 
we do this each year um we have Danielle has put   two pieces of paper in front of you uh and I guess 
um with that we will start with the vice chair   position um we'll open the floor to nominations is 
there anyone uh any nominations from the floor are welcomed for vice chair uh starting 
with well I we can do chair or vice   chair first but i' said chair but I'm 
okay but I'm happy to start with Vice   chair start with chair I start with chair 
okay starting with chair sorry guys um   nominations are open for uh chairman 
anyone wish to nominate someone to   serve as chair and turn on your microphone 
please I speak I'd like to nominate David bear we have a nomination and a second uh for me 
uh are there any other nominations from the floor hearing none nominations are closed 
and I guess since there was only one   nomination by acclamation I guess I get 
to serve again thank you uh I appreciate   that um all right now uh Vice chair open 
the floor for nominations for vice chair   are there any nominations yes I nominate Ron 
Rivera we have a motion or nomination sorry   we have a nomination in a second uh for Ronnie 
are there any other nominations from the floor hearing none uh we'll close nominations and 
by acclamation congratulations Mr Rivera thank you   chairman you thank thank you board members I I 
appreciate you guys thank you all right well I   guess we don't need to vote that's good all 
right thank you um all right uh next item on   the agenda is sunshine training um Mr West has 
been patiently waiting in the front row welcome   we every year we get to learn about the importance 
of uh complying with Florida Sunshine and public   records law so welcome Mr West thank you very 
much Mr chairman uh again my name is Steve West   I'm with the county attorney's office and it's the 
policy of the County Attorney that every year all   of the commissions and Boards get training on 
the Sunshine Law and the public records act so   I'll be starting off today with the Sunshine Law 
uh the purpose of the Sunshine Law is to ensure   that members of the public have the opportunity 
to observe government decision making the tourist   Development Council is subject to the Sunshine Law 
And it specifically applies anytime two or more of   you are communicating about an issue that could 
come before the tourist Development Council that   communication could involve more than just oral 
communication like we're having here today it also   includes text messages written Communications 
um emails uh telephone calls all of those   Communications if they are regarding an issue 
that could come before the turist Development   Council are considered meetings for purposes of 
the Sunshine Law And if you're going to have a   meeting in order to stay on the good side of the 
Sunshine Law you have to satisfy three criteria   the first criteria is that notice has to have been 
published so that the public has uh information   about when and where a meeting is going to take 
place second criteria is that the meeting has   to take place in a forum that can accommodate 
members of the public who might want to attend   like these Chambers and then the last criteria 
is that minutes have to be taken so that if a   member of the public was not able to attend the 
the meeting they at least have record of what was   discussed and what was decided um the penalties 
for violating the Sunshine Law can include uh   removal from Office $500 fine and up to 60 days 
in jail so um that's pretty much it in a nutshell   Sunshine Law is pretty simple um the problem I 
I see with a Sunshine Law is though is probably   too simple and it makes illegal certain conduct 
which is otherwise pretty benign let me give you   an example um let's say this meeting runs long and 
your discussions get very intense and you decide   to take a little break and uh stretch your legs 
and use the restroom if two of you inadvertently   uh while you're in the restroom decide to continue 
to discussion even inadvertently uh those topics   stray toward matters that are discussed before the 
board at a formal meeting um that's potentially a   Sunshine Law violation because of course there 
was no notice published that you were going to   continue your meeting in the restroom and the 
restroom wouldn't be able to accommodate members   of the public who might want to attend and of 
course there's no minutes being taken in the   restroom so um just an example of how uh sort 
of benign and inadvertently you can violate the   Sunshine Law so be aware of that um I leave you 
with three U recommendations uh for the Sunshine   Law just keep yourself on the good side of it um 
don't talk to each other if unless you're sitting   in the chairs that you're sitting in right now and 
there's a formal meeting going on if you have to   talk to each other outside of this meeting don't 
say anything about tourist development matters   and then lastly if you have any questions about 
what you can and can't do Under The Sunshine Law   please feel free to call uh the county attorney's 
office if I'm not there there will be an attorney   there during normal business hours that can 
answer your questions is there any questions   you have now on Sunshine Law okay moving on 
to the public records act the purpose of the   public records Act is to ensure that members 
of the public have access to public records   uh public records or any um record that 
is generated or received in the course of   government business and that can include not only 
to the traditional paper documents but also uh any   other medium that is used to preserve information 
electronic uh files are also potentially public   records such as emails or texts it would include 
photographs surveys drawing drawings all those   uh different types of media if they're used to 
preserve information for someone else to look at   uh would be considered probably a public record 
um if a member of the public wants to look at a   public record they can access it there is no 
particular um way they have to request access   to a public record they don't have to make their 
request in writing um they don't have to have a   reason for wanting to look at a public record it 
is enough that they simply say I want to look at   that um the only res delay that you should take if 
you are uh asked for public records is the amount   of time it would reasonably take to compile those 
records and make them available the penalties for   violating the uh public records act are similar 
to those for the Sunshine Law And if I can leave   you with one uh piece of advice on public records 
uh don't have any if you have a record that has   been generated or received in the course of your 
service on the tourist Development Council when   you're done with it turn it over to Danielle 
or some other member of the of the staff let   them be the custodian for that public records 
so that way if anybody asks you you can say I   don't have any public records and you can refer 
them to Danielle are there any questions on the   public records act any questions or comments 
anyone would add I just would add that uh in   addition to emails text messages handwritten 
notes social media posts Etc are also considered   a public record exactly we're we're in an age now 
with with technology where it's very challenging   um not to create a public record um through 
social media yeah so anyway Merry Christmas   hope you have a happy holidays and thank you 
very much great thank you stepen appreciate it all right uh next item on the agenda is Friends 
of downtown Christmas lights uh Walker come on   down please welcome uh you have in front of you 
uh a couple items uh one is looks like a memo   on the first page is Community Partners request 
for funding uh that is there is a document that   um the county I mean the tourist Development 
Council and the county implemented some um   procedures and processes uh for any type of 
request and there's some documentation that   has to go through the county to be completed 
uh and submitted before they can come to the   TDC to ensure that uh they've taken care of of 
all of the uh eligibility requirements Etc so   that's one of them and the second is directly 
from um friends of downtown all right welcome   good to be here and uh thanks for having me and 
today we're here requesting uh a contribution   towards friends of downtown the first City 
Light Festival that we have every year uh   with the Christmas lights that are up and we get a 
donation from the downtown Improvement board from   um the City of Pensacola their parking Revenue uh 
get a chunk out of there and forward to Power and   Light and we've worked over the past few years 
to expand the footprint of where we have the   Christmas lights so we've added them on Jefferson 
Street um by Southtown and then over in Belmont   deviller area as well past couple of years and 
then this past year we were able to secure some   funding and um thanks to the city CRA and uh our 
city council members MERS to keep a portion of the   lights up all year long on the trunks of the trees 
and we're trying to continue to do that for this   next year and um so we're here to try and get some 
support from the county as well and uh continue   this thing moving forward happy to answer any 
questions that y'all might have about about the   program great thank you Walker any any comments 
or questions from Council Members yeah in the   application I saw that last year you guys didn't 
get any funding from tdt is that right correct   how did you guys so there's lights out now how 
did the lights go up this year if you didn't have   funding for from tdt right well I guess I was uh 
I had conversations uh that we were going to get   money from tdt and I wasn't explaining that there 
was a process of this application that you've got   in front of you now um we did have an increase 
in the contribution from the downtown Improvement   board last fiscal year and also from the city um 
CRA and the parking Revenue as well and so that   kind of helped get us over the hump to this point 
in the year and then on the application I saw that   the the one I think the year before last you guys 
got 15,000 and then this time you're asking for   more than double why why is that again we've got 
uh bills to pay for Traffic Control when we put   these lights out hiring l30 some bills that we've 
got to pay uh keeping them up throughout the year   on on this portion of palifox from garden down to 
uh Main Street is more expensive than than normal   and then having them again added to Jefferson 
and Belmont Villers as well adds to that cost   and then last question how do you think this is 
going to help drive more tourism to Pensacola um   well I think one looking at the numbers that 
we that we had presented to you here today uh   downtown Revenue new and tdt collections was up 
uh significantly over the p uh past couple years   so I think our big push of having the lights 
expanding them where they where they are the   words getting out to the general public and those 
that may be coming here for the holidays and then   also some some efforts of the downtown Improvement 
board to promote choping shopping local through   the holidays um with some different programming 
that we have also encourages some of those Drive   markets to come over and check out what we've got 
going on in downtown I just personally I think   I seen the application and the application says 
that this will help the downtown restaurants   and the bars and to me it's a problem when 
we're taking money from TDC or tdt which   is tourism development the sole purpose 
of the tax is to drive more heads and beds I'm okay with charging more tax to 
restaurants or more tax for liquor and and beer   and then use that money for this kind of stuff but 
I I think too many times we're taking money from   the tdt which is for tourist development and 
giving it and I'm not picking on you sorry if   you feel that way um I I just being on this board 
this year my frustration has has growing it keeps   growing and um the numbers are down in November 
they're going to be even worse in December um I   own hotels here and and I know how slow it's been 
and I know how slow the last two weeks have been   it's very frustrating to me when we take dollars 
that should be spent to market the area and we   use it on things that are not going to bring more 
people here um people have to find another way to   find money to for these kind of projects but I 
don't think it's right I don't think it's fair   that we take tourism dollars that are meant for 
driving tourism to Escambia County and using them   for other purposes chairman y Mr Rivera I and I 
and you know I I agree with your sentiment Tish   I do uh but I will say that I do think that often 
times when we think about beautifying a community   for the tourists that are coming here uh it does 
seem like it is a bit of a marketing I mean and I   get that's a stretch I do get it's a stretch but 
I do think we want to put our best foot forward   with people that are coming to our community in 
the month of December and we know that people are   coming um I I can't say they're they're not uh do 
do we IFI downtown with that I will say you know   my question is always does the city have skin in 
the game and the city does have skin in the game   on this one and so I don't know I find this I 
find support in this and you say that because   you don't have you're right you don't have hotels 
and your business isn't down and you don't have   150 employees that you have to figure out how 
you're going to give them more hours because   the business just isn't here so it's not the 
lights were out there this year and there was   no tdt money used so why all of a sudden do we 
need tdt money money so yes you don't have a you   don't have skin in the game I do and and it's 
hard for me to go to my employees and say hey   I in the last 20 years of being in this business 
I've never had to think about how am I going to   give my employees more hours even through covid 
we kept people working this is the first year in   20-some years that I have had to now figure out 
how am I going do I lay people off I've never   had to lay anybody off that to me is a problem so 
yes it's personal for me I know it's not for you   because you don't have skin in the game we have to 
use these T tdt dollars wisely and when we don't   it's going to suffer it a lot more people will 
suffer yes the bars and restaurants are busy but   when tourists aren't coming here the bars and 
restaurants will feel it too the hotels will   feel it first and then everybody else will feel 
it later councilwoman thank you um it's hard to   argue that this beautification of downtown doesn't 
bring people down here and show that we are up in   open I mean it kind of gives that insight 
and then when you when you pair that with   the dib doing the the monthly grants for shopping 
downtown and the shop local and um I think it's a   hard stretch to say that this does not uh isn't 
supported by by extra people coming to downtown   we've got Winterfest going on we've got all these 
things and all those lights make the entire thing   that much more festive I think personally I think 
that when you pay good tourist dollars to go to a   place you want it to be beautiful and you want it 
to look like they spiff it up so that it would be   there for the people so I think that um I I get 
what you're saying and I'm I'm sorry about what   you're going through and I obviously don't have 
that same experience however I do you know as a   mother and a grandmother and bringing all my 
family downtown they love it and the light of   the downtown is magical and I think it draws 
you back down so I think that it's not a huge   ask and I think that the year round in expanding 
it is um B official to the businesses the ask is   doubled and if the business is downtown I agree 
it does make it beautiful but it's happened this   year without tdt funds so why not let it happen 
again next year without tdt funds and then if it's   the downtown businesses that are going to benefit 
from it why not let's tax them let's say hey are   you guys okay with 5% of your sales in December 
put it towards the lights it makes a you know it   we can make it even bigger we can make it even 
better but it benefits the downtown businesses   it benefits the downtown restaurants it benefits 
the downtown bars it does not benefit my hotels   that are not downtown it doesn't benefit the 
restaurants that are not downtown and there's   nobody that's driving from over 100 miles out 
just to come look at the lights in Pensacola   well and and I will say real quick Mr chairman 
before I before and I won't stretch this out all   night long but I will say that uh you know we we 
tend to forget often times there are now hotels   downtown you know when I started in on this board 
eight years ago that there were no there were no   hotels downtown but all of a sudden there are 
hotels downtown and I think at some point this   board should be acclimated with with all hotels 
across the county not just the ones that are up   on 29 or not the ones that are out on the beach 
but but it's it's a big it's a big Market all   of a sudden pensol is a wonderful place and we 
want to put our best foot forward every single   time we step out thank you Mr chairman I'm 
done counc I would just say that the downtown   business and residents are paying an extra tax 
for these things what they're asking us to do   is to supplement with them so they the vibb is 
an independent taxing Authority they have paid   extra taxes for these things and they're just 
asking for all of those that live elsewhere that   enjoy it as well to consider stepping up and uh 
being a part of it I just think it's a benefits   us all I'd make a motion that we approve it 
provided it comes from our interest income fund Mr Hall are you listening so that would be out of the 1 million 
yeah 55 1.5 million interest income but that   fund is that money is not in one of the restricted 
funds correct that is in the in the unrestricted balance please come up and speak to that so the interest the interest that is accumulated 
in the tourist development tax fund over the   course of fiscal year 2024 is unallocated it is 
part of that two overall that 2.2 uh in uh that   that was your net income uh ultimately you know 
the reserve policy would be applied to the overall   um but if council is recommending to take that off 
the top I can adjust the financials to do it that   way I'll second motion so we have a motion from 
Mr Reeves to fund the $322,000 request from the   interest interest earned off of the tdt uh this 
past year before it's distributed to the reserve   funds and through the process before it gets 
restricted before it gets restricted and and   spread through the process and we have a second 
from M councilman beay y any debate or discussion   any comments uh I I would like to comment um in 
support of this uh request um and and really in   in response uh Tish to to some of your comments 
the first I want to say um the tourist development   tax is not collected specifically to Market to be 
used to market for heads and beds uh that is what   gener the heads and beds is what generates the 
ility for us to continue to Market uh but it is   for the development of Tourism uh whether that's 
heads and beds or through any other economic   impact that the tourists make while they're here 
in our community in our County and so part of uh   tourism development includes placemaking uh and 
marketing of the place uh we have to have assets   to Market we have restaurants we have bars we have 
natural resources we have arts and culture we have   lots of different things assets this County 
to to Market uh and the dib and Friends of   downtown is is doing a great job and and Walker 
just mentioned the things that they're doing to   market the downtown to shop local etc etc and so 
I believe those efforts are in support of Tourism   development and uh and the lights to be put up 
and used year round um is the placemaking that   they will then market for um shopping local 
Etc and trying to dra drive people downtown   into the restaurants into the bars but also into 
the hotels uh and into the jewelry shops Etc where   wherever uh the golf cart shops across town um 
that was for my friend sitting in the room uh   and so anyway I could go on but so I I think 
this is tourism development I think this is in   support of Tourism I think it's uh I don't want 
you to oversell it you want me to stop selling   all right I'm stop selling we have a motion and a 
second is there any further debate or discussion   hearing none uh please call the rooll if you would 
James Reeves yes Mary Hawking yes Shirley cronley   yes David Bayer yes Ronald Rivera yes matish 
Patel no Charles Bayer yes Jennifer beer yes   great motion passes thank you with one in descent 
all right thank you w appreciate it and thank you   for what you're doing uh next item on the agenda 
is wine on the water um you have also received   uh a packet in front of you um there was uh a 
proposal uh but also the documents filled out   for the county um with all the information about 
the event Financial Etc uh and we have some folks   in the audience three I only have unfortunately 
I only added two to the agenda Adrienne Maggard   and Brian Williams U but mallerie stter is also 
here uh if you guys would all like to come up   and and present please is this going to be up 
is this going to be on the screens uh I don't   know I didn't give it to anybody okay okay hey 
welcome thank you thank you my name is Adrien   magard I want to thank you all for your service 
and the opportunity to be with you today joining   me are two individuals that need no introduction 
but I will certainly give them an opportunity to   introduce themselves mallerie stter and I'm 
a hotel owner uh Brian Williams uh own cool   companies in town welcome all of you thank you 
we are here today to talk about an unforgettable   3day Wine and Food Festival in Pensacola many 
of our local residents travel out of the area   to have this experience they travel to 30A they 
travel to Nashville Tampa and Beyond we want to   create that experience right here in our local 
community scheduled for March 20th through 22nd   this weekend will coincide with the gl52 sailing 
race weekend and essentially we want to create   a celebration of food wine culinary taste and 
sailing and Ultimate Experience unlike anything   Pensacola has experienced before our goal is to 
provide like I said a unique and Unforgettable   experience diversify and increase tourism increase 
hotel bookings throughout our community market   this event in our community to key target areas 
and then also um really to improve the economic   impact in our community we have brought the 
talent expertise of event planners um across   30A and they are using their expertise to create 
that experience that many of us travel out of area   for we will have a comprehensive marketing 
strategy targeting key markets Nashville   Burmingham Atlanta 30A and Beyond to really make 
a difference here we're joining you asking for   $250,000 to develop programmatic elements of 
this event to increase tourism and marketing   outside of our area to draw really a premere 
crowd audience and make an impact on our local community thank you uh so I yeah I may have 
overlooked it but what are the the proposed   dates of the event March 20th through 
22nd it's a 3-day Food and Wine Festival 20th through the how does this um coordinate with the 
sailing thing I don't get that part of it   great question so this will be the first weekend 
that GL 52 is sailing across pens skull Bay it   will be phenomenal um there are team members 
from across the world coming right here into   Pensacola they will be at Pensacola Bay and we 
are integrating in collaboration with the City   of Pensacola on how to have their Sailors and 
our event guests really mix mingle and make a   difference great question and this letter 
here is a support letter from the mayor's   office uh let me ask you a question so there's 
a rata that weekend is that what you're saying   there is a sailing rata okay okay it is 
that on Friday and Saturday when is that   sailing they are going to practice starting 
on Wednesday and then the race is Saturday   which is our Premier event okay for the weekend 
as well councilman bear thank you Mr chairman um   just quick question says in here 600 tourists 
is that in addition to people that be com in   for the Riata or I mean yes saying and that 
data is really being pulled from our experts   in the 30A Market okay 55 of their attendees 
are out of market and then our 30A uh Partners   they also receive TDC funding or tdt funding so 
they're is a model okay it's a nice event over there Mr Rees um why why use the Sacred Heart 
Foundation as a basis for this unless you can   get two other hospitals to coordinate with 
you great question so I know we have friends   that are looking to set up at their own 
501c3 but Sacred Heart has a regional   presence we already naturally are able to 
market across Northwest Florida and then   also nationally in some of our key Target 
markets that we're looking to recruit from yeah it sounds like a great just add on to 
that so uh my name is Brian Williams I'm also the   president of the crew of priscus um in Pensacola 
so our organization was gifted from the bread and   table group Ros and cro event that's been being 
put on in downtown Pensacola for quite a few   years we wanted to elevate it and grow it and 
add the wine festival to that event but the   problem was that the crew is not a 501c3 so 
we collaborated together uh we was actually   we were going to do it separately and then 
we found out through the Great Vine that   they were actually planning this so we deed to 
work together because at the end of the day we   all want to promote Pensacola that's the goal 
I mean any money we rais as a crew we give back   to the community um so we working together and 
since they already had the 501c3 thought it was   easier for us to just combine forces with 
Ascension to do so we do we have our status   applied for So eventually if that becomes an issue 
we could you couldn't come up with anything less controversial seem a great event so you're so 
March 20 through 22nd you're right outside the   shoulder month so it's I guess I mean I don't know 
where the shoulder months are anymore I'm looking   at Rusty dead in the face I mean normally you know 
I count it to February but but are we still good   in a shoulder month in March I mean are we still 
there Rusty or we a little bit past it okay I'm   I'm going to make a motion that we accept this and 
move it forward I mean it looks like it's the only   reason I've been to the 381 and it's a great event 
um if Escambia County could have something similar   uh just partially similar I think we would be 
winning here in Escambia County so I'm going   to make a motion that we accept this and move it 
forward so we have a motion from Mr R is there a   second second we have a second from Miss Hawking 
any debate or discussion I still have a couple   questions please on the last page it says you guys 
your website what website are you talking about   that's it will live on the Sacred Heart Foundation 
website okay and then also the money that you're   asking for what is it being used for great 
question the money will basically be reinvested   for programmatic efforts for the event we want to 
create an experience that naturally will R attract   attendees to return in future years and then 
also a majority of the funding will be used   for marketing efforts outside of our community 
to drive tourism to drive hotel bookings do you   have a number or percentage in mind that's for 
marketing versus the in the packet is 150 for   marketing okay I don't know what packet for some 
reason I don't I don't have the dates I don't have   any percentage you have a I was I got that one 
I got here so 100% of the funds will be used for   programmatic purposes not administrative okay and 
then um so it's is it 600 room nights or is it 600   people that this is going to drive here 600 people 
and we expect them to stay for multiple nights   okay thank you um I have a question have you um 
have you worked with visit have you uh discussed   this with visit Pensacola so your marketing 
efforts and their marketing efforts can coincide   that is our goal as well we know that our timing 
is quick but our goal is to collaborate throughout   the community especially with visit Pensacola 
sure one more question is there a reason why you   waited so long to jump on this with it being in 
March we are planning something unlike anything   in Pensacola there are individuals throughout our 
community we're working with the City of Pensacola   event planners and we're also coordinating 
it around the gl52 race weekend so we were   date restricted and even if this board approves 
it it goes to the County Commission right yes   when did they meet again Stefan I don't come 
on back up here and explain it to everybody thank good afternoon again council members so 
correct so this this Council makes recommendations   um that are ultimately app approved by the 
board of County Commissioners so again this   is an advisory Council uh per uh uh for statute 
and per our policy um these things are referred to   the board uh generally my office uh we prepare the 
board recommendations and things uh miscellaneous   Appropriations agreements funding agreements 
if you will for all these events also I want to   uh mention this to uh to council members so as 
you make these allocations uh every uh tourist   development tax Community partner that receives 
an allocation of dollars is required per policy   to to do uh an annual report or an after action 
report for an event so all of those will be will   be presented to the council so you can see how 
each of our partners um have done with the dollars   that this Council has approved and allocated so 
so we are still working through those currently   everything's just a little bit late you know uh 
we haven't finished visit Pensacola we haven't   finished uh pensac Sports and Ace you know there 
there those things we've had to roll some of those   purchase orders but for the events that we have 
done and completed we are continuously reaching   out to these these funding Partners saying hey 
please give us your deliverables so these can be   presented or at least reviewed by Council so 
I did want to mention that you we'll see how   each of these events perform so that's kind 
of the gist of of that that conversation um   so but ultimately for for uh for Walker's 
allocation and and for these folks so yes   those will be ultimately approved by the board 
of County Commissioners a funding agreement will   be issued and then uh we will we will go from from 
there um additionally so as you make your decision   um my question to you would be will this be coming 
from your special event Reserve yes unless there's   unless there's some hiccup on that I mean I 
think that would be the best place to pull it from I've been Vice chairman for a lot of a lot 
of years this didn't just start um M maygarden   are you going to sign are you going to do an 
after action report on this for us well she's   going to have to that's part of our I just want 
make sure that yeah I just make sure that funds   that you're aware of that um okay yeah Mr I 
just want to say that I'm disappointed really   that you may have not had the time to work it 
through visit Pensacola but the whole idea behind   visit Pensacola that we don't have one Group 
Advertising in the same magazine that another   group's advertising for the same thing and the 
other thing is is I hope that you get another   sponsoring group before next year I just would 
prefer that that's only my personal opinion thank you so we any other comments or questions we 
have a motion in a second before us there no   other questions or comments um Danielle would you 
please take roll and call the rooll James Reeves   you have to vote we're call we're voting by roll 
call would you turn your microphones on speak into   the mic please Shirley gronley yes David Bear yes 
ronard rera yes matish Patel no Charles beay yes   Jennifer Brer yes great motion carries thank you 
good luck with your event thank you for bringing   this David yeah happy holidays Merry Christmas 
and we look forward to giving you that report of   impact thank you yeah yeah so so the process is um 
that stepan just outlined so we are we don't have   the authority to appropriate the funds we just 
make the recommendation to the County Commission   their next meeting is not until January the 9th 
uh when they have that and it will be on their   their agenda that day thank you thank you just 
a question for you yeah I don't know if you know   the answer maybe he does so on the 9th let's say 
the county commissioner says yes how long does it   take for them to actually get the funds or do they 
have to spend the money to reimburse funds they   reimburse well I think that all depends on how 
the county decides to handle it um many of the   organizations are reimbursed for their expenses um 
I'm not sure but some are fronted some information   marra pinol is an example they get half of the 
money up front they have to provide all the   documentation backup documentation to show that 
they spent all that money before they get the   second payment to fulfill their appropriation they 
I'm not sure how the county plans to handle this   one but another question is probably for Stefan so 
if the application says they're going to spend 150   on marketing and let's say for some reason they 
spend a 100 on marketing and the balance somewhere   else does that affect what they get or how does 
that work so so when the uh the funding agreement   the miscellaneous Appropriations agreement is 
crafted it basically will lay out those things uh   and we work with them so ultimately you know when 
when our clerk receives the the reimbursements   and those type of things where where those those 
funds uh move between between organizations uh we   follow the specific verbiage that is in that MAA 
as to what will be reimbursed and what will not   so you you must adhere to to what is approved in 
that MAA right so when they fill an application   out and they say they're going to put 150,000 
towards marketing are they held to that okay thank you thank you all right next item on the agenda is visit 
Pensacola Darren uh to speak about the SS United   States uh and before you begin happy birthday oh 
thank you very much um nice to meet the uh the new   council members I got the email congratulations 
on your new post um Darren Schaefer with visit   Pensacola I'm here for the agenda item on the 
SS United States this uh initiative has been   before the council previously where the council 
proved funding up to a million dollars towards   acquiring and reefing this ship as an artificial 
Reef within uh proximity to the Pensacola pass   um I spoke previously and I know I submitted that 
copy of that letter of support that either working   through our Marine Resources or working with 
Okaloosa County Marine Resources that our goal   would be still to have that ship reefed within 
an access accessible distance from the Pensacola   pass now over the last few months Okaloosa County 
secured the ship their investment is uh upwards of   $10 million and uh that's the amount of money 
that we were our Marine Resources was faced   with trying to raise itself um with Okaloosa 
County winning the bid for the ship they have   three locations within their County Waters that 
they're looking at one is further east towards   Bay and Walton County one is straight out and one 
is further west towards Escambia County and closer   proximity to the ariskin so uh conversations that 
we've had uh internally uh with the dive Charter   groups between my staff and the Okaloosa County 
staff we we uh we knew that band Walton County   were going to had offered up to $3 million to 
choose a location that was on the east side   closer to them and while we wouldn't have really 
the ability to compete with them financially we   did have the $1 million that had been committed 
and if we invest that with Okaloosa County as   a true partner um and have them refit on the 
West Side closer to us within proximity of the   Pensacola pass that's attainable by Dar Charter 
groups uh we felt we could also then offer some   joint marketing together while we wouldn't be 
able to match the same dollar amounts we would be   competitive and feel like that onew punch between 
the orisky and the SS United States would be a   huge marketing Advantage uh for Okaloosa County 
as well as ourselves so we've been working with   their staff uh looking at uh if we made this 
kind of proposal if we're to do these type of   things would this be agreeable and um that's been 
the indication that we've received I uh spoke uh   back in November before the Marine advisory 
committee that uh Robert Turpin works for to   present to them about the use of this $1 million 
that Ben has set aside and they fully support uh   visit Pensacola taking the initiative to be that 
fiary agent that coordinates with Okaloosa County   on uh reefing that ship within um a a destination 
agreed to and that is accessible from Pensacola   pass so I'm uh here before the TDC to do this 
the proper way previously the uh approval was   going to be run through Marine Resources now 
I'm asking it to run through visit Pensacola as   a pure really marketing investment um the amount 
of attention it's already received nationally and   internationally has been phenomenal um Not 
only would we be talking about the location   of the ship being reefed but also being a true 
partner recognize in press releases and marketing   opportunities to work together Mr chairman yes 
sir I move that we approve the we acknowledge   the transfer of the money from marine services 
to visit Pensacola and we acknowledged that the   executive director of Pensacola is now some sort 
of fiduciary did you have a background check I   have a background check I believe there has been a 
background check 4 and a half years ago it's still   good and with the acknowledgement that we are also 
approving a million for marketing those wrecks   that $200,000 a year that comes out of our budget 
so yourg yeah my board of directors approved that   commitment that wasn't an from Visa Pensacola 
uh and truly 200,000 100,000 specifically for   marketing the SS United States but the other 
$100,000 is to continue to do the marketing   that we do for all of the diving opportunities 
in scambia County how about covered everything   I think so you want to restatement I just 
to be sure acknowledge we acknowledge that   the money's been uh transferred from uh what's 
the name of the organization Marine Resources   Marine Resources yes um and that uh we approve 
that uh visit Pensacola would take it over   and we acknowledge that they are setting 
aside $200,000 out of their appropriation for their marketing shipwrecks yes sir 
in the Gulf sounds good we have a motion   from Mr Reeves is there a second I second 
it we have a second from Miss crley and   before we get into discussion we do have two 
speakers who signed up to speak today uh Andy Rose and we also have Brady hail here on sir Andy welcome uh yes I'm Captain Andy Ross with 
Nai Dive Charters and uh I just want to let you   know I fully support the opportunity that visit 
Pensacola is working with Okaloosa County I know   the three areas that they're they were planning 
on sinking the wreck and where they're putting it   closer to the West here is not much further than 
the arisky and is very much well within range to   run Charters where we won't really have to to um 
put a bigger price tag on it and I've already uh   we went to a dive Show in Las Vegas here recently 
and the um the buzz about that wreck is really   phenomenal and that puts a big pin on the map for 
Pensacola not only for that wreck but also again   for for the uh arisky and I think it's going 
to be tremendous to get uh uh some of these   high dollar Tech divers out who spend a lot more 
money than than a lot of people I don't know where   they come up with their money but they're always 
wanting to go and they don't care how much it cost   so uh I think it's going to be a big boost 
for our area and uh uh I just want to let   you know I do support it 100% thank you great 
thank you Captain Brandy welcome thank you sir   Brady with ocean Strike Team Brady Hill ocean 
Strike Team um just going to wave them support   unless there's other comments or questions about 
uh anything to the negative it's it's going to be   a great thing for Pensacola great thing for our 
tourism great thing for our dive industry for our   hotels for our restaurants money is just going 
to come flowing in which is a good thing thank   great thank you all right those are uh all of our 
speakers uh comments I have a question Darren what   is the status of the USS United States I've been 
hearing on news that um I guess the Coast Guard   was concerned if they could get it here and um so 
what is the status well it's interesting they had   Coast Guard approval and then all of a sudden 
someone from that area Express an interest and   then they didn't necessarily have Coast Guard 
approval so they're working through that um   with attorneys in in regards to the release 
of the ship but they had gone through all   their inspections initially and had Coast Guard 
approval um our commitment to Okaloosa County and   we'll be very clear with this is based on that 
ship being reefed in the right location you know   the appropriate location and until that happens 
um we won't be releasing any funds because you   know it's a it's going to be a process and things 
can happen and there can be delays so um you know   first thing I have to do is get it released out of 
Philadelphia bring it down the coast it'll be uh   remediated in Mobile and then from mobile it be 
brought down in sunk so part of our partnership   is to be part of that to be able to document and 
get photo and video content and be part of the   reefing and as part of how we market and tell that 
story uh nationally and internationally right so   we're we're waiting and um they're working on it 
but our commitment is based on it happening I got   a question yes Darren do you know how far from 
the arisky this will be sunk or like what's the   location of it compared to the orisky I have 
I have I have a note on that let me just uh so it basically um right now let's start with 
the USS or risky so the risky is located about 24   miles from the Pensacola pass and the ariskin is 
34 mil from the Destin pass the SS United States   would be about 21 miles from the Destin pass 30 
mi from the Pensacola pass the distance between   the two ships is 12 mil so when you dive a ship 
like that and you come back up you need an hour   before the next dive and so diving both ships in a 
day is very possible you take that hour to go from   one ship to the other ship then to do your second 
dive and wouldn't even have gone down this path   uh unless we had the commitment and it it's an 
acceptable distance and within the dive community   so we walked through all of that first before 
we started talking to Marine Resources before   talking Okaloosa County so 12 miles between the 
two and then is there a chance or is this sorry   a done deal to say hey we don't want it 12 miles 
we'd like it six miles from or you know just just   so it's closer to Pensacola pass than it is to 
dtin pass um who made the decision there there are   locations that are approved um based on the depth 
the ships need to be sunk at and um since Okaloosa   County is paying a large amount of the money most 
of the money 10 million versus our million plus   marketing um you know there's going to be a little 
give and take on that but originally the thought   is that location that they're looking at that is 
one of their approved locations is is about 30   mi from our pass I got and then the the request 
you have here if you go back to Okaloosa County   is that is that does that lock it in or does that 
still like we are we like are we is there RFP to   like are they are they negotiating with Destin and 
with us or how's that I'm sure they've been in in   conversation with them I think um while we're 
not again not financially at the same level I   think there makes a lot of sense to to look at the 
marketing partnership that that we can do between   the two counties um and what happens now with the 
the recommendation support of the TDC this still   has to go before the board of County Commissioners 
uh and with that approval I can then submit a   proposal to Okaloosa County Council yes and just 
reiterating here that this million dollars sits   tight and if it until the West uh location is 
chosen until that ship is on the ground so so   it has to be reefed and it it can't be whoops 
it's 40 miles away if it's 40 miles away then   we wouldn't pay that money all right thank you 
thank you councilman bear did you have a comment   Darren when do you when do you really think it 
will could be here well they were talking about   prior to now I mean that ship should have they had 
planned on on moving it they only waited like they   did to just kind of get out of hurricane season 
uh before bringing it down around Florida um so   now it's just a matter of time of them getting 
released getting the Coast Guard approval um and   then they were talking about having uh that sunk 
um late summer early fall so you know what delay   so far has been a few weeks hopefully it won't be 
much longer than that there was press Rec recently   a few days ago that said I guess the original 
plan was to move the ship starting November   15th but that day the co that's when the Coast 
Guard determined that it may not have suitable   stability to move it and so they're yep there's 
all of a sudden problems I don't not saying   anything about how business is done on the East 
Coast but uh he's from the West these problems   all of a sudden appeared any other questions or 
comments yeah all right well we have a motion   and I'm not going to repeat it but we do have 
a motion on the floor and a second uh is there   any further debate or discussion hearing none 
we'll call for the vote would you please call   the rooll thank you James Reeves yes Mary Hawking 
yes Shirley cronley yes David Bayer yes Ronald   Rivera yes matish Patel yes Charles beay yes 
Jennifer be yes okay thank you motion Carri   thank you so much and thank you for the work you 
you've done that saved the county a whole lot of   money to get Okaloosa County to to pay for it 
and uh and also I think it's a great idea to   partner with them on the marketing because I think 
you're bringing the you know you guys when you   first brought this to us you you talked about the 
struggle between their wins and our inability to   you know invest into this type of industry and to 
partner on this I think is a huge win on multiple   faces so thank you for your efforts um all right 
uh I don't think there's any other business but   uh closing remarks um we will start with Mr 
Reeves do you have any closing remarks you've   done a really good job I hope you'll continue 
to do that in this next year well thank you yes   thank you David I appreciate it and I just hope 
that one day I'll have the courage to go diving   it sounds fun Sherie yes um I want to thank all of 
the agencies but visit Pensacola Pensacola Sports   and Ace because this year was a record year as far 
as uh funding or Collections and it's been because   of uh your efforts that that has uh done so well 
and stepan thank you I know we're a load to carry   so appreciate it Ronnie uh yeah just real quick 
Mr chairman and board uh thank you guys so much   for for putting me in this position again I think 
there was a lot of people thinking and and I was   one of those people thinking I wouldn't come back 
and serve again uh but because of this board I'm   sure I'll be back thank you guys for for bringing 
me back um also I want to say to the partners in   in um in this industry there are a lot of you guys 
working very hard for tourism in Escambia County   and truthfully I I really didn't know today when 
I got here if I was going to serve another term   or not I really thought I wouldn't uh but the one 
thing that if I were to leave here with today I   would have been the most disappointed with the 
eight years that I've spent here that still in   Escambia County people do not know what tourism 
brings to Escambia County and it often deepen   it saddens me deeply that that the general public 
does not know what you guys do for the betterment   for our community thank everybody there Stephan 
thank you for all of your hard work every day   you do a lot lot of stuff for this community and 
this board thank you guys I appreciate your time   thank you Ronnie Tish just want to say thank you 
same same thing visit Pensacola Pensacola Sports   appreciate all the hard work the staff does Stefan 
thank you for everything that you do um I will say   I'm also on Pensacola Sports Grant committee I and 
I know uh Stephan you mentioned that you guys look   at events um I know and I and I hope this board 
we could put something together we do at Pensacola   Sports on the grant committee uh to look at events 
if they say they're going to bring in 600 room   nights and they bring in 400 then the following 
year that affects their scale so if they're   they're coming to us for 300,000 and they don't um 
reach the number then we have a scale that's been   made up that hey this many room nights get you 
this many dollars and I think it would be good for   this board to have something like that set up to 
kind of help mitigate some of the ask I think this   year we've heard some of the biggest numbers we've 
heard um as as long as I've been on this board   and it feels or sounds like the numbers just keep 
getting larger and larger and I know Stephan talks   and he says 20 million for this and 8 million for 
this and it's all the numbers are millions so it   it makes everybody think oh there's a lot of money 
that needs to be spent and it's not always like   that um so I think uh if we had some sort of way 
to we want to have events and I don't want anybody   to think that I'm against having events we want 
to have events and we want to have things in the   community that drive tourism um we just want to 
make sure that we're being responsible with the   way we spend that money um and I think having 
something in advance or after an event to gauge   that that would be very useful and helpful um for 
the event holders and for tdt thank you thank you   T councilman bear any closing remarks thank you Mr 
chairman um just happy to be here you my combined   this would be my 6 year on Council or going into 
my seventh I've never served on the TDC so I'm   just happy to be here I've served on some other 
groups and um some of the groups don't have a an   audience like this so it's nice to actually have 
an audience who is interested I realiz some of   them are staff and some of them just want money 
but you know that's good um and uh just wanted   to say that is the shortest sunshine and public 
records briefing I've ever heard in my life um   we have to do a mandatory I don't know if it's 
four or six I can't remember we just it's it's   overwhelming the amount of information that they 
shoved down our our you know uh so we know what's   going on with those things and it's unfortunate 
I will no longer be able to talk to you David   because I did enjoy our conversations but because 
of sunshine we're no long longer allowed to   talk apparently which is not true but uh it is 
easier if you don't talk to your colleagues like   and they put two the two of us together which is 
just you know so we just have to be silent the   whole time but I will say one thing these chairs 
are so comfortable we just got new chairs in city   council chambers there are nothing like these I 
I could easily take a nap in this not that I do   that during this meeting but uh thank you 
Mr chairman I appreciate being here thank   you councilman councilman four hours tomorrow is 
what I have to do for my ethics training okay I   was really hoping we could write that one off 
as it and I could go about something else but   appreciate being here um I'm excited to be here 
I actually asked for this and I'm so I'm really   excited and looking forward to um this time it's 
uh I don't know how any of us can deny the effect   of tourism in this area um I think way back at do 
you remember the numbers when the oil spill took   place the the amount it took from the Gulf Coast 
was outrageous so it's a big deal and I'm proud   to be here and thanks for having us welcome uh 
and I want to thank uh well first welcome the new   members um I'm sorry commissioner uh hoffberger 
couldn't be here today uh but welcome to her uh   and Welcome to our new council members I'm excited 
about working with you on the tourism um we uh we   have our Sunshine training a lot shorter because 
we're not totally serious about it just kidding   just kidding that was a joke for the record uh 
yeah so obviously you can talk to people just   talk to them about tourism if they're on the 
board with you uh I want to thank everybody   for being here today thank council members for 
all the work that they've done obviously uh the   agencies for the work the excellent work you 
guys continue to do the marketing behind it um   Stefan thank you for your your uh leadership and 
help keeping us in line and and well informed on   what's going on with the collections and the spend 
um but uh especially thank you for the confidence   um and we wish every I'm not sure Mr re I'm 
I'm not going happy New Year yes I'm gonna keep   talking Mr Rees you asked you said you hope I do 
a good job this year well the year is now started   um anyway welcome uh or thank you and happy 
holidays to everyone uh with that meeting adjourn