Okaloosa County BOCC — February 26, 2015 — Minutes

Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department 1540 Miracle Strip Parkway Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32548 Regular Meeting http://www.okaloosafl.com ~ Minutes ~ Thursday, February 26, 2015 2:00 PM Emerald Coast Convention Center Council Members & Staff Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Departed Dale Peterson Chairman, Dale E. Peterson Vacations Present Thomas Rice Vice-Chairman, Magnolia Grill Present Rachel Joyce Hampton Inn FWB Present Martin Owen ResortQuest by Wyndham Present Thom Gossom Best Gurl, Inc. Present Joe Guidry Ramada Plaza Resort Present Tuffy Dixon City of Destin Councilman Present Mike Anderson City of Fort Walton Beach Mayor Present 2:15 Carolyn Ketchel Commissioner, District 2 Present Ed Schroeder Director, Tourist Development Department Present Lynn Hoshihara TDD Attorney Present Pledge of Allegiance and Welcome (Dale Peterson - Chairman) Chairman Dale Peterson called the meeting to order at 2:00 PM with the Pledge of Allegiance. Public Comments Related to Current Agenda (3 minutes each) Dan Martin, Pelican Beach Resort, introduced Josh Pryor to the Council Members. Josh is Dan’s replacement and will be attending future TDC meetings. Rebecca Sherry thanked the Council members for the opportunity to speak regarding the proposed turtle lighting grant. Ms. Sherry opposed the agreement as written as it is too expensive and the attachments don’t reflect Okaloosa County. Councilmember’s Minute Tuffy Dixon apologized for missing a meeting as he was out of town. Dale Peterson expressed appreciation for Mr. Windes’ contributions. Tom Rice wore a special shirt with a WW II Rangers tab honoring Rangers. He also noted the Doolittle Raiders are coming here on September 19, 2015. Mike Anderson apologized for arriving late. Joe Guidry stated that the area had an outstanding Snowbird season. The community really came together and the Snowbirds expressed their appreciation for the effort. Martin Owen encouraged attendance in Tallahassee on March 11, 2015 for Florida Tourism Day. Visitor Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department Page 1 of 7 February 26, 2015  a. Okaloosa Island Bike Paths Presentation (Dave Hancock) Dave Hancock said bike paths are a huge draw in Hilton Head and other areas, which led to a movement for bike paths in the Ft Walton Beach / Destin area. The slogan is “Sustainable Tourism – Moving People out of their Cars and on Bikes” and will have a positive effect on traffic. Pathways will be built the length of Santa Rosa Blvd and from the east end of Brooks Bridge to the Destin Bridge on the south side of Highway 98. Funding will come from the Restore Act grants. A $90K grant application will be submitted in March for a preliminary design and environmental study of the proposed pathway sites. Committee members are Kathy Foster, Jill Higgins, Jim Hendrix, Dave Hancock & Brian Ruscher. Stakeholders wi