Okaloosa County BOCC — May 8, 2014 — Minutes — reading text

Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department 1540 Miracle Strip Parkway Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32548 Budget Meeting http://www.okaloosafl.com ~ Minutes ~ Thursday, May 8, 2014 9:00 AM Emerald Coast Convention Center Council Members & Staff Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Departed Chairman, Dale E. Peterson Present - - Dale E. Peterson Vacations Vice-Chairman, Present Thomas Rice - - Magnolia Grill Rachel Joyce Hampton Inn FWB Present - - Daniel Empson Harry T’s Restaurant Resigned - - Thom Gossom Best Gurl, Inc. Present - - Joe Guidry Ramada Plaza Resort Present - - Tuffy Dixon Destin Councilman Present - - Charles Rigdon FWB Councilman Present - - Kelly Windes Commissioner District 5 Present - - Ed Schroeder TDD Director Present - - Lynn Hoshihara TDD Attorney Present - - Chairman Dale Peterson called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Public Comments Related to Current Agenda Rebecca Sherry/Condo Alliance of Okaloosa Island (Ms. Sherry referred to a newspaper article from last year’s Northwest Florida Daily News poll, which expressed dissatisfaction with Okaloosa County over past TDC scandal.) Ms. Sherry thanked the TDC members for their service and thoughtful discussions in past meetings. Regarding today’s budget items, Ms. Sherry asked the TDC to consider ending the $20K historically given annually to the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce and to the Destin Chamber of Commerce. She stated these private organizations promote businesses of their members and do not promote county businesses, in general, or the businesses that pay into the TDC tax. She added they receive public funds and are given a pass with compliance to Florida Sunshine Laws. Ms. Sherry stated she believes private organizations like the Chamber of Commerce should not be given public money. However, if they receive public money, she said they should be required to abide by the Florida Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department Page 1 of 10 May 8, 2014  Sunshine Law. Ms. Sherry questioned whether these private organizations deserve $20K each of public money. David Sherry/Condo Alliance of Okaloosa Island David Sherry addressed the Councilmembers with a concern as to why the Destin Fire Control District item is on the Agenda. Mr. Sherry commented on a Destin Law newspaper article from April stating the Destin Fire District requested $306K from Okaloosa County and the Destin Fire Board Chairman believed the TDC should pay some of the bill because of the services they provide for tourists. Mr. Sherry commented the tourist service arguments that apply to the Destin Fire District also apply to the Okaloosa Island Fire District, but also pointed out the Destin Fire District wants to raise their millage rate. Ed Schroeder/Director, Tourist Development Department Ed Schroeder addressed a concern mentioned by Mr. Sherry and said the Destin Fire Control District funding is for lifeguards for Destin beaches and has very little to do with fire control. Mr. Schroeder continued by acknowledging the importance of this budget meeting and stated the Council’s feedback will be used to do the final crafting on budget submission which will be entered into the County system on May 15. Once the budget goes to the County system, it is consolidated with all other departments and then each Director will meet individually with the County Administrator to defend their budget. Mr. Schroeder further explained the next step in the process is to review possible changes or additions from the County Administrator and then return to the County Administrator in June with the final budget. Mr. Schroeder expressed the possibility of reporting on the final look of the budget at the TDC meeting in May and stated it will go back to the County Administrator in July, and the Board of County Commissioners in August. I. FY15 Budget Meeting (Dale Peterson- Chairman) a. Horizons – Dr. Julie McNabb/CEO Horizons provides services for children and adults with intellectual, developmental and other disabilities throughout Okaloosa, Walton and Santa Rosa counties. Dr. Julie McNabb gave an overview of the services provided by Horizons (informational pamphlet and scope of work letter included in packet) and listed many benefits to the community, which includes cleaning the parks, rest areas and access ways. Dr. McNabb stated Horizons developed a contract with Okaloosa County in 1986 for $109K to find work for people with disabilities, but in 2009 the contract amount was reduced to $84K due to changes in the scope and responsibilities. In 2013, she requested an increase in the contract amount to clean parks seven days a week and clean other locations two times per week for $129K. Dr. McNabb stated the County met with Horizons to submit a new scope of work by October 1st and requested $138,549. Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department Page 2 of 10 May 8, 2014  Some members of the TDC asked how this rate was determined and Dr. McNabb stated it is based on direct labor charges, non-direct labor charges, supplies, equipment, labor management, payroll costs, proportional rate of health insurance, chemicals, paper products, and any supplies needed to maintain parks, contingency of 5% for general liabilities, as well as general administrative costs. Commissioner Windes asked about the use of revenue earned beyond the expenses and Dr. McNabb replied it is used in supporting Horizons’ mission and their not-for-profit programs. In response to a question asked regarding Horizons’ accountability and reconciliation, she stated the County is invoiced monthly for work performed. Dr. McNabb asked that if issues or problems occur, please report to Horizons with the date, time, and location for correcting these immediately. Mr. Rice asked Dr. McNabb whom she directly reports to and she replied John Hofstad or James Puckett at Public Works. b. Destin Chamber of Commerce – Shane Moody/President & CEO Shane Moody distributed copies of the Destin 2014 Visitor’s Guide & Membership Directory, a detailed report outlining the activities of the Destin Area Chamber, Contract Section 1-Scope of Services, statistic reports, and a copy of the Chamber’s Accounting Procedures (included in the packet). Mr. Moody explained how the Destin Chamber’s efforts promote tourism and gave an overview of their website and membership benefits. Rachel Joyce asked if anyone provided the Destin Chamber with a report of the direct bookings through the website. Mr. Moody stated no report is available, but he assured her the numbers are good due to accommodation members’ continued annual purchase of those banner ads. Mr. Rice asked Mr. Moody if the Destin Chamber did not receive the $20K, what would go away in the relationship with the TDD. Mr. Moody replied that probably the data share would go away, but it would not change the relationship. Mr. Rice asked about the average membership cost with the Destin Chamber and Mr. Moody stated the average membership cost is in the $260 range and he listed the costs of other memberships available. He added their membership budget is approximately $230K and the total budget, including the $20K from TDC, is approximately $590K. Mr. Rice asked if the Destin Chamber recommends non-members to those inquiring and Mr. Moody responded their policy is to recommend Destin Chamber members only. Ms. Joyce asked if events take place outside the local area and Mr. Moody stated all events are local but published electronically on several websites. c. Okaloosa County Public Safety – Dino Villani Mr. Schroeder reported the staff members from the Parks & Recreation and Public Safety Departments could not attend due to their prior commitment in dealing with last week’s storms. Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department Page 3 of 10 May 8, 2014  d. Film Commission – Gail Morgan Gail Morgan reported on the Film Commission budget for 2013 and 2014 (documentation is included in packet on Page 9, under 5th Cent, first item, Consulting) and further explained reasoning for requesting a budget increase from $66,500 to $146,400, which includes improving the Film Commission website, replenishing inventory, adding new collateral, professional memberships, travel to increase exposure (trade shows/film festivals), and advertising publications. Ms. Morgan stated the requested increase and the Film Commission budget would definitely result in an increase in the economic impact for Okaloosa County. Much discussion continued regarding the financial breakdown of the Film Commission budget amounts and categories. Mr. Peterson and Ms. Joyce asked if the Film Commission reports website hits (interests) and requested a description of the leads. Ms. Morgan stated this report had been forwarded to Mr. Schroeder and is included with the invoice, but she did not bring a report to