Okaloosa County BOCC — November 20, 2014 — Minutes — reading text

Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department 1540 Miracle Strip Parkway Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32548 Regular Meeting http://www.okaloosafl.com ~ Minutes ~ Thursday, November 20, 2014 2:00 PM 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 Absent - - Martin Owen ResortQuest by Wyndham Present - - Thom Gossom Best Gurl, Inc. Absent - - Joe Guidry Ramada Plaza Resort Present - - Tuffy Dixon Destin Councilman Absent - - Charles Rigdon FWB Councilman Present - - Kelly Windes Commissioner District 5 Present - - Bill Lehmann ECCC Manager Present - - Lynn Hoshihara TDD Attorney Present - - Chairman Dale Peterson called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Public Comments Related to Current Agenda No public comments. Councilmember’s Minute Letter from Rachel Joyce was placed in the packet and made a part of the Minutes. Pledge of Allegiance and Welcome (Dale Peterson - Chairman) I. Consider Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council Meeting Minutes (Dale Peterson) a. October 23, 2014 TDC Meeting Minutes Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department Page 1 of 6 November 20, 2014  Motion to Approve the October 23, 2014 TDC Meeting Minutes RESULT: MOTION APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Owen SECONDER: Rice AYES: Peterson, Guidry, Rigdon, Windes II. Director’s Update (Bill Lehmann) a. Month End Lodging Reports from Smith Travel Research – October b. Film Commission Reports – October c. Visitor Center Top 10 States – October d. Airport Enplanements & Deplanements (VPS by carrier) – October e. Airport Enplanements & Deplanements (Airports Comparison) – September f. Destin Lifeguard Services Annual Report – FY 2014 III. Financial Update (Charlotte Dunworth) All documents and reports included in Agenda Packet. a. Month End Tax Revenue Reports from Okaloosa Tax Collector – September b. Financial Update – FY14 Year End Motion to Approve the FY14 Year End Financial Update Pending Minor Changes RESULT: MOTION APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Rice SECONDER: Owen AYES: Peterson, Rigdon, Windes, Guidry c. Financial Update – November Motion to Approve the Financial Update RESULT: MOTION APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Rice SECONDER: Owen AYES: Peterson, Rigdon, Windes, Guidry d. Expenditure Transaction Report – October e. Reconciliation of Promotional Reserves Funds – November Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department Page 2 of 6 November 20, 2014  IV. Beaches Update (Jim Trifilio) a. 1-Year Post Construction Monitoring Report – Western Destin Beach Restoration Project – Mr. Trifilio explained in western Destin there is a large gap in the property due to litigation. 634,000 cubic yards of beach sand has been brought in making a whiter beach and raising the elevation of the beach approximately 5-1/2 feet. This $8M project was primarily funded by bed tax and has a 2020 loan payoff date for the remaining $5 million. A new beach restoration timeline film was shown, with views of Jetty East before and after the project was completed. Matt Trammell (Taylor Engineering) stated the goals of the project have been to mitigate sand loss, preserve the natural resources, and enhance recreation. Twice as much material is used than is required due to the fact that the sand moves with the motion of the Gulf. The project is in two reaches or parcels, with the aerial map showing how adjacent properties are affected by this project. In Reach #1, 120 feet of beach was added; Reach #2 had 65 ft added. A total of approximately 500,000 cubic yards of sand were added. An 80% volume of sand volume is remaining which is better than expected, even after several small storms in the area. Sand quality is great, with sea turtles now nesting in the area and it is believed the value of the property has been increased. Erosion is still taking place but at a lower rate. The beaches will be monitored every year. The federal government has been approached to see if any federal funding is available to continue the project. V. Marketing Update (Shantelle Dedicke, Michelle Clarke, Sonya Landry) a. Shantelle Dedicke attended the Destin Chamber of Commerce luncheon this month and gave a marketing campaign update. Shantelle and the Emerald Coast Sales staff attended the XSite Conference in Birmingham and Montgomery on November 13 and 14 to find new business and maximize brand exposure. Michelle Clarke reminded everyone that the Radio Coop signup form deadline is November 21. The Destin Community Stakeholder Meeting last month featured how to help with the upcoming season concerning marketing. The consensus was to modify the target market plan to reach a bigger volume of targeted audience by changing the median household income from 75K to 150K. Sonya Landry explained the online market is by far most profitable because of the audience reached. There is a 40% online audience, 25% print audience, 24% television audience and 11% radio ad ratio. Online advertising is up 33%. Within the television and radio audience, the most likely success would be in national cable advertising. They are moving forward to place ads with the Travel Channel and Weather Channel, instead of the Cooking Channel and Weather Channel. The agency proposed using $68K from already budgeted Leisure plan funds, and an additional $37K from reserves to keep impression levels flat with the revised target audience. Martin Owen recommended advertising for the shoulder seasons (spring and fall). Online and broadcast ads represent 75% of the media plan. Print publications represent some of highest composition of households over $150K. Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department Page 3 of 6 November 20, 2014  Charlotte Dunworth confirmed that the additional $37K would come from 5th penny reserves. Motion to Approve Spending $68K from FY14/15 Funds and $37K from 5th Penny Reserves for Additional Advertising RESULT: MOTION APPROVED MOVER: Owen SECONDER: Guidry AYES: Peterson, Rice, Rigdon NAYES: Windes VI. Sales Update (Bill Lehmann) a. ECCC Sales Marketing Reports – (April Sarver) – Meetings were held with corporate and destination planners in Houston (Plan Your Meetings) and the Small Markets Conference where 30 one-on-one meetings were held with planners. The Excite Show in Birmingham was very successful. They met with 11 meeting planners who would be willing to hold their meetings at the ECCC, following hot leads and RFP’s. Events held at the ECCC in October included the Common Faith Network with 600 attendees, the NDIA symposium with 800 attendees, Fandom Con with 1500 attendees, and the Special Ops Warrior Foundation with 450 attendees. b. Group Sales Marketing Reports – (Camille Fournier) – In October the team attended the TSAE meeting planner symposium in Tallahassee and the Excite Show in Birmingham. In December they will attend Florida Encounters in Ft. Lauderdale, and the Southern Bridal Show Birmingham and 21,000 attendee New York Times Travel Trade Show in January. The Times Coop was awarded to the Emerald Grande and ResortQuest. VII. New Business (Dale Peterson) a. “Destin to Fish” TV Show - First Season Production Support (Gail Morgan ) – Introduced Justin Martin (Owner and Producer, Martin Outdoor Entertainment), Richard Price (Field Producer, Martin Outdoor Entertainment, Jack Cole (Owner, Destin to Fish), David Harrison (General Manager, Destin to Fish). Charlotte Dunworth reminded the TDC the purpose of the contract is to provide production assistance for the remainder of the first season. Funding is available from 5th penny reserves. The draft contract in the packet is still being reviewed by the legal team. Discussion ensued regarding payment per the production schedule, and that the footage is nearly, if not completely, finished. Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department Page 4 of 6 November 20, 2014  Motion to Approve an Additional $73,800 for the Destin to Fish TV Show RESULT: MOTION APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Guidry SECONDER: Rigdon AYES: