Okaloosa County BOCC — February 25, 2016 — Agenda Packet — reading text

reporting back to the TDC Council. RESULT: MOTION APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Gossom SECONDER: Rice AYES: Peterson, Guidry, Craul, Windes, Matern Tourist Development Council Page 2 January 13, 2016 Packet Pg. 4  1.b d. Airline Recruitment (Ed Schroeder) Tracy Stage gave an update on Allegiant Airlines and stated St. Louis/Destin was #3 in Allegiant’s all- time launch listings in a single day. Flights to Cincinnati will run Thursday and Saturday May 20 – September 5. Flights to St. Louis will run Friday and Monday June 2 – September 4. This is just the start and Mr. Stage is confident he’ll be standing before the Council a year from now announcing more cities. Mr. Peterson stated the area is at 90% occupancy in June-July and wondered about shoulder season service. Mr. Stage said the season would be evaluated if bookings are favorable, and the airline has committed to starting service in March the following year. Mr. Craul asked if there were any other Minutes Acceptance: Minutes of Jan 13, 2016 2:00 PM (Items for TDC Approval/Recommendation) future commitments. Mr. Stage expressed confidence in being able to announce a new origin city. Mr. Craul inquired about advertising in Allegiant’s in-flight magazine. Mr. Schroeder suggested partners contact Allegiant directly regarding ads in the back seat pocket. Mr. Gossom steps out. e. NFWF Gulf Coast Conservation Grant (Erika Zambello) Ms. Zambello gave a brief update on the restoration of Veterans Park and requested permission to apply for a $70,000 grant funded by the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, with a $70,000 match. To apply for a $70,000 grant from the National Fish & Wildlife Motion: Foundation for the restoration of Veterans Park, with a $70,000 match. RESULT: MOTION APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Rice SECONDER: Craul AYES: Peterson, Guidry, Matern, Windes f. FWC Artificial Reef Construction Grant 2016-17 (Erika Zambello) Ms. Zambello requested permission to accept a $60,000 grant, including a $67,000 match, from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. Motion: To accept a $60,000 FWC Artificial Reef Construction Grant, with a $67,000 match. RESULT: MOTION APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Rice SECONDER: Craul AYES: Peterson, Guidry, Matern, Windes II. Items for Information Purposes Only – (Speaker) g. Marketing Update (Ellen Kempner) Ms. Kempner presented the marketing update. Mr. Craul inquired about the email goal for the Chicago campaign and how we track if email contacts result in head-in-beds. Mr. Gossom returns. h. Sales Update (Sherry Rushing & Tisha Maraj) Ms. Rushing & Ms. Maraj presented the sales update. i. Coastal Management Update (Erika Zambello) Ms. Zambello presented the Coastal Management update. III. Items for Information Purposes Only – (No Speaker) j. Smith Travel Research Lodging Reports Oct-Nov/15 k. Okaloosa Tax Collector Report Nov-15 Tourist Development Council Page 3 January 13, 2016 Packet Pg. 5  1.b l. Expenditure Transaction Report m. Reconciliation of Promotional Reserves n. Film Commission Update o. Visitor Center Top 10 States Minutes Acceptance: Minutes of Jan 13, 2016 2:00 PM (Items for TDC Approval/Recommendation) IV. Public Comment (3 minutes each) Mr. Ray Green, FLRA, stated tourist tax funding is listed at the top of the House Bill 1275 for February. The FLRA will attend Lobbying Day in Tallahassee and encouraged TDC participation on Florida Tourism Day on January 21st. Mr. Green also offered congratulations on the success of adding Allegiant Airlines as a new carrier. Ms. Tammy McDaniel of Tammy’s Journeys extended an invitation to attend the Ft. Walton Beach Chamber Tourism Committee meetings. She is also excited to welcome Allegiant Airlines and stated clients have already booked, but is concerned about maintenance downtime and asked if there is a back-up plan with other carriers. Mr. Martin Owen noted lots of chatter about outbound flights, and stated the airport and CVB need to focus PR on the benefits of inbound flights to bring tourists into the area. Mr. Schroeder acknowledged and introduced Kevin Price as the new Sales Director for Comfort Inn & Suites and Quality Inn on Okaloosa Island. V. Next TDC Meeting: February 25, 2016, 2:00 PM at the Emerald Coast Convention Center (Dale Peterson). VI. Adjourn (Dale Peterson) Chairman Peterson adjourned the meeting at 3:56 PM. APPROVED: APPROVED: By: By: Name: Dale E. Peterson Name: Ed Schroeder Title: Chairman Title: Director, Tourist Development Dept. Date: Date: Tourist Development Council Page 4 January 13, 2016 Packet Pg. 6  1.c Tourist Development Council Meeting: 02/25/16 02:00 PM 1540 Miracle Strip Parkway Department: Tourist Development Council Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548 Category: Update Prepared By: Aida Wilkinson SCHEDULED Initiator: Aida Wilkinson Sponsors: TDC ITEM (ID # 5299) DOC ID: 5299 Financial Update (Charlotte Dunworth) Updated: 2/22/2016 4:46 PM by Aida Wilkinson Page 1 Packet Pg. 7  1.c.a Financial Update February 2016 FY 2015-16 AMENDED BUDGET: $47,740,325 Financial data as of 02/18/16 The adopted budget of $45,459,814 has been amended to record a refund of BP funds, FDEP grant for dune walkover construction on Okaloosa Island, FDOT Urban Corridor grant for seasonal bus service to Okaloosa Island and Destin, and FWC & NRDA grants for artificial reef construction. REVENUE ANALYSIS Attachment: I. c. Financial Update (5299 : Financial Update (Charlotte Dunworth)) Okaloosa County levies a 5% tourist development tax. Lodging establishments remit bed tax collections to the Tax Collector by the 20th of each month for the preceding month. The Tax Collector reconciles and remits the revenues to the County by the 10th of the following month. Due to the timing of this process, $1.8M in actual revenue represents collections through December. Year-to-date collections are $294K or 19.35% greater than the prior year. February 19, 2016 Packet Tourist Development Department, Okaloosa County, FL Pg. 8 Financial Update – February 2016 1.c.a RevPAR Revenue per available room (RevPAR) is a widely used performance metric in the lodging industry. RevPAR is a measurement for a point in time, so it is most appropriately used when comparing equivalent time periods (e.g. October 2014 to October 2013). RevPar = gross monthly receipts divided by days in month divided by number of units (data taken from Tax Collector’s monthly reports, so there is a reporting lag) Attachment: I. c. Financial Update (5299 : Financial Update (Charlotte Dunworth)) February 19, 2016 Tourist Development Department, Okaloosa County, FL 2 of 8 Packet Pg. 9 Financial Update – February 2016 1.c.a EXPENSE ANALYSIS Attachment: I. c. Financial Update (5299 : Financial Update (Charlotte Dunworth)) Amended Budget: (1)Vendor refund received due to underdelivery of online placements; (2)$1K transferred from contractual services to personnel for marketing interns; (3)$2K transferred from promotional reserves for Florida Sports Foundation membership February 19, 2016 Tourist Development Department, Okaloosa County, FL 3 of 8 Packet Pg. 10 Financial Update – February 2016 1.c.a REVENUES & EXPENSES BY LEVEL OF TOURIST DEVELOPMENT TAX RESTRICTION FIRST PERCENTAGE