Despite a directive from Commissioner Ken Bryan, the Tourist Development Council has not made any headway with the request for a top down restructuring of the Council and the Visitors and Convention Bureau.
"It doesn’t take rocket science to do what I requested," Bryan said. "I expected to reconvene in 30 days [from the meeting at the beginning of June]."
Last month, Bryan suggested the commission take the lead in restructuring the council to ensure equal representation for all of St. Johns County when it comes to bed taxes.
Bed taxes are collected by local hotels and lodgings from guests who rent rooms. Because the taxes are collected from guests, who are usually visitors to St. Johns County, the taxes are not normally paid by county residents.
St. Johns County collects a 3-cent bed tax. Once collected, it goes to the Tourist Development Council where it is dispersed according to a formula approved by voters in 1986.
The 1986 ordinance directs that 40 percent of bed taxes collected are to go to advertising and promotions, 30 percent to cultural development and 30 percent to leisure and recreation. The original bed tax was two cents. In 1991 the third cent bed tax was approved strictly for the purpose of advertising, changing the ratio to a 60/20/20 split.
"I talked to Glen [Hastings] about my expectations," said Bryan. "I want to see a return on our investment that is equitable."
Part of that equality, Bryan explained, involves ensuring Ponte Vedra and St. Augustine Beach get their fair share of promotion by the Visitors and Convention Bureau. A recent edition of one of the publications produced by the Bureau to promote the county, The St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra and The Beaches Spring Calendar of Events 2009, lists 80 St. Augustine events, seven Ponte Vedra events and six from other areas of the county.
"I’m in favor [of the restructuring] and I think it needs to be done," said Commissioner Phil Mays. "There should be fair representation for the entire county, including Ponte Vedra and St. Augustine Beach."
Glen Hastings, executive director of the Council and head of the Bureau, said after the commission meeting last month there was some confusion on the direction that should be taken.
"I think some of the commissioners thought it was a little drastic [to have all of the current TDC board members resign and be reappointed]," said Hastings. "I think the consensus was that it’s an option but that maybe right now isn’t the time."
Hastings said the commission set a date for a workshop later in July to discuss the details of the restructuring. Bryan said the lack of response after his presentation was not acceptable to him.
"We are supposed to be attracting people to stay in St. Johns County for economic development and pure enjoyment," he said. "I’ve addressed the TDC a few times and didn’t get satisfying results."
Bryan said he has been working on a few things to bring to the commission workshop, including a business model for advertising based on the success the St. Augustine Ampitheatre has seen. In addition, Bryan said he wants to work on a branding for each area of St. Johns County so the council meets the needs of the different areas in the county.
"We can work together more to maximize the dollars," said Bryan. "I believe in open communication and transparency. The TDC, the commission and the community [should work together on this]. The public has a good idea of what they want and the businesses do as well. This is a collaborative effort — I think we all have a part of this."
Hastings said that while nothing has happened yet at the council, timing is everything.
"Whatever [the commission’s] decision is, we will make it work," he said.
Despite Bryan’s urgency, Hastings said he has not heard a whole lot from the community or the industry regarding restructuring the council. Bryan, however, said he feels it’s necessary to get new faces, new ideas and obtain a diversified representation of the county through the council.
"I don’t like to sit back and wait for things to happen," he said. "We could be reviewing applications [for new board members] before the next workshop. There still continues to be a misunderstanding of the suggestion [that the current board resign]."
Hastings said the commission would need to give a directive to the council about how to proceed at the July workshop.
"I do think that the board needs to be re-seated," said Mays. "It needs to be updated and reexamined."
July 8th 2009 - 12:19PM