A recent appointment to the St. Johns County Tourist Development Council is being questioned, said John Johnson, vice president of the Saint Augustine Historic Inns organization.
In a June 18 letter sent to Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, Johnson wrote that March-appointee Jason Fort may not qualify to serve on the TDC, and alleged he’s not a lodging operator, as required by Florida statute.
“Research by our association of 25 bed and breakfast innkeepers has determined that the TDC’s appointment of Mr. Jason Fort to its nine-member board this past March violated the Florida statute governing TDC board member requirements,” wrote Johnson.
“I think the board has to rebalance the TDC board and it’s really not the TDC board’s fault, but rather the county commission who voted him in,” said Johnson in a telephone interview on Wednesday.
According to Florida statute 125.0104, “…six members of the council shall be person who are involved in the tourist industry and who have demonstrated an interest in tourist development, of which members, not less than three nor more than four shall be owners or operators of motels, hotels, recreational vehicle parks, or other tourist accommodations in the county and subject to the tax.”
Johnson said the group’s research showed Fort owns one home that is available for vacation rental and that he doesn’t collect bed taxes, but a property management firm collects a bed tax, “that is, on such occasions when the home Mr. Fort owns is rented to tourists,” wrote Johnson. “Moreover, it is unclear how long – or if – this home has been collecting bed taxes.”
Fort said Wednesday, he is in the process of developing a hotel in St. Augustine, that while unfinished, may still allow him to claim “lodging operator” status.
“I have a piece of land that’ll be developed as a hotel, which was made aware to the county during my appointment process, but it’s ultimately in their hands as to how they want to proceed,” he said.
Johnson did say the letter and findings were not part of any attack on Fort but that the findings suggest a possibility that the “unbalanced” board might encounter problems with the decisions it’s made since Fort’s appointment.
March 27th 2009 - 2:37PM