By DOTTY NIST
Convening for the first time on Aug. 18 was a five-member corporation that will make decisions on $1.5 billion coming to eight Panhandle counties for economic recovery, diversification and enhancement.
Triumph Gulf Coast, Inc.’s inaugural meeting at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort attracted scores of attendees from all over the region. The meeting was facilitated by University of West Florida staff (UWF) members.
“No group has ever had the opportunity to do so much for the future of the area,” Florida Senate President Don Gaetz said of the five-member corporation as he addressed the gathering.
The creation of this group of private citizens was provided for in an amendment to the comprehensive economic development bill approved by the Florida Legislature in 2013. The amendment was proposed by Gaetz, and the sections of the bill pertaining to Triumph Gulf Coast are known as the Gulf Coast Economic Corridor Act.
According to that legislation: “There is created within the Department of Economic Opportunity a nonprofit corporation, to be known as Triumph Gulf Coast, Inc., which shall be registered, incorporated, organized, and operated in compliance with chapter 617, and which is not a unit or entity of state government. Triumph Gulf Coast, Inc., may receive, hold, invest, and administer the Recovery Fund in support of this act.”
The Recovery Fund is a trust account to be established by Triumph Gulf Coast for the benefit of the eight disproportionately-affected counties.
The legislation says of the trust account, “The principal of the fund shall derive from 75 percent of all funds recovered by the Attorney General for economic damage to the state resulting from the Deepwater Horizon disaster, after payment of reasonable and necessary attorney fees, costs, and expenses…”
In 2011, the Legislature had approved the Oil Spill Economic Recovery Act, sponsored by Gaetz, which directed that that 75 percent of funds received by the state from fines and settlements resulting from the oil spill would be used to benefit the eight disproportionately-affected counties. The amount of the settlement was not known at that time.
On July 2, 2015, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a $2 billion settlement with BP in connection with of Florida’s economic damages resulting from the oil spill.
As specified in the legislation setting up Triumph Gulf Coast, its five-member board of directors is appointed from the private sector by the Senate president, the speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, and each of the trustees of the State Board of Administration, including Bondi, Florida Governor Rick Scott, and Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, with each appointing one member.
The five-member board includes Destin residents Pam Dana, Stephen Riggs, and Bob Bonezzi, Stan Connally of Gulf Breeze, and Allan Bense of Panama City.
Dana is owner of a charter sports fishing business who served as executive director for the Governor’s Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development under the Jeb Bush administration. Connally is president and CEO of Gulf Power Company. Riggs is a partner at the Carr, Riggs & Ingram regional accounting firm. Bonezzi is president of Bonezzi Development. Bense is a Panama City businessman and former speaker of the Florida House.
Calling the board members “an extraordinary group of individuals,” Gaetz commented that each is a successful business person who understands the economy of the area. They are to serve without pay. None are currently holders of public office, and no member will be eligible for reappointment upon completion of their term, Gaetz noted. Board member terms are for four years.
Gaetz commented that the 2010 oil spill had demonstrated that “this fragile economy needed to have another leg put under its stool,” in addition to the military and tourism. “We need to be masters as much as we can over our own fate,” he emphasized.
Gaetz called for these economic damage funds coming to the eight counties to be used to “deepen and broaden” economic opportunities in northwest Florida.
He explained that the funds to be administered by the board members are a “living endowment” to be utilized over a 30-year period.
Dr. Rick Harper of the University of West Florida’s Center for Research and Sponsored Programs and Economic Development addressed the board members, offering the center’s assistance with their work. He also described some differences between northwest Florida’s economy and that of other areas of the state, among those being the Memorial Day to start of school tourist season and beach visitation being identified as the number one activity for half of tourists coming to the area.
He commented on the “ripple effect” that had been felt in many areas of the economy as a result of the decline in tourism in the wake of the oil spill, ranging from health care to wedding photography.
“This is our chance to diversify,” Harper told the board members.
He reminded them that projects that they would select for funding would require matching funds, with no project to be funded 100 percent through Triumph Gulf Coast. These must be multi-year projects, he continued.
Performance criteria are to apply, Harper detailed, with requirements to include specific levels of economic benefit and job creation. Repayment of funds may be required if performance standards are not met by awardees, Harper added.
The board members were limited in their ability to take actions due to the fact that their funding had not yet been appropriated by the legislature and that therefore Triumph Gulf Coast was not officially constituted.
According to board discussion, it is anticipated that a $300 million check will be provided to Triumph Gulf Coast next year, with $100 million to be provided to the corporation yearly for the following 16 to 17 years.
Brice Harris, a facilitator for the meeting, commented that a legal opinion had been obtained that the board members had the ability to operate in an unofficial capacity pending their board being officially constituted. He suggested that until that time the members would be able to conduct research and prepare for decisions that they would be making once their funding was appropriated. Harris noted that, once funded, Triumph Gulf Coast would be allowed to use 2.25 percent of annual earnings of their funding for administrative expenses to support board efforts.
Board member Allan Bense was selected by the members an unofficial chairman. “We have a challenge ahead of us,” Bense remarked. Based on a look at the statutes governing the board, he expressed agreement with Harris’ suggestions.
The statutes also provide for the board to establish an advisory committee of eight representatives of the disproportionately-affected counties, with one member from each county. The board members did not take action on this requirement at the meeting, although they did hear from Warren Yeager, RESTORE Act coordinator for Gulf County, that a committee of the eight counties was currently established through the Gulf Consortium. Yeager reported that the committee had a history of “working well together.”
Public comment was taken, during which time the Triumph Gulf Coast board received numerous offers of assistance from local officials and local government staff members and appointees.
Representing The Nature Conservancy, Darryl Boudreau emphasized the need for the laying of a strong infrastructure foundation in preparation for future growth in order to avoid roadblocks faced by other areas such as those related to water supply.
Bense observed that every board decision would be thoroughly scrutinized. He expressed thanks to Gaetz and emphasized the importance of following through with the goals that that the Senate president had set for the organization.
There was a consensus among board members to plan for their next meeting to be a workshop, to include discussion of the request for proposals (RFP) process to obtain the services of a financial advisor or accounting professional. According to board discussion, to be included will also be, based on UWF’s offer of support, the university’s continued assistance and the possibility of formalizing that assistance.
While Triumph Gulf Coast’s next meeting was not set, Bense suggested another meeting within 30 to 45 days. The board members were in agreement, and consensus was that the next meeting would begin at 9 a.m., with Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort to again be the location.
Additional information on the next meeting will be forthcoming.
