By DOTTY NIST
With a new director for the organization to be seated soon, the Walton County Tourist Development Council (TDC) recently held a meeting chock full of decisions and discussion on a variety of issues and topics.
This was at the TDC’s April 5 bimonthly meeting at the South Walton Annex.
With the TDC executive director position vacant since the Nov. 16 departure of Jim Bagby, it was announced that newly-hired director Jay Tusa was scheduled to begin work on April 11. Tusa comes to Walton County from the Louisiana Office of Tourism.
A direction for the TDC
Near the outset of the meeting, there were requests by Jon Ervin, TDC director of marketing and communications, for approval of a scope of services and request to seek proposals for advertising services for the TDC—and for approval of a co-op marketing plan for bed tax collectors.
These requests led to a discussion of the TDC’s direction over the next few years.
“What is the overall goal…a lot of people feel we’re sort of maxing out tourism,” TDC member Art Miller inquired.
“Great question,” Ervin responded.
He noted that strategic advisor Dan Fenton had been enlisted to assist with strategic planning by the TDC and that working with Fenton would “allow the organization to restate where we’re at and where we’re going.”
The organization, Ervin continued, has worked over a number of years to seek opportunities to boost visitation in non-peak times of the year, when tourism is down and many businesses are still struggling to stay in operation.
“Anybody that thinks we’re trying to put one more person in this market in June—we don’t spend any time on that,” he said.
TDC member Gary Brielmayer said it was his understanding that 60 percent of the organization’s marketing efforts go to the shoulder season. He also brought up that 20 percent of visitors do not return, even though 96 percent rate the area highly.
Confirming, Ervin commented, “We work extremely hard to replace that attrition with the best households we can find that are willing not only to visit but to shop and dine, and that’s really where the health of this economy is.”
“We’re going out and targeting the top 11 percent of U.S. households,” he noted.
TDC Chair/District 2 Commissioner Cecilia Jones said, “I think you all have done a wonderful job of getting families here.”
She said that on a recent trip to the beach, “It was really nice to see so many families …I’m not against spring break kids, but families is really where it’s at.”
Jones added that she had also seen some spring breakers “who were behaving.”
Ervin’s requests regarding the scope of services, RFPs, and co-op marketing plan were approved.
Informational signs
Council members also authorized staff to proceed with purchase and placement at neighborhood beach accesses of 50 signs consolidating safety messages, including information on the beach flag warning system, street address of the access, and instructions for dialing 911 in emergencies, along with the link to beach safety information on the Visit South Walton website.
The signs were described as the “little brothers” of the larger ones already in place at the regional beach accesses.
WCH&SDR Project update
Council members got an update on the Walton County Hurricane & Storm Damage Reduction (WCH&SDR) Project from Matt Trammell of Taylor Engineering, project consultant.
In the wake of the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) March 8 decision to table the project, Trammell warned that the beaches from east of Topsail Hill Preserve State Park to the eastern county line were in a vulnerable condition in the event of severe storms. He indicated that the condition of the beaches from the west side of the state park to the western county line was much better due to the large-scale beach nourishment project that the county had conducted in 2006 and 2007 on the latter beaches. This was along approximately 4 1/2 miles of beachfront on the west end.
Trammel said that three million cubic yards of sand had been pumped onto the west end beaches in the beach nourishment project and that 80 to 90 percent of the sand placed on those beaches through the project remains in place within the beach system.
Due to the project, in the event of a storm, the county would be able to restore the west end beaches with disaster recovery funding, Trammell noted. This would not be the case with the other portions of the beaches, he indicated.
“So on the east end we’re quite vulnerable. It’s been documented that those dunes have been eroding, the beach has been eroding, the structures there, the natural systems, they are vulnerable,” Trammell told the council members.
Trammel clarified that the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) permit for the WCH&SDR Project had been deemed complete and that DEP had been ready to issue the permit when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), federal project sponsor and project applicant, had withdrawn the permit application.
When the application was withdrawn, DEP had indicated in writing that USACE and the county could have the permit reauthorized upon request within 60 days, he said.
Trammell said what he would recommend investigating would be “is there a vehicle that we could go ahead and get that DEP permit and put it on the shelf, put it in the cache, and then should a severe storm event come in, we could authorize that permit immediately, put some funding packages together, go out and restore the beach.”
He acknowledged the likelihood of lawsuits filed by opponents of the project if this course of action were pursued.
Miller emphasized the need for clear communication with beachfront property owners and suggested communication in a open forum.
“Absolutely, we will do that,” Trammell pledged.
He also said he would be taking his recommendation to the TDC Beach Management Committee for review and later to the TDC. Nothing would be done without public workshops, he assured the council members.
Sportsman Channel fishing series, Topsail park entrance program
In other business, the council members approved a $135,000 expense providing for content filmed in south Walton County to be featured in a fishing series on the Sportsman Channel. Along with fishing, the programs are to include restaurants and small businesses. There are to be 78 total airings of the episodes.
Although the expenditure was approved, there were several no votes, since some council members were of the opinion that the programs would benefit Destin more than south Walton County.
Also approved was the continuation of a program put in place last spring and summer, providing for fees for day use entry to Topsail Hill Preserve State Park to be suspended, with the TDC providing reimbursement to the park for the fees. The agreement would again suspend the entry fees from May 22 through Sept. 7, with the TDC to provide the park with up to $25,000 in reimbursement of the entry fees.
Sandestin water tower
What to do about the presence of the old TDC logo on the Sandestin Resort water tower had been a matter of discussion at recent TDC and TDC Marketing Committee meetings. The tower currently displays the previous “South Walton” script logo, which was abandoned a number of years ago following criticism that it was unreadable.
The consensus of the marketing committee had been to continue with the contract with Sandestin regarding the water tower and repaint the water tower with the new “Sun Wave” logo. Estimates provided by Stan Sunday, TDC interim director, were $53,000 just to redo the logo and $79,000 to completely repaint the logo and tower using colors now associated with the new logo.
Miller was critical of spending these funds, making the case that the logo or whatever is painted on the tower is very difficult to see.
“To me this is a horrendous waste of money, regardless of what’s put on there,” he said.
TDC member Jim Richard disagreed. “It is a good in-market branding tool,” he said of the use of the tower.
A motion by Miller to abandon the contract on the water tower to Sandestin carried in a split vote, with Sandestin to refund the TDC $87,000 for the six years remaining on the contract.
There were indications that the TDC might be able to reach a separate agreement with Sandestin in order for Visit South Walton to be included on what the resort decides to display on the water tower.
Interim director’s update
In an update as the meeting was being wrapped up, Sunday told the council members that items removed from the beach in the Leave No Trace program are now either placed in containers for recycling or, if usable, are sold at the sales that the county holds for surplus equipment and items.
He added that staff is “very optimistic” about expanding the county’s recycling program with the upcoming project for a new transfer station at the county landfill, explaining that the old station is to be devoted to the recycling program.
Sunday also reported on letters that the TDC had sent to the state Department of Revenue and the Auditor General to ask for review of amounts retained by the Walton County Clerk of Courts in connection with collection of the bed tax and amounts proposed to be charged to the TDC by the county for internal services.
He said the revenue department’s response was that its role was “ministerial in nature” and that the issues should be resolved between the TDC and the county. Sunday said a verbal response from the auditor general was that agency personnel were in Walton County doing an audit of the Walton County Planning Department and that they would also do an analysis of the amounts being retained and charged to the TDC as referenced in the letter.
TDC action items are subject to final consideration by the BCC in public session.