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DECEMBER
1999
December 09, 1999 Daily News - TDC
confirms support for conference center - By LEE FORST,
Daily News Staff Writer, Okaloosa County tourism
officials are standing fast in their support of a conference
center on Okaloosa Island. The Tourist Development Council
on Wednesday took no action on two proposals, one to
recommend that county commissioners scrap the project and
another to hold a referendum. But some TDC members also
warned they must be prepared to campaign hard if the issue
is ever put to voters. "All of us in the business have
to ask ourselves and our employees to get out and
vote," said TDC member Tom Rice...
December 07, 1999 - Farrell's
spot at commission meeting remains up in the air - By
JEFF NEWELL, Daily News Staff Writer, A long-time
Republican Party member is expected this morning to ask
Okaloosa County commissioners to vote on a referendum for a
planned Okaloosa Island conference center. Whether that
happens, however, is up to commissioner Nick Nicholson, who
as chairman can place visitors on the agenda, or allow them
to address the commission. Or not...
December 06, 1999 Daily News - Holley
eyes new position Okaloosa's county manager is one of six
finalists for a job in Hernando County - By MICHAEL HAUN,
Daily News Staff Writer, Uncertain about his job
security as Okaloosa County's chief administrator, Chris
Holley has applied for a similar post in South Florida.
Holley, Okaloosa's county manager since December 1993, is
one of six finalists for the Hernando County administrator's
position. On Dec. 1, Holley contacted an Atlanta consulting
group hired to oversee a national search on behalf of the
Hernando County Commission. "I submitted my name last
Wednesday after becoming unclear of County Commission
support," Holley said Sunday. "I want to leave (my
reasons) at that." He declined to elaborate.
NOVEMBER
1999
November 17, 1999 - Center
eludes public vote - By LEE FORST, Daily News Staff
Writer, Commissioners once again decline to
hold a referendum on the conference center on Okaloosa
Island - Okaloosa County commissioners are staying
their course to try to develop a conference center on
Okaloosa Island. They rejected a second request on Tuesday
to hold a countywide referendum on the contentious issue
after attorney Doug Hutcheson presented resolutions from
elected officials in Laurel Hill, Crestview, Niceville,
Valparaiso and Destin asking for a vote. "The city
councils that represent the people who live in these cities
believe they should have a vote," Hutcheson said...
November 14 1999 - Tourism
debate goes to voters - "After three
months of arguing over tourism in the Florida Keys, the
Monroe County Commission and Florida Keys Tourist
Development Council have decided to try a new tactic: asking
the voters what they think..."
November 03 1999 - Commission
dodges referendum - By BY LEE FORST, Daily News Staff
Writer, Okaloosa County commissioners take no
action on a request from local GOP leaders to hold a
referendum. The Okaloosa
County Republican Executive Committee's push for a
referendum on a proposed Okaloosa Island conference center
sparked all kinds of debate at Tuesday's County Commission
meeting. Like why the local GOP group accepted a resolution
on the issue from a Democrat. Like why a question about the
conference center included in a recent straw poll was worded
they way it was. And like why some commissioners didn't
attend an executive committee meeting in July to discuss the
conference center...
November 02, 1999 - City
officials just say no to referendum, By LEE FORST, Daily
News Staff Writer - Mary Esther decides not to urge
Okaloosa County commissioners to hold a vote on a conference
center - City officials have balked at supporting a
resolution urging Okaloosa County commissioners to hold a
countywide referendum on whether to build a conference
center on Okaloosa Island. The City Council took no action
Monday on the proposal presented by attorney Doug Hutcheson.
Councilman Russ Young moved to support the resolution, but
he got no support from fellow councilmen George Crews, Don
Abrams and Michael Thompson...
November 02, 1999 - Bill
Koch, Okaloosa County Republican Executive Committee,
introduced Steve Czonstka who presented a resolution urging
the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners hold a
county wide referendum on whether or not to allow the
construction of a convention center/conference center on
land located on Okaloosa Island and owned by Okaloosa
County. Czonstka indicated mis-information, confusion, etc.,
as reasons for request. He also presented results of a straw
poll taken at the Okaloosa Fair with item #6: "Should
Okaloosa County government pay for design, construction and
operation of a Conference Center?". Much discussion
followed. Mr. Sansom stated he favors a referendum on the
issue of the convention/conference center because the
residents want a voice...
 TOP
OCTOBER
1999
October 31 1999 - Center
plan earns local GOP opposition - By LEE FORST, Daily
News Staff Writer, A panel of area Republicans says
the county shouldn't be in charge of building a conference
center; they plan to ask commissioners to consider a
county-wide vote on the matter. Add the Okaloosa
County Republican Executive Committee to the list of people
putting heat on county commissioners for their plans to
build a conference center on Okaloosa Island.
Representatives of the GOP's local governing panel are
expected to present a resolution to commissioners on Tuesday
asking for a countywide referendum on the increasingly
contentious issue...
October 29 1999 - TDC
Audit? by Fred Bergmann Sr. - By now everybody
should know that four of our commissioners, our county
manager, and two TDC officials are traveling to the Tampa
area to visit conference centers similar to the one they are
promoting here...
October 29 1999 - Two
TDC members favor vote on center By LOUIS COOPER, Daily
News Staff Writer - Jim Olin and Tom Rice want the
public to vote on building a conference center on Okaloosa
Island. Fearing the decade-old Okaloosa County Tourist
Development Council has become too wrapped up in a
controversial conference center proposal, some TDC board
members are trying to put some distance between the two...
October 29 1999 - A
dandy little something to chew on by BILL CAMPBELL,
Daily News columnist, there's not a lot of TDC-type bucks
around due to the red ink the tax-dollar-built Civic Center
is chewing up. But there's another approach that sounds so
novel and original that I'm surprised the Tolberts (they own
the Ramada Inn here) haven't thought of it: Build the damn
thing yourself! ...
October 27 1999 - TDC
funds trip for island center By LEE FORST, Daily News
Staff Writer, Officials will visit three other
Florida conference centers; the Chamber's director says the
center will likely lose money. Okaloosa County
officials are planning to visit three conference centers in
central and southwest Florida next week in hopes of learning
how best to build and operate a center on Okaloosa Island.
The trip, to be paid for with Tourist Development Council
funds, will include stops in Lakeland, Bradenton and Fort
Myers. Those venues are about the same size and have a
similar operating structure as the center local officials
are considering...
October 20, 1999 - Officials:
Let public have a say - By LOUIS COOPER, Daily News
Staff Writer, Elected leaders in several areas
call for a ballot vote on a proposed Island conference
center. - Even as a group seeking to ask voters to
abolish the Okaloosa Tourist Development Council nears its
petition goal, a movement to have a separate referendum to
decide the fate of a TDC-backed conference center seems to
be gaining momentum. The Destin City Council approved a
resolution by Fort Walton Beach attorney Douglas Hutcheson
Monday night asking the County Commission to hold a
referendum on the conference center planned for Okaloosa
Island...
October 20 1999 - TDC
ad sad attempt to gain support by DEL STONE, JR. Daily
News, One of the more embarrassing and pathetic
wads of twaddle to cross the pages of the Daily News in
recent weeks was an advertisement defending the Okaloosa
Tourist Development Council's right to exist...
October 19 1999 - The
TDC Ad Falls Short... by Fred Bergmann Sr. - "The
half page ad placed twice in the NWFDN last week claims to
present the facts and portray the rest of the story on the
TDC/conference center issue. The ad falls short on both
points. First, the ad does not state who paid almost $2,000
to run it. FACT: it was paid for by the Tourist Development
Council with tax money. Legal or not, the public should be
told who is behind any political statement, especially if it
was paid for with public funds..."
October 19 1999 - TDC's
ads legal, but irk critics By LEE FORST, Daily News
Staff Writer, The agency ran ads in the Daily News
to rebut opponents trying to abolish the TDC. Leaders of a
movement to abolish Okaloosa County's Tourist Development
Council predict two recent TDC ads promoting "The
Facts" about its operations and accomplishments will
only add fuel to the fire...
TOP
SEPTEMBER
1999
September 27 1999 - Florida
Trends acknowledges Freedom Committee - Some
residents of Destin are so incensed about a proposed
conference center on Okaloosa Island — to be paid
for with bed-tax dollars received by the Okaloosa
County Tourist Development Council (TDC) — that they’re
trying to kill not only the center, but the TDC
itself. Members of the Freedom Committee are trying to
repeal the 10-year-old law that established the TDC
and the bed tax that funds it. Gaylan King, who heads
the committee, said the group’s original aim was to
quash the convention center. “It’s a sweetheart
deal on public land,” says King, who is concerned
that the center could become a financial burden for
local residents, despite the fact that the TDC
recently doubled its bed tax from 2 cents on the
dollar to 4 cents to pay for the project. “If a
hurricane blows through here and they don’t have
tourists coming in here, filling up the hotel rooms
and paying the bed tax, who’s going to be
responsible for the bond servicing?” King asks. TDC
executive director Darrel Jones said abolishing his
agency would mean no money for promoting Destin or
Okaloosa Island. Last year, TDC culled $2.3 million in
bed-tax dollars, and more than half went to marketing
and promoting the county. The remainder paid for beach
cleaning, dune restoration and improving public access
to the beaches. Any repeal of the law forming the TDC
will require 4,000 signatures for a referendum, and of
course an election.
September 22, 1999 - County
seeking dream team for conference center - By
LEE FORST, Daily News Staff Writer,
Commissioners say their first choices for the job are
Spillis Candela, architect Blinn Van Mater and Ingram
Engineering. Okaloosa County will try to hammer out a deal
with a team of firms that includes a local architect and
engineering company to design the Okaloosa Island conference
center. County commissioners on Tuesday OK'd negotiating
with a consortium headed by Spillis Candela DMJM of Coral
Gables. Architect Blinn Van Mater and Ingram Engineering are
members of the team. A committee of county staffers and
Tourist Development Council Chairman Rick Deckert ranked
Spillis Candela first out of 14 firms that submitted
proposals...
Selected
Expenditures from the FY1999-2000 Proposed Budget of
Okaloosa County - These Budget Items may be
approved after (2) Public Hearings in September 1999. It
depends on you. Call the Commissioners and ask questions.
The first Public Hearing is scheduled at the Crestview
Courthouse Tuesday Sept. 07 at 7:00pm; the final Public
Hearing will be Monday Sept. 20 at 7:00pm at the Water &
Sewer Administration Bldg. (See
our forum and share your opinion)
September 22, 1999 - Okaloosa
cuts sliver off tax rate - By LEE FORST, Daily
News Staff Writer - Commissioners trim Leisure
Services' funds and drop property taxes from 4.5 to 4.46
mills... "Please tonight, represent your
taxpayers and vote in opposition to the convention
center," said Herbert Allen, of Crestview... No
commissioner raised that issue. Commissioner Paula Riggs
noted that some $3 million budgeted next year for the
conference center was being put in the Tourist Development
Council's reserves - it would not be spent.
TOP
AUGUST
1999
Where
would we put a conference center? - "The
LMI study, which was used to convince most of our
commissioners to back this project, doesn’t mention
any specific location, but talk mentions property on
Okaloosa Island north of highway 98 as the planned
location. Problem is, that location sits smack
in top of the 100 year flood plain..." - by Fred Bergmann
Florida
Statute 125.0104 - Tourist development
tax; procedure for levying; authorized uses; referendum;
enforcement...
Local
Accommodations and Hospitality Taxes - Here's
an example of what another state (South Carolina) has done
to legislate a provision in their "Accommodations and
Hospitality Tax" or " bed tax" law so that
these funds can be used to finance improvements on
infrastructure... The point here, is that our state can do
the same, and to be more specific, our county can help push
an amendment to the Florida State "Bed Tax" laws
so the bed taxes the TDC is currently receiving, can be
instead used for infrastructure improvements such as parks,
boat ramps, road repair, etc... To advert any
potential confusion, we are not suggesting the TDC be the
equivalent to the road department. - by cBergmann
_______________
Special
Series: "When
Pigs Fly" is a collection of articles and
reports on the facts, problems and issues other communities
are having with their current or planned
Conference/Convention Centers. This includes detailed
studies on how other communities are trying to stimulate,
maintain or revitalize their economies through tourism
related attractions, museums, sports centers and other
related ventures. To quote Dr. Ronald D. Utt:
"Mounting evidence from dozens of
cities that rely on costly tourist-related infrastructure
projects such as convention centers, stadiums, arenas,
concert halls, and museums demonstrates that such projects
contribute little to a community's economic vitality.
Worse, they divert desperately needed financial resources
from such basic government services as public safety,
education, and transportation..."
This ongoing series is intended to offer the
communities of greater Okaloosa County with the truth behind
what really goes on in the planning and development of such
projects, and the often dire results and consequences to the
communities involved...
"Will a conference
center be in our community's best interest? Will it
make money? Will it be a proud legacy we can hand down
to our children? When Pigs Fly..."
- Carl Bergmann 08-09-99
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August 5 1999 - TDC
in the clear over 'YES' funds - Use of public
money to push a bed tax increase was legal, though in May
payment for the effort was described as private. Okaloosa
County tourism officials used public funds to bolster their
case for an Okaloosa Island conference center during a May
County Commission hearing. While the purchase raises
questions as to whether governments should use public funds
to advocate a political point of view, a 1991 Florida
Supreme Court case indicates the practice is legal. -
By JEFF NEWELL, Daily News Staff Writer
August 4 1999 -"Welcome
to the Asphalt Coast - "..make that the
Emerald Coast (old habits are hard to break!) - home of the
world's most beautiful beaches - Hey you! GET OUT OF THE
WATER! It's bubbling with fecal coliform bacteria! You want
a hideous disease to remember your vacation? We have lots of
T-shirt shops but not very many hospitals, and we certainly
don't have the health insurance agents to treat a mob of
idiot tourists with raging earaches." - *by Del
Stone Jr. Daily News Deputy Managing Editor
August 4 1999 - ECONOMIC
IMPACT OF CONVENTION AND CONFERENCE CENTERS -
"In many communities throughout North America today,
development or expansion of a meeting facility is being
considered as a means of creating positive economic impacts
to achieve the economic development goal... But what
if they don't come?"
TOP
JULY 1999
July 29 1999 - Conference
center funds in budget - TDC funding, including
$2.7 million for the Okaloosa Island project, is given a
preliminary OK by officials. Okaloosa County
commissioners gave the county tourism agency's budget the
go-ahead this week, but not until after a lingering
disagreement over a proposed Okaloosa Island conference
center flared up again. - By JEFF NEWELL, Daily News
Staff Writer
TDC Voting
District Precinct Maps... - You
must live in Voting Precinct 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 27, 30, 32,
35, 38, 41, 42 or 44 to sign this petition. Check your
voters registration card to see if you qualify...
July 13, 1999 - TDC
has plans, foes - Okaloosa County tourism
officials unveiled plans for an improved beach access on
Okaloosa Island on Monday, as a group launched a petition
drive to eliminate the county's tourism agency. By
JEFF NEWELL, Daily News Staff Writer
July 10 1999 - The
LMI Study Part I - Leisure
Management International ("LMI") is pleased to
present the "Okaloosa County Conference Center Business
Plan" to the Okaloosa County Tourist and Development
Council ("Council"). The purpose of this Business
Plan is to assist the Council in developing and evaluating
options regarding the development, construction and
operation of the proposed Okaloosa County Conference
Center... BeachBrowser.com
July 9 1999 - This
is not about tourism! - Since when has tourism
in this area become solely dependent on whether or not we
have the conference center built. Darrel Jones is
implying that if there is no conference center, tourism
dollars will dry up. He is protecting his job at the
TDC is what he is doing, not looking after the welfare of
the county residents as a whole... by Carl Bergmann
- BeachBrowser.com
July 9 1999 - Referendum called for on
bed-tax issue - "I've never seen an issue in
this county where so many people are angry," King said
in an interview. He was referring to the new tax, which went
into effect July 1, increasing the tax paid by tourists for
short-term bed rentals. By Leah Stratmann, Destin
Log Staff writer
July 7 1999 Daily News
- Bed
tax, TDC face extinction - The fountain of
money that pays for beach cleaning, tourism promotion and
beach access in Okaloosa County - and is slated to one day
fund an island conference center - could soon run dry. -
By LOUIS COOPER, Daily News Staff Writer
JUNE 1999
TOP
MAY 1999
May 11th 1999 - Ray
Sansom on Bed Tax/Conference Center
"President Gerald Ford once said, 'A
government big enough to give you everything you want, is a
government big enough to take from you everything you
have.' I believe President Ford must have had the most
recent Okaloosa County conference center proposal in mind
when making this kind of comment as our President. This plan
would require an increase in the Tourist Development tax by
100% and have the county assume full financial liability
associated with the proposed conference center..."
by Ray Sansom
May 07, 1999 Daily News - "Center's
traffic plans still jammed - Both supporters
and detractors of a proposed conference facility agree there
are serious traffic problems. Their dispute is in the
solutions. Transportation concerns frame this question
for supporters of a proposed conference center on Okaloosa
Island: If you build it, how will they come?"
By JEFF NEWELL, Daily News Staff Writer
May 05, 1999 - How
many times must we say no? "...I'd also
say the county commissioners and some Okaloosa Island hotel
owners share a similar low opinion of you nobodies. After
all, you've told them every which way from Sunday you don't
want a convention center on Okaloosa Island. Yet next
Tuesday they'll be laying the groundwork for just such a
center. And those hotels owners have been quoted in this
very newspaper as saying you're a "vocal minority"
with a "retirement mentality..." - by DEL
STONE JR., Daily News Deputy Managing Editor*
May 05, 1999 Daily News - "Firm's
objectivity falls under attack - Commissioner
Ray Sansom says Leisure Management International has
"discredited" itself. The firm that prepared
a business plan for a proposed Okaloosa Island conference
center has a built-in conflict of interest, according to the
only county commissioner opposed to the center..."
By JEFF NEWELL, Daily News Staff Writer
TOP
APRIL
1999
April 22, 1999 Daily News - "Even
Okaloosa commissioners' decision to hold a public hearing
May 11 on a controversial conference center proposal sparks
dissent..." By JEFF NEWELL, Daily News Staff Writer
April 07, 1999 Daily News - "Okaloosa
hints at bed-tax hike
Four commissioners say they support doubling the county levy
to pay for an island conference center. - There
will be at least one more meeting before Okaloosa County
commissioners decide whether to move ahead with plans for a
conference center on Okaloosa Island. But if yet another
workshop on Tuesday was any indication, they appear on the
way to giving the go-ahead..." By LEE FORST,
Daily News Staff Writer
SEE
"BED
TAX/CONFERENCE CENTER EVENTS OF 98"
Top
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BED
TAX/CONFERENCE CENTER HISTORY OF EVENTS 1999