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Annie66

Beach Lover
Mar 21, 2012
75
1
Seagrove Beach
I think the TDC should be dissolved. I talk to people all the time who come here on vacation and most of them don't know what county they are in and couldn't care less. 'The Beaches of South Walton' is an ego trip for the political insiders. The area sells itself. The TDC had nothing to do with the increase in business. When we first started coming here we liked south Walton county because the greedy developers had not yet ruined the coast with condos as far as the eye could see. But then the developers took over.
 

tsutcli

Beach Fanatic
Jan 14, 2008
921
109
Seacrest
I think the TDC should be dissolved. I talk to people all the time who come here on vacation and most of them don't know what county they are in and couldn't care less. 'The Beaches of South Walton' is an ego trip for the political insiders. The area sells itself. The TDC had nothing to do with the increase in business. When we first started coming here we liked south Walton county because the greedy developers had not yet ruined the coast with condos as far as the eye could see. But then the developers took over.

I concur!! The TDC has outlived its usefulness and IMO is doing more to ruin the area than almost any other group. I was in a group of 7 locals playing at Camp Creek yesterday when this subject came up and it was unanimous that the TDC should be disbanded or that their mission should be drastically narrowed to exclude further marketing of SOWAL. The funds could be better used for enhanced beach,road and code enforcement, maintenance of public accesses, fire protection to name a few. How does one go about initiating the process?

On a different but somewhat related subject, has there been any credible survey done lately on traffic density on 30a (not a developers survey - totally disreputable)? I can't believe that this tiny, 2 lane country road wouldn't be found to be way beyond its legal capacity. Anyone who has to use this road, especially during tourist season, couldn't come to any other conclusion.
 
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lenzoe

Beach Fanatic
I take issue with the statement that "it is illegal to purchase land with TDC dollars...."

The statute, Florida Statute 125.0104, contains no provision stating that it is illegal to purchase land with TDC dollars.

In fact, there is an Attorney General Opinion from the State of Florida that specifically answers the question:
May tourist development tax revenues be utilized to purchase beachfront land to be used as an additional public preservation and recreation area? The answer, plainly stated, is Yes!

As the opinion states: Tourist development tax revenues may be used to purchase beachfront land in Collier County if the county commission makes the requisite findings that this expenditure will promote tourism within the county
or that the purchase of this parcel will improve, maintain, or restore the beach park. AGO 2001-42. http://www.myfloridalegal.com/ago.nsf/Opinions/6D347C95DA3AAE4A85256A70005249FD

Furthermore, the TDC is advisory, and the County Commission has the last say on how TDC funds are spent. In other words, if the County Commission finds that an expenditure promotes tourism, then the county can use TDC funds for that purpose, regardless of whether the TDC advises otherwise. AGO 92-34. http://www.myfloridalegal.com/ago.nsf/Opinions/74A57644F78061EE852562A70055A98B


(See, Ops. Att'y Gen. Fla. 98-74 (1998), 97-48 (1997), 92-66 (1992), 87-16 (1987), concluding that a determination of whether a project is tourist related and furthers such primary purpose is a factual determination which must be made by the legislative and governing body of the county founded upon appropriate legislative findings and due consideration of the peculiar and prevailing local conditions and needs.)

Not only are there Attorney General Opinions on this topic, but there are many newspaper articles around the state that discuss how beach properties and accesses have been purchased using TDC dollars. For instance, Lee County (Ft. Myers) purchased a substantial beach front property last year using TDC tax funds. The property is now called Crescent Beach Family Park.
http://www.fortmyersbeachtalk.com/page/content.detail/id/512558/Park-open-as-Lee-Parks-director-informs-chamber.html?nav=5051


Florida Statute 125.0104 can be viewed at: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/filestores/web/statutes/fs07/CH0125/Section_0125.0104.HTM

The statutory language, paired with the legal interpretation of Florida's Attorney General, allows for land purchases and capital expenditures as long as the County Commission can make the finding that the expenditure promotes tourism within the county. TDC funds are being used to purchase lands all over Florida. Those lands are not "owned" by the TDC, but are rather owned by the County that made the purchase using the TDC funds. Obviously, TDC funds should not be a "grab bag" or a "go to" fund for all tourist-related needs (as the county has separate obligations to the citizens as well), but if a careful consideration is made that the TDC funds are appropriate for an expenditure, then the funds can be used.

This is interesting.
 

BeachSiO2

Beach Fanatic
Jun 16, 2006
3,294
737
Ggirl,

I'll pass that info along. That's not the way it was explained to me.
 

BeachSiO2

Beach Fanatic
Jun 16, 2006
3,294
737
Good discussion! I'm thinking the focus needs to be on building the beaches, another storm or 2 and we won't have any left. Even a small storm will eat in to the dunes. No beaches means no tourism. WHere are we with getting sand on to the beaches?
There is a public workshop on June 12 at 4:30 and I hope you can attend. In the meantime, here's a fairly recent presentation on the topic.http://www.visitsouthwalton.org/contents/download/8640
 

Jdarg

SoWal Expert
Feb 15, 2005
18,068
1,973
i talk to a lot of visitors, both people I know or complete strangers (I am a little chatty:roll:). Anyway, they always tell me the following reasons they chose this area:

1. Made vacation plans with family members who vacation here
2. Made vacation plans with friends who vacation here
3. Grew up in the southern states and have ben visiting the panhandle since they were small, sometimes generations visiting the area.
4. In the case of spring break, don't want to be the only family left behind in a zip code/school group when they all come here- oh the horrors! the kids would be ostracized.
5. Booked a stay in Destin or PCB, went for a sightseeing drive, and found 30A.
6. Southern Living reader. If Southern Living says to go somewhere, well then you better go there. Garden & Gun rapidly gaining on them with the young, hip, and wealthy group.

Most really all go back to word of mouth. Every single friend of ours that vacations here now, does so because we "introduced" them to the area years ago, and now they bring other people, and so on and so on. Making sure the visitors experiences WHILE THEY ARE HERE is the most important function of the TDC- because our visitors ARE the marketing tool.

I would really like to see figures of how many people were burning up the flight paths coming here from places like Chicago, DC, etc. Would that marketing money have been better spent on more events to get larger numbers our large regional markets? Why do we have to worry about getting visitors from big cities outside of the south?
 

ricky bobby

Banned
Aug 24, 2011
111
8
Tallahassee, Fl
I see that the Daily News is doing a survey. So far the responders favor getting rid of the Okaloosa TDC. If there were no TDC, bed tax money could be put aside for the next hurricane. But a lot of people want to waste it now while it's hot.
 

Lake View Too

SoWal Insider
Nov 16, 2008
6,862
8,298
Eastern Lake
"Waste it now while it's hot." That is the perfect motto for our current TDC. GraytonGirl had a great concept. Using TDC money (which, apparently, is "overflowing") to purchase and preserve endangered beachfront property. Eastern Lake Inlet comes to mind. There have been overtures from the owners of this property, affecting the inlet, to sell it to the county. This has been going on for years. The county doesn't seem to have the money, but The TDC apparently does. Four million dollars to preserve the enjoyment of one of our greatest natural treasures for our grandchildren and their grandchildren, seems a little more important than whether the TDC can erect a "discovery center" for people who have already found the beaches of South Walton.
 

Grayton Girl

Beach Fanatic
Jul 5, 2005
361
299
Sowal
Ggirl,

I'll pass that info along. That's not the way it was explained to me.

Beach SiO2:

I get the impression that you might be on the TDC board or perhaps a TDC employee. If that is so, I am disappointed that you have not received appropriate counsel about how TDC funds can be spent.

While I do not purport to be an expert, the information I provided was gleaned from a 2-hour research session on the internet. I am tired of hearing that "the TDC is prohibited by statute from doing X or Y" or that it would be "illegal" to use TDC funds in one way or another.

I looked up the statute, and I read it, then I looked up Attorney General Opinions, which are legal opinions given to elected or appointed officials. I read a number of AG Opinions that had to do with TDC expenditures all over the state. What I am reading convinces me that TDC funds can be spent on land, capital improvements, etc. as long as the county commission, which is the governing body of the county, makes a factual finding based on evidence and the peculiar conditions and needs of the area, that the spending of the funds will promote tourism.

I agree with JDarg that the TDC would be well-served by making sure that once visitors have arrived, they have a wonderful and safe time at the beach. Acquiring additional beach accesses, improving the bike path for safety, providing additional security for our busiest times - all of these would serve to enhance the visitor experience for those who come to our area. We want them to leave happy, so they will tell their friends and loved ones about their wonderful experiences in Sowal. The fact that these same desires (for instance, beach access, bike path safety, additional security) would also serve to improve the lives of those of us who live here, does not make these goals or projects somehow "unavailable" for TDC funds.
 

lenzoe

Beach Fanatic
There have been overtures from the owners of this property, affecting the inlet, to sell it to the county. This has been going on for years.

I hadn't heard that rumor. If true, now would be a good time for the county to buy while prices are at the low point.

Whether it's the Eastern Lake inlet or some other sites, I've always wondered why the County didn't seem to be active in trying to increase access points. Improving existing accesses and adding parking to existing accesses is good, but that's not the same as actually increasing access land.

Public companies have buyback programs that they use to increase the value of their own stock. This would be a similar concept -- buying land to increase the public value of the beach. Boulder Colorado had a pretty extensive greenspace development program where the county actively rezoned and actively purchased new greenspace for public use. When I left there 20 years ago it had one of the greatest public park systems in the country and a really great quality of life factor. Hi tech companies as well as tourists were flocking to Boulder because of that quality of life factor.
 
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