$101,440 to design a pedestrian bridge on Western Lake

[Truman]

TDC requesting from BCC:

Request approval of a Proposal from Preble-Rish, Inc. in the amount of $101,440.00 for the Western Lake Pedestrian Bridge and Connecting Path design and permitting services.

Seems mighty high for a design - how much are permits?

 

[Andy A]

Is it for design and construction or just design? If for design only, I was in the wrong business all my life.

 

[Truman]

Design and permitting. I think construction budget is over a million.

 

[Leader of the Banned]

That doesn't sound like a lot to me. Design is the difficult part.

 

[meggiemom]

I can't help but wonder how the area would function without a TDC. Seems to me that the TDC exists to launder money.

 

[Truman]

I can't help but wonder how the area would function without a TDC. Seems to me that the TDC exists to launder money.

Launder money? That's a new one. What does launder money mean to you?

There are plenty of people who think we don't need a TDC but the ones who do want it are the ones who actually pay bed taxes to fund it.

 

[Bob Hudson]

Launder money? That's a new one. What does launder money mean to you? There are plenty of people who think we don't need a TDC but the ones who do want it are the ones who actually pay bed taxes to fund it.

The only people paying "bed taxes" are the tourists that rent short term.

The rental agencies are "collectors" not payers.

I sincerely doubt if asked they would say " Yes - tack that 4.5 % bed tax on my $2500.00 rental bill.

 

[luca brazzi]

It seems to me that what was done in Okaloosa County was the opposite of money laundering. Obtaining the money legally and using it illegally. Walton seems to want to follow suit.

 

[Lake View Too]

The only people paying "bed taxes" are the tourists that rent short term.

The rental agencies are "collectors" not payers.

I sincerely doubt if asked they would say " Yes - tack that 4.5 % bed tax on my $2500.00 rental bill.

This is an incredibly insightful way to put it. The vacation visitor, who has already discovered this place, is taxed, to, theoretically, inform and entice more people to come here, and overcrowd the whole infrastructure and ecosystem, over and over again.

 

[Truman]

This is an incredibly insightful way to put it. The vacation visitor, who has already discovered this place, is taxed, to, theoretically, inform and entice more people to come here, and overcrowd the whole infrastructure and ecosystem, over and over again.

Actually, no. In my opinion it is a backwards way of looking at it. The tourist don't know and most don't care. To them a rental cost what it cost. The bed tax money is paid by oiwners and managers. Do they mark up prices to pay the tax? - yes in a way. But the reality is that the bed tax payers, or collectors if you must, do not necessarily want a TDC but many of them do. The big boys would rather spend their money and do all their own marketing. But hundreds of small owners and rental companies benefit from the huge amounts the big resorts pay. OMG it sounds kinda like touri-socialism! Spread the bucks around and down. They are the bosses of the TDC, just like they are really the bosses of the BCC and most of the rest of the businesses that rely on tourism.