I attend both the TDC Board meeting and the TDC Blue sign Workshop. A common perception that I arrived at during and after both of the meetings was the level of arrogance that both The TDC Board and Staff dealt with the citizens of Walton County. The people at both meetings were there seeking to right what they viewed as a "Good Idea Gone Wild". A program conceived by the TDC Staff and approved by the TDC Board. One of the current TDC board members is also a member of the Design Review Board and absolutely "wigged out" over the color scheme chosen by Posh Interiors. That individual led the charge to enact a new color palette for all businesses in the Scenic Corridor. Never have I seen the arrogance by appointed or elected officials as they were approached by a polite but united group of citizens. This group treated the local citizens with contempt and violated the Florida Open meetings requirements and then called and reported a disturbance (I was there - there was no disturbance ) to the Walton County Sheriffs Office. The Bay County Commission disbanded it's Tourist Development Council and started over from ground zero. A new Board and new director. We currently have an interim TDC administrator that has shown in a very public manner that he is not up to the job. I believe that the current Board has lost sight of the true reason for their existence. They have for too long had very little public oversight of the "tax dollars" they collect. They are now trying to promote and brand this area in a manner that is in very stark contrast with the actual resource that sets the 30-A corridor apart from the rest of Florida's Seaside communities. I believe that we need a fresh start - We should work to have the Board of County Commissioners get a fresh start by removing them all. They are not serving our interest and are thumbing their nose at the public. Lets simply disband and start over with qualified individuals that have a sense of the uniqueness of this area and a desire to market that uniqueness to a very interested tourist population. Your thoughts ?
