Don't need it. Don't want it. Bed taxes should be going to maintain the beaches, not diverted to other spending.
It is interesting to read the different opinions. Thanks for sharing. My comments are as follows. Regarding the comment above about the TDC should be using that tax on the beaches, that is not the TDC's perspective. They spend it on things which draw tourists. A recreational facility such as Frank Brown Park in Panama City Beach brings thousands of tourists to PCB, who spend millions of dollars, which in turn helps the local businesses and local tax revenues.
On that note, the problem I have with such a facility being built to bring in more tourists, to our uncrowded beaches, is that it could take away from the focus on our different lifestyle from Destin and PCB. This area is a low-key vacation area, which has a focus on natural settings, not huge rec parks. We actually have a huge natural recreation facility, otherwise known as Pt Washington State Park and the Gulf of Mexico, but it is greatly underutilized as such by locals. There could easily be team building events in our natural settings, almost year round, but no one is doing it. I think a good Parks and Recreation Director would have many programs to take advantage of our unique natural setting. We have great opportunity, if we just open our eyes to that which is already before us.
The flip-side is that it has the potential to fill cash registers, especially in the off season when it is so desparately needed, which tends to make living here much easier. We sure could use something to bring the entire community of South Walton together. If a kid wants to play tennis or go swimming in a pool SoWal, good luck. Currently, we have no public facilities to do such. I can't even think of more than one public basketball goal in South Walton (Cessna Landing).
I know the Boys and Girl's Club is now on the table. It seems to me that by building a good public facility, we wouldn't need a private one designated solely for kids.