By Marvin G. Cortner
Editor

Making Osceola County the “amateur sports capital of the world” should be the focus of future tourist tax spending, county commissioners said at a workshop Monday.

Commissioners also affirmed support for finding ways to reduce the red ink at Osceola Heritage Park and developing a master plan for its future and supported the idea of providing a new home for a local veterans museum and relocating the Osceola County Historical Society museum, each to separate sites along West U.S. Highway 192. Commissioners also said they support using tourist taxes to fund the operation of some county parks that have access to lakes or streams in order to promote eco-tourism.

Tom Lang, executive director of the Kissimmee Convention and Visitors Bureau, said tourist tax revenue, which is generated through a 6 percent tax on overnight stays of 180 days or less, has been trending downward since 2008 while requests for a “limited pot of money” are increasing.

Lang said that in the coming budget year tourist tax revenue in one of three funds could be as much as $3 million short of spending commitments, forcing the use of reserves. Lang also said Osceola County, in terms of spending to attract tourists, is “losing the war” to surrounding counties, which, he said, are spending more on self-promotions.

“We have to be careful not to give away the store,” Lang told commissioners, referring to the risk of taking on too many obligations for tourist tax revenue and not having enough left over to adequately market the county’s unique qualities.

Lang also said tourist tax revenue in the next fiscal year is expected to continue to fall, with corresponding cuts to operating budgets and continued use of reserves expected.

The latest request for tourist taxes is from the United States Specialty Sports Association, which wants the county to acquire land and then develop a sports complex on it. The price tag for such a project, including land and development costs, could be as high as $67 million.

The complex, as proposed, would be comprised of 17 ball fields and a 50,000-square-foot, multi-use indoor facility. Having such a facility would allow the association, which is headquartered at Osceola Heritage Park, to generate thousands of additional overnight stays in local hotels, motels and resorts, association officials have said.

Osceola Heritage Park

Osceola Heritage Park, the adjacent county-owned property around it and how theses properties in total should be used and developed continues to be an issue with commissioners.

Commissioner Ken Smith said he’s been “hearing about” a park master plan for eight years or more and still hasn’t seen one. He said he supports positioning the county to cater to amateur sports events but also doesn’t want to pass up any opportunities to make the Silver Spurs Arena, for example, more viable.

According to county staff, Osceola Heritage Park could lose as much as $5.9 million in the current fiscal year, half of it from the Silver Spurs Arena.

Commission Chairman Fred Hawkins Jr. agreed a master plan is needed not only for Osceola Heritage Park and its current facilities but also for the adjacent property the county has bought in recent years intended for eventual expansion.

Does it make sense to buy property that is contiguous and not know what it will be used for, Hawkins asked.

The Exhibition Hall at Osceola Heritage Park, according to Hawkins, is a moneymaker and events like the classic car auction held there earlier this year clearly generate overnight stays. However, he said spending $6 million for a new stable for the arena to allow it to host more equestrian events might not be a good idea because it would not significantly increase local overnight stays.

More on funding

for county parks

County officials said the cost to operate five parks – the Shingle Creek Regional Park and an adjacent nature and visitor information center to be developed at the former Roadhouse Grill restaurant (5925 W. U.S. Highway 192), the Lake Lizzie Conservation Area (located north of U.S. Highway 192 east of St. Cloud), the Makinson Island Conservation Area (on Lake Tohopekaliga), the Joe Overstreet boat ramp (off Pleasant Hill Road) and Southport Regional Park – would be about $539,700.

The county could justify use of tourist revenue for park operations, county officials said, because these are areas that could be visited by tourists looking for unique experiences relating to eco-tourism.

County officials also said volunteers from the Historical Society have offered to help staff the visitors/nature center because this is the site to which the society’s museum would be relocated. The society, county staff said, also has discussed moving other buildings it owns from its Bass Road site to Shingle Creek Regional Park.

A final decision on relocating the museum has not yet been made, county officials said.

Also, the county has not made a final decision on buying the Starling property (the former Coggin Pontiac GMC Buick dealership at 4425 W. U.S. Highway 192) for use as a Veterans Tribute and Museum. The county is still evaluating the site in terms of any environmental or feasibility issues, Interim County Manager Don Fisher said.

Summary of

major requests

Among the projects that have been requested but not funded by tourist taxes are:

• Veterans museum, $5 million purchase, $300,000 annual operating costs.

• History museum, $500,000 to relocate buildings, $300,000 annual costs.

• Osceola County Center for the Arts, $300,000 annual subsidy.

• Parks funding, $564,000, which includes costs to promote annual events such as the Rebel Games, the Osceola County Fair and the new Shingle Creek Adventure Challenge.

• Amateur athletics sports complex, $67 million.

• And new stables at Osceola Heritage Park, $6 million.

Update on

USSSA request

The commission has moved a review of the proposals relating to the United States Specialty Sports Association sports complex project to the Monday, May 24, meeting. It had been scheduled for this coming Monday.