By Marvin G. Cortner
Editor

The makeup of the Osceola County Tourist Development Council could change in the coming months, with more representatives from lodging industries as members.

The council, or TDC, on Tuesday briefly discussed restructuring but will revisit the issue in detail at a workshop before the group’s next meeting. The date of the workshop has not been set.

Tom Lang, executive director of the Kissimmee Convention & Visitors Bureau, said that the Osceola Resort Area Council, comprised of lodging businesses in the main tourist area of the county, is pushing for more representation on the TDC, since it is the lodging sector that collects the 6 percent tourist development tax on overnight stays of 180 days or less.

The Osceola County Commission appoints TDC members and the commission would have to amend county ordinance to change the makeup of that board. Current appointees include: elected officials Cheryl Grieb, Kissimmee commissioner, Tom Griffin, St. Cloud City Council member, and John Quiñones, county commissioner; Chuck McLendon, Fred Cumbie, Bill Hansen and Maribeth Naughton-Bisienere, all representing the tourism sector; and Jim Murphy, council chairman, and George Chen, representing the lodging sector.

Quiñones said there needs to be stricter rules as to service on the board and how it goes about electing new officers. He also said there needs to be more input from the lodging industry and that the TDC must make sure it serves in a true advisory capacity.

Murphy said the TDC has “always been aggressive” at representing the various tourism sectors. He also said the board works extremely well and may be perceived as being less effective now because the commission has not followed its recommendations nor given it the opportunity to vet certain projects involving tourist tax dollars.

“If our recommendations have not been followed by the Board of County Commissioners, it was not the council’s fault,” Murphy said, adding that with the former county manager (Michael Freilinger) the TDC wasn’t getting all the information it needed to make recommendations. “It’s the county commissioners who sign the checks. If we go through restructuring, will it mean anything or are we just going through the hoops?”

Hansen said the TDC could restructure but that if the commission doesn’t heed its recommendations, it’s “back to the same thing.”

Naughton-Bisienere said that in the last 18 moths the TDC “has not been as effective as it ought to be.”

Grants program

could be revised

The TDC also will be reviewing the county tourism enhancement grant program involving funding of local nonprofit organizations that put on events drawing tourists to the county. Revisions would require that grant money is used to supplement a hosting or sponsoring organization’s marketing budget, not be a substitute for it.

The visitors bureau, which administers the program, makes recommendations on the grants to the TDC in terms of which organizations are funded and how much money they get. The TDC then makes recommendations to the County Commission on funding.

Other possible revisions include:

• Funding for the grant program in the 2011-12 fiscal year would be capped at 3 percent of the visitors bureau budget minus administrative costs, or $500,000, whichever is less.

• No individual grant would be for more than 10 percent of the total program budget.

• No organization or sponsor of an event could be funded for more than five years and after the first year, funding would be reduced by 10 percent in each succeeding year.

• The event must have a primary purpose of attracting tourists to either generate overnight stays in the county or generate high spending at local tourism businesses or retailers.

• Criteria for grant selection would include the number of room nights generated, the economic impact, whether the event sponsor has a marketing plan and how stable an organization might be.

A revision of the program also would bring stricter reporting requirements on the part of event sponsors or organizations in terms of documenting how the money was used.

Naughton-Bisienere said the revisions are needed and would be a “step forward” from where the program is now.”

Director’s report

Lang said lodging industries are reporting that December was a “good month” in terms of revenue and that January is “holding up” when compared to last year.

Tourist tax revenue was up 10 percent for the first two months of the 2010-11 fiscal year (which started Oct. 1), Lang said, compared to the same period last year.

Lang also said his department’s move out of Osceola Heritage Park had been delayed because veterans had been given additional time to explore other options besides moving their museum of military history from Osceola Square Mall into the building now occupied by the visitors bureau.

The likely place to relocate the bulk of his department’s staff, Lang said, would be to the third floor of the county administration building and that the bureau could be asked to staff a small satellite office in downtown Kissimmee where some department employees could meet directly with tourists. A request for letters of interest went out Friday for such an office.

Lang also said no decision had been made on whether to extend Philadelphia-based SMG’s contract to manage Osceola Heritage Park or to go out for a request for proposals for a new management company, as recommended by the TDC previously.

Murphy said he would like to see a proposal whereby the county would manage the facility.

“How much worse could it be,” he asked, referring to the facility continuing to lose money under SMG. “The only way to stop the financial bleeding is to get an opportunity to look at proposals.”

Beth Knight, deputy county manager, said the future of Osceola Heritage Park hinges on the county’s development rights there, which are being researched. That, she said, will define OHP’s growth opportunities.

The SMG contract also will be on the agenda at the upcoming TDC workshop.

Knight also reported that negotiations are under way with the Harmony Development Company relating to development of amateur sports playing fields in that community, as approved the County Commission last year using tourist development tax reserves. She added that the agreement with the Osceola County Historical Society to relocate its pioneer village and museum to Shingle Creek Regional Park and development of the former Roadhouse Grill on U.S. Highway 192 into a county nature and tourist information center also is being finalized.