Tourist Development Council (2025-11-06)

Tourist Development Council November 6, 2025 Milton, Florida Board Members Present Staff Present Judy Windorfer (Chairperson) Julie White (TDC Director) Dan Helms (North End Appointee) Monica McBrien (Assistant TDC Director) Amy Tavai (City of Gulf Breeze Appointee) Linda Tutt (Administrative Coordinator) Marla Crumm (South End Appointee) Cortni Potapowicz (South End Appointee) Ray Eddington (Commissioner) Additional Agenda Items None Approval of September 4, 2025 Minutes Eddington moved approval of the September 4, 2025 minutes without objection. Lodging Tax Update Quarterly Bed Tax Update White said the county made a comeback from the rough start of the calendar year. She said even with starting in the negative at the first of the year, “we” have closed out at the highest in the county’s history. White said bed tax collections were $6,675,752.40 which is a 3.20% increase over last fiscal year. Review and Approval of the Quarterly Expenditure Audit Trail Report July - September 2025 Quarterly Report White said the information is in the backup and she is only looking for a motion from the council. Tavai motioned to approve the quarterly expenditure audit trail report. Potapowicz seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Election of New TDC Board Chair Windorfer said she nominates Guilbeau. Potapowicz said she seconds the nomination and the nomination for Guilbeau as TDC chair passed without objection. New TDC Board Member Position Letters 1. Michelle Guilbeau Eddington moved approval of Michelle Guilbeau to the TDC Board. Potapowicz seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

2 2. Melissa Read Eddington moved approval of Melissa Read to the TDC Board. Potapowicz seconded and the motioned passed unanimously. Update on St Germain Visitor Tracking and Economic Impact Research Brief White said this is an on going study that will conclude in June. She discussed the top states that visitors were coming from. White said the study is only from information gathered with people taking surveys. She said travel party composition were mostly immediate or extended family. White said one in six visitors were traveling as a couple. She said that is in line with what is known from the ad agency that “we” are a family destination. White said 43% of the visitors indicated this was their first time visiting the area, while 22% of visitors indicated they had visited more than 10 times. She said over half of the visitors stayed in paid accommodation. White said she is looking forward to the final results of the survey. Approval of FY 27 Grant Forms and Schedule 1. Local Event Sponsorship Application White said in the past there have been separate grant sponsorships versus sponsorships. She said it has been confusing for the applicant so moving forward there should be one application. White said the applications will be due March 2nd, for department review. She said she will pull applications that do not qualify and the ones she thinks are allowable will go to Tim Weekley (Clerk of Court General Counsel) for review. White said she is looking for approval to make this a joint application for sponsorship. Helms asked if the board is approving the merging of the two applications into one single application. He asked if there is any discussion as to the requirements or eligibility. White said this is to approve merging the two into one application. She said the application is separate from the county Tourist Development Tax Capital Projects. Helms asked if guidelines and requirements are the same as the current forms. White said the requirements will not change and will follow the state statue for funding eligibility. Helms asked if the three-year eligibility is still included in the application. White said that is under the Tax Capital Project application. Helms asked if the three years is statutory. White said no. She said it was voted and approved by the TDC and the Board to keep the same projects from coming back year after year. Helms asked if a project is worthy two years in a row and there is no other competition for the funds why use this as a barrier. White said she can take the TDC’s recommendation to the Board. There was continued discussion. Windorfer asked how Helms would like to amend or change the document. Helms said he would like to revise the limitation of the grant only being awarded every three years.

3 He said he would like that to be totally removed and give the total discretion to the TDC and the Board. Potapowicz asked if Helms wants the application to be open yearly. Helms said yes. Jeff Snow asked if this will complicate the process more for staff. White said no. She said the reason it was written this way was a joint decision by the TDC and the Board. There was continued discussion. White said the TDC would need a motion to strike the “if funded the applicant must wait three years before requesting additional and/or new capital project funding” bullet point. Helms moved approval to strike “if funded the applicant must wait three years before requesting additional and/or new capital project funding” language from the application. Potapowicz said she would second the motion and the motion passed unanimously. 2. Tax Capital Projects Funding Application Helms said the matching funds for non-government organizations is 50%. He asked if the 50% is cash on hand or what is invested in the project already. White said when the application was first designed and approved by the TDC the thought process was that the organization show money to invest. She said changes are open to discussion. Helms said he is looking for clarification on if the $50,000 requirement is cash in hand, grants, or part of a project that already has invested funds. White said she reads it as the applicant is eligible to a 50% match up to $50,000. She said if the applicant has $50,000 in hand the TDC would provide an additional $25,000. White said if the TDC wishes to rewrite the requirements it can do so but it will need to be approved by the Board. Windorfer said Helms is asking for the clarification on the “$50,000 in hand as an example” line of the application. She asked if that is actually physical funding. White said the applicant must have some type of equity available to put towards the project themselves. She said the application states match funds must be in hand. White said otherwise the funds would be considered as in kind and would be against state statute. Helms asked what an eligible expense is. He said he understood that concert performance fees would be any hired entertainers. White said yes. Helms said last year he was told the Native American flute players he hired could not be an expense

4 reimbursement. White asked if he had been able to do so in the past. Helms said he did not have to in the past, due to other expenses. She said it is an allowable expense. There was continued discussion. Helms said he has concern about the logo as it only acknowledges Navarre Beach. He said it seems incongruent with the other areas of the county. Helms asked if there is an alternative logo that is not specific to Navarre Beach. White discussed the logo and brand history. Rudy Webb (Paradise Advertising) discussed the focus groups and how the current logo came to be. Helms said he would like to be more inclusive as to the other things available in addition to Navarre Beach. There was continued discussion. White said she will discuss it with Paradise Advertising as this could take money that is not in the budget or possibly take away from brand recognition. Helms moved to approve the Local Event Application. Crum seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Ad Agency - Paradise Advertising Agency Webb gave a PowerPoint presentation. Other Business / Public Input Snow (Weber’s Skate World) said there are some big events coming up. He said the Legends Clinic where participants must be certified to race on track for the United States Championships is in November. Snow said he wants to thank everyone for their help in generating such a unique opportunity. He said there are two world champions coming to the area, one from Spain and the other from Paraguay, to lead the clinic. Snow said the Emerald Coast Challenge is January 14th through the 19th. Adjournment There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 9:56 a.m.