Subject:
Title
Approval of the Tourist Development Council FY 2020-2021 Cultural Support Grant Program recommendations.
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Fiscal Impact:
FY 2020-2021: $175,000 for listed grants is budgeted in the Cultural Fund 1446/293020
Dept/Office:
Tourism Development Office
Requested Action:
Recommendation
It is requested that the Board of County Commissioners approve the Tourist Development Council’s recommendation to approve funding for the following FY 2020-2021 Cultural Grant Applications listed in Attachment “A”. In approving these grants, the Board makes the necessary legislative findings as further described in the summary explanation section below. Additionally, it is requested that the Tourism Development Office Director be authorized to negotiate and sign all necessary grant agreements and related documents upon County Attorney and Risk Management approval and authorize the County Manager to execute necessary budget change requests.
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Summary Explanation and Background:
The Board of County Commissioners, at the October 6, 2020 meeting, tabled the agenda item and asked for further clarification on potential Return on Investment (ROI) from Cultural events and programs. This updated information is found in Attachment B, which takes the verified attendees from outside of Brevard County to an event or program (determined by the Tourism Development Office’s cellular device tracking software), and is multiplied by an average visitor spending number, which came from a 2019 Economic Contribution study produced for the Brevard Cultural Alliance by Florida Tech University. This is included under Attachment C.
The Cultural Grant Program is designed to promote Tourism in Brevard County by funding tourist-oriented cultural and special events such as visual and performing arts including theater, concerts, recitals, opera, dance, art exhibitions and other tourist-related activities. The grants are administered by the Cultural Committee of the Tourist Development Council. The grant program assists the County in attracting Tourists to attend high quality cultural events in order to generate significant economic impact through participant spending. At the recent Cultural Committee and Tourist Development Council meetings, it was mentioned by Committee members that Cultural events draw tourists from outside of Brevard County and that the more there is to do for visitors, the more appealing the destination becomes. Additionally, these members noted that Cultural programs not only add to the quality of life for Brevard residents, but can also influence tourists currently here to extend their stay. While the primary legislative finding the Board must determine is if one of the main purposes of the grant is the attraction of tourists, under the state statute, the evidence of the activity’s main purpose is the promotion of the event to tourists. The activity can also have other ancillary purposes/benefits to the local community.
The Cultural Committee at their September 22, 2020 meeting and the Tourist Development Council at their September 23, 2020 meeting unanimously recommended the Board approve funding the following FY 2020-2021 Cultural Grant Program applications as well as make the necessary legislative findings for each grant listed at Attachment A.
Reimbursement grants up to $10,000 are available to support events or programs that benefit Florida’s Space Coast in this manner. Cultural committee approved funding tiers were determined by applicant’s annual operating budget. Small organizations ($0-$100,000 operating budget) were eligible for up to $5,000, Medium organizations ($101,000-$400,000) were eligible for up to $7,500, and Large organizations ($401,000+) were eligible for up to $10,000.
Further, based on the facts specified for each grant in Attachment A, request the BOCC make the legislative finding that Tourist Development Tax funds are authorized for the cultural grants pursuant to Section 125.0104(5)(a)3., Florida Statutes, and Section 102-119(3)d, of the Brevard County Code of Ordinances, in that each of the tourist oriented cultural and special events have as one of its main purposes the attraction of tourists, and the entity and the Space Coast Office of Tourism both intend to ensure marketing and promotion of these events to Tourists. Additionally, request authority for the Director, Tourism Development Office to negotiate and sign all necessary grant agreements, budget change requests, and related documents to support the grants.
Clerk to the Board Instructions:
Please return a memo of the Board’s action to the Director, Tourism Development Office and County Attorney’s Office.