Backup Documents 05/08/2012 Item #11BAn t�W to u 5 Al r�.Z
Mary Lou Smart
576103 r' Avenue North, Naples, FL 34108 (239) 566 -3501 smartieml @earthlink.net
Collier County Board of Commissioners
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
I am here today to discuss the proposed change in the Tourist Development Ordinance
calling for more stringent requirements in regards to "experience."
Item 11B under the County Manager's report:
Recommendation to approve an amendment to the Tourist Development Council
(Advisory Board) Ordinance No. 92 -18, as amended, to more specifically conform to the
statutory language in Section 125.0104(4)(e), Fla. Stat., to include the TDC
recommendation to make the language more stringent with "experience'; and to
authorize Staff to advertise the Ordinance and return to Board for adoption. (Jack Wert,
Tourism Director).
Is there a great need to make the wording on this ordinance more restrictive? The Florida
statute gives county's broad power in creating the tourist development ordinances for
good reason. In one of Florida's largest county's you should be looking for wide - ranging
experience on any board that has a say in how to spend money that will promote
something as important as tourism.
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It is the job of people on the board to it the ordinance
tou4sm. I'm not sure that "tourism experience" is & best qualifier,
t- &afdinam -e. The ordinance, for example, specifically states that the funding of beach
facilities is definitely a permitted expenditure. The TDC board members who vehemently
opposed the funding of the beach facility that will be built in north Naples were the
hoteliers. Meanwhile, beaches all over Florida and all over Collier County have beach
facilities that are well -loved by repeat visitors to our area. This amenity will benefit
tourism, and therefore benefit our local economy, and the ones who would supposedly
have the greatest "tourism experience" voted against it.
Tourism is much more than hotels, and I question the wisdom of painting yourself into a
box dominated by the same people with self- serving interests who do nothing more than
chant the advertising -only mantra. These public funds should be used to promote tourism
in Collier County, but they were never intended to be an advertising subsidy for private
businesses. If you are reviewing the ordinance, however, someone might like to note that
there is no place in the Florida statute or the Collier County ordinance that says that the
busiest hotel with the highest room rates should have a permanent seat on this board, as
was recently suggested.
The state statute mentions drawing representation from "tourist accommodations" that
are subject to the tourist tax, and that can be interpreted many ways. Instead of more
stringent wording, please keep your options open to be able to choose appropriate
representation from the entire county and to include varied types of tourism business.
Everglades City, for instance, does a fantastic job of promoting itself as an ecotourism
destination. Why don't you consider an Everglades City tourism professional for your next
opening?
The ordinance that is being discussed was reviewed and approved by voters in a
referendum. If there is such a great need to change this ordinance, don't you need to
bring it back to the voters?
Thank you.
Mary Lou Smart
567103 rd Avenue North
Naples, FL 34108
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