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Board of County Commissioners <br />Meeting Minutes - Final July 2, 2019 <br />Recommended Action: <br />Staff recommends that the Board of County Commissioners approve the funding <br />amounts recommended by the Tourist Development Council as shown in Table 2 <br />for the total allocation of $998,450 and authorize the County Attorney to prepare <br />standard grant agreements for all funding recipients. <br />Attachments: Staff Report <br />City of Vero Beach Councilwoman Laura Moss discussed the Tourist Development <br />Council (TDC) recommendations for the Tourist Tax revenue, objecting to the <br />proposed increases for the Indian River County and Sebastian Chambers of <br />Commerce. She questioned the use of tourist tax revenues to fund salaries within <br />the Chambers of Commerce, as well as the timing of the Chambers' presentations to <br />the TDC. Councilwoman Moss urged the Board to continue funding for the <br />Cultural Council and the Chambers at the same level as Fiscal Year 2018/2019. <br />Commissioner Flescher provided clarity regarding the timing of the Chambers' <br />presentations, commended the current TDC, and attested to the Chambers' <br />effectiveness at promoting tourism in the County. <br />Councilwoman Moss continued addressing the Board with comments about the two <br />Chambers and their budgets. <br />Vice Chairman Adams, Chair of the TDC, spoke in support of the TDC's <br />procedures and the Chambers. <br />The Board consensus was for the County Attorney to conduct a legal review of the <br />TDC guidelines. <br />County Administrator Jason Brown welcomed the review of the TDC guidelines by <br />the County Attorney. He also pointed out that there was an accounting function <br />dedicated to the Tourist Development portion of the Chambers, separate from the <br />traditional part of the Chambers. He noted that the County's Tourist Tax has <br />doubled since the economic downturn. <br />Jennifer Bates, Owner/Operator Tourist Accommodations appointee to the TDC, <br />spoke of the promotional work done by the Chambers to attract tourists, and <br />supported the additional tourist tax funding. <br />Dori Stone, President, Indian River County Chamber of Commerce, thanked the <br />Board for its support of the Chambers and announced that a detailed review of how <br />the Chambers utilize the tourist taxes will be presented in September 2019. <br />Amber Batchelor, President, Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce, <br />discussed the work of the Chambers, its fiscal responsibility, and thanked the Board <br />Indian River County Florida Page 7 <br />