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Board of County Commissioners Meeting Minutes - Final March 5, 2024 <br />Chairman Adams called for a recess at 11:17 a.m and reconvened the meeting at <br />11:25 a.m. with all members present. <br />C. Commissioner Joseph H. Earman <br />D. Commissioner Deryl Loar <br />E. Commissioner Laura Moss <br />14.E.1. 24-0224 Request from Vero Beach Film Festival to use Commission Chambers from April <br />12-14, 2024 (continued from February 20, 2024) <br />Recommended Action: Discussion <br />Attachments: Commissioner's Memorandum <br />Commissioner Moss reopened the discussion from a previous Board meeting on <br />allowing the Vero Beach Film Festival (VBFF) to use the Commission Chambers <br />for their event. She stated staff had not yet concluded their review of the <br />administrative policy on the use of the Chambers for non-governmental events, <br />and the Board was still operating under the current policy, which allowed for <br />non-governmental use of the Chambers on a case-by-case basis. <br />Commissioner Moss acknowledged the economic benefits that sporting events <br />brought to the County but also emphasized the value of cultural events in <br />generating tourist tax dollars. She expressed her support for the VBFF, which had <br />used the facility for the past two years without any issues and had been a valuable <br />contributor to the County's tourism industry. <br />Vice Chairman Flescher refuted Commissioner Moss's claim that the VBFF <br />generated tourist tax dollars. He stated no entity had assessed these dollars as <br />"heads -to -beds." There had been no organized calculation of tourist tax dollars <br />from the VBFF. He stated the Treasure Coast Sports Commission had a <br />dashboard and collected data from every hotel to present to the Chamber of <br />Commerce. This process began in 2007, and it had been discussed that all entities <br />should be doing something similar to show where revenue was generated and its <br />outcome. He stated he did not want the public to be misled into thinking that this <br />event was in any way related to tourism. <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Moss to allow the Vero Beach Film <br />Festival to use the Chamber on April 13-14, 2024. The motion failed for lack of <br />a second. <br />After the motion failed, further discussion was had between the Board and staff, <br />with Commissioner Earman in favor of the VBFF utilizing the Chambers this time <br />only. County Administrator John Titkanich stated that the Chamber had a level of <br />Indian River County Florida Page 20 <br />