Orange County commissioners accepted — with reservations and some argument — a citizen panel’s recommendations for how to spend future tourist-tax windfalls, advice that left out a convention center expansion and a billion-dollar baseball stadium.
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But despite a unanimous vote Tuesday, at least two commissioners signaled they may revisit projects the citizen’s group rejected.
That could reopen the door to reconsider the convention center’s request for $523 million to expand its footprint.
The commission isn’t bound by the advisory task force’s recommendations.
Commissioners can fund whichever programs or requests they want with tourist development taxes, or TDT money, paid by visitors in their lodging bills. Though Tuesday, county officials also warned there was not enough TDT money projected to fill every wish for those uncommitted funds.
Commissioner Mike Scott, who represents District 6 which includes International Drive and the convention center, proposed allowing 16 of 20 applicants for TDT money to pitch their project directly to the board. All the groups had previously presented to the citizens’ task force that evaluated them.
Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad objected to do-overs.
“This is not round two where everybody gets to come up and talk to us about our preferences and readjust their presentations,” she said.
Semrad prefers the county fight to change state law to make it easier for bed-tax revenues to be spent on transportation improvements, affordable housing and other community needs, which the citizen panel in its list of recommendations urged county leaders to make a “legislative priority.”
She suggested if Scott wanted to see all the pitches he should tune into Orange TV on Youtube where the task force meetings are archived.
Commissioner Mike Crabb, appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on July 31, voted to accept the citizen panel’s funding priorities but made clear he did not agree with them and would push fellow commissioners to back other requests. He is filling out the term of District 2 Commissioner Christine Moore, who had to resign-to-run for Apopka mayor.
Crabb, seeking election to the post in November, did not disclose his preferences.
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The board has not yet scheduled a future discussion on the recommendations.
At Tuesday’s meeting, about two dozen people weighed in on TDT applications during public comment, several cheerleading for $750 million to help expand the footprint of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Others championed a plan to build a parking garage near Camping World Stadium, $25 million to help build create a children’s museum in Winter Garden; and $22.5 million spread over five years to boost Immerse, an interactive arts festival in downtown Orlando.
The citizen panel, headed by former Orange County Mayor Linda Chapin and Eddy Moratin, co-founder and president of Lift Orlando, awarded top scores to four county-controlled grant programs:
- The Application Review Committee, which sought $75 million to $100 million spread over five years to replenish a fund that provides money for capital projects to organizations which submit applications explaining their project and its intended impact in the community. The previous funding cycle awarded large grants for the Winter Park Playhouse, the city of Apopka amphitheater in the Northwest Recreation Complex and the Rollins Museum of Art.
- The newly created Natural Resources Tourism Infrastructure Program, which sought $10 million a year for 10 years to fund “tourism-focused” lake and river restoration and improvements for publicly accessible destinations.
- A new eco-tourism grant program, seeking $5 million a year for 10 years to improve the county’s 80 miles of natural and paved trails, enhance wildlife viewing opportunities and upgrade visitor and bicycle facilities.
- Orange County Arts & Cultural Affairs, which requested an increase in its TDT-funding formula to support cultural tourism and promote so-called “blockbuster” exhibits at museums. The request, if approved, would add about $2.5 million to $5 million annually to its budget, based on future TDT projections.
Orange task force votes down Convention Center expansion, baseball stadium
The task force also had given thumbs up to several other proposals, including the not-for-profit group 8 Waves’ plan to build a children’s museum in Winter Garden; Orange Audubon’s plan for a natural history museum near the entrance of the popular Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive; and Florida Citrus Sports’ plan to add a parking garage near Camping World stadium to address “a critical competitive weakness” for the stadium campus downtown.
Commissioners also heard a sobering truth Tuesday.
Though tourist-tax collections are on a record pace, almost certain to break the $400-million ceiling in a fiscal year for the first time in its history, the revenues are not high enough to allow the county to fund all recommended requests while still maintaining a minimum of $300 million in reserve.
Comptroller Phil Diamond has said a minimum of $300 million should be held in reserve to protect against tourism market downturns that could impair the county’s ability to pay for its ongoing obligations. He has often used a rollercoaster analogy to illustrate the up-and-down volatility of TDT.
Outlined by Danielle Philippe of the county’s division of fiscal and business services, even a modest, estimated growth in the TDT revenues would not stop reserves from plummeting below $300 million as early as fiscal year 2029, $135 million short in fiscal year 2030.
She said the reserve goal could be maintained if recommended projects were funded at lower levels.
Those are issues commissioners will have to wrestle with, said Chapin, the citizens panel co-chair.
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