St. Johns Considers Raising Tourism Funding Limits
It’s not just consumers feeling the pinch of higher prices. Event organizers are also responding to inflationary pressures, and tourism officials in St. Johns County are looking to give them a boost – in tourism grant dollars.
St. Johns County commissioners heard a presentation earlier this month from Tera Meeks, director of tourism and cultural affairs, about removing the program funding limits for tourist development grants.
According to a county staff report, the funding limits were put in place as part of an update to the county’s tourist development plan in 2011 “and are no longer felt to be reasonable as a result of program growth and inflation.”
In her presentation, Meeks said the current limits include a cap of $460,000 for debt service at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre, $100,000 for the annual Nights of Lights celebration, as well as money for the Players Championship, firework displays on New Year’s Eve and July 4th, and the visitor information centers.
Asked by Commissioner Krista Joseph if new funding amounts have been included in the proposed tourism development budget, Meeks said the budget conforms to the existing limits.
“What was presented to the Tourist Development Council was a recommended budget,” Meeks said. “In the discussions of that budget there was some discussion that these existing limits were a little outdated. We will include some increased funding if this is approved.”
The recommendation to remove the grant limits was approved by the TDC in June, suggesting that programmatic funding requests be reviewed annually as part of the budget process.
The measure requires a second public reading at a future County Commission meeting.
