By Julia Roberts
Fernandina Beach City Commissioner Tim Poynter, who is a member of the Amelia Island Tourist Development Council (TDC), wants the TDC to help pay for the revitalization of the city’s historic downtown, as it supports the tourism industry.
Much of downtown infrastructure is 50 years old; sidewalks are buckling, street drainage does not function as it should, trees are past their prime as well as landscaping, lighting is old and in some cases cannot be replaced. Costs of a major overhaul of the city’s downtown have been estimated to be in the $10 million to $15 million range. The city has explored funding mechanisms for the project, including asking voters to approve a bond or using revenue from paid parking.
The Nassau County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) is the governing body of the TDC, and has the authority to approve, or disapprove, expenditures made by the TDC.
Florida House Bill 7031, passed during the 2015 legislative session, revised the purposes for which a county may use tax revenues derived from the tourist development tax as well as revising certain conditions that must be satisfied for a county to use certain tax revenue.
At the Amelia Island Tourist Development Council (AITDC) Aug. 25 meeting, TDC members approved six resolutions which recommend the BOCC approve allocations to sponsor events and organizations that support tourism on Amelia Island. The expenditures approved were: $20,000 to the Amelia Island Museum of History; $5,000 to Crescendo Amelia Big Band; $25,000 to the Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival; $15,000 to Story and Song Center for Arts and Culture; $50,000 to the Chairman’s Club with Gator Bowl Sports; $250,000 to Cellet Travel Services.
After the TDC approved recommending those sponsorships to BOCC, Poynter spoke, noting that the TDC has “done an incredible job attracting millions of people to our island and it’s wearing out downtown Fernandina.
“We’ve obviously been struggling with that. It’s obviously not something we do on an ad valorem tax basis. It’s a big deal, a big dollar amount,” Poynter said. “We are looking for some dollars, and with this new statute that was approved in July, the reason I am making this motion was to simply move to recommend the BOCC enter into a local agreement with the City of Fernandina Beach to pro-rate a portion of Tourism Development Tax that’s raised in the city limits to be spent in the city limits, as limited by the requirements of the Florida statute.”
Assistant County Manager Marshall Eyerman said that while the language in FL 125.0104(5)(a)6 has changed, so far the only effect it had locally was to allow the county to help the city pay for more lifeguards on Amelia Island beaches. He said using Tourism Development Tax money for capital projects, such as the downtown revitalization, would have to be approved after thorough vetting.
“When you’re looking at capital improvements, you have to go through a process,” Eyerman said. “The number one goal has been marketing, promoting tourism, putting heads in beds. If you’re going to shift to capital (projects) we have to go through legal criteria. That’s something we all need to keep in the back of our minds.”
John Martin chairs AITDC and is a county commissioner, representing District 1, which includes Fernandina Beach. While he said he wants to support the city, he urged caution.
“For us to be informed before we vote, we should hear Mr. Eyerman’s research on the legislative changes and we should give the county attorney’s office the opportunity to review this for something to come up on a future TDC meeting as an agenda item, regardless of what the feedback is from the county attorney’s office,” he said.
Martin tabled the motion, ending the possibility of the TDC approving Poynter’s request at the meeting. However, he said that does not mean the end of the discussion or the hope the TDC could help the city. Both he and Poynter said it was the beginning of that discussion; official action could not take place before budgeting begins for the 2026-27 Fiscal Year.
Commissioner Martin said the public perception of the TDC, and its financial abilities, is not accurate.
“Contrary to what we see on social media, and for folks that don’t have access to this kind of information, they think the TDC has a ton of money, let them get it from the TDC,” he said. “(Whether the TDC can support capital projects) is something we can have county staff, CBV and city staff talk about going forward. If there’s an authorized use that can supplant ad valorem taxes, we should look into that to see if it is legal, then it has to meet budgetary restrictions.
“I am not going to stonewall this,” Martin assured Poynter and the public. “Regardless of whether it passes legal review or not, we should have that opportunity to be brought on a future agenda. And not on a future agenda like months down the road. We would expedite this so Commissioner Poynter and the city have an answer on this as soon as possible. I don’t know where I am on this, but I also know I am not trying to stonewall it. We need to be more prepared.”
jroberts@nassaunewsline.net
