Discount Tickets to Music Festival

The Panama City Beach Seafood, Wine & Music Festival kicks off the weekend festivities Friday, October 10th at Frank Brown Park on Panama City Beach.

The festival will feature musical entertainment from .38 Special, Blues Traveler, and Craig Morgan with tons of stuff to do with the kids in between.

Schedule of Events

FRIDAY: 4pm-11pm – 38 Special @ 9pm

Gates Open – 4pm – Marketplace, Bouncer Village, Food & Amusements all open
Sand Sculpture Ribbon Cutting – 4:45pm – Sponsored by Pineapple Willy’s
Jones & Company Band – 4pm-7pm – Clear Channel Stage (mainstage)
Grand Wine Tastings in Wine Garden – 4p-6p
Chef Exhibition in Chef Tent – 5pm (Chef John from Hammerhead Fred’s)
VIP Tent Open – 5p-11p (VIP passes required)
Panhandle Star Competition (Top 10 finalists) – 7p – Clear Channel Stage (mainstage)
King Cotton Band – 8p – Clear Channel Stage (mainstage)
38 Special – 9pm – Clear Channel Stage (mainstage)

**Unlimited amusements & bouncers arm bands are available for one price through Saturday – see amusements ticket booth and/or bouncers ticket booth for details

SATURDAY: 11a-11pm – Blues Traveler @ 9pm

Gates Open – 11a – Marketplace, food, Family Fun Days activities, amusements, all open
Family Fun Days 11a-3p – Stilt Walkers, Balloon Artists, Face Painters, Bouncer Village, Sand Sculpting, Hands on Art by Visual Arts Center, live kids concerts, Gallaghers Gymnastics presentations, and more
Lunch With Sponge Bob – 11:30am-12:30pm – Coca Cola Tent (dining tent) $5 per child up to 12 years old, $8 per person 13+ (includes Pizza & Coca-Cola)
Steve’s Kazoo Krew Band – 11a-12:30pm – Coca Cola Stage (dining tent)
Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience Band – 12:30p-1:30pm – Colonial Bank Stage in KIDS VILLAGE
Half Price Temp Tattoos @ Tat Shack – 12:30p-1:30pm – KIDS VILLAGE
Sand Sculpting for Kids with master Sand Sculptor Mark Flynn – 1:30-2:30p – KIDS VILLAGE
On-Call Jazz Band – 1:30pm-4pm – Coca-Cola Stage (dining tent)
Gallagher’s Gymnastics Team performance – 2:30pm – Colonial Bank Stage in KIDS VILLAGE
Chef Exhibition – Chef of Reggae J’s – 3pm – Chef & Wine Tent
Grand Wine Tastings – 4p-6p – Wine Garden @ Chef & Wine Tent
De Lions of Jah Reggae Band – 4p-6:30pm – Clear Channel Stage (mainstage)
Chef Exhibtion – Chef Conrad of Boatyard – 4pm – Chef & Wine Tent
Chef Exhibition – Chef Paul of Firefly – 5pm – Chef & Wine Tent
Panhandle Star Competition Top 5 finalists – 6:30pm-7:30pm – Clear Channel Stage (mainstage)
Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience – 7:30p-8:45pm – Clear Channel Stage (mainstage)
Blues Traveler – 9pm-11pm – Clear Channel Stage (mainstage)

SUNDAY: 11a-9:30pm – Craig Morgan @ 8pm

Gates Open – 11a – Marketplace, food, Family Fun Days activities, amusements, all open
Family Fun Days – Stilt Walkers, Balloon Artists, Face Painters, Bouncer Village, Sand Sculpting, Hands on Art by Visual Arts Center, live kids concerts, Gallaghers Gymnastics presentations, and more
Lunch With Sponge Bob – 11:30am-12:30pm – Coca Cola Tent (dining tent) $5 per child up to 12 years old, $8 per person 13+ (includes Pizza & Coca-Cola)
Steve’s Kazoo Krew Band – 11a-12:30pm – Coca Cola Stage (dining tent)
Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience Band – 12:30p-1:30pm – Colonial Bank Stage in KIDS VILLAGE
Half Price Temp Tattoos @ Tat Shack – 12:30p-1:30pm – KIDS VILLAGE
Sand Sculpting for Kids with master Sand Sculptor Mark Flynn – 1:30-2:15p – KIDS VILLAGE
Timeless Band – 1:30p-3:30pm – Coca-Cola Stage (dining tent)
Gallagher’s Gymnastics Team performance – 2:30pm – Colonial Bank Stage in KIDS VILLAGE
Chef Exhibition – Chef of The Back Porch – 3pm – Chef & Wine Tent
Chef Exhibition – Chef Debbie of Breakers – 4pm – Chef & Wine Tent
Grand Wine Tastings – 4p-6p – Wine Garden @ Chef & Wine Tent
Todd Allan Herendeen Band – 3:30p-5:30pm – Clear Channel Stage (mainstage)
Chef Exhibition – Chef of Saltwater Grill – 5pm – Chef & Wine Tent
Panhandle Star Competition Top 2 finalists perform – 5:30pm-6pm – Clear Channel Stage (mainstage)
Southern Satisfaction Band – 6:15p-7:45pm – Clear Channel Stage (mainstage)
Craig Morgan – 8pm – Clear Channel Stage (mainstage)
Festival officially over after Craig Morgan show – estimated time 9:30pm

*schedule subject to change without notice

Tickets can still be bought today (10/9/2008) at the advance ticket discount price. Save up to 35% and buy your tickets now! Click here to buy tickets.

New Feature – Photos from You

At the request of some of the readers of pcbdaily, we’ve added a new feature that will showcase readers’ photos of Panama City Beach. Teddy Meeks has been gracious enough to share his nature photography of our area, and this is an opportunity for some others to share their talent as well.

The pictures can be of anything Panama City Beach related, as long as it is PG, of course. For more information or to submit your photos, visit photos from you.

To kick this off, Lori Duncan has submitted a couple of photos from the west end.

Colorful

Although Hurricane Fay brought some seaweed and ink sea slugs to our beaches, the water really took on some brilliant colors in its aftermath.

Hungry Bird

Daniel gets face time with a local beggar.

After the Storm

Sunsets are always beautiful on the Emerald Coast. This one was taken from the beach at Pinnacle Port, on the west side of Panama City Beach, a couple of days after Hurricane fay.

If you have photos you want displayed in this feature, click here to submit you photos.

Real Estate Market Conditions on Panama City Beach – September

September 2008 Report – Panama City Beach

Slightly over 4.5 % of the total Beach inventory for detached single family homes sold in September, down from slightly over 5% in August. If all things hold steady, there is over 19 months of inventory on the market. As of Oct 04, 2008 there were 750 DSF listed in the Bay County Association of REALTORS® MLS System for Panama City Beach. Out of the 34 homes that sold in September, 9 were foreclosures, 1 was a short sale, 3 were builder sales and the rest were typical sales. September 08 was 17% slower than August of 08 in total DSF’s sold, 34 compared to 41. The foreclosure rate of sales for detached single family homes on the Beach fell slightly to 26.5% of all the sales for September compared to 30 % in August. The absorption rate decreased slightly from 5% to 4.5% but the overall inventory of DSF also fell from 780 to 750. Out of the 35 homes 1 canal front home sold. There were no other waterfront sales. The average price per square foot was $142, including all 34 homes. However, if we nixed the top and bottom 5 the average price per square foot actually rose to $147.16. The average days on the market for all 34 homes was 206, a 12.5% decrease compared to August, which was 236. As of October 4th there are 66 DSF under contract (about 8.8 %) and 750 listed. This is a 3% improvement over August . These numbers overall are more positive than negative and reflect a slight strengthening. This is no time for elation but any sign of encouragement is welcomed.

2.6 % of the total Beach inventory of condominiums sold in September. This indicates a 38.5 month inventory of condominiums on the Beach and the statistics are basically the same for gulf front condo’s. As of October 6th there were 1582 total condominium listings, 1090 of which are gulf front. Out of the 41 total condominiums that sold in September only 4 were foreclosures (or slightly under 10%), one of which sold at auction, 5 were short sales (about 12 %), the other 78% were conventional sales. If gulf front condo’s were considered alone, all 25 sold for an average of $264.35 per square foot. If all condos are taken into consideration, the average price per square foot slips to $224.42. The average days on market for all condo’s sold is 134 and for gulf front only, 143 . As of October 6th there are 90 condos under contract out of 1582 total for the beach, or slightly over 5.6 %, and out of that there are 40 gulf front out of 1090 listed, a bit less than 3.7%. The numbers in September trended negative for condos. The absorption rate decreased from 3% to 2.6%, the average price per square foot declined for all condos about 9% and for gulf front 9.25%. There were less than half as many foreclosures sold but a significant growth in short sales or pre-foreclosures. The silver lining is that the overall inventory decreased by 38 units.

No inventory for multi-family homes sold in September. There are 65 active listings and 2 under contract as of October 6th.

About 2.6% of attached family homes sold in September for a total of 7 sales out of 266 listings. This leaves about 38 months of inventory on the market. There were 3 foreclosures sold out of the 7 and the average days on market was 88. The average price per square foot was $178.52. There are currently 19 units under contract. This sector of the market, though slipping a bit in absorption rate by about 1%, improved strongly in price per square foot, 22.5%, and decreased in average days on market by 26%. That is the bright spot in the market this month. It ought to be noted, however, the product that sold was a newer product across the board than last month’s sold inventory.

Sold	Listed	Avg DOM	Avg Price/SF	Mo’s of Inv	Abs. Rate	Forcl	Undr Const
Detached Single Family
34	750	206	147.16	19	4.5%	26.5%	66
Condo’s Total Panama City Beach
41	1582	134	224.42	38.5	2.6%	10%	90
Condo’s Gulf Front Only
25	1090	143	264.35	27.7	3.6%		40
Multi-Family
0	65
Attached Single Family
7	266	88	178.52	22.5	2.6%	42%	19

There are some things to keep in mind. One, these are snap shot reports not movies. There can be huge swings month to month which may yield either despair or elation depending on whether there is a sharp increase or decrease.

Second, these reports relate to posted listings and sales in the Bay County Association of REALTORS MLS System. Some sales occur “for sale by owner” or at auction. The average days on market for a property to sell is based upon a selling price that is competitive with the average sale price per square foot of the units that have sold. One must even fine tune it further because the average sales price per square foot that sold ought to be more tailor fit for a particular property based on age, condition, and location.

Buyers should note that there are far more seller-sold deals moving in this market than there are foreclosures. It would be foolish to simply look at foreclosures as de facto, the best deal of all. Many sellers are equally or perhaps more motivated than many of the banks that own property. All of us need to realize that there is simply far too much inventory on the market and both REALTORS® and sellers would do the market a favor if they could pull inventory that is simply overpriced. The only way value will build again is when the absorption rate improves and inventory decreases.

If you’re overpriced now you have very little chance of moving your property. In this market, one should sell only if one must; it is not a wise time to sell if it is discretionary. Buyers should be strongly encouraged by these market conditions.

Guessing the bottom of the market is like guessing the bottom of the stock market. We have been in a three year price correction. Our airport is well underway, we have had major improvements, businesses have come to our area, our property taxes have been lowered, Lord willing we will escape hurricane season with little damage, our election cycle will be soon over, the dollar is beginning to strengthen once again, even insurance rates have been eased in most cases, interest rates are near historical lows and the war is seeming a bit more victorious than defeatist in the most recent months.

All these positives must weigh in against the challenges that we have faced both locally and nationally and we all hope, with good reason, that in fairly short order the momentum will shift and affect our market positively. (The statistics provided above were all true as of September 2008 and were the product of Bay County Association of REALTORS® MLS System.)

Scott Seidler GRI
Broker-Associate
Prudential Shimmering Sands Realty
850-774-5007
ScottAndSonjaRealEstate.com

TDC – Interactive Selection Committee Meeting

On Friday, October 10th at 10:30 am the Interactive Selection Committee will meet to discuss the Requests for Qualifications (RFQ) received for the new TDC web site. The Interactive Selection Committee consists of Marty McDaniel and Buddy Wilkes.

During the meeting Susan Estler, VP of marketing for the CVB will present staff recommendations and review the qualifications of the other agencies that want to become involved with our future interactive marketing opportunities.

This should be a pretty cool meeting, I plan to be there.

AGENDA

INTERACTIVE SELECTION COMMITTEE
Panama City Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc.
Panama City Beach
Friday, October 10, 2008 10:30 a.m. Board Room, Visitor
Information Center

I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER

II. ROLL CALL

III. REQUESTS TO ADDRESS THE COMMITTEE ON AGENDA ITEMS (3 Minutes)

IV. PRESENTATION OF STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS, Ms. Susan Estler, VP of Marketing

V. REVIEW AND CONSIDER RECOMMENDATIONS TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Mr. Marty McDaniel, Chairman

VI. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

VII. ADJOURNMENT

Please Note: If anyone would like to review the RFQ’s in advance of the Committee meeting, copies are available for review at the CVB Offices.

Click here to download the agenda.

PCBDaily Twitter Weekly Updates for 10-7-2008

About to adjorn for an hour to allow architecture firm to come up with costs. #
At airport workshop meeting. Airport board grilling architecture firm about fees for redesign. #
The race has started and the bud light boat is in the lead. Holy crap these things are fast. And loud, very loud. #
On top of seahaven, full course in view, waiting for races to start #
They justed started the aqua mania. It has a turbine jet engine and sounds like it is about to take off. #
These boats, as they crack to life and the revs roar, I’m certain they can be heard for miles. #
At the boat race pits at marina landing. These boats are crazy loud. #

The New TDC Website

Imagine that you’re a tourist (which we all are, at some point and place). You’re heading home from a great (or not-so-great) visit to Panama City Beach, Florida. You see 2 or 3 billboards on your way out, thanking you for choosing Panama City Beach, and a sincere request to “let us know how we’re doing!”

You see a HUGE “VisitPanamaCityBeach.com” web address and the good old-fashioned “1-800-PCBEACH” phone number to send your feedback. Whether you give feedback or not, doesn’t this at least make you think about how you feel about your vacation?

The new ability to phone right then and there from the car, or get online quickly once you get home, is something that today’s consumer is taking advantage of. Customers are letting their voices be heard, and they’ll talk to Bay County too, especially if we ask them. (And we need to ask more than 400 of them per month).

Those billboards and a feedback campaign would be a pretty smart way to spend TDC advertising dollars, if TDC advertising dollars must be spent.

The TDC/CVB’s staff’s main objective should be to listen to our tourists, save the data and share it with local bed tax collectors and Bay County businesses. This is marketing research. And in such a campaign, a very simple website is all that is needed to accomplish this tactic.

Instead, the TDC’s new website plans include selling ads, renting rooms and generating revenue. They will be able to accomplish this after they spend money to develop the new site, to the tune of $110,000.

If the CVB succeeds at building an effective, easy to use, money-making e-commerce website (HARD TO DO, I ASSURE YOU), our governmental Council is then, in one way or another, competing with a multitude of other business’ websites. From the bed tax collectors themselves, all the way to sites such as Google and Expedia, VisitPanamaCityBeach.com would be in the business-website business. Which is no business for real Tourism Development, in my humble opinion.

Just remember this, bed tax collectors… every dollar you spend on online marketing is about to be supplanted with your own bed tax dollars, in a partner-like, yet competitive kind of way.

Please use that hard-earned bed tax to get information you need to improve your own marketing and advertising. Don’t let the TDC get into the business of competing with your business.

Bud Light Boat Stomps by 28 Seconds

As mentioned earlier, the Bud Light Offshore Racing Team was truly in a class of their own Sunday. Out of the 5 boats that raced in the Superboat Unlimited class, the Bud Light Team averaged an astounding 28 second lead ahead of the second place boat, winning first place.

Around 10 am the boats started arriving at Marina Landing on Panama City Beach, just at the foot of the Hathaway Bridge. The boats were lifted from their trailers and lowered into the water, sometimes right into their respective slips.

“It was a great race. We got to the crane early, so we changed the gears and the props. That was definitely the right call,” said Johnny Tomlinson, Throttleman.

With 12 scheduled laps, the checkered flag was thrown on the 11th lap due to overwhelming mechanical failure of other boats. 24 boats competed in National Championships on this 6 mile course.

The wind was a gusty 15 knots early in the day and the seas had a moderate chop, but calmed as the day wore on.

“It just goes to show you, give us a little rough water and that’s the key. In this kind of race, the boat has to do some of the work and the motors don’t have to do it all. If you give us 2- to 3-foot seas, we’ve got an even playing field,” said Dave Scott, owner/driver.

The Bud Light Offshore Racing Team has a total of 67 wins with 10 National Championship Titles, 8 World Championship Titles, 6 Top Gun Titles, and 6 Official Speed Records.

The next and last scheduled race this year will be in Key West, Florida November 2 – 9.

More New Stores Open in Pier Park

Pier Park Welcomes Baja Grille, Carter’s Clothing, Déjà-vu, Journeys, Lids and Shimmering Seas Jewelry and Gifts

Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG), the country’s largest owner, developer and manager of high-quality retail real estate, welcomes several specialty shops that have recently opened at Pier Park, the 900,000-square-foot retail and entertainment lifestyle center located on 93 acres that covers land from Front Beach Road (at the City Pier) to the heavily traveled Highway 98 (Back Beach Road).

Pier Park, which boasts eight anchors and nearly 100 retailers currently open, is continuously expanding to offer the Emerald Coast and tourists a more enhanced shopping experience.

Tenants that have debuted in the last two months include the following:

Baja Grille
Carter’s Clothing
Déjà-vu
Journeys
Lids
Shimmering Seas Jewelry and Gifts

Baja Grille’s concept revolves around fresh, contemporary and consistently outstanding Southwestern, Cajun, Caribbean and American cuisines – a unique combination along with outstanding service, fine wines and tempting desserts all served in a stylish, high-energy Tropical design atmosphere. Baja Grille opens today, October 6.

“We are pleased to be part of Simon’s Pier Park,” said K. Soliman, a senior executive and founder of Baja Grille. “The welcoming neighbors and friendly customers always make us feel right at home; everyday welcomes a new face and brings back a familiar one.”

Carter’s Clothing opened its doors on August 27, 2008. Carter’s Clothing offers clothing for children from newborn through size seven including baby sleepwear, play-clothes and accessories. Carter’s offers trusted products that are super comfy, easy care, adorable and don’t break the bank. Carter’s has around 200 stores in the United States.

Déjà-vu offers the trendiest, quality merchandise with affordable specialty store prices, combined with one-of-a-kind customer service. Déjà-vu opened for shoppers at Pier Park on August 22, 2008.

Stephanie Nichols, owner of Deja-vu, said, “Pier Park has been Fabulous! It has gone above and beyond my expectations.”

Journeys is a destination retailer for footwear and accessories for the teen market. Journeys caters to a diverse, young, hip market in search of footwear that expresses its attitudes and lifestyles. Brands sold at Journeys include: Dr. Martens, Converse, Lugs, Steve Madden, Timberland, Vans, Diesel, Adidas, Candie’s, GBX and more. Journey’s opened at Pier Park on September 22, 2008.

Lids, which opened at Pier Park on September 19, 2008, is the world’s largest retailer specializing in the sale of officially licensed and branded headwear. Every store offers a vast assortment of college, MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL teams, as well as other specialty fashion categories all in the latest styles and colors.

Shimmering Seas Jewelry and Gifts offers jewelry and gifts, specializing in exotic jewelry creations. Shoppers can find a variety of elegant sterling, gold, pearls, diamonds and much more. Shimmering Seas Jewelry and Gifts opened on August 25, 2008.

“We opened our store in late August during tropical storm Fay, and despite the many hurricane scares that week, we still had many excited customers in and out of the store,” said Laurie Olshefski, owner of Shimmering Seas Jewelry and Gifts and Jake At The Beach (Life is Good Shoppe). “We anticipate great things for the holidays in Pier Park. We have been busy ordering and stocking our stores with wonderful gift items.”

Stores currently open includes the following:

Anchors
Borders
Dillard’s
JCPenney
Margaritaville
Old Navy
Ron Jon Surf Shop
Target
The Grand 16 Theatres

Specialty Shops
A.M. Cafe Accessories On The Boardwalk
Aeropostale
Alltel Wireless
American Eagle Outfitters
Ann Taylor Loft
Aqua Gallery
As Seen On TV & More
Ava Blue Boutique
Back Porch Seafood & Oyster House
Baja Grille
Bath & Body Works
Beach Scene
BeBo’z
Bellies & Babies
Blender Clothing, a fusion boutique
Bootleg Barbeque
Buffalo Wild Wings
Caché
Camille’s Sidewalk Café
Candy Maker
Carlyle & Co.
Carter’s Clothing
Chico’s
Claire’s
Coldwater Creek
Cost Cutters
Counts Oakes Resort Properties
Déjà vu
Del Sol
Emerald Coast Photography
Fish Tales
Five Guys Famous Hamburgers & Fries
Footprints Coastal Decor
GameStop
GNC
Great American Cookies PretzelMaker
Guglielmo’s Italian Restaurant
Hana Japan
Hofbrau Beer Garden
Hollister Co.
Jake at the Beach (Life is Good)
Jos. A. Bank
Journeys
Justice
Kay Jewelers
Kilwin’s Chocolates & Ice Cream
Lane Bryant/Cacique
Lids
LongHorn Steakhouse
Marble Slab Creamery
Massage Envy
Maurices
Merle Norman Cosmetics Studio
Mermaid Trading Co.
Motherhood Maternity
Nails So Happy
New York & Company
No Regrets Stationery and Gifts
Olive Garden
PacSun
Paint’n Place
Panera Bread
Paradise Found
Payless ShoesSource
Peace Frogs
Perfumania
Popcorn Kingdom
Quizno’s Sub
Rack Room Shoes
Red Brick Pizza
Reggae J’s Island Grill
Regions Bank
Rocky’s South Philly Cheesesteaks
Runway Collection
Shimmering Seas Jewelry and Gifts
Solace Day Spa & Salon
Southern Waters Outfitters
Starbucks
Sunglass World
Sunsights by Solstice
Tatoe Tots
The Eye Gallery
The Walking Company
Tilly’s
Tootsies Orchid Lounge
Trader Tom’s
Tran Fashion
Ulta Beauty
Unique Boutique by Irene & Co.
Verizon
Victoria’s Secret
Yankee Candle
Zales

About Pier Park
Located in the heart of Panama City Beach, Pier Park is destined to become the region’s premier shopping address. Developed by Simon Property Group and comprising nearly 900,000 square feet, the open-air regional lifestyle center is anchored by Borders, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, Old Navy, Ron Jon Surf Shop, Target and The Grand 16 Theatres. Pier Park is also comprised of fashion and specialty retailers, including exciting new-to-market choices such as Ann Taylor Loft, Caché, Chico’s, Coldwater Creek, Hollister Co., Jos. A. Bank, Lane Bryant and Ulta Beauty. In addition, the center embraces many unique dining options such as Hofbrau Beer Garden, Back Porch Seafood & Oyster House, Bootleg Barbeque, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Longhorn Steakhouse, Panera Bread, Reggae J’s Island Grill, Tootsies Orchid Lounge and many more. Shoppers can also enjoy movies at The Grand 16 Theatres, which features stadium seating, digital sound, advance ticketing over the Internet, three concession areas, a specialty café and game room. For more information about Pier Park, please visit http://www.simon.com

About Simon Property Group
Simon Property Group, Inc. is an S&P 500 company and the largest public U.S. real estate company. Simon is a fully integrated real estate company which operates from five retail real estate platforms: regional malls, Premium Outlet Centers®, The Mills®, community/lifestyle centers and international properties. It currently owns or has an interest in 383 properties comprising 261 million square feet of gross leasable area in North America, Europe and Asia. The Company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and employs more than 5,000 people worldwide. Simon Property Group, Inc. is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol SPG. For further information, visit the Company’s website at http://www.simon.com.

Airport Terminal Contract Awarded

After nearly two weeks of brainstorming, collaboration, and value engineering, Walbridge and HNTB came back with just over $10 million in savings. This is still $3 million more than originally budgeted, but the reduction is $5 million greater than estimated at the last meeting.

Not a quarrel was made about the savings, but there was plenty of discussion about the fee at which HNTB was to charge for the services rendered in order to perform the savings exercise. We’ll get into that is a bit, but first, lets discuss the savings and what they entail.

Among other things, the terminal canopy is being reduced “dramatically”. The renderings have changed, reflecting the overall look of the new terminal. The new canopy will be of a different material with the materials used for the wall structure consisting of steel frame that will be covered with stucco – replacing the previous wall of windows. The savings in the canopy modifications alone ring in around $1 million.

In the redesign of the terminal, the architecture firm was striving to keep consistent with the “Florida Cracker” look and feel using wood and other natural-looking materials. The trellis arrangement that was originally to be visible from the inside of the terminal has been removed from the plans with the structure support now coming from a series of columns, some visible and others built into the walls.

Also, instead of purchasing new passenger bridges that will pass passengers to the aircraft, the board will purchase “pre-owned” bridges.

One of the largest savings came with a modification of the baggage handling/screening process. The original system, the way I understand it, consisted of a sophisticated automatic process that far exceeded the minimum safety requirements of the TSA. A savings of $1.6 million brought in a system that still meets TSA requirements, but isn’t as “fancy” as the original system.

Now the topic of much debate. Why should the Airport Authority Board have to pay a fee to HNTB for the redesign process that was to get the cost back down to budget. This is a very valid point in that, if I tell you a web site I build for you will be one price, then after we work through a process to determine your needs and hammer out all the details, the price is 25% more than the original quote, then I charge you money to work through with you to get the price back down to budget, is that right?

Well, I’m afraid the answer is actually quite a bit more complex than that. In fact, it is probably quite a bit more complex than I understand.

You see, it all started in April or May of this year when the bid was 95% complete and all the numbers still looked on target. As one of the board members so pointedly put it, “so the terminal went over budget $14 million in the last 5%?”

Jeff Dealy, with KBR, explained this as sort of an anomaly. With materials costs rising sharply right around the April/May time period and the “bid sheets hitting the streets” at that same time, the bids the architecture firm was receiving from its consultants were coming in higher than originally anticipated. The problem is that today was the first many had heard of this; and the question is who’s fault is it?

The Airport Authority Board insists that the fault lies with HNTB. Joe Tannehill stated that if HNTB had noticed the costs going out of control, they should have said something early on so as not to have had to go through this excersise in the first place. Board member Bill Cramer was pushing for an “outside” number, a “not to exceed” estimate on the fee HNTB would be charging the board to perform the VE excersise. At the time of the meeting, HNTB didn’t have the fee number solidified and was unprepared to give a quote. Joe Tannehill stated that he didn’t beleive there should be a fee at all because if the architecture firm was “doing their job”, they would be at budget.

After around 30 minutes of rather interesting dialogue, Chairman Tannehill made a motion to have a recess and return at 12 giving HNTB time to figure out what the fee would be and to return with a suitable number.

The decision had to be make today, so the Board needed all the information so as to eliminate as many future unknowns as possible.

After the recess, it was decided by HNTB that the fee cost would be more than what was considered suitable, but that they would cap it at $500,000.

It was suggested by Andy McKenzie that HNTB only charge the Board the direct costs it incured and payed out to outside consultants that HNTB did not own.

A motion was made and passed to approve the bid and award the contract with the allowance of the board to address who was going to pay for HNTB’s fee.

That was it as I understand it, please feel free to correct anything I said if it was wrong or the wrong assumption was made at any point.

Mr. Minor, will you please send me an email as I’d like to pick your brain a little on the dynamics of all of this.

Boat Race This Weekend

You know, it is actually kind of a shame, the lack of media presence at this awesome event, that is. There wasn’t even anything in the New Herald this morning. I took tons of pictures and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

The “staging” area was truly a sight to behold. If you are subscribed to our twitter page, you were getting messages as I was nearly getting my ear drums blown with the loud crack and roar of the huge race boat engines. All of the ones that I asked were running 500+cu V-8’s with many running superchargers. 800 to 1000 hp per engine was common.

In order to get the boats in the water, they were brought close to the marina on their trailers, then lifted with a crane above the pilings, over the docks and lowered into the water; many times, directly into their respective slip.

Many crews were up late Saturday night and into Sunday morning tweaking their engines, and one team to speak of actually had to replace a ruptured head gaskett. When the boat was first placed in the water was the first opportunity they had to test the motor in the water.

At first, race teams were worried about the wind and the chop size in the gulf, but things actually calmed down and the surf was quite mild.

Tourist and locals alike crowded the beach in droves craving to see the action that was to happen a mere 300 yards from the shoreline. I was perched atop the Towne of Seahaven’s Origin building with a view of almost the entire course, except the start finish line.

Unbeknown to me, my “spot” was also the “spot” of a couple of the race teams and their coordinators. With their communications equipment in place and their headsets on, they awaited the start of the race so as to relay live, real time information to their pilots and other crew.

When the race began, the Bud Light boat shot out in front to capture a lead that grew rapidly throughout the race. It was very obvious that this boat was truly in it’s own class.

There were several classes racing, but the Bud Light team won overall.

This event was here last year and I beleive the year before. I challenge the local media outlets to give this event more coverage in the future. We need to support these events that come to our area.