Support the Panama City Airport Relocation – Write your State Representatives

Last week at the Panama City Beach Chamber’s Friday at the Beach local attorney William Harrison asked that everyone get more involved in voicing support for the airport relocation. Currently the USAC-issued 404 Permit has been temporarily suspended and full speed-construction halted pending a January 23rd court date that I assume will begin an arduous process of who is right and wrong.

Following the event, an email was sent out to the Chamber members with contact information for our Congressman and Senator and other local and state representatives asking us to write them in support of the relocation. I have sent them an email voicing my support and encourage everyone to do the same. And, just for the fun of it, I’ve started a new poll on the top right of the page titled “Do you support the airport relocation”. Please vote!

Senator Mel Martinez

Senator Bill Nelson

Congressman Allen Boyd

Governor Charlie Crist

Representative Jimmy Patronis

I have sent them all an email and hope that you will too.

This week in Pier Park – New Signs up, Grand Opening next month

Pier Park is getting close with the addition of more tenant signs this week. RedBrick Pizza, Kilwin’s Chocolate, Quiznos and Alltel all have their signs up with more signs to be added each week. The main boardwalk street is paved, windows are in most of the buildings and The Boardwalk is on schedule to have the grand opening mid February. I finished shooting the new video today and hopefully will finishing cutting it this week or next.

Fed ready to cut rates again – Is that what we need?

On Thursday, Ben Bernanke indicated that the Fed was prepared to do whatever necessary to ward off a recession, even if it meant cutting interest rates again. Many economists are speculating a .5% cut, but most anticipate a .25% cut.

I went to the Friday at the Beach Chamber event this morning and the guest speaker was Dr. Rick Harper, Director of UWF’s HAAS Center for Business Research and Economic Development. He was saying that a monetary policy is not what we need right now to spur the economy, we need a fiscal policy. He was saying that interest rate cuts are not what we need, but we need targeted tax cuts to lower and middle income groups, the large part of our consumer spenders.

This makes sense to me (although I am not against interest rate cuts). As a modern consumer, interest rate cuts don’t do me any good. If I refinanced a couple years ago to get money to spend on consumer goods, then my property value went down, and my taxes and insurance went up, how could I benefit from lower interest rates? I can’t refinance again, my property probably wouldn’t appraise, and even if it did, I’m still in debt up to my eyeballs from the last time I refinanced for more money because I couldn’t pay that debt down with my salary raise because that is going towards my raised insurance and tax bill.

Harper was saying that we need a targeted tax cut for the lower and middle income families. The lower and middle income families are the majority consumer spenders. If their bill outtake can be lowered, then they will have more free money to buy consumer goods. If they have more money to buy more consumer goods, then more people have jobs, etc., etc.

I wonder how much of a tax cut we would need to see a large-scale economic effect.

As a side note, I do see how interest rate cuts can benefit the small business. I am employed by a small business, and this is important to me. I am, by no means, against interest rate cuts.

Click here to read the article about Bernanke cutting interest rates in Januray 29, 2008.

Click here for Dr. Harper’s PowerPoint Presentation supporting his discussion at the Beach Chamber’s Friday at the Beach.

Panama City doing better than most of Florida

Using Quarter 3 numbers in 2006 and 2007, Panama City is doing better than most of the rest of the State of Florida. The average percent change in sales numbers for the whole state is -29% with the greatest change being in Ocala with a whopping -53% and the smallest change in Sarasota at -5%. Panama City came in third for smallest percentage change between Quarter 3 2006 and Quarter 3 2007 at-7% with second place (Naples) only having 77 sales in Q3 2007 and 83 sales in Q3 2006.

I’m not alone when I say our area saw the effect of the downturn before most other places and I think our area is seeing a turn-around sooner than most other places. I think we are on the backside of this market plunge and while things may get slightly worse between now and who-knows-when, I think we will see some improvement between now and this time next year.

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Notes from the TDC/CVB Board Meeting January 9th, 2008

7 of the 9 board members were present. Yonnie Patronis and Mike Nelson were absent.

Bed Tax Collection Update: Charlene Honnen, the Bay County Tourist Development Tax Specialist, updated the board. The November collections were up 3% from 2006; however, Chairman Phillips cautioned that all indications are that PCB tourism was relatively soft for 2007. Phillips mentioned that occupancy number might actually be down for the year since rates were higher due to higher rates being charged for the new upgraded accommodations.

Frank Brown Park Road: Mayor Oberst requested that the TDC consider committing approximately $34,000 to pay one-third of the cost to continue paving the road from the special event site to the new North Pier Park Dr. The bid is based on county staff completing the work. Oberst reported that the BCC agreed yesterday to pay one-third and the PCB Council was scheduled to consider the same tomorrow. Gary Walsingham inquired as to whether this type of expenditure was permissible using bed tax funds. Legal Counsel Sale responded that it was OK as long as the board made a finding that the expenditure would promote tourism in PCB. Since the TDC budget for 2007-08 does not have sufficient contingency funds, a motion was made that the board recommend to the BCC that the expenditure be approved contingent on sufficient additional funds being available after the audit currently taking place is completed. The motion passed 7-0.

Turtle Lighting Ordinance: Sale reported that staff has requested the Army Corps of Engineers move forward with the 2008 renourishment project based on the boards approval of a lighting ordinance at their last meeting. The USACE is currently awaiting comment from U.S. Fish & Wildlife. Sale cautioned the board that USF&W might revoke two major concessions (approval of non-turtle friendly safety lighting and a unusually long 5 year compliance period) since the board decided to include the grandfather provision previously rejected by USF&W.

Christmas Holiday Marketing: Chairman Phillips recommended that the CVB Marketing Committee consider opportunities for holiday-oriented activities that could increase December tourism. Possibilities discussed by the board included decorations on Front Beach Rd. similar to Lake Defuniak, sleigh rides, shopping programs, and New Year Eve fireworks.

Strategic Planning Program: Dan Rowe announced final details for the Strategic Planning Program later this month. Peter Yesawich will be speaking at Gulf Coast Community College on the 21st from 3:30 to 5:30 concerning trends in the tourism industry. This will be followed by the first workshop on the 22nd from 9:00 to 3:00 at the Edgewater Resort. The CVB has hired Bob Allen as an outside facilitator. Both sessions are open to the public.

Visitor Inquiries: Internet inquiries have been relatively flat recently and Rowe is working with Miles Media to retool the CVB’s internet marketing plans. Rowe is also considering reallocating staff due to a reduction in telephone inquiries.

Sporting Events Funding Policy: Rowe reported that Sports Marketing Director Richard Sanders was currently developing a Sporting Event Policy similar to the Special Events Policy. Compliance with the new policy will be required for any Sporting Event requesting CVB funding assistance.

College Spring Break Update: Rowe announced that the CVB’s co-op web site was running late but would be up by Monday. MTV is also running behind schedule in putting 2008 information on their site. Staff has been in contact with Campus Crusade For Life, which expects 2000-3000 volunteers to be here during college break doing community service. Their projects last year included trash cleanup and planting sea oats.

2007-08 Co-Op Advertising Update: Rowe reported that the December co-op ad fair was very successful. Agency is currently considering revisions for a few placements that the industry partners did not have an interest in.

For all posts on the TDC Meetings, click here.

I was having email problems Tuesday

If you sent me an email yesterday (Tuesday January 8th) and I did not respond to you, please resend your email. I noticed some strange things going on yesterday with my email server and still don’t know the full extent of the issue, but everything seems to be working good now.

Please, if you sent me an email yesterday and I did not respond, please resend.

Thanks.

The Top Ten Reasons It's a Great Time to Buy Real Estate

BrokerAgentNews.com released a good article about the top ten reasons to buy real estate now. The author references specifically Maricopa County a couple of times, but the reasons are still applicable everywhere.

The article talks about how there is plenty of inventory providing a great selection to buyers. A couple of years ago, buyers often had to wait in lines, lists and “play games” just to be considered as a possible buyer. Now, if you can dream it, you can probably find it, and at an affordable price.

I remember in the frenzy the bidding wars that were everywhere. I remember I had this one set of adjoining lots that the buyers and sellers went back and forth on for weeks until the final sold price was 10% above the listing price. Often if you wanted your contract to be considered, you had to give up your right for inspection/due diligence period and offer cash with no other contingencies. Today, buyers are often afforded the time they need to make a good decision and given many opportunities to be sure the home will be right for them.

Now is a great time to buy, pricing is getting affordable, financing is becoming more realistic (not so many misleading adjustable products available) and there is a great selection that allows you to find what is right for you.

I’ve been watching the condo market pretty closely for the last couple of weeks and have noticed that several have gone under contract and many have sold. I don’t know that prices are really coming down too much more and if you have the money and staying power, you should be buying right now.

Click here for the full article.

Information on Airport Relocation Opposition

The main argument in the Panama City Bay County Airport relocation is the possibility of causing irreparable damage to sensitive environmental areas. Currently construction is being held up by a law suit against the FAA regarding their Record of Decision approving the construction of the new airport that was issued in September 2006.

Quote from the Record of Decision:

“In conducting its funding analysis, FAA determined that both physical and environmental restrictions at the existing site make it impractical and extremely costly to update to meet FAA standards.

The existing primary air carrier runway is 6,304 feet long with nonstandard safety areas. Even if FAA were to upgrade the existing site, it would not result in an airfield that fully complied with FAA standards.”

In a press release on November 14th, 2006, Melanie Shepherdson, attorney at the NRDC, is quoted, “The FAA’s decision to build this ‘airport to nowhere’ is illegal. . . The law is clear: The agency has to pick the alternative that is least damaging to the environment. And it failed to do that.”

What alternative is least damaging? Modifying the current site to bring it into compliance with current FAA safety regulations? The environmentalist groups protested that option years ago; this is one of the main reasons the Airport Authority began looking for a new site in the first place. It was determined early on that the damage extending the current runway would cause was far too great to risk.

Another argument the opposition loves is that the airport will spur growth and development in the West Bay area (duh, and that’s a bad thing?), but that it will destroy the natural home for various wildlife, including Florida Black Bears, sea turtles, dolphins, and more. BUT, they fail to acknowledge that most of the shoreline in West Bay will be conservation as part of a 9,000 acre donation dedicated for conservation/mitigation, AND they fail to acknowledge participation of Audubon of Florida, The Florida Wildlife Federation, 1000 Friends of Florida and The Nature Conservancy in the organization of the West Bay Sector Plan. These are all environmentalist groups concerned about the environmental well being of the West Bay Area.

For more arguments and explanations, visit Dr. Ed Wright’s WestBayFlorida Blog. If you scroll down and look for the “Labels”. He has enough information on the relocation to keep you busy reading for weeks.

Thanks, Ed, for all your hard work.

TDC/CVB Indian Summer Festival Meeting – January 3, 2008

The Indian Summer Festival Committee met on January 3^rd, 2008 to discuss the CVB’s options for the 2008 festival. The festival is quite different from other special events receiving CVB financial support in that it is actually owned by the TDC/CVB. The committee is a subcommittee made up of 4 members of the CVB’s Marketing Committee (Kirk Lancaster-chairman, Jack Bishop, Ann Henry, and Joe Kennedy) all of whom were present. The subcommittee will make their recommendation to the Marketing Committee, which will then make their recommendation to the CVB Board.

The meeting was chaired by Lancaster in an open workshop fashion with extensive input from the audience. The audience included CVB Board Members Andy Phillips and Buddy Wilkes. The discussion included:

The history of the event that originally was operated by a local committee with the support of local charities. More recently the CVB operated it in-house for two years before hiring Sound Associates/Ron Johnson as festival promoter for the past few years. The CVB exercised it’s right to cancel the 2008 contract with Sound Associates.
The importance of the festival attracting non-residents, rather than just being a local draw, if the CVB continues to provide financial support. There was a clear consensus that the 2007 festival was mainly a local festival that attracted few out-of-area visitors. However, some expressed their belief that tourists rarely travel to any festivals today. Past successful tourist marketing efforts, including the Winn-Dixie program arranged by past president Bob Warren, were also discussed.
Who should run the festival? President Rowe advised the subcommittee that the CVB lacks sufficient staff to operate the festival in-house.
What the elements of the festival should be? This included the type of music and whether the festival should seek big-name performers or performers with a lower cost and a corresponding lower admission charge. Also discussed was the appropriate type of food vendors for the festival. Some voiced opinions that the festival had too many carnival-type vendors and not enough local restaurants, while others were of the belief that carnival-type food was an important element. The difficulty of local restaurants operating in a temporary location and the possibility of building permanent vendor facilities to alleviate these problems was also mentioned.
Whether there was enough support in the tourist industry to make the festival happen? Traditionally, the festival has relied on financial sponsorships from the tourist-oriented businesses; however, some past sponsors have expressed their disappointment over the value being received. The possibility of engaging the tourist industry in marketing discount packages that include lodging, tickets, and other elements was also suggested.
The date of the event and the importance of considering the dates of other festivals in the southeast. The event was originally held every 2^nd weekend of October. Recently it was held on Columbus Day weekend, but this past year it was moved to the following weekend to better fit the schedule of the festival promoter.
What type of control the CVB should retain over the festival’s elements, operation, and advertising?

Although no formal vote was taken, the consensus of the subcommittee was to turn the matter over to President Rowe to prepare a RFP for distribution to potential festival operators. Rowe plans to distribute a survey to local businesses, to speak with other CVBs, and to review prior RFPs to provide additional assistance. The sub-committee will consider Rowe’s draft RFP at their next meeting that has not yet been scheduled.

Florida Panhandle recongnized in national publication

Again Northwest Florida has been recongnized in a national publication. Ocean Home Magazine featured our area in their Winter 2007/2008 issue in the article titled StoryBook Settings. The article speaks into the area’s “picturesque developments [adhereing] to the principles of New Urbanism”.

I have to admit, after reading the first part, I wonder if St. Joe played a significant part in influencing this article, but it does speak into other areas such as SanDestin, Seaside and Alys Beach. The article is very flattering and definitely reinforces my pride in our area.

Read the article.

Ocean Home Mag on Northwest Florida