Despite a budget hiccup that almost crashed its plans, Ponte Vedra Beach will have a new Visitors Information Center after all.
Earlier this year, the Ponte Vedra Chamber of Commerce successfully petitioned the Tourist Development Council for money for a visitors center in Ponte Vedra. Supported by the County Commission, the chamber asked the council for $100,000 to help fund the cost of the center. Early this week, the Council put tight budget restrictions aside and voted to fund the center despite concerns that the money wasn’t budgeted.
"We have to identify where the money is coming from because it wasn’t budgeted," said Glenn Hastings, executive director of the Tourist Development Council.
According to Hastings, the St. Augustine Visitors Information Center was funded using a 40/30/30 split from the three categories of funds in the Council. Category I funds are earmarked for an annual tourism promotion plan. Category II funds go to arts and cultural affairs programs and Category III funds are managed by the Parks and
Recreation Department.
The council made a recommendation to the Commission to fund the visitors center in Ponte Vedra following a similar monetary breakdown. Hastings said the council’s budget, including funding for projects through the end of the fiscal year in September, had already been completed when the project came to the council.
"We have to do whatever we can to get people off the Interstate," said St. Augustine Mayor Joe Boles. "I don’t see this as funding the Chamber as much as I see it as funding an entity which is providing a Visitor’s Information Center. If we can’t find all [of the money] lets find some."
Hastings explained to the council that Category III funds could not support the 30 percent contribution to the project. Troy Blevins, parks and recreation director, said Category III funds were severely depleted due to the multitude of storms over the last year. As a result, the fund could not support giving its share of the $100,000 grant to the chamber.
During its meeting Monday, council chairman Dana Ste. Clair suggested funding the request at 70 percent, rather than 100 percent. Chuck Bushong, president of the Ponte Vedra Chamber, said the chamber would be willing to come halfway if the council was willing to do the same.
"We could work with it," said Bushong. "Seventy percent is bare bones. If we could get a little bit more, it might work."
Bed taxes collected in Ponte Vedra Beach make up approximately 30 percent of the total council’s funding. Jay Humphreys, communication director for the council, said last year the total amount of council funds awarded county wide was roughly $469,000. Of that, Ponte Vedra Beach received $30,000, approximately 6 percent.
Bill Hughes, general manager for TPC Sawgrass Clubhouse, believes Ponte Vedra Beach’s contributions to the county’s tourism industry mean a visitors information center in the area makes sense.
"We are great ambassadors to the county," Hughes said. "We are all in this together. We know what flows south and it is significant."
The TDC ultimately decided to make a recommendation to the Commission to fund the Visitor’s Information Center in Ponte Vedra using a 70/30 split with funds coming from Category I and Category II. The issue will be presented to the County Commission for approval in December.
Bushong was pleased with the results and thanked the council for its work.
