Officials wanted more time to consider the cost.
But Holmes Beach officials eventually agreed to support the local business community, yet be mindful of the city’s 2021-22 budget.
Terry Schaefer, liaison to the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce, said Dec. 8 during a teleconferenced city commission meeting, that chamber president Terri Kinder contacted him about a city contribution of $10,000 to the “Anna Maria Island and Cortez Fishing Village Passport Program,” which is expected to kick off in January 2021.
“Passport holders” will visit participating businesses to receive stamps. After obtaining a required amount of stamps in their passport, participants can provide the chamber with their passport and receive a T-shirt, as well as entry in a raffle for prizes from local businesses.
“The reason that I feel it’s so important for us to consider and participate in this program, is that, as we know, our business community has suffered tremendous setbacks in the past nine months and likely will for an unforeseen future,” Schaefer said Dec. 8, adding the initial program kicked off “very successfully” for Cortez merchants in 2019.
The cost was not disclosed at the meeting, but the sign-up sheet for the passport program indicates members pay $125 and non-member participation is $175 with a deadline of Nov. 30 to be included.
At the city’s Dec. 8 meeting, Kinder and Dan Alderson, a chamber board member and co-owner of Tyler’s Ice Cream in Cortez, said more funding is needed. They stressed that there’s a need for the island cities to help local businesses struggling with losses due to the pandemic.
“The whole idea is to get people to visit our businesses,” Alderson said. “As you all know, these have been trying times and the more traffic we can produce to our island and our village, so much the better.”
Following questions on cost from Commissioner Jayne Christenson, Kinder said the chamber had a commitment from Anna Maria for $10,000, was asking Bradenton Beach for $5,000-$7,000 and Cortez had antied up $3,000. She said printing and marketing costs are estimated at $35,000.
Commission Chair Jim Kihm said the Manatee County Tourist Development Council might be a more appropriate funding source.
The TDC recommends tourism policy and a budget for spending the county’s tourist tax revenue, but decisions rest with the county board of commissioners. The spending is limited to tourism promotions by myriad state guidelines.
Kinder said the chamber approached the TDC, but the TDC board said the cities should be the funding source, due to losses due from the pandemic.
TDC revenue — tourist tax collections in Manatee County — plummeted in March, April and May but, since then have been on the rise, surpassing the 2019 numbers in some months, according to Islander archives.
“We realized perhaps the best way to approach this was to come to the municipalities and the village of Cortez and say, ‘This benefits us and so this is probably where the sponsorship needs to come from,’” Kinder said.
Commissioner Kim Rash said the project should be funded through bed taxes paid by short-term rental properties in the city, rather than through city taxpayers.
“I think this would be a great program for the county because it is all about the tourists,” he said.
Kihm agreed.
“This is about tourism and helping the businesses in Manatee County, which the cities are part of,” Kihm said. “I am going to encourage the chamber to go back to the TDC, tell them you’ve met with the cities and that you would like them to find a way that they could participate as well.”
Christenson said she supports programs to help local businesses but is concerned with costs, suggesting the county beach concession fund could be a funding source.
A motion to participate in the program failed in a split vote, with Kihm and Rash voting “nay,” while Schaefer and Christenson voted “yea.”
Commissioner Carol Soustek was absent with excuse.
“For us not to do this would be a mistake,” Schaefer said. “It’s an opportunity to reinvest, not only in our businesses but in our community,”
Following the split vote, Kihm passed the gavel to Vice Chair Rash, who motioned that the city instead fund $5,000 for the program.
“I want to show my support, but I think there is still work to be completed,” Kihm said. “I am willing to show my support to the merchants in our community if the rest of the commissioners agree with the motion on the floor.”
The motion passed 3-1, with Schaefer, who previously supported the $10,000 payment, voting “nay” in protest to the reduction.
