Flagler County tourism board forwards strategic plan to county commissioners

At its meeting on the 16th, the Flagler County Tourist Development Council voted unanimously to forward a proposed strategic plan to the Board of County Commissioners for final approval.

The plan, presented by Bill Geist, owner and founder of DMO Pros, lays out three primary goals — destination development, visitor experience and organizational excellence — with objectives that include expanding ecotourism packages, improving wayfinding signage, strengthening arts and culture offerings, developing event and sports facility strategy, and redesigning grant and capital funding policies. "There is an elephant in the room," Geist said, "and that is just the scarcity of appropriate funding, to do all the things that you need to and can and should be doing."

The strategic-plan discussion centered on how the Tourist Development Council (TDC) should position itself: as a watchdog, an advisory voice to the Board of County Commissioners, or a more engaged partner in guiding destination projects. Council members and staff discussed tactics the TDC could pursue without new funding (advocacy, partnerships and community outreach) as well as initiatives that would require additional revenue, such as a state-of-the-art visitor center and larger capital projects.

Key tactics described in the presentation include: - Destination development: promote ecotourism magnets (trails, estuaries and beaches), partner with Flagler Beach on aesthetic and environmental messaging, and use a recent facility audit to identify sports or event projects with the best return on visitation and room nights. - Visitor experience: expand festival culture and signature events timed for shoulder seasons, continue directing Tourist Development Tax (TDT) revenues toward beach renourishment, and consider joining consortia such as the Blue Community Consortium for broader environmental stewardship. - Organizational excellence: redesign the TDC grant and capital funding criteria toward a numeric scorecard or merit system, explore marketing-in-kind and cooperative marketing as alternatives to direct cash grants, and evaluate staff roles, outsourcing and core values to support the plan.

Amy Lukasick, a tourism office staff member who introduced the consultant and led parts of the meeting, said the TDC will prioritize which tactics are realistic with current resources and which would require added staff or outsourcing. She noted staff will return proposed priorities and scenario options if the county commission adopts the plan.

Board members raised operational concerns and local constraints. Several members pointed out municipal rules on signage in Flagler Beach, Palm Coast and Hammock that will affect countywide wayfinding efforts. Discussion of an arts and culture governing or coordinating council highlighted past attempts that stalled; speakers urged a broadly representative, “skin in the game” approach so the group endures. Pam Walker and other board members described cooperative marketing models and resident outreach as lower-cost ways to amplify local businesses and events.

Staff and members cited examples and clarifying data presented during the meeting: about 100 local stakeholders participated in the planning process, the Father’s Day Invitational drew 122 teams (exceeding an earlier projection of about 100), the county maintains a brochure listing 27 parks, and the City of Palm Coast recently awarded $30,000 to local arts organizations. Bill Geist and staff emphasized that some objectives can be advanced through advocacy and partnerships, while others—visitor center, major facility upgrades—will require explicit funding decisions.

The council approved several routine items at the same meeting: minutes from Aug. 21 and Sept. 18, three financial reports (budget-to-actual final 2019, budget-to-actual 2020 and the revenue report), and marketing reports for August and September. After discussion, a member moved and the council seconded a motion to forward the strategic plan to the Board of County Commissioners; the motion "passes unanimously," and will be scheduled for the BOCC’s final consideration.

The next steps outlined by staff are: (1) transmit the plan to the Board of County Commissioners for adoption; (2) prepare prioritized scenarios for what the tourism office can implement with current staffing, and what additional outcomes would require added staff or private partnerships; and (3) convene a short workshop (board members agreed to a proposed 30-minute session) to tighten grant criteria and bring back draft policies for the TDC and county commission to consider.

Votes at a glance: - Approval of minutes (08/21/2019 and 09/18/2019 strategic plan discussion): approved unanimously; mover/second not specified in transcript. - Approval of three financial reports (budget-to-actual final 2019; budget-to-actual 2020; revenue report): approved unanimously; mover/second not specified in transcript. - Approval of marketing reports (August and September 2019): approved unanimously; mover/second not specified in transcript. - Motion to present the Flagler County Tourist Development Council strategic plan to the Board of County Commissioners for approval: approved unanimously; mover/second not specified in transcript.

The TDC will return to the plan’s implementation details if the BOCC adopts the document; staff said they will also circulate best-practice examples and the recent facility audit to board members ahead of further prioritization discussions.