Tourism council backs $750,000 recommendation and orders economic-impact study for Chappie James plaza

The Escambia County Tourist Development Council voted 8–1 on Feb. 18 to forward a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners to allocate $750,000 for the Chappie James Memorial Plaza and to commission an independent economic-impact study to quantify the project’s tourism impact.

The measure followed more than an hour of discussion about whether the tourist-development tax (TDT) may be used for construction. Council member James Reeves introduced the idea of increasing the council’s prior $750,000 recommendation to the $1 million the project’s organizers later requested, saying the original amount had been set years earlier and costs have risen. “If we’re gonna approve it, a motion to make it $1,000,000 would probably be in order,” Reeves said when he moved to increase the recommendation.

That motion to increase the recommendation to $1,000,000 failed on a roll call vote. The council then considered a separate motion to rescind the board’s earlier $750,000 recommendation. During debate that motion was amended so the council would (a) forward a $750,000 recommendation to the county commission and (b) commission an independent economic-impact study to inform any further action. The amended motion passed 8–1.

Supporters of the plaza, including resident and project representative Chris Dosev, said rising construction costs made the larger request necessary. “At this point, we’ve raised $1,300,000,” Dosev said. “And so in addition to the $1.3, the $1,000,000 would cap off what we would need to complete the project.”

Opponents on the council cited a recent attorney general letter and the governing statute’s enumerated construction uses for TDT, arguing a plaza may not fall under eligible construction items. A council member who identified himself as using state hotel-market data said, for example, the plaza would need to generate tens of thousands of incremental room nights over its life to justify the TDT investment. Council members repeatedly recommended clarifying the ownership and public‑facility status before approving construction funding.

Budget staff and the deputy county attorney urged the council to commission an independent economic-impact study to help the county commission determine whether spending TDT on the project would “directly and primarily” support tourism. Staff estimated the cost of such an analysis at approximately $3,500 to $5,000.

The council’s action leaves the $750,000 recommendation and the study request to be transmitted to the Board of County Commissioners, where commissioners may accept, modify or reject the recommendation. Several council members and staff emphasized the county commission retains final appropriation authority.

Votes at a glance: - Motion to increase recommendation from $750,000 to $1,000,000 (mover: James Reeves; second: Commissioner Hoffberger). Outcome: failed. (Roll-call recorded in transcript; motion did not carry.) - Motion to rescind the board’s prior $750,000 recommendation, amended to forward a $750,000 recommendation and commission an independent economic-impact study (mover: David Baer; second: Matish Patel). Outcome: passed 8–1 (roll-call vote).

The council also asked that staff coordinate with the city of Pensacola and the project’s organizers to clarify ownership and maintenance commitments, which county attorneys said were relevant to the attorney general’s review.

The matter was expected to appear before the Board of County Commissioners on its next meeting agenda.