TDT Grant Application Review Committee (ARC) DRAFT Administrative Regulation Outline June 2018 Introduction o ARC Ordinance o ARC Resolution o Transparency, Sunshine, Open Meetings Process o BCC determines excess TDT amounts o ARC application window opens o County Staff supporting ARC proposal workshop(s) o TDT Grant Application forms submitted by prospective grantees o ARC researches and evaluates submitted applications o ARC use scoring tools to competitively score grant applications o Successful applications and excess TDT funding amounts recommended by ARC to TDC o ARC application window closes ARC meetings called by Chair or Vice-Chair ARC Application Window o Goal to have window open for 10 weeks o Special circumstances may require shorter window o Window to have web presence o Set forth ARC grant window dates, application and submission guidelines, and scoring tools and criteria o Application documents available for download o Electronic submission uploading??? o Simultaneous posting of Window opening on other sites such as: OCFL County website Distribution notice to media through Orange County Communications United Arts Orange County Municipalities
County Supporting Staff o Goal to offer one or more Grant Proposal Workshops during TDT ARC Grant application windows o Assist in any ARC site research visits to applicant project sites o Supporting Staff Summary: County Attorney s Office Legal counsel for ARC Fiscal & Business Services Financial Analysis Capital Projects Project research Environmental Protection Project research Facilities - Project Research Plans Review Project Review Real Estate Project Review Other County departments and divisions as needed Proposal Submissions o The ARC will maintain application forms that are subject to change by ARC approval from time to time as situations dictate o Application forms should remain unchanged while an application window is open, unless compelling reasons exist to address some discrepancy o Both electronic and hard-copy applications can be required ARC Research and Evaluation o The ARC will maintain scoring tools that are subject to change by ARC approval from time to time as situations dictate o Scoring tools and criteria should remain unchanged while an application window is open, unless compelling reasons exist to address some discrepancy o ARC research and evaluation should use all necessary means to gather the information required to make an informed evaluation. This includes site visits, professional reviews from County staff, requesting applicant presentations and interviews, or other means necessary
o ARC members may delegate research and evaluation tasks to other groups such as ARC sub-committees, County staff, and may rely on other professional sources and third-party consultant materials Application Scoring o Depending on volume and complexity of applications submitted, the ARC committee can determine to score applications using their scoring tools and criteria in such a manner as the ARC approves, including but not limited to: Sub-committee scoring and report of scores to the full ARC Sub-committee research reported to the ARC with full ARC scoring individually Full ARC scoring on consensus basis rather than individually Scoring and recommendations can consider the funding available Other reasonable scoring processes as situations dictate ARC Recommendation to TDC o Upon ARC approval of the recommendation of a project to the TDC in some amount of excess TDT funds, a transmittal in the form of Attachment A to this Administrative Regulation, with such changes as necessary for the project, will be forwarded by the ARC Chair or Vice-Chair to the Orange County Tourist Development Council.
Attachment A TDT Grants Application Review Committee Transmittal Date: To: Orange County Convention Center Executive Director From: ARC Chair or Vice-Chair This transmittal is to inform you that the Orange County Tourist Development Tax Grants Application Review Committee (ARC) has approved the recommendation of [INSERT PROJECT NAME] to the Orange County Tourist Development Council (TDC). The recommended funding is from excess Tourist Development Tax (TDT) previously determined to be excess by the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) and subject to ARC allocation. The amount of the ARC recommendation for [INSERT PROJECT NAME] is for the following amount in the following fiscal year or years: Fiscal Year Amount Please schedule this ARC TDT funding allocation recommendation for consideration by the TDC for recommendation to the BCC on the agenda at the next TDC meeting. The ARC application and scoring summary will be provided for the agenda. CC: County Administrator County Attorney
CqUNTf; Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs P.O. Box 1393,201 South Rosalind Avenue, Orlando, FL 32802-1393 Phone: 407-836-7370 Fax: 407-836-7360 Mayor@ocfl.net June 7, 2018 To: From: Subject: Board of County Commissiqfiers Mayor Teresa Jacobs Tourist Development Wx Grant Application and Review Committee In 2016, the Charter Review Commission (CRC) initially approved a proposed charter amendment that would have created an application and evaluation process for awarding excess Tourist Development Tax (TDT) to organizations for eligible capital projects or events. Subsequent to the initial vote, the CRC voted to rescind its prior action to place the Tourist Development Tax amendment on the November 2016 ballot with the understanding that the county would create a similar process through a county ordinance. Therefore, the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) passed an ordinance creating the excess TDT application process and established the TDT Grant Application Review Committee (ARC). Among other duties, this committee was created to develop applications and an evaluation process for excess TDT based on the following criteria: 1. commitment to expansion of tourism in Orange County, 2. soundness of proposed event or capital project, and 3. anticipated return on investment. Under this new process, any funding recommendations from this committee are to be scheduled for consideration during the next available Tourist Development Council (TDC) meeting. The TDC shall review the recommendation from the ARC and then make a recommendation to the BCC. The BCC shall review the recommendation of the ARC, the application and the recommendation of the TDC and shall either approve or deny the request. The ARC held their first meeting in December 2017, and have been developing the administrative forms and processes to carry out their prescribed powers and duties. To date, they have finalized comprehensive application documents, and are in the final stages of approving the evaluation scoring matrix to rank proposals for funding recommendations.
Tourist Development Tax Grant Appjication and Review Committee June 7, 2018 Page 2 The ARC is expected to be in a position to start accepting applications in the near future; however, the BCC still needs to approve a TDT funding allocation for this committee. Accordingly, my proposed budget will include a multi-year capital plan for fiscal years 2018-2023 for the ARC process in the amount of $8 million per year. By creating a long-term capital budget for this process, the ARC will be able to make multiple year funding recommendations to coincide with the cash flows and construction schedules of the recommended and approved projects. By way of additional background, on April 1, 2016, the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association (CFHLA) sent a letter to Mayor Dyer and me outlining their priorities for TDT. The problem with this proposal, or any excess TDT spending proposal at that time including the proposed CRC charter amendment, was that excess TDT revenues were contractually obligated to the City of Orlando for the venues debt, leaving virtually no significant funding for other priorities for the foreseeable future. Subsequently in October 2016, I proposed, and the BCC approved, the county issuing TDT refunding debt to extinguish the city's venues debt obligation and the obligation of the county to contractually remit excess TDT to the city - referred to as the buy-out option. Under this proposal, the county assumed the responsibility for making annual debt service payments on the new refunding TDT debt, but is now retaining the much larger excess TDT revenue. This restructuring of the venues debt is allowing the county to fund additional TDT priorities far sooner than would have otherwise been possible. The TDT priorities in CFHLA's 2016 letter included increased funding for Visit Orlando, capital improvements to the Orange County Convention Center, upgrades to the Citrus Bowl and funding for the Science Center, the Orlando Ballet and the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra. When ARC begins accepting applications, I would expect that applications for these projects would be forthcoming and among the first to be evaluated. In addition to these previously identified priorities, another vital community project that no one could have conceived of at the time was the need for a Pulse museum and memorial. For time immemorial, we have honored and remembered the loss of innocent souls - and so It should be for our 49 Pulse angels, victims of a heinous act of terrorism. The onepulse Foundation is committed to creating a sanctuary of hope and healing around this tragic day in our history and in American history.
Tourist Development Tax Grant Application and Review Committee June 7, 2018 Page 1 3 In partnership with the Foundation, Central Florida has pledged to honor the 49 lives that were taken, their families, the 68 injured victims, the affected survivors and the first responders and healthcare professionals who cared for the victims. Building a museum and memorial is of crucial importance - not only to honor those who perished, but for history itself, as well for future LGBTQ, Latinx and Hispanic generations. Allocating $8 million in the current budget plus $8 million per year for the next five years will give the ARC approximately $48 million of excess TDT to allocate to worthy capital projects between now and September 30, 2023. Given the significance and urgency of the Pulse museum, I am requesting the ARC expedite the evaluation and review of their proposal for land acquisition and design of the museum. It is also important to note that the proposed ARC funding will not impact other TDT priorities, including TDT debt service, convention center (operations, maintenance, on-going capital and the campus master plan projects), tourism promotion and marketing, and other approved TDT Plan priorities. I look fon/vard to discussing my proposed budget, including the TDT budget, during the July budget work sessions. c: Ajit Lalchandani, County Administrator Jeff Newton, County Attorney Eric Gassman, Deputy County Administrator Fred Winterkamp, Manager, Fiscal and Business Services Application and Review Committee Members Tourist Development Council Members Rich Maladecki, President and CEO, Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association