Subject:
Title
Revisions to the Capital Projects Funding Program Guidelines from the Tourist Development Council for Fiscal Year 2026.
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Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Approval of the Tourist Development Council’s (TDC) recommended revisions to the Capital Project Funding Program Guidelines (Guidelines).
• Capital Project Funding Program provides a significant economic benefit to the County through increased tourist room nights and attendance.
• Current Guidelines were approved by the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) on September 07, 2023.
• Recommended revisions were unanimously approved by the TDC on November 19, 2025.
• Substantive revisions for approval include:
1) BCC will establish total pool of capital funding dollars available for the cycle.
2) Added Beach Park Facilities.
3) Require matching funds to be secured prior to execution of funding agreement.
4) Require requests for reimbursements during construction must be made at the time of application.
5) Established minimum annual attendance (25,000) and room night (10,000) requirement for eligibility (does not apply to Beach Park Facilities).
a.) Removed tiered minimum requirements.
b.) Clarified that meeting minimum requirements does not guarantee funding.
6) Eliminated categories for projects not subject to the program (beach nourishment and debt service for bonds issued for professional sports stadiums, spring training facilities, and convention centers).
7) Eliminated ability for projects not meeting guidelines, or over $10M, to request BCC approval to participate in program.
8) Eliminated defined point system but kept same evaluation criteria.
• Revising the guidelines, by itself, has no fiscal impact on Pinellas County. Once the program is implemented, funding will be proposed to be provided through the Tourist Development Tax Fund.
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Strategic Priorities:
Resilient Infrastructure and Environment
1.2 Maintain and enhance County infrastructure
Prosperity and Opportunity
3.2 Provide and promote tourism opportunities.
Summary:Summary
With BCC approval, the revised Guidelines to administer the Capital Project Funding Program will commence with the upcoming Fiscal Year 2026 application and funding cycle.
CVB will proceed to negotiate funding and deliverables with approved projects to ensure a return on investment for the County. CPFP agreements will be brought to the Board for consideration at future meetings. Payments will be made on a reimbursement basis at the completion of each project unless authorized differently in the agreement by the Board.
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Background Information:
On November 19, 2025, during a TDC Meeting, CVB presented recommendations for improvements to the CPFP Guidelines based on completion of the initial program funding cycle. The recommendations addressed the requirements of the economic impact study, removed the requirement for a feasibility study, revised reimbursement to be at project completion, and revised the evaluation process.
Substantive revisions for approval include:
1) BCC will establish total pool of capital funding dollars available for the cycle.
2) Added Beach Park Facilities.
3) Require matching funds to be secured prior to execution of funding agreement.
4) Require requests for reimbursements during construction must be made at the time of application.
5) Established minimum annual attendance (25,000) and room night (10,000) requirement for eligibility (does not apply to Beach Park Facilities).
a. Removed tiered minimum requirements.
b. Clarified that meeting minimum requirements does not guarantee funding.
6) Eliminated categories for projects not subject to the program (beach nourishment and debt service for bonds issued for professional sports stadiums, spring training facilities, and convention centers).
7) Eliminated ability for projects not meeting guidelines, or over $10M, to request BCC approval to participate in program.
8) Eliminated defined point system, but kept same evaluation criteria.
The TDC reached a consensus on all of the recommendations and unanimously approved the Guidelines, as revised. The CPFP guidelines presented for approval here include the additional non-substantive changes of removing unnecessary repetition of portions of the TD Plan from the background section in the guidelines.
Fiscal Impact:
N/A
This item only requests approval of the CPFP Guidelines. Once the program is implemented, funding will be provided through the Tourist Development Tax Fund.
Staff Member Responsible:
Brian Lowack, President & CEO, Visit St. Pete-Clearwater
Partners:
Tourist Development Council
Attachments:
Capital Projects Funding Program TDC Presentation
Capital Projects Funding Program Guidelines (CPFP) Redline
Capital Projects Funding Program Guidelines (CPFP) Clean