DeFuniak Springs City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes Council Chambers March 11, 2025 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Bob Campbell called the meeting to order at 4:00 PM. Present: Mayor Bob Campbell, Mayor Pro-Tempore Todd Bierbaum (Seat 1); Councilmember Josh Sconiers (Seat 2); Councilmember Glen Harrison (Seat 4); Councilmember Anthony Vallée (Seat 5). Absent: Councilmember Amy Heavilin (Seat 3). Also, present were City Manager Koby Townsend and City Clerk Rafael Ali. 2. TOURISM DISCUSSION Mr. Bierbaum stated that the TDC wanted to promote eco-tourism. Mr. Bierbaum stated that downtown is more than just eco-tourism. Mr. Bierbaum asked what it would look like if we had a paddleboard shop downtown, Mr. Bierbaum stated that there is also the historic side ofthe city. Mayor Campbell stated that they were thinking about doing something with bicycles, paddleboards, and kayaks. Mr. Vallee stated that we can look at different categories of what we would like to pursue. Mr. Vallee stated that we weretrying to get Yolo to come up here. Mr. Vallee stated that what we talk about now will become a bigger issue. Mr. Vallee stated that it will impact how we communicate via the website. Mr. Vallee stated that we should be considering different categories regarding tourism around the city. Mr. Vallee stated that farm tours are a option. Mr. Vallee stated that the farms sell a lot of different products. 1 March 11, 2025 Workshop Meeting 1 Mr. Vallee stated that if farmers come into town, they can sell their goods and build relationships. Mr. Bierbaum stated that the theater downtown has a local art perspective. Mr. Bierbaum stated that he would like to get the CAA up here. Mr. Vallee stated that we can work with people who are pursuing TDC funds. Mr. Vallee stated that weddings are something that can occur in the city. Mr. Vallee stated that another idea is a "stay before you stay" program. Mr. Vallee stated that this is something we need to start doing and put out on the website. Mr. Vallee stated that Sunbright has invested $2 million into our community. Mr. Vallee stated that no one attends the TDC meetings. Mr. Vallee stated that we have rural areas. Mr. Vallee stated that we need to improve our bathrooms at amphitheater. Mr. Vallee stated that Freeport is coming up strong. Mr. Vallee stated that Freeport can't compete with the Lake Yard. Mayor Campbell asked ifhe had heard anything about hotels being built. Mayor Campbell stated that the entertainment aspect is very good. Mr. Bierbaum stated that the Chautauqua Hall of Brotherhood can handle 250 people. Mayor Campbell stated that the armory can be used as a new open facility. Mr. Bierbaum stated that he is proud of the current strategic plan from the TDC; the Chautauqua Hall ofBrotherhood is included in it. Mr. Bierbaum stated that we can get them to help us with the Chautauqua Hall of Brotherhood. Mrs. Henderson stated that she would like to see a scenic highway. Mrs. Henderson stated that we can turn the cemetery into a ghost tour. Mr. Henderson stated that Freeport does a senior prom. March 11, 2025 Workshop Meeting 2 Mrs. Henderson stated that if we can get the veterans memorial in the right place, it will attract tourists. Mrs. Henderson stated that her church is open for tours. Mrs. Henderson stated that we can host tours of downtown. Mr. Vallee stated that Mrs. Henderson should reach out to Scenic Walton to get on their agenda. Mr. Harrison stated that if we start listing our attributes, we have a lot of great things to do here. Mr. Harrison stated that we can fit all these attributes into a tour. Mr. Harrison stated that bike and kayak shops would be a good thing. Mr. Harrison stated that people can ride bikes around the golf course. Mr. Henderson stated that it is a historic golf course in Florida. Mr. Harrison stated that the town is great for weddings. Mr. Harrison continued to explain the different events and attributes that the city has. Mr. Harrison stated that we can play a role in eco-tourism. Mr. Bierbaum stated that he has been following the development of Brightline in Central Florida. He stated that we can engage with Brightline on the North 90 corridor. Mr. Vallee stated that we can reach out to the southern rail companies. Mrs. Henderson stated that we can have an excursion train. Mr. Vallee stated that we should host events from the south end in Defuniak Springs. Mr. Bierbaum stated that the founding ofl Defuniak was due to the railroad. Mr. Bierbaum stated that the Chautauqua Hall of Brotherhood really grew the town. A Mr. Bierbaum stated that the town was built on tourism. Mr. Bierbaum stated that we should keep that in mind. Mr. Bierbaum stated that the town grew from tourism. Mr. Bierbaum stated that we can embrace the idea that we are everyone's hometown. March 11, 2025 Workshop Meeting 3 Mr. Bierbaum stated that we are America's hometown. Mr. Vallee stated that "Welcome Home" could be our slogan. Mrs. Henderson stated that we should have a Chautauqua seal of approval for the various events occurring around town. Mrs. Henderson explained that we have musicians and songwriters. Mrs. Henderson stated that Forward Defuniak could not explain how to take the festival on. Mayor Campbell asked if we have a music event coming up. Mr. Vallee stated that the Opera Cowgirls are coming. Jeremiah Campbell, a citizen of Defuniak Springs stated that South Walton has a good music scene. He explained the need for music in Defuniak Springs because it can attract more people. Mrs. Henderson stated that we have the best movie set in the world. Mrs. Henderson stated that no one has promoted hunting or fishing. Mrs. Henderson stated that Atlanta is becoming a movie hub. Jeremiah Campbell, a citizen of Defuniak Springs stated that there are a lot of features in the area that could be used for movies. Mrs. Henderson stated that movie producers like to be in places where there are incentives to come and do the work. Mr. Vallee stated that there is not a central location for movies today, but there are a lot of people here who are in the industry. Mr. Vallee stated that he has a producer client who liveshere. Mr. Vallee stated that ifyou see a picture of New York, it's actually Canada. Mr. Vallee stated that we still need state-level funding. Mr. Bierbaum stated that we can create a reel that shows the beauty of our city. Mr. Bierbaum stated that we should think about the requirements for when someone comes to film in the city. Mr. Vallee asked if the TDC can fund that. March 11, 2025 Workshop Meeting 4 Mr. Sconier stated that the TDC discussed the same topics we have covered in this meeting. Mayor Campbell stated that someone approached the city about developing a scary movie. Mayor Campbell expressed his disapproval ofhaving scary movies in town. Jeremiah Campbell, a citizen of Defuniak Springs stated that many people don't see that negatively. Jeremiah Campbell, a citizen of Defuniak Springs stated that he believes it will benefit us more than hurt us. Jeremiah Campbell, a citizen of Defuniak Springs stated that the production crew has gotten a lot smaller. Mr. Vallee wanted to address the mayor's point. Mr. Vallee stated that the mayor is talking about ghost hunters. Mr. Bierbaum stated that film production has completely changed. Mr. Bierbaum stated that we should get ahead of this. Mr. Vallee stated that Florida has a film school, and we can do a competition to see who can develop the best film. Mr. Bierbaum stated that we should start with something small. Mr. Vallee asked ifthey would like to produce a sizzle reel through the TDC. Mr. Sconier stated that we can allocate $10,000 for marketing. Mr. Bierbaum stated that he would like to see a list of all the activities we have. Mr. Bierbaum stated that we should have a spot on our website where we list all of our events. Mr. Vallee stated that if we break down categories, we also have smaller categories. Mr. Vallee stated that if we do events right, the "stay before you stay" program works really well. Mr. Vallee stated that we can gather people for music events. Mr. Vallee stated that it is wonderful for the community. Mr. Vallee stated that we should advertise for people who like history, like in St. Augustine. March 11, 2025 Workshop Meeting 5 Mr. Vallee stated that the great thing about that is that it belongs to the city. Mr. Bierbaum stated that there is a mural in his wife's hometown that has heroes from the area. Mr. Sconier asked how the Chautauqua became Lake Fest. Mr. Bierbaum stated that it boiled down to five people putting it on who were tired, and they decided to shut it down because no one else wanted to step up. Mr. Bierbaum stated that Lake Fest came along as a complementary idea. Mr. Bierbaum stated that there is an opening to reopen the Chautauqua event. Mr. Bierbaum stated that the community will have to come together. Mr. Bierbaum stated that the Chautauqua assembly was progressive in its thinking. Mr. Bierbaum stated that if the Chautauqua had continued, they would have been ahead of their time. Mr. Bierbaum stated that we were the original TED Talk. Mr. Vallee stated that it was very big. Mr. Vallee stated that for the time being, we should focus on building the infrastructure for this. Mr. Vallee stated that he is worried because capable people have been working on this without much success. Mr. Vallee stated that we need to develop local auditions. Mr. Harrison stated that during the Chautauqua, there was a lot of excitement going on in the country. Mr. Harrison stated that we. need to have something people can relate to today. Mr. Townsend stated that the website will have all city events. Mr. Townsend asked ifthey would like to develop a city slogan. Mr. Townsend stated that there should be a slogan. Mr. Vallee stated that we should list all the things we've discussed. Mr. Vallee stated that a survey should be created. March 11, 2025 Workshop Meeting 6 Mr. Vallee stated that he wants to know what people think. Mr. Vallee stated that the TDC can fund the library. Mr. Vallee stated that the "stay before you stay" program should be done. Mayor Campbell stated that there is an opportunity for camping. Mr. Vallee stated that we need to ensure the dollars stay in town. Mrs. Henderson stated that we can get people to choose what they would like to see. Mr. Harrison stated that some ofthese things can be done immediately. Mr. Bierbaum stated that we can hire Chris Mitchell to come back up and do the cemetery tour. Mr. Bierbaum stated that a script developed can be used again. Mr. Sconier stated that there should be TLC done in the cemetery during the budget. Mrs. Henderson stated that she is thankful for the council's discussion. Mr. Townsend stated that staff created a 5-year plan for the cemetery and will need approval. 3. ADJOURNMENT Meeting Adjourned 5:00 PM. Approved: bu Chh Bob Campbell, Mayor ATTEST: Minutes taken by Rafael Ali S City Clerk o notice CORPORATE Proper having been duly given L SEAL 1901 1145 March 11, 2025 Workshop Meeting 7