BCR Emerges Unscathed At Workshop
By L. Miller
Of The Daytona Times Staff

Spring Breakers aren't so welcome here anymore, or so it would seem. But the Black College Reunion (BCR) event emerged unscathed when the Daytona Beach City Commission held its July 27 workshop on special events. There was much grousing about the meeting time being set at 2 p.m. In spite of that, the chamber was well-populated with listeners, mostly business owners and merchants who cater to the attendees of special events and profit from the huge dollar-influx brought to the city by those events. The revenue leader, bar none, is Bike Week, which brings a staggering $1.3 billion-plus to the local area.

After numerous facts and figures were presented, a number of people addressed the commission with their concerns. Prior to that, the mayor and six commissioners all pinpointed what they viewed to be the problems posed by special events. Not all commissioners were in agreement, though, about whether there should be any scaling-back of events. Zone 6's Cassandra G. Reynolds stated, "I actually support adding more special events," to the applause of one onlooker.

Darlene F. Yordon of Zone 2, stated she wants the city to be, "out of the special events business." She quickly followed that statement with, "Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying we want to end special events."

Yordon appeared to be defensive on that issue, due to her longstanding and well-known opposition to the area's special events, although she did say that Bike Week 2005 was a very tolerable and well-handled event.

Yordon has long espoused the removal of event handling from the Halifax Area Chamber of Commerce's all-volunteer Bike Week Executive Board. But the Chamber and its board have administrated over events for the city since 1991, using a 'Master Plan' system which has worked well, by and large. The board is overseen by Kevin M. Kilian, vice-president of Special Events.

If the city began to handle events directly, it would require more staff, more payroll money, and more time from city employees. Most of the commission seemed opposed to making that change. Zone 5's Dwayne L. Taylor, Sr., often is quoted as saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," and he has expressed his satisfaction with the Executive Board's work on many occasions, as well as that of the Convention & Visitors Bureau. Janet R. Kersey oversees the bureau.

City of Daytona Beach Leisure Services Director Percy L. Williamson has formulated a plan to sell naming rights to various sponsors during the high-revenue events. At the meeting he also presented a revenue comparison sheet which cited the success of other cities who have used such a plan.
Several of the commission members acknowledged that Bike Week, in particular, is no longer just a Daytona Beach event, but an event which covers several counties. Williamson expressed strong support for the way the events are currently handled by the Chamber's Executive Board and by the Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Police Chief Dennis M. Jones gave a presentation, also, during which he stated that 15 percent of the area's crimes are occurring during the heaviest special events period, which typically occurs during a six-week period, including all of March and half of April.

Deputy City Manager Paul T. McKitrick addressed the commission, as did licensing official Greg France. In the end, City Manager James V. Chisholm and Mayor Yvonne Scarlett-Golden wanted only to know what issues seemed to be of enough importance to create a consensus and bring them to discussion at a future commission meeting.

Everyone agreed that they no longer want to actively promote Spring Break, nor do anything which might convey the impression that the city promotes the event. Therefore, the city will no longer be hanging welcome posters for the college crowd.

However, Black College Reunion, which has always been a source of controversy, did not draw the ire of a majority of the commissioners, to the surprise of some. Also, a few onlookers were curious as to why 'Speed Week' was not included in the discussion.

Workshops are discussion-only platforms, wherein votes cannot be taken. Therefore, some of the commissioners were adamant that they wanted no public input for the topic of the workshop, as Sunshine Laws prevent them from any discussion which isn't public. However, Scarlett-Golden did want to hear from the public, so a number of people were given 2-minute limits for presenting opinions which were pertinent to the day's topic. Among those speakers was Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard businesswoman, Patrica H. Heard, who voiced her displeasure with the business association of the former Second Avenue, who has retained the name of SAMA. Heard indicated that she is unhappy with SAMA and may start her own association. SAMA President Perman Shepard was in attendance, but made no comment.

Contact L. Miller at lmiller-dt514@mailstation.com.