ALL COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE BEEN COPIED ON THIS EMAIL.

Dear Ms. Lamb,

To be sure that the communication to you from Alachua County is clear, I want to take this opportunity to respond to your recent email to me and emails to County Commissioners.

Your January 13th email to me (the full text of your email follows this message) included the following lines:

"When you asked if this was funded, I believed that it was. We were told we had 2 million dollars to use towards ideas like this to learn that wasn't true. You were a part of that meeting."

To be clear, I have never been part of a meeting where $2 million in funding for events like yours was committed. In your email, you stated you do not want to "humiliate any City Officials." I am assuming you refer to the Hospitality Council meeting on October 7, 2020, when Gainesville City Manager Lee Feldman discussed possible COVID recovery support for the hospitality industry. To be clear: I did not hear him state that you had $2 million to use for this idea. I heard him share that there may be funding for the hospitality-industry through COVID recovery support and to follow up with him with ideas or requests for funding. We reached out to Mr. Feldman, and he confirmed our account of this meeting and went on to say that in a subsequent meeting with you, he made it clear that no CARES Act dollars were available for your project. Subsequently, you shared with some of my staff and me that you had met with Mr. Feldman and that he confirmed that the City had no CARES Act funding this event.

At our November 20 airport meeting, you shared that the event's scope had expanded from a one-time drive-in concert to a much larger series of concerts. I asked if the concert organizers were seeking any financial support. You replied that they were paying for everything and covering all expenses through ticket sales, concessions, and merchandise. Upon return from the airport, you forwarded their budget estimate, which showed no government financial support.

On Monday, November 23, in a zoom meeting with my staff and me, you stated, for the first time, that the producer, Audisbliss, needed funding to get the project off the ground but that you didn't know the amount. I told you that the County had supported past music events, including FEST and the Tom Petty weekend series, and that sponsorships in the $10,000 to $15,00 range were available. I explained that County sponsorships are on a reimbursement basis for allowable expenditures. I emailed you the sponsorship request form and clarified our established processes.

As the scope of the event changed, and was now an estimated 5,000 attendees in a field every weekend for months at the height of the surging pandemic, on November 25, I emailed you that while "we do our best to support innovative ideas such as this, we need to be sure that we are not inadvertently communicating a disconnect between the County's public safety efforts and supporting events that may not be in complete alignment with those efforts."

We did not suggest that you halt your efforts in exploring the idea of an outdoor concert series. But, we made it clear - both in the email and in a later phone call with Communications Director Mark Sexton and me - that the County Manager, Mr. Sexton, and Chair Cornell, did not think the time was right for the County's involvement in this event. During that call, Mr. Sexton and I both shared our enthusiasm and appreciation for your efforts. We assured you that we looked forward to working with you through our respective departments to promote and advertise the concert series when the pandemic is under control and when you have the event up and running. We let you know that you could talk to individual Commissioners about your project, as is every citizen's right.

Finally, in your subsequent meetings with Commissioners, we heard that startup funding amounts ranging from over $100,000 to over $200,000 were discussed. At Wednesday's Tourist Development Council meeting, the start-up amount mentioned was $500,000.

In your email to Chair Cornell, you stated, "I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to give you an update on the TDC meeting the concert series was on the Agenda for yesterday to gain support. I am happy to say, we have full support and was given some great feedback and next step." We want to be sure that the actions at the TDC meeting were clear to you. The TDC did not make a motion to support this project or recommend it to the County Commission. The County Commission has not placed this event's funding on the agenda for discussion at a future Commission meeting.

I appreciate your effort in pushing this exciting project forward and wish you the best of luck.

Your referenced email:


Jessica Hurov
Tourism Development Manager
Visitors and Convention Bureau
33 North Main Street • Gainesville • FL • 32601
352.374.5260 (office) • 352.363.8619 (mobile)


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-----Original Message-----
From: Rebecca Lamb <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2021 7:48 PM
To: Jessica Hurov <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Funding

CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders.

Jessica;

One last thing about something you said in the meeting today. When you asked if this was funded, I believed that it was. We were told we had 2 million dollars to use towards ideas like this to learn that wasn’t true. You were a part of that meeting.

Then, yes we will use the ticket sales and profits to keep it going. But now we need upfront money. I didn’t rebuttal your comment as to not humiliate any City Officials. I took the bad impression instead.

I don’t believe in discrediting anyone in our community. I believe together we can make great things happen for the greater good.

Rebecca Lamb
Director of Sales
Springhill Suites Gainesville
352-376-8873 x 505

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