Pinellas Tourist Development Council moves to fund Localtopia

The Localtopia festival that shines a light on small St. Pete businesses will be considered for county tourism dollars this year.

During a Pinellas Tourist Development meeting Wednesday, the board cast a 7-1 vote to recommend funding $25,000 for Localtopia, the massive event held every spring in Williams Park.

However, the decision did not come without debate.

The Pinellas County Commission developed the Elite Events Funding Program to promote tourism and the region’s culture.

The organizations that applied for various events to be funded are reviewed by the committee, which the Pinellas County TDC board reviews before advancing the projects to commissioners. Following the meeting, the TDC board will advance 18 projects to be considered for funding, which totals $1 million.

Projects that have applied that do not meet the criteria are not recommended to be advanced, and those scoring lower than 700 points do not advance as well. Localtopia was one project that scored below 700, for which the rationale was not stated.

The committee was also wrestling with what fits into the definition of the “cultural heritage” category in the applications.

“We were here last year and had the same discussion. It [the event] has grown every year to where we are closing roads,” St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman said, recalling past discussions on what should or shouldn’t be considered for funding.

Kriseman argued that the definition of “cultural heritage event” includes terms relating to the region’s identity, and how the small business in St. Pete is what makes the area unique and shapes its identity.

“You look at the definition of cultural heritage and it celebrates history or identity,” Kriseman said.

The St. Pete Run Fest, which is projected to have 10,000 runners this year, was not given a score as it did not meet the cultural heritage definition.

Kriseman tried to resurrect the item to be considered; however, the attempt ultimately failed.

Bujalski said the concern would be that applicants would use this as a “catch-all” type of argument on how they may qualify for funding if the definition can be applied widely, as there are similar events like Localtopia around the county.

“I don’t think we are opening Pandora’s Box solely because we are talking about revisiting the guidelines in the categories,” Kriseman said. “If we weren’t talking about that, then I would agree, it could potentially be problematic.”

The TDC agreed to further discuss the cultural heritage definition at a later time in the fall.