Staff asks tourism partners to consider funding next phase of Bear Collins master plan

A staff member said they had "planted the seed" with a contact who had used tourism-grant funds and asked whether those funds might be available to pay for a preliminary or more detailed next step for the Bear Collins master plan. The staff member recommended formally asking everyone at the upcoming meeting about the availability of such support.

"Hey, so do you have any more of those funds?" the staff member said, describing how they opened the conversation with the potential funder. Colleagues agreed to raise the question at the meeting and to provide updates afterward. The group closed by acknowledging the project's scale and timing: staff described it as "a big project" that will "take time," and noted developer interest but also the need for risk-taking or funding commitments to move the plan forward.

The remarks did not commit county funds or record any formal decision; they were an operational request to explore external tourism-related grant possibilities and to discuss funding options at the scheduled follow-up meeting.