The bulbs have yet to burn, but Nights of Lights continues to light up local board meetings with less than two months to go before the event kicks off.
St. Johns County Commissioner Ann Taylor is pressing for the creation of a task force to oversee county funding for St. Augustine’s famed festival, citing the need for “accountability” after the county pledged an additional $650,000 toward this year’s display.
Speaking at Tuesday’s commission meeting, Taylor argued the festival’s significance to residents and businesses demands closer scrutiny of how the dollars are spent.
“That is a lot of money, and we’ve got to make sure that this Nights of Lights this year is successful for residents and for our businesses,” she said.
The funding comes from the county’s tourist development tax, often called the “bed tax.” It’s a charge added to hotel rooms, vacation rentals and other paid overnight stays. Those dollars are earmarked by law for tourism promotion, meaning locals don’t pay it directly through property or sales taxes.
Taylor stressed that the festival falls within her district and volunteered to serve as the county’s representative on the proposed task force.
“I know it was kind of mentioned, let’s wait till next year,” she said. “Time is so crucial. We cannot wait. Every day that we wait we are losing precious time.”
The commissioner has been a vocal critic of St. Augustine’s handling of the event in recent weeks.
She faulted city leaders for shortening the festival’s run and ending it before Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. Taylor argued that overlapping Nights of Lights with the three-day holiday weekend had traditionally provided an economic boost to downtown businesses, and that removing it from the calendar cost the community important revenue.
That position drew pushback last week from St. Augustine Vice Mayor Barbara Blonder, who defended the city’s decision at last week’s City Commission meeting.
Blonder said the MLK holiday should remain a separate occasion dedicated to honoring King’s legacy, rather than extending the tourist draw of Nights of Lights.
“What was said over and over again is that Martin Luther King holiday is a three-day weekend, and we took that away from the business community,” Blonder acknowledged. But she stressed the city wanted the commemoration to remain distinct. “It’s a call to service. I’d like to see that holiday stay free of Nights of Lights.”
Blonder and other members of the City Commission backed curbing the length of the event, asserting that residents needed relief from swelling crowds and attendant traffic and congestion woes.
As it stands, the upcoming festival is scheduled to run from Nov. 15 through Jan. 11.
