July 2023 Minutes
Minutes
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
PANAMA CITY DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT BOARD
Wednesday, July 12th @ 8:30 AM
Panama City Center for the Arts
19 East 4th Street
1. Call to order at 8:36 AM Present: Catherine Shores, Allan Branch, Nate Taylor, Jennifer Burg. Absent: Elizabeth Moore, Kevin Mitchell, Brent McLoud
2. Chairman’s report
3. Approval of minutes for June 7, 2023. Allan made a motion to approve. Nate 2nd. All approved.
4. Public Participation – public invited to speak about anything not already on the agenda. A short presentation was made by Sean Self with the City of Panama City RE: RFP for downtown parking management. Eleven bids were received. The city narrowed down to four and now in talks with their first choice. No name of the company was given as the city is still negotiating the contract. The city would like the vendor to handle expenses and then cost share with the city. Roll-out could happen within 90 days once an agreement is made. Questions asked: Does the vendor have experience in NW Florida? Yes. What mechanisms do downtown merchants have for input? Still working through details. Very fluid at this point but will be a collaboration. Will merchants have a seat at the table to help with the process? It will be a community wide process. Dover Cole stated that the best practice for roll out was to enforce 2-hour parking first. Will that be done? This is still being discussed. Will the revenue generated stay within each community? The city is looking at setting up a separate account and they are not looking at ticketing people as a revenue source. Who will have the burden of enforcement? There will be no expense to the city and the vendor will enforce. The city wants an ambassador that is informative and a service to the community, not a police force. Will there be staff at all the lots? The vendor will provide the employees. Will payment be easy? The city would like the vendor to offer multiple avenues to pay so that all will be able to participate easily. Will the vendor provide way fare signage? The vendor will provide signage. The city and the vendor are open to tweaking things after the roll out. If the city does well, the vendor will do well. Will there be an office the vendor works out of? Yes, the vendor will have an office and handle all enforcement and communication. Will there be employee parking? Yes, different ideas are being looked at for employees, locals, and boat ramp parking. Will the city engage with the DIB and Waterfront Partnership before signing the agreement? Yes.
Lauren Stiles with Late Bloomer, a new downtown business, approached the board asking for $32,000 in rental assistance to help with growing pains and loss of business due to streetscapes. Catherine shared that the DIB does not offer grants for individual businesses, but the DIB does offer sponsorship grants for downtown events and public art. Allan shared that the DIB is not an organization to help businesses get started.
5. Financial Update – Bank account balances, current budget update
6. Arts Update – Jayson Kretzer shared the months long Halloween/Holiday event that was approved at the last board meeting was not moving forward in the same design and therefore would not be requesting the approved $45,000. He is still planning on moving forward with a downtown Halloween/Holiday event and plans to have a new ask at the next meeting.
7. Old Business –
a. Fountain Rehab update – should be moving forward soon. A tile has been chosen. Company anticipates about 2 weeks to complete.
b. Social District update – Catherine met with city attorney, Jenna Haligas, and Cole Davis. All left positive and seem to be on the same page. The board would like to have a presentation put together to help with education. The marketing budget will be used to hire someone to put together.
c. Final budget for FY 24 – Final numbers presented. Allan made a motion to approve. Jennifer 2nd. All approved
8. New Business –
a. Empty lot at 4th and Grace – Concern about a large investment for only 5 years. Possibly look at other options to activate.
b. Tree carving by Martin Theatre – The board agrees that the tree needs to be taken down. Money has already been budgeted.
c. AT&T Parking Lot – The board would like Maria Williams, Executive Director of DIB to reach out to AT&T with a non-binding letter of intent.
9. Administrative Update
a. Tree trimming completed in Gateway Park and 4th Street by Martin Theatre
10. Reminders / Calls to Action
a. Next meeting will be Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023
11. Adjournment: 9:46 AM