November 2023 Minutes
Minutes
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
PANAMA CITY DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT BOARD
Wednesday, Nov. 1st @ 8:30 AM
Panama City Center for the Arts
19 East 4th Street
1. Call to order – 8:36 AM Present: Chairman Catherine Shores, Elizabeth Moore, Nate Taylor, Jennifer Burg. Absent: Allan Branch, Kevin Mitchell, and Catherine McCloy
2. Chairman’s report
3. Approval of minutes – from Oct. 4th Regular meeting and Oct. 13th Special Meeting – Jennifer Burg made a motion to approve Oct. 4th minutes. Elizabeth Moore 2nd. All approved. Elizabeth Moore made a motion to approve the Oct. 13 minutes, Nate Taylor 2nd. All approved.
4. Public Participation – public invited to speak about anything not already on the agenda – Lesli Todd with Jute and Palm wanted to remind everyone that the Merchant Christmas Party will be held on Nov. 30 from 6-8PM at the Center for the Arts. She also wants to remind everyone that the downtown merchants are staying open late on the 3rd Friday of the month. Kathleen Obrien announced that she had heard the quote from Mayor Rohan regarding the proposed Social District likely to cause more divorces on a Seattle, Washington radio station. Jennifer Vigil with Destination PC needs 2 Santa and Mrs. Clause. Jingle Bell Express will run again for 3 weekends in December. Downtown After Dark still has general admission tickets available for the Thursday event. Destination has a new Social Media person, Lauren Beachamp. The Coast Guard is reviewing the Boat Parade application for December 9th. Keith Mefford, with Quality of Life, would like to bring the big Christmas Tree back downtown. Suggested put in McKenzie Park or Gateway Park. Wants to team with the DIB for the tree lighting. Tree Lighting will be held Friday, December 1st.
5. Financial Update – Bank account balances, current budget update
6. Arts Update – Jayson Kretzer thanked the DIB for their support of Fright Nights. Over 2500 tickets were sold. Songwriters Fest is this weekend. Center for the Arts Holiday Bazaar is the 1st weekend in December. The United Way mural is almost done.
7. Old Business – Last month the DIB awarded $300 to purchase “Shop Small” bags for the downtown merchants. Chairman Catherine Shores has asked for an additional $136 to purchase “keep sake” bags instead of paper bags. Elizabeth Moore made a motion, Nate Taylor 2nd. All approved.
8. New Business –
a. 850 Car Show – Jennifer Burg made a motion to give $5000 to sponsor the car show. Nate Taylor 2nd. All approved.
b. Signs around Marina – tabled.
c. Christmas Décor – Chairman Catherine Shores shared that a budget is needed for Christmas décor in Gateway Park. Elizabeth Moore made a motion for $3000. Jennifer Burg 2nd. All approved.
9. Administrative Update
a. Social District – Chairman Catherine Shores shared that there has been a good bit of push back from the community. She anticipates there being a compromise with the city to get it passed ono the 14th. Beth Klien with Panama Peddle Tours feels it is important to hear from businesses. Jennifer Vigil feels it is also important to hear from customers who have no financial interest. Nate Taylor asked the question; these districts work so well in other cities – what do they have that Panama City does not? Many said they will be working on outreach before the next Commission meeting.
b. McKenzie Park- The DIB is still waiting on an MOU from the city before they can move forward with maintenance. At the October workshop meeting, it was decided that QOL, CRA and DIB would coordinate with making small incremental improvements to the park.
c. Carriage Rides – The DIB will be sponsoring carriage rides again this season. Tickets will be sold for $5 per seat.
d. Public Bathroom – City is finishing up and should go out to bid soon.
e. Reminder – Nov. 11th – Downtown Cleanup 10 AM – 12 PM
10. Reminders / Calls to Action
a. Next meeting will be Wednesday, December 6th, 2023
b. Next Workshop meeting will be TBD
11. Adjournment at 9:34 PM