June 2023 Minutes
Minutes
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
PANAMA CITY DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT BOARD
Wednesday, June 7th, 2023
Panama City Center for the Arts
19 East 4th Street
1. Call to order – 8:35 AM – Present: Catherine Shores, Allan Branch, Kevin Mitchell, Nate Taylor, Brent McLeod, Elizabeth Moore. Absent: Jennifer Burg
2. Chairman’s report – Catherine gave update on meeting with new Mayor.
3. Approval of minutes – April 5 (did not have quorum at May meeting) and May 3, 2023 – Allan made motion to accept April minutes, Kevin 2nd, all approved. Kevin made a motion to accept May minutes, Brent 2nd, all approved.
4. Public Participation – public invited to speak about anything not already on the agenda – Jenna Haligas shared the commission plans to discuss moving forward with the Downtown Marina at the next meeting. There will not be a vote at that time. The city has 15 million to spend. They will not borrow more. They are fighting for an extra 10 million. Engineering is expected to cost $400,000. Engineering must be 90% complete before permitting. Will take 18-20 months once submitted for permitting and EHP. The EHP report on the Martin Theatre is still not back. Lena Webb shared that the end of the grant cycle for CRA will tentatively be July 1st.
5. Financial Update – Bank account balances, current budget update
6. Arts Update – Jayson Kretzer shared that a mural has been designed for 602 Harrison. Design approval meeting is 06/08/2023. Jennifer Honeycutt is the artist and will be a floral design. A mural project is also underway for Watson Bayou bridge. Jayson then made a request for $45,000 to create a larger Halloween event downtown at 551 Harrison. This is not a Bay Arts project. The projected event cost will be between $80-90,000. Last year, the Halloween experience at The Center for the Arts made $30,000 in three days. This one will be open for a minimum of 10 days. Hoping to run every Thurs. – Sun. in October. Wanting this to be a branding event for downtown Panama City. Lease of the building would run from July 15 – Jan 15. After Halloween, it will turn into an experiential art Winter Wonderland event. Other sponsors are being pursued. Updates would be given to the DIB board each month with an update of progress. Allan made a motion to approve $45,000. Elizabeth asked to amend the motion to approve $45,000 with $25,000 being paid back and the board having discretion to reinvest in a future experiential art experience. Kevin 2nd. All approved.
7. Old Business –
a. Red Fish Film Festival requested sponsorship of $12,000. – Presented and discussed at May meeting. Elizabeth made a motion to approve $12,000. Allan 2nd. All approved.
b. Fountain Rehab update – Waiting for tile decision.
c. Social District update – Catherine shared that the new Mayor was open to the idea. Jenna shared that the city is open to it, but more discussion is needed. Allan asked Jenna if the city could move forward within the next 30 days. Jenna has meeting with Mark McQueen today and would discuss. Cole Davis, the DIB attorney, is working with the City Attorneys.
d. Glass art pavers for McKenzie Park – Brent brough sample of idea for center of McKenzie Park. Wanted to see if there was interest before spending more time on the concept. The board would like to move forward with discussion with the city on the design.
8. New Business –
a. Proposed FY budget 23/24 – Elizabeth made a motion to approve the proposed budget with the Executive Director having the ability to adjust the line item of “Other Current Charges – Unidentified” once the final numbers are released in early July, before submitting to the city commission for approval. Kevin 2nd. All Approved.
b. Empty lot at 4th and Grace – Not discussed.
c. Additional legal fees for Social District – Currently, approved legal funds have been exhausted for the Entertainment District. Elizabeth made a motion to approve an additional $3000. Brent 2nd. All approved.
d. Tree trimming in Gateway Park and Martin Theatre parking lot- Elizabeth made motion to approve $1800 for tree trimming in Gateway Park and behind Martin Theatre. Brent 2nd. All approved.
e. Tree carving at Martin Theatre parking lot – Tabled to discuss at a later date.
9. Administrative Update
a. HOH has requested use of DIB parking lot for Father’s Day event.
b. Attendance at remaining board meetings
c. I Love PC logo handrail installed by C & G.
d. 2024 Farmers Market Permit has been submitted.
10. Reminders / Calls to Action
a. Next meeting will be Wednesday, July 5, 2023
b. Next Workshop meeting will be Wednesday, June 21, 2023 – topic of discussion is “WOW factors for downtown.”
11. Adjournment at 10:33 AM