From Mayor Mark Sheldon
The City Council prioritizes policies and projects to make this community the best it can be. The daily work of implementing policies and projects falls on our almost 400 employees who work tirelessly to make sure that you have all you need to enjoy every aspect of our paradise.
In 2020 the City adopted its first strategic plan, with an aim of creating and maintaining a safe, family-friendly, vibrant community with an outstanding quality of life. Priorities for 2021-26 were identified and I’d like to both review and update you on our accomplishments.
Priority One is Financial Health: This City Council is committed to fiscal responsibility, accountability, and transparency.
Our capital plans for the next several years are ambitious, but aren’t dependent on property taxes, as the city has no personal property tax. Our City budget, the largest yet, plans for growth but relies heavily on grants and other restricted revenue streams. In 2021-22, the City received 13 grants for stormwater outfall and drainage projects, septic-to-sewer conversions, streetlighting repairs, and more. Some grant projects are under construction, such as CRA lighting repairs and a fire training tower, and others are in the design stage.
We have federal and state lobbyists to ensure our community gets its fair share of public dollars. Last year these efforts began to pay off; we meet regularly with key lawmakers and departments in Washington D.C. and Tallahassee.
In 2022, we kicked off a multi-year process to implement a City-wide software update to unify City department activities. This will allow our Finance Department to produce real-time reports that will in turn better inform policy decisions as data is quickly and accurately generated.
Our second priority is Economic Development. We support economic development that will create a diverse, resilient, and long-term robust economy. To help, we stood up a citizen committee which created a video to showcase community resources for those looking to locate, or relocate, their businesses.
Our events contribute greatly to our business growth. The City hosts special events and tournaments year-round. There is always something to do here, as this is a real fun place to live, work and play. Thank-you to Visit Panama City Beach for successfully marketing our community.
Our biggest challenge is transportation mobility, our third priority in the strategic plan. Paramount to mobility is the Front Beach Road Community Redevelopment Area.
Our Front Beach Road CRA recently marked its 20th year with the completion of Segment 2 and the start of Segment 3. A new CRA Manager was hired in 2021 to increase the pace of the project. Next year we expect to celebrate the completion of Segment 3. Please bear with us as we build Segments 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3. The completed redevelopment of this City main street will improve mobility, and the undergrounding of utilities will enhance appearance.
We also coordinated with FDOT to raise Alf Coleman Road out of the flood plain and add sidewalks, which should start construction this year. We also sought FDOT assistance to help fund a second roundabout on North Richard Jackson Boulevard. These north-south connectors are critical to the safety of students attending nearby schools. We are also currently underway with our street resurfacing program which will improve 17 miles of City streets.
We believe that the City’s overall appearance is critical to the community’s image, quality, and vitality.
We have spent over $1M on odor control measures at the wastewater treatment plant and several lift stations around the City. We have created no smoking areas in our parks and City beaches. We continue to place public art around the City as part of the SeeLife project and we will replace street lights along Front Beach Road and add signalized crosswalks.
The City is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for its residents, businesses and visitors—our fourth priority.
The Council considers safety a top priority. Code enforcement helps keep our community clear of nuisances and patrols our beaches along with Beach Safety. We are upgrading our fire department assets with the construction of a new fire station by City Hall and we’ll be replacing Station 32 on Hutchison Boulevard. These projects are ready and fully funded. Our police department has increased our K-9 officers to eight – giving PCB the largest K-9 operation in the Panhandle. We are working on a grant to secure funding to build a K-9 housing facility, and we’re upgrading our police impound yard and expanding our community outreach efforts.
To further improve quality of life, the City will invest in and seek strategic partnerships to promote enhancements in the cultural, recreational, health, aesthetics and educational assets of the community.
Both the citizen survey and strategic plan highlighted a need for more healthcare. Through the vision of The St. Joe Company, FSU, and Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, we are getting a new research and teaching hospital that will allow physicians to do their residencies here and stay here. This hospital is anticipated to have over 400 beds. Also, just outside the city limits, HCA has opened a free-standing ER!
The City and Visit Panama City Beach are funding more amenities for Frank Brown Park, including a skatepark, pickleball courts, basketball courts, a safe room, and a BMX course. We’re working with FDOT to construct a pedestrian overpass over PCB Parkway, allowing travel from Front Beach Road and Aaron Bessant Park to Gayle’s Trails at Frank Brown. We are adding another 1.5 miles to Gayle’s Trails from east of Clara to Breakfast Point, connecting past Arnold High School. Thanks to SUNTrail grant funds, the trail will cost the city less than $80,000.
We have worked with FDOT to keep the 6-laning of PCB Parkway moving and are relocating utility lines. Two contracts to widen the road will be in place this year allowing work to happen simultaneously. One is from Mandy Lane at the entrance to the park, to Nautilus. The second is from Nautilus to Richard Jackson.
The City is growing, but we are staying true to who we are as a family destination.
Find Mayor Sheldon’s speech in its entirety at https://www.pcbfl.gov/Home/Components/News/News/5228/18.
