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Residents press Panama City over months-long dirt streets, flooding and damages from neighborhood reconstruction
Summary
Venetian Villas and Venetian Way residents described months of dirt streets, standing water and property damage from an SRF-backed reconstruction project. Residents asked the commission for a 50% property tax abatement; staff agreed to set up a follow-up meeting with the contractor and residents.
Residents of Venetian Villas told the Panama City City Commission on March 18 they have faced months of unpaved streets, deep standing water, damaged personal property and limited ability to leave their homes as the city’s SRF infrastructure reconstruction work continues.
Danny Bishop, who said he lives at 4026 Valencia Court, described a neighborhood where more than 100 homes are affected and neighbors are unable to leave because water and mud made driveways impassable. “We have students getting off school bus, walking through the mud to get back home,” Bishop said, and later added that a neighbor reported more than $15,000 in damage to a boat dock. Bishop said storm drains were not working and that pockets of standing water repeatedly trap cars in driveways.
Another resident, Edward Maseca, told commissioners his utility regulator was disconnected during the work and that his water bills were estimated for multiple months while the regulator remained disconnected; he also said he had three work orders entered to reconnect the regulator. Maseca asked why homeowners cannot receive a date for contractor work at their homes and suggested a simple door‑hanger notice after work is complete.
Several residents asked the commission to consider a 50% abatement of property taxes for the year to compensate for the lengthy disruption; Bishop said he had circulated a petition and that most neighbors supported the request. The request was not acted on as a formal agenda item; it was raised in public comment.
City staff explained the work is part of an SRF project (referred to in testimony as F1 and F2) that rebuilds entire neighborhoods — water lines, sewer, storm drains, curbs and roads — and that for mobilization reasons the contractor must operate across multiple streets at once rather than on single blocks. The city manager and project staff acknowledged the disruption and said the contractor, Gulf Coast Utility Construction, has construction, engineering and inspection staff on site each day. The city also said it is finding legacy underground utilities that complicate work and slow progress.
Assistant City Manager Jared Jones and public works staff agreed to set up a one‑on‑one meeting between the residents and the project manager and requested a follow-up meeting including Gulf Coast Utility Construction to address standing water and communication problems. Staff said they will explore temporary pumps and other mitigation measures to reduce standing water in emergency cases and promised to follow up on dredging and drainage questions in the canal behind the neighborhood.
The commission did not take formal action on the tax‑abatement request at the meeting. Commissioners and staff acknowledged the reconstruction will be disruptive but emphasized the long‑term goal of new underground utilities, curbs and paved roads once the project is complete.
