Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks And Recreation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Panama City directs 12-month parks advisory committee, narrows membership to city residents
Summary
Commissioners instructed staff to create a six- to 12-month citizen advisory committee for Parks, Culture and Recreation, limit membership to city residents, remove professional-experience requirement, and return with a budget estimate and nominations timeline.
City commissioners instructed staff on a framework for a temporary Parks, Culture and Recreation citizen advisory committee and directed several changes to the committee charter during a meeting in March.
The commission asked staff to limit membership to city residents and drop the listed requirement that nominees show prior experience in real estate, land development, parks maintenance, facility or property management. Commissioners agreed the committee should operate for 12 months (rather than the six months initially proposed) and focus on community engagement, public charrettes and recommendations for “premier” parks and potential realignments or consolidations.
City Manager Jonathan Hayes told the commission, “If you establish the committee, we could make some budgetary recommendations while we’re in the current budget cycle,” and said staff would return with an estimate of costs for meetings, outreach and charrettes. Hayes and Director of Parks, Culture and Recreation Keith Mefford will serve as staff liaisons to the committee and will help schedule town-hall style meetings throughout the city.
Commissioners emphasized that the advisory panel’s role is to gather and analyze community input, develop and distribute surveys, and report findings back to the commission. Commissioner comments recorded in the meeting transcript indicated support for a 12‑month timeline to align any committee recommendations with the city’s budget cycle.
The commission asked the clerk to prepare a process so that each elected official would nominate one member and the full commission would appoint the five-member panel. Staff said nominations could be presented at a May or June meeting so an initial work program could begin in June or July.
Direction to staff included a requirement that the committee be given a clear list of deliverables: outreach, analysis of community preferences, written findings and recommendations on park designation, and suggested next steps for park operations or potential repurposing of city-owned parcels. Commissioners asked staff to flag any parks or parcels that are deed-restricted or otherwise legally constrained from sale or repurposing.
The commission left the final charter language to staff and legal counsel but instructed that the appointment process, budget estimate and timeline be presented to the commission before votes on appointments.
