Commission votes to put Beach Drive pedestrian and stormwater question on April ballot after heated debate

After extended public comment and more than an hour of debate, the Panama City Commission voted to place a single, nonbinding referendum on the April 22 municipal ballot asking whether the city should use a specified state grant for pedestrian improvements and stormwater/environmental work on Beach Drive.

The final ballot language approved by the commission reads, in substance: "Should the City of Panama City use state funding (grant number 450940-1) to make pedestrian improvements on Beach Drive and make stormwater and environmental improvements within the publicly owned right of way, with the understanding these funds are restricted and cannot be used for any other purpose or location in the city?" The measure will appear as a yes/no question on the April municipal ballot.

Commission debate was sharply divided. Supporters said a ballot question would let living, registered Panama City voters directly voice whether the grant-funded work should proceed. Commissioner Street and others argued the referendum would cut through contested social-media polls and provide a decisive public record of local voters' views. Opponents called the draft question biased and incomplete, saying it framed the work positively while omitting the chief concerns raised by opponents(e.g., potential narrowing of the roadway, aesthetic changes, tree removal, and maintenance responsibility). Commissioner Halligas and Mayor Rowan said the wording in the draft favored a "yes" response and did not present the counterarguments fairly.

After discussion, the commission also voted 5-0 to abandon six additional referendum questions that had been drafted but not finalized (these covered a variety of funding and Civic Center questions). The commission directed staff and the city attorney to finalize the single ballot question and to file the text with the supervisor of elections in time for the municipal election calendar.

Public comment before the vote was strongly contested. Several neighborhood residents opposed the Beach Drive project and asked the commission not to move ahead; multiple speakers cited tree removal, ownership of land south of the road, uncertainty about whether the city controls riparian parcels, and doubts about long-term maintenance costs. Others from downtown and tourism sectors supported improvements they said would improve pedestrian safety and support access to waterfront businesses.

The city attorney and staff said the question would be placed on the April 22 municipal ballot provided the final language is submitted to the supervisor of elections by the statutory deadline. The commission did not authorize any construction or expenditure at this meeting; the vote authorized the ballot question only.