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Panama City commission approves single Beach Drive referendum question for April ballot after contentious debate
Summary
The commission voted 3-2 on Feb. 11 to place one nonbinding referendum question about a state grant-funded pedestrian and stormwater improvement project on Beach Drive on the April 22 municipal ballot. Commissioners debated wording and whether to include several related questions; commissioners authorized only the Beach Drive question.
The Panama City Commission voted 3-2 on Feb. 11 to put a single nonbinding referendum question about proposed pedestrian and stormwater improvements on Beach Drive on the April 22 municipal ballot.
The adopted ballot question asks whether the city should use state funding (grant 450940-1) to make pedestrian and to make stormwater and environmental improvements within the publicly owned right of way on Beach Drive, with an explicit statement that the grant funds are restricted and cannot be used for any other location in the city.
Commission debate was lengthy and at times heated. Supporters said a ballot question would give all Panama City voters a straightforward way to register their view, including people who do not attend commission meetings. Opponents argued the draft language read like a public-relations statement and omitted potential downsides: they urged factual phrasing and inclusion of countervailing points. Commissioners also disputed whether prior community workshops had allowed the public to register a simple yes-or-no preference; some commissioners said the workshops were framed as design-input sessions, not as referendums.
After extensive edits and discussion, commissioners agreed to a shorter factual ballot statement limited to the project’s core elements: pedestrian improvements on Beach Drive and stormwater/environmental work within the publicly owned right of way, funded by the named state grant. The roll call on the final motion was Commissioner Lucas — yes; Commissioner Granger — yes; Commissioner Street — yes; Commissioner Halligas — no; Mayor Michael Rowan — no. The motion therefore passed, 3 to 2.
The commission also considered, then voted unanimously to drop, a set of additional referendum questions that had been proposed for the April ballot (items about a civic center, bed tax options and other funding questions). Commissioners said those topics required more study and better question design than the meeting’s schedule allowed.
City staff said the approved single question must be transmitted promptly to the supervisor of elections to make the April ballot deadline; the commission asked staff to forward the adopted language to election officials and to circulate the final ballot wording to the commissioners.
