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Residents press city on heavy trucks, code enforcement and neighborhood parks at Panama City town hall
Summary
At a town hall meeting residents urged action on heavy truck traffic on 11th Street, inconsistent code enforcement and the need to protect neighborhood parks; the city attorney and staff said a truck-route map will be circulated and clarified limits on regulating state roads.
Several residents used the public-comment period to press the commission on neighborhood safety and city responsiveness.
Janet Kessler (S13) spoke at length about heavy truck traffic and large commercial vehicles on 11th Street in Saint Andrews, saying the street was increasingly used by cement and fuel trucks and that the change to a business corridor designation had placed residents and children at risk. "You guys need to do something about those heavy trucks on 11th Street. It's destroying 11th Street," Kessler said, urging a weight limit or truck-route regulation for local roads.
Commissioners and staff discussed limits to municipal authority on state roads, but said a local truck-route map prepared by Commissioner Street would be circulated for discussion; City attorney Nevan Zimmerman (S14) confirmed staff would distribute the map and work with FDOT if state roads were implicated. Commissioners emphasized the need to identify a through-truck path that minimizes residential impacts while allowing necessary local deliveries.
Other public commenters raised separate but related issues: Jim Lawrence (S10) asked about a centralized '311'-style caller service for routing complaints; staff said the city's main number currently routes calls and that a separate 311 system remains aspirational and has not been implemented. Derek Thomas (S2) and others criticized perceived inconsistencies in code-enforcement responses and asked for public access to work orders and records; staff said they would check records and follow up on outstanding work orders for specific addresses.
Neighborhood advocates also urged attention to parks and youth recreation. Keith Marshall (S12) urged the commission to protect and budget for local parks in Saint Andrews and cautioned against long-term private contracts that could restrict local youth access to playing fields.
City staff committed to circulate the truck-route research and the proposed map for commissioner and public review and to follow up on code-enforcement documentation requests and the status of caller-service options.
