City to review financial assumptions for downtown marina uplands; PFM proposal attached to agenda

Panama City staff briefed commissioners on plans to contract PFM to perform a financial review of possible upland development at the downtown marina and to inform public‑private partnership options.

Mr. Zimmerman, reporting to the commission, said a PFM proposal arrived the morning of the meeting and will be attached to the next agenda. The scope includes interviewing stakeholders (including CMP and city staff), assessing existing infrastructure and new infrastructure needs, testing assumptions for residential and commercial revenue (for example lease rates and apartment price points) and participating in three public charrettes. Zimmerman said PFM will also compare other Florida public marina projects and evaluate public sector financial participation and projected merchant/fee revenues.

The work is intended to expand an earlier wet‑slip revenue analysis to include upland uses and revenue sharing scenarios. Mr. Zimmerman said Dover Cole — the planning group that assisted the city after the hurricane — is expected to submit a proposed task order to provide design or planning support and that CMP and its contractor team continue to review designs for wet slips; no construction can begin until design is complete.

Commissioner Maras asked that the analysis explicitly include dry‑stack or dry storage for boats as a potential upland use, noting some public comments favor keeping the property primarily marina‑oriented. "Can we add dry dock storage as well for them to assess as well?" Maras asked; Zimmerman agreed to include boating‑related uses in the list of potential options for review.

Zimmerman also noted the selection of a parks director candidate pool: 75 applications were received and staff will narrow that list to four or five finalists for the manager’s review.

No formal procurement action was taken at the meeting; staff said forthcoming agenda materials will include PFM’s scope of services and any task orders from Dover Cole for the commission’s consideration.