City to put first 50 Panama City Marina wet slips out to bid; management and parking remain unresolved

A city official announced that the first 50 wet slips at the Panama City Marina will go out to bid this week, marking the first procurement step for a project the city expects to build in phases. "We're good to go on the 50, and those will be going out to bid this week," the city manager (Jonathan) said.

Staff said Terrell and Hall Associates was selected as the design engineer under an earlier authorization (up to $450,000) to design both basins (roughly 200 slips). The city has obtained a DEP permit exemption to move forward on the initial 50 slips; permits for additional work (breakwater, more slips) have been applied for and could take 12 to 24 months to process.

Long-term marina tenants and residents pressed the commission on operations. A long-time tenant (Eric Wimberly, S10) said the city should ensure any management partner or in-house staff have marina operational experience, environmental training (spills response) and a plan for early-morning/late-night parking demand. "I would only request that whoever I'll bring in... they should have some background in marina operation," he said.

Commissioners reiterated they prefer partnering with an experienced operator rather than running marina operations in-house. Staff also said current Marina staff had either left or transferred, so the city lacks an existing marina operations team. Public concerns centered on how many slips would be reserved for public use, whether upland parking would accommodate surge periods (predawn departures), and whether shuttle or off-site parking models would be feasible for users arriving outside normal business hours.

Procurement timing: staff expects the bid window for the first 50 slips will be longer than typical (about 45 to 60 days) to allow questions and bidder preparation before Memorial Day; construction timing depends on permit approvals and contracting. The city said it will circulate bid documents and keep the commission and public informed as procurement advances.

Next steps include issuing the bid for the first 50 slips, continuing permit work for the breakwater and additional slips, and returning to the commission on management options (in-house vs. partner) and parking strategies.