Listening to locals: Panama City to hold second meeting on Bay Memorial Park renovations
PANAMA CITY − Sean DePalma says it's crucial for residents to voice concerns and opinions on city projects anytime they're given the opportunity.
As quality-of-life director for Panama City, DePalma said the city will hold a community meeting Thursday to discuss the future redevelopment of Bay Memorial Park, also known as the Panama City Garden Club, which was "heavily damaged" by Category 5 Hurricane Michael in October 2018. The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. at Bay Memorial Park at Florida Avenue and Garden Club Drive.
"This is what democracy is about − having citizens' input," he said. "When it comes to amenities of quality of life, we here in Panama City (are) passionate about how we serve the community, and we want to make sure that we're providing them what they're expecting, what they would like and what they are interested in."
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The Thursday meeting will be the second community meeting held to develop the park's master plan, DePalma said. The first was on Nov. 3, and multiple suggestions voiced by residents then were worked into the plan.
This includes adding more parking spaces, improved landscaping and better accessibility.
"We're looking for the voices of the community," DePalma said. "We took input from the community from that (first) meeting, and now we're coming back to the community to show them their input that we've added to the plan, and to gather more input and recommendations."
Thursday also will mark the last community meeting on the master plan of the park's layout. Future community meetings still will be held on the design of the park's community center.
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Additional plans for the park include adding more outdoor exercise equipment, improving the disc golf course and expanding the war memorial. The city also plans to build a memorial garden for George West, the founder of Panama City.
DePalma did not know as of Tuesday estimates for how much it might cost the city to revamp the park.
"We need to see what the community wants so that we can lay it out, and then from that master plan we can start doing estimates," DePalma said. "As we go through the process, we'll start to identify what this project (will) cost."
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Panama City seeking more public input on Bay Memorial Park project
