Panama City to spend $335,000 on vacant lot, partner with FDOT to build stormwater pond

PANAMA CITY − Thanks to a partnership between Panama City and the Florida Department of Transportation, stormwater improvements are around the corner for the St. Andrew Community.

Panama City commissioners on Tuesday approved for the city to spend $335,000 to purchase more than half an acre at 1400 Beck Ave. In exchange of the purchase, FDOT has agreed to fund the construction of a stormwater facility and pond on the property, with hopes it will drastically improve reoccurring flooding in the area.

"We've got areas of the city that are what we call repetitive loss areas," Commissioner Josh Street said. "To get that designation, it means that there's either homes or businesses that are consistently flooding inside of those buildings."

Helping residents: Panama City encourages residents to participate in second voluntary home buyout program

Possible future ordinance: Panama City to possibly create downtown social district to allow alcoholic drinks

He added the region near the property is among those loss areas. Along with nearby buildings, surrounding Beck Avenue also often floods. The new stormwater facility should help fix both issues.

It will serve as a stormwater treatment center for about 26 acres of the St. Andrew Community.

"For decades there's been flooding right there at that corner intersection," Street said of Beck Avenue and West 14th Street. "This is the solution to eliminating that flooded area. ... This is part of us trying to make consistent efforts step by step at solving some of the most difficult issues there are to solve in the city.

"Flooding is one of those that doesn't fix itself overnight. It's a mixture of maintaining the system that we have now well, but also putting in needed infrastructure like the stormwater pond to alleviate the problems that have existed."

Ian Satter, spokesperson for FDOT, said the next step is for Panama City to transfer the property deed to the department once it is purchased. FDOT will then begin a project development and environment study to determine how it will need to construct the stormwater facility for it to be effective.

Satter noted there currently is no timeline for when construction of the facility might begin or end. FDOT does not yet have any funding set aside for the project.

"Now that the property will be deeded over to FDOT, we can actually start the study process to place a stormwater pond there," he said. "Right now, there is just no funding for design or construction. We will just be starting the study to put a pond at that location."

.

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Panama City, FDOT working to reduce flooding in St. Andrew Community