PANAMA CITY — The Downtown Improvement Board (DIB) is looking to get out from under more than $50,000 of debt and could sell off downtown parking areas as a way to do that.
During their meeting Wednesday, DIB members discussed strategies to rid $58,789 in debt. About $50,000 of the outstanding debt is accruing interest at 4.75 percent and DIB members want to get away from owing money to a bank.
DIB director Dutch Sanger told board members $15,000 had already been paid off. By September another $15,000 could be paid off from increased revenues and a renegotiated contract with Budweiser, but Chairman Jim Hayden wanted to more aggressively eliminate the debt.
“The DIB has accrued property through its own profits and expenses,” Hayden said. “If we sell it, I would expect fair market value, perhaps slightly less.”
The DIB owns 10 parcels of downtown property assessed at a total of $963,840, according to Bay County Property Appraiser records. A large portion of the properties include parking along Harrison Avenue, behind the Martin Theatre and south of McKenzie Park.
DIB members objected to selling the property to private investors and instructed Hayden to approach city commissioners with an offer to keep the lots public. Members voted to offer the DIB property at the corner of Beach Drive and Park Street, valued at $56,880, to city commissioners.
DIB members instructed Hayden to first ask if Panama City would buy the DIB debt outright and allow a repayment plan without an interest rate so the DIB could keep its property.
The lack of a $3,000 annual interest expense could be used to fund additional downtown events or stabilize the DIB millage rate, Hayden said.