PANAMA CITY — City commissioners are looking to remove as many barriers as possible to promote a musical rejuvenation project downtown.
On Tuesday, commissioners will consider eliminating a license requirement for restaurant owners who want to have live performances in their businesses. City ordinances currently require a nightclub license fee of $150 per year if a restaurant has entertainment of any sort, even if it is for one night of the year. With the “Music City F-L-A” initiative beginning to take root downtown, Commissioner John Kady, ward representative, is asking fellow commissioners to remove the fee that may deter restaurants from participating.
“It is a big decision for a restaurant owner to host live music,” Kady said. “They have to allocate table space, pay [music licensing fees] plus the cost of the entertainer; so I was looking to eliminate one of the additional costs.”
Restaurant owners began delving into the cooperative effort between musicians and downtown business owners, dubbed “Music City F-L-A,” at the beginning of March. The goal of Crook Stewart, organizer, was to have an eclectic array of music steadily pouring from downtown stores. Musicians would agree to play at no expense to businesses, attracting patrons, and in return musicians could collect tips.
Gilbert Hamati, owner of Trigo Deli and Catering, volunteered as a test case for the initiative and has been hosting musicians weekly since.
“It’s been a huge hit,” Hamati said. “Business increased by 1,000 percent, because I didn’t used to do anything on Wednesday’s. Downtown was just dead.”
Panama City’s Community Development Agency has encouraged downtown businesses to apply for economic recovery grants to cover music licensing expenses. Mayor Greg Brudnicki said he would like to see the 5 percent “bed tax,” which is moving through the Florida Legislature, partly used to develop downtown Panama City as a music and arts district.
“We don’t want to put any more burdens on these establishments,” Brudnicki said. “So we’re looking at eliminating barriers from a tax standpoint and getting the bed tax involved in enhancing downtown and promoting the initiative.”
However, the commission’s decision would not completely remove fees for the nightclub scene.
“If you are solely a nightclub, you would need to pay the license fee because they require inspections and there is a cost to the city there,” Kady said. “But if you are already a restaurant, all that is covered under the restaurant license, and we want to remove all barriers to entry for people who want to have that type of entertainment.”
Also Tuesday, commissioners will consider:
-A request for development proposals of the downtown marina from private companies.
-Annexing Airport Road north of County 390 to expedite permitting for the development of the SweetBay subdivision, expected to bring more than 1,300 homes to the old airport property. The agreement transfers Airport Road, rights-of-way and all associated infrastructure from the county to the city.
-Purchasing a one-acre parcel at 2319 Jenks Ave for $110,000 to be used as a stormwater retention pond because of the Jenks Avenue widening project.
-Award of a $379,950 bid to American Infrastructure Technologies Corp. for the 2014 sewer line inspection and repair project.
-Award of a $73,000 contract to McNeil Carroll Engineering to design the Frank Nelson Park Soccer Complex. About $750,000 has been allocated over the next two years for the project.
-Selling 508 square feet at the southwest corner of 15th Street and MLK Boulevard for $7,900 to Florida Department of Transportation. FDOT also is requesting temporary construction easements on six city intersections along 15th Street for resurfacing and widening.
-Accepting a donation of $1,000 from David Costa, owner of Costa Enterprises, McDonalds, for the Panama City Fire Department to purchase fire prevention/public education material for distribution to the general public.