Panama City Beach election: City Council candidates address top issues

2022-04-29 06:25:12 By : Ms. Christine Zhao

Editor's note: The opinions expressed in this Q&A are solely those of each candidate.  

PANAMA CITY BEACH — Still unsure of who to vote for in this year's Panama City Beach election?

Here's a Q&A with the four City Council candidates — Geoff McConnell, Paul Casto, Mary Coburn and Mark Meade. All were emailed the same list of questions and given about five days to respond. 

McConnell, 53, and Casto, 63, are the incumbents, with Coburn, 70, and Meade, 64, attempting to take their places on the council. 

As of Wednesday, early voting was underway, with polls open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Lyndell Conference Center. Super Tuesday is April 19, and polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Lyndell Conference Center and Frank Brown Park Community Center. 

'Continue the wave of success':Panama City Beach Councilman Geoff McConnell runs for re-election

'This is my home':Panama City Beach Councilman Paul Casto runs for re-election

Casto: Panama City Beach City Councilman Ward 1.

Meade: Retired. I also am a published author and member of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. 

More on Coburn:Mary Coburn running against incumbent Geoff McConnell for Panama City Beach City Council seat

Casto: Bachelor's degree from the University of West Florida.

Meade: Graduated from both Brooklyn Technical High School and the Queens College, City University of New York, where I obtained a bachelor's degree in liberal arts.

Coburn: Some college, as well as ongoing professional development on topics specific to downtown revitalization and management.

More on Meade:Panama City Beach Council candidate wants $200 annual stipend for residents from tourism development

Casto: I started working with the city in 1977 as a lifeguard. From 1978 until 1983, I worked in the water and wastewater departments. In 1983, I became the city’s public works director, and did that for 35 years until I retired from the city in 2018. In 2018, I was elected as city councilman to represent Ward 1. 

McConnell: Panama City Beach City Council Ward 3 for the past four years.

Casto: Yes, I’m currently a City Councilman for Panama City Beach. I’ve served in that capacity for the past four years.

Meade: The elective office experience I have is from being elected, annually, as the president of the American Stock Exchange Floor Brokers Association for seven consecutive years. 

McConnell: Panama City Beach City Council Ward 3 for the past four years.

Coburn: I am not a politician, and I have not run for a public office.

Casto: I love Panama City Beach, and it has been my home for the past 49 years. I believe I’m the best qualified person with experience and knowledge of the city's infrastructure needs. 

Meade: I am running for office to take back the beach from a lethargic and unresponsive local government. I want to do as much as I can and as often as I can for as many people as I can. I don't see our government doing anything like this. In fact, I feel like a second-class citizen with this current government. 

McConnell: To continue to keep our beaches a family-friendly city that my sons and our residents' families can safely grow up in, be provided a great education and have the opportunity to prosper.

Coburn: I am a frustrated resident, and I am tired of feeling like a second-class citizen in my hometown. For me, it is about respect. Respect for our residents, respect for our quality of life, and respect for our environment.

Casto: I have more knowledge and more experience than my opponent.

Meade: I did not and have not ever accepted about $50,000 in donations like my opponent. If I did, in my mind and in my opinion, I would be a bought and paid-for politician.

McConnell: I have a proven record on delivering the promises to our residents for the last four years. My opponent wants to shut down tourism and stop people from coming here. Not only is that unconstitutional, but it will also destroy the very economy that our entire county thrives on. It will also immediately force a property tax on residents. My opponent also wants to impose a moratorium on development. This is also illegal and will result in numerous lawsuits against the city, bankrupting our city government nearly immediately. I will pledge to never support a property tax and will continue our forward planning with strategic plan that we have implemented from the voice of our residents through our first citizens survey.

Coburn: I have no dog in the fight. I don't owe anyone. My decisions will be based on what is in the best interest of our residents.

Casto: Reducing traffic congestion, public safety, and quality of life issues.

Meade: Implementing a Panama City Beach Resident Rebate Program that gives $200 a year to every resident over 18 years old who has lived in the city for at least a year, stopping the project to build an offshore stormwater outfall, and advocating for an auxiliary police force to help direct traffic and free up the Beach Police. 

McConnell: Fiscal responsibility, public safety, and infrastructure.

Coburn: Public safety, traffic gridlock, and stormwater mitigation and flooding. 

Casto: Continue working with the Florida Department of Transportation to put more state funding into our highway system in Panama City Beach. I’m not for taxing our local citizens for these improvements when the state of Florida is responsible for these major improvements to our highway system.​​​​

Meade: Work to have the Panama City Beach Resident Rebate Program paid for by the Panama City Beach Tourist Development Council. The TDC may pay for advertising and promotion on PCB, both nationally and internationally. The opponents of my proposal seem to miss the intentional broadly worded intent of the Florida statute. It is deliberately written to be interpreted broadly in its inclusiveness. Therefore, the great residents of PCB, being walking talking advertisements for PCB, are eligible for payment for their advertising work. The great residents of PCB are our ambassadors to the tourist industry. The great people of PCB are the reason for the great success of PCB, their city, and as such are entitled to compensation based upon the revenue generated by and through their efforts.

McConnell: It is critical to manage the city's finances in as tight of a manner as possible as the city largely relies on a 1% merchant fee on certain businesses to provide for general fund expenditures. Containing recurring operating costs and setting funds aside over a multi-year period allows for the ability to invest in public safety, streets, sidewalks, multi-use trails, parks and recreation and capital projects out five to 10 years in the future. Doing so is crucial to responsibly managing the funds entrusted to the city to properly fund the required services and infrastructure that will continue to be placed under pressure from residential growth. Federal and state grants must be aggressively pursued in order to be able to afford the infrastructure projects that are required for our growing community. The city's funds are not able to keep up with the high costs of infrastructure projects, and PCB needs to continue to partner with any entity possible to provide funds. 

Coburn: Ensure our police officers have the resources they need to succeed in maintaining public safety. Determine what is needed and look for grants and fundraising to help offset costs.

Casto: As a member of the Panama City Beach Tourist Development Council, I’m proposing we spend more of our tourist tax money toward hiring more police officers. Panama City Beach does not have a property tax, and I hope to keep it that way. The influx of tourists to our city challenges our police force. I feel like the tourists should pay for the majority of this service, not the residents. 

Meade: The offshore stormwater outfall would be a dagger in the heart of the Gulf of Mexico. PCB has the most beautiful Gulf water. How could an official, with even a half of brain, even contemplate dumping pollutants into the Gulf. My opponent wants to do this. I say no. I will advocate for retention and detention ponds. You cannot go back and un-pollute our Gulf. Retention and detention ponds can be managed.

McConnell: I want my family, friends and community to be as safe as possible. Crime, accidents and fire are incredibly traumatic to any who experience it and to any whose loved ones are burdened with it. It has a large emotional and financial impact on entire families. This is why we must continue to invest in our police and fire departments. We must do all that we can to decrease response times when these tragedies do occur. This helps to save lives, minimize injuries and reduce property damage. We must explore new technologies such as drones over our public beaches to give a top-down view of swimmers in distress to give quick identification and response to rescue. We must invest in new technologies that allow our police to identify criminal activity before it happens and remove criminals and drugs from our streets before they impact our families. It also is crucial to provide our firefighters with emerging technologies to not only quickly response to life-threatening car accidents and fires, but also to protect our firefighters as they work to save lives. 

Coburn: Determine the best practices by seeing what traffic calming measures are used by similar communities to protect neighborhoods and residential quality of life. Work to ensure businesses have ingress and egress during all phases of construction. Find out why road projects drag on for so long.  

Casto: I will work to find the funding and support to improve and maintain our parks and recreation systems without additional taxes. I will implement the plans that have been developed over the years. I will support additional facilities and activities as our community grows. 

Meade: The auxiliary officers would be volunteers and/or have this volunteer service made part of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement courses taught at Gulf Coast State College. This would ease the terrible traffic jams and provide for the smoother flow of the same once being directed by our auxiliary. I would also use traffic marking at the front of some high-volume restaurants and bust condos. I would mark the ingress and egress to them with a traffic marking that prevents cars from stopping and sitting in front of these entrances. I would paint a rectangular striped box, a "No Stopping Zone," which would keep cars from blocking an entrance. Then I would look to make more right-turn-only lanes, like on Thomas Drive. 

McConnell: In these times of rapid private growth, it is critical to continue to plan for it with the best ability and knowledge available. The city must identify federal, state and county funds and grants to augment local funds, identify locations to expand our roads, water and sewage facilities, and continue to push for hospital services right here in our city. The Front Beach Road Community Redevelopment Area Plan must press forward swiftly to finish in a much shorter timeline to provide sidewalks, bike lanes, tram lanes and beautification along that corridor to become the boulevard of Panama City Beach. Active collaboration with Bay County Traffic Division to continue to press for better placement and timing of traffic lights on U.S. 98 will be necessary to provide safety and efficient movement of traffic for our businesses and families that rely on that artery in their day-to-day lives. The city must also aggressively team with the Florida Department of Transportation to control access management and flow management on state-owned Philip Griffitts Sr. Parkway, Back Beach Road, Nautilus/Clara flyover, Middle Beach Road and Front Beach Road to ensure a safe and efficient means of transportation. 

Coburn: Ensure developers provide on site stormwater retention ponds so the water filters naturally into the soil. Look at specific areas where flooding is prone and determine how to stop the problem. I am opposed to the city's stormwater outflow project. Money should be spent returning Lullwater Lake to its natural state.

Casto: I will work with community members and elected officials to help manage the growth of our community.

Meade: By zoning ordinances and impact assessments. I would require large developments to present their plans to remediate traffic congestion in their areas of development. I would then require that they provide their plan for stormwater runoff. I would require the runoff to be part of the water feature built into the community plan. I would reduce the density of the developments to provide a better quality of life for the residents and all of their neighbors.

Coburn: I would like to slow growth down, relieve stress on our infrastructure and deal with the challenges of our successes.

Casto: Traffic congestion in my opinion is our biggest challenge. I mentioned how to solve it in answering my No. 1 priority issue. 

Meade: The weak and ineffective local government that we have. Officials seem distracted and uninterested in the plight of the people who elected them. It's as if they are given their marching orders by special interests. They are out of touch with the great people of PCB, but always accessible and accommodative to their financial sponsors.

McConnell: The three issues I listed above. 

Coburn: The city should seek ways to diversify our revenue stream. Tourists are important, but we need to attract more than just tourist-based businesses. The city needs employers that can provide good-paying jobs and benefits to our residents.

Meade: I trade through the stock markets regularly. To me, all the money in the world is running right across the TV screens as we watch the ticket tape. It is surprising how many people don't understand the most important part of the financial systems. The markets and their proclivities ought to be taught in schools.

McConnell: Raising my sons to have fun and enjoy all that our beaches offer, while encouraging them to become leaders that lead with honor, honesty and integrity. 

Coburn: I love learning new crafts and blending two crafts into one finished product. Such as a segmented wooden bowl turned on a lathe with a wood burned decorative base.