Saturday March 31, 2007
Thomas Drive Flyover Modification

They decided to add a west bound lane to the flyover assembly at Thomas Drive. Currently there is one lane that goes from the light at Thomas Drive to Back Beach Road, in which I posted my opinion on a few weeks ago.

They must have been intimidated by the awesome influence of pcbdaily.com - just kidding.

There was a reported $300k taken from an auxiliary fund to cover the cost of this addition that was originally believed to not be needed. The planners in the beginning were convinced that the majority of traffic was going to Front Beach Road, but decided to alter that decision when they noticed traffic backing up go to Back Beach Road. (more)

posted by Jason at 8:44 AM

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04/03/07 - It’s only my opinion, but I would have thought that part of the planning of this project would have taken into consideration the increased attractions and business building on Back Beach Road, did the planning department assume that Back Beach Road was just going to stay vacant property? Pretty poor excuse for planning in my opinion.

I was wondering if this same genius planning department forgot about the traffic light at the entrance to Gulf Coast Community College which stops the flow of traffic coming east off the bridge during peak traffic hours and causes delays and back ups on the bridge. Did they not see that one coming either?

Once they get these little details like traffic flow problems worked out this things is going to run like clockwork.

Kerry Silha

Thursday, March 29, 2007
Florida Consumer Confidence Down, Business 2.0 Best Places to Invest, Subprime Mortgage

"Rising gas prices, a declining housing market and a sudden dip in the stock market contributed to a six-point drop in Florida’s consumer confidence to 86 in March, its lowest level in six months, University of Florida economists report. . ." (more)

It is a little old, and most of it you have probably seen, but I came across it again on business20.com. The New Rules of Real Estate. Also, I posted a thread on it in the forums.

"The meltdown in the subprime mortgage market is making it tough for many potential home buyers to find financing. Home buyers with damaged or thin credit histories may be shut out. But what about people with the best credit? Will the problems in subprime have any impact on how costly or easy it is to get mortgages for so-called prime borrowers?" (more)

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Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Panama City Airport Relocation Bidder Chosen

Pittsburgh based PCA Development was chosen as the highest bidder with a total offer of $75 million for the old Panama City Airport site. Although backup negotiations are still being held open with the other bidders PCA and the Airport Authority Board will enter into a contractual agreement within 60 days. At this time, the Board should have construction bids in place for the new site and be ready to move forward. (more)

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Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Slow Pace on New Home Sales, Florida Tax Reform: A House Divided

"Sales of new homes fell for a second consecutive month in February, dimming hopes for a rebound soon in the troubled housing market and raising fears about the health of the overall economy. The Commerce Department reported Monday that sales of single-family homes dropped 3.9 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 848,000 units, the slowest pace in nearly seven years. The decline followed a 15.8 percent plunge in January, the biggest one-month decline in 13 years. The weakness in sales was accompanied by a drop in prices with the median price of a new home falling to $250,000 in February, down 0.3 percent from a year ago. . ." (more)

"The bipartisan spirit that took hold of the Florida Legislature earlier this year in the effort to lower homeowner insurance rates is showing signs of cracking in the House over property tax relief. A divide has developed over a proposal by House GOP leaders to swap less property tax for more sales tax. Democrats are unified in opposition, questioning the wisdom of asking Floridians, in the words of one Democratic leader, to 'swallow the largest sales tax hike in our state’s history. . .'" (more)

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Monday, March 26, 2007
Airport Bidder Chosen, Florida Leads Nation in Foreclosures

The winning bidder for the current airport site has been chosen and will be announced on Tuesday. Two of the three remaining bidders resubmitted their offers with the highest bid coming in at $75 million. Details of the bid specify that the additional $14 million above the original $61 million will be paid over as many as three decades with proceeds from the development. The other bid promises $10 million hard at acceptance. The third bidder stated that he offered as much as he could afford. (more)

In a special meeting held March 21, the Airport Authority allowed the six firms bidding to be construction manager for the new airport site to give presentations and answer questions. You can read more at WestBayFlorida.Blogspot.com.

"The once red-hot Florida housing market leads the nation in delinquencies, according to the latest report on foreclosure filings from RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosure properties. There were more than 19,144 properties in some stage of foreclosure in February in the Sunshine State, up 63.5 percent from January and nearly double the number a year earlier. . ." (more)

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Saturday, March 24, 2007
Existing Home Sales Up, Nationwide and Locally, or are they?

The quantity of sales is up, but the median home price is still falling. "The National Association of Realtors reported Friday that existing home sales climbed 3.9 percent last month. . .and left sales at an annual rate of 6.69 million units."

Locally, "existing home sales in Panama City went up 21 percent compared to February 2006, while existing condo sales rose 182 percent. . ." (more)

After looking at the mls, the following sold since 1/1/07 in Bay County:

- 329 detached single family homes
- 55 attached single family homes
- 200 condos total (88 built before 2005, and 112 built 2006 and newer)

From the same time period last year (1/1/06 - 3/24/06)

- 418 detached single family homes
- 77 attached single family homes
- 248 total condo sales (48 built before 2004, and 200 2005 and newer)

After looking at numbers comparing sales from Feb last year to Feb this year, the greatest percentage gain I could get was 7%.

Maybe I'm looking at this wrong, but I'm not seeing any 21% gains. Help anyone? I've posted this on the forums here.

posted by Jason at 3:18 PM

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Jason,

Not all sales are actually closed in the BCAR MLS. In doing a quick search of all deeds recorded between 1/1/2006 and 3/24/2006 I have the following:

773 Single Family
404 condos
47 townhouses
13 Multifamily 10 units or more (these may be single units or multi units per sale- 1st glance at price suggests only 1 is more than 1 unit)
47 Multifamily 10 units or less (several of these appear to be multi unit sales)
(107 total ASF sales, but units would be higher due to be multi-unit sales listed as one parcel; i.e apartments, etc.)

Also, units may be mistakenly reported as condos and/or townhouses in MLS. A townhouse with condo docs should be listed as condo.

These stats are pulled for Metro Market Trends, which is a subscription based service- I cannot check through the 24th of March until the release the March Statistics which is near the beginning of the month. I would be happy to forward those on to you if you would like. This is probably the source the News Herald used as well...

Brian

Friday, March 23, 2007
Panama City Mayor debate, PCB Tram System, Nautilus Cove, Economy Slow but Strong

On Thursday night there was a Panama City Mayoral debate between Mayor Lauren DeGeorge, Scott Clemens, Bob Barnard, and Cliff Fleming. Topics ranged from the new airport relocation to the current tax issues. The election is on April 17th, be sure to vote, last election there was somewhere between 30 and 40% voter turnout rate. (more)

The proposed multimodal tram system on Thomas Drive close to Front Beach Road and Walmart is estimated to cost $16 million. The system will service all of Front Beach Road to Laguna Beach upon completion of all three phases. I've heard some discussion that this is a waste of our taxpayer money, what do you think? I've opened a forum here.

How is Nautilus Cove doing? I love the idea, and the prices. It really seems like you get a lot for the money. I actually haven't heard if they are doing well, or not. Does anyone know? I opened a thread here.

"A strong job market appears to be propping up an economy suffering from slumping home prices and a slowdown in manufacturing, two economic reports suggested Thursday. Industry research group The Conference Board said Thursday that its composite index of leading indicators, which is meant to project changes in the economy six to nine months in advance, slipped 0.5 percent to 137.3 in February after a revised 0.3 percent decline to 138 in January. . ." (more)

More specific details can be found here.

posted by Jason at 8:27 AM

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04/03/07 - The general idea is good but I finding the insight of those that approve these grand ideas is relatively shortsighted.

Take one look at Front Beach Road and hindsight it's appearance will tell you that Commercial Buildings could and should have graced the first floor of each and every concrete parking garage now an eye sore on that road. If codes prevented them to locate commercial building on the first floor because of flood possibility then they could have designed these structures with attractive stairs and an elevator to the second floor in order to bring really neat commercial projects designed with cute facades to Front Beach Road. Ice Cream Parlors, Deli's, Bagel shops, Bakeries, Up scale Bouquets, Floral shops, Jewelry stores, Art galleries, Local Artists shops, Coffee shops, Book stores, Resort Footwear, etc.

Instead we end up merely having an array of large non descript parking structures across from beautiful new condos because our governing body that approved all of this has no master plan on paper or in their mind of how to redevelop this city. All they appear to see is the flood of money that will come to their next campaign for giving quick approval to whatever developers project that comes their way.

Now they've come up with a project of their own. Question is will they take the time to really look and examine what is being proposed before they build it and will they take the time to study it's impact and practicality for those that it's intended to serve? If not then they are just wasting more of our tax dollars.

In my opinion a project such as this shouldn't be built in the center of the condominium corridor if it cannot service both ends of the condominiums that now line Front Beach Road.
Walt

Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Bella Costa Resort, New Beach Development Regulations, Bay Day

"A circuit court judge upheld the Panama City Beach City Council’s November 2005 rejection of a 20-story condominium south of Beckrich and Front Beach roads. Developers of the proposed Bella Costa resort argued their property falls within the city’s Coastal Overlay District, which permits a project that size. . ." (more)

Panama City Beach is in the process of creating new development regulations. Some of the ideas to be considered include: height and setback restrictions that reflect concerns of nearby neighborhoods, preventing box-like parking structures, and urging developers to help create a more pedestrian friendly Front Beach Road street scape. (more)

More than 30 members from the Bay County Chamber of Commerce will attend the annual Bay Day held in Tallahassee. On the legislative agenda are items such as working with state and federal agencies to secure funding for phase II and III of the Thomas Drive flyover and the widening of the Highway 390. (more)

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Monday, March 19, 2007
Family Spring Break, Callaway Galleria

"There is nothing more than a slab of concrete now, but by mid-July, the omnipresent green lady will herald the opening of Bay County’s third Starbucks. The coffee shop will be one of the first businesses to open on the 50-acre site of Callaway’s largest commercial venture, a mixed-use development called The Galleria at Callaway. It sits on Tyndall Parkway across from Wal-Mart Supercenter. . ." (more)

"A group of the largest and newest high-rise condominium resorts on the Panama City Beach gulf front on Friday declared war on college Spring Break in a challenge to local business interests that favor that slice of the tourism market. Spearheaded by Resort Collection vice president Paul Wohlford, the group announced the formation of a coalition of properties intent on driving college spring breakers out of town in favor of what they term the more stable and lucrative “Family Spring Break” market. . ." (more)

Forum post here.

posted by Jason at 5:45 AM

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I will have to go along with the promoters of Spring Break and agree that there is no replacement revenue. Also, I don’t believe the information on the resorts, that support keeping Spring Breakers away, is accurate. Mr. Blackerby doesn’t own Calypso Resort. The hundreds of investors own each unit separately. The developer still has some unsold units there and still has some work to do, to fulfill his obligations, but he doesn’t own it nor speak for the owners. I expect that is the case with the other finished projects also. There are large group of owners at all of these resorts that are trying to pay their tax and insurance bills and the young adults are helping with this.

When Panama City truly develops and offers mature adults the amenities that they expect, perhaps it will be time to rethink this. Did you know that Myrtle Beach offers more than 100 golf courses for mature adults? I’m sure everyone is aware that even a little town like Biloxi offers gaming, which brings millions of guests each year.

Perhaps those concerned citizens of Panama City and PCB should consider how we could bring these attractions to the area, before turning away revenue from young adults.

Jim

(Mature adult)

Tax Dollars are being spent so the TDC can continue to play Russian Roulette with the brain cells, nervous systems, pancreases, livers and lives of each and every student that comes to Panama City for Spring Break.

I ask the members of the TDC, our Mayor and the members of our City Council how much their own Pancreases and Liver are worth and those of their children and families? I ask this question because to me the current value they place on the these body parts and the lives of the college students they invite here for Spring Break seems quite expendable. . . (more)

Spring Breakers can go anywhere they want as long as they don't come to Panama City Beach to get drunk, rude and disorderly, destroy public and private property, publicly vomit and urinate on our beaches and streets, drive drunk, litter from one end of the beach to the other, trash hotel rooms and condo units, throw furniture off balconies, rip off signage from buildings and parking lots, misuse handicap parking spaces, leave blankets and bed sheets on our beaches along with hundreds of empty beer cans, clog hotel and condo sinks with vomit, rip refrigerator doors off where they are staying, scratch and deface the interior of elevators, damage vehicles in parking lots, jam door locks, jump off balconies, and plug toilets.

The items listed above is why people want the face of Panama City Beach to change. New condos should be ushering in new marketing ideas instead of hanging on to an old, outdated and ugly history. for our city.
Walt

Friday, March 16, 2007
Tax Reform, State Farm Files, Market Recovery, Subprime Market, Mortgages up

"Rural counties with exceptionally low property values, hospital districts and children’s services councils will be exempted from a key property tax relief bill, House Republican leaders said Thursday. That bill (HB 7001) would roll property taxes back to their 2000-01 levels with allowances for inflation and population growth. It already exempts school districts. . ." (more)

"Customers of State Farm Florida will see their homeowners rates drop by about 7 percent on average statewide starting this summer because of a new law that makes more state backup coverage available to insurers. State Farm filed for the decreased rate Thursday. Premium reductions will vary widely, from as low as 1 percent for some customers to as much as 10 percent for others, depending on where they live and what type of home they’re insuring. . ." (more)

"Unusual weather patterns and problems in the subprime lending marketplace are creating challenges in assessing housing market conditions, but a recovery is likely this year, according to the latest forecast by the National Association of Realtors®. David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, says there is some ambiguity about the current housing market. 'Our goal each month is to fine-tune the forecast based on the latest housing data and a variety of economic indicators, but extraordinary weather variations are skewing home sales and clouding the picture,' he said. 'Underlying trends point to a housing recovery in 2007, but it will take a couple months for us to get a better handle on it. . .'" (more)

"Subprime lenders are already getting crushed, but the impact rising mortgage delinquencies will have on home prices overall is still an open question. At a minimum, it means financing is drying up for those with less-than-perfect credit and that spells fewer home buyers. And foreclosed properties will add supply to a housing market that already has too much. . ." (more)

"In the wake of the ongoing subprime lender shakeout, mortgage applications rose last week, with both new purchases and refinancings driven up by the lowest long-term home loan rates since early December, an industry trade group said Wednesday." (more)

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Thursday, March 15, 2007
2 New Schools Moving Ahead, Update on Tax Reform

"The Bay District School Board on Wednesday voted to move forward on building two new schools, but not without dissent. Board members Jon McFatter and Pat Sabiston voted no on building Breakfast Point Academy and Magnolia Springs Elementary schools now. They agree there is a definite need for the schools, but they indicated they worry about how and when to finance the $40 million project. They said it would be more prudent to see how the Legislature handles property taxes before deciding when to start building the schools. . ." (more)

"The first property tax reform proposal in the Senate surfaced Wednesday, but lawmakers took no action in committee, preferring a go-slow approach to one of the hottest issues facing the Legislature this year. The issue is on the fast track in the House, where Republican leaders have offered a two-part plan, including a proposed constitutional amendment that would abolish property tax on primary homes but increase the statewide sales tax. House Democrats unveiled their own plan Wednesday. “Our goal is to get it right,” said Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Indialantic, at a Community Affairs Committee workshop. 'We don’t want to move forward without all the information in front of us.'" (more)

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Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Cabinet Approves Citizens Insurance Changes

"A new business plan to make the state created Citizens Property Insurance Corp. more competitive with private companies won approval Tuesday from Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Cabinet. The plan will allow the state’s largest insurer to sell a single policy covering wind damage and other perils, including fire and theft, in coastal areas, which is expected to save those policyholders about 10 percent. . ." (more)

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Tuesday, March 13, 2007
UF Study, Pinnacle Port Doors Wrong, Bank Denied, Seahaven, Allstate Files

On the 9th (a little old, sorry), The University of Florida published an article explaining why now is the best time to purchase a home. "Hopeful home buyers in Florida should act now: The price is right as the state’s single-family residential housing market bottoms out, according to a University of Florida study released today." (more)

"About $5 million worth of newly installed sliding glass doors at Pinnacle Port may be out of compliance with county building codes. The Bay County Code Enforcement Board meets today at 10:30 a.m. at Gulf Coast Community College’s Language Arts Lecture Hall to hash over the problem with Pinnacle Port’s condo association. . ." (more)

"Coastal Community Bank’s plans for a four- to five-story bank and corporate headquarters near the intersection of Back Beach Road and State 79 hit a major roadblock Monday when the Panama City Beach Planning Board unanimously recommended against a rezoning request for part of the site. . ." (more)

"The Towne of Seahaven project cleared another milestone Monday as the city planning board voted unanimously to approve an amended development agreement for the 52-acre mixed-use community on Front Beach Road. The recommendation to forward the development agreement to City Council for its formal approval sets the stage for a public hearing and council vote on March 22 on a separate measure to authorize the actual development order for the nearly 3,000-unit community. . ." (more)

"Allstate plans to drop hurricane insurance rates by more than 14 percent on average statewide later this summer, if state regulators approve, officials said Monday. The Office of Insurance Regulation said that Allstate Floridian Insurance Co. and Allstate Floridian Indemnity Co. had filed for rate decreases averaging 14.2 percent that would go into effect when customers renew their policies after June 1. . ." (more)

posted by Jason at 6:09 AM

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The Towne of Seahaven is being developed by Neel Bennett. Seahaven is solely owned by the Bennett family and is only being marketed by Playground. Playground is the RE marketing arm of Intrawest (developers of Sandestin). Intrawest has no ownership of this development.

Here are some facts on the Bennett development company, Seahaven Development. All are located in PCB.

Finisterre Subdivision: 70 lot single family development with 40% build out after 10 years.

Martinique Subdivision: 120 lot single family development with 20% build out in 7 years.

Sanctuary Beach Subdivision: 100 lot single family development with 0% build out in 2 1/2 years. Condos are shown but there are currently no plans to build.

Bonefish Pointe Subdivision: 4 lot single family development with 1 home built in 4 years.

You will notice that there are no condos that have been previously developed by Mr. Bennett and only a small portion of his residential lots have been sold. I would encourage buyers to do their own research before making a condo purchase in the Towne of Seahaven.

- concerned local

Saturday, March 10, 2007
Woodpecker not to stop Airport, Gulf Power CEO endorses Airport

The FAA has determined that the Ivory Billed Woodpecker is of no immediate threat by the relocation of the new airport. Researchers found that even if the woodpecker was found in the West Bay area, the area it would be most likely to inhabit is not close enough to be affected by the relocation efforts. (more)

Gulf Power CEO Susan Story spoke late last week bragging of the new airport. She said her Miami friends are "envious" because of the dev elopement opportunities and shear possibility of expansion in the future. (more)

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Friday, March 9, 2007
23rd Street Flyover, Counties Fight Back, Infinity Blu/Dr. Steven Cochrane

The FDOT is finalizing the purchase of the old Panama City Toyota location along with other parcels in that area to prepare for the 23rd Street flyover project. It will be great when it is done, but it will surely be a huge mess while it is happening. (more)

Florida Counties dispute the blame passed to them by the Florida Legislature with Economist Frank Fishkind stating that county spending matched inflation and growth. (more)

Last night I had the great pleasure of attending an event held by Infinity Blu with guest speaker Economist Dr. Steven Cochrane. Unfortunately I was unable to prepare to give a full report on what Dr. Conchrane had to say. However, he emphasized what we already know: this market is definitely on a downward slope, but overall the economy is sturdy. He mentioned that usually when it seems like we have been going through something for a while, we should usually expect another 12 to 18 months before we see any huge directional changes.

He estimated significant changes to be occurring in 2008-2009. I'm no economist, but this makes sense to me. We've still got quite a bit to go through in this market until we can expect it to be in a condition to favor huge changes.

One example is foreclosures: There are many condos that will be closing in the next 18 months that were purchased with the intention of "flipping" out of them before closing. There will be a large population that will close, but not be able to hold or sell.

Another example is pre-construction units flat out not closing at all: There will be many that walk from their 20% deposits knowing that they will lose more if they hold it or sell it at today's price.

On to the Infinity Blu presentation. Infinity Blu is a great concept and a sweet building design. The amenity features will no doubt be one of the best (if not the best) on the beach if it makes it to completion. I'm sure you noticed the catch. . . IF

Nathan Glick mentioned that this is the most cutting edge way to market a property out there. I agree with him that it is innovative, but I'm not sure how well this market will receive it. Not to mention, it just doesn't seem like a good deal.

Now, I'm not bashing anyone or throwing anyone under the bus, and I respect Nathan, his development team, and his ideas, but I need to make a point.

I'm not sure how you finance a fractional, but lets assume your mortgage will cost $500 per month on $59,900 with 20% cash down. Then you've got minimum $250 per month for association fees etc totaling $750. That would be $9k a year to hold.

Your rental occupancy rate might be 50% per year if you're lucky and might net you $1,000 per week which would only bring your cost down to $5,500 per year to hold.

Why would I, as an investor, pay $5,500 per year to hold this? Why wouldn't I just rent a condo when I come down here? As an investor, I'm done riding the appreciation wave. Not to mention: if it doesn't make financial sense for me to purchase it, why would it make sense for someone else to purchase it from me for a higher cost?

As an investor, if it doesn't cash flow, I'm not buying it. Period.

This is an open challenge to anyone more knowledgeable than me on this subject. I, along with the readers of pcbdaily.com would like to know why this makes sense.

I've also started a thread at forums.pcbdaily.com for discussion.

posted by Jason at 7:15 AM

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As you probably realize, Infinity Blu and our developer, Nathan Glick, are not your run of the mill average condo development. This is evidenced by the advanced thinking of bringing Dr. Cochrane of the infamous CNN MONEY article naming PC #1 to town.

We are offering the average blue collar worker a chance to own a piece of these beaches at a "fraction" of the cost of whole ownership is advanced and creative.

We offer fee simple-deeded ownership on these beautiful beaches for as little as $21,900. 7 weeks a year starting at $55,900. Fractional ownership is one of the fastest growing trends in ALL of real estate (Google it)
95% of the market could not ever afford to own on this beach otherwise, and now they can.

Our Condo HOA & condo docs are in progress and will be a far cry less than <"$250/month"> quoted in your article for our average units.
That would be $3000/year/unit??? a gross exageration. We are here and here to stay. A 10 year multi-billion dollar investment in this area.

Jason, please explain where you got your figures.
I am not at liberty to quote exact figures now, but very soon you will see that your guestimate on our HOA fees is way "out of line." Please don't be too quick to judge our project without all the facts.

We have been welcomed with open arms here in PCB by businesses and residents. As project manager, we try whenever possible to buy from vendors/businesses in Bay County and specifically in Panama City and the Beach. False dissementated information on our project hurts us all. We strive for excellence, truth and integrity. We want all projects, developers, businesses to thrive, survive and be successful. I moved my family here, invest here and my children go to school here.

You did mention our amenities and project were first class and really unprecedented here in PCB. That is exactly why we our units are rapidly being reserved and in my opinion will rent extremely well. How can they not? A few of our features: 2 movies theatres, bowling alley, 2 story ballroom, indoor gym with adjustable BB hoops (so even I can slam dunk).. 3 pools, beach club...way too much to mention here.
We welcome all to come to our sales center at 6803 Thomas Drive...Our experienced project consultants will update you as we go/grow.

Thanks for your great site, I will be a regular if that's ok?

Our web sites: www.infinityblu.com or www.infinityblu.net have great information, Q&A's FAQ to answer most of your questions.

Best Regards,
Mark Canfora
Project Manager
Infinity Blu
850 249 6717
markcanfora@aol.com

Thursday, March 8, 2007
Rick Barnett Investigation

Recently an anonymous letter to the FDLE sparked an investigation of Rick Barnett's Property Appraiser's office for favorable treatment to some of the local prominent land holders. One of the property appraiser's 20 year employees resigned amid an internal investigation Barnett is conducting for lowering assessed values on some of Faircloth's properties. Barnett met with Faircloth this week to inform him that he is seeking an increase anywhere from $4 million to $5 million on his assessed values. (more)

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Monday, March 5, 2007
Callaway CRA

The city of Callaway is pushing for a CRA for the northwest portion of the city. A CRA of community redevelopment area is a means of funneling county tax revenue to the area for improvements and usually occurs of an extended time frame, like 30 years. Bay County Commissioners disagree with the proposal. (more)

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Saturday, March 3, 2007
Spring Breakers

Vice president of Sales and Marketing of Edgewater Beach Resort, Paul Wohlford, disagrees that we should be marketing to college students for spring break vacationers. "We’re a different destination than we were 25 to 30 years ago", Paul said. Although there are still around 6000 units that are "spring break friendly", Paul agrees that we should be spending our sales and marketing dollars on families. I agree with Paul 100%. There is a stigma about our area, and we've got to keep getting more families here year after year to change that. (more)

posted by Jason at 5:51 AM

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Where do we want our kids to go on spring break? Aruba kills, Mexico is full of illegal drugs as well as the Bahamas and Jamaica. Why don't we just take all this generation's rights away so they can be sycophants like the rest of these
genius business folks. We need more John Waynes' in this world and less greedy want-a-.bes. There is an old country saying "pigs get fed and hogs get slaughtered". Perhaps this generation of kids will produce more John Waynes in our country so the rest of these num nuts.

Jan

You’ve got a very good point. I don’t have all the answers, but there a plenty of places for college spring breakers to go. We only get a very small fraction of all spring breakers, and if they stop coming here, they will find somewhere else to go.

Jason

I feel that the beaches will and are in the process of being more for families. I believe that having Family Tourist is much better than having Spring Breakers. Is there anyway that I can help support this idea?

Sincerely,
Beth Williams

Friday, March 2, 2007
Lower FL Property Insurance, Gas Prices Up, pcbGAS.com, Property Tax

Florida residents that renew their home owner's insurance policy after June 1, 2006 may see rate decreases anywhere between 10% - 50%. These savings come from the Florida Legislature seeking options to give private insurance companies less expensive options for backup coverage. (more)

Gas prices are going back up. Some reasons may include higher demand from spring breakers, and refineries switching to summer blends, temporarily affecting their output. This is crap. It never ceases to amaze me how greedy we as humans are. Whenever we can find a way to stick it to our fellow man for our own personal gain, we do. When are we going to put more research dollars into alternative fuel sources? An article found in the paper this morning is here.

Oil prices at $62 a barrel.

In addition, I started a one page web site to document gas prices. It may help you find cheap gas, but I more intended it to be a log of gas prices, so that we can look back in time. pcbgas.com

The Bay County Commissioners oppose many of the ideas brought forth by the state to help lower property taxes. Other ideas that they have discussed include capping assessed value increases on all property types including homesteaded, non-homesteaded, commercial, etc. to between 3 and 5%, and making homestead exemptions portable and allowing properties to remain in families without being reassessed. (more)

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Thursday, March 1, 2007
West Bay Florida Blog, Florida Property Tax, US 98 Problems

Dr. Ed Wright, retired Dean from FSU PC publishes a local blog on our area, specifically West Bay and the airport relocation. He offers great insight into current issues and is very tuned in as to the goings-on with the airport relocation. WestBayFlorida.blogspot.com

The increase in Florida property tax is upsetting not only the permanent resident, but the seasonal resident as well. A University of Florida report showed a decline of 50,000 snowbird visitors over a 7 year period. (more)

Whether US 98 (Back Beach Road) is a highway or a main city street has always been in question. The FDOT wants to maintain good traffic flow, however the City of Panama City Beach wants to make it safer with more traffic lights. Hopes of a main highway parallel to the current US 98 are split with the Colony Club development extending from Back Beach Road to West Bay. Yesterday's workshop meeting was the fourth of nine to be occurring on Wednesday's at 8am. Next week's will touch on planning, recreation, and tourism. (more)

posted by Jason at 7:04 AM

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