PANAMA CITY — With plans to construct a premier metropolis, Panama City commissioners have approved metropolis workers to pursue $80 million in loans and set up an office to handle the tasks funded by the loans.
At Tuesday’s common assembly, City Manager Mark McQueen made the advice to approve the institution of a project management office following the fee’s unanimous vote to pursue the road of credit score from PNC Bank.
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“We established a relationship with PNC Bank where they have a line of credit so that we can draw from that line of credit, which is tied directly to each of those obligated funded projects by FEMA,” McQueen stated. “This will allow us to draw against that line of credit, do 90 days’ worth of work, submit for reimbursement to the state and get those funds back and pay down the loans immediately.”
The loans will cowl 72 tasks associated to “Hurricane Michael response, recovery and mitigation, including debris removal and stormwater system repair” — all of that are 75% reimbursable by FEMA, in line with metropolis officers. The remaining 25% of prices might be shared with the state, with town’s portion starting from 5% to 12.5%.
Commissioners appeared content material with the settlement.
“It’s just safe to say it’s a work in progress,” Commissioner Billy Rader stated. “It’s a matter of doing it right.”
“I’m happy that the staff and everybody came up with a way to start this process because we don’t have cash — everybody knows that — and we can’t do something until we have the money for it … because (FEMA) doesn’t pay us until we do the project,” stated Commissioner Jenna Haligas. “This is really going to speed up the process.”
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Although a price has but to be negotiated, McQueen stated the curiosity expense on the loans is anticipated to be eligible for reimbursement, which was not the case when town took out a mortgage with PNC for $75 million for emergency response and particles elimination instantly following Hurricane Michael. However, laws has been launched that addresses retroactive curiosity bills incurred by native governments in Hurricane Michael-impacted areas.
When requested for a timeline for the development tasks, McQueen pointed to his advice to open an in-house project management office that might be accountable to develop a timeline, amongst different duties.
“We anticipate having a website, that you can go on there and click on the project, what the amount is, what the obligated funds are, what the city’s share is,” he stated, noting the PMO will current a month-to-month report for the fee’s approval detailing any draw on the road of credit score. “You’re going to know what projects are in place … and the timeline, as well.”
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McQueen stated it was fiscally accountable to forgo contracting out project management providers to 3rd events; as an alternative, the in-house PMO is anticipated to make up about 5% of the prices beneath every project.
“Clearly, the scale and scope of projects that are coming into the city of Panama City from FEMA and other sources is beyond the organic capability of the city staff to function. As a result, we’re creating this office to better, more efficiently manage these projects and to make sure we’re having transparency and audit readiness throughout the process,” McQueen stated. He added, the PMO “is designed to more efficiently and effectively execute those dollars so that we can get back on our feet quicker than what we’ve seen in other cities.”
The 10 to fifteen positions might be marketed, then crammed throughout the 4 elements of the PMO: accounting, procurement, technical management, and building management. Functions of the office will shut as sections of the tasks are accomplished, officers stated.
