Safety Issues in Bay County

Safety Ideas for Downtown Panama City

The Bay County Commissioners at the commissions meeting on Tuesday,  April 10th, had a lot to get involved with. Downtown Panama City improvement was one of the top priorities. Changes should be made to the area in order to improve safety for residents as well as people passing through. Startling encounters happen with the people who wait for the Greyhound bus as well as other stories about the people from the Rescue Mission.

Personally, I have experienced many strange things on Harrison Avenue. One of them included almost stepping in a pile of human feces outside of one of the antique stores. Another includes having someone from the Rescue Mission outside another antique shop screaming at the top of their lungs as if they had been shot, then walking off like nothing is wrong. I enjoy antiques a lot and want to keep coming to the area myself.

“One Sunday I was down here doing some work at my business and this guy comes up to me all bloody nose and he said he’s been attacked down here at the park.” said Bob Hurst, Downtown Panama City Business Owner.

Commissioners took Hurst’s story and will begin to make changes around the area. Officials says that one of the biggest issues regarding city owned property is repeat offenders.

Safety for Downtown Panama City Business Owners

There have been many businesses in the Downtown area that have been vandalized by others in the area. Commissioners will be drafting a trespass ordinance for this very reason. A trespass warning will be issued to anyone who breaks the law stated in the draft. That person will also be banned from the city owned property where the incident occurred. If someone chooses to ignore the warning, then they will be arrested.

“That’s something that will make it a little easier on law enforcement, a little safer for the public, that if we do have some in cordial people who can’t learn to play and get along, they’ll be banned for a year.” says Greg Brudnicki, Panama City Mayor.

Commissoners have previously tried to make the area into a destination spot. They previously had First Fridays on Harrison, then Heard it on Harrison to try to bring people to the area. With this in mind, will this help to bring more people to the area? Security for the area is in definite need or more police.

Callaway Safety Ideas

Commissioners Melba Covey, Scott Davis, David Griggs, and Wayne McLeod all spoke on Tuesday about the City of Callaway. They all seem to have have the same objective: to solve problems in the city. The city’s biggest issues are safety, roads, storm water damage, code enforcement, and where the city’s money is going. Covey states that she would like to see “another code enforcement to clean this city up”.

“The commissioner, Mayor, and city manager should hop in a van and ride around the city and we should have a list of places that are eye sores and how long has that been an eye sore.” Scott Davis says.

“The commission needs to seriously look at the codes. We have to do something to respect the codes and that’s the commission’s responsibility.” David Griggs says.

“[We need to] crack the whip and not just go out and give citations that people ignore as the properties get in worse shape.” Wayne McLeod, says.

I used to live in Callaway when I was younger. The area was very nice and did not seem so run down. These days, the city has taken a beating. To say that it is an eye sore is not an understatement. There are many businesses built around the area but there are more that have not been updated or reopened.

In Callaway, there is a Burger King that hasn’t been reopened and a few other empty buildings along the main stretch of Callaway’s road. This is something travelers coming from the Port St. Joe area and farther than that are seeing when they enter the area. This would not be good for tourists to see before they get to the beach. Honestly, I would turn around and go somewhere else if I saw Callaway’s condition as an outsider.

City Manager Position Update

During the Panama City Commission meeting on Tuesday, commissioners discussed looking to fill the position of City Manager for Panama City.

Candidates for this position are:

Resident, Mark Mcqueen

Present

Assistant City Manager, Jared Jones

Chief of Staff in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, Jonathan Hayes

Sources:

http://www.mypanhandle.com/news/panama-city-commissioners-discuss-safety-ideas/1112079660

http://www.mypanhandle.com/news/code-enforcement-city-finances-top-callaway-commission-forum/1112756617

http://www.mypanhandle.com/news/panama-city-city-manager-position/1115545094

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