It’s that special time of year when we can finally sit back and assess the damage of Spring Break on Panama City Beach. Well, after interviewing Hotel and Condo representatives, living and breathing Spring Break as a resident and taking in the major incidents, only one conclusion could be made: 2010 Spring Break was a success.
This year’s Spring Break was different than previous Breaks for a number of reasons. The TDC’s stance had a huge impact. In past years, it was the TDC’s job to allocate marketing funds towards Spring Break. Hundreds of thousands of bed tax dollars, for years, were put toward drawing fun-loving students aching to party the week away. For 2010, the TDC decided not to allocate funds towards drawing big crowds, but put the monies towards “Spring Break Responsibly” campaigns and engaging in proactive Spring Break public relations activities. On top of that, the TDC requested of the city to hire auxiliary police during peak weeks, augment PCB PD to increase police presence along Front Beach Road, provide additional foot, canine and ATV patrols in areas of high Spring Break activity (including beach walkers to enforce littering, glass and other laws) and to fully implement the Special Events Ordinance to insure gatherings of college students at outdoor concerts and other assemblies have appropriate management and public safety plans in place. In other words, instead of spending money on bringing a crowd, the TDC worked on how to handle the crowd.
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As Spring Break nears its end and the tally on the damage, incidents and money is being rounded up, the talk of supplanting college spring break in favor of family spring break is spreading across the beach. As far as I know, family spring break is somewhat of a mythical idea. I’m sure families do getaway for the break, but is it enough business to cover the cost of it losing college spring break? Better still, would you bring your family here during your break?
It’s a simple question…
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It’s right around the corner – and this Spring Break, the Panama City Beach Convention & Visitor’s Bureau has taken a slightly different approach. Aimed at sending a serious message in a fun way, the CVB has created new online guides for the thousands of college students heading to Panama City Beach and its warmer temperatures, beautiful beaches, and action-packed nightlife. READ MORE
It’s that wonderful time of year when students from all over the country head south for Panama City’s white sandy beaches, to have a great time with friends and to party, party, party. It is the perfect destination for the breakers. But for locals, Spring Break is the most polarizing event on PCB. Some love it, some hate it; so we decided to put together a list of what we love or hate about the wild and crazy event. So, here goes nothing.
Hate:
Traffic/Scooters
As you know, traffic during spring break is awful. That bad traffic isn’t exclusive to the streets and the zillions of colorful scooters zooming across lanes of traffic. Traffic is in every department store, every gas line, every restaurant and every bathroom on the beach. The depth of annoyance can only be described in the brilliant words of Brandon, a 2009 spring breaker from Athens, “Man, this sucks” Yes, Brandon, it does indeed. READ MORE
TDC/CVB had a combined meeting this week to pass Spring Break recommendations presented by Dan Rowe, CEO of the Tourist Development Council. After long weeks of deliberations, meetings and one vigorous community forum, a recommendation on Spring Break was reached that will decidedly cut Spring Break advertising ergo, cutting ties with MTV.
Bullet point recommendations at the meeting were as follows:
- TDC Actions:
- Limit Paid Advertising to “Spring Break Responsibly” campaigns
- Engage in Proactive Spring Break Public Relations activities
- Develop a Spring Break Section of VisitPanamaCityBeach.com with Spring Break Responsibly messages, “Rules of the Road,” Spring Break Friendly Lodging.
- Requested City of Panama City Beach Actions
- Conduct workshops for businesses engaged in Spring Break to discuss ways of better managing Spring Break business owners’ roles in the enforcement of state and local laws and other avenues to control potential problems related to Spring Break.
- Conduct workshops with the public and lodging establishments not directly engaged in Spring Break on strategies to control and limit impacts from Spring Break, as well as define various roles, responsibilities, and what action public safety officials can legally and practically take.
- Hire auxiliary police during peak weeks to augment PCB PD to increase police presence along Front Beach Road.
- Provide additional foot, canine and ATV patrols in areas of high Spring Break activity, including on the sandy beach to enforce littering, glass and other laws.
- Fully implement the Special Events Ordinance to insure gatherings of college students at outdoor concerts and other assemblies have appropriate management and public safety plans in place.
- Encourage FRLA to take and active role in getting the association’s members to proactively manage Spring Break activities at their locations.
This breaks down to better overall management of the 2 month-long event coupled with a more strategic advertising aimed at positive Spring Break messaging. No additional monies will be allocated to marketing or advertising Spring Break (only towards advertising “Spring Break Responsibly” which should fall somewhere between $12-$15,000 in total). Basically, no MTV, no bucketloads of money to the event and much stronger police presence throughout the beach. The question remains as to whether or not this will satisfy everyone, but it is, incontestably, a very good start.
If you’ve been curious about the huge new development on Thomas drive south of Magnolia and Winn Dixie, we’ve got you covered. But first, some back-story;
Over the last year, if you taken a drive down North Thomas Drive you’ve no doubt noticed major new developments beginning at the turn off Hathaway Bridge down to Grand Lagoon Bridge. You’ve seen more restaurants, banks, grocery stores and retail shopping centers added to the area community. Those updates may be but appetizers to a main-developmental-course. Stimulus money in the sum of $18.5 million and a combination of state and local funds, will be used to expand Grand Lagoon Bridge. The bridge will expand from 150ft to 250ft widening it from two lanes to four and increasing the height over water from 10 to 18ft.
For the last 18 months, planning has been taking place on the bridge expansion, but no funds had been earmarked leaving no definitive timeline for construction. However, with funding tentatively secured, we should begin to see some timelines released. The heightening will be a huge improvement as the current height has been historically limiting to the type and size of boat that property owners on the east side of Grand Lagoon could own.
Stimulus funds will also widen the adjacent North Lagoon feed into Thomas drive into a five-lane highway with room for bike-lanes and sidewalks down to Bristol Street. The area near Grand Lagoon has always been popular with locals, but the planned Grand Lagoon expansion may be an even greater pull for the tourism base as well, which brings us back to the original mystery.
That area being mowed down near Magnolia Beach Road and Winn Dixie is making room for a new restaurant. Another restaurant, whoop dee doo, right? Well, the type of restaurant and the space being allotted for it may surprise you. The huge area is making way for Jasmine Thai Restaurant. This isn’t big news until you consider that a Thai restaurant, somewhat unconventional for Panama City Beach, decided to purchase a long-sitting commercial lot to compete with the likes of Captain Anderson’s and the Treasure Ship. Not only will it compete, but from the looks of it, it has high expectations as three-fifths of the land is being flattened strictly for parking.
Future developments may become a trend if tourist traffic to that area is increased due to the Grand Lagoon Bridge expansion and proof of the location’s economic lure. With the addition of The Saki House II, Hooters, Donut Island and Bruster’s Ice Cream just north, what may have been a jewel area for locals could turn out to be Panama City Beach’s most eclectic and busiest dining experience for tourists. With the revival of the “West-End,” we may see a huge shot in the arm of Panama City Beach’s “East-End.”
Bay County Planning Department did not have a projected completion date or a total square footage but did acknowledged that the restaurant needed a variance for the parking and based on design the restaurant itself will be 50% kitchen and 50% seating, an unusual ratio for the type of establishment.
Tannehill Pledges Accountability for Deficiencies, Stronger Oversight
(Panama City – April 27, 2009) — Airport Authority Chairman Joe Tannehill pledged a full public accounting of the actions and events that led to stormwater control deficiencies at the new airport site in West Bay during the recent deluge.
Last week Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) officials and representatives of the Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE) toured the new airport construction site and expressed concerns that current efforts to mitigate excessive stormwater runoff had become inadequate in the wake of unusually heavy rains during the month of April.
“Whatever the cause, any deficiencies in stormwater management at the new airport site are simply inexcusable,” said Tannehill. “The people of Bay County and Northwest Florida deserve to know what went wrong and what we are doing to correct the situation. The Airport Authority will provide a full public accounting.”
“Our first priority is to address the stormwater issues as soon as possible,” said Tannehill. “We committed to submitting our plan for corrective action to FDEP by Wednesday, April 29. We are moving aggressively to correct the situation, and we are preparing for the tropical storm season ahead.”
Tannehill has begun meeting with site contractors and engineers to review the situation, determine the cause of the deficiencies, and most importantly, to establish a clear plan for correcting the situation and ensuring it never happens again.
Tannehill said the Airport Authority would continue to work closely with FDEP and USACOE to ensure the stormwater management deficiencies are corrected.
“But our commitment goes beyond addressing the current deficiencies. Once we have reviewed all the facts we will provide the citizens of Bay County a full accounting,” said Tannehill.
“It is not enough simply to say that the stormwater management issues were the result of an extraordinary amount of rain — so much rain that Bay County was declared by the state and federal government a disaster area. If there was mismanagement the public has a right to know,” said Tannehill.
The Airport Authority said it would keep the public informed of its efforts to address the deficiencies through regular updates to the new airport’s public information web site at www.newpcairport.com.
“This was not an environmental disaster as some of the airport opponents have declared. Our limits for turbidity were exceeded and that is a problem we will fix. I think that every stream and bayou in Northwest Florida had elevated silt levels with the 20 inches of rain we experienced. There will be no lasting environmental damage from this event,” said Tannehill.
“This airport Board resolved long ago to make the new Panama City – Bay County International Airport one of the world’s most environmentally-friendly and this latest event and what we will learn from it will only strengthen that resolve,” said Tannehill.
The Airport Authority has been working with FDEP for years, including several years on the Ecosytem Team Permitting process. Under the Ecosystem Team Permit, the airport site and surrounding West Bay Sector will produce a net environmental gain when the airport project is complete.
“We will continue working with FDEP to ensure our new airport ultimately results in a net environmental gain for our region, and to build and operate one of the nation’s greenest airports,” said Tannehill.
Last week the Beach City Council changed the way it enforces “beach litter” on Panama City Beach. Before, as long as the trash was picked up within 24 hours, it was ok. Now, property owners can be fined if any trash is found on their property – period- regardless of how long it has been there. The only check in place is that the decision has to be made with “common-sense.”
This new ordinance would require that property owners continuously police the beach to ensure that it is clean so as to prevent fines. The baseline penalty for each infraction is $250 per day.
I think that the spirit behind this decision is well intended, but I’m not so sure this is the way a clean beach campaign should be carried out. I was talking to a friend the other day, who is a beachfront property owner that was outraged at this decision. Her argument was that if beachgoers trash the beach in front of her condo building, but are not actually occupying a residence there, why should the condo community be held liable for their littering? I can see how this could be applicable to a larger beachfront resort or club when the majority of the trash left behind would be a result of their concerted efforts, but what about the little guy? If I own a beachfront house next to a public beach access, why should I have to pay a fine when someone else trashes the beach behind my home?
I think we’re close, but not there yet. I agree that someone needs to be held accountable for the trash, but I think I’m going to side with the property owners this time, even though I don’t always agree with what they are trying to do (talking more to the big clubs, etc.). I believe by telling the property owners that they need to keep their property clean regardless or they get fined, we are NOT moving in the direction of telling the offenders that they are in the wrong by putting the trash on the ground in the first place. By doing this, we are simply continuing to encourage visitors to our area to litter, enforcing the attitude, “Don’t worry, just throw your trash on the ground, someone will come by and pick it up later.”
Will fining the property owners work in deterring trash build-up on our beaches? I think so, but it sends the wrong message, and that’s the point. Plus, it is only a batch over a gaping hole, when in actuallity a whole new pair of jeans is needed. What’s the right message? We need to convey to visitors of our area that they can be on vacation from school or work, but not their civic responsibility of keeping the environment clean. They aren’t allowed to throw trash on the ground at home, and they shouldn’t be allowed to throw trash on the ground here.
So, what do I propose? I thought you’d never ask. I propose that we keep the same ordinance in place (sorry owners) but it needs to be more specific, plus we need to fine those that are littering our beaches with their waste.
For the property owners
- If you are a club or resort
- You must have staff present and visible during activities cleaning and picking up trash where reasonable (obviously staff couldn’t be expected to be in the middle of 15,000 people at a concert)
- If staff is not present or some sort of cleanup process is not taking place, then the property owner is given a warning, then fined if the problem is not taken care of by the same time the next day.
- You are required to hand out a beach awareness flier that not only includes information about the flag system but also informs their guests of the penalties and fine associated with littering. This flyer would also inform them that there are xx number of trash receptacles on the beach for trash disposal and plastic bags available at no charge to them available at the front desk (provided by the city/tdc).
- If you are a private property owner (beach front residence single family or attached or residence only condo development)
- If significant amount of trash is found behind residence, the owner is given a warning with the opportunity to verbally dispute. If an agreement was made that the trash was the result of someone other than the owner, then the owner is not held liable.
For the Visitors to our area
- If you litter on the beach and are caught, you’ll be given a $500 fine. This includes cigarette butts. This rule would be enforced using common sense.
- When you check in to a condo or hotel, you’ll be given a flier notifying you of this and you will have the option of taking plastic bags with you to the beach should you feel that walking back and forth from your post on the beach to the trash receptical for every beer can is not worth your time.
- You’ll be expected to keep your area clean with trash in a plastic bag, not laying about to be cleaned up at the end of the day.
- Obviously, this law would be enforced within reason. If there are 15,000 people at a concert behind Boardwalk, patrons couldn’t be expected to be walking around with plastic bags.
Does a $500 fine sound steep? Well, Don’t Mess with the Beach. TDC, you can have that slogan free of charge from me. The problem is that our visitors think they can just throw the trash on the ground and someone else will clean up after them. We have to change this message and make it clear that it is never ok to leave your garbage on the beach. This is our most valued asset, but no one would know it because the rules we have in place don’t reflect that.
As part of the marketing campaign that the TDC is putting on, we need to allocate a budget to put up billboards, print flyers, advertise on web sites (mine please) that we are serious about keeping our beach clean. We need to hire FloRida to sing a music video about putting trash in its place and play it on local TV stations for all to see that come to our area. And, lastly, and certainly most importantly, we need to give officers the ticketing authority to go out and enforce this. If we need to hire people that can do this, it will be well worth the effort. We will make money off this immediately, but in the long-term, that money will slowly go away, as people realize that we don’t play around with litterers.
The eventual effect will be that people, when they think of our area, will remember that we value our beach greatly and that littering here is out of the question. Some will be deterred by this and won’t come anymore, and we’re better off that way, as they are dirty and disrespectful. Others will tell everyone they know about the great beautiful place they visit every year called Panama City Beach and that it never has trash on its beaches. Our area will be virtually trash free because the burden of responsibility will not be too large as the burden will rest on those that are creating it on an individual basis.
thoughts?
Amid cloudy weather and red-flag seas, the yellow AVP tents tower above the sand. For the first time ever a professional volleyball tournament will be hosted by AVP in Panama City Beach.
Today’s schedule is to include a collegiate tournament, however with wind kicking at up to 15 knots some of the onsite players are skeptical whether it will happen. The professionals are out practicing right now.
On Friday, there will be a series of games where locals and other aspiring pro-volleyball players can enter the qualifier tournament to compete with the pros on Saturday and Sunday. When talking to Nick Lucena at the recent press conference, he was telling me that some players can play up to 8 games in one day, depending on their win-to-lose ratio. He was telling me that the pros usually train for up to four hours each day to prepare for such grueling endurance playing.
Here is the schedule:
Friday, March 27, 2009
Men’s and Women’s Qualifier Competition
Gates open at 7:00 am
Start time 8:00 AM. End Time (Approx) 6:30 PM.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Men’s and Women’s Main Draw Competition
Gates open at 7:00 am
Start time 8:00 AM. End Time (Approx) 6:30 PM.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Men’s and Women’s Main Draw Competition
Gates open at 7:00 am
Start time 8:00 AM. End Time (Approx) 5:30 PM.
