Farewell To The Fiesta

Back in 2003, nine Spring Breakers from Missouri Valley College stayed in room 121 at the Fiesta Motel. For them, the Fiesta Motel’s room 121 was headquarters for a vacation they’ll talk about long after they are married with children, retelling their Panama City Beach fun at dinner parties and get-togethers. Only three months later a family of four occupied room 121. The story they told the front desk was that they’d been married on the Fiesta Motel back deck ten years prior and stayed in that same room every year. They came back because they wanted their kids to see it and to lounge around on the “World’s Most Beautiful Beach.” When they departed, the Fiesta Motel staff gave them the room’s door plate as a souvenir. Winter of the same year, room 121 was the seasonal home for a retired Canadian couple. All their PCB friends who they’d met over the years still came back to the same place and stayed in the same rooms. It was truly, their home away from home.

Sometime in 2009 the Fiesta Motel, which to many is nothing more than an eyesore on a developing and changing beach, will finally be rubble, replaced by something big and grand. What may be demolished with it is the old Panama City Beach identity replaced as well with something that may not resemble what came before it.

As of today, the Fiesta Motel, owned by Naidip Panama City LLC out of Tampa, is slated to be demolished in September. This has gone through many phases including negotiations about gutting, remodeling and reopening the 10.3 acre property, but those talks fell through leaving the city with no option other than demolition. September is the date set for Colonial Bank to take action however the city of Panama City Beach may work to flatten the four-story blight earlier; that’s if the owners don’t do it first. This is not a route the city necessarily wants to go but has before with Salty’s, the Seascape Motel and Surfside Villas.

The job isn’t about who does it as long as it gets done. Beach Planning Director Mel Leonard, in a 2008 article with the News Herald, said “This is a very big deal for the city, the owners have waived their right to appeal the city from taking action should they fail to do it on time.” The sense of urgency surrounding the property’s inevitable destruction is felt mostly all around the beach. Mostly.

Debbie McCormick, 24 year general manager of the property, had nothing but fond things to say about the derelict edifice. “It’s an eyesore now, but it used to be a lot of fun.” She said. “One thing about the Fiesta, we didn’t spend much money on advertising. We didn’t have to sell the place because people just walked in. They loved it and so did I. I mean, I still remember the reservation number…235-1000, and I’m willing to bet I’m not the only one.”

The place has to fall. It just has to. But it should be considered what taking it down may mean. At one time the Fiesta motel was filled with people, its pool deck lively and exciting as kids splashed around and parents tanned on the most beautiful beach in the world. It was a cheap unremarkable room on a beach which gave it charm and it kind of embodied the sentiment that some people remember about Panama City Beach before the upgrades. But now a sagging chain-link fence surrounds the property, the doors have long been removed and nature has seized the parking lot with weeds. If you were to walk the property now glass would crackle under your every step and graffiti stains the walls. It looks like a more like a beached carcass than a vacation destination and it is difficult to see how the place could have been, at one time, popular accommodations.

Soon the Fiesta will fall and some, including myself, will be somewhat sad to see it go completely. The classic PCB may be going with it is as well as what ghosts remain of Starliner screams and the laughter from Petticoat Junction.

PCB will be a successful economy as long and it has beautiful beaches and though Pier Park and Ripley’s are great, people have always flocked to PCB because of the classic charm. It’s not a bad idea to remember what that means. I’m sure the people who stayed in Fiesta Motel’s room 121 haven’t forgotten that sentiment and when the property at 13626 Front Beach Road goes finally falls to the wrecker’s ball, hopefully that sentiment doesn’t go with it.

UPDATE: After speaking with Mel Leonard, Beach Planning Director, I learned that the city already has the scope of services prepared and plans to advertise bids for demolition by late June. If the city does this, the lien they place on the property becomes primary meaning that will get paid for their work before the banks do. From the moment the ball hits until the time the place is flattened should take about 60 days with some debri cleanup work on the North side of the property. The plan is, without disturbing the main vacation season, to have the demolition crew on-site after labor day perhaps nearer to October. No word yet on who or what will replace Fiesta but depending on the type of services may require re-zoning. I’ve heard all sorts of rumors from hotels to amusement parks but only one true inquiry at the Beach Planning offices about a year ago or so asking about rezoning for a camping ground. These type of re-zoning issues such as T3A’s and others are difficult to do considering the residential area on the northside. When more information comes available, we’ll keep you informed.

Hot Dog Story – Do What You Do and Change for No One

Okay, I know there is so much talk about all the awful things that people see happening in our world. Lucky for me I DO NOT buy into that. There will always be challenges and struggles and while this one seems to be very daunting I have learned that those that find the bright spots and DO NOT operate out of fear end up on the top and better yet they enjoy getting there.

Please go to this link and read this incredible hot dog story that just might convince you to just keep on doing those things that you know work. I have always loved this story and it is quite relevant today. Do not give in to the negative small minded thinking and talking that we hear so much of. Most of us have more than we need and plenty that we could be sharing with others.

I am so grateful to all of you that have made my life so bright and always filled with promise. I decided a long time ago to align myself with people that were looking for the possibilities rather than the problems. I have been writing gratitude list since I was 10 years of age and it has never failed that my life is so filled with more goodness than not.

Thanks to all of you and go read that story and share it with others…. lets the spread the good stuff. I believe the world needs a shot of happy stuff and I am just the girl to deliver it.

Remember my get even list, it is really long…. “The only people we need to get even with are those that have helped us”

with overflowing gratitude,

Karen Key Smith

Doggie Doo on the Beach at Pier Park – Move the Doggie Beach

As a resident of Panama City beach living directly across the street from the “doggie beach” I have seen numerous infractions of the boundaries, clean up, and leash rules. The aptly nicknamed “tootsie roll beach” has been true to its name and I and my children have happened upon several “accidents” outside the designated “doggie beach” boundary. When the dog beach was approved in October 2007 several of my friends and neighbors asked the question “Why this beach?” We are not opposed to a dog beach per say, we are more concerned as to why the city would tarnish the beach directly in front of our newest and nicest tourist attraction.

Take the Poll

In the larger of the sidebars on the right, directly below the Featured Video a poll has been created.

The question: Do you think the dog beach should be moved from the City Pier at Pier Park to another location?

The city told me they designated the Pier Park beach as the dog beach because it is a “dog friendly” area due to the allowance of dogs in Aaron Bessant Park and along the sidewalk areas of Pier Park. I believe that dogs in these areas are great. The City should acknowledge though that Pier Park has its own security guards to enforce proper leashing and clean up compliance. In Aaron Bessant Park there is a great deal of rule breaking and accidents left behind but my children are not sitting in minimal clothing and digging where the dogs are playing. On the beach my children are in fact sitting in minimal clothing and digging. Last fall break I had family visiting and we had to scoop up three accidents 200 yards west of the dog beach boundary before allowing my children to play. In this same area a man took his dog out into the water right next to where my children were wading. Dogs are known shark attractants and when I politely asked him to move back down to the dog beach he ignored me.

After complaining to the city about the dog beach infractions I was directed to Stephani Somerset the executive director of Bay Families with Dogs. She told me to let the perpetrators know of the dog beach boundary as some of them may be unaware. I wanted her to be right but after approaching two more people about the fact they had their unleashed dogs outside the dog boundary they’re response was, “yes we know where the boundary is”, and proceeded to remain in their seats. I go to the beach to relax not play police.

In an article in the News Herald on 2/4/09 it was said that “98 percent of dog owners who use the beach pick up after their dogs…” I would like to say in my experience of being outside of the boundaries of the dog beach the statistic is more like 50 percent. If dog owners were cleaning up after themselves 98 percent of the time why would the dog beach have to hire a beach butler, which it has since done. The ironic part is that the beach butler only cleans up after the 400 feet of designated dog beach. This leaves the accidents outside the dog beach for us to clean up.

I would like to state for the record, growing up I owned a dog who I loved dearly and I have many friends with dogs which they adore. I recognize the importance of raising a happy dog with a life full of exercise and variety but choosing the beach directly in front of our newest and nicest addition to Panama City Beach to provide that “exercise and variety” is not the decision the majority of residents would have agreed to. As I speak to friends and neighbors, including dog owners, we all feel this was the wrong beach to use as a test site for an unregulated city ordinance.

During a time when we are competing with other panhandle beaches for much needed tourism dollars my question to the city is, “What was the motivation in turning the city’s potentially most active beach into a dog beach?” . I don’t see how a dog beach could bring in increased revenue for the improvement of our city. There are no “Dog” retail shops in Pier Park. My point is that making THIS beach a dog beach only downgrades the beach without bringing any additional revenue to the area for things such as sidewalks and community upgrades.

Millions of dollars have been used to put retail on the beach to create an atmosphere in which tourists can have beach, dining, and shopping in one trip. The majority of tourists don’t bring their animals with them. The idea of lying on the sand that is possibly tainted with the morning’s dog activities is not exactly appealing. I understand it is a “nice” thing to have for “some” of the residents but my friends with dogs have admitted they would not take their children to the dog beach for fear of what they might dig up.

My request is that the city moves the dog beach away from the Pier Park beach. Again I am not trying to eliminate the idea of a dog beach. I am not trying to be unsympathetic or unfair to the dog owners who have respected the dog beach boundaries. I am trying to say the Pier Park dog beach experiment needs to end. The majority of dog owners of Panama City Beach have not shown they can govern themselves in this privilege.