Panama City Beach officials considering new event ordinances

BAY COUNTY, Fla. ( WMBB ) – In May, Panama City Beach hosted Thunder Beach and the Gulf Coast Salute Air Show on the same weekend.

City officials said having two events like this at the same time puts a strain on their resources. They are now considering a new ordinance that would put some of the responsibility back on the event promoters.

For the first time in its history, the Gulf Coast Salute Air Show moved to Panama City Beach instead of Tyndall Air Force Base.

It took place May 4th & 5th, the same weekend as the Thunder Beach motorcycle rally. Panama City Beach officials spent a lot of time planning for the extra traffic.

But no one was quite sure what to expect.

“Well, especially after the air show, there were some traffic accidents, including fatalities that really tied up traffic here. And so we want to make sure that we have there additional resources to take care of that,” Panama City Beach Mayor Stuart Tettemer said.

Those extra resources would come from the event promoters. Council members are considering a new ordinance that would place new requirements on more than one large event happening at the same time.

The first event would be treated normally. The second event would be required to provide tools to ensure public safety.

“That is making sure that for existing traffic flows, you may have to provide additional personnel to help us direct traffic, to help us make sure you have adequate parking for medical and health capacity. Make sure that you may have to add additional paramedics so that we don’t have to transport them to the hospital to take care of small issues and telecommunications,” Tettemer said.

City officials define a large event as anything attracting more than 5,000 people. The ordinance would also subject the second event to more scrutiny.

“They’ll come up before the city council. They’ll have a little hearing to make sure that they’ve achieved this additional, to make sure they’ve hit those additional restrictions. The public will have a chance to comment. That’s not normally the case with special events,” Tettemer said.

Tettemer said the second event must benefit the city as a whole to be scheduled on the same day as the other.

“Listen, we like hosting events here. It’s part of our culture. But that second one can be just such an impact that we need to slow down and take the whole city approach to make sure that, hey, if you want to do it, you’re going to have to help step up and make sure we can cover the resources necessary,” Tettemer added.

The second reading of the ordinance will take place at the July 11th city council meeting.

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