All council members said they are confident the 16 proposals will be implemented and put into action and law in time for next year’s Spring Break.
“I think they will be adopted,” Panama City Beach Mayor Gayle Oberst said. “But the city attorney has to be sure they are legal, and he has to put them forward in the form of an ordinance.”
Councilwoman Josie Strange said she also is confident the proposals will pass, but that they won’t accomplish much.
Strange said they mean little when the most important one recommended by the sheriff — to ban drinking alcohol on the beaches for six weeks during Spring Break — was taken off the list.
“I think a lot of (what’s left) is fluff,” she said. “There is an emergency room doctor who said they are overwhelmed in the emergency room during Spring Break. We need triage units out here. That is indicative of a war zone. Is that what we want to be known as, ‘the
Strange said banning drinking on the beach for six weeks would not kill Spring Break and would solve many of the problems.
“I have lived here so long and seen it evolve into something so horrible,” she said.
Years ago, families would come down to
“So we basically have sold our soul to get these partiers down here,” she said.
But other council members said the proposals can make a difference in reducing the problems.
Sheriff Frank McKeithen, who made the list of recommendations, declined to comment.
Oberst said some people might not know it, but city and county leaders each year meet with law enforcement after Spring Break and develop proposals to make the next year safer.
“For example, last year during Spring Break we set up ‘no parking’ signs all along
Also last year, more officers were put on patrol during Spring Break, she said.
“It’s the first time we’d ever had a sand patrol,” she said.
Oberst said what made this year different was the intense media coverage of Spring Break, which included an unflattering week-long Fox News segment.
The proposals the council shot down would not only have banned drinking on the beach, but also outlawed coolers in an attempt to eliminate large parties that “usually contribute to underage drinking.” Another one taken off the list would have required a beach-side night curfew.
There will be more law enforcement next year, Oberst said.
“Next Spring Break you’ll see not one or two (K-9) dogs, but probably five dogs being walked through the streets and around cars and in parking lots,” she said. “And that is a real deterrent to the guys who come down simply to sell drugs and to prey on the spring breakers.”
What’s next?
Panama City Beach City Manager Mario Gisbert said most of the proposals supported by the council do not require ordinances to be passed, and that it will take several months for staff to work through the three to four final ordinances that the council will vote on.
“Most of these items do require meetings and coordination with businesses and guest properties,” he said.
Councilman John Reichard said the proposals will be reviewed at the end of each Spring Break.
“We’d review this annually, especially next year, to see what worked, what needs more improvement, what should come and what should go,” he said.
He said officials will have to come up with a definition of success.
“The problem as I see it is underage drinking, controlling that,” he said. “Those (people) become the prey that predators prey upon.”
He said city officials need to support law enforcement’s efforts.
Councilman Rick Russell said he doesn’t agree with all the proposals, but he thinks they have the votes to pass.
“I think we’ll see changes this year. Some will probably not be as profound as some people want,” he said. “I just don’t want to see us make some decisions we may regret down the road.”
Russell said he doesn’t believe the proposal to close the bars earlier at 2 a.m. will help address problems.
“You’re just putting (bar patrons) back onto the streets,” he said. “It seems to me that a trickle-out effect is preferred.”
Russell said the council needs to be wary of regulating Spring Break out of existence.
“If we lost Spring Break, it’s the working-class people here on the beach that would be most affected,” he said. “If you stop Spring Break, you will not only hurt
Russell said he does not believe the regulations left on the table will deter spring breakers from coming here.
“You never know what effect it might have until it happens, but I think no alcohol on beach during Spring Break would have effectively killed Spring Break,” he said. “Other people go to the beach at that time, too. Why penalize everyone?”
Councilman Keith Curry said he felt that banning drinking on the beach would have infringed upon the rights of local residents.
“I didn’t want to take away an individual’s right in
The 16 proposals
-Providing more law enforcement and emergency medical services support, and coordinating the effort with the Tourist Development Council, businesses and guest properties.
-Providing additional K-9 units.
-Requiring anyone with an alcoholic beverage to have a valid state-issued picture identification card or license.
-Requiring all bars, clubs and other establishments to stop serving alcoholic beverages by at least 2 a.m., and possibly even earlier. The closing time currently is 4 a.m.
-Using TDC money currently spent on college Spring Break to advertise what a person can’t do next year and the new laws and ordinances.
-Closing all city-owned parking lots at 5 p.m. every day, but installing an exit gate to allow the guests to leave at any time.
-Allowing only one special event on the sandy beach per day.
-Requiring additional support staff of three officers for each 1,000 guests at special events.
-Requiring event organizers to fence off the event area and to take responsibility of their property, including the checkpoint.
-Prohibiting the digging of any holes on the sandy beach, which is a safety issue for emergency personnel and people walking. “Some of these holes are large enough to hold 8 to 10 people and illegal activities along with sexual misconduct do occur within them,” the city’s proposal list states.
-Requiring street-side and beach-side restrooms in areas with large concentrations of visitors.
-Strengthening scooter regulations, insurance, monitoring and enforcement.
-Working with property owners to better manage beach areas and activities.
-Working with property owners to better manage guests on properties and in rooms.
-Meeting with members of the community once a week during Spring Break and regularly throughout the year to search for new ideas.
-Aggressively enforce capacity limits and fire safety ordinances during Spring Break at condos, hotels and clubs.