PANAMA CITY BEACH — For the Bay County Tourist Development Council, having too many visitors on Panama City Beach during a holiday weekend is a good problem to have.
But the estimated 250,000 tourists that flooded the beach over the July 4 weekend left more behind on the beach than the city and TDC bargained for — about 88 tons of trash and 10 truckloads of abandoned tents.
“That’s a lot of trash — primarily aluminum cans, water bottles and spent fireworks,” said TDC Director Dan Rowe during a board meeting Thursday. “The system was overwhelmed.”
The agency spends upwards of $700,000 annually for beach maintenance, which includes daily emptying of the 1,200 blue trash bins on Bay County’s 18 miles of beach during the summer months.
However, as Rowe pointed out at the meeting, cleanup is ultimately the responsibility of the upland land owner, according to a Panama City Beach ordinance.
“The condo towers, the super clubs, they have a duty to keep the beach clean,” Rowe said. “I think that’s also something we need to get out and remind people of.”
Panama City Beach City Manager Mario Gisbert addressed the board during the meeting, and said the situation “struck a nerve” because the city and TDC are not at fault.
“The person that we should be relying on is the person that is most responsible,” Gisbert said. “Unfortunately, people have become accustomed to the TDC picking up the garbage. As far as I know, that’s a courtesy service.”
Board member Andy Phillips said the agency needs to do a better job in the future to educate beach front properties on the city’s ordinance and be better prepared to clean up during peak times.
The TDC’s clean up crews faced challenges with large crowds on the beach over the weekend, which kept them off the sand Saturday by request of local law enforcement, along with a restricted clean-up time due to turtle nesting season.
Additionally, the county landfill was closed over the holiday weekend, forcing contractors to instead haul trash farther away to the incinerator.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better weekend, but with that we need to be prepared,” said Phillips, adding that the TDC has become known as the trash people over the years. “There’s very few properties that do anything to maintain their beach.”
Panama City Beach Police Chief Drew Whitman said that while the beach was at full occupancy over the weekend many families were forced to sleep on the beach and in public parking lots.
“We had a lot of people here and not enough rooms,” he said. “The closest room we could find was in Callaway.”
The board’s discussion also covered other trash issues, including the “Leave No Trace” ordinance, which board members said has not been enforced aggressively enough this year.
The ordinance went into effect in 2012 and prohibits beachgoers from leaving any personal items, including tents, between the water line and the toe of the dune overnight. While enforcement was initially executed by the TDC’s beach clean-up crew, responsibility was later turned over to the Panama City Beach Police Department.
Concerned that the problem is getting worse, the board approved a motion to once again shift enforcement back to the TDC’s contractor.
“Picking up tents is not a priority of the Beach P.D. and it shouldn’t be,” Phillips said. “They are maxed out. That shouldn’t be something they worry about.”
Rowe said the TDC board provided PCBPD with $100,000 in funding to enforce the ordinance this year and educate beachgoers about the city’s rules. Details of the transfer will be further discussed, he said.
Keeping on the issue of garbage, the board also approved a motion to recommend that the city and county consider a mandatory garbage policy for the Panama City Beach area.
County Commissioner Mike Thomas and Panama City Beach Mayor Gayle Oberst, both TDC members, said it’s an issue they’ve been pushing for several years, but one that has never received a vote of approval.
“The simple thing is, there needs to be garbage pickup at every residency,” Thomas said.
In other business, the TDC:
- Noted an 8 percent increase in Tourist Development Tax, or bed tax, collections in May year-over-year. Mexico Beach posted a 25 percent increase.
- Approved a 5 percent raise for Rowe following an evaluation of his performance over the last year. Rowe currently makes $170,000 per year plus benefits.