PANAMA CITY — Downtown Improvement Board Director Dutch Sanger has announced he will not continue organizing events for the rest of the year, even after the board approved a contract last week.
Sanger said his events management company was not ready to accept the task.
Sanger resigned last month as DIB director and his last day in the job was Friday. The DIB had accepted his offer to coordinate events — on a commission basis — for the rest of this calendar year, but that will not happen.
“A couple people were surprised,” Chairman Jim Hayden said of the board response.
The DIB will now decide a volunteer committee to help run the events for the rest of the year, which will be selected at a meeting 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Hayden said the DIB is continuing with two Friday Fests, Oktoberfest, Festival of Nations and Winterfest.
“We’re trying to get as many volunteers as possible here at 4 p.m. Wednesday,” Hayden said.
The DIB will go through applications for the Main Street coordinator position at 4 p.m. Tuesday and are hoping to reach a decision in a 4 p.m. Thursday meeting.
Friday was the final day for applications for the position. The DIB has decided to pay that position between $20,000 and $25,000 per year with possible bonuses and it will be responsible for coordinating activities for the organization.
The search for a replacement director is ongoing with the deadline for those applications on Sept. 19. The DIB has decided to pay that position between $40,000 and $45,000 per year with possible bonuses.