PC sees comeback ‘greater than before’

PANAMA CITY — As the city starts restoring basic services and bringing in supplies for residents after Hurricane Michael, City Manager Mark McQueen is creating a plan for the future.

McQueen said such services as garbage pickup are back, five days after the storm hit. Fresh shipments of food and water requested by the city also arrived for residents Monday night. Still, while providing basic needs is the top priority, McQueen has begun gathering area businessmen and developers to plan not just to rebuild the city, but how to make it better and more prosperous.

“I want to fundamentally take this disaster and make a triumph and set us up for great economic development,” McQueen said. “My vision is for us to have a community and city that’s even greater than before.”

The Category 4 hurricane ripped through the city, knocked out power and water, and damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses.

“Our priority is to take care of food and water,” McQueen said.

McQueen said the city requested major shipments of food and water from the Emergency Operations Center, all which arrived Monday night. The supplies are set to be distributed at several points around the city.

Meanwhile, Gulf Power has worked diligently to restore electricity in Bay County and the city, McQueen said. The company expects to restore power by Oct. 24 to 98 percent of its customers who can receive it.

McQueen said water and sewer services will take longer, however. Currently, the city doesn’t have a time frame to restore those services, he said.

“It’s important for everybody to understand that we have breaks in the water distribution lines,” McQueen said. “We’ve got to fix those lines, otherwise we won’t get pressure to distribute water.”

The city also had 100 lift stations, used to pump wastewater, damaged by the storm.

“We’re working on that, trying to mitigate any potential health hazards,” McQueen said. “We don’t want sewage to be rolling into the streets.”

Meanwhile, city trash pickup was restarted on Monday, McQueen said. The city has enlisted help from outside garbage companies to do the work.

“Citizens, they can go ahead and put their blue cans out near the street,” McQueen said. “We’ll be doing pickup a couple of times a week, but there’s no definitive schedule yet.”

When water and electricity flow freely again, rebuilding the city will take precedent, and McQueen would rather not return to the status quo.

“I want to revitalize the business sectors in Panama City and create that strategic vision to get our businesses going,” McQueen said. “I’m hoping to get the concept in place next week.”

While McQueen doesn’t yet have a focus to start redevelopment, the city has for years wanted to revitalize downtown and the city marina.

“I’m working with a number of community leaders,” McQueen said. “I want to be inclusive.”

One of those who has volunteered to help with the redevelopment planning is attorney William Harrison, a longtime mover and shaker in the community with family ties in the city that go back generations.

McQueen said Harrison has agreed to help him connect with powerful businessmen and other community leaders to get the planning off the ground.

“Really, what people are most worried about is where do we go from here,” Harrison said.

Like the many residents who have volunteered their time and money to help others after the hurricane, such as those who have cut downed trees for free, Harrison just wants to do the same.

“There will be some different looks about it, but there will be opportunities to make some improvements we couldn’t do otherwise,” Harrison said.