Panama City Parks, Culture, and Recreation Department meets with community
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – We've come a long way since Hurricane Michael in 2018, but in many ways, Bay County is still recovering.
Panama City's Parks, Culture, and Recreation Department is working with the community in a series of meetings to see what they can do to make things better than they were before the storm.
They're in the beginning stages of the MLK Rec Center and the Joe Moody Harris Park projects. They also have some large landscaping projects. But this meeting was also about hearing from residents.
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Panama City's Parks, Culture, and Recreation Department leaders kicked off this series of monthly meetings in Millville. Thursday night was Glenwood's turn. Glenwood has seen its share of hardships since Hurricane Michael.
One way the city is turning things around for the community is the MLK Recreation Center. Parks and Rec Director Keith Mefford was able to give residents an update on the project, which just broke ground.
"There's just going to absolutely take your breath away when you see this facility with the massive beauty that this thing's going to bring to this community. It takes a heck of a foundation to support that. So that foundation is just about complete," Mefford said.
Mefford said workers will soon lay the foundation of the building. The first vertical piece of steel will go up on September 30th. They're hoping to have the project completed in June 2025.
Joe Moody Park is another project in the early stages. It's been closed since the hurricane destroyed it six years ago.
"When you hear people the history and the joy that Joe Moody here has brought to the community, as a whole, it's just a part of that I'm excited to be a part of," Mefford said.
The city recently received a $1.33 million grant to not only reopen the park but revamp it as well.
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"So we're going to start with the first phase. It's going to involve a lot of trail updates, lighting parks, playgrounds, multipurpose fields, pavilions, water, trash benches, bridges, you name it," Mefford said.
Besides these two projects, Mefford announced a $1 million grant to plant as many as 1,500 trees all over the city, helping to replace some of the millions of trees lost in the store. Parks officials plan to rotate these monthly community meetings around the city.
The next meeting will be on October 10th at 6 pm at the Harvey D. Mathis Park in the 3300 block of Florida Avenue. The public is invited to attend.
