Latest news with #TourismAppreciationMonth
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Panama City firefighters begin annual spring fire hydrant maintenance
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – If you live in Panama City and see brown water coming out of your faucets, don't worry. Panama City firefighters are flushing water through all of the city's fire hydrants this month. In between calls, they'll be stopping at all 2,750 of the city's hydrants. They'll perform maintenance and make sure they're ready for emergency situations. 'These hydrants are systematically our lifeline for water when a house is on fire, and the fact that they're working at 100% is when we get on scene, speeds everything up. If our guys are having to fight with the hydrant to get it on because the stems are tough, or the fact that the hydrant cats are stuck on, that's going to hinder our process and extinguishing the fire and saving your loved ones and property,' Division Chief of Fire Prevention Howard Demro said. The process starts with removing all of the caps, making sure they're lubricated for easy removal. Then they flush the hydrants to remove possible sediment buildup to make sure water is clear and flowing properly. Tourism Appreciation Month kicks off, TDC funding threats loom That sediment can cause possible water discoloration during this month's maintenance work. 'When that happens, we just ask the residents, if you see that, don't freak out. Just flow your water, turn multiple faucets on, let it flow for 3 to 5 minutes, and it should clear up,' Demro said. Firefighters clean all the brush around the hydrant that could prevent them from seeing it or limit their access. Another step is installing blue reflectors to help identify hydrant locations. They're documenting any issues or defects while conducting maintenance. 'The guys are writing them up immediately. I'm getting notification of this, we're sending it to underground utilities so they can start replacing caps, fixing the hydrants where they're easy to open, and making note of those hydrants that may have been hit by cars that we weren't aware of. They're getting all that stuff fixed,' Demro added. Fire crews say they've documented 10 to 15 fire hydrants that need repair. City maintenance teams are scheduled to repair them. Every 5 years, the department performs 'flow testing' to determine the hydrants' flow capacities. Fire officials say they've repaired about half of the non-working hydrants since the yacht club fire. They also encourage you to sign-up for Community Connect, a platform allowing them to communicate with residents and enhance emergency response. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tourism Appreciation Month kicks off, TDC funding threats loom
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Bay County officials are excited about a number of events they have planned for Tourism Appreciation Month. However, they can't ignore the state legislative threats looming over the local destination marketing industry. House bills 7033 and 1221 would force 75% of tourist development tax revenue to be used to implement local property tax cuts. That's the money the TDC uses to fund tourism promotion and marketing, and build and maintain tourism facilities. It could even dissolve local tourist development councils. 'The TDC, we focus on how we continue to support tourism in bay county, I mean it's a 3.1-billion-dollar industry, and without destination marketing, the number of visitors who come to Panama City Beach every year and across Bay County would likely go down,' Bay County TDC executive director Dan Rowe said. Not only do local marketing efforts increase tourism, but they also influence the demographics of visitors. Mayor-elect Allan Branch talks future of Panama City Bay County's TDC helped PCB move away from the spring break reputation. 'Panama City Beach is a great place to go 12 months out of the year. We started this, you know, 15 years ago just to make sure that we were marketing it on a year-round basis, so we have less need for business, college spring break business, quite frankly, because the revenues were coming other times of the year,' Rowe said. The TDC also helps fund major local events like Beach Home for the holidays, the New Year's Eve Beach Ball Drop, UNwineD, Mardi Gras, and more. House members have already passed House Bills 7033 and 1221, which would require voters to renew bed taxes every eight years. The Senate is still debating its two companion bills, 7034 and 1664. Visit Panama City Beach is hosting tourism appreciation day next Wednesday at the county Panama City's event is Monday at 11:00 at the Panama City Marina. Both events are free and open to the public. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bay County honors tourism workers with monthlong celebration
BAY COUNTY, Fla (WMBB) – Throughout the month of May, Bay County will be celebrating area tourism businesses and their employees by hosting a wide variety of events during Tourism Appreciation Month. The tourism industry is the largest driver of Bay County's economy, with it generating over three billion dollars worth of activity annually. Some of the celebratory events being held in May include a cookout on Monday, May 5th, a golf tournament on Friday, May 16th, a cornole tournament on Tuesday, May 20th, and more. Typically, tourism appreciation is recognized for only a week across Florida, but due to the importance of tourism to Bay County, local leaders felt it was needed to make it a month-long celebration. Kentucky Derby fundraiser returns to Panama City Beach 'We celebrate for an entire month because tourism is our number one economic driver,' said Destination Panama City President & CEO Jennifer Vigil. 'With seven out of ten Bay County residents being employed either directly or indirectly by the tourism and hospitality business. We know that it's the backbone of our community, and it's our time to say thank you.' All the events are open to both residents and visitors alike. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
