To some local leaders, Hurricane Michael made Panama City a blank slate from which they can make significant improvements in the coming years. The Panama City City Commission and city department heads gathered on Thursday for their annual goal-setting session for the coming year. But unlike previous years, the devastating Category 5 storm has potentially given the city access to enough resources to make sweeping upgrades — from an overhaul of downtown to major infrastructure and parks improvements. “We have a blank slate … the storm created a situation for us where now we can totally rebuild,” Mayor Greg Brudnicki said. “Before, more of the fixes we did were with a Band-Aid approach because of a lack of resources.” Brudnicki said that because of the hurricane, the city would have access to federal and state resources to help pay for more community improvements that should lead to future economic and population growth. City Manager Mark McQueen agreed with Brudnicki, saying the city was poised for significant change and growth in part because of the historic Oct. 10 storm.
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