Has Panama City neglected the historically Black Glenwood community since Hurricane Michael?
PANAMA CITY  For some in the Panama City area's Black community, seeing the recent racist vandalism of Joe Moody Harris Park and seeing the state that it's in was their breaking point. Just a little more than two months ago, plans for the historic Glenwood neighborhood were finalized with the city of Panama City. Some of those plans included an aquatic center, an African American cultural center and a rebuild of the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center. Panama City:Racist graffiti, vandalism in Joe Moody Harris Park prompt public outcry for city cleanup  Related coverage:Panama City to quickly breathe new life into defunct Glenwood gym  Still, some members of the Glenwood community are not pleased with the progress of their neighborhood when compared to the recoveries they say other areas of Panama City have had since Hurricane Michael in 2018. "The city and the county gives everybody else 18 months to get their stuff done, but who's going to hold them accountable?" said Pete Boyett, who lives next to Joe Moody Park. "It has been three years. I've seen the homeless go in and out of the building over there ... it looks trashy and it brings down the value of the neighborhood." Questions have surrounded the city recently about where it has prioritized spending its money. Boyett said he feels like the park in particular hasn't been fixed because it sits in a low-income neighborhood. Panama City City Manager Mark McQueen said on Tuesday that the city is investing money into the city regardless of race. He said that the entire city was severely damaged by Hurricane Michael and they're bringing up the whole city. McQueen said that the current condition of the park is the responsibility of the city. Some members of the Glenwood community said they believe that the city is just giving them the run around when it comes to improving their community. McQueen said these projects take time. "It takes an enormous amount of time," McQueen said. "As we're seeing now, there's a lot of construction that is taking place. It's just a problem in terms of time and it takes time to get these things built." Public outcry ensued over the condition of Joe Moody. Residents of Glenwood say they feel like Joe Moody and other projects weren't thought about until they screamed and shouted about them. Robert Stewart has been one of the community members on the forefront of the Joe Moody cleanup team. Stewart has been a DJ for many years and he's played music at Joe Moody for family reunions and other parties. It made Stewart upset to see the condition the park was in. "The fact it's been three years (since the storm), that really hurt my feelings. I wanted to cry," Stewart said. "I got history in that park. It feels like a page of history just got torn out of the history book and thrown in the trash." Stewart is baffled why the park was left like that and other parts of the Black community have not seen progress. When there was a public outcry about Joe Moody, he said trash has been getting cleaned up and he said he believes it's because they made their frustrations public. Stewart said that if nobody brought up the spray-painted racist remarks or the deteriorating condition of the park, the city would have never brought it up. He also said it's good timing to save face for McQueen to say that design bids for the park went out Friday. A little more than two months ago, the city officials and community members agreed on the neighborhood plans for Glenwood. McQueen said the city worked closely with Glenwood residents to get as much as they can in the plans. No,' but he knows it is moving in the right direction," McQueen said. "Whether it's the Martin Luther King Rec Center or it's the Joe Moody Harris Park, or whether it's Daffin Park or Millville Park, all of these things are important as we rebuild." McQueen said he doesn't agree with the notion from Glenwood residents that their area is not a priority. According to McQueen, it's at the top of the city's priority list. "When we were working on the hazard mitigation program, we submitted five projects and the No. 1 project in the city was Glenwood in regards to their water and sewer system," McQueen said. "All of this is this city's commitment to rebuild the entire city." McQueen added that some areas will be done quicker because it's less sophisticated or less complex. He said some don't require extra steps or an approval process because they're small projects. Projects like Joe Moody that are bigger and that require constructing a new building, new restrooms or new lighting plans  those projects take extra steps. He said that at the end of this recovery process all the citizens will be pleased with the results. Boyett however agrees with Stewart that the city prioritizes other parts of the city compared to Glenwood, Millville, and other low-income neighborhoods. "Look at McKenzie Park, how long did it stay down?" Boyett asked. "McKenzie Park was cleaned up within six months." Both Boyett and Stewart look at the investment made to Beach Drive, which has been a topic of discussion as well. Both of them mentioned swings and new sod that have been placed, but a park like Joe Moody still looks destroyed. Meanwhile, the community has joined with residents to help clean up Joe Moody. Trash was picked up on Friday and Saturday morning there was lawn service undertaken at the park. Stewart said he is appreciative that people in the community are pitching in to help. Boyett said he appreciates that as well, but still doesn't think it's their responsibility to do so. McQueen said it's unacceptable that Joe Moody Park is in the condition that it's in and he believes that areas like Glenwood and Millville will see progress. He said he's grateful that citizens in Panama City are coming together to help the city with cleaning up and helping with the progress. If you're already a subscriber, thank you! If not, please subscribe and help keep coverage of the most important local news coming.