Panama City businesses damaged by Hurricane Michael eligible to apply for grant money

Feb. 12—PANAMA CITY — Some Panama City businesses can start applying for grant money to repair their properties that were damaged by Hurricane Michael in 2018.

Called the Hometown Revitalization Program, the federal aid will pay for repairs and improvements to private commercial structures damaged by the hurricane.

The city recently hosted a Zoom meeting with consultants Nathan Beam and Jamie McNease from Hagerty Consulting about the program. Hagerty Consulting is the city's Federal Emergency Management Agency consulting firm.

Requirements for the program are listed on Panama City's website at pcgov.org. Among them are that the repairs have to be for damage from Hurricane Michael, the business must be registered with the state and the business must be owned or controlled by people eligible to work in the United States.

Applicants also are required to have at least two full-time employees currently and on or before Oct. 10, 2018, be located in one of the six targeted areas and have flood insurance.

The six targeted areas are U.S. Business 98 from Everitt Avenue to Bay Avenue, U.S. Business 98 from Florida Avenue to Fourth Street, State 77 from U.S. 231 to Sixth Street, Beck Avenue from 10th Street to 15th Street, Third Street from Everitt Avenue to Maple Avenue, and Harrison Avenue from U.S. 231 to the Panama City Marina.

Those locations were targeted by Panama City.

To give a perspective of how thin the line is, Sunjammers on Beck Avenue is in the target area but The Little Village a block away is not.

Even with being in a targeted area, Sunjammers owner Brad Stephens still faces a hiccup.

"I've known about this project for about a month or so now, getting all the criteria for it so we can plan for it, but the holdup for us is we don't have flood insurance," Stephens said. "Since then, I've gone out and gotten quotes for flood insurance and all I've been told is that it is really expensive."

Stephens is concerned that spending money on flood insurance, which could range from $500 to thousands of dollars, would not be worth it in the end. He said he appreciates the city looking for outside help for the commercial corridor, but some of those requirements could be deal breakers for businesses.

Stephens said he would like to finish painting the front of Sunjammers with the blue color that is already there. He also would like to fix up the parking lot in the back to make it look nicer.

Small business owners could be out of the loop because of the employee requirement. Some businesses are just the owner and a part-time employee to help out.

Sandi Wolf, owner of The Little Village, said she still would look to apply even though she's out of the targeted area. She believes it should apply to all commercial areas, but understands that there's not enough money for everybody.

Even if she was on Beck Avenue, she would have the same issue as Stephens: flood insurance.

"I haven't been required to have flood insurance because I'm so built up," Wolf said. "That might change the next time I renew my policy, but at this point I have not been required to have it."

Wolf also wonders if having flood insurance would be worth the cost to get money for repairs. She said she's done some repairs already, but she still has some issues with metal roofing and some fencing lost during the storm.

Any business that meets all the requirements and would like to participate in the program can apply at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F7VVLQB.

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