Tent city dismantled

PANAMA CITY — The tents have been folding and the sleeping bags rolled up, as the workers who had created an encampment at Forest Park United Methodist Church were forced to move on.

“We have found that the vast majority are contractors from other parts of the country and we wish them well as they return to their homes in other states,” said The Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church in a statement. “With the help of the United Methodist Committee on Relief, we were able to connect the dozen or so disaster-displaced individuals with the services they needed to start to rebuild their lives.”

Police pushed people to move along on Tuesday.

With 800 people at its peak and no potable water or sanitation, the “tent city” as it was known had become a safety hazard and had the potential to create a public health crisis, Mayor Greg Brudnicki said when questioned about the encampment during the Panama City Commission meeting. He said the number of emergency calls — 26 during the past 30 days — made it a public nuisance that needed to be dealt with.

Only eight local residents were staying at tent city, he said, and homes have been found for all of them.