The town of Panacea is taking part in a program to help it rebuild its economic base that was decimated by the decline in the fishing industry

The town of Panacea is taking part in a program to help it rebuild its economic base that was decimated by the decline in the fishing industry.

The program, called “Competitive Florida: Promoting Partnerships, Community Design, and Economic Opportunity” will help Panacea create a new economic development plan and address ongoing problems, like the need for a grocery store.

Panacea is a small town with less than 1,000 people. 

It was once a thriving seafood town, but in 1994 the statewide ban on gillnets crippled the local fishing industry.

In 2001 the community was designated as a Waterfronts Florida Partnership Community which helped the community to create a vision for redevelopment and work to re-establish Panacea as a destination for eco-tourism, while adapting their seafood industry to the changing times.

That plan is now almost twenty years old and needs to be revised to reflect recent events, like the impacts of Hurricane Michael and to define where the community wants to be 20 years from now.

Panacea recently became designated as a Competitive Florida Partnership Community.

Through that program, Panacea will create a new economic development strategy.

The Apalachee Regional Planning Council will be hosting two public workshops to solicit community input for Panacea’s economic development strategy.

The first public meeting on will be held on January 28^th at 530 at the Women’s Club in Panacea.

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