St. Joe Community Foundation awards PCPD $225,500 grant to help with community engagement

Nathan Cobb, The News Herald
·2 min read

PANAMA CITY − Local officials are working to bridge the gap between residents and law enforcement officers.

Panama City commissioners on Tuesday voted for the city to accept a more than $225,500 grant from the St. Joe Community Foundation. The money will be used to purchase a Community Outreach Recruitment & Engagement (CORE) trailer and truck for the Panama City Police Department.

Capt. Chris Taylor said the department will use the trailer and truck to improve its community engagement, especially with younger residents.

A rendering of the Community Outreach Recruitment & Engagement (CORE) trailer being purchased by the Panama City Police Department with a grant from the St. Joe Community Foundation.
A rendering of the Community Outreach Recruitment & Engagement (CORE) trailer being purchased by the Panama City Police Department with a grant from the St. Joe Community Foundation.

"It will put a positive take on the interaction between law enforcement and kids," Taylor said. "A lot of times, their interaction is with a negative side of law enforcement due to whatever might be happening around them. This allows us to turn it in a different way, (and) to interact with them, play games with them, learn who they are and let them learn who we are."

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According to the meeting's agenda, the St. Joe Community Foundation grant will pay for 100% of the CORE trailer and truck, which the department plans to bring to community outreach events held at venues such as local schools and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Bay County.

Information from the police department states the CORE trailer will be outfitted with a snack area, lounge area, basketball hoop, Wi-Fi hotspot, TVs and video gaming station. It also will be ADA compliant.

The Panama City Police Department's Community Outreach Recruitment & Engagement (CORE) trailer will be outfitted with a snack area, lounge area, basketball hoop, Wi-Fi hotspot, TVs and video gaming station.
The Panama City Police Department's Community Outreach Recruitment & Engagement (CORE) trailer will be outfitted with a snack area, lounge area, basketball hoop, Wi-Fi hotspot, TVs and video gaming station.

The St. Joe Community Foundation was created in 1999 by the St. Joe Company, the large land development company headquartered in Panama City Beach that mainly works in Bay and Walton counties. While the foundation is a separate entity than the company, it is funded by transfer fees on certain real estate sales by the St. Joe Company.

Taylor said he expects for the department to receive the trailer toward the end of the year. It will take about six months to build.

"It's a really amazing feeling and a wonderful thing for the St. Joe (Community Foundation) to award us this grant," he said. "Community policing has been a part of the Panama City Police Department for a lot of years, but as time as gone on, some things slow down a little bit. Over the last couple of years, Chief (Mark) Smith has tried to make a positive effort in bringing community (policing) back up to where it is and beyond.

"That's where this trailer will come in, in a big way."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: St. Joe Community Foundation awards Panama City PD $225,500 grant