Panama City’s Joe Moody Harris Park receives grant for redevelopment

BAY COUNTY, Fla. ( WMBB ) – Panama City officials received some good news about funding to rebuild a popular park.

The Joe Moody Harris Park shut down after heavy damages during Hurricane Michael in 2018.

City officials applied for a grant from the Federal Land and Water Conservation fund. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection administers the money and decided to give the city $666,000, which will be matched, giving the city $1.3 million for the project.

“At this point, this grant helps us to reopen the park,” Panama City Commissioner Janice Lucas said.

Panama City officials have some ambitious plans for Joe Moody Harris Park. They’ll be repairing and expanding the existing walking trail, creating a multi-purpose field, adding new playgrounds and exercise stations, and more to the 31-acre park.

Lucas said they are focused on making the park operational as soon as possible.

“There have been many people who have said, hey, why can’t we at least go walking at Joe Moody Harris Park? And that’s not a safe place now in terms of the overgrowth, the trees, the walking trail. So this great grant will allow us to get in in a condition that people can come in and use it,” Lucas said.

The grant will only be the first phase of the project. Lucas said they hope to give the community a new place for wellness and fitness.

“There will be the redoing of the walking trails of parking lots. There will be bike racks or bike rides. So this first phase that is covered by the grant will cover the redoing of the walking trail, the asphalt the parking lots, adding a playground as well as a bike rack and water fountain,” Lucas said.

While the city is hopeful they will reopen the park for the public to enjoy, they say they aren’t working on this project alone.

The city is partnering up with Franklin’s promise to get boots on the ground at the park. The group of 5 people will be working to help clean up the park to get it ready for the public.

“What I’m looking for is most is getting people to come back and be in their regular routine like they used to be and see how what a big impact we have made in this park and what we’re doing today. And when they walk by, they can have a big smile on their face, like, oh my god, this is the part we knew before,” Franklins Promise Employee Alexis Powell said.

Construction should begin next summer. The first phase of the redevelopment will take up to 36 months.

There was a community center in the middle of the park. That will not be rebuilt until one of the later phases of the project.

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