Rebuild Bay County reports early gains, program expansion at Aidy Harris Learning Village

Rebuild Bay County, the nonprofit managing the Aidy Harris Learning Village, told the Panama City Community Redevelopment Agency on June 3 that it has increased revenue, reduced expenses and opened new program space while pursuing grant funding to support facility upgrades.

"Our vision…was for a community resilience center that will be a hub of services on-site and access to services that the community could count on in blue skies and in gray skies," said Donna Pilsen, executive director of Rebuild Bay County, during a slide presentation to the CRA board.

Pilsen said immediate work has included outdoor cleanup, opening storage and meeting rooms and prioritizing renovation of the kitchen and cafeteria as versatile program space. Rebuild Bay has increased revenue by about $3,200 per month and reduced expenses by nearly $1,000 per month since assuming management, Pilsen said. Volunteers have contributed nearly 800 hours of labor this year, which she valued at more than $25,000.

The organization is using a mix of tenant leases, programming grants and donations to cover operations. Pilsen said tenants that provide social services were mostly in place when Rebuild Bay assumed management; the nonprofit has added two tenants where space allowed. She described partnerships under development with education and workforce providers such as Gulf Coast State College and other local nonprofits to deliver classes and programs on-site.

Rebuild Bay is executing a United Way grant to advance community resilience programming from Aidy Harris and to stand up a Community Organizations Active in Disasters (COAD) structure. The group also received an unsolicited donation to replace a long-dormant walk-in freezer and is pursuing Historic Restoration Program (HRP) funds for parking lot paving, exterior lighting and interior fencing, Pilsen said.

Board members pressed for reporting cadence and details about funding. Pilsen said CRA staff receive periodic updates and that she expects to provide at least annual presentations; she agreed to work with staff to post this presentation online. CRA staff confirmed the management agreement contains language on reporting and said they will follow-up if the board wants a specified schedule.

Board members and Pilsen discussed how Aidy Harris interacts with local homeless services. Doorways, the local lead of the continuum of care, is a tenant and brings clients to the center, Pilsen said. Rebuild Bay recently opened a transitional home in partnership with Habitat for Humanity to provide short-term stays while clients work toward more permanent housing.

Pilsen said program participants at Aidy Harris provide a participant fee that offsets some operating costs but not the full cost of permanent housing.

The presentation drew questions about frequency of formal updates, tenant selection, and whether Rebuild Bay provides the services directly or primarily offers space and coordination. Pilsen emphasized that Rebuild Bay does not deliver workforce programs directly; it will provide space and support to outside providers.

Board members did not take formal action on the presentation. Pilsen said the first year of the management agreement has been "productive" and asked for continued collaboration with CRA staff.

Rebuild Bay provided a written slide package to CRA staff; the board and staff said they will coordinate on future public updates and web posting of materials.