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Council hears veterans donation; city highlights GIS dispatch mapping, ChatPBG and new mobile app
Summary
Council heard a presentation from Sandhill Crane Golf Club and the VA about an $80,935.09 donation to the VA West Palm Beach Veterans Resource Center; staff also briefed council on mapping golf courses into dispatch CAD, a city chatbot 'ChatPBG' (1,500+ interactions) and a new mobile app 'PBG Now'.
The council received several brief community and staff updates March 6. Casey Mitchell, general manager of Sandhill Crane Golf Club, and Dr. Ron Williams of the VA West Palm Beach presented outcomes from the 2024 Mayor’s Veterans Golf Classic and related charity initiative. Dr. Williams said the tournament and related fundraising activities "Dollars 81,000 raised" and Mitchell announced the club’s broader voluntary donation program — a $5 opt‑in at check‑in — has produced $242,081.85 in donations since February 2019 and donated to dozens of local nonprofits and veteran services.
Separately, GIS Director Ross Gilmore and Dispatch Emergency Communications Manager Judy Brandt presented a public‑safety project mapping golf course fairways, greens and tees to address points in the CAD dispatch system; staff said roughly 325 course 'streets' and 975 address points were added to guide first responders directly to location points and that a field app for responders is in development.
Communications Director Candace Temple described a new e‑newsletter rebrand ('The Pinnacle') with a 54% open rate, a multilingual chatbot 'ChatPBG' on the city website (1,500+ interactions to date) and the city's new 'PBG Now' mobile app, which will deliver push notifications and quick access to services.
Council members thanked the presenters and asked staff to keep working on usability and public education for new tools.
