Their doors will stay open for another year. A new Boynton Beach Police substation on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. just got the green light to remain operational for another year in the Heart of Boynton Beach.
For the past 8 months, residents in the Heart of Boynton have been getting used to their new neighbors.
"It's very good having them next door," said Rose Charles, who picks up her daughter from daycare right down the street from the police substation.
Charles has seen Officer Terrence Paramore and Sergeant Henry Diehl manning the station created as part of a new Community Policing effort to build relationships with local residents.
"I see them talking to the kids or the neighbors and then they are always waving and say hi and stuff," said Charles.
The program which cost $200,000 it's first year is funded by the Community Redevelopment Agency. The area covered is from Boynton Beach Blvd. to North 13th Avenue and from I-95 to Federal Highway. City Council voted to fund the program for a second year, but not without some conditions.
"You need to be visible, you need to be on the streets, you need to be reaching more young people." said Vice Mayor Mack McCray after stating that some of the residents in his district don't feel like the program has done enough.
Officer Paramore and Sergeant Diehl ride on bicycles, segways, walk the neighborhoods and also use patrol cars.
Some residents who did not want to go on camera echoed Vice-Mayor McCray's demands to see more of the officers and extended the substation's hours.
"What the vice mayor said, we could do better, I agree with that. We can always do better," said Sergeant Diehl.
Sergeant Diehl is working to get computers donated to the station. Workstations will be created for children who can use the computers for homework. Specific hours would then be created for after school work and for local residents to use workstations for job hunting.
One of the conditions set for by Vice Mayor McCray was to receive quarterly reports of the program's progress.