A city council subcommittee is looking at ways to beef up security in Jacksonville’s public parks. It’s a branch of a larger committee that’s been meeting since August about a variety of issues surrounding the city’s parks.
Tuesday’s park security meeting centered around recruiting more police officers to live in the parks rent-free.
“There are hurdles, especially with some of the less desirable areas and so we’re looking for ways to encourage or incentivize certified officers to live within those parks,” said Parks Committee Chair Scott Wilson.
City Council first approved the so-called “live-on” security program in 2003. Now, 39 Jacksonville parks are home to officers, mostly living in mobile homes. Three live in permanent homes. Some of the officers are employed with JSO, and others are retirees.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office along and Parks and Recreation Department are recommending five more parks be added to the list: Lonnie Miller, Greenland, Lake Fretwell, Brentwood Golf Course, and Beach and Peach.
Beach and Peach Urban Park is in Wilson’s district. He said that park was bought with conservation dollars, which restricts the city from removing trees.
“It’s a heavily-wooded park and if you get to the back of the park there’s often activities that are not desirable,” he said. “I’m hopeful that adding an officer to that park would reduce some of that crime.”
Wilson said permanent homes instead of trailers could incentivize officers, an idea endorsed by Councilman Bill Gulliford at the meeting. Gulliford said the city could look at planning to replace the mobile homes over the course of years.
A JSO officer at the meeting said the hardest parks to recruit officers to live at are Riverview and Sunny Acres.
Most of the officers already pay no rent or utilities, although a dozen pay rent to a city contractor owning those homes, while seven officers own their park-based homes. Gulliford said there’s an opportunity there to make a policy change.
“There should be a uniform policy that we don’t charge period,” Gulliford said.
Councilman Tommy Hazouri, leading the security subcommittee, said the members will continue to meet about this issue
“Well the next thing is, is to get a presentation from the Park’s director Daryl Joseph on the cost of additional trailers,” Hazouri said, “to look forward to maybe having permanent housing at some of our facilities as we move forward.”
Joseph said five new trailers would cost the city $50,000 to $65,000 each. The next time he meets with the subcommittee he’ll present numbers on what permanent houses would cost.
He said if council members want to fund more than the five, he’s ready for that.
“I could add 10 or 15 to the list easily,” he said.
Aside from their daily jobs, officers who live at the parks are required to check the park twice a day for criminal activity, and conduct security checks for five hours a week in addition to responding to any calls there.
Lindsey Kilbride can be reached at lkilbride@wjct.org, 904-358-6359 or on Twitter at@lindskilbride.
