One of the anticipated benefits of the city turning over management of Hemming Park to a nonprofit was private management would be able to greatly improve the park experience.
That would include prohibiting behavior by some park users that doesn’t meet community standards when it comes to a family-friendly atmosphere, such as profanity, aggressive actions and extensive use of the park by homeless people.
After 18 months of operating the one-square-block space in front of City Hall, the Friends of Hemming Park found its authority is limited to contacting the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to enforce rules and laws that apply to all city parks.
Vince Cavin, executive director of the Friends, said the group initially thought it could establish rules specific to the park and, with the help of the Sheriff’s Office, compel visitors to abide by those rules.
In reality, “there are limits on rules the Friends of Hemming Park can enforce,” Cavin said.
Enacting and enforcing additional regulations specific to the park could violate people’s rights.
Their constitutional rights.
That’s the conclusion of a five-page analysis prepared by the Office of General Counsel.
According to the report, the city can control and regulate conduct when it is not based on the content of speech or expression.
The city also can enforce laws for the public safety and welfare as long as they are sufficiently clear and not so broad as to restrict the rights of the public to visit the park, which is considered a public forum.
The report cites a 2011 11th Circuit Court decision in Catron v. City of St. Petersburg that noted the public has a “constitutionally protected liberty interest to be in parks or other city lands of their choosing that are open to the public generally.”
The ruling struck down a St. Petersburg ordinance allowing it to completely ban homeless people from parks. That, the court said, violated their procedural due process rights and the right to intrastate travel.
The court concluded all people are free to move about public property and the city could not ban people from parks unless their presence prevented a safe and orderly environment.
When it comes to enforcing the city’s laws and park rules, there is at least one officer assigned in or near the park from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, said Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Lauri-Ellen Smith.
On weekends, officers on the bicycle patrol are assigned to Downtown, including Hemming Park.
“You can count on an officer’s presence in that area,” Smith said.
The initial plan, Cavin said, was to use the park’s team of “ambassadors,” who are in the park to set up tables and chairs and perform other duties such as picking up litter, to enforce park rules and prohibit unwanted behavior.
However, the ambassadors function more like concierges than security guards, he said.
The organization’s board of directors is considering hiring a security firm to maintain a presence in the park to augment services provided by the Sheriff’s Office.
“Private security would provide us an extra layer (of oversight),” said Cavin.
Paying for private security in the park will be an additional monthly expense for the nonprofit.
The city appropriated $1 million to finance the Friends’ first 18 months in the park that ended Feb. 29.
An additional $250,000 is budgeted to fund the organization through the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30.
Kerri Stewart, chief of staff for Mayor Lenny Curry, said the administration is communicating with the Friends to improve enforcement of laws and rules in the park and “it’s a shared sense of frustration.”
There is no proposal being considered for the city to fund the effort beyond Sept. 30, but if outsourcing is the answer, “we might consider helping fund private security,” said Stewart.
Smith said if a private security firm was retained for Hemming Park, its authority would be just as limited as that of the ambassadors.
Private security guards don’t have the authority to detain or arrest anyone.
If they observe a crime being committed, their responsibility would be to report it to the Sheriff’s Office.
However, the visibility of uniformed security officers could make people more aware of their behavior in the park, even though the officers’ authority is limited.
“Private security does provide a deterrent,” Smith said.
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