A discussion at the City Council Ad Hoc Committee on Hemming Plaza on Thursday included a direction to the City’s interim parks director to develop rules to control the use of the benches and tables in Hemming Plaza.
“I’m not talking about moving any people out of the park, I’m talking about making it user-friendly for everyone,” said City Council member Denise Lee, the ad hoc committee chair.
She chose members for a subcommittee comprising Downtown business owners, property owners, City officials, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Salvation Army and Metrojacksonville.com, a blog whose members are interested in Downtown issues.
“I want you to get together and meet and offer recommendations to the committee as to solutions that could be expedited on a short-term basis,” said Lee.
“I’m looking for some immediate solutions,” she said.
Lee also requested that a representative of JAX Chamber participate on the subcommittee.
“The chamber has resources. They have not been integrated into this process as much as the organization should,” Lee said.
Lee appointed Kelley Boree, the City’s interim director of parks, to chair the subcommittee.
She also directed Boree to develop rules that could be put in force to control the use of the benches and tables in Hemming Plaza.
Council member Don Redman, who represents Downtown and serves on the committee, said he believes the biggest issue is people who remain in the park all day and use the street furniture.
“The only thing we can do is regulate the amount of time a person can sit at a table. Either that, or take out the tables,” he said.
“We’ve got plenty of laws. That’s not the problem,” said Sheriff John Rutherford.
He said he favors “moving the problem” of people who break the law in Hemming Plaza and those who travel directly to Hemming Plaza as soon as they are released from jail “to a place where it can be managed.”
Rutherford said he would support using jail as “an opportunity to get people in a service-ready condition.”
He has suggested the creation of a misdemeanor release facility away from Downtown with an adjacent facility staffed by local social service agencies that could evaluate and then provide assistance to people in need of shelter, counseling or substance abuse treatment when they are released from incarceration.
Rutherford said in addition to the creation of an assessment center outside of Downtown, he would also suggest eliminating feeding programs Downtown.
“I believe until the City has the political will to address those two issues, none of this will change,” said Rutherford.
Boree was asked why the City doesn’t program Hemming Plaza the way other City parks are programmed with regularly scheduled events and activities.
“It’s a plaza, not a park,” she said. Boree said it’s not a place where people might throw a Frisbee or kick a soccer ball.
“You can’t compare it to other sites,” said Boree.
Meetings of the Ad Hoc Committee on Hemming Plaza are scheduled at 10 a.m. the first and third Wednesdays each month in the Don Davis Room at City Hall.
356-2466