Town To Get Drunks Out Of Parks, Determines Location Of Town Limits

August 5, 2008

The Century Town Council took steps Monday night to eliminate alcohol consumption in the town’s parks and determined where exactly the city limits are on Pleasant Hill Road.

“The sheriff’s department has refused to do anything because they don’t have jurisdiction,” Council President Anne Brooks said of calls to the Escambia Sheriff’s Department to remove people drinking in a town park.

It’s a situation that has become a problem for a nearby business. Brooks said the Country Bumpkin has had problems with drunks in the nearby Roadside Park yelling at their customers. Calls to the sheriff’s department have not solved the problem, she said.

Brooks told the council that she spoke with Matt Dannheisser, the town’s attorney, and he suggested that the town notify the sheriff’s department that anyone consuming alcohol in a town park was violating a town rule. That would allow the town to have the person removed from the park for trespassing.

The council voted to have Mayor Freddie McCall send a letter to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department notifying them that anyone consuming alcohol in any town park was trespassing and should be removed.

In other business, the council know knows where the town limits are on Pleasant Hill Road. A map located by the town’s engineer clearly shows six lots on the west side of Pleasant Hill Road to lie within the town limits.

The town limit discussion began at a recent meeting of the town council. The council voted to forgive a past due garbage bill for a resident on Pleasant Hill Road who has not had a can for years but has run up a $446 garbage bill. The council also voted to require the resident to pay a garbage bill from now forward.

“When did I get in the city limits?” the man asked at the council’s July 21st meeting. “I’ve been on that hill for 36 years.”

But the map from the town’s engineer indicates the man’s property is in the Town of Century.

“There’s been some shady deals going on to get people in the city limits from the former administration,” Councilman Henry Hawkins said. He asked the mayor for a date the Pleasant Hill lots became part of the town.

“It it possible to satisfy the people on Pleasant Hill that we can get a date?” Council member Gary Riley asked.

Also at Monday night’s Century Town Council meeting, the council:

  • Heard a report from the mayor that there were no new developments following the apparent closure of Helicopter Technologies
  • Presented a certificate to Brooks for attending the Florida League of Cities 2008 Institute For Elected Officials
  • Approved McCall’s request to attend the Florida League of Cities meeting next week in Tampa
  • Delayed action on spending $1,210 to create a GIS (Geographic Information Systems) land use map for the town’s upcoming new comprehensive plan
  • Scheduled a public hearing at 6:30 on August 18 for public input on a $200,000 grant application for work at the Anthony Pleasant Sports Complex
  • Heard a request from Hawkins to consider a vision statement he presented to the council several months ago. Brooks suggested that the council schedule a workshop to review the document
  • Heard from a representative from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department about an upcoming law enforcement academy. NorthEscambia.com will have a story about the law enforcement academy posted on Wednesday.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News