Century Council Votes 3-1 To Reopen The Town’s Parks

June 2, 2020

The Century Town Council voted Monday night to reopen the town’s parks, departing from the advice given by Mayor Henry Hawkins. The Century parks are about the last, if not the last, recreation area in Escambia County to be reopened after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hawkins told the council that the parks remained closed because the town does not have the personnel to monitor them for proper social distancing like Escambia County and the City of Pensacola.

The county and city never closed their parks and never instituted any formal monitoring programs.

Councilmen Ben Boutwell and James Smith both expressed that some point people must have personal accountability for the their actions such as proper social distancing the in the parks.

“People can do what they want to do,” Councilman Luis Gomez said. “I’m not trying to stop it, but I’m trying to say if the people start getting sick and people start overwhelming the park, are we going to be willing to close it back?”

The council voted 3-1 to reopen the parks and reinstall the basketball rims that were removed from Marie McMurray Park. Gomez cast the dissenting vote, and council member Sandra McMurray-Jackson did not vote after apparently being disconnected from the telephone meeting.

“I’ll go no with this one,” Gomez said about his vote. “It ain’t going to be on my conscience.”

When Century closed their parks in early April due to COVID-19, they also removed the basketball from the Carver Community Center’s basketball courts on Jefferson Avenue. Monday night, the council voted 4-0 to return the rims to the community group that owns the courts because they are not town property.

NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.

Comments

2 Responses to “Century Council Votes 3-1 To Reopen The Town’s Parks”

  1. BRING IT ON on June 4th, 2020 10:40 am

    Should’ve never closed in the first place

  2. tax payer on June 2nd, 2020 9:18 am

    Let Hawkins monitor the park and earn his pay check.

    People aren’t social distancing anyway.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News