South Jacksonville’s Utility Superintendent is asking the public to take better care of the village’s park.
Nearly a decade ago, South Jacksonville opened the remodeled Godfrey Park Play-For-All-Park to the public. Located at Greenwood and Hardin Avenue, the free playground features a splash pad, water features and a picnic area.
John Greene says the cleanliness of the park has come a serious problem in recent years.
“You know it is a free park and a lot of time free stuff gets abused. We haven’t really had an vandalism, but people just trash it and don’t pick up after themselves,” says Greene.
With four employees covering four departments in the village, Greene says devoting an extended amount of time in one area is difficult.
“The guy spend about an hour in the mornings down there, they go through the bathrooms, clean them, refresh everything and do the trash. Then we are on to other things for the rest of the day, because we don’t have park department. It is just hard,” says Greene.
Greene says ideas have been tossed around in South Jacksonville on how to better police the park, such as charging an entry fee.
The Play-For-All-Park addition, which brought in more than $500,000 in donations, earned a Governor’s Hometown Award in 2008.