J Magazine Winter 2018

was they wanted the park welcoming. We
told them we wanted the same thing, but
here’s how our hands are tied.”
In addition, Friends of Hemming Park
has hired armed security guards who are
required under the group’s management
contract with the city to be on duty every
day from sunrise to sunset. That, too, has
made a dramatic difference in the park’s
atmosphere.
Prescott said before the security officers
were hired, the Sheriff’s Office was probably
called to the park about a problem 70 times
per month. That’s now down to about a
half-dozen, he said.
Some of the “bad characters” have
moved on, Prescott said, causing a dramatic
drop in what used to be about 30 monthly
instances of drugs and alcohol in the park.
“If we have one or two instances, it’s a lot,”
Prescott said.
Friends of Hemming Park also hired
five ambassadors, whose duties are
similar to those of their Downtown Vision
counterparts: keeping their respective areas
clean and safe. (Downtown Vision CEO
Jake Gordon said his agency has been able
to increase the number of ambassadors it
has from 11 in 2014-15 to 17 for 2018-19, in
part because of a decision by Mayor Lenny
“If you can’t see
what’s between
you and the next
block, that creates
the sense that,
‘Oh boy, is
that the street
that I want
to walk on?’”
Brian Hughes
interim CEO of the DIA
Curry’s administration to increase the city’s
annual contribution.)
Prescott said the Friends of Hemming
Park receives $480,000 a year from the
city for operating expenses. Any expenses
related to programming must be paid for
through private dollars, a change that came
after the group under a different executive
director was lambasted by city officials
for how it spent some of the $1 million in
taxpayer funds it received. Prescott was
board treasurer at the time, then became
interim executive director. The interim part
of his title has disappeared.
Brighter
lighting
Prescott said one of the areas he’d like
to address with part of the group’s $175,000
capital-expenses budget is improving
the lighting in the park. Better lighting is
important for two reasons, he said: Most
of the group’s big events are in the evening,
and improved lighting will add an extra
layer of security, perhaps curbing the
vandalism that occurs after dark.
Prescott believes brighter lighting will
make it easier for the Sheriff’s Office to see
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Bike Patrol officers make
the rounds during a recent Wednesday evening Art
Walk in Downtown Jacksonville.
WINTER 2018-19 | J MAGAZINE 33