FIGHTIN' WORDS

Posted Wednesday, August 19, 2015 4:00 pm



FOLIO VOICES

For now, it’s a happy ending for Hemming Park (as opposed to a happy ending in Hemming Park, as was the case when prostitutes and “bunko men” lurked in the shadows in previous epochs).

The 18-1 vote last Tuesday in Jacksonville’s City Council meeting restored a $150K payment that they had expected in June, and allowed concession sales to be considered part of the fundraising goals for the Friends of Hemming Park.

Despite some objection during the public hearing segment, the bill seemed destined to sail through even before council started. It had done well in Committee, and the most consistent voice against it, Mandarin Republican Matt Schellenberg, had been consistently overruled, his qualms about the ultimate viability of Hemming notwithstanding.

One potential key ally, At Large mainstay John Crescimbeni, seemed like he might be a potential No vote before he mentioned how, in earlier draft versions of the agreement between Friends of Hemming Park and the city of Jacksonville, concessions were considered part of fundraising.

His support led Schellenberg to quip “It’s lonely up here now,” before reiterating his reservations over the group’s budget process and payroll allocations. He said that Hemming Park on Saturdays is “a little bit better,” but that doesn’t justify the financial investment.

He added that Hemming Park might be better off not as a hub for the area around City Hall, but as a passive park, which in practice wouldn’t be any different from those parks in other parts of Downtown, where the chronically unemployed while away their days, occasionally stirring to hit up for change those unlucky souls in business attire fast-walking by.

Bill Gulliford, the bill sponsor, brought up the question of “intent,” and reminded council of the eyesore Hemming was before the program began, saying Hemming Park is the city’s front door.

Gulliford issued a caution: “We’re nearing the end of the road” and we will be “faced with decisions in the near future.” Councilmember Aaron Bowman, a Southside Republican, likewise expressed “concerns for the future” and wants contract review and refinement, because “we will not be able to sustain the status quo.”

The discussion went on and on. Schellenberg put it bluntly: As long as you have homeless shelters nearby, Hemming Park will always have issues.

It’s easy for readers of this magazine to ignore Matt Schellenberg. He’s considerably hard right, as it goes, and is as staunch an opponent of government spending as anyone on the council. And here’s the thing: Even though he was Dr. No on this issue, he’s got a point, in terms of no matter how niced-up Hemming Park is, there are larger community issues that stand in the way of its overall success.

After that council meeting, I walked to a nearby restaurant. No, I did not get wilded. The streets of Downtown, after nightfall on a Tuesday, are rather quiet. When I got into the restaurant, I was reminded anew of why people grouse about safety concerns Downtown.

I’ll set the scene: Across the room from the counter, a gentleman wearing a Bob Marley shirt had a radio plugged into an outlet, blasting the latest nihilistic chart-toppers and club bangers from the nightly playlist on The Beat (I guess the evening needed a soundtrack). Sitting in the room as hapless customers waited for their takeout order: a 40-something gentleman exhibiting symptoms of an apparent mental disorder, alternately holding his face in his hands while hitting people up for $15 for a hotel room.

This is the reality in Downtown Jacksonville. You can dress up Hemming Park all you want. But Downtown is still Jacksonville’s drain, clogged with everyone who has fallen on bad times, some of whom use the social services clustered nearby, while others prefer to panhandle for spare change from folks who look like easy marks, cashing in at the perpetual ATM that is bourgeois liberal guilt.

Schellenberg was talking reality. Beyond the question “Will Hemming Park make money?” the real question is, “How much can Jacksonville commit to maintaining the Potemkin Village that is Hemming in its current form, creating the illusion that Downtown, even at night, is a vibrant, welcoming place where the fun never stops and nothing bad happens?”

Council will come back to the question of Hemming’s viability soon enough. It’ll be interesting to see how many will be on Schellenberg’s side when it does.