The Lowndes County Board of Supervisors on Monday discussed a policy banning loitering or living at one of the concession stands at the Roger Short Soccer Complex, as well as approved purchasing two dogs for the sheriff’s office.
County Administrator Jay Fisher asked the board to approve a policy governing use of the restroom and concession facilities at the Roger Short Soccer Complex.
The recreation department has been having problems with homeless people sleeping in the north concession stand/restroom building, he said.
“There’s an area there that’s kind of a closed concession area, and we had a person basically living in that area,” Fisher said. “… They are sleeping there, and people were charging their phones there. It’s sheltered from the wind and the rain.”
Fisher said the police were called, and the person was unwilling to leave.
“They don’t really have an ordinance to charge the person,” Fisher said. “… We don’t really have any teeth to ask the person to leave.”
Drawing up a policy setting out a defined use for the area would help police and sheriff’s deputies make people leave, Fisher said.
“We need something that says the concession stand is not a liveable space,” said President and District 2 Supervisor Trip Hairston.
Smith asked County Attorney Tim Hudson to draw up a policy defining the specific uses of the concession and bathroom areas for all of the county’s parks and community centers.
Hudson said he will bring one back at the board’s next meeting, which is set for Oct. 31.
Hairston told The Dispatch the policy will seek to protect taxpayers’ property but not to the exclusion of trying to assist people in need, including connecting them with the Golden Triangle Homeless Coalition.
“We understand if there is anyone who is homeless that there are resources available locally for them,” Hairston said. “We will do everything in our power to connect them with those resources. … By no means are we going to be down there to pick on people who are down on their luck.”
New K-9 units
Sheriff Eddie Hawkins asked for permission to buy two drug dogs. One of the dogs cost $19,500 and the other $15,500.
Hawkins said the department had two K-9s now, but they are reaching the end of their service life.
“Dogs are kind of like humans,” Hawkins explained. “As they age, they have medical conditions that start to come into play and they get to where they can’t do the job.”
Hawkins asked for permission to buy two new dogs as replacements. They are about a year old and are both Belgian Malinois.
The two dogs the department wants are not the cheapest it received bids for, Hawkins said.
The two more expensive dogs are trained for a wider array of functions, Hawkins said. The price also includes training the handlers to work with them.
“They will work as narcotics detection dogs, but also apprehension, tracking and search and rescue,” Hawkins said. “… They are a good tool for the department, and we utilize them daily.”
Hawkins said the money was in his budget, and he would also be seeking grants to help defray some of the costs.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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