The Parks & Recreation Commission convened at City Hall to discuss the present and future developments of Jubilee Park at their meeting July 11. While there were quite a few topics on the agenda, the largest by far was the nearly complete spray pad and the recent vandalism that has been occurring around it.
Commission chair John Miles led the meeting, with council liaison Tina Casey Jones, public works director Alex Ponder, park host Sabrina Dellinger, and commission member Jean Ann Miles all present. Josephine County Sheriff’s Deputy Gerald Baird was also there to join the discussion.
Chairman Miles opened the discussion about the vandalism in Jubilee Park by explaining that he had recently stayed overnight at the park for three nights to make sure that the several projects around the park that are still in development were not disturbed. Two of the three nights, Miles noted, he was woken up by a group of what he described as a group of “older teenagers” loitering in the park at around midnight. This is, of course, well after the park is closed to the public. Miles could not see the teenagers clearly enough to identify them, and noted that this was a problem that needed to be addressed.
Curfew enforcement was briefly discussed, but as Jean Ann Miles pointed out, “enforcing a curfew only works if there are people to enforce it.”
Park manager Sabrina Dellinger also expressed her concerns regarding graffiti and destruction of park property. Dellinger explained that she cleans graffiti from various areas at Jubilee Park, such as the bathrooms, every day, and that locks around the pavilion had been broken at night by vandals. She also mentioned that the new splash pad, which has not yet been opened to the public, already has black marks on its fixtures, presumably as a result of some rebellious Fourth of July celebrants.
Public works director Alex Ponder added that the control box for the spray pad has already been kicked in and dented. When council liaison Jones inquired as to whether the control box could be replaced, Ponder responded “no, it’s just dented now,” as replacing the control box would be much too costly for the city.
Regarding the vandalism, Jean Ann Miles remarked, “I have never known this to happen so consistently.”
Deputy Baird explained that although his department’s hours currently are not 24/365 he encourages park staff and community members to report any trespassing or vandalism that they see at Jubilee Park. When asked if there were deputies specifically assigned to Cave Junction late at night, Baird said that he wouldn’t say they would be in Cave Junction, just that they would be available.
When the time for public comment came, Cave Junction resident mentioned a Facebook post that had recently been put up regarding the vandalism. She expressed her concerns that some of the photographs in this post had simply shown children playing in the park during the day, and stated clearly that she and many other community members did not approve of these photographs being circulated online.
Jean Ann Miles responded that while there is no law preventing the circulation of such photos, she understood where she was coming from. The resident also remarked that she had not even been aware of the fact that Jubilee Park had a park host. Miles responded that park hosts have been in effect since 2018, and that this position has been spoken about many times in previous meetings and mentioned in the Illinois Valley News.
Overall, several potential solutions to the teenage vandal issue were discussed, and the consensus was that more security measures need to be implemented to keep Jubilee Park safe and clean for those who wish to use it when it is open. These security measures will include installing security cameras and additional lighting, as well as increasing police presence, but may extend as far as hiring private security for the park. It was also noted that the hours reflected on the park signage are no longer accurate and need to be changed, though it was questioned whether that improved signage will impact whether local teenagers trespass in the park.