Rangers to patrol when park reopens

CRYSTAL RIVER -- Yeomans Park will reopen in early April, four months after it was closed amid reports that visitors were engaging in sexual activity.

But the park will be under close supervision and hours will be limited, City Manager Phil Lilly said.

The city has recruited a team of volunteers to patrol the park and drive away anyone using the facility for dubious reasons.

The rangers, who will wear shirts with the city's logo, will be trained next week and the park will open soon thereafter, possibly April 9.

Lilly said the details are still being worked out, but the park may be open only a few days a week, probably Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

It would be open from 8 a.m. to perhaps 6 p.m., as opposed to all day. "Past experience has shown us Yeomans has been a daytime park," he said.

City Council member Russ Kreager said the limited access may be fine for now, but he wants the park to be fully available to the public.

"It's the taxpayers' dollars," Kreager said. "They have the right to any park we have."

Located near Crystal River Mall, the 40-acre park was established in 1997. Calvin Yeomans, a lifelong resident who died Oct. 31, 2001, donated the land in memory of his parents, L.C. and Vada Yeomans.

Yeomans retained the right to reclaim the property if the city failed to use it solely as a nature park and made sure his wishes were followed.

In March 1997, shortly before the park officially opened, he protested when four pieces of exercise equipment were installed. The city agreed to move the equipment.

Complaints about sexual activity at the park were first made public last November. The Police Department said a few people had complained that men were hanging around.

Lilly, who had just taken over as city manager, quickly closed the park, hoping that those using it for sexual encounters would go elsewhere.

"The park is open to anyone regardless of sexual orientation," Lilly said at the time. "They cross the line when they either commit or solicit for illegal activity."

He said the park also needed maintenance, such as replacing fixtures and painting. That work was completed during the shutdown.

Some people, including council member Susan Kirk, praised Lilly for his quick action; others said the evidence was largely unsubstantiated and said Lilly had overreacted.

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