Action News Jax Investigates: Taxpayer-funded athletic fields closed off to kids

UPDATE: Duval school board member pushes to lift restrictions on using local parks

An Action News Jax Investigation uncovered taxpayer-funded athletic fields locked and closed off to neighborhood kids who need them the most.

It's happening at a time when Jacksonville is struggling with teen violence.

Many in the community believe opening these fields could give young people something positive to do, instead of turning to crime.

In February, a shooting near Terry Parker High School wounded three teenagers, and left four others in police custody.

At the first Art Walk of 2017, two teens were injured by gunfire.

Days later, Khamoi Peterson, shot and killed at the Jacksonville Landing.  He was only 16 years old.

At Sheffield Regional Park, Jaquan Reeves was gunned down during a memorial for another teen lost to gun violence.

Neighbors tell Action News Jax the answer is replacing bullets with bats and balls.

"That'll stop a lot of the violence that's going on out here now, but they just got nothing to really do," said Daniel Cole, who has lived on Jacksonville's Northside for more than 50 years.

An Action News Jax Investigation found 10 public sports fields in Jacksonville that are either completely or partially locked.  All of them are managed by associations, which means you have to get a permit before you play.

“No, kids (are) not going to go through that,” Cole said.

Action News Jax came out to Sheffield Regional Park to see if the football fields would be open and found padlocks on every entrance.

Matthew Frake runs around the locked fields every day.

“Is it like that every day?” Action News Jax reporter Russell Colburn asked.

“Yeah, every day,” Frake replied.

“The city says it's only locked when there's an event coming up,” Colburn said.

"Oh, no," Frake said. "It's locked all the time."

It's the same situation at JP Small Memorial Stadium, an area known for teen violence. According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office's Crime Mapping data, officers have been called within a quarter-mile of JP Small almost 100 times in the last six months.

“Now it's just basically for Ed Waters and other colleges that come in to participate and play baseball,” Cole said.

“Not the public?” Colburn asked.

“Not the public,” Cole responded.

Sanmonique Robinson's son, Khalil, is one of many left on the outside looking in.

"Would you like to go play on that baseball field if you could?” Colburn asked Khalil.

“Yes,” Khalil replied.

“My sons were just up there to watch them practice, and they would give my sons a ball, and they would ask them 'Why couldn't we go in there play?' Really I didn't have the answer for them,” Robinson said.

Action News Jax went to the city for answers.  A representative said out of Jacksonville’s 400 parks, only a small number of sports fields have restrictions, and they're only locked for upcoming events.

But the city's Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Cervices contradicted that.  Daryl Joseph admits to Action News Jax that these sports fields are always locked.

“Why do you have to lock them?” Colburn asked Joseph.

“Vandalism,” Joseph replied.  “We have a tremendous amount of vandalism in our park system.”

“Would it be possible to staff [the fields], and open them up?” Colburn asked.

“Sure,” Joseph said.  “We're actually, this coming summer, we're going to have our Rec N’ Roll program.  [It] actually takes coaches…out to our parks during the summer time, so they have guided activities.”

But what about the other nine months out of the year?

A city spokesperson told Action News Jax during the school year, there are both after school programs and activities at area parks.

But Robinson wants these fields unlocked all year, and not just for her kids.

“Our communities built them for our children, and it's not right for them not to be able to participate, or have any activities there,” Robinson said.

Jacksonville isn't alone in the way it manages these kind of sports fields.  Action News Jax reached out to Tampa and Orlando, and learned they also require users to file a permit before they use the sports fields.

According to a city representative, “Rec N’ Roll” is an initiative that provides supervised, recreational and engaging activities throughout the summer for youth while school is out.

Read more information in the JaxParks Directory and Activities Guide: https://issuu.com/cityofjacksonvillepublications/docs/jaxparks_directory_and_activities_g

The Oceanway Sports Association, which secures fields at Sherffield Park in Jacksonville, sent Action News Jax a statement:

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