Neighborhood watch proposed for riverfront

HUNTINGTON -- In an effort to keep illegal activity out of Harris Riverfront Park, volunteers are considering forming a neighborhood watch.

A hub for drugs, vandalism and panhandling, the park has been the focus of revitalization talks for some time now, and volunteers wanting to restore the area met with Huntington Mayor David Felinton to brainstorm Saturday morning.

Dozens of ideas for improving the park were discussed, but volunteers and city officials alike kept coming back to the problem of getting crime out of the park so that area residents actually would use the property.

"I agree that security is the number one issue," said Realtor Bob Thomas. "I think we have to take care of that if we want to get anything going on."

Thomas handed out some literature to the volunteers on neighborhood watch programs, saying he believes such an effort can effectively eliminate the crowd in the park that keeps other residents away.

"Right now, the degenerates are having a ball because there's no one down there to stop them," he said. "If we start a program, it won't be long before they leave and we get our park back."

While the neighborhood watch remains in the idea phase, the mayor had other security in mind for the park.

Felinton said the city is attempting to install video cameras. A pair of wooden benches recently were destroyed by vandals, he said.

"We hope by next month to have some surveillance out there," he said. "We have some cameras that we're getting and the park is going to be one of the first places we'll look at."

The group also discussed getting gates for the property and closing the park after dark, though some thought such a measure would just lead to criminals breaking into the area.

Other topics ranged from professional murals for the floodwall to public art to renovating the landscaping around the park's amphitheater.

Felinton said the next step likely will be to form smaller groups out of the volunteers to tackle specific issues for park improvements.

The group will meet again at 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 5.