Gainesville City Commission moves forward with fence around GPD despite safety and visibility concerns

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At the February 26 General Policy Committee meeting, the Gainesville City Commission approved the concept of a fence around the Gainesville Police Department but requested that staff reconsider placing art on the fence.

Many City parks use the same type of fencing

Interim Chief Operating Officer Brian Singleton showed the outline of the proposed fence (below) and the type of proposed fencing (above). Although a small segment of the fence will be part of the new Property & Evidence Building project, the rest of the fence will be built with about $150,000 in funds that have been budgeted for parking lot security. The proposal is for a five-foot fence along 6th Street, and the rest would be six feet in height; Singleton pointed out that it’s the same type of fencing that was constructed around many of the City’s parks. 

GPD Major Jaime Kurnick: “This would not affect Rails to Trails at all. Anybody can still travel along Rails to Trails. They’ll be able to see inside of the parking lot because the fencing is not opaque; you can see through it.”

GPD Major Jaime Kurnick said there will be about 10 feet of grass between the trail and the actual fence. She said, “This would not affect Rails to Trails at all. Anybody can still travel along Rails to Trails. They’ll be able to see inside of the parking lot because the fencing is not opaque; you can see through it. It is CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) standards… It also meets the City standards for fencing. It is around Westside Park… It is around Lincoln Middle School and Williams Elementary… It is a style which is very aesthetically pleasing… We do not intend on putting anything between the slats.”

Kurnick described several previous security incidents, including a person driving through GPD’s parking lot at a high rate of speed and nearly hitting several officers “because he was high on meth and he wanted someone to take him somewhere where he could get help.”

Kurnick also reminded Commissioners that GPD has civilians who work in the building 24 hours a day, seven days a week; they arrive and leave late at night and early in the morning. She said, “We have to protect not only the sworn people that work in the building, but the civilians that are there, also.”

Major Kurnick: “We consistently are arresting people,… we’re bringing people back to the police department, and sometimes, when they get arrested, their friends and families get in cars and they follow us to the police station. They are worried about their family members.”

Kurnick said that sometimes when a person is arrested, “their friends and families get in cars, and they follow us to the police station. They’re worried about their family members. There are many different reasons that we are asking for this, and part of this reason is to make sure that we provide more security.”  She also mentioned that a person in custody once escaped and said that having a fence would protect neighbors if that happened again. She said that vehicles and equipment in the lot are “exposed to vandalism,” particularly when a protest occurs at the police station. The fence will not affect access to the front desk, which is located on the corner of the building and accessed from a sidewalk.

Commissioner Bryan Eastman asked whether GPD had done any outreach to the surrounding neighborhood, and Kurnick said they walked the neighborhood recently to talk to the neighbors. She said the neighbors were interested in more details, “but we have roughly… two years before… this fence would be put up. And that is all part of our plan, which would be to reach out.”

GPD Chief Nelson Moya: “I see this project as strictly risk mitigation, while affording another layer of security, because ultimately, this is a public safety building.”

GPD Chief Nelson Moya said, “A good part of our job is to mitigate risk, not only for the community, but for our employees alike. I see this project as strictly risk mitigation, while affording another layer of security, because ultimately, this is a public safety building… We have already seen attacks throughout this country in police stations, so that most, if you look them up, have turned into compounds. This is far from that. This is a section of fencing that is visible and transparent, that does afford a separation between our community, where they walk and enjoy, and right next to them, where we house guns, drugs, ammo, money, and have prisoners come in and out. This is about public safety. This is about risk management.”

Recalling the January 14 shooting of two police officers by a homicide suspect, Moya said, “A month ago, I never thought that we would be ambushed with no provocation. Yet, we were, and two of ours were shot. So I have an obligation to come before this commission and express to you the importance of what this means to us… This is about safety to our community and our staff, in the spirit of community policing and engagement.”

Commissioner Ed Book said he supported the fence, and he emphasized that it would not affect the trail. 

Commissioner Casey Willits: “I don’t want it to be a compound… I just don’t want to build this fence.”

Commissioner Casey Willits said, “I don’t want it to be a compound, and I feel like this is something… that we can put on a back burner. We can wait. We can delay… Let’s do this later…. I just don’t want to build this fence.” He said there’s “kind of a walled-in section between two buildings” about a block north of GPD, and “it has an effect. It feels less safe… I really don’t like this.” He said he understood that it would be see-through, “but I’m still excited that this is a campus, that you can look at, it’s accessible, and it doesn’t look like a compound.”

Eastman agreed with Willits, “My gut reaction to this has always been similar to yours… I looked at other police department buildings around the state of Florida, and you’re right… They generally are fenced in. A lot of them have opaque fences that are tall. They’re never against a rails to trail; usually, their frontage is still up against the street.”

Eastman said the trail is “our fourth most-used facility in our entire city… This doesn’t feel right.”

Commissioner Eastman on his videos of trail users: “All the comments were, very broadly, ‘We don’t want to see a fence there.'”

Eastman said he made a “quick little video” where he asked people what they thought about the fence. He said, “I had over 100 people. I thought this was just going to be a weird thing that I felt about it because I’ve ridden on this trail thousands of times. And I do think that the community feels strongly about it because this is such a beloved space… All the comments were, very broadly, ‘We don’t want to see a fence there.’ But some of them, I think, were very positive about how they saw GPD within there.”

Eastman read some comments: 

• “I wave ‘hi’ to the cops as I bike by. Police stations are there for the community. They should be visible and accessible to all who pay for them.” 
• “I’d say, as a female using the trail, I would never feel safe with a fence, trapped in reduced visibility.”
• “Permeability of the space and the visibility I have as a passing cyclist makes me feel more connected and sympathetic to the staff of the station. If I see them behind bars, I’m not going to relate to them the same way I do neighbors.”

Eastman said, “I really appreciate you, Chief, saying that you really want to protect your employees. I’m also balancing that out with what I think is how our city feels about a beloved space.”

Chief Moya responded, “My lane is public safety… Most of our City buildings are always publicly accessible. This chamber is publicly accessible, despite, over the last two years since I’ve been here, the infusion of detectors to ensure that no one enters these chambers armed. Yet we’re still engaging, and you all are very much entrenched with our community, but we added a layer of safety.”

Public comment

During public comment, one neighbor of the police station said, “GPD is very, very good about engaging our neighborhood. They’re always at our meetings. And it seems like this issue came up really quickly, but Major Kurnick has certainly been in contact with me… I just need to know how the neighbors feel about the safety issue.”

Corinne Edwards, “therapist for the cops”: “I would hate if the messaging unintentionally landed as, ‘We can’t really trust the police about what they’re saying. This feels unsafe’ — when, in fact, it’s in service of safety… The thing I’ve learned about cops is they do a lot with a little, and when they’re asking for things, it’s only so they can do their job better. And so I ask you to please trust them.”

Corinne Edwards, who provides Employee Assistance Services at GPD, said, “That means that I’m the therapist for the cops, and… it’s been an incredible education for me, working with them. You know, I have lived in this community most of my life, and I have to say, I really had no idea the sort of crime that unfolds in our community, so much of it that doesn’t make the news, but what’s been more impactful for me is the individuals that are protecting us… We saw [on January 14] how just unimaginable violence could occur out of nowhere… I can understand that, for our community members, a fence may be a reminder of safety issues, but… I would hate if the messaging unintentionally landed as, ‘We can’t really trust the police about what they’re saying. This feels unsafe’ — when, in fact, it’s in service of safety… The thing I’ve learned about cops is they do a lot with a little, and when they’re asking for things, it’s only so they can do their job better. And so I ask you to please trust them.”

Another neighbor said she’s never had problems with GPD not being a good neighbor, and she didn’t think the fence would turn the station into a compound. She said that when the prisoner escaped, he came into her neighborhood.

Thomas Hawkins, who previously spoke against the fence, said the fence would make the trail feel like “an alleyway.” He asked for more community input on the whole project, including the Property & Evidence Building. 

Former City Commissioner Adrian Hayes-Santos: “The Big Fence Industrial Complex is in favor of this… It’s a campus, not a compound,… and while it may make GPD feel safer,… it will do the opposite for the community.”

Former City Commissioner Adrian Hayes-Santos also spoke for the second time against the fence and said, “This fence is not what the majority of our community wants.” He said it would create “a more walled-in effect along that area” and that it would “feel less safe.” He said they should use the money for lighting on the trail. He said that over 100 people had commented on Eastman’s video, “and they were all against having a fence.” He said one fencing company was in favor of it: “The Big Fence Industrial Complex is in favor of this… It’s a campus, not a compound,… and while it may make GPD feel safer,… it will do the opposite for the community.”

Mayor Harvey Ward said, “I would also note that folks who might be in support of the fence might not feel comfortable going on social media to make comments about it.”

Former GPD Chief Tony Jones: “I was concerned, not only for the officers inside the Gainesville Police Department, as well as the civilians,… but also was concerned about the neighborhood, when you’ve got individuals that are fleeing,… trying to escape police officers. That was a great concern to me.”

Former GPD Chief Tony Jones said that before he left the department, he ordered a CPTED study about a fence, “but we did not have the money, and so it got pushed back. But I was concerned, not only for the officers inside the Gainesville Police Department, as well as the civilians,… but also was concerned about the neighborhood, when you’ve got individuals that are fleeing,… trying to escape police officers. That was a great concern to me.” He said that after looking at the pictures of the proposed fence, he believed that GPD could continue to interact with the people passing by on the trail.

A man who lives a couple blocks from GPD said he thought “it would not be such a nice-looking neighborhood” if the fence were added.

Pastor Kenyarda Feathers says his church holds food drives and other events at their church across the street from GPD, and “I wouldn’t want to hear in church service that someone has escaped and run through the church. I think that would help, if there’s a gate that will stop that from happening… We’re not talking about compounds… We’re talking about safety and controlled environments.”

Chuck Ross said he didn’t come to the meeting with an opinion on the fence, but after listening to GPD, “you have to defer to the police department for these issues.”

After public comment, Singleton said there were two neighborhood workshops during the design of the Property & Evidence Building, “and I believe we had two or three attendees in both meetings.”

Book said he didn’t share the concerns about the fence making the trail feel less safe or that it would “wall off GPD’s ability to community-police… I don’t see it.”

First motion

Book made a motion to move forward with the fencing, according to the specifications provided in the fiscal note. He said it should not impact trail access and should “incorporate benches and RTS and other infrastructure that’s already along the campus environment for the police department in that fence design.” There were at least two seconds to the motion.

Eastman asked about the public art component of the fence, and Singleton said the Arts in Public Places ordinance requires that 1% of a construction budget, not to exceed $100,000, must be allocated to public art in any construction budget; the City’s Cultural Affairs Division and the building user compile a list of potential locations for the art, and the Art in Public Places Trust weighs in. Singleton said “everybody was in alignment” to issue a Request for Qualifications for an artist to design decorative fence panels.

Eastman said, “From what I’ve heard from the community, people really [feel]… that this will feel less safe.”

Mayor Ward: “I don’t see any harm in us waiting a little bit and inviting the neighborhood to see… what [a section of fence] would look like in that spot.”

Ward said everyone was making valid points, and he would be interested in seeing fence samples at the site “for the neighborhood to see how it feels… I don’t see any harm in us waiting a little bit and inviting the neighborhood to see… what [a section of fence] would look like in that spot.”

Commissioner James Ingle said he thought the fence could be moved even farther from the trail than is shown on the drawing, and he favored taking some time to get community feedback; he said, “This looks like a pretty innocuous, open, easily-seen-through fence, but making it the best we can for the community,… I think, would be the best way to go.”

Singleton said he had just learned that a “very similar fence” is on SW 6th Street from Depot Avenue to SW 5th Avenue.

Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut said, “I support this because you’ve got the neighborhood asking for safety, and you’ve got the police department asking for safety, and I think the consensus is there.” She said the City has been “running into problems with our public engagement hearings,” mainly because they’re held at the beginning of the process, which may be two to four years before construction starts.

Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker: “When I hear [members of the police department] ask me for something that will keep them safe, I listen… I do share the concerns around where the art is placed, but I’m confident that staff has heard the concerns from this Commission and that they will take it into account.”

Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker said she valued “the risk mitigation that [the fence] provides… When I hear [members of the police department] ask me for something that will keep them safe, I listen… I do share the concerns around where the art is placed, but I’m confident that staff has heard the concerns from this Commission and that they will take it into account.” She also supported adding lighting along the trail.

Interim City Manager Andrew Persons: “It’s a very reasonable ask from GPD to replicate a fence that you see all over the place, whether it’s our parks or segments already along the trail.”

Interim City Manager Andrew Persons said one of his “many charges is ensuring employee safety… It’s a very reasonable ask from GPD to replicate a fence that you see all over the place, whether it’s our parks or segments already along the trail.” He said if the Commission gave direction in support of the fence, his staff would “definitely” meet with the surrounding neighborhood groups to discuss the design of the fence.

Singleton said the City was awarded a Safe Streets for All grant to look at lighting across the city, and he wanted the opportunity to prioritize the public rights-of-way and trails before allocating funding to any specific project.

Ward said they couldn’t approve a specific design for the fence since a design wasn’t presented, but they could approve the “concept of a fence.”

Book’s motion to move forward with the fence passed 4-3, with Eastman, Willits, and Ingle in dissent.

Second motion

Chestnut made a motion to direct the City Manager to reconsider the art on the GPD fence for safety reasons and consider an alternative placement. 

Singleton said he had just received clarification that the art on the fence will be no longer than 10 feet in length. He also said the project is in the “cone of silence” because the RFQ has been issued. He said the RFQ asks artists to provide their qualifications to provide public art fencing, but the City is not obligated to “continue down that road.”

Ward said he supported the motion, but “changing a Request for Qualifications at the very end… puts us in a precarious position.” He called for a vote, and the motion passed unanimously.

Third motion

Eastman made a motion to direct staff to engage the surrounding community and the Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Board on the GPD fence and incorporate any necessary design revisions, evaluating height, scale, and placement with the goal of maximizing safety through improved sight lines and visibility for trail users. The motion passed unanimously.