Residents tell council late-night activity at community park has escalated; staff to follow up

A Midlothian resident told the City Council the community park has become unsafe in the evenings and asked the council to take action to restore it as a family space.

Hillary Levitt, who identified herself as a Midlothian resident during the public comment period, described repeated late-night disturbances at the park. "What was once a place for families, children, and community, our dream park is rapidly becoming a nightmare," Levitt said, and listed loud, unfiltered music, drug use, fighting, gambling and fireworks as recurring problems. She said some of those involved are not from Midlothian and that repeated calls to police have not solved the problem.

After Levitt spoke, the mayor asked staff to collect her contact information and follow up. "Would you mind stepping over here? And Clyde, would you get her information please? And, we can start some communications back and forth with the staff to hopefully mitigate some of those issues," the mayor said.

Levitt asked for a specific plan, suggesting curfews, increased patrols, surveillance or ordinance changes to improve enforcement. Council members did not take immediate action at the meeting but directed staff to begin communications with the resident and the police department to explore options.

No formal staff plan or ordinance change was adopted at the meeting; council members said they would pursue follow-up conversations with parks and public safety staff.