Fountain Valley : Police Seek Prime Role for Enforcement in Park

The city’s Police Department is seeking authority to be the main law enforcement agency at Mile Square Park, which is county-owned but located entirely within the city boundaries.

The park, the busiest in the county, is technically the responsibility of the county Sheriff’s Department. Each day, sheriff’s rangers patrol the park and adjacent golf course.

But when the rangers need quick reinforcement, they call Fountain Valley police, said Police Lt. Robert Mosley. “We figured as long as we’re supplying the law enforcement, we might as well receive revenues from it,” Mosley said.

All the money from fines now goes to the county treasury, even though Fountain Valley police provide much of the law enforcement at the park, Mosley said.

He estimated that Fountain Valley police answer 75 calls each year at the park, generating about $23,700 in fines. If the department could keep this revenue, the income would offset most of the city’s cost of patrolling the park, which would be about $26,692 a year, Mosley said.

Mile Square Park is the last county park to be patrolled by the Sheriff’s Department rather than by local police, he said.

Sheriff’s rangers call police because the nearest sheriff’s substation is in distant Midway City, while the police department is only about one mile south of the park.

The Midway City substation has only one patrol car 24 hours a day, Mosley said. During busy times at the substation, “it just takes too long for the Midway City car to roll away,” he said.

In July, the City Council gave its consent to negotiations between the county and the police, and the first meeting to discuss the transfer is scheduled in September, Police Capt. Bill Denisi said.

The police are seeking an agreement that would allow the city to become the primary law enforcement agency at the park and receive 85% of fines collected, Mosley said. The sheriff would be called only if back-up help were needed, he said.

“Most of the people who come into the park are already under the impression that the Fountain Valley Police Department provides protection for them,” he said.