BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Keystone Heights Mayor Nina Rodenroth said vandalism incidents at the Keystone Heights Beach Park disappeared during 2023.
The mayor told her colleagues during a November 12 workshop that the Clay County Sheriff’s Office only had around five incidents reported at the park last year.
“Most of them were domestic disputes about things,” she said. “There were no vandalism claims at that address.”
Rodenroth said that before viewing data from the sheriff’s office, she thought vandalism at the park was commonplace.
“My perception was, we have a vandalism issue,” she recalled. “We have kids destroying stuff in the park. We have something going on every single day. That’s the feedback I was getting.”
During a September 11, 2023, city council meeting, three people apologized to the council for damaging property at the beach park. It is unclear whether those incidents were reported to the sheriff’s office.
Rodenroth thanked all three boys for appearing before the council and said she hoped their public apologies would deter future vandalism at the park.
During the November 11 workshop, the mayor proposed tougher penalties for future vandals, such as community service.
“I think in the future, when we have something like this happen, I think they need to work for the city for a month or something,” she proposed, adding that the public apologies did not appear to deter the offenders who apologized last year. “I heard they walked out and kind of laughed about it.”
