City Adjusts Park Hours, Resolves To Support Joint Eco Devo Initiative

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An increase in criminal activity in some Ulysses parks prompted the Ulysses city council to adjust opening and closing times for most city parks. Parks such as Unity Plaza, Memorial Park and Centennial Park on Main Street are exempt because those are well-lit and are public enough.

The new closing hours – Midnight to 5 a.m. – affects Lazy G Park, Barb Dye Park, Russ Binney Park, Frazier Park, and St. Mary Park. It gives police more teeth if individuals are in the park between those hours.

“We’ve had an increase in activity after midnight in a lot of the parks,” said Ulysses Police Chief Ron Vagher. “This would just assist us in putting a stop to some of that.”

Frazier Park has had a curfew for some time, which Vagher said has helped curb some of the criminal activity recently.

“We noticed that there was not a curfew for the other parks,” Vagher added. “It just gives us an opportunity to keep a closer eye on the parks and gives us something to enforce to limit the amount of criminal activity.”

Councilman Caleb Woods asked if it was just an increase in people at the parks during those hours or if it was an increase in illegal activity, and Vagher said it was an increase in illegal activity.

“Criminal damage, the use of narcotics and alcohol by people at these locations,” Vagher said. “It is, for some reason, with warmer temperatures, more people are out at night and then with more people is more criminal activity.”

Vagher said there has been an increase in littering taking place at night that the parks department had to clean up every morning.

“Started out at Frazier Park, kind of got it curbed there, well then it moved over to Barb Dye Park,” Vagher said. “We didn’t have any curfew or anything to limit the activity during those particular hours.”

Councilman Mark Diaz asked what would be the probable cause to write violations. Vagher said someone parked on the street adjacent to the park, but not inside the park, would be outside the ordinance.

“This would only cover within the boundaries of the park,” Vagher added. “That would include parking lots, so if you’re parked in the parking lot, then yes that would give us the opportunity to make contact and either make them leave, and if there needs to be citations issued then I think that would provide us the opportunity to issue a citation at that time.”

Parks Director Sherrie Olson said the ordinance would help with the litter, which Grimes said is disturbing.

“Maybe they would take things elsewhere,” Olson said. “They’re gonna find a way, one way or the other, we just prefer it not to be in city parks.”

Olson said kids playing in the parks don’t need to be exposed to the type of litter that has been showing up in the parks, citing health concerns.

“Nothing good happens after midnight,” Olson added.

Diaz recognizes the need for the ordinance as he lives near the county-owned park at the civic center and it has similar issues.

“I understand where you’re coming from that it’s costing the taxpayer’s money,” Diaz said.

Any person found to be in violation of this ordinance shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $100.00.

The ordinance passed unanimously.

•The council passed Resolution 2025-4 supporting the joint effort of the city, county, school district, Economic Development and Chamber of Commerce in their efforts to bring quality development to Ulysses.

“This is a ceremonial resolution, the city’s commitment toward accepted economic development practices,” Grimes said. “Not to be confused with anything related to the Eco Devo Corporation, but in a broader sense, economic development practices as it relates to the discussions we’ve had over the last year with the consultant.”

The goal of bringing the five entities together is to move the community forward. Each entity was asked to pass a similar resolution making a formal commitment toward practices and policies that are data-driven and will move the community forward.

The USD 214 Board of Trustees discussed the issue at its June 9 meeting but decided to wait and see what the city did.

“This is a broader approach to say we’re all gonna work together and we’re all committed to moving forward,” Grimes said, adding that it was a form of accountability between the entities.

The Council identifies the following as the City’s top four economic development priorities:

•Business Retention and Expansion (BRE): Supporting existing local businesses through active engagement, resource coordination, and barrier reduction to encourage stability and growth.

•Workforce Development and Housing: Collaborating with regional partners to develop the workforce and address housing shortages through programs such as the Rural Housing Incentive District (RHID) and related tools.

•Downtown Revitalization: Investing in public infrastructure, beautification, and public-private partnerships to attract visitors, entrepreneurs, and residents to the city’s historic core.

•Site and Infrastructure Readiness: Preparing land, facilities, and utilities for commercial, industrial, and housing development to ensure the city is competitive and development-ready.

The City Council expressed its intent to continue pursuing grant funding, county, state, and federal partnerships, strategic planning, and inter agency collaboration in support of these priorities.

The Resolution was approved unanimously.