Karen Gleason
Del Rioans looking forward to resuming the Easter weekend tradition of camping in city parks will have to wait at least one more year, city council members agreed Tuesday.
The council came to its consensus on Easter weekend camping after hearing a recommendation from Del Rio Police Department Chief Fred Knoll Jr.
Knoll began his briefing to the council by saying he has been in regular contact with Amistad National Recreational Area Superintendent Chris Ryan.
“A little over a week ago, he (Ryan) notified me that the (ANRA’s) campgrounds will be closed through the Easter weekend . . . because it was discussed among their staff and others that the risk of COVID is still out there,” Knoll said.
The police chief said he and Ryan have spoken about how actions taken by the city affect the park and vice versa.
“If people can’t go to the creek, they’ll go to the lake, and if the lake’s closed down, they’ll go to the creek,” Knoll said.
He told the council his focus was not on writing tickets or arresting people, but keeping the community safe.
“If we start offering camping, that’s going to make it hard to control,” Knoll said, adding that his officers “are experiencing a lot of cooperation” with persons now using the parks.
“During spring break, the parks were packed, but people were behaving themselves, I’m proud to report,” the chief added.
Knoll then recommended that the city continue to prohibit overnight camping, as well as the consumption of alcohol in the parks.
“I think it would be very ill-advised to allow overnight camping. If you’re going to do that, you might as well also lift the restrictions on alcohol use,” Knoll said.
Knoll said he saw no problem leaving the parks open during daylight hours.
“But having folks stay overnight is going to be very taxing on staff,” he added.
Councilman Steven Webb said he totally agreed with the chief and recalled similar difficulties during his time on the police force.
“We need to keep things as they are and not create a bigger problem,” Webb said.
Mayor Pro-Tem Alfredo “Fred” Carranza Jr. asked if those restrictions – no alcohol consumption and no camping – were currently in place.
He was told they were.
“We wouldn’t need to do any action at this point,” Mayor Bruno “Ralphy” Lozano said.
The council took no formal action, but left the existing ordinance unchanged.
