JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Since receiving a letter last weekend from Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office about hiring a patrol officer due to traffic jams, the Blackhawk Bluff Civic Community has created a Go Fund Me account to raise money to hire an officer.
The Go Fund Me account has raised $1,120 in three days. Almost 90 people have donated money to fund a JSO officer.
The subdivision now has one police officer at Girvin Road and Blackhawk Trail. She began her shift Friday at 6:30 p.m. directing traffic.
“I like the fact that the officers are out here. It's for the safety of some people because I've seen cars pulling straight across and kind of stuck in the middle of the road trying to get across from one side to the other and we certainly don't want anyone getting hurt,” said Jeanette Castro, who lives on the corner of Girvin Road and Blackhawk Trail.
Castro said she enjoys all the visitors, but traffic can often be a problem.
“Weekends can be really bad,” said Castro. “Last Saturday it took my mom an hour and a half to go from Atlantic down here to Girvin Road, so it can get bad.”
It's one of the biggest residential Christmas lights displays in Jacksonville, but homeowners in the area received some not so joyful news Tuesday night.
Over the weekend homeowners in the Blackhawk Bluff Civic Community were notified that their Christmas lights displays was causing traffic in the area - so JSO recommended they hire security.
Mike Bielamowicz has lived in the area for more than 20 years and as Christmas nears he says neighbors even pass out candy canes and hot apple cider to the passing cars.
“One gentleman started hanging lights and then it just sort of picked up in the neighborhood and everyone else started putting up lights,” Bielamowicz said.
However in a letter handed out to homeowners Monday, residents learned JSO was concerned with the increase in traffic caused by the Christmas lights.
“We got this letter in the mail from our homeowner’s association that we are required to have patrolman out here on the weekends to direct traffic,” Bielamowicz said.
JSO recommended the subdivision hire two off-duty officers to patrol the area this coming Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Christmas Eve.
Not all the neighbors, including Bielamowicz are in agreement with this decision.
“We can't control who comes in the neighborhood. We can't control the number of cars that come in and it's not like where soliciting donations for people to come drive through the neighborhood,” Bielamowicz said. “Some things we can't control and if it's something that just JSO is concerned with, I think it's something they should be pocketing the bill for.”
The homeowner’s association is now asking each household to voluntarily pay between $10 and $40 to offset security costs.
Before the costs are paid, Bielamowicz said he planned to reach out to the mayor’s office to see if the city plans to help.
“If we need to have patrolman out here, I think it’s something the city should do,” Bielamowicz said.
To donate money to pay for the officers needed to direct traffic go to gofundme.com/blackhawkbluffxmas.
