JARRETT GOODMAN
Staff Writer
Whitwell’s Board of Mayor & Commissioners (BoMC) has withdrawn a motion previously approved regarding the prohibited usage of Whitwell City Park by the Whitwell Buyselltrade Facebook group.
During this month’s city meeting, much discussion was made surrounding a local Facebook group and its members utilizing the community’s public park for its ongoing buy, sell, and trade-based operations. The Whitwell Buyselltrade Facebook group was described to utilize the park grounds every Friday, which caused concern as the group was allegedly utilizing the park without proper permitting.
“They sell stuff on Facebook, they meet up there, they get their stuff and pay whoever they bought it from,” Vice Mayor Mike Dillon explained. “That’s how it works.”
According to City Manager Lonnie Cleek, during the council’s January meeting, it was unanimously agreed to prohibit Whitwell Buyselltrade from using the park entirely, therefore resolving unpermitted usage of the park in addition to issues of littering. However, because the community park is public land, by law the board cannot prohibit the group and other residents from gathering on park grounds and instead restrict the Facebook group from using the area to conduct business with clientele with permits.
“I brought it forward to MTAS for some guidance on that,” Cleek said. “After sending it to their legal team, their opinion was that we could not stop them from gathering at the city park. We might be able to control them being underneath the pavilions or wherever they meet.”
City Mayor Sandra Crabtree explained the board’s initial motion stemmed from reports surrounding littering within the park caused by the growing number of visiting customers, leaving the city to address the issue during last month’s meeting. In recent times, the number of customer visitations have significantly grown for Whitwell Buyselltrade, causing concerning amounts of littering, causing the board to initially approve the motion to prohibit the group from utilizing the park.
“In the meantime, we found out when we talked with MTAS that we couldn’t do that because it borders on the freedom to assemble,” Crabtree said. “That’s why we withdrew the motion.”
Ultimately, it was decided that the board would further discuss the matter and review local ordinances and licensing laws prior to further action being conducted, therefore giving the council ample time to properly research local law before any official motion is made towards the Facebook group.