Arrested for mowing city grass

SANDUSKY, Ohio - John Hamilton plans to fight the charges against him.

Authorities arrested Hamilton at 8:30 a.m. Thursday as the 48-year-old mowed the foot-high grass at Central Park. Police charged the Sunset Drive resident with obstructing official business and persistent disorderly conduct.

He pleaded not guilty at his Sandusky Municipal Court arraignment Friday morning. His next hearing is scheduled for August.

"I am a citizen," he said.

Thursday morning, police officers weeded out Hamilton, who just wanted to cut the grass.

“The other day when I went by, I took a look at it and measured it. It (was) a foot tall,” Hamilton said Thursday morning. “We have beautiful parks.”

Hamilton said he simply wanted to be a Good Samaritan and help keep the parks nice. “I didn’t know it was illegal,” he said. According to the police report, he was seen mowing the grass by Penny Randleman, a forestry department employee.

The employee said Hamilton was blowing grass onto the sidewalk and shredding trash in the park that had not been picked up prior to mowing, so she called the police.

Upon their arrival, Hamilton told police officers “he is sick of seeing the grass so long in parks, so he is fixing the problem” Police arrested him after he continued to mow when they told him to stop. Officers cited “liability reasons” in the police report.

At the scene, Sandusky police Officer John Powell measured the grass and it was indeed more than one foot high. Police also found the park littered with paper, bottles and children’s underwear.

Hamilton said all of it is unacceptable. “They just hired somebody for $90,000,” Hamilton said. “Couldn’t they hire some kids to mow the yard in the summer?”

Grass cutting has become a major topic this spring. During the past six weeks, many residents have spoken at city commission meetings or called the Register to complain about uncut grass on city property. Scott Miller, director of the general services department, asked the city’s fire department this week to help him out.

General services oversees the city’s grass cutting. “(Miller) called (Wednesday) and said he’s so far behind, he asked if we could help,” said fire Chief Mike Meinzer. “So we closed station No. 3 near the causeway and went out to cut the grass at Farwell Park. ... I had told him that if he ever needed help, that’s something we could do.”

Neighbors helped pick up some litter before the firefighters mowed and he said an interruption of three emergency calls kept them from finishing.

“If it didn’t rain, they were going to go back to Farwell (on Thursday) morning and finish it up,” he said.

On Wednesday night, city manager Matt Kline said he was aware of the uncut grass problem, but his staff was shorthanded.

Through cuts and attrition, the general services department only has 20 employees. Those 20 employees handle streets and traffic, the cemetery, lands and buildings, horticulture, the greenhouse and forestry.

In better times, the city used to hire about 50 seasonal employees.

“We’re having everyone (at general services) grab a lawn mower, regardless of their job,” Kline said. “I don’t care if a light bulb is out and needs fixing ... or a toilet’s backed up and needs plumbing -- just grab a mower.”

Late Thursday afternoon, the city sent out a statement about the arrest.

“Today a gentleman’s frustration boiled over and he decided to mow Central Park on his own,” the news release from Kline’s office said, calling the situation unfortunate.

“Although he was asked repeatedly to stop, he persisted and ignored both our horticulture employees and the police officers who became involved.” Hamilton said the three officers who arrested him were “quite pleasant and understanding,” as well as “sympathetic” to his cause.

He still feels he had a right to cut the grass. “Why can’t I?” he asked. “I am a citizen.”

Staff writer Tom Jackson contributed to this story.

( The Sandusky Register is a FOXToledo.com media partner)