A History of Problems

While our residents are very familiar with the collections of teens on our sidewalks, the gatherings of young people in our town's parks are proving to be a serious problem. At the meeting of our Public Safety committee, the public highlighted significant teen-related issues at Doylestown's Historic Park.

Residents report the park is a host to a large amount of drug activity and vandalism. Just last week, the park was the site of a drug-related arrest involving a 14 year-old and 13 year-old. The alarming arrest received coverage in our local paper. Unfortunately, it is not an isolated incident.

"Drug deal at downtown park: Two boys are facing charges after a drug deal Friday afternoon at Historical Society Park on South Main Street, police said. An officer saw a 14-year-old boy from Augusta Drive in Warwick take money from his pocket and hand it to a 13-year-old boy from Mead Drive in Buckingham at about 4 p.m., police said. The 13-year-old then gave the other boy a bag of suspected marijuana. Police did not release the boys' names because they are minors."

--Intelligencer, January 11, 2006

Everyone should be able to enjoy Doylestown and feel welcome. There are great teens that live here and others that visit our fine town. Unfortunately, with the success of the borough as a destination, we must now deal with challenging problems. In the coming months, our borough government will be making difficult decisions and taking action to maintain the character and livability of Doylestown. I look forward to your feedback and support on these initiatives.

Thank you.