More Officers Expected at Headlands to Prevent Alcohol Use, Lost Drivers

As summer heats up and trips to Headlands become more frequent, people will notice more law enforcement, and, eventually, additional signage on the streets surrounding the state park.

City Manager Ken Filipiak made that announcement Tuesday in response to two ongoing issues — alcohol use on the beach and visitors getting lost on their way to and from Headlands Beach State Park.

Both Filipiak and Mentor Police Chief Kevin Knight agreed that the latter has been the more pressing issue so far this season.

"A lot of people who are unfamiliar with the area miss the park entry and they end up kind of lost in residential neighborhoods and it causes congestion and backing up in driveways and speeding through those residential neighborhoods," Filipiak said. "So, we're trying to look for ways to better direct them and help them find their way out."

Lost drivers are more of a problem now than ever because of "large amounts of people congregating at Headlands Beach State Park on short notice," Filipiak said.

The tipping point took place June 23 when Ohio Department of Natural Resources officers closed the park early after more than 1,000 people gathered for a party that resulted in enough trash to require extra cleanup. Knight said a few of these parties, which are usually organized on social media, have taken place this season and caused headaches for nearby residents.

"When they're closing the park, people are trying to find ways back on to the beach," Knight said. "They went all in the (residential neighborhood), and they're driving on lawns, they were cutting through people's yards, littering, passing cars. A lot of those narrow roads where this was happening dead-end because part of those roads washed out years ago because of the lake.

"People with the lakefront property, they have (too much) money invested in those properties to have people driving on their property and cutting through and dropping trash and bottles. I guess the state park was a mess and the trash was unbelievable."

That event led a recent meeting at the Lake County Sheriff's Department. It included the communities that have portions of the beach, along with state officials and law enforcement. Filipiak said the city is looking at adding signage and directions, but is not sure when they would be available.

In the meantime, the state told the communities that it will have more of a presence on the beach. Knight added that more Mentor officers would be ready to report to the beach if called on.

Filipiak said he hopes a greater law enforcement presence will remind people that alcohol and drug use is not permitted at the park.
"People are bringing alcoholic beverages and coolers onto the beach because they may not understand the rules," he said. "We want to discourage people from doing that.

"We want to create a family-friendly environment out there. We're on the on the lookout for drug use, for alcohol use. This is a public park and we certainly don't want people to take back to the roadways after they've been consuming alcoholic beverages."