The following shall be the rules and regulations of all the recreational facilities of the Town of Fairmont including any park, recreation area, playground, ballfield, picnic shelter or any other recreation facility and the parking facilities thereof and shall be strictly enforced.
(A) Use of park areas and facilities is “at your own risk.” The Town of Fairmont assumes no responsibility or liability for misuse of park or recreational facilities.
(B) Park and recreational facility hours of operation are as follows: Monday through Sunday, sunup to sundown. It shall be unlawful for any person to enter, use or remain within any park between the hours of sundown to sunup unless a town-sponsored event is delayed or a written permit therefor has been obtained from the Town Manager or his or her designee.
(C) Littering is expressly prohibited. All trash must be placed in provided trash receptacles. Under no circumstances shall household garbage or waste generated outside the park be permitted to be disposed of in the park facilities or on park grounds.
(G.S. § 14-399)
(D) It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully mark, deface, disfigure, injure, tamper with, display or remove any structure, equipment, facilities or other property, either real or personal. (G.S. § 14-32)
(E) It shall be unlawful for any person to damage, cut, carve, transplant or remove any tree or plant, injure the bark, pick the flowers or seeds of any tree or plant, to dig or otherwise disturb grass areas in any other way or injure or impair the natural beauty or usefulness of any area.
(G.S. § 14-128)
(F) It shall be unlawful for any person to fail to obey all traffic signs. All vehicles, including motorcycles, must be parked in parking spaces provided. Service roads and walking paths are for pedestrians and town vehicles only. It shall also be unlawful for failure to obey all traffic officers or persons being authorized and instructed to direct traffic whenever and wherever needed in the park.
(G) Vehicles left unattended for more than 24 hours on park property will be towed away at the owner’s expense.
(H) Physically interfering with the lawful use of the park and its facilities by others or insulting profane, indecent, abusive or threatening language in a manner which would tend to provoke others to a breach of peace is prohibited.
(G.S. § 14-132)
(I) It shall be unlawful for any person to carry, use or possess firearms, concealed and/or dangerous weapons of any nature within any park. This section shall not apply to law enforcement officers when engaged in the discharge of their duties.
(J) (1) No person shall, within the confines of any town-owned or town-operated recreation facility, park, or recreation areas:
(a) Bring upon, possess, consume, or display any beer, wine, whiskey, or other intoxicating liquor or beverage or controlled substances or the containers thereof;
(b) Sell, deliver, or attempt to sell or deliver any alcoholic beverage or illegal substance; or
(c) Be reasonably suspected to be under the influence of alcohol or any controlled substance or to fail to leave immediately upon the request of a police officer, recreation personnel, town employee, or volunteer in lawful control of the premises, if such request is based upon suspicion that the person is under the influence of alcohol or any controlled substance.
(2) Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the organizer of a community event or festival provides a copy of a valid ABC permit to the town 10 days prior to the date of the event, the Town Manager shall grant permission for the event to be an "alcohol-approved event" by the issuance of a writing setting forth the dates, hours, and boundaries within which alcohol may be consumed.
(3) The following requirements apply to all alcohol-approved events:
(a) The event must be open to the public at large;
(b) There can only be one event scheduled at the same town-owned or town-operated recreation facility, park, or recreation area on the same day when an alcohol-approved event is scheduled for that place on that date. The first person to request the scheduling of an event shall be given priority in scheduling;
(c) The requirements of all ABC rules and regulations and state laws regarding possession and distribution of alcoholic beverages must be met throughout the event; and
(d) The bounds of the event located in the Fairmont Community Park for alcoholic beverages is limited to the half of the park containing the Fairmont Development Corporation Pavilion.
(4) A person who is not an occupant of a motor vehicle and who is old enough to be permitted by state law to consume or possess malt beverages and /or unfortified wine shall be allowed to possess and consume such during an alcohol-approved event in the designated area.
(5) The sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages at or on town property is restricted to the hours and areas designated in the written permission of the Town Manager. No person shall bring, carry, or transport any alcoholic beverage into or onto any site in which such a special event is taking place, except under the direction of the event organizer.
(K) The holding of any exhibition, ceremony or making of any speech without permission from the Parks and Recreation Department will not be allowed.
(L) Soliciting of any kind on park property is prohibited. This includes the distribution of any handbills or circulars, or posting, placing or erecting any bills, notices, paper or advertising devices not authorized by the Parks and Recreation Department and/or the Town Manager.
(M) It shall be unlawful for any person to sell food, beverages or merchandise or solicit donations for any individual, group, club, company or corporation without first obtaining a permit from the Town Manager or his or her designee.
(N) Animals are strictly prohibited. This section shall not apply to service animals used by handicapped persons.
(O) Skateboards, skates, bicycles, all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles, dirt bikes, go-carts, golf carts or other motorized vehicles are prohibited. This shall not apply to authorized emergency and maintenance vehicles, nor to motorized wheelchairs and similar vehicles used by handicapped persons. All other motorized-type vehicles must be parked in parking spaces provided. Bicycles must be parked in the bicycle racks provided.
(P) It shall be unlawful for any person to boat, swim, bathe, wade or fish in the Old Field Canal.
(Q) No open fires or campfires are allowed. All fires must be contained in the park grills, which are designed for charcoal only. Personal grills in good operating condition may be used in designated picnic areas only. No grills or other cooking appliances shall be used under shelters.
(R) It shall be unlawful for any person to bring, have in his or her possession, set off or otherwise cause to explode, discharge or burn any firecrackers, other fireworks, explosives or non-explosives, such as sparklers or discharge them or throw them into any area from land or highway adjacent thereto.
(S) No person shall drop, throw or otherwise scatter lighted matches, burning cigarettes or cigars, or other flammable material within any park area or on any highway, road or street abutting or contiguous thereto.
(T) It shall be unlawful for any person to leave a picnic area or shelter before the grill fire is completely extinguished and before all trash in the nature of boxes, papers, cans, bottles, garbage and other refuse is placed in receptacles provided. If no receptacles are available, then refuse and trash shall be carried away from the park area by the user to be properly disposed of elsewhere.
(U) The use of individual picnic sites and picnic shelters, together with tables and benches, shall follow the rule of “First Come, First Served,” unless a picnic reservation has been issued according to regulations adopted by the Board of Commissioners.
(V) It shall be unlawful for any person to camp in any area without first obtaining a permit from the Town Manager or his or her designee. No person shall set up tents, shacks or any other temporary shelter for the purpose of overnight camping, nor shall any person leave in any park after closing hours any movable structure or special vehicle to be used or that could be used for that purpose, such as a camper, RV, motor home or the like, without a permit obtained from the Town Manager or his or her designee.
(W) Erecting tents, canopies or nailing decorations to park structures is not allowed without permission from the Parks and Recreation Department and/or the Town Manager.
(X) Fairground activities, flea market, garage sales and the like are not allowed without proper approval and permit from the Parks and Recreation Department and/or the Town Manager.
(Y) It shall be unlawful for any person to enter an area posted as “Closed to the Public” or reserved to other individuals.
(Z) Hunting of any kind is prohibited.
(AA) Hitting golf balls is prohibited.
(BB) Audio and musical devices should be operated at a volume not to disturb other visitors, with the exception of Parks and Recreation activities and authorized events.
(CC) No rock or other projectile throwing is allowed.
(DD) The using of any area or facility for commercial purposes are prohibited, without prior approval by the Parks and Recreation Department.
(EE) Any section or part of any park, recreation area or facility may be declared closed to the public by the Town of Fairmont at any time and for any interval of time, either temporarily or at regular and stated intervals (daily or otherwise) and closed to certain uses.
(FF) Any requests for special events or use of the parks and recreational facilities shall be presented to and approved by the Town Manager or his or her designee. If these requests are approved, a permit will be issued and the Town Manager or his or her designee will assess any fees.
(GG) The Town Manager and the Recreation Director have the authority and responsibility to recommend rules and regulations governing the use and maintenance of parks and recreational facilities to the Board of Commissioners for their consideration. Rules and regulations become effective as adopted by the Board of Commissioners.
(Ord. passed 10-8-2002; Am. Ord. 14-155, passed 6-17-2014) Penalty, see § 95.99