Codman Road Resident Complains of Persistent Underage Drinking and Parking Violations at Ellis Playground-July 29, 1981

A Codman Road resident told selectmen during last night’s board meeting that police efforts to stop youths from drinking liquor into the early morning hours near his home are completely inadequate.

Joseph Thibault of 30 Codman Road stated that he personally observed a patrolman speak to a group of youths one evening this summer and then simply drive away in his cruiser without putting a stop to the illegal drinking or ordering the teenagers to leave the area. The patrolman went in, came out, and the kids were still there, Joseph Thibault remarked.

According to Joseph Thibault, the youths—many of whom are well under the legal drinking age of twenty—routinely congregate at the Ellis playground near his residence until as late as 5 a.m. This has been a four-year problem, Joseph Thibault told the board. The young kids hang around down there, and older people are bringing them the beer. In addition to the late-night noise and drinking, Joseph Thibault reported that after softball games in the early evening, players frequently use his private yard as an unauthorized parking lot because the official playground parking lot is far too small to handle the influx of cars. He added that the lot is constantly littered with empty beer cans and that despite clean-up efforts by the Department of Public Works (DPW), the area is immediately back to the same disgraceful condition.

Town Manager John J. Carroll, the administrative head of the police department, responded that local police have stepped up patrols in the area but cannot realistically station an officer there all night long. The police are aware of the problem and are accelerating their efforts, John J. Carroll explained. But we can’t have the whole police department down there. Adding context to the widespread nature of the issue, Selectmen Chairman John F. Kinnaly noted that underage drinking is not confined to Codman Road, pointing out that the town faces similar challenges near St. Timothy’s Church. Recreation Superintendent Robert H. Ivatts, who attended the meeting, promised to conduct spot checks of the playground at night to deter illegal parking. Meanwhile, selectmen indicated they would likely request funding at a special town meeting for about $6,000 to pave the gravel parking lot, providing much-needed expanded space to alleviate neighborhood congestion.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger