Summerdale PD extends jurisdiction

By Jessica Vaughn
Posted 5/5/20

SUMMERDALE - The Summerdale Police Department is extending its jurisdiction to include Woodmont Subdivision located on County Road 24, near the Foley Municipal Airport. The location falls within the …

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Summerdale PD extends jurisdiction

Posted

SUMMERDALE - The Summerdale Police Department is extending its jurisdiction to include Woodmont Subdivision located on County Road 24, near the Foley Municipal Airport. The location falls within the Foley extraterritorial jurisdiction and was previously policed by the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Department.

“Our police jurisdiction covers the back half of Woodmont, but it doesn’t take in the southside of the subdivision where you enter from,” said Mayor David Wilson. “Whenever there’s a call, police officers have to go all the way down to County Road 24, then turn north into the subdivision to head back to the call.”

Prior to the council, officials from Summerdale, Foley, and the Sheriff’s Department met to discuss the possibility of Summerdale Police Department taking on the jurisdiction. All parties agreed and Sheriff Hoss Mack, Chief David Wilson of Foley, and Chief Kevin Brock of Summerdale have signed a letter to go to 911 for the jurisdiction to be changed.

The Summerdale Police Department’s extended jurisdiction will also allow officers to work traffic on Underwood Road and County Road 55.

“Citizens within Woodmont have been asking that the Summerdale Police Department take over jurisdiction, not just patrolling-wise but also because people are speeding in there,” said Brock. “They’ve been asking for us to handle the speeding situation but we didn’t work half of the jurisdiction; the part that’s bad for speeding we didn’t even have.”

Currently Summerdale is not taking in any revenue for extending their policing jurisdiction. However, the council and town employees expressed interest in going to the county to pursue obtaining building permits in Woodmont Subdivision. The town currently holds building permits for the half of the subdivision already within its jurisdiction.

“The only thing we’re benefiting from this right now is the people that want Summerdale to police them now have that,” said Wilson. “We already get the building permits for the section that we’re policing right now, but we need to follow up with the county to pursue getting those other building permits to try and offset the cost of policing this new area.”