Orange Beach city leaders have set aside $10,000 to reward anyone who provides information leading to the arrest of vandals and petty criminals who have been targeting property around the city, following a string of incidents that culminated in the destruction of a donated public art piece.
Mayor Tony Kennon brought the proposal to the City Council after what he described as the breaking point: the vandalism of a brass dolphin sculpture on the grounds of the Coastal Arts Center along Canal Road. The sculpture, a gift from a California artist installed in 2014, had its pedestal smashed, and the nearby Waterfront Park pier was also damaged in the same incident.
“We’ve had umpteen dozen different types of crimes, whether it be break-ins of cars, break-ins of garages, boat sheds, fishing tackle storage,” Kennon told the council. He said the pier at Waterfront Park has been a recurring target, with spindles kicked out and lights broken on a regular basis.
The dolphin sculpture, created by San Diego-based artist Rick Harmetz, was intended as an uplifting symbol for the city following the economic and emotional toll of the 2010 BP oil spill. Its damage appeared to be the final straw for city officials frustrated by months of smaller-scale property crimes.
“It’s just always something small. It’s petty but it’s unacceptable in our town, so that’s why we put this in place,” Kennon said.
The council voted unanimously to approve the reward fund, which allows the mayor to authorize payouts of up to $3,000 per incident for information that leads to an arrest and conviction. Kennon said he hopes the financial incentive will loosen tongues in a tight-knit community where people often know more than they initially let on.
He pointed to a similar effort late last year, when the city contributed $3,000 toward a collective reward that helped lead to the arrest of a Florida teenager who admitted to shooting a bottlenose dolphin with a hunting arrow. The dolphin was later found dead in Cotton Bayou near Phoenix by the Bay I in December.
“I put this on here because I’m very aggravated and fed up with some of the vandalism, some of the petty theft, the breaking in,” Kennon said before the vote. “I truly believe that with this money in place we will stop a lot of it, because there are a lot of folks who like to talk, and I believe this will make a difference just like it did with the dolphin.”
City officials are asking anyone with information about the sculpture vandalism or other recent property crimes in Orange Beach to contact the police department. Kennon said the city intends to keep pursuing whatever measures are necessary to bring the pattern of small-scale crime under control.