Apartments crack down on parking lot partying

Denton Apartments Security Chief Morgan Hallford calls them 10 percenters, and says he’s not going to put up with their crap.

“We have made up our minds that that 10 percent that wants to cause 90 percent of the trouble, we can afford to lose them as tenants,” Hallford said.

The management of Rolling Hills and Oak Chase Apartments off Denton Road has imposed a 10 p.m. curfew on the two complexes, consisting of about 55 buildings or 256 units. The curfew prohibits “loitering, partying, and gatherings after 10 p.m. in the streets and parking lots.”

Hallford said a recent gathering of teenagers drew tenant complaints and resulted in some property damage.

“We have tons of people coming in from the outside that don’t live here,” he said. “We busted up 70 or 80 teenagers the other night who were throwing beer bottles and busting out apartment windows and doors. They were parked everywhere and people couldn’t get to their apartments.”

Some residents say when they see the large gatherings, they simply stay inside, not wanting to get involved. Most all the gatherings, they said, are at night.

Belinda Rodgers, who has lived at Rolling Hills since 1995, says partyers gather toward the rear of the complex, where there is a lot of open land. She appreciates the curfew.

“They should have already had a curfew. Some people come through here with that loud music – it’s so loud my pictures fall off the wall,” Rodgers said. “What goes on here, I don’t care, long as they leave me alone.”

Rodgers has no plans to move and said she likes living at Rolling Hills.

As she speaks outside her apartment, two Dothan police cars fly by. The apartments are well known by Dothan police as the site of shootings, stabbings, a murder, destruction of property crimes, arson, and robberies in the parking lot.

But management is working hard to reduce crime and weed out potential troublemakers. While the complex has some Section 8 low-income housing and advertises a $99 move-in special, rental manager Nancy Dobbs said all tenants must pass credit checks and criminal background checks.

“When kids living here reach the age of 19, we do background checks on them,” Dobbs said.

And they try to keep up with those coming in and out and moving in and out.

“We do not rent to felons and sex offenders. We may have a good person with a clean record to rent a place for somebody else and they try to slide in under the radar,” Hallford said.

“It’s a full-time job for me, looking for unauthorized persons in units. Residents have three days to get those people in here for background check. We do not want felons and sex offenders on the property and we do not want drugs on our property.”

Hallford said it is difficult to monitor so many people. “We have as many residents as some small towns. It’s highly congested here,” he said. “We employ armed guards to patrol daytime and at night and police help us by patrolling.”

Lt. David Jay of the Dothan Police Department said he is happy to see complex management being pro-active.

“I think the curfew will help,” Jay said. “There have been some problems out there and to see the management step up for the safety and security of their tenants is a good thing. I assured the manager we will work with them with any problems they have.”

Residents were recently notified of the curfew and Hallford said management is getting positive feedback.

“We have people come to the office and calling telling us they are proud we are doing this,” he said.