Parks may be scenic and fun, but because of their relative isolation, they can also become trouble spots.

Flowery Branch Police Chief Gerald Lanich said that hasn't been the case at City Park off Mitchell Street, and he'd like to keep it that way.

"Our police department takes a lot of pride in that people can walk or ride bikes on our streets and not be bothered or feel unsafe," he said. "We want to continue that into all parts of our city."

So the city can have jurisdiction over the park, the City Council has voted to authorize Mayor Mike Miller to petition the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the land and leases it to the city, about annexing the 6-acre site.

"Tentatively, the corps has said it would sign such a document," City Planner James Riker said.

Whether the annexation might include Mitchell Street isn't known yet.

"We haven't really talked about that," Riker told the City Council at its meeting March 17. "That's something we're going to (discuss with City Attorney Ron Bennett).

If it does (go into the city), it's only to the point where the park ends."

The park, which overlooks Lake Lanier and has a driveway that enters from and exits onto Mitchell Street, features a pavilion, playground, picnic tables and a fishing area.

The corps has denied past requests from the city.

"They changed their mind because Mr. Bennett was able to discover another one of his clients who had actually annexed a park," Riker said. "We produced a document to them, saying why is it OK for (that city) to do this but not our city?"

"We weren't asking the right way and they weren't telling us how to ask, so we figured out how and who to ask," Bennett said.

Lisa Coghlan, corps spokeswoman, said "we have requested an annex report from (Flowery Branch).

Once we receive the report, we will review it and make our determination at that time."

Lanich said the corps and Hall County Sheriff's Office hold jurisdiction now over City Park. Flowery Branch police observe the area, however, as officers are passing through the park to reach other parts of the city.

Lanich said he hopes the corps will agree to the new arrangement.

"Parks are an ideal environment for problems to occur and if you don't stay on top of (them), issues can occur," he said.

"We don't have problems now and we don't want any.

"What we want is if we do have a problem down there, we can act on it properly."