By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Acting in cooperation with concerned civic and faith leaders from Williston’s black community, Levy County Commissioners Tuesday voted unanimously to file a court injunction halting this year’s Crab Fest.
The injunction hasn’t been written, according to the county attorney’s office. The job of drafting the injunction is being assigned to Nabors, Giblin and Nickerson, a law firm hired by the county commission as a consulting firm.
When implemented, the Levy County Sheriff’s Office will have authority to put a halt to the celebration that traditionally takes place on County Road 318 alongside the East Williston community.
The commission also adopted a proclamation – Williston Wants Peace – No More Violence to emphasize efforts by political and community leaders to cancel this year’s festival with an eye toward improving it in the future.
Gussie Boatwright, a 5th generation Levy Countian who lost her young grandson, Khajon Spikes, on Feb. 20, 2021, to a senseless shooting in East Williston, spoke of the need to plan for the festival and keep people safe.
“I think it’s important when you invite people to your home, to your community, to your neighborhood, to the city, that you have a plan, you have an obligation to keep people safe,” she said. “We need to make sure we work with all the team members in our community, law enforcement and EMS, because when you get six, seven, or 10,000 people together, there’s bound to be something that could happen; not intentionally, nobody wants that to happen, but when you get that many people together there’s always going to be an opportunity for something to happen.”
Crab Fest has evolved into what many describe as a large street party that draws thousands of strangers to the East Williston Community as well as local people. In 2013, one man was murdered and four others were shot at Crab Fest. The man responsible for shooting was a party goer from a neighboring county.
County Commissioner Matt Brooks, who represents Williston, introduced the peace resolution and invited leaders of the black community who came to speak about Crab Fest to step forward and give their statements. Pastor Johnnie Jones of Fountain of Life Church said more people would have been present to speak about Crab Fest but they didn’t want to be labeled as traitors.
“There would have been more people here but first and foremost it is a very difficult position to be put in because it looks like and it’s being portrayed as traitors to the community. It’s not that at all,” Jones said. “Williston has seen a very troubling uptick in gun violence and drug-related crime in the past year. As someone who truly cares about my community and as a faith and civic leader, I believe the crowds and chaos that accompany Crab Fest only provide space and opportunity for outsiders with criminal intent, who should get angry at a message as simple as Williston wants peace.”
Jones said more than 60 property owners around the epicenter of the festival have already stated in writing and for various reasons that “they do not support going forth with the festival this year.”
“Unlike any other festivals, Crab Fest depends on the agreement and cooperation of private citizens of this community; those hard-working upstanding community members who live in and along the festival path deserve to have a say in what happens in their homes, in their neighborhoods, and in the streets they pay for,” Jones said.
Jones, who described himself as a property owner who has participated in Crab Fest over the years, said the opposition to the festival, as it currently is operated, comes not only from elected officials but from local residents. He said he knows a lot of elected officials have “taken a lot of heat,” including Brooks. But he said the opposition is also coming from long-term residents and neighborhood leaders who believe the safety and well-being of their fellow citizens is important.
Jones said his decision to support closing the festival this year shouldn’t be viewed as being personal. He said it’s not personal. He said it’s a matter of common sense.
“We don’t need to use our properties, our yards, or be forced to do that, to house strangers who don’t care anything about us. From the bottom of my heart, I think we need to regroup. We need a safe venue somewhere else on public or private property, held and thoroughly planned. Then I think that would be fine, but we can’t take Mr. Jackson’s neighborhood or other areas just because we think it’s our right to do that. It’s not,” Jones said. “At this point as a leader following what I’ve been watching and seeing and in my gut, I just don’t feel it’s a good time.”
The resolution introduced by Brooks proclaiming April as Peace in Williston month, no more violence, noted that Crab Fest started many years ago as a small neighborhood event that promoted the fellowship of families, friends and neighbors and posed no threat to public safety.
In more recent years, the festival has proved consistently to be the largest public safety challenge to Levy County and the City of Williston, bringing thousands of people from outside the Williston area. In April 2013, a shooting occurred at Crab Fest killing one and injuring four others. In September of 2020, a mass shooting of six people occurred after a protest turned into a block party and ran late into the night and early morning, and on Feb. 20, 2020, Khajon Spikes of Williston was gunned down.
The resolution recognized the continuing and growing trend of violence in the unincorporated areas on the east side of the Williston city limits and the need to stop it now. It called upon religious leaders, government leaders, law enforcement, teachers, and business professionals within our community to set an example and promote an end to violence in Williston, the county, state, and country.
The Levy County Sheriff’s Office provided a report showing its expenses at Crab Fest totaled $139,341 since 2013. Those expenses didn’t include the costs borne by state law enforcement and law officers from neighboring counties. The Williston Police Department estimated its expenses for Crab Fest at $5,000.
Brooks said it was heartening to see community support for closing Crab Fest this year and taking a fresh look at how and where it can be operated in the future.
“It’s been very refreshing to see the community in Williston step up and say, hey, we want your help because in the past it has been perceived as oh, it’s local government saying that nobody can have fun, which is the furthest from the truth,” Brooks said. “The community has come out and said we’re done, as indicated by our special guests and residents today.”
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Board of County Commission Regular Meeting April 6, 2021; Posted April 6, 2021
