Oak Harbor residents can expect to see more police officers on the south side of town.

Oak Harbor police will be “proactively” patrolling Windjammer Park after it opens, as well as downtown and the commercial area around Walmart and Haggen Food, according to Chief Kevin Dresker.

He said the office will have overtime shifts in May and June to allow for extra patrols on foot and bike. After school is out, the school resource officer and possibly another officer will be assigned to the area.

“We will be very visible down there to make sure we get off to a good start,” Dresker said.

In fact, the officers will likely have an office at the new sewage treatment plant in the midst of Windjammer Park, which is set to reopen June 29.

The city previously had occasional problems with people misbehaving in the park restrooms, but the new Portland loos are designed to deter people from staying longer than necessary or committing crimes.

In addition, the park has expensive new kitchen facilities, a pavilion and a splash park.

The police chief is also in the process of looking at possible updates to the city’s park ordinance. He said he’s looked at several different communities to see what their codes look like.

While many people have expressed concern about homeless people causing problems in the area, Dresker said neither the extra patrols nor possible changes in the code are aimed at any class of people.