Hemming Plaza in downtown Jacksonville could close this summer for a quick makeover or close for a bigger renovation next year under a plan presented Wednesday to a City Council committee.

It will be April before the committee gives council President Stephen Joost final recommendations on improving the landmark park in front of City Hall.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got to make a change,” said Councilwoman Denise Lee, who chairs the ad-hoc committee.

Concerns about limited numbers of visitors, public safety and bad behavior inspired the committee’s creation.

Lee said she witnessed firsthand why people stay out of the park when she went there Tuesday to meet a police official. A man there began beating a woman to the ground, and was eventually restrained by several police officers, Lee said. After that, she said, another man started shouting profanities and a woman berated her in foul language.

“It was awful. It was embarrassing. It was insulting,” she said.

Meeting with nearby business owners and staff from the booster group Downtown Vision Inc., the committee talked Wednesday about potentially changing the park’s layout and terrain to discourage crime.