Tega Cay leaders approve design funding for Catawba Park

Tega Cay City Council made a decision Tuesday that will have lasting impact for residents.

“We’re moving forward on Catawba Park,” said Mayor George Sheppard.

Council voted to spend $465,000 on design work. The city has almost $1 million available for the park, to be built along the Catawba River below New Gray Rock Road.

“It’s money that we’ve set aside,” Sheppard said. “We have some (hospitality tax) money as well as money from developers.”

The city is moving forward with a concept plan from last April. The first phase will put a baseball/softball complex on more than nine acres owned by the city. It also will complete engineering design work on a 39-acre Duke Energy tract right beside it.

Design work will cost an estimated $340,000 for the city property and $125,000 for the Duke parcel. Construction cost estimates are $3 million for the city site, $4 million for the Duke site.

“We think we can do something really special,” said Charlie Funderburk, city manager.

A major goal for the first phase is to add recreation space. Tega Cay and Fort Mill work well together to provide youth and other recreation opportunities for a growing area, Funderburk said. New fields only will add to them.

“It’s just the next step,” Funderburk said.

Beginning design work means residents should start seeing progress on the site soon.

“Hopefully we’ll be moving dirt next fall,” Sheppard said.

The city owns almost 10 acres, while Duke and Clear Springs Baxter combined for 52 more. The site has a boat ramp and fishing areas now. Plans include the baseball/softball complex, multipurpose fields, a basketball circle, amphitheater, par 3 disc golf course, a canoe/kayak launch, horseshoe courts, playgrounds and restrooms. Extensive trails will connext to neighboring communities and the Carolina Thread Trail.

In December, Campco Engineering representatives showed a park with two entrances and 400 parking spaces. They talked about a gathering spot for city residents, whether for festivals or events. Full design work could take three to six months, depending on scope.

The Duke property will have trails and river access. The Clear Springs site would have the multipurpose fields. So far the city doesn’t have agreements in place with either group.

“Now that we’re getting going, those conversations will start picking up a lot more,” Funderburk said.

One issue is the federal hydroelectric license Duke received in November. The license includes extensive recreation and land use plans throughout the Catawba River basin. Federal regulators issued a 40-year license, but Duke appealed to try for the max 50-year license.

Resolving that license can impact discussions between the city and Duke on Catawba Park.

“Absolutely,” Funderburk said.

“It can impact us because if they don’t have a 50-year license, they’re not going to have a 50-year lease with us. It basically would impact the length of the lease.”

This story was originally published January 20, 2016 at 3:13 PM with the headline "Tega Cay leaders approve design funding for Catawba Park."