Fort Mill services plan for growth

Fort Mill’s growth, which is expected to double the population during the next decade, will affect each town department.

Here’s a look at what a few departments will need as the town grows.

Parks and Recreation

A recent study drew more than 100 participants and involved hand-picked focus groups. Brown Simpson, director of Fort Mill’s parks and recreation department, came away with a plan he’ll recommend to the Town Council.

“Fort Mill residents are willing to pay for park and recreation service,” he said.

The study recommended incremental tax increases. Simpson’s recommendation includes a new gymnasium within four years, and four multipurpose fields within five. New baseball or softball fields and up to 10 tennis courts will be needed within five years, too.

The plan accounts for losing the Springs recreation complex on Tom Hall Street and the Banks Street gym that also houses the recreation department within five years.

Simpson has money budgeted this year for design work on the 27-acre park and recreation site donated as part of the Waterside on the Catawba subdivision. The site likely will include trails, a playground and shelters.

In 2010, youth athletics had 1,895 participants. In 2014 there were 3,039, including 52 percent from outside town limits.

“The numbers continue to grow,” Simpson said.

Mayor Danny Funderburk asked Simpson to find out what those costs are – Funderburk asked the same of the town fire department – to see what the town should be asking the county to kick in. York County funding to the town for parks and rec services uses 2000 census data, Simpson said.

“We need an accurate reflection of what that investment actually is,” Funderburk said.

Councilwoman Guynn Savage said parks and recreation leaders shouldn’t forget about the needs of seniors and younger adults.

“We, too, would like to have a place to walk and swim and do the things we need to do to stay healthy,” she said.

Construction on new facilities takes at least two years, so hitting the four- and five-year window means starting soon.

What won’t be coming is a town pool. Pools are expensive, Simpson said, and replacing the one lost with the recreation complex isn’t among the recommendations. The Fort Mill school district has an aquatics facility as part of its May 5 bond vote. If it passes, the district will look for community partners who may want to add onto the plan.

“This is the only thing on the bond that we wrestled with,” school board Chairman Patrick White told the council March 9. “Is it a need or is it a want?”

White said the district doesn’t know what the aquatics facility needs to be, but municipal or partnerships could play a role. It all depends on the bond passing May 5.

“At that point in time we would look for partners,” White said.

Parks and recreation is one area that could benefit from proposed town impact fees. If the town enacts them, new residential construction would pay a fee to be used by Brown’s department. Town leaders have to plan now for recreation needs, but they want to be thorough.

“We’ve got to understand what we want to provide so we can build it right the first time,” said Dennis Pieper, town manager.

Police

Chief Jeff Helms says he has as good a set of officers as the town ever has. But it isn’t to say he won’t ask for more come budget season.

“We’ll probably make a request for four, one for each shift,” Helms said.

The Fort Mill Police Department responded to 1,900 incidents last year and made 494 arrests. There were 577 traffic incidents, a slight uptick from 2013, but just one fatality. Even with new traffic enforcement officers, wrecks take up considerable time for officers.

“Obviously, we see that getting worse with the volume of traffic we have coming through town,” Helms said. “We have a lot of fender benders.”

Main Street is a problem area. Large trucks aren’t supposed to use it, but they do. The department ticketed nine trucks in a day, Helms said. There were two trucks towed from the train tracks at the bottom of Main Street since a train hit a truck stuck on the tracks in October.

Helms said local deliveries aren’t the issue. It’s deliveries to and from outside of town, where drivers aren’t familiar with the area until they arrive and it’s too late.

“What really hurts us is people’s GPS,” he said.

Another issue is a little further down the road, but could be an important one. The York County Sheriff’s Office wants to set up a booking station on the eastern side of York County. If it happens, officers could reduce their transport time drastically. Trips to Moss Justice Center in York keep officers out of Fort Mill for large chunks of their shifts.

“That saves our officers being out of our town a good hour, or hour-and-a-half,” Helms said.

There’s “a chance we could close our jail” if another facility opens nearby, or York County could take over and run the Fort Mill jail, Helms said. But nothing is imminent. Such a move wouldn’t impact the department structure itself, just the jail it uses.

“We’re a long way from getting into those discussions,” Helms said.

Despite needs, Helms believes the department is poised to serve the area well even given growth demands.

“You’re starting to see what our growth is doing,” he said.

Fire

A federal grant could mean money for two more firefighters in Fort Mill. Chief Jeff Hooper is working with U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s office on a program that would pay for two positions for two years.

“We’re in the same position with manpower,” Hooper said. “We need manpower.”

Since he arrived less than two years ago, Hooper saw the town add a fire marshal and move into a new station beside Doby’s Bridge Park. Just before he took over in October 2013, Council approved money for the former residence to be converted to a fire station.

Earlier this year, Hooper outlined options either for a new station along the Doby’s Bridge Road corridor or needed upgrades near the park.

Hooper is looking into the cost for department service outside town limits to see if a request for more funding from the county is needed.

“I do feel that’s an area we need to approach,” he said.

This story was originally published March 26, 2015 at 6:43 AM with the headline "Fort Mill services plan for growth."