‘Worst of times, with the best of people’ helps Fort Mill area persevere during COVID
Something a global pandemic took away from so many people — togetherness — also is the best way out of it, local officials urge.
“I believe we’re persevering,” Fort Mill Mayor Guynn Savage said recently. “Together we have faced the worst of times, with the best of people.”
Each year the York County Regional Chamber of Commerce gathers Fort Mill, Tega Cay, York County and Fort Mill School District leaders for a breakfast event to address the state of the community. The gathering was last Thursday.
Most years are celebrations of new business, accolades and test scores. This year, as with much else during the COVID-19 pandemic, is different.
Chuck Epps, superintendent of the Fort Mill School District for a dozen years, said it feels like almost all he’s talked with groups about the past two years is the virus. Often at times “where it seems like everybody’s mad about something.” And always at times when the district still has to focus on education of now close to 18,000 students.
“It’s made us reinvent our whole world,” Epps said.
Yet, officials say, there is reason for optimism. Most of it centered on the idea of community. Savage points to the massive volunteer vaccination clinic effort staged in Rock Hill, where people from across York County came to administer and receive vaccinations.
“It was amazing to see all of us come shoulder to shoulder, all our communities providing services that all of us needed,” Savage said.
Town services in Fort Mill weren’t interrupted during COVID. A wastewater treatment plant upgrade that’s the largest project in her 17 years in town government, continues. The town just opened its new amphitheater. Other projects like the four ballfield Banks Athletic Park and rehab at the Fort Mill YMCA at the Complex tennis facility continue, aimed at bringing people together.
Similar projects move forward in York County. York County Councilman Tom Audette said the almost 1,400 new jobs and $141 million in new business investment from June 2020 to June 2021 comes as the county focuses on recreation and road improvement.
“Quality of life is important,” Audette said.
The county just came up with a final draft of a master plan for Riverbend Park, a 1,900-acre project on the Rock Hill side of the Catawba River. The county could approve it soon. It features an event center overlooking the Catawba River, more than five miles of biking or walking path, 26 miles of hiking area and launch areas for kayaks.
“It’s going to be a destination,” Audette said.
Ebenezer Park on the Rock Hill shores Lake Wylie relaunched with upgrades, and Field Day Park in Lake Wylie opened with ballfields and playgrounds. There’s work at Allison Creek, Nanny’s Mountain, York Veterans and Worth Mountain parks ongoing, too.
Mayor David O’Neal in Tega Cay said the major project happening in his city continues despite the pandemic. Catawba Park will open about this time next year with five ballfields, three multipurpose fields, an open meadow and river access for kayaking.
“We’ve been talking about this as long as I’ve lived here,” O’Neal said. “I moved here 20 years ago.”
Impact fees, a charge on new development communities like Fort Mill and Tega Cay use to generate money for needed services, created a revenue stream vital to Catawba Park. Something O’Neal sees a a benefit beyond his city limits.
“It’s not just for Tega Cay,” O’Neal said. “It’s a regional park.”
The city also did a $130,000 revamp of Windjammer Park, with docks and restrooms. The All Play Together inclusive playground opened a couple of weeks before COVID hit, at which point it had to close for a time. Now play is returning to something closer to normal.
“It’s for children of all abilities,” O’Neal said. “Disabled veterans — anybody can play there.”
Officials say what keeps forward momentum for their various public bodies are the people who constitute it. Like teachers and school nurses pushed to the limit right now, Epps said, but who keep showing up for students.
“The last two years have been an amazing challenge for us,” he said. “We’ve been able to pull off some miracles.”
Whether it’s different municipalities each focusing on recreation or other issues that impact communities, Savage said it’s key her town works with O’Neal’s city, the county, businesses, schools and others for the best area outcomes.
“We’re not really competitors,” Savage said. “We’re teammates.”
Despite new business openings and other successes, the past year or so has been hard for Fort Mill. Even beyond COVID there’s the loss of community pillars like long-time Mayor Charlie Powers and philanthropist Anne Springs Close, Savage said. Yet it’s the people, she said, who will continue to make the area thrive.
“We make so much more, so much better,” Savage said, “when we do it together.”
