Should York County sell off two Lake Wylie park sites? One councilman says it’s time
Lake Wylie’s new representative on York County Council floated the idea of selling off two public park properties there, though it’s unclear how feasible the plan is.
“I would propose that we sell off Thistle and The Goat Farm,” Councilman Andy Litten said in a subcommittee meeting on parks Jan. 28.
The county now has 10 park sites, but only half are open the to the public. The largest coming attraction, and a main funding priority, is the more than 2,000-acre Catawba Bend Preserve set to open this fall near Rock Hill.
Thistle Park and the The Goat Farm are properties bought by using funds from a special tax district that residents in Lake Wylie voted to create five years ago. Neither is close to opening yet, and the county hasn’t built anything new on them.
The county approved a concept plan for Thistle Park, on 60 acres near the old Five Points intersection that includes a dog park, disc golf, ponds, fishing, picnic shelters and play areas. The property cost $1.9 million.
The Goat Farm, costing the tax district $1.4 million, is nearly 7 acres on S.C. 274. The county approved plans for a covered farmers market, stage, playground and community garden.
The other large purchase by the special tax district is the 87-acre Woodend Park on S.C. 557. It cost $4.3 million, though almost a quarter of the price was covered by a state grant. Litten proposes keeping Woodend, and using money from selling the other two sites to enhance it.
“What we would do is convert everything and focus on Woodend,” he said.
The county acquired the Thistle and Goat Farm sites in late 2021.
Since then, they’ve had only limited event use and haven’t opened to the public on an ongoing basis. The county estimates it’ll cost more than $2.1 million to bring full public access to Thistle, Goat Farm and Woodend. More than half of that amount would be for Thistle Park.
“That’s bare bones, bare minimum,” said county parks Director Katherine Jones.
The tax district was set up with a $10 million cap on construction or land acquisition, and would collect no more than $500,000 per year for operations.
Litten, whom voters elected for the first time last fall, said he’s been thinking for three years about selling the Thistle and Goat Farm sites.
“We are out of money in that district,” he said. “There is not enough capital in there to do anything with it. There’s not enough operating costs to run three parks and do anything with them.”
Tax, legal issue with park property sale
Litten’s comments came in a health and environmental protection committee he now chairs. It hadn’t met in more than a year before gathering to discuss the growing parks program in York County.
Three of the seven York County Council members sit on the health and environmental subcommittee. Councilman Watts Huckabee initially didn’t know enough about the Lake Wylie properties to have an opinion on Litten’s sale proposal, but later said he’d support selling Thistle Park.
Councilwoman Debi Cloninger pointed to a recreation survey stating neighborhood parks were a top priority and Lake Wylie residents were a top participation group.
County staff and a consultant noted there could be tax or legal implications from buying and selling a property without making it a park, particularly if the land value increased while the county owned it. Staff agreed to get more information on the idea from its treasurer, bond counsel and attorney.
Land preservation in the fast-developing Lake Wylie area, and the park properties in particular, were primary goals for former Councilwoman Allison Love. She represented Lake Wylie and Clover for eight years, but was defeated by Litten in a Republican primary contest last summer.
The tax district in Lake Wylie came after years of York County taking the position that it didn’t want to be in the park business, Love said. “Lake Wylie did want to be in the park business,” she said, “and they voted for it.”
Other recommendations from a consultant review of county parks could impact the Lake Wylie tax district directly.
One of them is to get rid of special tax districts for recreation and have a countywide tax to fund projects like Catawba Bend, Worth Mountain in western York County or Ebenezer Park in Rock Hill.
County staff recommends a review of and public input on what features would go on any new Lake Wylie park. With about $3 million left under the tax district cap, money is a concern in getting something opened — even if it’s at the expense of other properties.
“The key is trying to give access to one of these parcels as soon as possible,” said county manager Josh Edwards.
Litten doesn’t want the county on a financial hook for properties in Lake Wylie, if there’s not a feasible route to opening parks on them.
“I don’t want to burden the rest of the county with what a small portion voted on,” he said.
