River trails, boat access, new dog park: See details on new York County park projects
In February, York County officials will dive deep into the possibility of a new county parks department. A glance at what’s happening already offers a pretty clear picture why.
On Monday night, assistant county manager Mike Moore updated York County Council on an array of ongoing park projects. They include nature preserves, trails, boat launches and even a new dog park. All projects headed by the county, without a designated parks and recreation department similar to what cities and towns like Rock Hill, Fort Mill, Tega Cay, Clover and York have.
Moore said a plan to explore a parks department will be presented at a February Council retreat. For now, work continues throughout the growing list of county recreation sites.
“These are exciting things and we’re very blessed to have this touch all areas of the county,” said Council Chairwoman Christi Cox.
York County parks
The biggest park project is Catawba Bend Preserve, a planned 1,900-acre nature preserve on the Rock Hill side of the Catawba River. A master plan was approved and adopted. An initial engineering contract should be ready for first phase work in January.
“That includes the park arrival, the gate house entry, river gate, greenway and hiking trail system,” Moore said.
The project still needs utilities and telecommunications plans. The county will pursue grants, branding and marketing for park features. Some former residences on the site will be removed, with demolition expected next year. There also will be controlled burns and thinning of some forested areas.
“That will provide for fire breaks and it will mitigate the potential for wildfires,” Moore said. “A lot of that work had not been done for some period of time, so we want to be careful in maintaining that in the event we get dry conditions or drought.”
Catawba Bend isn’t the only one. A park at Worth Mountain has its master plan contract in place. A site visit is set for Dec. 17 for the county group that will review the master plan for upgrades. Nanny’s Mountain has a contract for trailhead construction plans. A master plan should be ready for Council review in January. A public meeting on plans there should come in January.
Veterans Memorial Park in York has a new sign installed and landscaping. On-street parking improvements are planned too.
Lake Wylie access
After a newly reopened Ebenezer Park drew huge crowds this summer, some neighbors told county officials there were new traffic problems. The county hired a traffic consultant to survey the park on Labor Day weekend. That study could generate park improvements, in a review that also will consider restrooms, campsite upgrades and drainage. A design contract for improvements could be ready for approval by the end of the month.
This summer the county approved a lease and utility agreement for Allison Creek Park. Construction began in September. Improvements should be complete by the end of 2022.
“The (boat) ramp is going to be closed through the end of construction, so we’ll work to mitigate that,” Moore said.
Land conservation
The new parks tax district set up in Lake Wylie by referendum already has multiple land purchases to its name. The 87-acre Woodend Farm property at 5649 S.C. Hwy. 557 will allow events, festivals and hiking. A master plan will be developed soon.
“Staff is now looking at plans for facilities and maintenance repairs and improvements, how we’re going to go about that,” Moore said.
The almost seven-acre goat farm property at 3972 Hands Mill Highway now belongs to the county too. An agreement allows the seller to remain on the property through February. A master plan will follow for the site likely to become a farmers market.
On Monday, Council approved a contract to buy five acres in Lake Wylie for a future dog park.
“Hopefully with the approval of that we’ll be able to go forward with planning for that park and master plan, and get a design on that,” Moore said.
York County park department
For many years, prior Councils bristled at the notion of a county parks department. When projects came up in Lake Wylie and Fort Mill for county hospitality tax funding (for what now are Field Day Park, Comporium Athletic Park and others), then-elected officials stated the county wasn’t in the business of a parks department.
Instead, the county traditionally provided money to various municipal recreation departments. Two years ago, mayors from Rock Hill, Fort Mill, Tega Cay and York jointly addressed council to ask for more funding since a large portion of their recreation league participants come from the county. The mayors argued funding hadn’t changed significantly in years, but population had.
When past councils pushed back against a parks department, the main county-run recreation draw was Ebenezer Park. There was concern about upkeep and staffing needed to add more sites. In recent years, the county and area municipalities have shown a willingness to spend on recreation. Field Day Park has a staff member like Ebenezer. The Catawba Bend project was a $21 million purchase.
New and improved county sites will join recent and coming municipal additions like Catawba Park in Tega Cay, Miracle Park in Rock Hill, Banks Athletic Park in Fort Mill and others.
