Our view: Don’t pass on Lake Wylie park plan
Finally! Lake Wylie residents will get to decide if they want a park, and want to pay for it.
It’s been more than a decade in the making with area leaders and individuals working tenaciously to make it happen. Thanks to their strong shoulders, more than 16,000 residents in Lake Wylie will be able to choose if they want this recreational site in Lake Wylie.
As champion of the park plan and former councilman Tom Smith said a year ago, “it’s the missing link.”
The park plan on 50 acres at 5668 Charlotte Highway on Crowders Creek includes three baseball/softball fields, and three multipurpose fields mainly for soccer, lacrosse and football.
Other park features include two basketball courts, press box, concession building, 18-hole disc golf course and playground. There will be paved walking trails, a maintenance building and 450 parking spaces.
Park planners also see nearby 18 acres for expanding to add a dog park and canoe/kayak launch.
What residents will be deciding Nov. 8 is if they want to fund about $6 million of the full $8.5 million park plan, or an estimated $16 per year on a $100,000 home or $24 on commercial property of the same value.
York County Council in December approved $2.45 million of allocated hospitality tax toward the project, with the condition residents had to petition for and approve a special tax district. It would be similar to the fire tax district voters approved in 2009 for Bethel Volunteer Fire Department.
Lake Wylie Athletic Association and LW SportsPlex Committee collected more than the required signatures from registered voters in the 11 precincts surrounding the proposed SportsPlex to gain Council approval for the vote.
About half the new tax money would go toward constructing the facility, the other half toward running and maintaining it. The Clover School District would partner on field maintenance. Tax district money would likely go to hire a position or two to run the fields.
The plan is after the initial 10-year period either half the tax would go away, or residents could decide to expand or invest more in the property.
Here’s the deal: Lake Wylie has no parks. York County has no parks and recreation department, and doesn’t intend to create one. If this plan fails, it would be safe to assume a low probability of a public park in Lake Wylie. This park initiative has been a decade-long battle. If it fails, would anyone else pick up a torch to try such a feat again?
Every day more for sale signs are popping up at undeveloped land tracts in Lake Wylie. Green space is at a premium. Recreation has continually been cited by residents in county comprehensive planning surveys. This park is one way to assure quality of life here. An asset to our community.
In the words of Councilman Bruce Henderson, “This is really, really long overdue.”
In the fall, park planners will host meetings with details and funding figures ahead of the Nov. 8 vote.
This story was originally published July 5, 2016 at 12:17 PM with the headline "Our view: Don’t pass on Lake Wylie park plan."