Want more parks in Beaufort County? $175K master plan in the works. How to get involved
In an effort to improve the county’s parks and recreation facilities, Beaufort County has launched a new website and will host a series of public meetings beginning Monday to ask residents where they want parks, and which facilities at existing parks need to be improved.
Feedback from residents will shape the funding and improvements for parks and recreation facilities, said Shannon Loper, director of Beaufort County Parks & Recreation.
Beaufort Mayor Stephen Murray thanked Administrator Eric Greenway on Tuesday for adding an additional meeting at the Charles Lind Brown Center in Beaufort at his urging and that of Councilman Mitch Mitchell. Mitchell said the local meeting is a chance for residents of the area to tell the county specifically what kinds of programming and improvements they would like to see at the neighborhood recreation center on Hamar Street.
Beaufort County Parks and Recreation recently reopened the Charles Lind Brown Center and ordered new state-of-the-art workout equipment. Pickleball courts may also be set up upon request. The facility still has open gym for basketball, an outdoor resurfaced basketball court, an existing playground and a small room for meetings. With the upgrades, the county says, it will be better equipped to meet the needs of residents.
Another group north of the Broad River, the Beaufort Trailblazers, also is lobbying the county to support a singletrack mountain bike trail at Pineview Preserve on Lady’s Island, a passive park where the county says it currently has no plans for mountain bike trails.
Year-long assessment planned
The county’s parks and recreation department has contracted with architecture firm Wood + Partners Inc. and consulting company PROS Consulting Inc. to lead a year-long assessment of all area parks and facilities, including recommendations from residents.
The goal is to create a $175,690 master plan called #PlayBeaufortCo that will decide where parks need to be built and how to pay for facility improvements, county spokesperson Chris Ophardt said.
“The assessment is critical to ensure we are meeting the needs of our citizens,” the county’s Loper said.
Residents can comment on the proposed master plan on Beaufort County’s new website: https://playbeaufortcounty.com.
When are the meetings?
Beaufort County is encouraging residents to attend one of the following meetings:
▪ Feb. 28, at 6 p.m., Buckwalter Recreation Center, 905 Buckwalter Pkwy, Bluffton, SC 29910.
▪ March 1, at 5:30 p.m., Burton Wells Recreation Center, 1 Middleton Recreation Drive, Beaufort, SC 29906.
▪ March 1, at 7 p.m., Dale Community Center, 15 Community Center Road, Seabrook, SC 29940.
▪ March 2, at 6 p.m. Scott Recreation Complex, 242 Scott Hill Road. St. Helena, SC.
▪ March 10, at 6 p.m. Charles Lind Brown Center, 1001 Hamar St, Beaufort, SC 29902.
County staff and the two firms will work on the assessment between July and September to create planning recommendations and analyze costs, according to a news release.
The recommendations and comments from the public will be compiled into the master plan from October through November. The Beaufort County Public Facilities Committee and full County Council will have to approve the plan, according to the county.
