Last Updated on 12/4/2008

Published on 5/1/2008
Written by Scott Harper

Several years ago, Georgetown city leaders talked about possibly relocating the recreation facilities away from East Bay Park so that the valuable waterfront property could be used for other purposes such as condominiums.

The idea was shot down by an outcry from residents who said they wanted the parks and ballfields to remain right where they are.

Now, Georgetown County Council has given conceptual approval to a nearly $90 million recreation plan that calls for -- in part -- finding a new place for the facilities currently at East Bay Park. The parks are owned and maintained by the county but the East Bay Park land is owned by the city. It will be up to Georgetown City Council to decide what to do with the property once it is no longer used for recreation.

The county's recreation plan -- part of the $330 million Capital Improvement Plan -- calls for a complete overhaul in the recreational facilities in four different areas of the county. The bulk of the work is expected to be complete by the year 2017 with phase two projected for completion by 2025.

Here is a breakdown on what is planned for the different areas of Georgetown County:

* The county will look to secure about 133 acres of land for the relocation of East Bay Park facilities somewhere in or close to the City of Georgetown. Phase one of the project calls for the construction of an outdoor swimming pool, nine baseball fields, six tennis courts, two multi-purpose fields, a skateboard park, basketball courts and upgrades to existing facilities including the Winyah and Howard gyms.

In phase two, more tennis courts and two more multi-purpose fields will be added.

When asked about East Bay Park, County Administrator Sel Hemingway said that land is not an appropriate place for the recreation facilities that are planned.

The plan also calls for a small campground for recreational vehicles to be built adjacent to these new parks.

Paul Gilbert of Genesis Consulting Group, the company who created the plan, said the goal is for the county to partner with a private entity to build and maintain the RV park which will mainly be used by people attending baseball or fishing tournaments.

Altogether, the plan calls for about $24 million to be spent on recreation in the Georgetown area by 2025.

* Another $16.7 million is forecast to be spent in Andrews where the plan calls for a new $5 million recreation center, five baseball fields, eight tennis courts, two multi-purpose fields and upgrades to existing facilities in phase one. An outdoor swimming pool, another baseball field and two more multi-purpose fields are planned for phase two.

About 80 acres of land will be needed in addition to land the county already owns. Gilbert said many of the facilities can be built at the old Andrews High School site. The vacated school would be torn down.

* The plan calls for $15.8 million to be spent in the Choppee area. Like the other areas, baseball fields, multi-purpose fields, tennis courts and a swimming pool are planned. This area may also get something different -- a virtual golf center.

Gilbert said during the public meetings that were held in the past few months, some people had requested some sort of golf course to teach children how to play the game. He said an actual golf course would be very expensive and difficult for the county to maintain. His suggestion is a computerized virtual golf system that would be located inside a new recreation center.

"This has proven to be an effective way to teach children to play golf," Gilbert said.

* The most money -- $32.6 million -- will be spent on the Waccamaw Neck.

Gilbert said about 102 acres on top of what the county already owns will be needed.

Along with a swimming pool, phase one calls for a new recreation center, four baseball fields, ten tennis courts, four multi-purpose fields, a skateboard park and basketball courts.

About $2 million will be spent rehabilitating the Murrells Inlet Recreation Center.

There is also $50,000 in the plan for the county to purchase and uplift Parkers Store, which, Gilbert said, is a historic building on U.S. Highway 17 that would be relocated and could be used as a community cultural center.

Some of the new recreation facilities will be built on land adjacent to Waccamaw Elementary School and between Waccamaw Middle School and the new Waccamaw Intermediate School.

The proposed recreation center and swimming pool may be built in the area of Parkersville Road.

Marching orders

After giving conceptual approval to the plan, Council told County Administrator Sel Hemingway it is now up to him and his staff to try to flesh out details of the plan to make it doable.

His first job will be to create a timeline for what will be built. Those decisions will be based on the urgency of the needs in the different areas of the county.

"We will begin looking at potential land sites and, at the same time, we will look at our budget for the coming year as it relates to recreation. We will put together suggestions and recommendations for Council to consider involving the improvement of existing facilities as well as some of the new facilities," Hemingway said.

There could be as much as $14 million in the 2008-09 budget for land acquisition and another $8 million allocated for facility upgrades but, Hemingway said, those figures are subject to change as Council puts together the new budget.

Funding for the projects will come from impact fees, the general budget and bonds. Last year, Council approved a 9.5 mil tax increase to pay for the Capital Improvement Plan.

Even though Georgetown City Council has recently complained that the county is not doing enough to maintain East Bay Park, Councilman Ron Charlton said spending money in that area right now may not be the best use of funds.

"I don't want to put a whole lot of money into East Bay Park if that is not part of the overall plan," he said.