By Natalie M. Zeigler
City Manager
In city government, we carefully examine and act on the issues with which we aren’t yet satisfied. We ask ourselves how we can improve services and make them more comprehensive, and how we can build Hartsville up as a community. Even so we must always remember, this week and the rest of the year, for how much we have now for which we can be thankful, and for how many economic, cultural and recreational assets our community has cultivated.
Lately, we’ve had numerous conversations about the development of the City of Hartsville’s systems of parks, which are among the most cherished of our resources. This year has been another great one in the advancement of parks, seen most clearly in Lawton Park’s excellent new playground. Opened this summer and made possible in part with funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the new facility garnered an excited, enthusiastic initial response and has drawn strong crowds ever since.
A couple of weeks ago, the City of Hartsville Parks Committee opened up the discussion of what our parks are and what they can be through a public input meeting. The committee is charged with advising City Council and staff on how to make our parks as successful as possible, has in the past pushed for such major improvements as the renovations and upgraded stage at Pride Park as well as the Piratesville Splash Pad at the Byerly Park Recreation Complex. The public discussion covered everything from our parks’ restrooms and lighting to the redevelopment of Lawton Park’s tennis courts. The committee is now providing these newest recommendations to City Council, beginning anew the process which has shaped our parks’ development in recent years.
The many facilities of Byerly Park have also received a fresh look in City staff’s most recent planning efforts, covering its fields and courts, and also a potential expansion of children’s play opportunities for the area of the complex that includes the Piratesville Splash Pad and its surrounding playgrounds. The past year proved to be a big one for Byerly Park, which has not only hosted the Dixie Ponytails softball World Series, but also a South Atlantic Conference softball tournament and the BaylerBall Invitational travel ball tournament, which altogether brought huge numbers of visitors to Hartsville from around the Southeast. Byerly Park has become a major part of what Hartsville has to offer, and its evolution isn’t going to slow down now.
Hartsville parks are moving forward even in some very small ways. Last week, the entry gate went up for our new “pocket park” downtown – a careful redevelopment of a portion of the Mantissa Row alleyway into an attractive area of tables, chairs and strung-up lights, enhancing and deepening the pedestrian experience of downtown Hartsville and better connecting our streets to our parking lots. We’re making great strides, both big and small, in parks and recreation, and that is surely something to be thankful for. Still, we remain interested in everything our residents have to say about parks. You can always let us know your ideas and thoughts on their future at info2@hartsvillesc.gov.
Natalie Zeigler is the City Manager of Hartsville. For more information, call City Hall at 843-383-3015 or email info2@hartsvillesc.gov.