Area Parks Offer New Facilities and Amenities for Area Residents
outdoor activities, parks, recreation,
Derek McLean might be a bit biased, but he believes Jack Marley Park in Angier is the finest outdoor facility in this part of North Carolina.
In fact, the parks and recreation director for the town of Angier says that if local people haven’t seen the park since May 2008, they would not recognize it anymore.
“A couple years back, the state awarded us a $500,000 grant, and the town put in another $900,000, so a total of $1.4 million went into a complete renovation of the Marley Park facility,” McLean says. “The project was completed in May 2008, and it is now an incredible outdoor destination that gets a lot of use.”
Additions to the park include two new playgrounds, a picnic shelter, a multipurpose athletic complex and a skate park. Further upgrades include refurbishing the tennis courts, installing new lights on an existing multipurpose field, redoing concessions and renovating bathrooms.
“We also added a walking trail that spans three-quarters of a mile around the existing pond, and there is now a disc golf course as well as a beach volleyball court,” McLean says. “There is also new signage throughout the entire facility, and we redid the entrance area. Jack Marley Park is now a destination for sports tournaments as well as vacationers and residents. It’s quite an amazing recreation spot for a town of 4,300 residents.”
Another outdoor jewel in Harnett County that also received a recent $500,000 grant from North Carolina is Barbecue Creek County Park, which is currently the only public park in western Harnett County. It is conveniently located between Western Harnett High School and Western Harnett Middle School, and the park is also home to Western Harnett Youth Recreation.
“The $500,000 state grant was matched by the county, so a total of $1 million in additions and upgrades went into the improvement of Barbecue Creek County Park,” says Carl Davis, program supervisor with Harnett County Parks and Recreation. “The facility can now offer even more leisure and recreation opportunities that enrich the quality of life for our citizens.”
The money has allowed the county to install top-grade lighting at the park’s baseball diamonds, tennis courts and multipurpose field. A walking trail, picnic shelter and community building round out the amenities.
Meanwhile, a future recreation spot in Harnett County that has received a lot of attention is the proposed Anderson Creek Park.
“No specific construction timetable has been set, but what will make Anderson Creek so interesting and exciting is its size at 1,000 acres,” Davis says. “The future park will be able to accommodate walking trails, equestrian trails, mountain bike trails and disc golf. It will be an exciting venture – whenever it happens.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
