Plan calls for $15 million

A master plan for Mount Pleasant recreation influenced by current users and the town's aging population suggests spending $15 million in the next decade on parks and recreation facilities.

More than a third of the $15 million would go toward building a recreation complex within the Carolina Park subdivision, according to the town's 2017 Recreation Master Plan, developed by Seamon, Whitesides & Associates. A future $5.8 million park in the Carolina Park neighborhood near Wando High School is ranked first among the list of facilities to be built and would include multipurpose fields, trails and parking.

The plan will be presented to the public at a meeting 6 p.m. Thursday at the Mount Pleasant Town Hall gym.

Recreation Department leaders and town Councilman Gary Santos, recreation committee chair, said department staff will explain the plan and discuss how the town could pay for improvements.

"Nothing is set in stone," Santos said. "(The plan) certainly could be changed as years go on."

Mount Pleasant population is anticipated to grow by 1.5 percent through 2015. And current playing fields and the town's two pools are already crowded, the plan said.

Santos, who also coaches football, says the community's fields see more and more use as the recreation department adds a growing number of sports such as dodge ball, kick ball and lacrosse.

More fields would help Mount Pleasant's recreation department keep up with the pace, he said.

Ken Ayoub, deputy director of recreation, said the plan is really a needs assessment of the town's recreation facilities and includes something for everyone.

"It's what they see being necessary for us to maintain our current level of service," he said.

The plan lists $1 million in improvements across the town's 27 current parks. Other recommendations include building a $900,000 therapy pool at the R.L. Jones Center, a $4 million plan to add more gym floor space perhaps by building a facility somewhere along the Rifle Range Road corridor, a $60,000 Mugsy Kerr Tennis Center at the Whipple Road complex, and to complete the $2.2 million second phase of the senior center. The first phase is currently under construction.

The senior center would serve Mount Pleasant's future aging population. The town's average age is expected to climb from 38 to 46 in the next 15 years as baby boomers age and youth populations go flat.

Using current growth projections, funding new facilities would be difficult unless, the state allows a new source of revenue, or the town raises taxes, recreation service fees, or impact fees, the recreation master plan reads. Seamon, Whitesides & Associates suggested the town council consider an advisory referendum to gage residents willingness to pay for improvements before moving forward.

Seamon, Whitesides & Associates formed the plan after two public input sessions held in 2007, surveys and interviews with recreation staff and other community members.

Reach Jessica Johnson at 937-5921 or jjohnson@postandcourier.com.