Upper West SC News

City of Newberry issued the following announcement on November 24.

More renovations are planned for Wise Street Park in the City of Newberry thanks to a recently awarded federal grant. Parks Recreation and Tourism Director Scott Sawyer said the city recently received a highly anticipated Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant totaling $175,000.

With the help of the grant and a match from the city, the community can expect to see renovations to the park’s existing ball field, basketball courts and parking areas, as well as a replacement of a modular playground unit. Sawyer said the park will also have ADA accessible connectivity.

Another new addition to the park will include a community garden as part of a project led by the Newberry County Leadership group of 2019 through the Newberry County Chamber of Commerce. Jana Boice, member of the leadership group, said they were excited to get started and to help in any way to make the garden a success.

“The benefits of a community-based gardening project extend beyond just the availability of fresh food,” Boice said. “This will allow community members to work together and learn from each other. This is an important project that will benefit and strengthen our community.”

Wise Street Park, located at 2420 Holloway Street in Newberry, was originally developed utilizing Land and Water Conservation Funds in 1970. With the park turning 50 years old in 2020, Sawyer said the city submitted a Letter of Intent (LOI) to the South Carolina Parks, Recreation and Tourism (SCPRT) Department in December 2019 indicating the intent to apply to another LWCF grant for renovations to the park.

The grant was submitted in March 2020 with community support from the Friends of Wise Street Park, the Newberry County Literacy Council and the Newberry County Disability and Special Needs Board.

Sawyer said after the application had been submitted, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant slowing of the application review process. However, during this time, phases one and two of the park’s renovation process were completed.

Phase one of renovations included the construction of a new bathroom for the park, completed with help from funding from an SCPRT Parks and Recreation Development (PARD) grant. This phase, Sawyer said was completed in Fall 2020.

Completed this summer, phase two included the construction of a quarter mile asphalt walking trail. Sawyer said the city was awarded a Recreational Trails Program (RTP) Federal grant to assist with the funding of the trail and trail amenities to include park benches and signage.

“The trail was a requested amenity to the park from neighborhood residents,” he said.

The city partnered with Newberry County First Steps to provide a StoryWalk to the completed trail. The StoryWalk allows for taking the pages of a book apart, placing them at designated locations along the trail so as visitors are walking along, they’re reading a story.

“We developed a park improvement plan in 2010,” Sawyer said. “In the meantime, we have done minor improvements to the park through the years, but it will be exciting for the park to finally have its “big” renovation.”

City Councilman Carlton Kinard said citizens of the Wise Street area had gathered at the park for many years for family gatherings, games of pickup basketball and neighborhood baseball and softball tournaments.

“Citizens will now be able to witness and appreciate the much needed renovation projects that will come forth from the LWCF grant to Wise Street Park,” he said.

Kinard thanked city staff for their work on completing the grant and asked that citizens be patient as the construction took place at the park.

Sawyer said along the way, the city had worked with community members who had been helpful in the planning process and that they looked forward to having them cut the ribbon at the completion of this third phase, which is anticipated to begin in winter 2021.

City Manager Matt DeWitt said it was the city’s hope that the next 50 years at Wise Street Park would produce as many fond memories as the last 50 for the community.

“We feel these renovations will help make that a reality,” he said.

Original source can be found here.