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GREENVILLEJOURNAL GREENVILLEJOURNAL.COM • Friday, February 28, 2014 • Vol.16, No.9
With funds coming in for the new county recreation department, cities in Greenville County are wondering how big their shares will be APRIL A. MORRIS | STAFF | amorris@communityjournals.com
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PHOTO BY GREG BACKNER / STAFF
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The tax notices have gone out and funds for Greenville County’s new Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department have started coming in. What’s left to be decided, however, is how the millage formerly collected by the dissolved Greenville County Recreation District will be divided among the county’s recreation facilities and the six municipalities. Before the recreation district was dissolved in 2013, municipal representatives expressed concern about additional taxes levied within their borders and whether city recreation programs were going to benefit from the additional funds. The district became a county department, and to help allay fears and gather information, county officials enlisted the help of Clemson University’s department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management to conduct a study of county and city recreational needs. By request, cities submitted their “current plans and needs for recreation facilities, service improvements and enhancements, capital needs and deferred maintenance needs.” The submissions ranged from a large community center in Greenville’s Wade Hampton area and facility improvements in Greer to a splash pad at Mauldin’s City Center Park and expansions at Heritage Park in Simpsonville. Last week, County Council received the study as information, and county officials are making the rounds this week to meet with municipalities about the report. The study outlines the amenities and needs of each city, and proposes a per capita distribution of the additional funds generated by the new millage.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 (LEFT) Marquarious McIntyre
leads friends on a ride on the Greenville Health System Swamp Rabbit Trail. Connectivity to the trail has been identified as a priority need for the county’s recreation department.
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