NEWLAND — Addressing nearly 50 residents, Charles Jordan said it has taken a long time to make a new $2 million community park a reality.
“And it’s finally going to happen,” said Jordan, who is chairman of the Pasquotank Board of Commissioners.
Jordan was speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday at the future site of Newland Park. The county is building the park on a 51-acre site off U.S. Highway 158 at the former location of Morgan’s Corner Pulling Park, which closed in December 2017.
Jordan said it was good to see many of the Newland community residents who supported the county’s efforts to build a park in Pasquotank’s northern end.
Commissioner Sean Lavin, who represents the Northern Outside district on the Board of Commissioners, also spoke at Thursday’s groundbreaking.
“It has been a long time coming and I’ve been looking at the faces in the crowd and I’m extremely proud to stand among you guys today and celebrate this,” Lavin said. “It has just been so much hard work. I’m excited for what’s to come for this park and Newland residents.”
Lavin echoed Jordan’s earlier comments by thanking residents for their support over the last four years.
Also in attendance was Sean Clark, director of Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Parks and Recreation, whose staff will maintain the park when it opens sometime next summer.
The county will soon toss the keys to the park to Clark, who will have “another premier recreational facility for this county,” Lavin said.
The commissioner was referring to other popular county recreation venues like Fun Junktion and the South Park Sports Complex, in addition to the joint county-city senior center.
“And now Newland Park will be the next jewel in our vision for the county’s residents,” Lavin said.
Commissioner Lloyd Griffin, who represents the county’s Northern Inside district, also spoke at Thursday’s ceremony, noting the park project faced a “little bit of resistance” in its early stages. Finding property for the park also was a challenge, he said.
“I want to thank (Pasquotank Manager) Sparty (Hammett) because Sparty looked at seven or eight pieces of land up here that seemed suitable,” Griffin said.
Prior to commissioners picking up their shovels to perform the ceremonial “turning of the sod,” Jordan introduced Lisa Winslow, who along with husband Ed sold the 51 acres to the county for the park site.
Winslow said she and her husband had received several purchase offers from developers but they never felt that new development was a “good fit for the community.” After the couple met with Hammett and other county officials, they agreed that selling their land to use as a community park would be perfect, Winslow said.
Two Newland residents, Montrose Hinton and Nora Mae Sanborn, joined officials for the sod-turning ceremony. Sanborn said she got emotional while using her shovel to scoop up a pile of dirt.
Clark plans to hire three new fulltime parks and recreation staff next year just ahead of the park’s opening to maintain the facility, he said. In addition to the county’s public parks, Clark’s staff also is responsible for the upkeep of three cemeteries: Hollywood, New Hollywood and Old Oak Grove.
Fun Junktion, which offers residents fishing, a walking trail, a large playground and a pavilion, is the county’s largest park and receives a lot of visitors throughout the summer, Clark said. Residents like to rent the pavilion for family events and other activities, he said. Clark estimates that Newland Park will be just as busy because of its northern location, as opposed to Fun Junktion, which is south of Elizabeth City.
The county agreed to purchase the 51 acres for the park at a cost $614,000, or about $12,000 an acre, in January 2021. To help cover some costs of the land and related park expenses, Pasquotank received a total of $964,000 in two state Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grants and a N.C. Land and Water Conservation Fund grant.
Plans for the park were resisted by some residents who voiced their concerns at a public hearing held in March 2021. Concerns ranged from the park would create traffic problems along U.S. 158 to it could attract “riff-raff,” as one resident put it.
In June, the commissioners awarded a contract for the first phase of park construction to C&W Grading and Excavating Inc., which submitted the lowest bid of $2.03 million.
C&W was among three companies to submit bids, which were opened June 11, for the park construction project. The other two companies submitting bids were A.R. Chesson Construction Company Inc., $2.14 million, and Whitehurst Sand Company, $2.19 million, according to county documents.
The $614,000 the county paid for the land is not included in the cost to complete the project’s first phase, which involves site clearing, grading, erosion control and storm drainage, sewer and septic services and other requirements.
Three acres at the site have been reserved for a future public safety substation for emergency medical services and the Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office.
Last October, the county agreed to spend $400,000 to buy three prefabricated buildings that will be part of the planned park. The buildings will include restroom facilities and two covered pavilions. The materials for the project have been delivered to the site. Other aspects of phase one of the project include construction of a playground, an activities lawn, walking paths and a basketball court.
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