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Hiwassee Dam – Cherokee County is ramping up for the first phase of a project to expand Hiwassee Dam Park, plugging a gap that left the western part of the county without a public recreation facility.
The board of commissioners in April approved the first phase of the project, the full cost of which is estimated at $4.2 million on buildout.
McGill Associates, a regional developer with offices in Asheville, Knoxville and Sevierville, Tenn., is being paid an estimated $185,696 to manage the project as well as $24,380 to develop the master plan.
McGill will assist the county with preparing a Parks & Recreation Trust Fund grant application. The county will be requesting the maximum PARTF grant award of $500,000. The county will also apply for any other available grant funds to help offset the local cost.
The park is off of N.C. 294 on a county-owned 38.4-acre parcel neighboring Hiwassee Dam School and the Hiwassee Dam Community Center, and surrounding the Hiwassee Dam Volunteer Fire Department.
Phase 1 includes a paved parking lot and improved access road, almost 1,900 feet of 10-foot-wide asphalt sidewalk, a concrete sidewalk, 3,490 feet of 8-foot-wide natural surface trail, a bridge crossing, picnic shelter, playground and outdoor furnishings. Earthwork is expected to cost $350,000, with the full Phase 1 cost put at $2.1 million.
Phase 2 is off in the future and has not been funded, but includes a paved roundabout, softball field, walking trail and fitness stations, basketball court renovations, renovation and conversion of tennis courts to pickleball courts, an observation deck, and educational signage, as well as stormwater and erosion control measures.
Phase 2 would cost an estimated $1.15 million.
“Parks are an integral piece of any community,” according to the master plan. “They provide people with high quality-of-life standards that include health and wellness benefits, the opportunity for leisure, and the ability to connect with other people and the surrounding natural environment.”
Thompson Branch runs along the eastern edge of the park parallel to N.C. 294. This stream limits development in this section of the park, but it does add to the aesthetic appeal of the park as well, according to the report.
“The site also has places with steep topography which can serve as a limiting factor. However, like the stream it can also provide character and opportunity,” it said.
Residents with more disposable income are in a stronger position to be able
to seek out private recreation opportunities, according to the master plan. In communities with higher poverty rates, the levels of disposable income are generally lower and, therefore, public recreation opportunities are even more important.
“The county should be applauded for addressing residential needs for all
facets of the population, of which this park will be a key effort in serving this need,” the master plan said.
The site was filled and graded during a previous highway project and contains a baseball field, dugouts and batting cage, but there is room for expansion. At around 38 acres, it would be classified as a medium-size community park by National Recreation & Park Association standards.
A community input meeting was held at the Senior Center and Hiwassee Dam School on Feb. 22. About 129 people participated.
At the core of the final site master plan are opportunities to expand recreation, enhance community social gatherings, and support health and wellness within a park that Cherokee County and its residents can enjoy. To succeed in providing these goals various amenities are proposed.
Amenities proposed to promote health and wellness include a softball field to meet the increasing demands of the community and nearly 2 miles of a trail network that includes paved walkways, wide natural surface paths, and a nature trail. Fitness stations along portions of the paved walkways will provide another way that visitors can meet their needs. It is also proposed that the existing basketball court be renovated, and the existing tennis courts be renovated and repurposed to provide pickleball courts.