SNOW HILL – Development of a sports field complex in the north end of the county highlights the priorities identified in the proposed Worcester County Land Preservation Parks and Recreation Plan.
Recreation and parks and environmental programs officials presented the draft plan to the Worcester County Planning Commission last week. Priority projects identified in the category of recreation and parks included acquiring land for a field complex, developing Greys Creek Nature Park and improving the Bishopville Waterfront Park.
Parks Superintendent Bill Rodriguez said citizen surveys identified more multipurpose fields as a need for Worcester County.
“We do need some additional field space up north,” Rodriguez said.
The Worcester County Land Preservation Parks and Recreation Plan outlines local recreation and parks facilities as well as the progress of the county’s land preservation programs. The county is required to prepare the plan every five years in order to be eligible for Program Open Space funding.
The top need identified in the 2017 plan is to “increase programming opportunities and meet local demand through the acquisition and development of additional field space in northern Worcester County.” Rodriguez said 188 citizens participated in a survey measuring use of county facilities. In the section of the survey in which respondents were asked to write in specific recommendations, 31 percent commented on the need for more playing fields. There were also comments requesting more trails and more parking at county facilities.
Rodriguez said the Northern Worcester Athletic Complex was heavily used but didn’t have space for the four additional fields the county needed. According to a proximity analysis included in the plan, 10 percent of the county’s 51,444 residents lived in an area not well served by playing fields, areas where a “gap in service” existed. Rodriguez said that in the northern section of the county, there was one acre of multipurpose fields for every 4,800 people. In contrast, the central portion of the county offered an acre of field per 1,500 people while the southern portion offered an acre of field per 1,800 people. The northern section of the county also lacks in baseball fields, with just one field per 2,900 people, Rodriguez said.
He said the northern part of the county already had the largest population and was expected to continue to grow. The plan describes the county’s focus on land acquisition there.
“It is estimated that up to 20 acres will be necessary for the development of additional field space and corresponding infrastructure,” it reads. “Any newly acquired land would serve to accommodate four additional multipurpose fields. Existing space at Northern Worcester Athletic Complex will be evaluated for the creation of two additional baseball fields.”
The proposed plan lists the county’s priority projects and projected costs. Land acquisition for new sports fields is set at $1 million while development of Greys Creek Nature Park is set at $500,000. The cost improvements to the Bishopville Waterfront Park are estimated at $125,000 while improvements at John Walter Smith Park are set at $25,000.
The section of the plan devoted to land conservation outlines the county’s recent preservation efforts. Planner Katherine Munson said roughly a third of the county’s land base was protected. She said that as it had for years, Worcester County would continue to work to meet conservation targets ad preserve agricultural land through programs such as the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Fund.
“Because of limited funding we have not been able to meet our acreage goals,” she said. “We certainly have interested landowners in the county who want to participate in these programs.”
She said officials expected funding for preservation programs to increase as the state’s economy continued to improve.
Following the planning commission’s vote to provide the Worcester County Preservation Parks and Recreation Plan with a favorable recommendation, it will continue to be reviewed by staff before being presented to the county commissioners for adoption.
