Bond Approved for Pine Trace Purchase

County council has set its sights on developing a regional park off Miles Jamison Road in Summerville.

Council unanimously approved a $1.35 million bond, which will be used to purchase the more than 300-acre property known as Pine Trace. The third and final reading came after a public hearing where no one spoke.

Currently, the council is also working towards developing its parks and recreation commission to help develop the county's park system in loose accordance with its parks and recreation master plan, which is attached to this story.

The plan calls for the development of local parks first, over regional parks, Councilman David Chinnis told Patch. However, the property at Pine Trace became available and the county wanted to take advantage of the opportunity, he said.

"Did we jump ahead? Absolutely," Chinnis said during a telephone interview Wednesday.

The park would reside in Chinnis' district, and he hopes it'll become a place where his future grandchildren can play — with amenities such as picnic shelters that can help it become self-sustaining.

There is no set plan for the tract, but Chinnis said 25 acres will likely go to Dorchester County School District Two, and the county may sell additional acres for commercial and over-55 housing to help fund development of the site.

During Monday's regular meeting of council in St. George, Chinnis publicly stated that he wanted the funding of the bond to come from cable franchise fees, which fund parks and recreation in the county. However, because the bond is not a revenue bond, an exact funding source is not specifically allocated, he said. 

After an executive session Monday, council also voted 5-0, with Chinnis and Councilman George Bailey abstaining, to define the property lines through an agent. According to Chinnis, he abstained because he wanted to bid out the project, even though legally this type of project does not need to be bid upon.

Monday's meeting also discussed appointments to the parks and recreation commission, which is currently seeking applicants.

According to council discussion, there are plenty of applicants from District 4, which represents the Summerville area. However, there are only two applicants from District 1, which includes St. George. 
No appointments have been made to that commission.