What's the word on the park coming to Matthews Rd? The talk of it has kind of died. I still see some signs floating around but that's it. Thanks
The county commissioners decided not to vote on the park proposal due to lack of community support. As for the donated land adjacent to the community park land that was in question, I am not sure what is going on with that parcel. Nothing has been done with it thus far. Does anyone happen to know?
Lack of community support? Seems they were reaching out on the wrong platforms. People don't have time to show up to council meetings with work, family, school, etc compromising 16 hours of their day. What we need is an email based registry, where it can be mass sent out, and you simply reply to the email. Hell, even a mass mailing would work better with a website to reply to. But putting up signs and saying be at C3 church (or wherever) at 7 pm on Thursday the xxth and people WILL forget. People around here don't want any more houses, but they're not showing up en masse to say to council they don't want any more... Because in this day and age, everything moves faster, and you have to keep moving with it, or be left behind. I think the majority of people want the park, but don't have time to go to meetings in the evenings. Make it electronically delivered or able to be replied to, and you'll see a greater response, IMO.
So you're too busy to attend the meetings but you have time to go to a park if built. Bullcrap, come up with better excuses for your nonpartisipation or get involved and do something besides arm chair quarterback.
Umm excuse me? Did you mean Non Participation? And yeah I am too busy to attend a weekday evening meeting, I have a life and family and, oh TWO JOBS, plus starting my own business .... But yes I would have time to enjoy said park, once it's built ON THE WEEKENDS when I typically would go. But you forget about the amount of stay at home moms who could use the park during the day, or the seniors who could utilize it as well. Just because I can't attend the meetings for the park DOESN'T MEAN I DIDN'T CAST MY VOTE. I made calls to the planning development and other offices sharing my vote for the park to be built. So let's not be so quick to judge, okay Judgey McJudgerson.
I do. There were several meetings at different times and days and different locations. The ones working on this are volunteers also guys. I guess my point is this. Folks need to attend, volunteer , or put a little effort in finding out before complaining. Peace to both of you. I'm not looking an argument. Sorry if I came off too strong.
I went to all of the meetings at Cleveland High School and the problem isn’t the lack of “community support”. There was plenty of that, and the meetings were very passionate, vocal, and well-attended. The problem is the lack of a formal Johnston County Parks and Recreation Department which should be put up to a vote in the near future.
So basically it's still up in the air? I for one say yes to the park. The old Cleveland School fields are out dated & Cleveland could use a uplift. I was born and raised here. I remember when 42 & Cleveland school was a stop sign. I remember when 40 cam through. In other words I have seen a lot of growth in Cleveland some good & some bad. Mainly growth is in houses :/ But that comes with growth.
Yes, it’s still “up in the air” at least until a Parks and Recreation Department can be established for the county which would require a county-wide vote. And because growth has been concentrated here in Cleveland, you can imagine how that vote would go. But I’m convinced that eventually the people of Johnston county will do the right thing that’s good for their communities and the county. There have been countless studies done recently that show that the way to attract new businesses and jobs is to create an infrastructure where residents can enjoy community recreational amenities without having to drive for miles.
The proposed park is “dead in the water” at the current time, so you needn’t worry about any tax increases, although any increased taxes would have been nominal. It is likely that they will hold onto the land while the new subdivisions are being built around it, and the Parks and Recreation proposal is voted on and then implemented. Either way you slice it, Cleveland may be years away from having a community park that would serve to benefit all of its residents - not just the kids playing sports. It’s just a shame that folks, (especially those in Johnston county government), failed to read the population and growth projection statistics which have been available to the public for quite some time, and act accordingly with the future interests of the community in mind. A Parks and Recreation Department should have been created in Johnston county shortly after the phenomenal growth in Raleigh had occurred and is now radiating outward. Any urban planner worth their salt knows that when a city center DOUBLES its population in a short time, that growth puts extraordinary pressure on the surrounding communities as well, as we are now witnessing in Cleveland. It was a failure of leadership not to recognize this fact, and plan accordingly for the future recreational and community needs of Johnston county residents.
It's a shame that Johnston County doesn't require a certain amount of land to be set aside for Parks and Rec. each time that a new subdivision is authorized, such as 50 homes authorized, 5 acres of land allotted for Parks and Rec. usage. This would apply to more additions to the subdivision at a later date. For current subdivisions, the total area would be allocated for new homes in the subdivision.
A "park" of this size is in line with a single children's playground in total size. A multi-use park would have to be bigger just to include public parking for use outside of the neighborhood itself.
Yes, two kinds of parks are probably needed: Smaller children’s playgrounds to serve the needs of local neighborhoods that do not have private recreational amenities, AND a much larger community park that serves the recreational and public function needs for the entire community.
Commissioners voted to not allow the residents to vote, basically. They voted 'no' to a allow a referendum to even explore the possibility.
$40 per $100,000 in home value per year. So...a $200,000 home would have seen its taxes increase by $80 and this would only be assessed to those inside the fire district I beleive.
This is an issue that I expect won’t be going away anytime soon. Sooner or later, county officials will have to stop “kicking the can down the road” and address the situation. Of course, that could take years, and also county commissioners who have a genuine interest in the health, well-being, and quality of life of Johnston County residents, more than the interests of land developers.
