Residents, Council View Revised Park Design

Irmo's new town park still has some residents concerned about safety and privacy, despite a revised design of the park.

At a special-called meeting and workshop Thursday night, residents asked council for a bigger buffer between the park and their homes.

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The 14-acre park will be located on Eastview Drive and will reach as far as Doncaster Drive.

Morgan Grimball of Grimball-Cotterill & Associates presented a revised design of the park at Thursday's meeting. The new plan moved some of the structures, such as picnic shelters and a parking lot, farther away from the residential areas near the park. 

Angela Peeples and her husband, who live near the future park, have been following the town's plans for the park.

"This is much better," Peeples said after Thursday's presentation. "But we were originally told there would be a 100-foot buffer in the first meeting. That's what we all had in mind." 

Residents have expressed concern that the new park, which will be the home of the Okra Strut Festival, will bring trespassers to their property and leave their back yards in plain view of park visitors.

"Security and privacy — those are the main concerns," Peeples said, "because it is in a very secluded area." 

While the restrooms and picnic shelters won't be near the residential area, a walking trail winds near the 30-foot buffer of trees between the park and the neighborhood. 

However, Grimball said that in some areas on the current design, the buffer is 50 or 80 feet wide. 

Mike Robinson, who also lives near the park site, said he's worried that the park will invite crime.

"Our police force isn't big enough to patrol this," Robinson said. "It needs a park ranger, but I don't want to pay for a park ranger."

Mayor Hardy King said council does have to consider how the town will pay for maintenance of the park. 

Grimball did not have an updated cost of the park for council Thursday. The design presented to council in August could have cost up to $2 million. Council has set aside $1 million for the park. 

Grimball did say the new park design would be less than $2 million but more than $500,000. 

Council will vote on any changes to the design at their next meeting on Sept. 18.

Home for the Okra Strut

King said the town would like to have the park open for next year's Okra Strut. If bids for the construction are back by the end of January, the park could be ready for the festival. 

The park would provide parking for the Okra Strut, with a 30-space paved parking lot and a grassy area in the middle of the park that could hold 100 to 130 cars.

"We do need parking for the Okra Strut," King said. "That's one of the problems we've always had."

Council and the design firm are even considering connecting the park to the parking lot at Union Church with a boardwalk or trail to provide additional parking for big events. 

The park features an amphitheater with seating for 400 plus people, two play grounds and an asphalt pedestrian trail. 

For the Okra Strut, vendors would most likely set up along the edges of the walking trail, Grimball said. A portion of the grassy area in the middle would be used for the amusement rides, and the rest would be used as parking. 

Some residents said they're concerned about how loud the music will be for people who live in the surrounding neighborhood. 

But Robinson said the noise and the lights are something that he can get used to. 

"I just want it to look good before it's in our back yard," he said. "If it's pretty and safe then that's fine."