General Manager

sfoster@pickenssentinel.com

EASLEY - Residents of the Quail Haven subdivision do not want a county park in their neighborhood.

That's the message they voiced loud and clear at Monday night's County Planning Commission meeting.

County officials previously used local, state and federal funds to purchase several homes in a flood-prone area of the subdivision and tear them down.

Chris Brink, who heads up county planning, presented a request on behalf of the administration for a land use permit on 1.5 acres where three of those homes once stood.

The county wants to put a 3/4 mile walking trail, benches and possibly a picnic table, he said.

But according to one resident, 99 percent of those who live there don't want a public park.

Dennis Reinerht said he and his wife went door to door, and only two people did not sign a petition against the county's plans.

He and others told members of the Planning Commission the neighborhood already had too many crime problems, and they feared a public park would only make it worse.

Mary Couch, who has lived there 17 years, said her home has been broken into three times.

"We don't want to invite more drug addicts," she said.

Couch also said there would be a problem with lighting, mosquitoes, and maintenance.

She and the others who spoke against the park also said they had concerns about additional traffic and speed.

Brink said if the park is built, it will be funded with a $10,000 Duke Energy grant and be maintained with county funds.