Committee backs countywide parks tax option, directs staff to design transition and spend Lake Wylie district balance on access

A York County parks committee voted to recommend a countywide parks funding option and directed staff to design the transition approach and how to allocate capital or stipends, and it approved using the remaining Bethel Lake Wylie tax-district balance to open one property for public access.

The committee voted 2-1 to advance “Option 4” — a countywide revenue approach — with staff asked to evaluate how much of the revenue should be reserved for capital versus used to reimburse municipalities or provide registrant stipends. The committee also approved using the balance remaining in the Bethel Lake Wylie tax district to provide basic access to one of that district’s properties (Woodend), subject to financial restrictions on those funds.

Why it matters: the committee’s recommendation would change how about $1.6 million that the county currently allocates to municipalities for active recreation is handled, and it begins a multi-step process to implement the county’s parks master plan. Committee members debated whether York County should remain primarily a provider of passive recreation while municipalities run active recreation programs or whether the county should expand its own active-recreation operations.

Discussion and key details

Councilman Hockney framed the debate around two long-term choices: whether the county should focus on passive recreation and let cities run active programs, or invest to operate active facilities itself. He argued that keeping municipalities responsible for active…