Harnett County staff seek 30-year school-use leases to qualify for state parks grant

County staff on Monday asked the Harnett County Board of Commissioners to add to an approval agenda a request to renew long-term use agreements with Harnett County Schools for park athletic facilities and to authorize application for state grant funding.

Carl Davis, a county parks representative, told commissioners the county has had use agreements with the schools for Neals Creek Park and other school-adjacent athletic sites for decades and is seeking a new 30-year lease so the county can qualify for a Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grant (PARTF). He said the PARTF application requires at least a 25-year lease; county staff prefer a 30-year lease to provide a buffer if the grant application must be resubmitted in a subsequent year.

The county intends to pair a requested PARTF award (approximately $500,000) with a separate Land and Water Conservation Fund grant to cover an estimated $1.7 million total project. Davis said the project scope described to the board includes a picnic shelter, playground, new access from Highway 210, parking and other infrastructure, plus roadway improvements. He told the board there would be no lease fees paid to the county, and that the schools would retain priority for using the fields during school hours.

Commissioners questioned the project cost and funding; one commissioner said $1.75 million is a “lot of money” but supported pursuing grant funding to reduce county share. County staff confirmed the project is in the county capital improvement program (CIP) and that the county’s match would be substantially less than the total grant amounts requested.

The chair instructed staff to add the lease-renewal and grant-authorization items to the board approval agenda for a future meeting.

The request at the meeting was to add the item to a future approval agenda; no final grant award or lease was approved during the session.