My home in Cheraw, SC, faces a residential park, a place that honors Cheraw’s Jimmy Duffy. It also has a much used and needed baseball field. Imagine our shock when we learned of a proposal to replace this green serenity with twelve pickleball courts!

This park isn’t merely a front lawn view; it's a place where people come to enjoy the green space in the middle of our Historic District and where children play . The thought of it being replaced by pickleball courts is disheartening.  We respect the sport, but placing such a development right in the middle of our residential area is neither considerate nor necessary.  We have several other areas in town that can support this project.

It will impact those in the surrounding historic neighborhood with objectionable loud noise, lighting and parking issues. 

Furthermore, this project isn't financially responsible. With the costs associated with converting our beautiful green space into twelve pickleball courts, there is a significant financial burden that will be shouldered by us, the local taxpayers. During these economically challenging times, is it right to prioritize such a project over the numerous other needs our community has?

The original budget for this project was 1.4 million. The lowest bid came in at 2.4 million with  a possibility of another million added to the final cost.  The lowest bid is 57 % over the original budget. The source for the additional monies was discussed at the town council meeting on 8/27/24.

$ 500,000 will come from a grant associated with Pickle Ball. This is 22% of the total budget for the project. 

$1,150,000 is coming from the American Rescue Plan Act.  Cheraw got a one time grant of $2,760,000 for the Town of Cheraw. 41.6% will be used for Caston Park. This money can be used for ANY project in Cheraw. 

$400,000 will come from the taxpayer general fund. Another $ 400,000 will come from hospitality taxpayer dollars. 

As stated in the lowest bid there could be an additional million dollars added to the final cost. This was not discussed or considered. 

It is unreasonable to use 41.6% of the American Plan Act dollars for a project such as this. The APA dollars could be used for a number of other needs. 

Let's preserve our community park. Let our voices be heard. Let's affirm that Cheraw deserves a comprehensive approach to urban development that respects both the people's need for public green spaces and prudent financial spending.

Please sign this petition and join the fight to keep Cheraw beautiful and financially responsible.