Karen Kistler

karen.kistler@salisburypost.com 

 

Some upgrades, several additions and events are being planned for Rowan County parks and community center.

Nick Aceves, who was named the director of the Rowan County Parks and Recreation Department taking on that role Dec. 9, 2024, mentioned two new things coming to Dan Nicholas Park, which should be ready for this year.

One, he said, is a very large ADA (Americans Disabilities Act) accessible playground that would replace several of the structures currently at the park. 

Aceves said that they hope it will be built by the beginning of May, adding that information would be provided as to when the old playground structures would be removed.

“It’s going to be very impressive. It’s going to be exciting,”

Aceves said.

The playground, which is located near the miniature golf area, would be a larger structure with more amenities and new swings and other items, which will be “more accessible to persons of all abilities,” he said, with a poured-in rubber-type ground instead of the mulch.

A second new feature that visitors can see this year will be at the nature center and Rowan Wild as Aceves said it will have the red wolf exhibit open to the public this year with three new wolves. 

Additional plans, which he said would not be ready this season but anticipates them for the next season, are updates to bathrooms at the county parks and the bathhouses at the campground at Dan Nicholas Park.

“We have just started the design process to upgrade most of our park bathrooms starting with the bathhouses at the campground to make them fully ADA accessible,” said Aceves.

Therefore, the bathrooms will be updated and new as they will demolish the current facilities and build new ones.

Aceves said that the county “had an ADA transition plan completed in 2021-22 and are committed to going through that plan and making corrections where the recommendations are made for that plan.”

These recommendations include updating and correcting some of the bathrooms, getting two bathhouses and a multi-staff bathroom at the shelter area at Dan Nicholas Park.

While they don’t have a start date to build as of yet, they have met with a designer and will move from there to the parks over the next year and a half and begin the process of rebuilding or renovating, depending on the needs at the various parks.

One of the county parks, Eagle Point Preserve, does not have bathrooms, only port-a-johns, he said. Because these are hiking trails on the lake, they would not install plumbing or anything in this area; therefore, this park would not change but they would remain ADA accessible port-a-jonns. 

In addition to reviewing the bathrooms, Aceves said that they would be adding a larger new shelter at Woodleaf Park, which opened this past spring. He said that the park has been established for almost a year, which he said is exciting.

He said that Don Bringle, who was the previous park director, “worked on that project and was able to get that completed prior to retiring. It’s a nice little park in Woodleaf,” adding that it is ready for the season.

Another upgrade that is being considered is the train at Dan Nicholas Park, which is currently down and will not be open this season for attendees to ride, “but we are looking at upgrading the train,” Aceves said.

New pickleball and tennis courts were added last year at Dan Nicholas Park, and in a previous article about the Senior Games, Jeremy Bates, co-coordinator of the Senior Games and Silver Arts, said that Ellis Park has two new pickleball courts.

“We’ve got plans to look at other amenities at some of the parks,” Aceves said, “but nothing is finalized yet.”

There are six parks in the Rowan County park system, he said, including Dan Nicholas Park, 6800 Bringle Ferry Road, Salisbury; Dunn’s Mountain Park, 1740 Dunn Mountain Road, Salisbury; Eagle Point Nature Preserve, 665 Black Road, Salisbury; Sloan Park, 550 Sloan Road, Mt. Ulla; and Woodleaf Park, 9215 Gym St., Woodleaf.

Another location that is now under the Parks and Recreation Department is the Rowan Community Center, the former Salisbury Mall, said Aceves. In the center, is a new event center, which he said is nice.

The event center, which is located off of Jake Alexander Boulevard, has space available that the community can rent for a wide variety of occasions including conferences, wedding showers or receptions or for whatever, Aceves said.

“It’s a nice, beautiful space. It looks really good,” he said.