With Final Dollars in Place, Cleveland Park Can Move Forward

County Commissioners on Oct. 6 gave the Parks and Open Space Department the final dollars needed to begin phase one of a regional park in the Cleveland community.

Already, the parks program had amassed most of the project’s $4.35 million cost, landing hefty state-federal grants and allocating dollars developers pay when they choose not to build recreational opportunities in their subdivisions.

Commissioners agreed to take the remaining $850,000 from general reserves to complete funding for what will be the County’s first park.

“In a county that is 279 years old, doing something for the first time is exciting,” Commissioners Chairman R.S. “Butch” Lawter Jr. said later in the week. “Moving forward with the funding of phase one of Johnston County’s first park is just that — exciting.”

When completed by October 2026, phase one will offer Johnstonians four pickleball courts, two outdoor basketball courts, a picnic shelter and a stocked fishing pond with ADA compliant pier. The $4.35 million will also pay for underground utilities, site preparations, sidewalks and parking.

Although the $850,000 will come from county reserves, Johnston County’s Open Space Fund will repay the money over the next 10 years. The fund is made up of that per-lot fee developers pay when they opt not to leave recreational space in new subdivisions.

In the case of the $850,000, the repayment will come specifically from fees paid by developments in the Cleveland community.

Commissioners endorsed that payback plan.

“For people from other parts of the county who might be worried about their tax money going to pay for a Cleveland park, that is not the case,” Commissioner Mike Rose noted during the board’s morning meeting on Oct. 6.

Added Commissioner Bill Stovall, “As long as we’re getting reimbursed here, I’m comfortable this is a good expenditure of money,” he said. “We’re letting the development pay for it.”

The County initially spent some tax dollars to purchase and design the park. However, grant dollars reimbursed the County for part of the purchase and design price. Those reimbursements will also be part of phase one construction.

Lawter, in a message later in the meeting, noted that ultimately few property tax dollars would go to the park, and he praised what it would bring to the County.

“This park will add to the quality of life for the residents of western Johnston County and for others all across Johnston County,” Lawter said. “The fact that it was funded mostly by development fees and grants is exceptional.”

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Page last updated on:  October 28, 2025