By Danelle Cutting
For the Salisbury Post

I often remark that Hurley Park is an exceptional park in the way that we have a unique relationship between the City of Salisbury and the Hurley Park Foundation. We work within the constraints of the city but also receive assistance from the foundation every year, especially during times of need. Although we have a split relationship, we still follow the same rules as the rest of the departments and parks within the city. One recent incident helped shed light on why we need to remind the public about our relationship and I thought this article may help enlighten our readers.

Hurley Park has many majestic trees, some are even specimen varieties and cultivars that have been donated or selected for their beauty, shade, and pollinators to name a few reasons. We also have beautiful gazebos, delicate flower beds and shrubs, enchanting wooden bridges, and magnificent and somewhat historic rock/stone structures that dot our landscape. So when we had a rather large pine tree begin to uproot, due to the excessive rain we have had over the last few weeks, we had major concerns for our park attendees, staff and volunteers, plantings and structures. Sadly, this pine tree was not in the most opportune place to be removed. It is situated behind a stone wall and practically in one of our prized garden beds. It also precariously leaned over one of our walking paths and was in part of the park that is obstructed by the creek. What a double whammy.

Unfortunately, Hurley Park does not have the equipment to take such a massive tree down since we do not do this type of work on a daily basis. Due to the tree being in a tight spot, this made it difficult for large equipment that other departments owned to enter the area and remove the tree. So, we had to turn to an outside company for help. The process to select an outside company takes time and even in a higher need situation like this we cannot rush the system. We knew the cost was going to be higher and had to collect a few quotes. With being part of the city, we still have the same rules for purchasing, record keeping and liability. We also had to make sure we could justify our purchases to finance, boards and the public, while also adhering to our budget.

The reason I’m sharing this is to help educate how this system currently works. We appreciate everyone’s understanding and patience while we get this taken care of.

As always we hope you will come visit Hurley Park soon. We encourage you to use caution when walking and being around the blocked off area. If you have any questions about the park or what is going on, please give us a call at 704-638-4459, or contact us on Facebook or Instagram @HurleyParkNC. If you would like to donate to Hurley Park, visit our website at salisburync.gov/hurleypark.

Danelle Cutting is the manager of Hurley Park.