By Danelle Cutting
For the Salisbury Post

There are a lot of changes and unique things coming to Hurley Park this year. We have already started receiving some questions about a few and thought we could give everyone an update and a hint of what is to come:

Question: I saw you had a rezoning meeting, what is this about? 

Answer: We had a few parcels that have been part of the park for many years but for some reason or another they were left zoned as residential. The rest of the park is protected under Open Space Preserve (OSP) and we wanted to unify all of the parcels and make them all zoned OSP. Many people contacted us about this situation and after learning we were asking to be part of the more restrictive zoning OSP they were relieved that we were heading in the right direction. We have also been contacted about our future plans to build an office at Hurley Park. That is still in the works as all of the details have not been completed. We will make an announcement to the public. Once things become more solidified regarding the office.

Question: What are you doing to help reduce trash and cigarette butts near the hospital side of the park?

Answer: We understand your frustration and have been working diligently on trying to alleviate the debris on that portion of the park. For years, we have been working on a plan to encourage people to pick up after themselves or use the three trashcans we have available at that location. We even have no parking Fridays so that the street sweepers are able to clean that area. Our newest feature is a cigarette butt recycling bin and we are planning to install some signs to encourage people to use that instead of throwing their cigarette butts on the ground or in the road. As always, we appreciate everyone’s help in keeping the park clean and using the proper receptacles to keep trash out of the park.

Question: What do you have planted out front this year?

Answer: We actually have quite a bit this year. We have some dwarf sunflowers, marigolds, basil, ornamental grass, poppies and much more. Once things start to take off, I will go into more detail about everything that is planted and what we like the most.

Question: You have a lot of small dead trees, are you going to replace any?

Answer: Glad you asked! We are actually getting ready to start replacing quite a few trees as well as plants that did not survive the winter for one reason or another. Once they have been installed we will do a couple of articles on all of the new items we have in the park.

Thanks for all of the questions this week and we look forward to anymore you may have. If you have any additional questions about the park, how to book events, 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 manager of Hurley Park.