Opening of Central Pender Park delayed due to utility issue, completion date not known

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The completion of a new park in Pender County continues to be delayed due to unexpected changes in the utilities at the park.

Located off Highway 117, Central Pender Park was originally scheduled to open on January 23rd.

Construction of the park was about 85 percent complete, according to county project manager Nick West.

During a presentation given to the county’s Board of Commissioners last month, West explained that they found the soil in the area to be unsuitable for a septic system, which had been the original plan.

The project engineer then began work on installing a sewer line instead at no extra cost to the project.

But Commissioner Jimmy Tate questioned why this soil issue hadn’t been discovered before construction began.

“There’s a lot of issue with that soil on that property,” Tate said. “Was there any type of due diligence period that the county conducted tested on the site to ensure that this site was a good site in order to build a park on for the long term? I’m concerned about the flooded and drainage issues and already we’re seeing a lot of issues out there and the site’s not even open yet.”

West told commissioners they have been working with the county’s legal team to review the contract and keep a similar issue from happening again.

A spokesperson for the county told WWAY that a completion date for the park has still not been determined and that work is being done on a design for sewer connectivity.