Why growing Wake County town will ask voters for another parks and rec bond this fall

Kristen Stiltner’s family has participated in Fuquay-Varina’s parks and recreation programs for over 10 years.

The real estate agent’s sons, ages 14 and 7, have played flag football and other sports and celebrated birthdays in the community centers in Fuquay-Varina and in Angier, in neighboring Harnett County.

Normally, a trip to the Fleming Loop Park in Fuquay-Varina takes about 10 minutes, but after the town moved flag football to the Banks Road Fields last season, the drive to the other side of town can take a half hour.

“Obviously, with the influx of people coming into this area, it’s certainly gotten a lot more crowded,” Stiltner said. “So that made it more difficult when you’re used to something quite literally for 10 years or more. There’s so many kids.”

Fuquay-Varina’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department serves over 10,000 children in southern Wake County. Over the last four years, it’s seen a nearly 50% increase in participation in adult and youth parks programs, forcing it to cap registration and limit games and practice times.

Now, two years after the town’s last parks and recreation bond, Fuquay-Varina leaders hope to alleviate the strain with a $60 million bond this fall to improve and add to its 17 parks, two tennis facilities and community center.

What would the bond pay for?

A 70-acre park with baseball, softball and soccer fields, shelters and restrooms is one of the new projects the bond would fund.

If approved by voters on Nov. 7, the bond would also enhance Hilltop Needmore Town Park & Preserve on Shady Green Drive. The park has five miles of trails for biking and walking. The bond would add two fields, pickleball courts, resurfacing of the trails, and more parking.

Other projects include

• A sports complex for basketball, volleyball, pickleball and other indoor sports

• More greenways

• Renovations to the Fuquay-Varina Community Center on South Main Street

If the bond fails, Assistant Town Manager Mark Matthews, said the future park, indoor sports complex, additional greenways, and the first phase of improvements at Hilltop Needmore could be deferred.

“We’ve advanced this bond referendum because the town board has been very responsive to the needs of the community,” Matthews said. “But it’s also based on our participation trends in our youth and adult sports. It’s a big positive sign for having a healthy and active community.”

Trails and greenways were one of the top priorities for Fuquay-Varina residents, according to a 2022 survey. A senior center and more information about programs were also important.

Why another parks and rec bond now?

Andy Shell, a father and former girl’s softball coach for Fuquay-Varina’s parks and recreation department, said over the years, it was clear more space would help overcrowding and allow for more practice times.

“The more programs you can offer, the more things that you can do, the better it is and you can definitely affect a lot of different people,” Shell said.

In 2021, voters in Fuquay-Varina approved an $18.5 million Parks and Recreation Bond for the construction of Community Center North at Hilltop Needmore Park.

The 77,000-square-foot center will include an adult center, fitness areas, kitchen, gyms and an indoor track and should be completed by 2025.

“All our residents, young and old and somewhere in between, need the facilities to be able to participate in,” Matthews said.

Stephen Kish, 80, is an active pickleball player at Fuquay-Varina’s community center. The facility has five indoor courts for the game to accommodate up to 20 people at a time. Sometimes, the games will bring more than 60 people out to play.

“It’s probably the largest activity played by the seniors in town,” Kish said. “We have, generally, over 50 people every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the community center. With 62 people, you can wait more than a half hour just to get a game in.”

Kish said seniors in Fuquay-Varina have been advocating for more programs and space for them. Community Center North will also provide a computer lab that older adults can use.

“As a senior, the community center is sort of the lifeblood for me to stay active,” Kish said. “Aside from events that are promulgated through the community center and Parks and Recreation, there is not much for seniors to do.”

Jonathan Cox, the director of the town’s Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources Department, said people from all over western and southern Wake County participate in Fuquay-Varina’s parks programs.

To accommodate overcrowding at facilities, registrations for classes or sports are first opened to residents of Fuquay-Varina. Then, non-residents are able to register. Most of the programs are 60% residents and about 40% non-resident participants.

“We want to make sure all residents in Fuquay-Varina have a recreation outlet in close proximity to their home as the footprint of Fuquay-Varina continues to grow and that we’re adding additional facilities throughout the town,” Cox said.

Would the new bond raise property taxes?

Yes. If approved, residents would see a property-tax increase of 8 cents per $100 of assessed property value.

The impact on the median family home in Fuquay-Varina, which was $280,106 in 2022, would be $224 per year or $19 per month.

The bond would be repaid with interest over seven years.

Questions?

Town staff plan to visit community groups to share information about the bond referendum ahead of the election.

To arrange a speaker, contact Susan Weis, the town’s communications director, at 919-552-1417 or sweis@fuquay-varina.org.