Public to get say in Ashley River park

The parks commission has tentatively set March 9 for a public walk-through and ideas session for the Ashley River park site.
Dorchester County agreed last year to use $1.35 million from the $5 million parks and recreation bond to buy more than 80 acres along the Ashley River and Bacons Bridge Road.
Since then, parks commission members and residents of nearby neighborhoods have batted around ideas for what should be included on the site, which already has infrastructure such as roadbeds, bridges and docks, and water, sewer and electricity because it was to have been a residential development.
Councilman Jay Byars, also the chairman of the parks commission, said he wants to get started on this park because it could be ready for public use sooner than Pine Trace or the St. George courthouse site.
The Ashley River site is primarily envisioned as a passive park, while the other two would have athletic fields and large parking lots.
Dumping and illegal use of the site have been problems since the county acquired the site, prompting staff to install cameras and assign an employee to regularly check on the property.