Community celebrates grand opening of Lake City lake

LAKE CITY, S.C. (AP) - Florence County Councilman Jason Springs said anyone who grew up in Lake City has been ridiculed over the years.

“Lake City has made tremendous strides over the past few years and already has a lot to be proud of,” Springs said. “But there has always been one thing missing, one thing that we didn’t have here in Lake City.”

He said the Lake City has been known as “the city that has no lake.” But that is no longer the case. A team of people has worked diligently to provide Lake City residents with a new park and lake that they can be proud of.

Lake City and Florence County officials, along with representatives of the Drs. Bruce & Lee Foundation, cut a ribbon April 21 signifying the grand opening of the Lake City lake. The lake is at what is now called Lake City Park on North Church Street. The space was once a landfill, swamp and public works site.

The 8-acre lake is surrounded by a board walk and is open for people to swim, fish, kayak and canoe. A gazebo and benches are also in the park for people to use.

“This is what we’ve all envisioned from the get-go; a way that we can all come together as a community and have somewhere to fellowship, to relax and to exercise,” Springs said.

At the grand opening, hundreds of people gathered in and around the gazebo at the lake to hear from the people who helped make the park possible including Drs. Bruce & Lee Foundation representatives Haigh Porter and C. Edward Floyd.

Porter said he is real proud of Lake City for its new park. He said that without the perseverance, patience, enthusiasm and vision of Florence County Administrator K.G. Rusty Smith Jr. and administrative services director Suzanne S. King, the facility wouldn’t be what it is today.

“They have taken the ball and made this a reality,” said Porter, a Florence attorney.

Springs said a team was assembled seven years ago to design and build the Lake City Park. Some speed bumps were hit along the way, but the project was completed. Springs said Smith and King worked diligently, and constantly stayed on the project throughout the process.

“He (Smith) said we’ve turned a pig sty into a blue sky,” Springs said. “And I don’t think we could’ve come up with a better slogan for this park.”

Springs said the new park has been made possible mostly by grants from the Drs. Bruce & Lee Foundation in addition to grants from the DNR, private benefactors and other entities.

“This has been a cooperative effort of federal, state and your local governments,” Springs told the crowd at the ceremony. “This is proof that when we work together, anything can be accomplished.”

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Information from: Morning News, http://www.scnow.com