THOMSON, Ga. () – Parents in McDuffie County want county leaders to improve a long-standing park. 

Nearly 400 parents have now signed a petition, calling on the parks department to upgrade facilities at Sweetwater Park. 

Parents have taken their kids to Sweetwater Park to play baseball and softball for years.

But over time facilities have aged—and while some improvements have recently been made, parents signing the petition say more work needs to be done. 

One of those parents is Jason Cranford, who has a young daughter playing softball at the complex.

“We did tee-ball out here for a couple of years, and then we left the county because of the conditions out here weren’t what we were looking for,” said Cranford.

They moved to nearby Wrens, Georgia, but returned because Thomson, as Cranford says, is the family’s home.

“It’s our community. We want to support our community, we want to be involved, but we want the facilities and everything to be right for that to happen,” Cranford said.

Last April, county leaders held a grand reopening of Sweetwater, after using more than 2-million-dollars for new lights and a new tower with a concession stand and restrooms.

But in recent months, parents like Cranford say there are still more improvements needed.

“Even though we had scheduled practices, we did not have access to those restrooms during those practices. We were forced to go into the port-a-potty out here. There’s some other baseball fields and tee-ball fields that don’t even have running water,” said Cranford.

County leaders say the tower is closed on practice days due to concerns over vandalism.

But Cranford says that’s not the only concern from parents. 

“The transitions between the dirt and the grass are pretty large. When you have heavy hitters hit the ball, it goes into the outfield—it pops up, and it can hit players in the face,” Cranford added.

Parents are hoping an organization called Diamond Youth Sports can be a viable solution to what they call “an ongoing problem” for years.

“We try to provide the best for our kids that we can in the community, and when you see conditions like this, it’s hard to bring them out here and let them play,” said Cranford. “One of the reasons is safety concerns, and also—who wants to go to a port-a-potty all the time?”

Parks and Rec Director Trevor Welcher and Community Development Director Jason Smith say they are looking at Diamond Youth Sports as a solution, along with other options.

“They’re more than welcome to come to the commission meeting and ask the questions, but we are working on it. We are accepting bids for that complex right now, so the county is working on it,” said Welcher.

“That’ll be a decision that is up to the commissioners, and they’ve been clear that they want a solution here. In governments you don’t want to say you expect something soon, but I think we are working toward a solution,” Smith said.

For parents, the bottom line is to use this petition to get nothing but the best for their children.

“We want to have a choice in who is controlling the facilities, and who’s making up the rules for the conditions—because the conditions are not really favorable for playing sports out here,” said Cranford. “I want this to be about the kids, and providing a proper facility for the kids to play in.”

“We want to be very thorough in the way that we look at things. We want to look at all the options, all the costs—because we understand that these are taxpayer dollars,” said Smith. “So, we want to make sure that the decisions we make are the best use of those dollars, and that the programs are the best fit for our community. I don’t think it’ll be an overnight solution, but it will be something that the commission will take a very hard look at.”

County leaders will meet again on Wednesday, May 7th at 10 AM at the Thomson-McDuffie County Government building.

They’ll also meet on Tuesday, May 20th, at 6:30 PM.

They say they are planning to address these concerns and find the best solution.