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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20070413APPROVED 5115!2007 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING April 13, 2007 (re-convened from April 10, 2007} 2:00 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners reconvened the April 10, 2007 Regular Meeting at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 13, 2007 at the Government Services Center in Hillsborough, N.C. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr., and Commissioners Barry Jacobs, Alice M. Gordon, and Mike Nelson COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Laura Blackmon, Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below} COMMUNITY SOCCER REPRESENTATIVES: Melissa Suarez, Cameron Tew, Deanna Venable, Patrick Sullivan, Robert Smith, Pete Sadin, Robert Smith, Mike Strand COUNTY STAFF: Recreation and Parks Director Lori Taft, Economic Development Director Dianne Reid, Environment and Resource Conservation Director Dave Stancil, and Budget Director Donna Coffey NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S Chair Carey explained that this is a continuation of the meeting from April 10, 2007 because there were more than two County Commissioners interested in attending for this item. He said that this meeting was designed for information sharing purposes and trying to help everyone understand the County's plans for soccer field development. There will be no decisions made by the Board at this meeting. Introductions were made. 1. County Wide Proposed Soccer Facilities Laura Blackman said that in February several soccer people came and spoke at a Board of County Commissioners meeting about some concerns, and this is a follow-up meeting. She went through a timeline with the history, beginning with the Soccer Symposium. Economic Development Director Dianne Reid said that in the fall of 1999, Rick Kennedy came to a Board of County Commissioners' meeting and raised the issue of the absence of soccer fields in Orange County. In the latter part of 1999, the County Commissioners appointed a task force to survey facilities in the County, number of people interested, etc. In April 2000, there was a symposium and 80 people attended. She said that the task force did a lot of research and discovered that there was one publicly available field at Efland Cheeks Park. The group came to a consensus on several recommendations, the chief among them being that there should be fields throughout the County and that they should not be concentrated in one geographic location. Also, the task force agreed that there should be multiple fields at each site and that all fields should be irrigated and lighted. She said that after the task force completed its work, it still continued to meet. Also, everyone agreed that if County funding was going to be involved, that scholarships would have to be available to County residents who could not afford the programming fees; and that the acquisition of land far soccer fields should be included in active recreation purchases. The recommendations of the soccer task force were adopted formally by the Board of County Commissioners. Budget Director Donna Coffey spoke about the recommendations and how the County would pay for implementation. She said that, based on the outcome of the Soccer Symposium, the 2001 bond program had $2 million identified as Soccer Superfund monies. She said that a lot of people have the perception that once all of the bond monies are approved by the voters that the very next day the money is in hand. This is not the case. All of the bonds are not issued atone time. All of the Soccer Superfund money has been issued now, and a portion of it is going to the West Ten Soccer Complex ($1.3 million}, and another portion {$650,000} is going to Twin Creeks. There will be additional debt of $2.4 million for soccer projects, specifically for West Ten. Patrick Sullivan said that Mike Strand and Pete Sadin were instrumental in getting the band passed by the voters. Mike Strand asked how much of the $2 million allocated had been spent and Donna Coffey said that there is $647,000 left of the $1.3 million allocated at West Ten. Recreation and Parks Director Lori Taft said that the Board of County Commissioners studied and developed guidelines for use of the $2 million that was appropriated, and any future potential Soccer Superfund bonds. The guidelines are subject to change if the BOCC so chooses. The funds are to be used for development of soccer fields and/or acquisition of land for development of soccer fields. She made reference to Attachment E, Section 3, which has criteria listed for priority funding. Patrick Sullivan made reference to the priorities and said that #6 is not met at West Ten, which is "Construct fields that have access to Public Transportation." Laura Blackmon said that this is in the process of being addressed -not specifically for the fields, but specifically far the northern part of the County. Dave Stancil said that part of what the County tried to do after the 2001 bond was to acquire sites that had been identified for a number of years for active recreation. He painted out the composite map of the parks and recreation plan for all of the County. He said that all of the parks that are being built (Twin Creeks, West Ten, Efland-Cheeks, Northern Park, and Southern Park} fit into the park master plan. He explained the background behind the Gravelly Hill Middle School and the West Ten Soccer Complex and the sharing of facilities, etc. Commissioner Nelson arrived at 2:32 PM. Dave Stancil said that with Twin Creeks the County joined forces with CHCCS to acquire the land, which is a 193-acre site and will be a co-located schools campus and park. The vision for the district park was to create economies of scale with co-location of fields. There are four full-size soccer fields an the master plan and other fields and associated amenities. He said that the County has been working with this site for 3-4 years. Laura Blackmon asked Dave Stancil to talk about access issues for Twin Creeks. Dave Stancil said that a couple of key things that are important now are that sewer lines are going to be extended to the school site, and there is a proposed development to the south that is pending approval in the Tawn of Carrboro. The County is working with developers of this subdivision to get the road into the park. Patrick Sullivan asked how much money would be saved if the developer pays for construction of the road and the schools pay for water and sewer and Dave Stancil said a significant amount. Deanne Venable asked when notification is expected of Carrboro's approval for the development to the south of Twin Creeks and Dave Stancil said that this has been in the process for about two years. It could be 2-6 months. Laura Blackman said that the road is just a part of the project, and the actual submittal from the County will take longer. Commissioner Gordon distributed the 2001 bond brochure. The next to the last page shows how much money is designated for parks in general, and the Soccer Superfund in particular ($2 million for soccer fields located across the county). Laura Blackman made reference to the chart in the packet that shows soccer and multi- purpose fields in Orange County. Lori Taft went through this document, which is shown below. Attachment B Public Recreation Soccer and Multi Purpose Fields in Orange County Field Manager Field Number Expected of Fields O enin Designated Primar Use Size Lights Orange County Efland-Cheeks Park 1 O en Multi 360 x 225 es Central Recreation Center* 1 O en Multi 80 x 45 no est Ten Soccer Center 5 2008 Soccer 360 x 225 es est Ten Soccer Center 1 2008 Soccer 240 x 120 es est Ten Soccer Center* 1 2008 Practice 120 x 120 es Northern Park 1 2009 Multi 330 x 200 es win Creeks 2 2011 Soccer 360 x 225 es win Creeks 2 ? Soccer 360 x 225 es Millhouse Rd. ro osed u to 6 ? Soccer 360 x 225 es Chapel Hill Scra s Elementa 1 O en Soccer 330 x 200 es Homestead Park 2 O en Soccer 300 x 150 es Meadowmont 1 O en Soccer 330 x 200 no Meadowmont 1 O en Soccer 240 x 140 no Southern Communi Park 3 2009 Soccer 340 x 230 es** Carrboro Smith Middle 1 O en Soccer 375 x 225 es Anderson Park 1 O en Multi 150 x 60 no Total Fields 24 Partrick Sullivan said that there should be an asterisk (*} on the Scroggs, Homestead, Anderson Park, and one of the Meadowmont fields because they are too small for ages 12 and up. Melissa Suarez asked about the proposals for West Ten and Twin Creeks and the development and Laura Blackmon said that the development is under Orange County's control and adjacent to the OCS site and the grading of the two sites was done at the same time. Twin Creeks is a more complicated project with Elementary School #10. It has been master planned and includes a lot of other things besides soccer fields, even though the soccer fields are in the first phase. There is still not an access road, and this has to go through Carrboro's process. Lori Taft then went through Attachment A, Soccer Field Development Schedule Comparison. She pointed out that the process with West Ten can go really fast because it is already pre-graded. Regarding West Ten, the bids will be advertised next week and the construction document could be considered by the Board in May. The fields could be done by August. The other amenities (walking track, restrooms, fencing, and lighting} would not be completed until 2008. The complex could be opened by the end of the summer in 2008. Cameron Tew asked about the percentage of time that fields will be available to be played on. Lori Taft said that any given field should be shut down during a period of time to be determined in the winter; for several weeks in the summer when it is off season for soccer; and ideally two days a week. She said that every field could be open on Saturdays and Sundays; four fields could be open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays; and three fields on Mondays and Fridays. With the lights, the fields could be open from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on weekends and after school until 10:00 p.m. on weekdays. She said that these are her initial thoughts and she is willing to work with everyone on fine-tuning this. Pete Sadin asked about artificial turf and Lori Taft said that it is expensive at $650,x00 extra per field. She would look at it as something down the road, and maybe with the public/private partnerships coming on they could look at this. Cameron Tew suggested reducing the number of fields and then turfing them. He said that the needs they have as an organization are that there are not enough fields open throughout the year to play soccer on. He said that turf is a way to avoid disrepair. Mike Strand said that it would appear that the intent of this meeting is to educate and get feedback, but it sounds like the decision has been made to push forward with West Ten with the money, and everything else is on hold. He said that the Southern Village project has been put on hold a couple of times. He said that he heard that the grant money for the lights was lost because the timetable was missed. Lori Taft said that she did not hear this. The grant was for the overall project, and she has not heard about it being lost. Mike Strand said that at the last few meetings, some people brought up that there should be flexibility for the Board to address some fields at West Ten and other fields at Southern Park. He said that in Chapel Hill the fields are not open half the year, and they were constructed poorly in the first place. He said that there is no help coming for the Chapel Hill and Carrboro area in the foreseeable future. He suggested turfing a couple of the fields at West Ten and giving up two fields far the cost. He said that it is great to get background information, but he was hoping that the Board would change the plan. Chair Carey said that the purpose of this meeting was informational and was not to revisit the County Commissioners' decision. Deanna Venable said that she was present to speak to the need of having places to play soccer in the northern part of Orange County because it seems like everything so far is concentrated in the southern part. She said that she does not play soccer, but she has two small children and she has to drive to Chapel Hill twice on Saturdays for both of her children to play soccer. She said that it sounds like the West Ten Soccer Complex is going forward because it can. Regarding Twin Creeks, there are many things standing in the way, and it is further out because of approval processes. Regarding Southern Park, she said that there are problems there and it could not go any faster because there are things in the way. Mike Strand asked about the programs in northern Orange County and Deanna Venable said that there are no programs far her locally with her younger children (ages 3-5). She said that it would be nice to have something more local. Commissioner Gordon said that the soccer community came to speak to the Board in February and asked if the decision had already been made. She said that, from her point of view, she thought that the County Commissioners were going to discuss the projects and what should proceed. Also, she said that the $2.267 million has not been budgeted yet. She thinks that there are at least three votes to go ahead and approve it, but it has not been officially approved yet. The final step of saying that the West Ten Soccer Complex will definitely be funded at $2.267 million has not been approved. She said that she is surprised that West Ten already is going out to bid. Regarding directing financing to other places, she said that this could happen. She said that the two fields are not at issue at West Ten, but the phase two portion (to build the complex) is the issue. She does not think that the final decision has actually been made about this. She said that there is a recreational component and an economic component to this complex. Commissioner Jacobs said that there were three sub-groups that met originally. One was to try and do a better job of coordinating the soccer organizations in Orange County. Another part was to try and come up with ways to be more inclusive and not just include soccer leagues. The third part was the economic development component, and this is part of haw the soccer complex was placed in the EDD. He said that the Soccer Superfund idea was to give an extra jolt to soccer. He said that he and Commissioner Gordan were involved in Southern Park and there have been many permutations of what they can afford. The neighbors had some concerns about access, and there was time spent looking at redesigning different phases of the park to accommodate that. He said that he and Chair Carey met with the Chair and the Manager from Chatham County and talked about a possible contribution from Chatham County to Southern Park because people from Chatham County would probably come and use it. Also, the County is going to try and get Chapel Hill to contribute more since it is in Chapel Hill's jurisdiction. Commissioner Jacobs said that the Board did, in October 2006 vote 4-1 to "ask staff to come back with information on funding the entire project at West Ten Soccer Complex in a reasonable timeframe, with additional information on how it would fit into the debt capacity and borrowing capacity." On April 10t", there was a document with the current status, which said that, "the consultant hopes to have bid documents far the final field development package ready in April-May timeframe." Commissioner Jacobs said that in the middle of this the Nutters offered a soccer field and they learned a lot of lessons. One of the lessons was to never build one soccer field by itself because it is way too expensive. He said that the County kept trying to get money from the soccer community to boost this and no one came forward. He said that it is a breakthrough to get Sports Endeavors to partner with the County. He said that he is not opposed to doing an all-weather surface. He challenged the soccer community to pick where they want a turf field and help the County come up with the difference in the money. He said that he would be glad to partner with the soccer community. Melissa Suarez said that she works for Sports Endeavors and she could talk with them about opportunities in Chapel Hill. She said that even though there are no Latina representatives for the Chapel HiIIlCarrboro area, there are groups out there that want to be involved from both ends of the County. Chair Carey left at 3:25 PM. Cameron Tew made reference to the economic development with West Ten as a tournament complex, and said that he would still leave the area to eat, stay, etc. He said that Orange County would not get as much money from this unless other development is done such as hotels and restaurants. He asked about the core mission for building soccer fields in the County. Patrick Sullivan made reference to item 9-b, page 3, which shows that there is $650,000 for building and furnishings, $150,000 for goals, etc., and $150,000 for start-up equipment. He said that this is $950,000 that most of the soccer community would say is not necessary. He said that $950,000 could build two artificial turf fields. He said that most fields have port-a-johns and no bleachers. He said that bleachers, buildings, and scoreboards are not necessary. He said that they really need playable surfaces. Laura Blackmon said that the County would be required to put in restrooms. There would also have to be a facility to house the equipment for maintaining the field. She agreed about the goals, bleachers, and benches, but these were going to be put under the naming rights to have donated at the time that they were needed. Lori Taft made reference to changing the program and said that the County has had discussions with Sports Endeavors about this program of six fields. She is not sure if the interest would stand if there were a reduced number of fields. There has also been notification of a U. S. Soccer Foundation grant, which was with the program of six fields. She thinks that some of the funding would be in jeopardy with reducing the number of fields. Mike Strand made reference to the Smith Municipal field and said that it has already been discussed as a joint project to turf this. He asked if this was a jurisdictional issue. Lori Taft said that there is a four-way partnership with the Smith fields because the property is owned by another entity and leased to the school district. She thinks that it is something that could be discussed. She said that field 1-A is supposed to be used by the community, but it is under the jurisdiction of the school district. Patrick Sullivan said that one artificial turf field would translate to between 6-10 natural grass fields with regards to percentage of play. He said that the initial investment is high, but long-term it would be saving money. Commissioner Gordon made reference to the maintenance of West Ten and asked if the County could work with the school system and share the equipment. She does not understand why this could not be shared. Lori Taft said that they have tried working with the schools and it is difficult. They have tried to use school gyms, and there are a lot of obstacles. Commissioner Nelson suggested contracting with the school system to do the mowing. Lori Taft said that when the County builds a park or complex, she wants it to be the best it can be and she does not want to rely on someone else that the County Commissioners do not have any authority over to follow up. She said that she has looked at outside contracting for fields, but it does not pay off because it is expensive. Mike Strand said that no one is against adding soccer fields anywhere, but some of them are hesitant to see all of the fields built at West Ten, when just a little reallocation could be done to Southern Park. He said that they are looking at an equitable balance. Lori Taft said that the objective is to put fields in the ground for practices and games in the immediate future. Mike Strand said that they would like some of the money to be reallocated, build 2-3 fields at West Ten, and take the rest of the money and bring Southern Park online with three fields. Commissioner Nelson asked about the problem in doing this and Lori Taft said that it would take away from the program and she is not sure how it would affect the potential sponsorship. She said that she knows that it is very important to the County Commissioners to see Southern Park completed. She said that the County Commissioners are working with the Manager right now to make sure that all three of these fields are built. Ghair Carey returned at 3:47 PM. Patrick Sullivan said that he would like to walk away with some sort of commitment from the County Commissioners that they would find a way to help the southern part of the County with a demonstrable need to work towards something. He wants to be able to go back to the people that he gat to vote far the bond and tell them that there is help an the way. Commissioner Jacobs said that he hears the concerns, and the idea of trying something centrally located with multiple partners makes it easier to happen. He asked the soccer community to think about partnering with the County and to make a commitment of resources with the Board to make it happen. He said that the County Commissioners want to serve all of the residents of Orange County and they do not want to play one area against the other. Chair Carey said that the County Commissioners are committed, especially if there are partners and a reasonable consensus. He said that he likes the idea of trying to do something at Smith, especially if there can be partners offering additional resources. Randee-Haven O'Donnell said that she has understood from the soccer community that they are very interested in the potential of the four fields at Twin Creeks rather than three at Southern Park. She asked for an update on Twin Creeks. Commissioner Gordon said that the focus has been on getting the most playable surfaces as soon as possible. She said that she has not heard any commitment of the County Commissioners of dollars towards Twin Creeks ar Southern Park. She said that the only thing that has been said is "we will try." Deanne Venable asked about Southern Park going forward and if the problem is a money problem and Commissioner Gordon said yes. Commissioner Jacobs said that there have been discussions with Chapel Hill about getting more money and Chapel Hill has not responded back yet. Robert Smith asked about the names of the soccer groups who are in favor of the West Ten project and Lori Taft said Orange County Recreation and Parks, athletic directors and coaches in the northern Orange County area, and Mebane. Melissa Suarez said that she has some figures for the Mebane area. She gave the figures, and indicated there were many more players in the southern part of the county than in the Mebane and Efland area. A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Gordan to adjourn the meeting at 4:04 p.m. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Moses Carey, Jr., Chair Donna S. Baker Clerk to the Board