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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRC minutes 060414 Meeting Notes FROM: Parks and Recreation Council (PRC) SUBJECT: Monthly Meeting DATE: June 4, 2014 LOCATION: Environment and Agricultural Center – Conference Room ____________________________________________________________________________ MEMBERS PRESENT: Neal Bench, Betty McDade Khan, James Carter, Eric Roeder, Allan Green, Rob Robinson, Tori Williams Reid MEMBERS ABSENT: Joel Bulkley, Erin Dillard, Denise Dickinson STAFF PRESENT: Rich Shaw, Lynn Hecht, David Stancil ____________________________________________________________________________ I. Call to Order / Welcome New Member The meeting was called to order at 6:30 pm. Round-table introductions followed. Notes from the April and May meetings were acknowledged by the group. II. Additions or Changes to Agenda: Green requested that a new agenda item be added. He wanted to talk about offering an orienteering course at Little River Park (LRP.) Bench agreed and asked him to proceed with his idea. Green spoke of laying out a course in the meadow at LRP. He set up the compass directions and distances between two points, or “bricks.” He then sent out a group of kids to try it out and they seemed to really enjoy the task. He left the information with a LRP employee, maybe Mike DiFabio. Stancil said this may be an area that can be included in the Master Park Plan existing park updates. He would like to talk with staff at LRP to get their feedback. Bench asked if there were any recommendations. Kahn offered that she had orienteering experience in college, enjoyed it very much and wanted to offer the recommendation. Roeder seconded the motion adding that it sounded like fun. All voted and were in favor of the idea. III. Report of the Chairs (Bench) a. Applications / Vacant Positions: We currently have two vacancies: Efland Cheeks Township and an At Large position. In addition is Dikenson’s position, which is Hillsborough Township. BOCC recommended Bulkey, Green and Bench for reappointment. Robb English’s letter of recommendation from PRC somehow got lost in courier, however, Price brought up his name at the BOCC meeting after seeing his application. Much discussion took place amongst the BOCC board members about English and, in general, applications to boards. McKee was concer ned that English had served two recent terms. He suggested looking for new applicants with fresh ideas. The BOCC voted to table his application until the next meeting. Meanwhile, we sent a copy of his recommendation letter via email attachment to Thom Freeman, who assured us that it will be on the next BOCC agenda on June 17th. IV. New Business a. Annual update from Rich Shaw, Land Conservation Manager. Bench prefaced the report by saying that the Chapel Hill Planning Board thought very highly of Rich related to work on the rural buffer. Shaw spoke of land banked areas that we are looking at getting up and running. These two areas are: Hollow Rock and Seven Mile Creek Nature Preserve. He made the following points:  SW of Hillsborough off Dimmocks Mill Road, adjacent to the historic Moorefield’s property is the Seven Mile Creek Nature Preserve.  We have a little over 300 acreas of land that the county acquired in the 70s with the intent to build a reservoir, but then decided to create a Preserve.  The land was originally part of the 1200 acres that had originally been part of the Moorefield’s estate.  Moorfields is an historic site built in 1785 by Alfred Moore. He was a NC Supreme Court Justice. Barry Jacobs happens to be the caretaker of this property.  Friends of Moorefields own the property.  We are building a trail with the trailhead being off the road that leads to Moorefields.  In the last six months we have built and enhanced an existing trail, a 1.37 mile loop trail. It goes through some nice habitats, by the creek and includes some nice views.  We have had boyscouts build three kiosks and some benches near the beginning of the trail. We have a long relationship with the boyscouts who have been allowed to camp there over the years. Camping would be group camping and would accommodate the MTS trail hikers who pass through it.  We hope to establish a parking area by the end of 2014.  We are hoping to open this area by the end of 2014.  Green asked that we provide spickets, porta-johns and a picnic table at all our camping areas.  SE of Orange County, along the Durham County Line, off Erwin and Pickett Roads is the Hollow Rock Access Area.  New Hope Creek runs through it and Duke Forest is close by. Southeast is Jordan Lake.  Acquiring and developing this area has been a cooperative effort between Durham County, City of Durham, City of Chapel Hill and Orange County.  The area involves about 75 acreas.  To get it started, we received a $200,000 grant from the NC Trails Program in late 2013. Durham and Orange Counties each matched this with $25,000.  Phase one of this project will open in the very near future. There will be an entrance off Erwin Road. There are four pedestrian bridges that cross streams. The entities are working on a construction, development and management agreement for this area so that it can open by 2016.  The area has lots of history and will have many interpretive signs. It has pre- and post-European settlements. The Patterson Mill was near this crossroads. There have been archeological surveys done to determine the Native American presence here. V. Old Business a. Review of the June 3 Public Hearing comments on the Master Park Plan. It is online and can be viewed. Some of the comments were as follows:  Price would like us to take a look at community centers and what they are doing with them and what they could be doing. More on that later.  Dorosin wants the staff to develop a Strategic Action Plan. Stancil is delighted to provide this.  The 2016 Bond Referendum is being looked at as it related to Parks and Recreation.  Mill House Park and access from Rodgers Road and the Northeast Park in the Schley Community both need Master Park Plans.  There is a green tract in North Chapel Hill that was to be a land fill, and now is not. Jacobs asked if it could now be developed as an open space with joint planning from Chapel Hill?  Price asked about Twin Creeks Park and if we could move up the progress on it.  The BOCC appreciates all the work of the PRC and DEAPR staff in the development of the plan.  Various County Boards will be looking at the plan to include the Board of Health; Economic Development Commission; and the Commission for the Environment. Bench asked if it would be useful for the Chapel Hill and Carrboro Advisory Boards to look at it. Stancil said they could, but their opinions would not be official. Stancil added that we could also include the Town of Hillsborough and Mebane. Roeder said he was pleased with the positive response from the BOCC. VI. Report of the Director (Stancil) a. Everything in the CIP is on schedule and should get funding. There are a few new items. Last year, Fairview Watch Community came up with funding so that there could be sports equipment and staff available to hand out the equipment and supervise play. There was $2000 leftover. They requested the BOCC to match this $2000 so they could have this program again this summer. The BOCC granted this funding. The other issue is that the parking lot there is too small for most group functions. There is a plan to go north of the park through the Public Works area to build a parking area with a path leading to the park. Another thought was to free up some spaces at the Police Substation parking lot. b. Folks in the Efland Community Center are demanding that the Efland Community Center be opened more often. Much conversation ensued about how this could occur. There is also the hopes of building a center in the old Cedar Grove School. Both could be eventually managed by a Recreation Coordinator between the two. There is also discussion from the Rodgers Road Community to have help establishing a Rodgers Road Community Center with the help of Orange County. VII. Committee Reports a. Intergovernmental Parks Work Group: no report. b. Friends of P&R: Green stated that he and Dickerson were jointly responsible for reporting back on this group. Although nothing has happened lately, he wants to insure the board that he will remain responsive to what happens with them. VIII. Adjournment Next Meeting- 8/6/2014 (Env/Ag Center Conference Room). Please note that we are enjoying the summer during the month of July.