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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 02-08-2005-2aORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: February 8, 2005 Action Agenda Item No. 2-a SUBJECT: Recreation and Parks Strategic Plan - Progress Report DEPARTMENT: Recreation and Parks PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) Na ATTACHMENT(S): (All Under Separate Cover) A. Strategic Plan Working Draft B. Summary of the Work of the Committee (Included in front pocket of Working Draft Notebook) INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Halkiotis, ext. 2130 Barry Jacobs, ext. 2130 Lori Taft. ext. 2660 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To provide the Board with an update on the work of the Recreation and Parks Strategic Plan Committee and receive feedback and direction the Board might wish to provide, as work proceeds toward completing the Plan this spring. In addition, the Board will have the opportunity to consider approving the proposed permanent full time Parks Conservation Technician 11 position for which funds were escrowed pending this report on the Department's Strategic Planning work. BACKGROUND: During the fiscal year 2004-2005 budget deliberations, the Board of County Commissioners expressed an interest in looking at a comprehensive picture of the outlook or plan addressing the Department's expected growth in responsibilities and expectations. The proposed plan will be a document which will match the goals of the Board for parks with the resources and ability of the Recreation and Parks Department to run them. This study should assist in clarifying the need for personnel, equipment and additional operating funds for each park and associated programs as they come on line. A Committee was formed consisting of Commissioners Jacobs and Halkiotis, Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Members Lorraine Parker and Tony Britt, County Manager John Link, Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey and Recreation and Parks Department staff. The Board requested a fifteen-year strategic plan outlining proposed Departmental management and operational needs. This plan was begun in the summer of 2004, with the first full committee meeting held in the fall of 2004. The plan identifies each of the current Recreation and Park facilities and describes the status of the divisions and personnel tasked with their management. The Committee used the 1988 Parks Master Plan as a logical reference paint for studying park facilities. While the 1988 Parks Master Plan will be undergoing a review and update by Dave Stancil at ERCD as part of the proposed Natural and Cultural System Element within the 2 Orange County Comprehensive Plan, components of the Recreation and Parks Strategic Plan document, i.e., the citizen survey, will likely be incorporated as features. Staff believes that the two processes should dovetail nicely given the continuum of responsibilities between ERCD and Recreation and Parks. Facilities planned and funded for development, or "On the Horizon", such as Twin Creeks (Phase One), are those requiring immediate attention in planning for their operational needs. Those planned conceptually on land owned and designated by the County for parks or preserves, but not yet funded for development, present more difficulties in accurate financial planning, as so many uncertainties exist in the components to be included in the project. Projected requirements for some of these sites are based on expectations of what might be included in the final design, and not on decisions already made or direction established by the Board. Foremost among the themes of discussion in drafting the Strategic Plan has been the overall cost associated with the projected needs outlined. Work is presently underway to study opportunities for the contracting of services. In some areas of operation, a contractual arrangement may prove to be both practical and cost effective, while in other areas, little savings may be realized or the idea might not be otherwise practical. A future draft of the plan will attempt to present details of such proposed arrangements for the Committee's consideration. Another theme of discussion centered on the concept of "fixed" versus "mobile" crews. A map showing Orange County Parkland and the type of crew and equipment proposed for each site was developed and reviewed by the Committee. This map is included in the draft plan as Appendix J. The full list of comments and questions of the Committee have been summarized, along with responses and information added to the plan or in progress. These meeting summaries are included inside the front cover of the draft plan notebook (Attachment B). The full Committee has met to discuss the plan on two occasions: December 2, 2004 and January 11, 2005. At the January 11 meeting, it was agreed that the draft Strategic Plan (Attachment A) was at a stage where it could be presented to the full Board of County Commissioners for consideration and to receive further direction before continuing to develop the plan. The draft plan, while not complete, does identify the need for at least the one position given current operational expectations. Members of the Committee agreed that it would be reasonable for the Board to consider this position request at this time, as it is one of the first steps outlined in the plan. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The proposed Strategic Plan is a "working" document or "draft" at this stage. It is an effort to forecast the resources that staff believes would be needed to operate and maintain new park facilities from year to year as they come on line. It is not intended to reflect a commitment or obligation by the Board to a certain resource level. Staff is aware that implementation of any plan would proceed within the timelines and parameters of future funding decisions made by the Board. The Board did elect to reserve funding in this fiscal year for the addition of a Parks Conservation Technical II to perform routine maintenance, conservation, and operational functions for parks facilities such as athletic fields, ball courts, picnic shelters, play structures, natural areas, and 3 trails. The value and utility of this new staff position is addressed further within the draft Strategic Plan. Based on a proposed start date of March 1, 2005, $15,829 would be needed from the reserve to fund the position for the remainder of the fiscal year. RECOMMENDATION (S): The Manager recommends that the Board 1. Accept the progress report on the Recreation and Parks Strategic Plan; and 2. Approve the Parks Conservation Technician II, authorizing the release of funds from the budgeted reserve to fund the position for the remainder of the fiscal year.