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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRC meeting notes 050119 Orange County Parks and Recreation Council Meeting Summary Date: May 1, 2019 Place: Little River Park PRESENT: Tori Williams Reid; Haywood Rhodes;; John Greeson; Tim Tippin; Gina Reyman; Robert Robinson; Michael Zelek; Bob Smith; Tim Braddy; Rachel Cotter ABSENT: STAFF: Lynn Hecht; David Stancil; Mike DiFabio I. Call to Order: The meeting was convened at 6:00pm. Roll was called. II. Additions or Changes to Agenda, Meeting Summary: March 8 notes were reviewed. Michael Zelek and Bob Smith were present. III. Report of the Chair: a. Membership/Vacancies: Cedar Grove and Chapel Hill Township have vacancies. Jennifer Moore's application was considered for Cedar Grove position even though she is from Hillsborough. She is African-American and could provide diversity on the board. If the board doesn't recommend her, the BOCC could. Reyman made a motion to recommend Moore, Greeson 2nd the motion and all voted in favor. The board will wait to fill the Chapel Hill Township position as it just came open today. b. Review of April 4 BOCC Session. Stancil and Rhodes spoke about the PRC Work Plan and the one for this year and where we are with it. The BOCC also spoke of the vacancy on the board (Cedar Grove). Commissioners spoke of the need for an Inclusive playground and a Senior"Playground." This inspired some conversation amongst the group about these types of facilities. Cotter noted that she could recommend many ideas and plans for both the Inclusive and Senior Playground. c. Other Comments-none. IV. New Business a. Update on Little River Park (Mike DiFabio, Little River Park Manager) DiFabio has been at LRP for almost 15 years, and spoke of all the various reasons people come to park. One can camp, run, hike, bike, and enjoy a playground and more. The park draws not only Orange and Durham Counties but also people from further away. DiFabio described the park as being in a transitional phase. Age shows in some aspects such as the aged wood of the shelter. The department is currently in the beginning phase of a new master park plan for future development of the park. There is a survey out to help with this process. Many staff, volunteers and community organizations help keep the park thriving. The Triangle Off-Road Cyclists (TORC) is a great supporter and advocate of the park. The Trailheads organization is also a big supporter. They conduct a yearly road race and have had 14 races over the years. Proceeds go to the park, with $10,000 generated from the last one. Programming is free at the park. The local scout groups have been great advocates and volunteers. Many Eagle Scout projects are here in the park. Morehead Planetarium comes out with telescopes to do a star gazing several times a year. The trails are in good shape. b. Review and Discussion of the April 23 Joint Boards Meeting - Rhodes spoke on this. The groups split up into various interest areas. A question the PRC board has had in the past is, now what? He said, maybe follow-up with the Intergovernmental Parks group could be a start. There will be minutes available at a later time from this meeting. Stancil spoke of the multi-modal trail as another topic that was discussed. Some momentum has transpired from this already. Cotter recommended that a product manager could take this project to help center the focus. V. Old Business a. Manager Recommended Capital Investment Plan. Stancil gave all the list of parks and open space projects and where we are with each. VI. Report of the Director a. Updates on Other Projects, Facilities & Programs. Blackwood Farm Park Phase II. Disc Golf planning meeting coming up. New parking area and nature center are in discussion. Earth Evening and Movie in The Park were cancelled due to heavy rain and winds. Fishing Rodeo is May 11. There is discussion of building a larger performance shell at River Park. VI I. Council and Committee Reports a. Intergovernmental Parks Work Group. (April 10) Robinson attended. About 10 attended out of 30. There's a circus at Homestead Park coming soon. He will email all his notes. A tour of the SportsPlex field house was given as the meeting was there. Pickle ball is popular with all entities. b. Items from the Council—none. c. Friends of Orange County Parks and Recreation (FOPR). Robinson wants the group to look at bylaws to see how officers are appointed within the group. VIII. Meeting adjourned at 7:58 PM. The next meeting will be June 5, 2019, 6:30pm at the EAC Conference Room, 306 Revere Road, Hillsborough.