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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRC Meeting Summary 05042022 Meeting Summary—Parks and Recreation Council May 4,2022 Bonnie B. Davis Environment and Agricultural Center-Hillsborough,NC Members Present: Gina Reyman(Chair),Mikki Fleming(Vice-Chair),Natalie Ziemba,Xilong Zhao (via Zoom), Tim Tippin(via Zoom), Greg Hughes, Chris Colvin(via Zoom),Robert"Bob" Smith Members Absent: Jessie Birckhead,Rebecca"Becca"Truluck Staff: David Stancil,Beth Young,Kalani Allen,Lee Barnes Chair Gina Reyman called the meeting to order at 6:38pm. Reyman noted that the meeting was to be held at Efland Cheeks Parks,but due to potential bad weather it was moved to the Bonnie B. Davis Environment and Agricultural Center. Review of Meeting Summary/Additions to Agenda: a. No changes or additions to meeting summary. The Council accepted the meeting summary from the April 6 meeting. Report of the Chair: a. Update on Recruitment Efforts/Vacancies—Reyman provided an overview of the two outstanding vacancies for Chapel Hill and Town of Hillsborough. Reyman explained that a recommendation for the Town of Hillsborough was sent forward to the BOCC. David Stancil talked on the subject of recruitment and noted that members were provided copies of recruitment fliers to take home. Kalani Allen reiterated that other translations such as Spanish,Mandarin and Burmese would come at a later time. Stancil addressed the current recommendation sent forward to the BOCC and the two-step process for recommendations to be reviewed and approved. He said that if the recommendation sent forward is reviewed in May and approved,he hoped to have the new member at the June 2022 meeting. b. Other-None New Business: a. Recreation Division Update(Lee Barnes,Recreation Manager)- Stancil introduced the speaker for the evening,Lee Barnes,Recreation Manager for Orange County Recreation Division. Lee Barnes gave an overview of her report and highlighted the five areas of service of the recreation division: General Recreation&Child Care Programming,Athletics, Specials Events,Facilities and Concessions. Barnes gave status of number of children enrolled in 2022 Summer Camp with close to 1,500 enrolled as of May 4, and Preschool Academy with 16 students. She provided an explanation of the summer camp enrichment programs and the self- selection options of camp activities. Greg Hughes asked if the division were looking to grow the preschool academy. Barnes answered that hours and days for program may expand but not the number of students. She reported on the impact of post-Covid losing access to use school facilities for athletic sports and having the use of only the Central Recreation Center gym. She reviewed the two special events held in 2021 and 2022,the Halloween"Spooktacular"and Egg Hunt. Furthermore, she highlighted the number of attendees of these special events,ranging from 349 to 383. She explained the benefits of the location change for the special events from River Park to the Central Rec outdoor ballfield, as this allowed more staff to assist. For her report on facilities and concessions, she reported some challenges of hiring staff in all areas. For virtual programs,Barnes explained that doing these programs in the pandemic, access to resources was a priority, so staff delivers supplies to participants' homes. Barnes ended her report with upcoming program activities, special events and athletic programs for July through December 2022. Members asked questions in regard to who has access to programs such as the northern and southern region of Orange County. Tim Tippin said that he enjoyed the advertisement for events on social media. Hughes asked if there was a way to have a more formalize relationship with the school system to use facilities for athletic activities. Barnes explained that individual relationships within the schools are often fine,but at different levels of the school system it has been an ongoing dialogue. Xilong Zhao asked if there were any outreach programs with other organizations. Barnes answered and said that the recreation division has partnered with Alliance Health in the past to provide programming to families. Hughes asked how the council can advocate for the recreation program. Barnes suggested the Council could advocate for programs and athletic activities that are offered. Hughes asked whether or not there has been an evaluation done to show evaluations and the impact of the recreation division. She said that is something that the division can do,but currently due to staff limitations they are focused more on individual program surveys and post-program assessments. Barnes ended by letting the Council know she can be contacted at any time if there are more questions. Old Business: Reyman suggested that due to the hour,the remainder of the agenda be a quick summary. Stancil agreed to do so. a. Proposed Youth Delegate Member Update—Stancil updated that the BOCC approved the addition of a youth delegate position. DEAPR staff will work with the BOCC clerk office to address application needs for the new member position. He also noted there was a question about whether a second such position might be desirable. b. Game plan for P&R Master Plan 2030 Mid-Plan Review—Stancil briefly described the overview of the"Mid-Plan Review"for the Parks and Recreation Master Plan 2030 to take place between now and June 2023.. He said that this discussion will now be held at the June meeting and he would send a new revised copy of the schedule to members for review. Report of the Director- a. Project Updates- Stancil reported that a soft opening for Blackwood Farms will possibly be held late Summer, early Fall. He said the park idea for the Perry Hills community discussions with County Commissioners is ongoing. This subject was brought up at a prior PRC meeting. He also emphasized that the County plans to create a Bike,Pedestrian and Trails plan is still in the works, but it will now be countywide in scope.He explained that the County will develop a plan during the coming fiscal year, and then hire consultants to create a plan in 2023-24. b. Overview of Possible June Meeting Topics—Items mentioned included review the schedule for the Parks and Recreation Master Plan Mid-Plan review. Reyman suggested the PRC consider ideas for the Council to do together as a group to publicize the advisory board in the county. Council and Committee Reports: a. Intergovernmental Parks Work Group (meeting held April 13)—The concept of doing a combined Trails,Pedestrian and Bike plan with other county and town jurisdictions was discussed. Another item for October's meeting was discussions with CHCCS about use of school recreational facilities for town and county activities. b. Items from the Council-Reyman asked members for ideas to do as a Council such as volunteering at recreation events. c. Friends of Orange County Parks and Recreation(FOPR)—None Next Meeting: June 1,2022 at Bonnie B. Davis Environmental and Agriculture Center. Adjournment: Reyman adjourned meeting at 7:47pm.