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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRC Agenda 02072024 AGENDA Orange County Parks and Recreation Council Natalie Ziemba, Chair; Andrea Zimmerman,Vice-Chair; Chris Colvin; Mikki Fleming; Louise Flinn; Rod Jones, Gina Reyman; Trevor Robinson; Xilong Zhao; Lilly Kohout(YD), Grayson Shinn (YD) February 7, 2024 6:30 p.m. Davis Center Board Room 1020 US 70 West Hillsborough, NC Time Item Title 6:30 I. Call to Order 6:32 II. Report of the Chair a. Chair Comments b. Additions or Changes to the Agenda 6:40 III. New Business a. Approval of December 6 Meeting Summary (Attachment 1) b. Appointment Recommendations (Little River Township, Hillsborough Township* - Please see Attachment 2) c. Potential Capital Investment Plan Reductions (BOCC Retreat) 7:15 IV. Old Business a. P&R Master Plan 2030 Report— Status b. 7:30 V. Report of the Director a. Project/Program Updates b. May 1 Cookout Meeting Site? 7:45 VI. Council and Committee Reports a. Intergovernmental Parks Work Group (next mtg 4/10) b. Items from the Council / Sharing of Volunteer Opportunities 8:00 VII. Adjournment Next Meeting: March 6 (Hillsborough) Attachment Draft Meeting Summary— Parks and Recreation Council December 6th, 2023 Bonnie B. Davis Center, Hillsborough Members Present: Gina Reyman (Chair), Mikki Fleming (Vice-Chair), Natalie Ziemba, Xilong Zhao, Chris Colvin, Louise Flinn, Andrea Zimmerman, Lilly Kohout Members Absent: Rod Jones, Grayson Shinn, Trevor Robinson Staff: David Stancil, Abby Mattingly, Chris Hirni Chair Gina Reyman called the meeting to order at 6:34pm. Report of the Chair: a. Approval of October 4 Meeting Summary- No changes were made. Zimmerman moved to approve the meeting summary; Fleming seconded. All in favor, none opposed, motion carried. b. New Member Introductions—Gina Reyman introduced herself to the new youth delegate, Lilly Kohout. The board went around and gave brief introductions. c. Changes to the agenda— David Stancil moved to change the order of agenda items so that item 3C. would become 3A. New Business: a. Lands Legacy Action Plan: Stancil gave a brief overview of the Lands Legacy program. The program was developed in the year 2000 as a means of preserving important natural and cultural lands. Chris Hirni, DEAPR Land Conservation Officer, presented the Lands Legacy Action Plan. The plan is created every three years and reflects a more guided course of action in relation to the goals established in the Lands Legacy foundational document. The action plan seeks input from all four advisory boards within the department and those recommendations guide the development of the action plan. Hirni discussed some of the priorities that the board had previously recommended. The previous Lands Legacy Action plan was developed in 2020, during the global pandemic, and the recommendations were simply carried over from the prior plan approved in 2017. Hirni sought insight from the group and informed them on current trajectories and projects that staff has outlined. The Lands Legacy budget, including grant sources, was outlined. Stancil gave insight into some of the funding sources in relation to the Capital Investment Plan. The budget for Lands Legacy and conservation easement budgets are funded separately and have different mandates. The Lands Legacy program more specifically targets park acquisition, whereas conservation easements ensure that land will remain undeveloped and preserved and stay in private ownership. In response to a question, Hirni discussed easement payment structure, where some easements are tiered payments but by in large the payments are one single payment at closing. This is made possible with the match funds and grants that the program receives. Reyman Attachment asked for clarification on project locations that have yet to be completed and Louise Flinn followed this up by asking about the status of County land acquisitions in Bingham Township for Bingham Park. One of the original goals of the Lands Legacy program was to acquire parkland in every township. Bingham township is the only township within Orange County that does not have a county district park. The Mountains to Sea trail will run through Bingham Township, and there has been some discussion on how to maximize this opportunity to preserve more County owned open space. There is a potential to obtain trailhead entrances. Andrea Zimmerman asked if there would be a presentation to the Board of County Commissioners regarding some of the achievements, and their involvement within the process of adopting an action plan. Hirni stated there will be a presentation to the BOCC, and the commissioners tend to be interested in some of the tangible action items. Reyman asked if there was a notable demand in Bingham Township for a park. Stancil and Hirni agreed that there was a variation of feelings in the township, where some individuals would like to see a park, but others may not. The Lands Legacy program has helped eliminate the parkland deficit that the County had when the program was launched. Hirni opened the discussion for any recommendations or input from the council. Reyman would like to see recreation as a more central investment and consideration when acquiring more land. Acquiring land for parks, while also considering recreation demands that could be met, are not incompatible demands and could be included within the action plan. Mikki Fleming addressed that there was a tension between the need to acquire and the desire to develop the owned land into useable parks and public open space. Stancil noted as an example Twin Creeks Park, as it was acquired 20 years ago but has yet to be developed. Zimmerman asked for clarification as to the reach of the budget that Hirni has access to, in relation to constructing amenities on sites after the acquisition. Chris Colvin circled back to the reference made previously by Hirni in favor of prioritizing adding trailheads in Bingham Township to the Mountain to Sea trail. b. Election of the Chair and Vice-Chair: Fleming and Reyman will not be running for re- election. Fleming nominated Natalie Ziemba for chair, Zimmerman seconded. No other nominations were made. All in favor, none opposed, motion carried. Ziemba opened the floor to vice-chair nominations. Reyman nominated Zimmerman for vice-chair, Zhao seconded. All in favor, none opposed, motion carried. c. Appointment Recommendation / Reconsideration of October Action: Abby Mattingly explained to the group the difficulties that followed the council's recommendations at the previous meeting. The council sought to move Natalie Ziemba into the open Hillsborough Township seat, as they believed she was in an at-large seat, and then recommended one of the applicants for that at-large seat. However, staff discovered that Ziemba was actually in the Cedar Grove Township seat that the County Commissioners had placed her in in order to fill the seat on the Council. As such, the actions made by the board were not able to be conducted. The Council withdrew their action to move Ziemba and discussed the available Hillsborough Township applicants. After some discussion, the group settled on Casey Collins. Fleming moved to nominate Collins; Zimmerman seconded. All in favor, none opposed, motion carried. Stancil and staff will continue to recruit in Little River Township. Attachment d. BOCC Annual Report 2023/Work Plan 2024: Stancil summarized the purpose of and changes to the Annual Report and Action Plan. He discussed some of the goals and priorities that the board will address in 2024. Specific actions that the board anticipates engaging in were outlined by staff. The issue of developing a pool was brough up again. Trevor Robinson had submitted his desire to see disc golf as a priority moving forward. Colvin asked if there was a reflection on environmental justice and equity when drafting the document. It had not been made explicit in the document, and Stancil offered to bolster some of the language to reaffirm those goals. Zhao would like to see stronger wording towards the implementation of pollinator gardens. Stancil will make it a specific bullet with more depth. Old Business a. The Nature of Orange—2023 Photo Contest: Mattingly briefly addressed the 2023 Nature of Orange photography contest and sought the council's continued support of the annual event. Reyman moved for the board to continue as co-sponsors of the event, Zimmerman seconded. All in favor, none opposed, motion carried. b. 2024 Meeting Schedule: Mattingly addressed the two options for the meeting calendar that had been drafted by staff. Zimmerman preferred an option that included an additional meeting in Chapel Hill. Reyman made a motion to adopt the first calendar option, Zimmerman seconded. All in favor, none opposed, motion carried. Ziemba noted that the council will meet at the Solid Waste Multipurpose room for the April meeting. Additional items on the agenda were deferred due to time constraints. Adjournment: Ziemba adjourned the meeting at 8:13 pm. Next Meeting: February 7, 2024 (Davis Center, Hillsborough)