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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRC Agenda 03062024 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) March 6, 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. Review of Outside Agency Requests (Attachment 1) (Bridge II Sports, Swim for Charlie, Triangle Bikeworks) *Please come to meeting having reviewed applications and scorecard 7:45 IV. Old Business a. Quick Update on Appointments b. 7:50 V. Report of the Director a. Updates b. 7:55 VI. Council and Committee Reports .zrgovem otal Parks ork Group '-iext mtg 4/10) b. Items from the Council / Sharing of Volunteer Opportunities 8:00 VII. Adjournment Next Meeting: April 3 (Chapel Hill — Solid Waste Op Ctr) Draft Meeting Summary—Parks and Recreation Council February 7th, 2023 Bonnie B. Davis Center, Hillsborough Members Present: Andrea Zimmerman (Vice-Chair), Mikki Fleming, Xilong Zhao, Chris Colvin, Louise Flinn, Trevor Robinson Members Absent: Rod Jones, Grayson Shinn, Gina Reyman, Natalie Ziemba, Lilly Kohout Staff: David Stancil, Abby Mattingly Co-Chair Andrea Zimmerman called the meeting to order at 6:33pm. Report of the Chair: a. Chair Comments—Chair Natalie Ziemba was out of the country, and Vice-Chair Andrea Zimmerman conducted the meeting. David Stancil informed the group that Natalie Ziemba would be attending the annual report presentation next week with him to deliver the council's annual work plan results to the Board of County Commissioners. b. Changes to the agenda— No changes were made. New Business: A. Approval of December 6 Meeting Summary- No changes were made. Zimmerman moved to approve the meeting summary; Xilong Zhao seconded. All in favor, none opposed, motion carried. B. Appointment Recommendations: Abby Mattingly reminded the council of the open seats and of their recent recommendation to the BOCC, which will be examined at their next work session. Since the council has not received any applications from Little River Township, the group was only able to address the vacant At-Large position. Zimmerman began the conversation by bringing attention to an applicant with a background in earth science and leadership. Louise Flinn suggested leaning towards an applicant with a background in recreation, considering the recent conversations about ensuring both parks and recreation have prominent advocates on the council. Mikki Fleming suggested an applicant with a background in recreation who had been addressed as a potential recommendation in prior meetings. Zimmerman mentioned that the council might want to consider the dates that individuals applied when considering if an applicant would still be interested in the position. Zimmerman moved to recommend Gregory Husketh, Flinn seconded, all in favor, none opposed, motion carried. Staff will reach out to Husketh to ensure his continued interest in the position before formally recommending him to the BOCC for consideration. C. Potential Capital Investment Plan Reductions (BOCC Retreat): Stancil shared some of the outcomes of the BOCC annual retreat where they considered upcoming capital funding needs, especially of the schools. Stancil shared some of the bond scenarios discussed and some of the things in the county facilities plan identified as needs for the County and could potentially be included within the Capital Investment Plan (CIP). One of the items relevant to the council in that list is the inclusion of a new Central Recreation Center. As a part of this funding scenario, they are looking at reductions in the existing CIP, while this is just a proposal that came before the Commissioners, there is a consideration to reduce several existing projects by $17 million. The majority of the projects under this current consideration are parks and open space projects. The projects reviewed under these considered reductions would be deferred to the year 2035 or later. One element that the PRC would be interested in would be the delay in construction of the two large soccer projects—Soccer.com expansion and Millhouse Road Park. The county has a deficit of available soccer fields, and reducing the budget allocation to these projects could postpone new field construction. Stancil added that while addressing the growing need for school improvements was clearly a high priority for the Commissioners, no formal action was taken during the retreat to commit to these specific proposed reductions. The CIP will be presented in April and public hearings will follow. At that point any reductions in the recommended CIP will be known. Trevor Robinson asked if the council could request the BOCC to find reductions elsewhere. Stancil informed the council of their ability to do so, however, he advised the board to wait to consider this at a later meeting once the CIP has been recommended. Zimmerman asked if fields would be included in the potential school improvements and rebuilds. There are no current proposals to include new field construction, but the council could request joint use with any new school construction. Stancil moted that much of the school's needs, as he understood them, were renovations and rebuilds of existing older school facilities, which would likely not include new field areas. Zimmerman extended interest in monitoring the discussions for potential shared use facilities. Conversations already underway will continue with soccer organizations that may create some solutions to the field deficit. An update will be provided in March. Old Business A. P&R Master Plan 2030 Report- Status: Stancil reminded the group of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan as the council last addressed the topic in September. The Master Plan was drafted in 2014 and extends to 2030. Beginning in 2022, the council recognized it as a good time to begin assessing the progress of the plan, in keeping with the Plan's own recommendation to review at 10 years. The council has completed approximately two-thirds of the mid-plan review. While the Council planned to bring the review to the Commissioners, they are under no set deadline. Stancil will continue to draft the remaining recommendations to bring before the council in April. The council will then discuss and finalize the review to be sent to the Commissioners by June. Report of the Director A. Project/Program Updates—Stancil shared that he has been writing an RFP for a consultant to create the Countywide Trails Plan (CTP). It will need to be sent to the County Manager for approval in March, proposals from firms will be solicited in April or May and hopefully the contract will be awarded by the BOCC to a consultant in early summer to begin the community engagement and data collection process. There is continued progress in a stewardship and management plan for the Headwaters Preserve (a portion of the Greene Tract owned by the County). The Greene Tract has long seen a lot of activity, and it is in the County's best interest to advance a management plan to mitigate some of the risks associated with current usage and the volunteer trails in erodible areas. A plan will speak on how the County will manage and care for the property. The Council can expect a draft of that in the spring, with plans for trail work beginning in the summer. A designer has been hired for the disc golf course at Blackwood Farm Park. An Agreement has been made and the designer (Disc Golf Design Group of Asheville) will begin work with the aim of having that submitted in April. The designer will not be doing the construction on the course and construction will hopefully begin late summer or fall. The new tennis/pickleball courts to be constructed at Fairview have been designed and submitted and are pending approval from Hillsborough. A bid should be awarded for construction before the summer break and the goal is to have them completed later this year. Stancil posed a question to the Council that he had been asked whether one of the three new courts should be designated as a pickleball court or if they should all be striped for both tennis and pickleball. Pickleball has rapidly gained popularity in Orange County and there has been some demand for exclusive pickleball dedication. A brief conversation from the council reflected a desire to see the courts designated as shared use courts. The Perry Hills Mini-Park is nearing design completion. Construction should begin towards the summer. The County and the Friends of the Mountain to Sea Trail are launching a pilot project for the Friends to hire an ombudsman to speak with landowners along the path to facilitate the creation of future trail easements. Planning staff and the consultants are still working on the Land Use Plan, and they are releasing a Factbook to include data on open space and farmland. Staff has been involved in helping review parts of that effort There is a rezoning request for land behind future Millhouse Road Park by a tree service company. Staff is working with the Planning Department and applicant to ensure that any new proposed access easement will not interfere with the planned soccer center at that location. B. May 15Y Cookout Meeting Site? Once a year the council conducts their meeting at a park site. Stancil informed the council of the parks with an available shelter site. Zimmerman proposed Blackwood Farm Park as a potential site. Robinson supported this. Fleming referenced the centralized location as being convenient for the council. Zimmerman moved to host the meeting at Blackwood, Fleming seconded, all in favor, none opposed, motion carried. Council and Committee Reports A. Intergovernmental Parks Work Group (next mtg 4/10) B. Items for the Council/Sharing of Volunteer Opportunities— Flinn discussed the New Hope Creek Corridor Advisory Committee. There was a new development in Durham County but no other information to share pertinent to the Council. Fleming and Mattingly provided a brief update on the progress with Orange County Library to create a Storywalk Trail. Efland Cheeks Park was selected as the site to install the Storywalk. There are continued conversations on if the installation will be permanent or moveable. Stancil provided an idea of what the council should expect at the March meeting when they address the outside agency funding requests. The agencies and scorecards will be provided to the council prior to the next meeting. Adjournment: Zimmerman adjourned the meeting at 7:41pm Next Meeting: March 6, 2024 (Davis Center, Hillsborough)