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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMeeting Summary 06052024 Meeting Summary— Parks and Recreation Council June 6, 2024 Bonnie B. Davis Center Board Room, Hillsborough Members Present: Natalie Ziemba (Chair), Louise Flinn,Trevor Robinson, Gina Reyman, Xilong Zhao, Gregory Husketh, Chris Colvin, Members Absent: Rod Jones, Andrea Zimmerman (Vice-Chair), Allen Parker, Lilly Kohout, Staff: David Stancil, Abby Mattingly Chair Natalie Ziemba called the meeting to order at 6:34pm. Report of the Chair: a. Chair Comments—Chair Natalie Ziemba had no comments. b. Board Vacancies and Potential Recommended Appointments—Abby Mattingly gave an update on appointments. There is still an open Little River Township and Youth delegate position. An additional Hillsborough Township seat opened due to a resignation. Mattingly presented the two applicants. The council decided to wait to vote considering the lack of recent applicants. Staff will ensure that the new position is being advertised. c. Changes to the agenda— No changes were made. New Business: a. Approval of April 3 Summary-Trevor Robinson moved to adopt the April 3rd meeting summary, Louise Flinn seconded, all in favor none opposed, motion carried. b. State of the Parks Update: Dan Derby, Orange County Parks Superintendent, provided a State of the Parks Update. He presented a general history of the Parks division. In the past twenty years, the division has grown from a small staff of four people managing two parks, to a staff of 13 managing 12 parks. The Parks division has faced recent increased challenges, as the landscape crew left the department, leaving a gap in coverage for maintaining County owned facility grounds. The department has now worked to contract out the landscaping of grounds around County buildings. Derby believes that part of the stress placed on the division is the result of being unable to find individuals wanting to work in seasonal positions. He outlined some of the projects the division is working on. The Perry Hills Mini-Park is the newest park the County will create. Tennis courts for Fairview Park will be going out for bids once again as initial bids came in too high. Gina Reyman inquired into what the County anticipated the bids being for. Stancil informed the Council on the bidding process and why the bids came in substantially higher than anticipated. Derby talked about some of the parks and new events and programs. Ziemba asked if there was any outstanding maintenance of existing parks that needs attention. Derby informed that the Little River Regional Park has some pressing needs. The main buildings, the workshop, office, and maintenance building, all need updating, as well as a new road and playground. There also is conversation regarding updating equipment to be compliant with the new Climate Action Plan standards. He stated that finding equipment that is effective and meets the needs of the division has been a challenge. Reyman inquired on the status of the Lawrence Road project that HYAA is engaged with. Stancil answered that it is his understanding HYAA is moving forward with building new fields at that facility. Reyman followed up with a question regarding any fire prevention strategies in the parks division. Derby informed that it is not something that the division manages but that they do take part in some controlled burns. Gregory Husketh followed up on the conversation of staff shortages. Derby believes that there is a lack of applicants, and that there is a nationwide labor shortage. Xilong Zhao asked about the tennis court construction at Fairview Park, and if it would include pickleball. Stancil informed that the courts will be designed and utilized for both. c. Manager's Recommended FY 2024-2025 Budget Overview-Stancil presented an overview of recent budget information. The Manager's Budget has been announced and reflects a fairly austere budget year. The County is in a hiring freeze since the State is no longer providing funds it used to allocate for certain social service's needs. Many department budgets faced cuts and Stancil is working with the Business Officer to make cuts to line items. The Commissioners are set to make a final decision on the budget on June 18. The previously approved funding for the next round of improvements at Blackwood Farm Park is still available and the Park Repair and Renovations account is still being funded. Reyman sought follow-up on outside agency funding updates. Staff will follow up and forward the Manager's recommendation for outside agency funding requests to the council. Stancil discussed some of the competition in funding and planning for projects, and the nature of the Capital Investment Plan and getting funding. Old Business a. P&R Master Plan 2030 Mid-Plan Review- Update: Stancil reminded the Council of the purpose of the mid-plan review. The Parks and Recreation Master Plan was adopted in 2014, with targeted goals through 2030. The Council has been re-examining the recommendations outlined in the original document. Staff have completed the4 write- up based on Council discussions and sought any additional feedback, including ideas for a final conclusion. Reyman would like to see the need for recreation facilities more heavily emphasized. Flinn referenced the Land Use 2050 Plan, and Stancil offered to include a reference to that as well as the Strategic Plan, as a reflection on County priorities for recreational facilities and nature preserves. Mattingly will send out a final document for the Council to see prior to staff submitting it to the BOCC. b. Chapel Hill Meeting Location—The Council discussed hosting the Chapel Hill meetings at the Solid Waste Management conference room, as it is a new facility with a larger meeting space. Reyman moved to change the Chapel Hill meeting location to Solid Waste, Robinson seconded. All in favor, none opposed, motion carried. c. Fairview Tennis/Pickleball Courts and Perry Hills Mini-Park—Stancil provided a brief update on these projects and discussed the bid process for Fairview tennis courts. The initial bids that came in were significantly above the initial budget. After review and discussion, the project will be re-bid g Fe issued and will be put out closer to August, so construction schedule has been delayed. Perry Hills Mini-Park has been bid, it will be funded and is moving forward. Report of the Director a. Project/Program Updates—Stancil briefly discussed the landscaping crew update, as much of it was addressed in the state of the Parks update. The department will be contracting out ground's maintenance around County buildings. The disc golf course at Blackwood Farm Park has been re-designed and is moving towards getting reviewed and approved for construction. The department would like to get sponsorships for some of the disc golf holes. The bike skills course at Little River is still being discussed, as the risk managers and attorneys from both Durham and Orange County have to sign off. Zhao inquired about attendance and events at Blackwood Farm Park. The department is looking to increase special events at the park. Council and Committee Reports a. Intergovernmental Parks Work Group— Reyman attended the IPWG meeting on April 10. There are 18 members on the board that represent different organizations across the County. The group meets twice a year and shares information. The group discussed the Wildlife Connectivity Plan. Reyman brought up the importance of pollinators. The next meeting is October 9. b. Items for the Council/Sharing of Volunteer Opportunities— Adjournment: Ziemba adjourned the meeting at 8:07pm Next Meeting: August 7 (Solid Waste Management)