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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRC Agenda 11062024 AGENDA Orange County Parks and Recreation Council Natalie Ziemba, Chair; Andrea Zimmerman,Vice-Chair; Louise Flinn; Gregory Husketh; Allen Parker; Gina Reyman; Trevor Robinson; Xilong Zhao. November 6, 2024 6:30 p.m. **Solid Waste Operations Center Meeting Room** 1518 Eubanks Road Chapel Hill, NC Time Item Title 6:30 I. Call to Order 6:30 II. Report of the Chair a. Chair Comments b. Council Vacancies Update c. Additions or Changes to the Agenda 6:40 III. New Business a. Park Construction/Design (Marabeth Carr, Landscape Architect) b. Approval of Meeting Summary, October 2 (Attachment 1) c. The Nature of Orange Photo Contest 2024 d. 2024 Annual Report/ 2025 Work Plan 7:35 IV. Old Business a. Continued Discussion of Public Water Features Amenities 7:55 V. Report of the Director a. Updates 8:05 VI. Council and Committee Reports b. Items from the Council / Sharing of Volunteer Opportunities 8:15 VII. Adjournment Next Meeting: December 4 (Hillsborough) Draft Meeting Summary— Parks and Recreation Council October 2, 2024 Bonnie B. Davis Center Board Room, Hillsborough Members Present: Natalie Ziemba (Chair), Allen Parker, Xilong Zhao, Louise Flinn, Gina Reyman, Gregory Husketh, Members Absent: Andrea Zimmerman (Vice-Chair), Trevor Robinson, Staff: David Stancil, Abby Mattingly, Chris Hirni Chair Natalie Ziemba called the meeting to order at 6:30pm. Report of the Chair: a. Chair Comments—Chair Natalie Ziemba had the group give brief introductions. b. Board Vacancies and Potential Recommended Appointments—Abby Mattingly gave an update on appointments. There are still open positions for Little River Township, Carrboro Town Limits, Hillsborough Township, Hillsborough Town Limits, and both Youth Delegate positions. Mattingly presented the applicant from Carrboro Town Limits. Gregory Husketh moved to recommend Benjamin King to the Board of County Commissioners, Louise Flinn seconded. Gina Reyman asked if her seat was eligible for recommendation, as her term expires at the end of December. Staff agreed that the Council could recommend an appointment for her seat. Mattingly presented the applicants for Eno Township. The Council agreed to put forth Shahnaz "GiGi" Rashdi for this position. Reyman made the motion, Husketh seconded. c. Changes to the agenda— No changes were made. New Business: a. Approval of September 4 Summary- Allen Parker moved to adopt the September 4th meeting summary, Husketh seconded. All in favor, none opposed, motion carried. b. Mountains to Sea Trail: Christian Hirni is the County's Land Conservation Manager. Hirni presented a map of the adopted Mountains to Sea Trail (MST) route. The County is responsible for securing several easements or acquisitions to finalize the trail route. The section of the trail that runs from Hillsborough to Saxapahaw is where Hirni's focus has been to find potential connections. There have been several significant changes impacting progress. A critical easement connection with OWASA land near Cane Creek Reservoir has been impacted, and finding new easements that meet OWASA's conditions has delayed a portion of the trail connection. However, Alamance County has hired a trail coordinator, and some major connections have been formed on that side of the line. Hirni explained the current trails that have been approved, and in some cases finalized, and proposed trails on the map. Hirni discussed the Cane Creek Reservoir property and how it connects to the 7-Mile Creek Natural Area. That property connects to Moorefield's, which had an easement with the County close this year. Hirni presented the Kittrell-McAdoo land acquisition and the successful grant applications that helped acquire it. This property connects with the Moorefield's trail. He then presented the Seven-Mile Creek trail grant application that will be used to connect the MST with potential connections to the west and south, depending on where the trail will eventually be approved to come in from. Xilong Zhao asked about how easements are able to protect the trail from development on private property. Hirni explained how easements are legally binding and will be forever bound to the deed. c. Draft Letter to NCDOT- Stancil presented the letter that staff drafted to North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). The letter was a request from the previous meeting as a mechanism to encourage the implementation of flashing pedestrian signage on both sides of the Dimmock's Mill bridge. Stancil informed the Council that the letter would need to be reformatted and submitted to the BOCC for approval. Staff will reformat the letter and submit to the chair for final approval. Old Business a. Continued Discussion of Public Pool: Mattingly summarized last meeting's conversation on a County owned public pool or other water feature as one of this year's follow-up discussion topics. Reyman spoke in favor of constructing a SplashPad and noted that resources would be best spent creating that resource, rather than using resources to draft and distribute a survey for a known want in the community. Flinn agreed that beginning work on a SplashPad could serve as a good gauge in determining public interest and comment. Because of the need for public water and sewer, there are two potential parks that could serve as hosts for a SplashPad, Fairview Park and Efland Cheeks Park. Flinn advocated for Fairview Park as a potential site of interest, as Phase II of development has not been finalized, and the SplashPad could be worked into those plans. Parker asked what would need to happen for the BOCC to consider a pool. Stancil informed that the Council or interested parties would need to bring the idea to the Commissioners and that the Council could put forth a memo with two concepts for BOCC consideration. The Council agreed that the survey element would not provide enough value for the resources it would take. Reyman suggested that the Council frame a SplashPad in a way that considers quality of life in the midst of climate change. Report of the Director a. Project/Program Updates— Perry Hills Mini Park is under construction. Fairview pickleball and tennis courts bid is soon to be awarded by the BOCC. Council and Committee Reports a. Intergovernmental Parks Work Group—next meeting scheduled for October 9 b. Items for the Council/Sharing of Volunteer Opportunities—none Adjournment: Ziemba adjourned the meeting at 8:04pm Next Meeting: November 6nd (Chapel Hill, Solid Waste Operations Center Meeting Room)