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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 11-03-1999 - 9bORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: November 3, 1999 Action Agenda Item No.9 -, h SUBJECT: Creation of a Task Force to Organize a Soccer Symposium DEPARTMENT: Recreation and Parks PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No Economic Development Commission ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Commissioner Barry Jacobs TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To consider establishing a charge for, and appointing a task force to organize and focus community interest in promoting soccer and soccer facilities. BACKGROUND: Considerable anecdotal information indicates there is great interest in playing soccer in Orange County. There are a number of leagues operating within the county, and sporadic efforts have been made to secure fields by these leagues. The Board of County Commissioners recently received a letter from Rick Kennedy, a concerned citizen and member of the Orange County Board of Education, outlining the demand for improved soccer facilities, and eazlier this month the Carrboro Board of Aldermen forwarded a request to the county to address this need. While the Master Parks and Recreation Plan spoke to general needs, it did not focus on provision of facilities to meet county demand for specific sports facilities. Both the county's Economic Development Commission and the Recreation and Parks Advisory Council endorse the idea of establishing an organizing committee to promote a meeting of various interest groups to discuss soccer. interest and needs. Among the issues to be explored are what facilities are currently available, what is needed, where and how much is the demand, what is the possibility of diverse soccer leagues working together, what sorts of arrangements are required to share usage of fields, and what private and public funding sources are available. Since many soccer players must currently leave the county or otherwise travel great distances to participate, the possible provision of additional soccer facilities in Orange County is seen as meeting economic development as well as recreational needs. 2 Therefore, the Board of County Commissioners is requested to authorize creation of a task force (with a working charge, membership composition, and time line), that would be responsible for hosting a soccer symposium at which all interested parties could express their needs and concerns. The working charge would provide a broad framework for discussing the issues at the symposium; to include: (1) current private and public soccer resources and facilities (2) demand for additional resources by type and location within the county (3) alternatives for public/private coordination, cooperation and funding for additional resources that are identified. (4) possibility for multi-purpose fields (screen, baseballlsoftball, football, lacrosse, frisbee, etc.) The task force would also be charged with summarizing and organizing what was presented at the symposium and making recommendations to the Orange County Commissioners, including advisory boards such as the EDC and RPAC; The towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough; and the school .boards for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and the Orange County Schools. The committee to organize the meeting and coordinate communication should include representatives from at least the following groups: *Orange County Recreation and Parks Advisory Council *Chapel Hill Recreation Board *Carrboro Recreation Board *Hillsborough Recreation Board *Orange County Economic Development Commission *Orange County School Board *Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board *Rainbow Soccer *Durham-Chapel Hill Strikers *Liga Hispana * Carolina United *Three to five interested citizens at-large *County Commissioners *~~ FINANCIAL IMPACT: The direct financial impact of creating this ad hoc committee will be relatively small. Depending on the organization and complexity of developing a symposium, there could be significant allocation of time for one or more county staff members in support of this effort. RECOIVIIVIENDATION(S): If the Board of County Commissioners authorizes the creation of the task force, the working charge, membership composition, and time line would come back at a later meeting for approval.