HomeMy Public PortalAbout09-20-2016 Minutes PRB Regular MeetingPage 1 of 4
Minutes
Parks & Recreation Board
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
7:00 PM, Town Barn
101 E. Orange St.
Present: Chairman Todd Stabley, Vice Chairman Ashley DeSena, Kate Albrecht, Robb English,
Rebecca Swartz, Kim Woodell
Absent: Chris Wehrman (PB rep), Annie Jarabek, Noah Mace, Nancy Taylor, Ex Officio – TB Rep.
Brian Lowen
Staff: Stephanie Trueblood
Item 1: Call meeting to order, roll call, and confirm presence of a quorum
Chairman Stabley called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Ms. Trueblood called the roll and confirmed the
presence of a quorum.
Item 2: Consideration of changes or adjustments to the agenda
Ms. Trueblood noted for Item 4, Mr. Mace and Ms. Jarabek were going to give reports and both could
not be present this evening. Item 6 was an item with Ms. Jarabek as well. Chairman Stabley had earlier
requested that Ms. Trueblood add to the agenda an informal discussion about Occoneechee Speedway.
In light of Ms. Jarabek not being able to attend the meeting, Ms. Trueblood suggested making this the
replacement Item 6. Chairman Stabley said he would also give a brief update on the most recent
Mountains-to-Sea Trail meeting.
Item 3: Approval of minutes from July 19 and August 16, 2016
Motion: Vice Chairman DeSena moved to approve both sets of minutes as presented.
Second: Ms. Albrecht seconded.
Vote: Unanimous
Item 4: Continue Connectivity Plan Update: Receive and discuss park district inventory reports
from PRB members:
Park Districts 2 and 9: Noah Mace -- absent
Park Districts 6 and 7: Annie Jarabek -- absent
Park Districts 13 and 14: Robb English
Ms. Trueblood indicated Parks Districts 13 on a map (Elizabeth Brady Road, Occoneechee Speedway,
Fiori Hills, Forest Ridge). Mr. English noted the new developments and Eno River Academy K-8, formerly
known as Orange Charter. He also added the proposed Sportsplex addition with a large indoor space. He
noted to change the language to reflect that Riverwalk construction is complete. He suggested adding
language to advocate for allowing people to walk their bikes on the pathway on Classical American
Homes Trust property that connects to Riverwalk. He suggested adding something about supporting
connectivity to new developments. He noted advocating for bike path over I-85 to connect Collins Ridge.
He suggested adding a sidewalk along U.S. 70 Business from Elizabeth Brady to the Sportsplex.
Chairman Stabley noted that drivers drive fast on Elizabeth Brady and suggested a crosswalk. Ms.
Trueblood explained the dangers of midblock crosswalks and DOT’s reluctance to build them. At this
particular location, it was determined that putting the burden to stop on the pedestrian is safest. It is a
town road, but the town tries to follow NCDOT guidelines. Ms. Trueblood suggested considering striping
Page 2 of 4
the road the next time it’s resurfaced. Chairman Stabley suggested emailing the businesses a message to
ask them to make their employees aware of increased pedestrian traffic.
Mr. English said for District 14, he would add Cedar Ridge High School as a public resource in hopes that
the recreational areas may be open to the public someday. He noted Cornwallis Hills’s open area and
the mobile park pool. When asked, Ms. Trueblood said the town is on schedule to have a traffic survey
for a light at Lafayette Drive and Old NC 86. Mr. English expressed concern about children walking along
Orange Grove Road and Oakdale Drive. He would suggest supporting expanding use of Cornwallis Hills’s
recreation area and green space. Ms. Albrecht said she’d noticed parents running around the green
space in Cornwallis Hills while their children played in the middle and suggested a Chapel Hill gravel path
for parents to run on would be nice. There was acknowledgement that it’s owned by the HOA.
Item 5: Continue Connectivity Plan Update: Review DRAFT map recommendations
Ms. Trueblood reviewed recent and upcoming sidewalk improvements. She acknowledged the need for
a crosswalk at King Street and Cameron Street near the Visitor’s Center. Also, on North Churton Street,
there is a need for crosswalks on the north side of the intersections except at Corbin Street (south side
there because of a hill). She acknowledged that re-configuring the intersection is a possibility by Sinclair
Station. In West Hillsborough, she included the crosswalk at Turnip Patch Park to cross West King Street
and the one part of CMAQ plan in front of Paws at the Corner (will be a three-way stop). There was
question of provision to do maintenance on old brick sidewalks on the west side of Churton Street. Ms.
Trueblood said the Connectivity Plan includes a repairs map and that staff had walked the district to
update the list. Ms. Trueblood noted she doesn’t have crosswalks going north-south at the intersections
but agreed to add these.
She reviewed the updated Connectivity maps with the board, including what’s funded and what’s not
yet funded.
She reviewed sidewalk map indications of high-priority, low-priority, and Orange County
recommendations. High-priority has to be built. Low-priority either has to be built or has to pay
payment-in-lieu.
Some highlights were:
There was acknowledgment of a desire for a bike path along St. Mary’s near town, as it is a major route
for cyclists. There is no sidewalk recommendation there. For Orange County, the Tuscarora Drive
sidewalk along 70 is high priority. There was agreement to ask county for sidewalks along Oakdale Drive.
The board decided to keep the sidewalk recommendation on Central Elementary school from the
Latimer Street connection.
There was brief discussion on whether or not there’s a need for sidewalks on Eno Street.
The board reviewed greenways and acknowledged it preferred a connection to Kings Highway Park from
Eno Street rather than King Street.
Page 3 of 4
Item 6: Update on Parks and Recreation Joint Advisory Board topics: Annie Jarabek
New Item 6a: Informal discussion regarding Occoneechee Speedway
Oxbow Trail discussion ---
Ms. Trueblood explained that all along everyone was in agreement that bicycles would not be allowed
on Occoneechee Speedway, nor at Ayr Mount, nor Occoneechee Mountain.
Ms. Trueblood explained that Bill Crowther is the caretaker of the Ayr Mount for Classical American
Homes Preservation Trust and she has had several conversations with Mr. Crowther over several years
in which he would say he isn’t going to allow bicycles on the trail because he doesn’t want bicycles going
off the trail and damaging the property, but he would agree to allow cyclists to walk their bikes on the
trail to get to the Riverwalk. Now he is not allowing cyclists to walk their bicycles on the trail. There was
an incident where he turned back a father with an 8-year-old daughter who then had to ride their bikes,
at dusk, along U.S. 70 Business to get home. Ms. Trueblood has tried talking with Mr. Crowther to come
to some middle ground but recognizes that this is private property and the decision is up to the property
owner. This board expressed concerns about the public safety of cyclists on 70.
Ms. Trueblood explained that it’s her responsibility to advocate for bike and pedestrian access. There
was acknowledgement that Riverwalk alignment planning and funding was tied to bicycle access as well
as pedestrian – eliminating some car trips. Ms. Trueblood explained that she had talked to Mr. Crowther
and agreed to refer any complaints to Mr. Crowther and he was willing to talk to people. She said he
seems to be thinking at first to not allow bicycles at all and then eventually letting people walk them
across the site.
New Item 6b: MST update
Chairman Stabley said he attended the recent meeting. OWASA has voted to allow discussions to
continue. They’ve crafted conditions. This meeting was split into stations to address specific concerns of
adjacent neighbors such as liability, whether or not there’s an increased risk of fire, etc. The meeting
seemed helpful.
Item 7: Reports and Updates- (Parks and Recreation related reports)
Town Board: Brian Lowen-- absent
Planning Board: Chris Wehrman--absent
Mountains to Sea Trail- MST: staff—just discussed
Orange County Parks and Recreation Council: Annie Jarabek--absent
Intergovernmental Parks Work Group- IPWG: staff—meets in October
Park Steward reports:
1. Gold Park: Annie Jarabek--absent, Dog Park: Nancy Taylor--absent
2. Cates Creek Park: Kate Albrecht—very clean bathrooms, seeing more and more
families use it, rain pushed mulch around
3. Turnip Patch Park: Annie Jarabek—absent
4. Murray Street Park: Ashley DeSena—same as last month, tree missing, as
reported next month, weeds need attention
5. Kings Highway Park: Todd Stabley—looks great. Ms. Trueblood said trash can
will go in soon.
6. Hillsborough Heights Park: Kim Woodell—absent
7. Riverwalk: Robb English—heavily used
Page 4 of 4
8. Downtown Sidewalks/Mayo Park: staff, CSAIP is going out for third
advertisement
Staff Updates
--CMAQ plans are sealed and submitted to DOT. Ms. Trueblood is hoping to go to
bid in November. She doesn’t want to wait to advertise downtown sidewalks that
late. If that works out, construction in late February/early March.
--The town is hiring a new planner. Ms. Trueblood takes on her new responsibilities
in October and will be training the new planner on HDC.
--The playground equipment company in Gold Park will replace damaged equipment
(under warranty) but won’t allow a swap for a different type. She is getting
estimates on other types of equipment to replace the triple slide. She is getting
pricing for shade structures that would at least shade the deck.
--New grounds crew has started.
--Garden Club will be selling plants this fall.
--Library pavers are going in this year by the County.
--Paperwork is in for state downtown revitalization money.
--Mine-owned land adjacent to Occoneechee Mountain – state park is working on
acquiring.
Item 8: Adjourn
Motion: Ms. Swartz moved to adjourn at 9:30 p.m.
Second: Ms. DeSena seconded.
Vote: Unanimous