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HomeMy Public PortalAbout02-21-2017 Minutes PRB Regular MeetingPage 1 of 4 Minutes Parks and Recreation Board 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017 Town Barn, 101 E. Orange St. Present: Chairman Todd Stabley, Ashley Campbell, Robb English, Noah Mace, Board of Commissioners representative Brian Lowen (ex officio) Absent: Vice Chairwoman Kate Albrecht, Rebecca Swartz, Nancy Taylor, Planning Board representative Chris Wehrman, Kim Woodell Staff: Public Space Manager Stephanie Trueblood Guests: None Item 1: Call meeting to order; confirm presence of a quorum. Chairman Stabley called the meeting to order at 7:07 p.m. Ms. Trueblood called the roll and established there was not a quorum. The members present decided to continue meeting for discussion purposes only. No official business would take place. Item 2: Consideration of changes or adjustments to the agenda There were no changes to the agenda. Item 3: Approval of minutes of January 17, 2017, meeting There was not a quorum present; therefore, there was no vote of approval of the minutes. Item 4: Review Unified Development Ordinance: Section 6.15 Recreation Sites and discuss if amendments are needed to the facility list in Section 6.15.7.1 Ms. Trueblood pointed out that a mechanism exists to allow a developer to provide a facility that’s not on the list. Under the mechanism, the developer would work with the permit-issuing authority to come up with the facility’s point values. Ms. Trueblood noted that the advisory board could come up with suggestions to amend the list. The list would go to a quarterly public hearing. Then the Planning Board would discuss it at its next meeting and make a recommendation to the Board of Commissioners, which would vote on approval of the amendment. Board members discussed amendments. A board member noted that the ranking system perhaps doesn’t create diversity in recreational opportunities. Ms. Trueblood said the ranking system is a standard way to select projects as it creates legally defensible decisions because a rationale can be cited. She discussed the possibility of this board amending the list with Planning Director Margaret Hauth. They decided if the board wanted to incentivize certain facilities or prioritize them, that could be a separate table. Points could count for more for a recreational use determined to be especially needed. For instance, there is a shortage of basketball courts. If a developer built a basketball court and made it open to the public, the developer could increase his points. Page 2 of 4 Ms. Trueblood said she asked Ms. Hauth if there have been complaints from developers about the current system and the answer was no. She said she thinks apartments and townhomes tend to include clubhouses and swimming pools because the market expects those amenities. Mr. English suggested combining fields to be multipurpose fields. He suggested bocce, which is inexpensive to build and maintain. He noted cricket is huge in Morrisville now and he’d like to see community gardens and open space. Chairman Stabley said he’d like to get away from the idea of designing huge spaces for a specific purpose. The space could be for a picnic or yoga. Ms. Trueblood added dog parks have been requested a lot. There was talk of taking gazebos off the list because they aren’t used. Picnic shelters, on the other hand, are used. Ms. Trueblood talked about the importance of paved trails for wheelchair accessibility. She acknowledged that there is a community that supports natural trails as well. It was noted that it’s helpful to have nearby toilet facilities. There was interest in mini skate parks and space for yoga. There was discussion that soccer takes up an entire field, leaving no room for everyone else. There was a suggestion to require bicycle racks and recycling containers at all facilities. The small group in attendance was most interested in incentivizing multipurpose fields and community gardens. There was discussion of a need for places for people to gather for reading groups or playing music together. Picnic shelters at Gold Park get used by small groups as gathering places during the day, it was noted. Ms. Trueblood said she’d like to hear from the full Parks and Recreation Board. Town Attorney Bob Hornik would need time to craft the language for any amendments, she noted. A draft proposal would probably be scheduled for the July public hearing. After discussion, the list included the following: Broaden existing categories to include:  Multipurpose field/lawn  Courts (tennis/pickleball/bocce)  Dog park  Community gardens  Shelter/pavilion  Natural trails  Paved trails  Skate parks Page 3 of 4 Incentivize:  Basketball courts  Swings  Natural play areas  Skate parks  Multipurpose fields/lawns Require at all recreation facilities:  Bicycle racks  Recycling containers The board agreed to continue the discussion at the next meeting when more members were present. Item 5: Reports and Updates (Parks and Recreation related reports)  Board of Commissioners: Brian Lowen – Homeowners in Cornwallis Hills brought stormwater drainage concerns before the board. Town employees received awards. The board decided to expand the sidewalk in front of the former Bank of America building and take away one additional on-street parking space as part of the downtown improvements project. Ms. Trueblood added that, with The Wooden Nickel moving into the bank’s former building, the town wanted to be sure a bottleneck in pedestrian traffic wasn’t created there. She added that the town gained 13 parking spaces in the renegotiation of the lease for the West King Street parking lot.  Planning Board: Chris Wehrman – Ms. Trueblood said the Planning Board did vote to recommend approval of the Collins Ridge special use permit with conditions that included the recommendations this board put forward for recreation.  Mountains-to-Sea Trail: staff– Ms. Trueblood said there was nothing to report.  Orange County Parks and Recreation Council: Annie Jarabek – absent  Intergovernmental Parks Work Group: staff – Ms. Trueblood said it is meeting in April.  Park Steward reports: 1. Gold Park: Annie Jarabek, Dog Park: Nancy Taylor – both absent 2. Cates Creek Park: Robb English – It is well used. People are using the field to fly drones, play soccer and fly kites. He asked Ms. Trueblood to talk about the stormwater project. Ms. Trueblood reported the town just started to take out the large rocks in the drainage conveyance and to install a French drain with a mixture of soil and sand (engineered soil). She is hoping this will encourage developers to start using this more environmentally friendly model. When the engineering work is done, there will be a pollinator garden workday to plant pollinator plants. This summer, there will be a project to make sure the stormwater from the parking lot drains into a stormwater management device instead of the creek. 3. Turnip Patch Park: Annie Jarabek – absent 4. Murray Street Park: Ashley Campbell – It’s fine. 5. Kings Highway Park: Todd Stabley – The trash can is a success. The other side of the park is not in great shape. Ms. Trueblood added trees have fallen on that side, so some of the paths are blocked. She has requested money in the first year of the upcoming budget to address this. 6. Hillsborough Heights Park: Kim Woodell -- absent Page 4 of 4 7. Riverwalk: Todd Stabley – It’s doing well. 8. Downtown Sidewalks/Mayo Park: staff – Ms. Trueblood reported that contracts are being signed and construction will start by April 15. She will hold a public meeting, especially including downtown businesses. Some board members would like construction updates.  Staff Updates Playground mulch is coming this spring. Murray Street Park especially needs it. The downtown revitalization grant had to be spent by March. The money was spent on the purchase of additional benches, bicycle racks, planters, new ‘Welcome’ banners, new holiday wreaths, trash and recycling containers, and dog waste stations. Many of the items are stored at the Public Works building until the downtown sidewalk construction is complete. Also, some of the money from that grant is being used to pay sculptor Patrick Dougherty to perform maintenance on the Stickwork sculpture on Riverwalk. Snow deteriorates the Stickwork sculptures the fastest. Additional pollinator-friendly plants will be added to the parking area off West King Street as part of the revitalization project. Item 6: Adjourn Chairman Stabley noted the meeting ended at 8:38 p.m.