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Home My Public Portal About01-17-2017 Minutes PRB Regular MeetingPage 1 of 4 MINUTES Parks & Recreation Board Tuesday, January 17, 2017 7:00 PM, Town Barn 101 E. Orange St. Present: Chairman Toddy Stabley, Robb English, Noah Mace, Rebecca Swartz, Nancy Taylor, Chris Wehrman, Kim Woodell, Ex Officio Brian Lowen Absent: Vice Chairman Ashley DeSena, Kate Albrecht Guests: Brian Purdy, Randy Sexton 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 There were none. ITEM #3: Approval of minutes from December 13, 2016 Motion: Mr. English moved to approve the December minutes. Second: Ms. Swartz seconded. Vote: Unanimous ITEM #4: Site Plan review on the provision of recreation areas for Collins Ridge Phase 1 (Development of 672 units on 100 acres; 194 single-family homes, 152 townhomes, and 326 apartments) Ms. Trueblood reminded the board that the focus of this meeting is reviewing the recreational components of the project. Brian Purdy with McAdams introduced Randy Sexton with Caruso Homes and Josh Decker, a landscape architect with McAdams. He reviewed the site and what elements constitutes phase 1 of the development. He reviewed the Unified Development Ordinance recreation requirements that apply to this property and how they are being met, including a 3-acre centralized community center with a minimum of a 3,000 SF clubhouse with a pool and tennis courts and seating areas. Each pod also has to have a neighborhood pocket park at a minimum of a quarter of an acre. He reviewed that all the residents within the community can use everything except the pool for the apartment complex. There is a public greenway running the perimeter of the property that is open to everyone. All of the roads have public sidewalks along them. Ms. Trueblood reviewed that these parks will continue to belong to the HOA and not the town (like the pocket parks in Beckett’s Ridge). However, the 2-acre park in Phase 2 and the greenway will be dedicated to the town. Page 2 of 4 Mr. Sexton said they plan to construct an 8-foot wide asphalt bike/ped trail for the greenway. It’s well over a mile in length. Ms. Trueblood said this board has updated its Connectivity Plan and is suggesting 10-foot greenways in congested areas, which would apply to the greenway in Collins Ridge. She explained that on Riverwalk the ground on the sides of the pathway are getting compacted because of the high use. Mr. Sexton informed this board that Caruso Homes owns land on the other side of the interstate and if the town can come up with funding for a pedestrian/bike bridge in the next 15 years, Caruso Homes will give the town land on the other side for a landing area for a bridge. A board member asked if dogs would be allowed in the fenced-in playground areas. Mr. Sexton said there hasn’t been a real demand for a dog park in their studies. They would consider it as they develop. The applicants reviewed the rest of the plan with the board including a sheltered bus stop, bike racks and tennis courts. Mr. English pointed out there are national trends that interest in tennis is decreasing and interest in pickleball is on the rise. There was discussion that it would be an administrative change to exchange tennis courts for pickleball courts or multi-purpose courts. Mr. English also encouraged the developers to include a dog park. There was a request from a board member to keep large trees. The developers and Ms. Trueblood explained the land was forested about 7 years ago and there aren’t many large, mature trees. The landscaping plan includes a lot of planted street trees. Ms. Trueblood shared advice about play areas including: slides should never be south facing because they get too hot, picnic areas need shelters because there’s a demand for shade and engineered wood fiber is the best surfacing for playgrounds. She reiterated that the greenway should be 10-feet wide. A board member brought up dog waste receptacles. Ms. Trueblood also described a piece of equipment that was used to clear the path for Riverwalk that saved money and protected adjacent trees. The developer said they would like to use the same technique for this greenway. Ms. Trueblood agreed to share contact information for the contractor. Motion: Mr. English moved to recommend approval of recreational points aspects of Collins Ridge SUP with consideration given to the following modifications:  Greenway should be 10 feet wide rather than 8 feet wide  Fenced dog park is recommended  Additional recreation resources may be added near tennis courts (pickle ball, etc.) Second: Ms. Taylor seconded. Vote: Unanimous Page 3 of 4 ITEM #5: FY17 Mid-Year Expense Report Ms. Trueblood reviewed that there are funds remaining in all the major line items. The Riverwalk flooding repairs were a significant expense this past fall. This spring she’s expecting to pull the large rocks from Cates Creek Park and put back engineered soil (a native soil and sand mix) with a pipe at the bottom and planted with pollinator-friendly plants. She expects work to begin in February. The rocks will be stored at the bottom of the property and then be re-used in other stormwater projects on the property. In Kings Highway Park, about $3,000 will go to pruning and tree care to open it up and make it feel a little less creepy. There is a trashcan and recycling can out there now. There will also be basic planting, mulch and upkeep and care of the smaller parks. ITEM #6: FY18 Budget Highlights-DRAFT Ms. Trueblood reviewed the major accomplishments for this current fiscal year included reassigning planner to public space manager, dealing with the flood damage, implementing downtown improvements (including hardscaping and loading zone on West King Street), doing downtown revitalization (planters, banners, benches, trash/recycle containers), Churton Street Access Improvements permits and construction authorization, CMAQ permits and construction authorization, implemented phase 2 of interpretive signage project, Cates Creek stormwater (happening this spring), updating the Connectivity Plan, tree identification on Riverwalk (Tree Board project but housed within public space department) and became a Bee City USA. Ms. Trueblood explained the “wish list” draft budget includes asking for funding to make the boardwalk connecting Latimer and Hayes streets as well hiring a parks technician to keep an eye on the parks and to make small repairs. The budget includes parking improvements at Kings Highway Park. Also on the list are improvements to the Margaret Lane Cemetery, replacement water fountains, wayfinding kiosk in Gold Park (an economic development and tourism opportunity), additional interpretive signage for FY19, and possible improvements at Exchange Club Park. There was brief discussion describing the meaning of “placemaking.” ITEM #7: Reports and Updates- (Parks and Recreation related reports)  Town Board: Brian Lowen  Planning Board: Chris Wehrman—The board is discussing text amendments like allowing signs attached to businesses lower for pedestrian visibility without making it something people will bump into. The board also discussed allowing accessory dwelling units (granny flats or in-house apartments). The board also discussed mobile homes that are just being used for storage. There was brief discussion about affordable housing.  Mountains to Sea Trail- MST: staff – On Sept. 9 there will be a small town trail celebration on the Riverwalk.  Orange County Parks and Recreation Council: Annie Jarabek  Intergovernmental Parks Work Group- IPWG: staff—no meeting yet.  Park Steward reports: Page 4 of 4 1. Gold Park: Annie Jarabek, Dog Park: Nancy Taylor—There’s bamboo cut and played with and then left tangled in trees. 2. Cates Creek Park: Kate Albrecht—Chair Stabley said Ms. Albrecht has a conflict the first part of 2017 and asked whether anyone can report on this park. Mr. English volunteered. 3. Turnip Patch Park: Annie Jarabek 4. Murray Street Park: Ashley DeSena 5. Kings Highway Park: Todd Stabley—It looks nice. Still a little litter. 6. Hillsborough Heights Park: Kim Woodell 7. Riverwalk: Robb English—Chair Stabley noticed there are well established tracks down to the river. In one section, there’s barbed wire fence that is partially buried. Ms. Trueblood asked him to send her a photo. It used to be pasture land, so there’s old barbed wire. Chair Stabley offered to take over Riverwalk reports because Mr. English is volunteering to report on Cates Creek Park. Ms. Trueblood noted some benches had been added including in front of Stickworks. 8. Downtown Sidewalks/Mayo Park: staff—There will be a public meeting at the library after contracts are signed to give an overview of the project and answer questions form stakeholders. Improvements such as bicycle racks and new benches are being added to areas not affected by the upcoming construction.  Staff Updates Chair Stabley asked about follow-up on re-scoring the recreational points inventory. Ms. Trueblood said that now that the Connectivity updates are complete she could add it to the February agenda. ITEM #8: Adjourn Motion: Commissioner Lowen moved to adjourn at 8:46 p.m. Second: Mr. Wehrman seconded. Vote: Unanimous