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HomeMy Public PortalAbout03-20-2018 Minutes PRB Regular MeetingPage 1 of 3 Minutes Parks and Recreation Board 7 p.m. March 20, 2018 Town Barn, 101 E. Orange St. Present: Kate Albrecht, Board of Commissioners representative Mark Bell (ex officio), Ashley Campbell, Annie Jarabek, Noah Mace, Rebecca Swartz, Chris Wehrman (Planning Board representative), and Kim Woodell Absent: Chair Robb English, Vice Chair Todd Stabley, and Nancy Taylor Staff: Public Space Manager Stephanie Trueblood Item 1: Call meeting to order; confirm presence of a quorum. Board Member Kate Albrecht called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Public Space Manager Stephanie Trueblood called the roll and confirmed the presence of a quorum. Item 2: Consideration of changes or adjustments to the agenda There was none. Item 3: Approval of minutes from Feb. 20, 2018, meeting Motion: Board Member Rebecca Swartz moved approval of the minutes as presented. Board Member Chris Wehrman seconded. Vote: Unanimous Item 4: Hear proposal from Girl Scout Troop 59 to build birdhouses for town parks A leader said this troop meets in Hillsborough. There are 16 girls planning to work collaboratively on this project to earn the Bronze Award. A girl from the troop briefly explained the project and said the troop would also like to take on the responsibility of cleaning out the existing birdhouses in Hillsborough each spring as well as the new ones the girls plan to add. Trueblood briefly explained that a former town employee, Adron Thompson, built the bluebird houses, installed them on stop signs and fences around town, and maintained them until he passed away recently. Trueblood said she will help the troop get in touch with Thompson’s widow, who took over the maintenance of the birdhouses upon his death. Motion: Board Member Annie Jarabek moved to approve. Albrecht seconded. Vote: Unanimous Page 2 of 3 Item 5: Hear proposal from Eagle Scout candidate Eamon Coughlan to build a low fence and wildlife habitat piles to block unauthorized river access and reduce erosion along Riverwalk Phase II Coughlan said he is with Troop 835 in Chapel Hill. He reviewed his plans. Trueblood explained that the plan is to block those areas where erosion is occurring due to pedestrian traffic. Not all accesses to the river would be blocked. Motion: Board Member Noah Mace moved to approve. Board Member Kim Woodell seconded. Vote: Unanimous Item 6: Begin discussing development of a Cates Creek Park master plan Trueblood informed the board that she tried to get the word out in the Waterstone development that this board is working on a master plan for Cates Creek Park. The developer has not yet turned over public space maintenance to homeowner’s associations in the Waterstone development. Albrecht offered to post to the Nextdoor social media platform to draw people to the next meeting. Trueblood reviewed the original master plan for the park with the board. Phase II of that plan is a system of trails. There are trails in place now that people have made which do not match the Phase II plans. Trueblood noted that trees have been planted and stormwater improvements have been made along the parking lot. The public space manager reviewed areas that she believes need to be addressed, and the board offered some suggestions. The draft list created jointly includes: • Plant native grasses along the slopes on either side of the entrance and on the south side of the soccer field where erosion is occurring. • Plant a diversity of tree species where the stands of white pines grow along the entrance. • Remove the rocks in stormwater swales because weeds grow and litter gets trapped between them and because they are dangerous to children. • Build a dog park and possibly another recreation area on the large field, such as a practice disc golf area. • Possibly build a pavilion or nontraditional recreation in the wooded area of the park. • Create a second access into the park. • Introduce walkways/pathways in the back, such as a place where kids can practice riding bicycles. • Create more picnic areas, possibly pavilions. • Protect the wetland and stream. • Build additional traditional and nontraditional recreation areas. Item 7: Reports and updates — (Parks and Recreation-related reports) • Board of Commissioners — Commissioner Mark Bell reported that the Board of Commissioners’ budget retreat is April 7 and that Town Manager Eric Peterson gave a preview of the budget at the last board meeting. The budget situation for this coming Page 3 of 3 year is tighter than it has been in recent years. The Plann ing Board voted to recommend that the Board of Commissioners decline the Orange County detention center campus proposal. Also, the Hillsborough Board of Commissioners had appointed Matt Hughes to fill the upcoming vacancy on the board. • Planning Board — Wehrman said he was unable to attend the Planning Board meeting, but he shared more information about the detention center ’s proposed location. • Orange County Parks and Recreation Council — No report. • Mountains-to-Sea Trail — No report. • Intergovernmental Parks Work Group — Trueblood said it will meet in May. • Park steward reports: 1. Gold Park — No report. Dog Park — Trueblood said the muddy area has been mulched. 2. Cates Creek Park — No report. 3. Turnip Patch Park — No report. 4. Murray Street Park — Board Member Ashley Campbell said some branches have snapped close to Eno Street. 5. Kings Highway Park — Mace said several people there were walking, fishing and kayaking. 6. Hillsborough Heights Park — Woodell said some of the spikes holding the black edging need to be hammered down. 7. Riverwalk— No report. • Staff updates: ○ The start date for the sidewalk connections project in West Hillsborough is expected to be between April 15 and June 15. ○ The Riverwalk dry pond near the Calvin Street entrance has been planted with shade pollinator plants as a Bee City initiative. ○ Some plants have been placed in the new Turnip Patch Park pollinator garden. ○ Trueblood is working with an engineer to redesign the entrance to Kings Highway Park. It is modeled on the parking lot of the Johnston Mill Nature Preserve on Mt. Sinai Road. She is expecting the engineer’s cost estimate soon. ○ The Riverwalk detour is still in place. The Utilities Department is working to complete this project. ○ Trueblood shared that she had spent time with kindergarteners at The Expedition School who shared their thoughts on what to add to the parks, like food trucks and monkeys. She had also heard from third- and fourth-graders at Grady Brown Elementary School who had ideas about making the parks more accessible to kids who use wheelchairs. Item 9: Adjourn Motion: Mace moved to adjourn at 8:36 p.m. Jarabek seconded. Vote: Unanimous