HomeMy Public PortalAbout06-19-2018 Minutes PRB Regular MeetingPage 1 of 4
Draft Minutes
Parks and Recreation Board
7 p.m. June 16, 2018
Town Barn, 101 E. Orange St.
Present: Chair Robb English, Kate Albrecht, Ashley Campbell, Annie Jarabek, Noah Mace,
Rebecca Swartz, Chris Wehrman (Planning Board representative), and Kim
Woodell
Absent: Board of Commissioners representative Mark Bell (ex officio), Vice Chair Todd
Stabley, and Nancy Taylor
Staff: Public Space Manager Stephanie Trueblood
Item 1: Call meeting to order; confirm presence of a quorum.
Chair Robb English 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 May 15, 2018, meeting
Trueblood explained there was a technical problem with the recording from the May minutes,
so the minutes contain less discussion summary than usual.
Motion: Board Member Noah Mace moved approval of the minutes as presented. Board
Member Kim Woodell seconded.
Vote: Unanimous
Changes: None
Item 4: Continue discussing Cates Creek Park master plan
Trueblood said she had made efforts to spread the word that the board is working on this
master plan. She explained to the audience that the board has been creating master plans for
each park to guide future budget decisions.
Trueblood reviewed the amenities that currently exist at the park and noted that photographs
of the park would be included in the master plan, illustrating existing conditions.
Trueblood and English thanked members of the public for coming to the meeting and
encouraged them to share their ideas.
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Jenny Ogden, director of The Little School of Hillsborough, said groups from the daycare use
Cates Creek Park more than once a week. The children explore the trails in the back of the park
and are interested in the wetlands. The elementary-aged afterschool students at The Little
School are also interested in the wetlands. The 4- and 5-year-old students created a list of ideas
with their teachers for Ogden to share at this meeting. Many of the ideas the young children
shared are also found on The Little School’s playground and include a mud kitchen and zipline.
Ogden said she would like to see a dog park added because there are often dogs off leash that
run up to the children to greet them. The children also recommended a slide that appeared to
be a dinosaur. Ogden said she would like to see the trails to the wetlands be more accessible to
people using walkers and to include places to stop for teaching moments. Ogden added that
she thinks the parents of the children who attend The Little Schoo l would be supportive of
assisting with a special project or workday at Cates Creek Park.
Jasper, a child, said he would like to be able to play disc golf at the park. He said it is a lot of fun
and a great way to stay active. He thinks six or nine holes would be sufficient. He currently plays
at two courses in Chapel Hill. English informed Jasper that a full 18-hole course is on Orange
County’s master plan for Blackwood Farm. Trueblood noted that a disc golf course does not go
well with walking trails because the discs are traveling at high speeds, but it may be possible to
include a practice basket.
Trueblood reviewed the board’s list generated from discussions at previous meetings, which
includes:
• Maintaining the existing playground equipment.
• Protecting the wetland areas.
• Adding a trail system to the back of the park.
• Planting native grasses along the slopes on either side of the entrance and on the south
side of the soccer field where erosion is occurring.
• Adding a larger picnic shelter and providing additional picnic tables with recycling
containers.
• Building a community-scale dog park.
• Removing the large rocks in the stormwater swale and increasing the area of the rain
garden.
• Building a paved trail around the field, similar to the paved walking trails at Gold Park.
• Creating a second access into the park.
• Installing practice baskets for disc golf.
• Installing exercise equipment along the trail system.
• Adding natural play features along the trail system.
• Adding public art and/or performance art spaces.
• Adding benches along the trail system.
• Adding a native bee hotel.
Trueblood said she had already received suggestions from the public, including handicap-
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accessible trails, scent or touch gardens, a community garden, and a water play feature.
Trueblood added that the town has not been interested in taking on the expense of building
and maintaining a splash pad and also shies away from splash pads because the pads have the
appearance of not conserving water. Another suggestion she had received is a partially buried
tunnel for kids to crawl through.
Trueblood noted that Dan and Misty Corcoran had emailed her that swings were their
children’s favorite activity at the park and are generally more available at Cates Creek than at
Gold Park. The Corcorans had also noted that the play equipment that does not turn does not
work well. They suggested installing a trail to the wetland area and an approach to the water’s
edge.
Trueblood also reported that Christy Raulli had written to advocate for a picnic pavilion that
provides adequate shade in Cates Creek Park and a splash pad at one of the parks to enable
more use of the parks in the summer.
Board Member Kate Albrecht said a neighbor had spoken with her in support of providing a
place to play volleyball.
Board members discussed an interest in providing better access to the wetland area while
protecting the native species along the water’s edge.
There was interest from the board on moving quickly on adding a mud kitchen.
The board decided to work on prioritizing the list of future amenities at the July meeting.
Item 5: Reports and updates — (Parks and Recreation-related reports)
• Board of Commissioners — Trueblood shared that the board had passed a budget.
• Planning Board — Board Member Chris Wehrman reviewed the top agenda items from
the May Planning Board meeting. A brief discussion ensued regarding an upcoming
change that would mean the Parks and Recreation Board would only review the
recreation components of a developer’s plan that would be open to the general public.
The Parks and Recreation Board would no longer see the plans for pools and
playgrounds intended solely for the residents of the development.
• Orange County Parks and Recreation Council — Board Member Annie Jarabek said there
have been several requests for more tennis courts and the county is considering
building them at Cedar Grove Park. The council meets again Sept. 5, and the multi-
jurisdictional meeting is Sept. 18.
• Mountains-to-Sea Trail — No report.
• Intergovernmental Parks Work Group — No report.
• Park steward reports:
1. Gold Park — No report. Dog Park — Board Member Rebecca Swartz said it is fine.
2. Cates Creek Park — No report.
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3. Turnip Patch Park — No report.
4. Murray Street Park — Board Member Ashley Campbell said the Girl Scouts have
installed two birdhouses so far, which look nice. Trueblood said mulch would be
added in early July.
5. Kings Highway Park — Trueblood said that poison ivy had been treated where
people were most likely to encounter it.
6. Hillsborough Heights Park — Woodell said the grass was tall and the branches
needed to be trimmed.
7. Riverwalk — Jarabek reported that the small bags for dog waste needed to be
restocked.
• Staff updates:
○ Finance Department employee Pam Gainey is now working with the Public Space
and Public Works departments.
○ Work for the West Hillsborough Sidewalk Connections Project has begun.
○ The state is resurfacing Churton Street. In September, the town will add the
stamped crosswalks.
○ The town is working in partnership with Orange County to install a sidewalk between
Eno Haven Apartments and the Orange County Sportsplex. It is in the planning
stages.
○ The Kings Highway Park parking lot is funded for Fiscal Year 2019.
○ A Hillsborough Garden Club member has planted several plants in Mayo Park and is
watering them this summer.
○ The operations portion of the parks budget is $369,000 for FY19. There is some
money to improve every park in the new fiscal year.
Item 9: Adjourn
Motion: Campbell moved to adjourn at 8:59 p.m. Mace seconded.
Vote: Unanimous