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Home My Public Portal About07-17-2018 Minutes PRB Regular MeetingPage 1 of 4 Minutes Parks and Recreation Board 7 p.m. July 17, 2018 Town Annex Board Meeting Room, 105 E. Corbin St. Present: Chair Robb English, Vice Chair Todd Stabley, Board of Commissioners representative Mark Bell (ex officio), Ashley Campbell, Noah Mace, Rebecca Swartz, Chris Wehrman (Planning Board representative), and Kim Woodell Absent: Kate Albrecht, Annie Jarabek 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 June 19, 2018, meeting Motion: Board Member Kim Woodell moved approval of the minutes as presented. Board Member Rebecca Swartz seconded. Vote: Unanimous Changes: None Item 4: Continue discussing Cates Creek Park master plan Trueblood reviewed the plan and asked the board to prioritize the future amenities. There was discussion about whether to leave the large soccer field as large as it is now or reduce the size in the future. Trueblood said her takeaway from the last meeting was to keep the field the size it is now and if the field were to change sizes, then a portion could be used for a dog park, community garden, disc golf practice basket or something else. Trueblood said the field was sized to accommodate a full-size soccer field because when this park was in the initial planning stages, there were many requests for soccer fields. But she thinks what was missed are that it is never going to be programmed for league soccer and the park does not have enough parking (54 spaces) to accommodate league games. A board member expressed interest in prioritizing a concrete pad and picnic shelter. There was interest in noting that there could be shaded pavilions off the trails in the woods. Page 2 of 4 The board liked the area designated for a dog park because it has some shade and is visible. The board discussed that the field gets used for practicing soccer without cleats, tossing Frisbees, playing with off-leash dogs and flying drones. A board member suggested that if the field was reduced in size the town could visually break up the field so that the soccer is confined to a smaller area and so that people would know the field can be used for other activities. A board member suggested a disc golf practice basket in the northeast corner of the field. A board member advocated for the dog park being installed soon. Trueblood said she would advocate for the dog park having amenities from the start shade and water. She said building a dog park is not as costly as a basketball court, but there are costs. A board member noted a dog park and a picnic shelter were requested by citizens. Trueblood noted there’s a fee for reserving the picnic shelter at Gold Park, so the shelter does generate a little revenue. And the shelter at Gold Park is in high demand for weekend reservations. Trueblood told the board if they want a picnic pavilion to rent out in Cates Creek Park, it should be as large as the one at Gold Park, which accommodates 30 to 50 people. A board member advocated for the larger shelter to be a priority. Trueblood said if we are not going to pour concrete over the irrigation system on the field, then the spot she has drawn on the site plan is the logical place it can go and be handicap accessible and close to the parking area and restrooms. A board member expressed interest in additional picnic areas in the wooded section of the park. Another expressed interest in a sand court for volleyball. There was brief discussion of the town’s need for basketball courts. Trueblood explained that based on Hillsborough’s population, there should be multiple courts in town. There are several available at Fairview Park. These were noted as priorities: • Landscaping improvements • Recycling bins • Trails • Dog park • Paved side entrance to dog park • Large picnic shelter The board will review the final plan at its August meeting. Page 3 of 4 Item 5: Reports and updates — (Parks and Recreation-related reports) • Board of Commissioners — Commissioner Mark Bell reviewed that there had recently been a joint meeting of the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee and the Board of Commissioners to discuss water and sewer rate increases, which have since gone into effect. He reviewed that the Board of Commissioners had adopted the Fiscal Year 2019 budget and received an update on affordable housing in Hillsborough. He noted that an upcoming public hearing would include renovations and an addition to the property of the former Colonial Inn. • Planning Board — No report. • Orange County Parks and Recreation Council — No report. • Mountains-to-Sea Trail — No report. • Intergovernmental Parks Work Group — No report. • Park steward reports: 1. Gold Park — No report. Dog Park — Swartz reported the dog park looked fine. Trueblood informed the board that Board Member Nancy Taylor would be leaving the board due to a conflicting commitment and asked Swartz to be the steward of the dog park. Swartz agreed. 2. Cates Creek Park — English reported that it looked good. Trueblood reported that there had recently been vandalism and that the offender had been caught and was paying for the vandalism to be cleaned. 3. Turnip Patch Park — Trueblood reported the butterfly garden has been inst alled and a picnic table would be installed soon. Trueblood is collaborating with Stormwater and Environmental Services Manager Terry Hackett on restoration of the stream buffer. 4. Murray Street Park — Board Member Ashley Campbell reported the park needed mulch, which she knew would be delivered soon because it is a new fiscal year. 5. Kings Highway Park — Vice Chair Todd Stabley reported there is trash that needs to be picked up, poison ivy is growing on a trail, and a life preserver is needed. 6. Hillsborough Heights Park — Woodell reported that other than needing mulch, the park looked good. 7. Riverwalk — English reported the greenway looked good and he liked the Eagle Scout project to create habitat piles to block some accesses to the river. • Staff updates: ○ The West Hillsborough Sidewalk Connections Project is underway and should be completed by the end of 2018. ○ The state is resurfacing Churton Street. There are traffic impacts at night. Possibly in September, the town will add stamped crosswalks. Trueblood wants to avoid doing this work in October. ○ The Hillsborough Parks and Recreation Board will host a joint meeting with the parks and recreation advisory boards of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Orange County on Sept. 18. Trueblood asked this board for suggested agenda items. Suggestions included discussion of environmental stewardship (regarding maintenance activities like weed control), community engagement, survey collaboration, county collaboration on Page 4 of 4 municipal parks and dog park features. It was suggested to have a staff person at each table as a facilitator and to have volunteers from this board take a few minutes to introduce each topic. Item 9: Adjourn Motion: Mace moved to adjourn at 8:42 p.m. Woodell seconded. Vote: Unanimous