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HomeMy Public PortalAbout05-21-19 PRB Minutes Regular Meeting Public Space Manager Stephanie Trueblood 101 E. Orange St., PO Box 429, Hillsborough, NC 27278 919-296-9481 | stephanie.trueblood@hillsboroughnc.gov www.hillsboroughnc.gov | @HillsboroughGov Parks and Recreation Board Minutes | 1 of 3 Minutes Parks and Recreation Board 7 p.m. May 21, 2019 Town Hall Annex Board Meeting Room, 105 E. Corbin St. Present: Chair Robb English, Kate Albrecht, Lisa Frazier (Planning Board representative) Jesse Mowles-Aring, Noah Mace, Rebecca Swartz and Kim Woodell Absent: Vice Chair Todd Stabley, Board of Commissioners representative Mark Bell (ex officio), Annie Jarabek, Staff: Public Space Manager Stephanie Trueblood 1. Call to order and confirmation of 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. 2. Agenda changes and approval There were no changes. The agenda stood as presented. 3. Minutes review and approval A. Minutes from regular meeting on March 19, 2019 Motion: Member Kate Albrecht moved approval of the minutes as submitted. Member Rebecca Swartz seconded. Vote: Unanimous B. Review meeting notes from joint advisory board meeting on April 23, 2019 The board reviewed the notes and added that Carrboro has a youth member on its parks and recreation board. 4. Discussion: Add dedicated position for teenage member Idea generated from joint advisory board meeting. This item was address after Item 5. Several board members said one takeaway from the joint advisory board meeting is that other jurisdictions include a teen member on parks and recreation boards. This board is interested in also including a teen member. It was acknowledged that the teen member would have his or her own opinions that may differ from other teens, just like adult members do. Parks and Recreation Board Minutes | 2 of 3 Trueblood noted that the Orange County Department on Aging also recommends specifying an advisory board seat for a senior citizen. The board agreed to do that as well. Motion: English moved to recommend that the Board of Commissioners change the Code of Ordinances to specify the Parks and Recreation Board be a 10-member board with one position dedicated for a senior (55+ years old) and one position dedicated for a teen (13-19 years old) and to update text to reflect the board has no member from the Occoneechee Mountain Committee. Member Jesse Mowles-Aring seconded. Vote: Unanimous 5. Proposal: Use privacy fence in Gold Park for art panels Casey Collins, a Hillsborough resident and member of the Tree Board, suggested that the Parks and Recreation Board consider a local art project involving children to paint panels with a nature which that would hang on the privacy fence at Gold Park. Trueblood said the Orange County Arts Commission has offered to help organize the project. Board members said that they liked the idea. There was some discussion about the best material for the panels. English suggested a product called Gator Skin to create a paintable surface. It was decided that Trueblood and Collins would meet with the executive director of the Orange County Arts Commission to continue developing the project. Motion: Albrecht moved to support a Gold Park art panel project and to request staff to work with stakeholders on a project proposal and to return to the board with a project scope and schedule. Swartz seconded. Vote: Unanimous 6. Debriefing: Joint meeting with parks advisory boards A. Community Engagement — Member Noah Mace shared that the discussion mostly focused on including teen members and on sharing information in other languages. B. Needs Assessments and Data Sharing — Albrecht shared that there was talk of going to places like groceries and laundromats to survey people who may be harder to reach. There is no date set for a county needs assessment survey. C. Environmental Stewardship and Conservation Efforts — Swartz expressed disappointment that few attendees chose this for discussion. D. Collaboration and Funding Partnerships — English shared that no staff sat in on this discussion. He suggested it would be worth talking with Orange County about collaborating on a skate park. E. Multi-Modal Trail — Mowles-Aring shared that many people attending this session were passionate about creating a multi-modal trail. He said a few north-south routes have been identified. There also may be a future connection between Durham, Chapel Hill, and Jordan Lake using a former railroad route. Orange County plans to work on feasibility studies. Parks and Recreation Board Minutes | 3 of 3 7. Parks and Recreation-related reports A. Board of Commissioners — No report. B. Planning Board — No report. C. Intergovernmental Parks Work Group — Trueblood reported that the group had met and that someone from the Orange County Department on Aging had spoken. She said most of the discussion was on artificial turf. 8. Park steward reports A. Gold Park — No report. B. Gold Park dog park — Swartz said mulch was caught in the fence after flooding and needed to be knocked to the ground. C. Cates Creek Park — Trueblood reported that compost blanketing had been added to the entrance slopes and that the new plantings in the expanded pollinator garden were doing well. She asked for help watering the new plantings over the summer. D. Murray Street Park — Member Lisa Frazier offered to be the park steward. Swartz said she checked on this park recently and it looked nice. E. Kings Highway Park — Mace reported that the trails had become overgrown and that the trail by the river is not visible. He said invasive plants have taken over. Trueblood said the trails get cleared once a year. Funding for that project is available July 1. Trueblood said she has noticed more cars parked there than ever before. F. Hillsborough Heights Park — No report. G. Riverwalk — Trueblood reported that UNC archaeology students were working on a site next to the Classical American Homes Preservation Trust portion of the greenway. 8. Staff updates Trueblood reported that: • Planting had taken place at the expanded pollinator garden in Cates Creek Park. • Compost blanketing had been applied in Cates Creek Park. • Some broken pickets and handrails were scheduled to be repaired on the Riverwalk greenway in Gold Park. • The stream buffer restoration projects in Murray Street and Turnip Patch parks were completed. • This board has several vacancies due to the resignation of Ashley Campbell, the future resignation of Albrecht, and terms ending for Vice Chair Todd Stabley and Kim Woodell. This board seeks representation from different neighborhoods. West Hillsborough is well represented on the board. • The purchase of Exchange Club Park was not likely to be funded for Fiscal Year 2020. The board discussed ways to move forward with prioritizing Exchange Club Park. Motion: Swartz moved to prioritize Exchange Club Park master plan as the priority for this board for FY20. Mowles-Aring seconded. Vote: Unanimous 9. Adjournment Motion: Albrecht moved to adjourn at 9:03 p.m. Frazier seconded. Vote: Unanimous