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HomeMy Public PortalAbout06-18-2019 PRB Minutes 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 4 Minutes Parks and Recreation Board 7 p.m. June 18, 2019 Town Hall Annex Board Meeting Room, 105 E. Corbin St. Present: Chair Robb English, Vice Chair Todd Stabley, Kate Albrecht, Lisa Frazier (Planning Board representative), Noah Mace, Jesse Mowles-Aring and Rebecca Swartz Absent: Board of Commissioners representative Mark Bell (ex officio), Annie Jarabek, Kim Woodell Staff: Public Information Specialist Cheryl Sadgrove and Public Space Manager Stephanie Trueblood Guests: Marvin Clark, Blair Bradford, Chelsea Gailey, Cole Kenworthy and Andrew Landstrom 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. Trueblood introduced Cole Kenworthy, Andrew Langstrom and Chelsea Gailey, who are interested in filling upcoming vacancies on the board. She also noted that Blair Bradford and Marvin Clark were in the audience on behalf of the Hillsborough Exchange Club Board. 3. Minutes review and approval A. Minutes from regular meeting on May 21, 2019 Motion: Member Kate Albrecht moved approval of the minutes as submitted. Member Jesse Mowles- Aring seconded. Vote: Unanimous 4. Review proposed text amendment regarding dedicated positions on the board for a teenage and senior member Trueblood noted that the proposed text amendment language was in the packet. Board members expressed approval of the language. Motion: English moved to recommend that the Hillsborough Board of Commissioners consider approving the text amendment. Member Lisa Frazier seconded. Vote: Unanimous Parks and Recreation Board Minutes | 2 of 4 5. Discuss developing a conceptual master plan for Exchange Club Park Trueblood reviewed that for multiple years this board has been interested in the town entering a lease agreement with the Exchange Club for use of some of Exchange Club Park. The lease has yet to be funded through the town’s annual budget process. She noted that last month the board agreed to start working on a master plan with recommendations and visual aids showing what improvements could be made, recognizing that a master plan may help encourage the Board of Commissioners to fund the park lease in Fiscal Year 2021 and guide future development of the park. Trueblood reviewed the park’s amenities, including a baseball field leased by Hillsborough Youth Athletic Association. She noted that the town would be interested in leasing that portion if the association relinquished its lease at some point but is not interested in the area as long as HYAA continues to hold the lease. The board reviewed photographs of the park. It was noted that there is 6.5 wooded acres on the other side of the creek. Albrecht suggested that the master plan include a visual of how this property could help connect town. Trueblood noted the land in this park is integral to connecting people south of downtown with downtown Hillsborough. Bradford of the Exchange Club Board said she and Clark had been working on implementing improvements at Exchange Club Park. There was discussion that a significant rain event this past spring flooded the picnic shelter, which was an unusual occurrence. There was also discussion about a culvert for the railroad is adjacent to the Exchange Club property that is not sufficient and can easily be clogged by debris. Trueblood said that it is not clear whether the railroad is supposed to maintain the culvert. Trueblood said the culvert is very old and installing a new stormwater pipe under the railroad would require permission from North Carolina Railroad Company. She is sure the railroad company would not allow train traffic to be stopped. It was agreed that regularly clearing the culvert from any debris may lessen the severity of flooding in the park. Bradford gave a brief overview of Exchange Club’s mission and listed several fundraisers and ways the club benefits the community and the state. Trueblood said this board has been talking about providing a place for teens, which goes well with Exchange Club’s mission. She reviewed that this board first started considering the benefits of Exchange Club Park when it was reviewing possible sites for locating a skate park. This land ranked the highest for that purpose. She noted that a town lease with Exchange Club would have to be very long-term for the town to invest in the park. Trueblood noted that if she could tie Exchange Club to Faribault Lane, then the park would help when competing for Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grants because it would be tied to the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. There was brief discussion about the best connection routes. Trueblood said there is a placeholder amount of $40,000 in the FY21 budget for Exchange Club Park. The board needs a master plan for this park by January to submit for the FY21 budget process. It was noted that the playground equipment is deteriorating, and there is significant litter in the back of the park. Trueblood said a Scout troop is interested in having a cleanup day in the park. It was noted that the picnic shelter is available to anyone and that nonprofit organizations can use the building. Parks and Recreation Board Minutes | 3 of 4 Trueblood reminded the board that the list of improvements the town might make in the park include: new restrooms, play equipment, disc golf, mountain biking trails, skate park, public art piece, natural play equipment, basketball courts and stormwater features like pollinator-friendly rain gardens. Trueblood said Stormwater and Environmental Services Manager Terry Hackett and she recently spent time going over stormwater issues and Hackett would attend a meeting of the Parks and Recreation Board in the future. Trueblood asked Clark and Bradford to help her gather information about the early years of the park. Both knew quite a bit about it. Clark said maintenance is difficult for club members to handle. He said the trash cans are emptied every night. The Exchange Club would like to see parking and handicapped accessibility improvements and play equipment replacements. Clark and Bradford said they could attend future meetings of the Parks and Recreation Board to be present for the master plan discussions. 6. Parks and Recreation-related reports A. Board of Commissioners — Trueblood reported that the FY20 budget was approved in June. B. Planning Board — No report. C. Intergovernmental Parks Work Group — No report. 7. Park steward reports A. Gold Park — Member Rebecca Swartz said the park looks good and the pollinator garden looks great. Trueblood reported that some boards had been replaced along Riverwalk greenway and that mulch is scheduled soon in the playground. Trueblood said a weld joint is broken on the spiral climber and she has ordered a new one. B. Gold Park dog park — No report. C. Cates Creek Park — Albrecht reported that it is always busy there. She showed Commissioner Mark Bell some trails people have informally made through the woods. They noted the diversity of kids and adults hanging out in the park. Trueblood reported that a layer of compost and mulch had been added to the very hard soil near the playground to help improve it for future plantings. Albrecht noted that many children walk to the park without adults, which she thinks is great. She thinks sidewalks enable children to freely move within the Waterstone neighborhood. Albrecht said the established user trails in the woods give great inspiration of where people want to go, but some are not in the best spot (possibly causing erosion along the creek). She encouraged the board to take cues from those trails and to create sustainable trails near the current ones if erosion is a problem where a trail has been created. She pointed out that Cates Creek Park parallels Cates Creek Parkway. She said being able to walk along the space in the woods paralleling the parkway would be great. D. Murray Street Park — Frazier reported a few trees are dead and some areas need mulch. She also noted where a railroad tie is very crooked in the ground. Trueblood explained all the playgrounds would receive additional surfacing this month. Parks and Recreation Board Minutes | 4 of 4 E. Kings Highway Park — Member Todd Stabley said it looks nice. Trueblood said a contractor comes in July to do annual trail clearing. F. Hillsborough Heights Park — No report. G. Riverwalk —Mowles-Aring said it looks good. 8. Staff updates Trueblood asked those who are interested in serving on this board to introduce themselves. Cole Kenworthy said he has been living here off and on for 10 years. He has purchased a home in Hillsborough and wants to be involved. He works at The Little School and lives in the Fairview neighborhood Andrew Landstrom said he lives in Waterstone. His wife works at Hillsborough Elementary School and he is a pediatric cardiologist at Duke. His sons enjoy playing at Cates Creek Park. Chelsea Gailey said she has lived in North Carolina for 23 years and in Hillsborough for 3 years. She has a master’s degree in public health. She and her husband enjoy astro photography. She lives on Orange Grove Road in the extraterritorial planning jurisdiction. Albrecht and Stabley were thanked for their service in volunteering on this board. Stabley was asked to attend in July. 9. Adjournment Motion: Swartz moved to adjourn at 8:35p.m. Stabley seconded. Vote: Unanimous