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HomeMy Public PortalAbout09-21-2021 Minutes PRB Regular Meeting 101 E. Orange St., PO Box 429, Hillsborough, NC 27278 919-732-1270 | www.hillsboroughnc.gov | @HillsboroughGov PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MINUTES | 1 of 3 Minutes PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD Remote regular meeting 7 p.m. Sept. 21, 2021 Virtual meeting via YouTube Live Town of Hillsborough YouTube channel Present: Chair Jesse Mowles-Aring, Vice Chair Lisa Frazier, Carl Cuthbertson, Commissioner Robb English (ex officio), Chelsea Gailey, Cole Kenworthy, Andrew Landstrom and Richard von Furstenberg Absent: Breanna McCormley and James Pattison Staff: Public Space and Sustainability Manager Stephanie Trueblood 1. Call to order and confirmation of quorum Chair Jesse Mowles-Aring called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Public Space and Sustainability Manager Stephanie Trueblood called the roll and confirmed the presence of a quorum. 2. Agenda changes and approval Motion: Member Cole Kenworthy moved to approve as presented. Member Andrew Landstrom seconded. Trueblood called the roll for voting. Vote: 7-0. Ayes: Members Carl Cuthbertson, Lisa Frazier, Chelsea Gailey, Kenworthy, Landstrom, Mowles-Aring and Richard von Furstenberg. Nays: None. 3. Minutes review and approval Minutes from regular meeting on Aug. 17, 2021 Trueblood noted the time on the minutes needed to be corrected to 7 p.m. Motion: Kenworthy moved approval of the Aug. 17, 2021, minutes with the time correction. Frazier seconded. Trueblood called the roll for voting. Vote: 7-0. Ayes: Cuthbertson, Frazier, Gailey, Kenworthy, Landstrom, Mowles-Aring and von Furstenberg. Nays: None. 4. Discussion items A. Review of 2016 skate park ranking exercise Trueblood reviewed there are discussions about skate parks in the minutes from the 1990s and the request has continued to surface. She reviewed a 2014 petition requesting the town build a skate park. The town’s PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MINUTES | 2 of 3 biennial Community Survey consistently generates responses that there aren’t many things for teenagers to do in town. B. Options for adding skate “spots” in town Guest Victoria Roy suggested thinking about building skate spots where future parks will be built and within close proximity to other activities like baseball fields. She wondered if the future train station location might be a good place. Trueblood said the town owns about 20 acres at the train station site. The train station will be built in five or so years. It is cost prohibitive to buy land for a skate park, so the board should look at land the town already owns. Mowles-Aring asked if there’s an estimate of how much residents could help raise to build a skatepark. Trueblood said it is always appreciated when residents raise money for a town project. Right now she wants to focus on where a skate park or skate spot could be built. Frazier wondered if adding a skate spot to a small park would push out younger kids from using the park. Mowles-Aring said Exchange Club Park is still his favorite potential because it is accessible to downtown. Trueblood said Exchange Club Park is no longer a possible location because it floods, HYAA has a long lease on the fields and there isn’t enough parking. She added that Cates Creek Park will be accessible to Waterstone, Collins Ridge, Beckett’s Ride and Cornwallis Hills once bike/ped connections are built. There’s potential to incorporate skate elements in the train station site, which would be connected eventually to Exchange Club Lane and the Riverwalk greenway. She added that there also is a need for a skate park in the northern and northwestern part of town. Trueblood added that a design build would cost at least $200,000 for concrete. She thinks a feasible size for Hillsborough is 5,000 to 7,000 square feet, which is smaller than Durham and not intended to attract people from other towns. Trueblood suggested the board form a subcommittee to rank sites. Residents can serve on the subcommittee. She encouraged the subcommittee to look for examples of parks with pictures and research design/build companies. She also suggested asking Member Jason Pattison to join the subcommittee and to get feedback from high school students. 5. Parks and recreation-related reports A. Board of Commissioners English recent decisions and discussions on the board. Board of Commissioners meeting summaries are available in the News section of the town website, www.hillsboroughnc.gov. B. Planning Board Frazier reported some text amendments were sent to public hearing. C. Intergovernmental Parks Work Group Trueblood said the group will meet in October. 6. Park steward reports PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MINUTES | 3 of 3 Board members reported on the conditions of the parks for which they serve as stewards. Trueblood noted any small repairs that needed attention and gave brief reports on small repairs that had been made since the previous meeting. 7. Staff updates Trueblood said: • “A Gathering of Women” has been installed in Turnip Patch Park. • A new bike rack was installed at Cates Creek Park. • Murray Street Park’s staircase underwent repairs after a truck damaged it. • Hillsborough Heights Park has a new little library that needs book donations. • Bellevue Branch Bridge is being constructed. The trail is owned by Bellevue Mill and comments about the trail maintenance should be directed to Bellevue Mill. • There will be some Comprehensive Sustainability Plan discussion at future meetings of this board. • Sept. 27 Board of Commissioners Work Session will include a presentation from Trueblood on connectivity and transportation. 8. Adjournment Motion: Kenworthy moved to adjourn at 8:29 p.m. Landstrom seconded. Trueblood called the roll for voting. Vote: 7-0. Ayes: Cuthbertson, Frazier, Gailey, Kenworthy, Landstrom, Mowles-Aring and von Furstenberg. Nays: None. Respectfully submitted, Stephanie Trueblood Public Space and Sustainability Manager Staff support to the Parks and Recreation Board Approved: January 18, 2022