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County crew assigned to this and other County parks. The 2009-2010 budget <br /> request is estimated at around $50,000. <br /> 4. Is there interest among the parties in annexing the County property (41.75 <br /> acres) to the Town of Hillsborough? <br /> 5. Is the Town willing to contribute 50% of the cost of the Torain St. sidewalk? The <br /> total cost of this sidewalk is estimated at $30,000. <br /> Commissioner Nelson said that he was not around when this park was started. He <br /> asked if there was any discussion of who would manage the park before the park was built. <br /> Lori Taft said no and Commissioner Jacobs said that everyone has always talked about <br /> it being a County park and there was some tension because the residents in Fairview thought <br /> of it as their park. After the land swap, it became a joint park. <br /> Margaret Hauth said that, as the land was studied more, it became clear that a portion <br /> of the site was much more expensive to develop, and to put the program improvements that <br /> were desired by the neighborhood, some of the Town's land on the adjacent parcel was <br /> necessary. <br /> Mayor Stevens said that this is the first time something has been on paper about this <br /> park and originally this was a County park but now it is a joint effort. He said that, from the <br /> Town's perspective, it has not been on the radar and has not been on the Town's parks plan. <br /> He said that he is interested in discussing the park eventually moving to the Town, but there <br /> would have to be different figures then what there is now. He said that one penny of Town <br /> taxes equates to only $60,000, and just the maintenance on this park would be %2 cent. This <br /> would be a very difficult fiscal project for the Town. <br /> Brian Lowen said that he did not realize that the parks in Chapel Hill and Carrboro were <br /> operated by the towns, but the Town of Hillsborough does not have a Parks and Recreation <br /> department. This does warrant more discussion. <br /> Michael Gering said that the Riverwalk project is the Town's only park project and there <br /> is still a long way to go to see this project to its completion. He said that this is the Town's <br /> priority at this time. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said that when the County did the bond in 2001, Fairview Park <br /> was the top park then and the County put in $850,000. He said that this park has been a great <br /> example of how well the Town and County work together. He said that the 10-year proposal <br /> went to the Town last year in some format and he and the Mayor had discussed it then. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said that this is another opportunity to talk about duplication of <br /> services and the possibility of consolidating parks and recreation services. <br /> Commissioner Pelissier said that she is not real clear about issue #3 and there are no <br /> projections in year six. She suggested just letting Hillsborough continue to contribute since it <br /> does not have a parks and recreation department. <br /> Commissioner Nelson verified that at the time of the land swap, there was no <br /> discussion about cost sharing. He said that when he was Mayor of Carrboro, there was a <br /> small area plan and the County came in and bought a large piece of land in the extraterritorial <br /> district where Twin Creeks Park is now. He said that he is not interested in having a small <br /> town spend money on this. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said that it is a little different in this situation and Hillsborough <br /> contributed land to this and made a sacrifice upfront. This was mutually beneficial and he <br /> would like to keep it that way. <br /> Lori Taft made reference to the zip code study and said that Fairview Park is not the <br /> type of park that would bring people in from all over the County because it is a smaller park. <br /> She said that the tentative budget does not include any of the full-time staff. There will be a <br />