Agenda - 04-20-2010 - 7a - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: April 20, 2010 Action Agenda Item No. ~ - (,~ _SUBJECT: Proposal for Soccer Superfund Partnership with the Town of Chapel Hill DEPARTMENT: Environment, Agriculture, PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No Parks and Recreation ATTACHMENT(S): 1) Town of Chapel Hill Proposal 2) Project Plan Map 3) Soccer Superfund Guidelines INFORMATION CONTACT: David Stancil, 245-2510 Lori Taft, 245-2660 PURPOSE: To consider re-allocating 2001 Soccer Superfund monies appropriated for Twin Creeks (Moniese Nomp) Park to support creation of an artificial turf soccer field improvement project at the Town of Chapel Hill's Cedar Falls Park. BACKGROUND: In 2001, Orange County voters approved a Parks and Open Space Bond, including an allocation fora "Soccer Superfund" (SSF) to locate and construct new soccer fields in the County. In May 2005, the Board appropriated $650,000 of SSF funds for the soccer field portion of the planned Phase I of Twin Creeks Park located north of Carrboro. A design firm was retained for this project and preliminary work conducted. However, it was eventually determined that the funding allocated would not be sufficient to complete the planned Phase I of the park due to high construction costs and infrastructure requirements. Currently, $623,000 remains of the SSF appropriation to Twin Creeks. Anew Phase I of Twin Creeks Park was approved by the Board in late 2009 and is moving forward as a greenway trail, without the SSF monies. One of the Board's FY 2009-10 Priorities, adopted in September 2009, was Priority P-12 "Fulfill remainder of bond issuance approved by voters in 2001 for soccer and Twin Creeks". Toward this end, and consistent with prior informal ideas and proposals, a letter was sent from the County Manager to his counterparts in Chapel Hill and Carrboro indicating the County's interest in exploring a partnership to facilitate ashort-term soccer field project. A response was received from the Town of Chapel Hill, and a subsequent meeting between town and County staffs was held. Carrboro did not respond with interest in pursuing this potential funding. Use of the 2001 SSF funds is linked to Soccer Superfund guidelines, which were established in 2002 and adopted by the Board. The guidelines allow Orange County to "grant" monies from the fund to other public entities. The guidelines also define preferred conditions for the proposed project. The project should: be on publicly-owned land with public access to the field(s),