Orange County NC Website
Commissioner Hemminger said that the national average is one athletic field for every <br /> 5,000 people and Orange County is way under. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said that at this juncture the Board could adopt a proposed plan <br /> and could always amend it at a later date in reference to the athletic fields. He would like to <br /> see a sign put up as to the new name of this park and that it is owned by Orange County. He <br /> would like to open this park up to supervised groups, such as a cross country team that <br /> approached him about his property at Moorefields. Also, he said that the County <br /> Commissioners have talked repeatedly about having caretakers living in these park buildings <br /> and maintaining a presence. <br /> Dave Stancil said that some of the houses on these sites are in good condition, but <br /> others, like this one, are not and are in need of a lot of repairs, which would be very expensive. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said that there may be people who are oriented toward <br /> rehabbing a house. Also, Durham Tech is willing to teach rehabbing by using some of these <br /> facilities. <br /> Commissioner Gordon suggested posting the property now to address liability issues <br /> and letting organized groups such as track teams use the property under stated conditions. <br /> She said that the County Commissioners could adopt the master plan with the caveat that <br /> some of this would be subject to change. She agreed with the change of the name. <br /> Commissioner Yuhasz said that he would like to see some mention that some areas <br /> may be suitable for more active recreation in the future. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said that he would like to draw outlines for future athletic fields in <br /> what the County Commissioners adopt so that future Commissioners can see what they <br /> wanted. <br /> Commissioner Yuhasz suggested that in the future the northwest property could be <br /> used for more active athletic facilities. <br /> The Board agreed with proceeding as discussed above and with changing the working <br /> title. <br /> Dave Stancil said that staff would bring it back for approval with suggested changes. <br /> 2. Naming of New Department (ERCD/Soil and Water, Parks & Recreation) <br /> Frank Clifton said that the County is in the middle of a lot of reorganizations as they go <br /> through the budget process. The interactions of ERCD, Soil and Water, and Parks and <br /> Recreation seemed to blend naturally together for a conversion into one department. The <br /> departments merged together April 1st along with Grounds Maintenance from AMPS (Asset <br /> Management and Purchasing Services). <br /> Dave Stancil said that so far, all has gone well and they are starting to build lateral <br /> relationships. He said that the most complicated issue to date is to find a merged name since <br /> so many things are going at any given time in this department. Page two of the abstract has <br /> four suggested names: <br /> - Department of Environment and Parks (DEP) <br /> - Department of Environment, Parks and Agriculture (DEPA) <br /> - Parks, Agriculture and Resource Conservation Department (PARC) <br /> - Department of Environment, Parks and Recreation (DEPR) <br /> Commissioner Jacobs suggested Parks, Environment, Agriculture, and Recreation and <br /> the logo could be a pear. <br /> Commissioner Hemminger said that she liked the working title, Department of <br /> Environment, Parks and Recreation. <br />