Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
changes in park design that have moved the main park entrance from Southern Village with a <br />proposed deceleration on 151501, an expansion of the existing park and ride lot, and a traffic <br />light easing the traffic flow back onto 15/501 to the main entrance being on Dogwood Acres <br />Drive, with a parking lot on a residential street, no deceleration lane, no traffic light, and the <br />patrons of the park having to cross Dogwaad Acres Drive to access the park proper. He said <br />that the changes were made without sufficient citizen input, without updated traffic studies, <br />without adherence to the criteria of the Town's special use permit, and without following the <br />1992 Small Area Plan or the 2000 Comprehensive Plan in regard to preserving surrounding <br />neighborhoods. The residents of Dogwood Acres are citizens of the County and they feel their <br />neighborhood's concerns are being marginalized by Chapel Hill and the safety of park users is <br />being put at great risk, merely to maintain time sensitive State grant funding. He presented the <br />petition that was signed by 159 residents of the neighborhood in just three days. The petition <br />requests that the revised plans for the Southern Community Park be referred back to the <br />original conceptual plan committee for further review and approval. The residents have <br />expressed their concerns at meetings of the Chapel Hill Town Council, the Chapel Hill Parks <br />and Recreation Committee, the Pedestrian Bicycle Safety Board, and the Transportation Board. <br />At each of the meetings, there have been members that were unaware that they were being <br />asked by Town staff to vote on issues that drastically deviate from the proposals of the original <br />conceptual plan committee. He does not want the County Commissioners to be uninformed as <br />to the way County funds may be allocated. He said that at the last Chapel Hill Town Council <br />meeting an February 13t'', the members proposed that the Town Manager assess the costs of <br />returning to the original conceptual plan committee's recommendations and design far safety <br />concerns since, "the new plan is clearly second in quality to the original." He asked the County <br />Commissioners to support this recommendation. <br />Chair Jacobs said that they would refer this to staff. He said that he and Commissioner <br />Gordon have served on the conceptual planning group and they are being asked to meet with <br />the rest of the group in the next few weeks. There may be some kind of proposed review that <br />relates to the concerns. <br />Spence Dickinson made reference to a proposed festival at Blackwood farms. He said <br />that the festival there far the County's 250th anniversary was great and a lot of people want to <br />see it happen again. Carolina Farm Stewardship has approached the County to do this. He is <br />on the board for Carolina Farm Stewardship and they have agreed to have a planning <br />committee. He has been trying to work with different departments -Recreation and Parks, <br />Cooperative Extension, Economic Development, etc. - so that just one group is not doing it all. <br />He thinks that by broadening it, the festival can be more interesting. He said that he made three <br />requests at bottom of his handout for the County Commissioners' consideration. <br />Chair Jacobs said that this would be referred to staff. <br />b. Matters on the Printed Agenda <br />(These matters were considered when the Board addressed that item on the agenda <br />below.} <br />3. Board Comments <br />Commissioner Halkiotis thanked Mike Mills for his letter. He said that he was an <br />enlightened engineer that has enlightened his staff and hopefully fewer people will be getting <br />injured at a very dangerous intersection. He said that Mike Mills shows up and he cares. <br />Cammissianer Halkiotis said that Carmen Hooker Odum, Secretary of North Carolina <br />Department of Health and Human Services, wrote a letter to the editor in the News and <br />Observer on February 24th. He asked the Clerk to make a copy for each Commissioner. He <br />read from the letter: "We are committed to ensuring first incentive care for people in the public <br />mental health system. This is not solely the State responsibility. Some counties have risen to <br />