Minutes - 20070424 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ken Chavious said that by taking this action, the staff will be able to draft the final documents for the May 3`d meeting. Public Comment: Gary Wallach is a soccer dad. He would like the County Commissioners to reconsider the seven fields at West Ten. He would like to have fewer fields there and four full-sized fields at Twin Creeks. He is concerned that if these fields are built at West Ten that people will not come. He said that he and his daughter drive a lot now and this would be even more driving for them. He wants the fields where the population is. He said that he spoke to Coach Anson Dorrance, who said to put the fields where the people are. Mr. Wallach stated that Coach Dorrance also said it was unlikely that UNC students who coach soccer would travel long distances to coach. Mike Strand asked the County Commissioners to reconsider allocating the money from West Ten to Twin Creeks. He would like for the County Commissioners to set up a meeting with the soccer people to discuss making one or two fields Astroturf. Rob Smith thanked the County Commissioners for listening to them at past meetings. He said that the soccer community is excited about full-size soccer fields being built soon. He said that, based on the Soccer Superfund Policy and Guidelines, he believes that the best plan for spending the bond money would be to expedite the four full-size fields at Twin Creeks. He asked for those in favor of expediting four fields at Twin Creeks to stand. Laura Sullivan said that she plays soccer for Triangle United and they need more fields because it gets too crowded. She said that sometimes they have to cancel practices just because there is not enough space to practice. Megan Dell said that her home is in Chapel Hill and they are driving so far now to get to soccer fields, which pollutes the air, and she likes her air clean. Michael Buck said that he received an email from one of the local soccer clubs to let the Board of County Commissioners know that fields closer to "the town" would be more beneficial. He said that when he read this he was motivated to attend if only to gently remind everyone that Orange County has mare than one town. He said that the Board of County Commissioners was elected to represent all of Orange County and not just residents of a particular town. He used the website of the soccer club that sent the email and he was able to find directions to facilities where there are at least 21 soccer fields. These are just fields listed on the club's website. He said that there are five fields maintained by the Chapel Hill Recreation and Parks and at least three maintained by Orange County Recreation and Parks. He said that the two Board of County Commissioners' meeting locations are in two areas, and the average distance to these 21 fields from the Southern Human Services Center is 5.6 miles. The average distance to the same fields from Margaret Lane is 14.3 miles. Regarding the three northern area fields, the average distance to 19 Orange County fields from the Southern Human Services Center is only 4.6 miles, versus the average distance to those same fields from Margaret Lane is 12.5 miles. He said that residents in northern Orange County have to drive 60-75°~ further to use these existing facilities. He urged the County Commissioners to take this information into account. Brian Oswald is the head soccer coach at Cedar Ridge High School. He said that he has lived in the County for 23 years and has raised two children who played soccer. He said that he had to travel from northern Orange County to Chapel Hill during all of this time to play soccer. He would like for the County Commissioners to move forward with the West Ten Soccer Complex. He said that he could guarantee that if the fields are built, that people will go to the West Ten Complex and play. Lisa Henniger said that she has not heard anyone talk about growth. She said that she is a soccer parent and she travels a lot to tournaments. She said that this complex would bring a lot of money into the area. She thinks that the County should look toward the future and at long-term planning. She said that they need all of the fields at West Ten and the fields need to be done right.