Agenda - 03-06-2014 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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9 1 Rich Shaw said he would like to emphasize the importance of partnerships, especially 2 as funding has lessened. He said partnerships with OWASA, universities and local government 3 have allowed for the accomplishment of a lot of projects. 4 Referring to the slide on Priority Projects, he said Bingham Township is still on the radar 5 screen, though there have been some stops and starts. He said the goal with Mountains to the 6 Sea is to connect the Seven Mile Creek area into Hillsborough and the Riverwalk and 7 Occoneechee State Park. 8 Commissioner Rich asked how much has been invested in the Mountains to Sea Trail. 9 Rich Shaw said no land has been acquired specifically for the Mountains to Sea Trail, 10 though the state has used parts of their property. 11 Commissioner Gordon said the partnerships are important. She commended staff on 12 this effort, and said they have done a good job of making use of their funds. 13 Dave Stancil said the reason there is still $1.3 million in funding left is because of the 14 many partnerships. 15 Commissioner Price asked if the summary list of projects is in priority order. 16 Rich Shaw answered no. 17 Commissioner Pelissier said she is supportive of the plan. She questioned whether all 18 of the goals would be able to be addressed, given the limited monies. She asked about the 19 prioritization of projects. 20 Rich Shaw said a lot of this work is opportunity. He said some projects have been set 21 aside due to lack of interest, and it is important to go with the flow. 22 Commissioner Dorosin said he is so impressed with this project, and he would like to do 23 the same type of land acquisition for affordable housing. He said that same aggressive mind 24 set is needed. 25 Chair Jacobs expressed his appreciation for this program. 26 Chair Jacobs said he understands that OWASA has approached the County regarding 27 the possibility of taking over recreation at Cane Creek. He questioned whether Cane Creek 28 ought to be looked at as Bingham Township Park, with consideration of what uses can be made 29 available to the public without compromising water quality. 30 Stancil said staff is meeting with OWASA tomorrow. 31 Chair Jacobs asked about payment in lieu projects. 32 Dave Stancil said there are some payment lieu funds available for acquisition of land for 33 open space and for construction. He said the new master plan speaks about payment in lieu. 34 Chair Jacobs asked if there will be funds available that have not been budgeted. 35 Dave Stancil said yes. He said the Bingham project in particular has funds available. 36 Chair Jacobs said OWASA is no longer participating in conservation easements in their 37 watersheds. He questioned whether this should be posed to the AOG to see if the 38 governments would like to participate in protecting their own water supplies. He said the other 39 option is to ask the OWASA board to re-consider participating. 40 Chair Jacobs said the County has met twice with the Mayor of Durham to recommend 41 that the city participate in easements in Little River and other parts of Orange County. He said 42 the County is protecting Durham's water supply but the city is contributing nothing to preserve 43 it. Chair Jacobs said there is a new city manager and new council members who may be more 44 amenable to this concept. 45 Chair Jacobs suggested a formal proposal to the City of Durham's staff to meet with 46 County staff to talk about the inter-relation of storm water credits and whether the state is going 47 to actively protect Jordan Lake. He said Durham may want to work with the County to do more 48 to protect the water supply. 49 Dave Stancil said farmland conservation is a priority, and there may be opportunities in 50 the Little River watershed.