Minutes 02-11-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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David Stancil said that information is available, but he does not have it with him tonight. He said they do provide a lot of subsidies in their programs. Commissioner Pelissier asked what the next steps would be. She said that on the one hand, the Sportsplex and the Central Recreation Center are highly used, and then there is the whole thread of people wanting hiking and nature trails. She said she is not sure what the public really wants. She questioned whether the public is looking to the County for these provisions because there are other trails like Duke Forest, Eno River, and Occoneechee, in addition to county and town parks. She said it is hard to interpret some of the results. David Stancil said there are a number of survey results that raise more questions than answers. He said he does not see the county proposing to ad hoc build something that is proposed in this. He said all of this information will need more analysis. He said as they finalize some of the nature preserves, there may be opportunities to build a couple of miles of trails. Commissioner Price asked about the information regarding the percentage of population that makes up to the towns. David Stancil said his recollection is that it is more than 39%, and the number listed is a clerical error that will be fixed. Commissioner Dorosin said he is skeptical of the high numbers of support for passive recreation. He said he thought the survey generally skews towards adults. He wanted to know if there had been any contact with the school systems and the programs that they offer. He asked if staff has looked at the County’s own recreational programs, with regard to the number of people that are turned away or over capacity. He said he felt like that inconsistency is a real one, and he thought that part of it is built into who takes part in these surveys. Chair Jacobs said he has a different take on that issue, and he would not call it passive recreation but low impact. He said one thing that is missing is how to determine the priorities. Commissioner Rich said she wanted to add something to Commissioner Dorosin's comment. She said they have an Intergovernmental Parks Work Group with elected officials from the schools, towns, and members from OWASA. She said they often talk about different programs, specifically sharing of facilities. She said she is not sure if some of the outreach is coming from that committee as well. David Stancil said that staff did make a presentation at one of the IP work group meetings. Commissioner Rich said she appreciated the report, but that there is a lot of information to digest, and she would like more time to review it. Commissioner Gordon agreed it is a great report, and she would like more time to review it as well. She would like to have a time frame to comment and submit changes. Commissioner Gordon said she did like the way the report was presented. She does not think it is inconsistent for the public to like the Sportsplex, the Central Recreation Center and also to say that they like hiking trails. She said she does not know how that translates into priorities, but it seems to her that both are valid. Commissioner Rich said she would like the proposed parks tour to be re-scheduled. David Stancil said that they would do this. Commissioner Jacobs said he missed the executive summary. He said one of the things that Dave Stancil said was that some things are ready to move forward, but there are no plans. He said there are plans for the Northeast Park and the Blackwood Park, but there is no direction right now. Chair Jacobs said he thought staff should hire the payment in lieu consultants as quickly as possible. He said the whole issue is that this was mostly put into abeyance until the County had an adopted park plan. He said this has been in abeyance almost as long as he has been a Commissioner, so the direction he is proposing is to move forward with the Bingham Township