Agenda - 05-19-2015 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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16 1 natural areas, or important water quality buffer lands in keeping with Board goals and 2 Lands Legacy priorities.Generally, these lands have conservation values or agricultural 3 operations to be enhanced and protected, and the land stays in private ownership and is 4 not publicly-accessible except upon landowner consent. Over 2,000 acres of prime 5 farmland and natural areas have been conserved todate, with millions of dollars in 6 It is anticipated that additional matching funds of state/federal grants leveraged. 7 approximately 50 percentwould again be leveraged for these projects, as 8 reflected inthe grant funds above. This project would provide $250,000 each year for 9 conservation easements, including $125,000 in County funds and an expected match 10 amount of $125,000 from state/federal grants. 11 12 Commissioner Jacobs saidCongress is looking to sell public lands, thus limiting 13 conservation easement andpark funding. He said federal funds should be aggressively 14 pursued while they are still available. 15 David Stancil said the County is in a position to do so. th 16 Chair McKee said the BOCC approved funding for the Lands Legacyon April 7, 2015, 17 andheasked how those funds play intothisitem. 18 David Stancil said historically there havebeen separate accounts, due to the inability to 19 mix funding streams from the 2001 bond funds. He said it is his understanding that some of the 20 funds approved for the Lands Legacy could be re-tasked to assist with conservation. He said 21 keeping a separate conservation account is still preferable. 22 Chair McKee said he thought that if a portion of the Bond Lands Legacy funds was not 23 accessed that it would lapse. 24 Paul Laughton said $2.4 million did lapse. 25 Chair McKee said because those monies did lapse, he thought the funds approved two 26 nights ago would be kept separate and that it would not be bound by the same restrictions as 27 Bond fund money would be. 28 Paul Laughton saidon page 51 it shows that the $2.4 million in the Lands Legacy 29 project is kept separately. 30 31 e.)Upper Eno Nature Preserve(Page 49) 32 The Upper Eno Nature Preserve includes approximately 400 acres of sensitive natural 33 heritage lands, wildlife habitat and primeforests along the Eno River and its main 34 tributarieswest of Hillsborough. Public access is envisioned at two locations -the Seven 35 Mile Creek Natural Area (adjacent to the Moorefields Local Landmark protected lands) 36 and McGowan Creek Natural Area (near US 70 West). The Upper Eno Preserve would 37 also include a portion of the future NC Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) as it runs northeast 38 to Hillsborough and Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area. Initial work using 39 existing staff resources occurred in Fiscal Year2012to 2013 to rough out an initial loop 40 trail, and continued into Fiscal Year 2013to 2014 to identify parking and signage. The 41 project is anticipated to begin in earnest in Year 1 with completion of the Seven Mile 42 Creek Natural Area, as well as wildlife viewing areas and primitive camping. The 43 McGowan Creek Natural Area component is envisioned for Year 5 and will require road 44 redesign. Grant funding would bepursued for this project. The Year 6-10 amount 45 includes funding for "waystation" amenities for when MST is completed (funding shown 46 in Year 8). 47 48 f.)Soccer.com Soccer Center (Phase II) (CIP page 50) 49 This represents an investment in the current facility (formally named Eurosport Soccer 50 Center), with $425,000 included in Year 1 (Fiscal Year2015to 2016) for possible land