Orange County NC Website
Commissioner Gordon said that the master plan should be revisited to do this and Geof <br /> Gledhill said that the master plan is not a regulatory master plan. <br /> Dave Stancil pointed out that the Millhouse Road property is in the Rural Buffer, so <br /> anything that happens there would not be on the public sewer system. <br /> Lori Taft then spoke about the potential synthetic turf at Cedar Falls Park or Smith <br /> Middle School. <br /> Issue Paper <br /> Synthetic Turf Soccer Field Development <br /> at Cedar Falls Park or Smith Middle School <br /> February 10, 2009 <br /> Background <br /> In late 2008, the Board asked staff to look into a synthetic turf soccer field project using the <br /> remaining soccer superfund money from the 2001 Parks and Open Space bond. In 2007, <br /> members of the soccer community brought the idea of synthetic turf fields to the attention of <br /> the board and staff was asked to look into the possibility of such a project at the Smith Middle <br /> School field(s.) At that time there was a potential private partner who had offered up to <br /> $600,000 in assistance. Additional sources of funds for the estimated $1.624 million dollar <br /> (two field) project had not yet been identified. Estimates for just the one municipal field were <br /> $856,000. <br /> The potential partner wished to have usage fees waived in exchange for their donation. The <br /> Town of Carrboro is responsible for issuing permits and collecting fees for field usage at Smith. <br /> The project, within the Towns jurisdiction, would also have been subject to the Town CUP <br /> process and the likely requirement for engineering drawings and water quality studies. <br /> In February of 2008, the Board of Aldermen decided to take no action on approval of the <br /> requested fee waiver, waiver of applicable town fees and general approval of the project. This <br /> decision was brought to the attention of the BOCC and served to effectively stop work on the <br /> project at that time. <br /> Since 2007, the funding offered by the private partner has been designated for use elsewhere. <br /> No other source of funding has been identified. <br /> Continuing Discussions with Carrboro about the Smith Middle School project. <br /> Renewed interest may have arisen among members of the Carrboro Town board and Town <br /> staff. In fall 2008, at a meeting of the Board Chair, Vice-Chair and Manager with the Mayor and <br /> Manager of Carrboro, the potential for revisiting the concept of synthetic turf at Smith field was <br /> discussed, and the Town expressed willingness to receive another presentation and <br /> reconsider the topic. If the Town is willing to enter into a partnership with the County in some <br /> way, the idea could be further developed. <br />