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2 <br /> <br /> <br />In some cases, land for an identified park need has been acquired using previously-approved <br />general obligation bond funds. This “land-banking” program was a conscious and deliberate <br />component of the Lands Legacy Program (created in 2000) to identify, evaluate, secure and <br />protect good park sites while they still existed, in the aggressive real estate boom years before <br />2007. Acquisition of future park sites is but one of five areas of activity for the Lands Legacy <br />Program. <br /> <br />There are two projects where land acquisition is still needed – Bingham District Park and the <br />Mountains to Sea Trail (MST). Funding for land acquisition is included within the Lands Legacy <br />Fund or in the park project account, and work is underway to secure these lands at present. <br /> <br />Looking at the timing of planned park construction projects, two significant projects are <br />currently slated for funding in the upcoming FY 2018-19 (pending further Board discussion of <br />the CIP later this spring). Construction of many of the planned facilities at Blackwood Farm <br />Park is scheduled for next fiscal year, upon completion of infrastructure improvements needed. <br />This infrastructure work (parking, turn lanes, entrance road) has been delayed pending the <br />decision of the location for the Parks Operations Base, which was originally slated for this site. <br />The Board will see an updated master plan in March as a prelude to the hiring of engineering <br />and design consultants later this spring. <br /> <br />The second phase of Cedar Grove Park is also scheduled for construction beginning in FY <br />2018-19. This would involve new baseball/softball fields, tennis courts, parking and other <br />amenities. An update to this master plan will also be forthcoming to address a possible change <br />in the type of ballfields planned, to help replace several small fields in Hillsborough that will be <br />lost to development in 2020. <br /> <br />On a smaller scale, funds are also proposed next fiscal year for Little River Park (to address <br />the Laws House near the park entrance) and a waystation/trailhead for the MST at Seven Mile <br />Creek Nature Park. <br /> <br />Funding Sources <br /> <br />Historically, funding for County parks has come from: <br /> <br />• General obligation bonds approved by voters in 1997 and 2001; <br />• State grants from sources such as the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund and the <br />Regional Trails Program and federal grants from the Land and Water Conservation <br />Fund; <br />• Funding from partner entities, including Durham County and the Town of Chapel Hill; <br />• Payment-in-Lieu funds collected and used by district for park projects; and <br />• Other general fund appropriations made by the Board <br /> <br />These sources are expected to continue to be an important part of funding for parks, <br />especially for the MST (which may also include the bond funds available from the State). <br /> <br />David Stancil, Department of Environment, Agriculture, Parks and Recreation Director, <br />made the following PowerPoint presentation: <br />