Agenda - 10-30-2000-1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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It In addition to the Memoranda, there are other policies and frameworks of note: 1. in adopting the JMRP report recommendations (revised) in May of this year, the County Commissioners noted that the appropriate focus for joint parks collaboration is on larger -scale parks that can meet multiple needs and serve multiple jurisdictions. While recognizing the important role of "neighborhood" parks and smaller mini - parks, the Commissioners indicated interest in focusing joint efforts on community, district and regional parks (generally, parks of 25 acres or more that offer a wide variety of activities, including both active and low- impact recreation). 2. The County and both School Systems have agreed to a Capital Funding Policy that addresses coordination in selecting and acquiring new school sites. The potential for co- location of schools and parks has been widely - recognized as a goal worth pursuing. Consistency between the School Capital Funding Policy and a joint parks capital funding agreement would be very important. A. Observations Three reports have been produced in the past four years on coordinating parks and recreation in the County and Towns. In reviewing these reports, and the current status of parks and recreation funding, the following. observations are offered on directions in which we could collectively move in future years. Through these reports and the joint work of the schools and local governments, many positive actions have occurred, a few of which are: 1. The sharing of information on parks projects (current and future) that has occurred through the 1999 JMRP report, and will occur in the future with the new Inter - Governmental Parks Work Group. 2. Orange County's Lands Legacy program, which offers opportunities to use this shared information to jointly identify and plan for future parks that serve both Town and County populations. 3. Substantial progress in the co- location of schools and parks in the future Regarding the relationship between the local governments on parks planning and development, as well as the current and future roles of the Towns and the County, we offer the following thoughts: 1. The Towns, with many competing resource needs, are challenged to find funding to operate and maintain their parks. As a result, the Towns have limited opportunities to provide capital funding for new parks that may serve Town residents - and residents beyond the Town boundaries.