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

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21 • The Towns face a continuing challenge to fund capital land acquisition and facility development for new parks, while still providing adequate operation and maintenance of existing parks. ds for all jurisdictions There are substantial identified parks nee — totaling $63 million in all — but available funding for only 114 of these needs • The need to coordinate quickly on funding for land acquisition is immediate, as land is not getting cheaper and good park sites disappear each year. The 1999 JMRP report calls for a parks and open space bond referendum to land - bank for future park needs and address the deficit of parkland at the present. The Town of Chapel Hill has identified a number of concerns regarding the level of County contribution to Town parks and recreation operating budget, the location of facilities based on contribution, and the need for individual jurisdiction parks standards (please see Appendix 6 for additional information). With the substantial knowledge gained from the work of the past five years, the Managers would jointly suggest consideration of the following steps to address current and future needs: 1. Develop and Adopt a Memorandum of Agreement between the County and Towns on Capital Funding for ]oint Parks Projects From the many findings from the reports of the. last flue years, we have learned that: There is a deficit of parkland in the County, as identified in the 1999 JMRP • report, and $47 million in identified parks projects are currently unfunded, • There is an immediate need for begin land- banking for parks, to ensure adequate sites for future park needs, Orange County has the greatest opportunity to raise funds countywide for parks needs, and the 1997 County Parks bonds illustrate a precedent for a County bond serving rural and Town needs, The Towns are limited in their ability to raise capital funding for new, large parks needs, but have a longstanding experience in operation and maintenance of parks. If Orange County's optimal role in joint parks projects is oriented toward capital funding, land acquisition and facility development, and the Towns optimal role is in operation, programming and maintenance, a mechanism to address how these roles will be fulfilled may be needed. If the County and Towns are interested in pursuing an arrangement along these lines, a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) may be desirable. This Memorandum could address: The nature of joint parks to which the Memorandum is applicable (larger - scale park endeavors to serve all residents, for example),