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

Browse Search

2 Examine the level of County funding to support the Town's Parks and Recreation Department operating budget compared to County's use of Town programs and facilities A copy of the resolution adopted by the Council on April 10, 2000 is attached. After the presentation of the Joint Master Recreation and Parks Work Group Report this spring, .= County. Board of Commissioner's Chair Moses Carey wrote to Mayor Waldorf in May to request that the Town Council: 1. Adopt a resolution establishing an Intergovernmental Parks Work Group (1P Work Group) and appoint members for a first meeting in September. 2. Authorize the Town Manager to meet with his counterparts in the County and other municipalities, for the purpose of developing a report for the October 30 Assembly of Governments meeting on ways that the County and municipalities might coordinate and synchronize capital funding for future park development. A copy of the letter from Chair Moses Carey to Mayor Waldorf is attached. The Intergovernmental Parks Work Group's primary charge would be to continue. the information sharing and inventory updating processes of the Joint Master Plan Work Group. The proposed Work Group's charge also recognizes that parks and recreation standards may vary among the jurisdictions. In June, the Council referred the County requests to the Manager and the Parks and Recreation Commission for reply at the Council's August 28 meeting. DISCUSSION We believe that the charge of the proposed Intergovernmental Parks Work Group would continue the positive steps in County -wide cooperation on leisure issues begun by the Joint Master Recreation and Parks Work Group and the completion of its report. We agree with the report's central message that the best hope for a strong parks and recreation program lies in partnerships, be it inter jurisdictional or otherwise. In addition, the completed inventory of existing facilities and parklands is an important component of the document, which should be updated annually. The proposed IP Work Group could be a logical group to continue this 'process. We believe the proposed charge for the Work Group is. consistent with the Council's comments in its April 10 resolution. The IP Work Group's primary charge would be information sharing at least initially, and the Group's charge acknowledges flexibility for each jurisdiction's parks values and standards. The proposed composition of the IP Work Group includes one member and one alternate of the Town's Parks and Recreation Commission or Greenways Commission. We believe that the needs of Chapel Hill must be fairly represented by any such body and recommend that one member of both Town commissions be appointed to the IP Work Group.