Orange County NC Website
2 <br />(attached) and a draft Memorandum of Agreement (initial draft attached) between the County <br />and Town is under review by the attorneys to address the roles and responsibilities of the <br />jurisdictions, as well as the process for park design, construction and operation. In June, the <br />County authorized construction of a storage facility and base for Recreation and Parks on <br />land within the overall site to address immediate operational needs, and this project would <br />move forward outside of the Fairview design process. A pending land swap to allow <br />expansion of the Orange County Public Works facility, and relocation of the Hillsborough <br />facility, is one of the key decision points to be addressed by the MOA. <br />With the number of projects underway in the construction or pre-construction phase, staff <br />believes that it is feasible to undertake one of these two projects in the fall of this year, and <br />would propose to initiate the other project on or around February 2005. A general timeframe <br />of 2-4 months is anticipated to complete the design process (from initial design meeting to <br />draft Master Plan). <br />Information on the current status of both projects and draft plans and processes are provided <br />as attachments. The existing PFP timetable (which is updated periodically as events <br />changed but is not an adopted document) would have Northern Park design occur first, <br />followed by Fairview Park as the design for Northern Park winds down, Staff feels that that <br />this sequence is still the most appropriate, Both the County Attorney and staff are of the view <br />that the County/Hillsborough joint project at Fairview requires key decisions within the <br />Memorandum of Agreement (primarily the Master Plan) that impact the order of activities at <br />the Fairview Campus, Additionally, surveys (topographic, biological and <br />cultural/archaeological) have not yet been undertaken for Fairview, Staff would propose to <br />begin the process of the getting these surveys done in October. <br />The County Engineer has advised that the design process for the Northern Park would not <br />cause any adverse impacts on implementing proposed improvements to the water and sewer <br />system of the Northern Human Services Center building, should the Board direct staff to <br />move forward with the park design process at Northern Park, <br />FINANCIAL IMPACT: Funding exists for the design of both projects through previously- <br />appropriated funds in FY 2003-04 and FY 2004-05, A total of $49,416 has been expended to <br />date for the preliminary survey work at Northern Park (including survey work related to the <br />wastewater system). No funding for Fairview Park (Phase II) has been expended to date, <br />Design for the projects would be done in-house by the Open Space Design Specialist in <br />conjunction with other staff from ERCD, Recreation and Parks, Planning, and the County <br />Manager's office. Additional design and pre-construction costs are expected to be minimal. <br />RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board consider the attached <br />schedule and status reports, and provide direction to staff on the Board's preferred sequence <br />of activities, <br />