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15 <br />Recommendations of the School/Parks Reserve Committee <br />May 6, 1999 <br />(revised 11/22/99, adopted 12/7/99) <br />On May 4, the Board of Commissioners appointed members Margaret Brown and Barry Jacobs <br />as a committee to discuss the proposed school/park combination projects raised at the May 4 <br />meeting and the potential use of the School/Parks Reserve Fund. <br />The Committee met with Finance Director Ken Chavious and Environment and Resource <br />Conservation Director David Stancil on May 6. At this meeting, the committee agreed to develop <br />both short-term recommendations on the disposition toward the school/park proposals on the <br />table, and long-term recommendations for the future of the reserve fund. <br />On November 22, 1999, the Board of Commissioners discussed the report recommendations <br />and revised the report with updated information. The updated report is as follows: <br />Short-Term Current Projects <br />A. The two projects mentioned on May 4 should be handled as follows to meet the needs of the <br />community: <br />1. The Board has decided not to pursue the Northern Orange Elementary site <br />because the Orange County Schools did not hold clear title to the land. <br />2. The Board has decided that the Smith Middle School field project in Chapel <br />Hill-Carrboro should be pursued, but is on hold pending review by the N.C. <br />Department of Public Instruction on lease arrangements. <br />A. These needs can best be met without tapping into the School/Parks Reserve Fund. <br />B. The following criteria should be used in evaluating funding for these or other short-term <br />school/park requests: <br />1. As an incentive to assist the Towns in meeting parks needs, County funding of Town <br />park projects (including school/Town park combinations) would be offered on a 1:1 <br />matching basis. <br />2. The land in question for a proposed school/park co-location must be owned by a <br />governmental entity before County funds are committed. <br />3. County funding contributions should not be made for parks design or planning, unless <br />County funds are used to complete the project. Any such funding is subject to <br />approval of the Board of County Commissioners, and a designated representative of <br />the Board should be involved in the design/planning process, as the Board deems <br />appropriate. <br />D. Funding for the expanded Smith Middle School/Carrboro Park arrangement should be <br />addressed through use of the remaining moneys from the parks bond for facility <br />development. The County should offer to match the cost of this proposal with a like amount