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28 <br /> 1 Chair Price said that Preston Loop is residential and added there. She said that Gravelly <br /> 2 Hill came in and helped with economic development. She said that soccer.com has been a <br /> 3 money-maker by bringing international tournaments. She said there were discussions about <br /> 4 needing to add a hotel and other amenities for the tourists that the fields bring. <br /> 5 Commissioner Richards said that since the county has not built those, the tourists go to <br /> 6 Mebane. <br /> 7 Travis Myren said a policy decision was made several years ago to locate the facilities <br /> 8 there. He said there is demand for expansion and rather than create an entirelly new facility the <br /> 9 county purchased the adjacent property and is expanding current facilities. <br /> 10 Chair Price said this is an economic development driver. <br /> 11 Commissioner Bedford said she agrees with taking a fresh look at parks and past <br /> 12 decisions. <br /> 13 Commissioner Richards said she is trying to understand economic development zones <br /> 14 and limitations. <br /> 15 Chair Price said she thinks that having the soccer fields next to the school is better <br /> 16 buffer than having an industrial complex. She said that the school construction brought water <br /> 17 and sewer to the area and then economic development started to pop up. She said the <br /> 18 soccer.com facility has helped with economic development. <br /> 19 David Stancil said there is a national and international tournament that comes each fall. <br /> 20 Commissioner Greene said it would be beneficial to have a hotel in the area. <br /> 21 David Stancil said the showcase folks were good about requiring visitors to get hotel <br /> 22 rooms inside the county where they were playing. He said a lot stayed in Chapel Hill and a few <br /> 23 in Hillsborough. He said more hotels and places to eat would increase that benefit. <br /> 24 Commissioner Hamilton asked how maintenance is built into cost of field. She said <br /> 25 especially if they are artificial turf. She said Cedar Park fields are disintegrating because of the <br /> 26 heavy use. <br /> 27 David Stancil said he has heard the same about fields she referenced. He said there will <br /> 28 need to be a cost benefit analysis of natural surface versus synthetic turf. <br /> 29 Commissioner Hamilton asked if Cedar Falls should be in county's CIP. <br /> 30 David Stancil said the county funded the field initially and the town did a renovation <br /> 31 where the county contributed. He said he does not know if town will ask for additional funding. <br /> 32 Bonnie Hammersley said the county contributed at the time but there is no obligation. <br /> 33 She said that county employees maintain soccer.com fields and they are dedicated to the <br /> 34 maintenance of those fields. <br /> 35 Commissioner Hamilton said artificial fields seem to require a capital expenditure when <br /> 36 they need to be replaced and that it is a susbtantial cost. She said that has not yet been built <br /> 37 into budgets. <br /> 38 David Stancil said that he cannot speak for the town but he believes the fields at Cedar <br /> 39 Park have deteriorated much faster than expected. He also noted that the county does not have <br /> 40 an obligation to maintain those fields. <br /> 41 <br /> 42 <br />