Minutes 04-12-2022 Budget Work Session-CIP

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