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Draft Meeting Summary— Parks and Recreation Council <br /> May 3, 2023 <br /> Bonnie B. Davis Environment and Agricultural Center, Hillsborough NC* <br /> Members Present: Gina Reyman (Chair), Mikki Fleming (Vice-Chair), Natalie Ziemba, Andrea <br /> Zimmerman (via Zoom), Greg Hughes, Sophia Fratta, Becca Truluck, Xilong Zhao <br /> Members Absent: Rod Jones, Jessie Birckhead; Chris Colvin <br /> Staff: David Stancil, Dan Derby, Kalani Allen <br /> Chair Gina Reyman called the meeting to order at 6:47pm. She asked members to introduce <br /> themselves. <br /> Review of Meeting Summary/Additions to Agenda: <br /> a. No changes or additions. <br /> Report of the Chair: <br /> a. Cookout/Dinner-the Council cookout was relocated from Fairview Park and took place <br /> in the Davis Center Board Room. <br /> New Business: <br /> a. Parks Division Update (Dan Derby, Supt. of Parks): Dan Derby presented his yearly <br /> overview of parks. Derby started his presentation off with a history review of the Parks <br /> division since he joined the department. He explained that the County now has over <br /> 1,660 acres of park land and 12 parks and preserves, along with future park sites. He <br /> spoke on the future expansion of Soccer.com and the grand reopening scheduled for <br /> Blackwood Farm Park, slated for Friday, May 19, 2023. Derby emphasized that his main <br /> concerns were the need and investment for more parks as Orange County continues its <br /> upward growth. He talked about the Mountains to Sea Trail and Seven Mile Creek. <br /> Reyman asked about the status of the future park site at Millhouse Road. Derby <br /> answered that it is still a future park site with plans for soccer fields and a connecting <br /> trail to Blackwood Farm Park. David Stancil explained that this future site is in the <br /> Capital Investment Plan. Derby also spoke to staff and hiring within the division. He <br /> spoke to the challenge of obtaining seasonal staff positions post-COVID. Reyman asked <br /> Derby how Orange County compares to other municipalities. He gave a comparison of <br /> Mecklenburg County, which he said is a larger county with a large park area; however, <br /> Orange has maintained the parks within the county. He also said there is always room <br /> for improvement and knows the county will continue to add more parks. Xilong Zhao <br /> asked if there were any special events that occurred in parks. Derby answered that the <br /> hope is to host music festivals, movies in the park, and stage events with the new <br /> amphitheater at Blackwood Farm Park. <br />