Minutes 02-17-2025-Joint Meeting w Hillsborough

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23 David Stancil, DEAPR Director, introduced the item. He reviewed the information in the agenda packet. He said they expect to hear soon that the summary report for landfill remediation has been received by the state. He said they are getting very close to the end, but they are not in a position to talk about what it means but the state report would do that. Kathleen Ferguson asked if they could get copies of the maps in the agenda packet. David Stancil said he would ask DEQ if they could get larger, better-quality maps. Chair Bedford asked if the contamination is worse than expected. David Stancil said they would have to wait for the final report from the state. David Stancil reviewed information in the agenda packet regarding the improvements to Fairview Park. Kathleen Ferguson said that the residents of Fairview neighborhood do not feel that they have been included in the improvement plans. She said that she knows that pickleball courts are in high demand, but the residents of Fairview have not demanded them. David Stancil said that the tennis courts are needed in the community, and that the park serves a larger area than the Fairview neighborhood. He said there were three occasions when the plan to build tennis courts was communicated to the neighborhood. He said this is a much larger community need and Fairview is a community park. He said it serves a much bigger area than the Fairview community. He said the next phase of Fairview Park may allow them to build some of the things that the community has expressed interest in on the former landfill part of the site. He said that they do not know about items that will require footings in the ground and that will have to wait for the state report. He said that soccer fields are almost guaranteed to be permitted. Kathleen Ferguson said that the community did not feel they were asked before the plan was designed. She said that she knows that staff has worked hard, and a lot of thought went into this, but she wants everyone to be aware of what the community is feeling. David Stancil said the masterplan was a very robust discussion and included members of the Fairview community. He said that a masterplan that reflects phase two will have to be created and that will certainly include the community. Chair Bedford a few years prior, the county had a consultant study what types of facilities were needed in the county. She said that there is a possibility of siting a new gym within walking distance of that park. She said since the school bond passed, if a new school is built or has a major renovation, the school systems must approach the municipality or county to ask if there is a desire to build a larger gym or a separate entrance for use. She said that it is in flux now because if they take any schools offline, the county has the right of first refusal if they sell. She said there are two youth positions on the Parks and Recreation Council, and they could recruit from the Fairview community. She said there is a lot going on with Parks and Recreation that the Town of Hillsborough might be interested in. Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if the community will be able to freely use the pickleball and tennis courts, or will use be scheduled with tennis clubs and organizations. David Stancil said likely both and having six will certainly make that easier. Meaghun Darab said three new tennis courts go in, but the walking path is still treacherous. She said there could have been some work to make it a cleaner entrance into the neighborhood. She suggested some sort of changes to the tree line along Rainey Avenue to make it more welcome and make it safer. David Stancil said that some of these issues came up at a recent Parks and Recreation Council meeting. He said there is a stream buffer that must be considered. He said that a sidewalk had come up as a suggestion that they could look at. Meaghun Darab said she has not reviewed any engineering she is just thinking about ways to slow cars down. Commissioner Fowler said that people had emailed her to discuss the importance of that sidewalk. She asked who would be responsible for putting that in.