Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
2 <br /> the Intergovernmental Parks Work Group. She said members of the council also participate in <br /> other community groups. She said they are working with the OUTBoard on overlapping <br /> opportunities between the bike/ped plan and the trails master plan. She said the Perry Hills Mini <br /> Park opened in June. She said they served as the steering committee for the trails master plan <br /> and will have survey and public feedback results compiled in 2026 and will also wrap up work on <br /> the trails master plan. She said they will continue to co-sponsor the Nature of Orange <br /> photography contest and advise on opportunities for completing Mountains to Sea Trail. She said <br /> they are looking forward to future developments at Blackwood Farm Park. She said they are also <br /> looking forward to the construction of new county recreation center and that demand outpaces <br /> the existing supply of recreational spaces and opportunities. She said they are interested in cross <br /> cultural programming at parks with community groups and partnering with other groups to <br /> maximize shared output by sharing limited resources. She said demand for pickleball courts and <br /> soccer fields remains high. She said they hope that there will be opportunities for partnership and <br /> collaboration with the schools so that all sites will benefit from future developments. <br /> Commissioner Portie-Ascott thanked Natalie Ziemba for her presentation. She noted the <br /> request to collaborate with schools on shared recreational facilities. She asked why the schools' <br /> facilities cannot be used anymore and what caused the change. <br /> Natalie Ziemba said she thought it ended before the pandemic. She said the logistics are <br /> difficult to manage, but they would love to bring back a partnership. <br /> Chair Hamilton said this might be a good topic for the school collaboration work group. <br /> Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if it is an issue with just one school district or both. <br /> Natalie Ziemba said the council serves the county parks system, and the county's spaces <br /> are limited. She said that Town of Chapel Hill and Carrboro have their own recreational facilities. <br /> David Stancil, DEAPR Director, said it's mainly a need for collaboration with Orange <br /> County Schools. He said there are preliminary conversations about shared recreational space <br /> with the new elementary school. <br /> Commissioner Carter said the need came up when discussing the land use plan as well, <br /> and she thanked Natalie Ziemba for the presentation. <br /> Commissioner Greene asked for more information about the Intergovernmental Parks <br /> Work Group (IPWG). She asked if the schools are involved. <br /> Natalie Ziemba said that county parks stakeholders gave updates at the last IPWG <br /> meeting, and the council provided an update on the trails master plan. <br /> David Stancil said the schools send representatives to the IPWG. <br /> Commissioner Bedford gave some of the history of the use of shared recreational spaces <br /> between the county and the schools. She said the schools have concerns about damage to the <br /> courts without the financial resources to repair. She said the elementary schools used to have <br /> locked playgrounds. She said that with the changes in school personnel, they were going to take <br /> a new look at a partnership. She also noted the security challenges with sharing recreation space <br /> at the schools. <br /> Art Menius, of the Historic Preservation Commission, said the Strayhorn House application <br /> was expected to be approved by the state the following Thursday and they expect it to be on the <br /> National Register within 45 days. He said they will pursue National Register status for a Modernist <br /> house north of Carrboro. He noted the many small, unmarked, and abandoned cemeteries in the <br /> county and said they are trying to locate and protect them. He said they are working with the <br /> Human Resources Commission to create markers remembering the enslaved people who lived <br /> and worked at Blackwood Farm Park. He said Harvey's Chapel AME donated the cemetery to <br /> the county and it will be connected to the trails at Seven Mile Creek. He said they will identify <br /> what is likely more than 100 grave sites at the location. He said the owners of two black schools <br /> are interested in working with the county to protect these sites from demolition. He said they <br /> worked with the Lands Legacy Program to preserve the Henry Calvin Andrews house with a <br /> historic preservation easement. He said that they are getting more sites into the landmark <br />