Agenda - 09-17-2002 - 9d - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

2 In the spring of 2001, the Town of Chapel Mill asked that additional funding be included in a proposed County bond referendum for the development of Southern Park, noting that no funding source had been identified for the park, beyond the amount allocated from the County's 1997 bonds. The Board agreed to allocate $2.0 million of the bond, which was approved by voters in November 2001, toward the park. On March 25 of this year, the Town Council adopted the Southern Park conceptual plan,,with one major revision —the replacement of a proposed youth field with a third full-size soccer field. Following the consideration of the Conceptual Plan by the Board of Commissioners, and the resolution of remaining issues regarding the construction process, the Town plans to begin developing a Special Use Permit application for the park. This process is anticipated to take approximately one year to complete, and will include additional public comment, resulting in eventual approval by the Town Council. Following the Special Use Permit, construction plans for the park would be prepared and, after approval of the project budget and provision of funds, park construction would begin. On a related note, as discussed at the Board's September 9 work session, issues related to the procedure for joint parks projects have been under discussion by the I ntergovem mental Parks Work Group since last fall. As an outgrowth of these discussions, in the spring of this year, representatives from the Town Council and Board of Commissioners began meeting to discuss a formal joint process for approval and construction of the park. As a result of discussion on September 9, the Board asked the Manager and staff to meet to review possible alternative language for the Board's review and eventual reply. Further discussion of the process is planned for an October meeting or work session. Representatives from the Conceptual Plan Committee and consultant will be present to present the park plan and answer questions. FINANCIAL.IMPACT: .The projected total cost of the park as shown in the Conceptual Plan is approximately $3.75 million. Revisions based on changes made by the Town Council to the plan have not been incorporated into the estimate. A total of$2,795,000 exists from the combination of 1997 County bonds and approved 2001 County bonds for this project. Then: are no Town funds identified for this project. The $2.0 million in funds from the 2001 bonds are scheduled in the proposed Bond and Alternative Financing schedule that the Board reviewed on September 3, 2002. The proposed issue dates, two equal $1.0 million installments in FY 2004-05 and 2005-06, are consistent with the request from the Town Council. The Town has not yet addressed funding the remaining $1 million in the Conceptual Plan budget beyond County funds listed above. Because of this, plans for phasing of the park construction may be necessary. There are financial issues in the Town's July 24th proposed Southern Park process that the Board has asked the Manager and staff to address, as it regards an inter-local agreement and the timing of bond funds. These process matters are proposed for discussion in October.