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15 <br />Executive Summary <br />Report of the Joint Master Recreation and Parks <br />Work Group <br />June 15, 1999 <br />Introduction <br />On November 19, 1997, the Board of Commissioners. created a Joint Master <br />Recreation and Parks Work Group. The Work Group was developed to follow up <br />on two reports: a 1996 Assembly of Governments report "Recreation and Parks <br />Issues in Orange County, NC", and a May 1997 report entitled "Coordination of <br />Parks and Recreation Services for Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Orange County", <br />developed by the area Managers. <br />The charge to the Work Group was to: <br />"update and modify the Master Recreation and Parks Plan to be a joint long- <br />range capital facilities p/an for Orange County, Carrboro and Chapel Hill... " <br />Although not listed in the charge, Town of Hillsborough and OWASA <br />representatives participated in the work group effort. In accomplishing this task_ <br />the Work Group was asked to address the following topics: <br />- An update of recreational facilities countywide <br />- An update of local recreation and parks needs <br />- Develop standards for parK~ facilities and design <br />- Joint siting, design and management of school and park sites <br />- Tangible and realistic parkland acquisition goals <br />- Reassess payment-in-lieu: of dedication programs (and service area <br />boundaries for programs) ~- <br />- Dedication provisions for greenways in the Joint Planning Area <br />The Work Group began on December 17, 1997. The group met monthly over the <br />next 17 months (including six months of additional subcommittee work) to <br />produce a report. While the Work Group reviewing a great, deal of research and <br />discussed a wide variety of topics, a summary of the report may best be <br />considered in the following six topical categories: <br />1. Where Are We Now? <br />In evaluating the status of recreation and- parks in the County, the Work Group <br />created two committees. The Resource Inventory Committee worked during the <br />spring and summer of 1998 to develop a template for tracking all existing <br />recreational facilities, and discuss a map or brochure to convey these facilities to <br />