Minutes - 20050503 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

12 John Link recognized the budget staff. The Budget Department has achieved this recognition 13 out of the last 14 years. Budget Director Donna Dean and Paul Laughton were in attendance, as well as Rebecca Crawford, the UNC MPA intern. The County Commissioners commended the Budget staff. b. Presentation of Proposed Northern Park Master Plan The Board received a presentation on the proposed master plan for Northern Park and the Northern Human Services Center, developed by citizens and staff between October 2004 and March 2005. Dave Stancil said that this is the culmination of four months of design work by a group of citizens in Cedar Grove Township and surrounding areas to create a master plan for the Northern Park at the Northern Human Services Center. The vision for this park dates back to the mid-1980's. In 1998, 40 acres of land adjacent to the center was acquired for this purpose, using money from the 1997 voter-approved parks bonds. The 2001 bonds allocated $1.2 million for facilities at the park. The Northern Human Services Center is located on NC 86 N about six miles north of Hillsborough. The building includes a branch library, recreation programs, and other human service offices. There is also a baseball/softball field. He gave the history of the development of the master plan. He said that they tried to design a facility that the community wanted. Through the process, they found identification of a new stream that they were not aware of. Some of the activities proposed include: • Basketball courts • Play area • New playing fields • Skate park area • Parking area • Picnic shelter with restrooms • Multi-purpose field (T-ball, soccer, etc.) Dave Stancil said that one facility that was talked about but not sited was an outdoor pool. It was quickly realized that an outdoor pool would take up the whole park budget. They wanted to reflect a possible site if it was feasible in the future. The priorities for the facilities include: • Infrastructure—entry road • Two parking lots • Picnic shelter with restrooms • Horseshoes and volleyball courts • New baseball/softball field in the northern part of the park • Skate park • Multi-purpose field • Basketball courts • Nature trails/measured walking track There were a total of 37 citizens at the different meetings, but there was a core group of 10-15 citizens that were there each time. The recommendation is that the Board receive the report and that the staff come back for a subsequent meeting to get into the details of the design.