Minutes - 20050503 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

17 Commissioner Jacobs thanked the work group that reviewed this. He made reference to the comments from Jay Bryan about the road access issues with the surrounding subdivisions. He suggested that the Planning Board Chair and the Chair of the Northern Transition Area be notified at their meetings about the road issues. Commissioner Jacobs said that if the County were going to allocate the soccer superfund money, he would rather allocate all of it. He said that he is disappointed because he does not think this project is really serious about walkability. Commissioner Gordon said that she supports the Manager's recommendations. She also thinks it would be a good idea to instruct staff to approach Duke University about the road and the buffers that abut their land. She suggested that this be point number six of the recommendations. Regarding the soccer superfund, she said that they only need to address point number four. She would like to see the pros and cons of what should happen to the rest of the superfund. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Chair Carey to: 1. Adopt the proposed Master Plan (including the staff-recommended utility and safety modifications) dated May 3, 2005; 2. Authorize staff to begin the process of preparing the Conditional Use Permit application to the Town of Carrboro, utilizing the proposed Phase I as shown in the Master Plan (pending further discussion at the time of CUP application completion later this year); 3. Authorize the Chair to send a letter to the Town of Carrboro asking that the CUP application review process for Phase I of Twin Creeks Park be expedited; 4. Agree to earmark$650,000 from the Soccer Superfund to help construct Phase I of the park, and authorize staff to submit an application to the Parks and Recreation Trust in January 2006 (in an amount up to $500,000 to be determined later); 5. Take under advisement the citizen comments received and staff's review of those comments, for action at the appropriate time when park construction and future phases are discussed and approved. 6. Instruct staff to approach Duke University about the road and the buffers. Commissioner Foushee made reference to Commissioner Jacobs' comments about walkability and said that she agrees in principle. She asked how it could be moved forward with something different in terms of creating a better model. Commissioner Jacobs said that there is already an educational facility footprint at the bend in the river. This is closer to the subdivisions to the south. He thought this would be a good compromise. Chair Carey said that, as one of the members that served on the last workgroup, he thinks the workgroup took seriously the issue of walkability and the group included representatives from the schools. At the same time, the County Commissioners are telling the schools to think co-location and economies of scale and saving money in the long run. He thinks the schools and the other workgroup members decided to make some trade-offs. There was some degree of skepticism about a school in the bend and if there would be a high number of students walking to school. Commissioner Halkiotis asked Commissioner Jacobs to elaborate on his comment of allocating all of the soccer superfund monies. Commissioner Jacobs said that the staff did have a recommendation on page five. It seems to him that if the County and the OCS were in the process of addressing that land for soccer fields, it would be the logical next step. Commissioner Halkiotis said that the initial site preparation is already complete at West Ten. He wants to make sure that the County treats both sites equitably. He asked about the plan for irrigation at these fields.