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TOWN OF CARY
August 4, 2003 Town Hall Campus; Bldg. B |
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| ATTENDANCE: Tom Hemrick, Chair; Jamie France; Bob Hickey; Leta Huntsinger; Toby Kennedy; Greg Lytle; Kay Struffolino; Melissa White; Liz Nacewicz, Youth member; Doug Meardon, Youth member ABSENT: Lisa Duke; Dave Upton STAFF: Mary Henderson; Aubrey Clayton; Lyman Collins; Bruce Crocker; Dwayne Jones; Doug McRainey; Judy Newsome; Gail Taylor; Meredith Bridgers GUESTS: Cary Dog Park: Jeff Boucher, Cara Lewis and Roy Alfred, Lisa Coston |
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| I | Call to Order - Tom Hemrick, Chair Introduction: Doug Meardon, the new Teen Council president, was introduced to board members. Doug is a senior at Enloe High School and has been a member of the Teen Council for four years. PRCR Advisory Board Award - Tom Hemrick noted that staff had submitted Cary's PRCR Advisory Board nomination to the National Recreation and Park Association for consideration for a national award for "Outstanding Board". Tom thanked staff for the nomination and indicated that notification of the award recipient is expected in September. |
| II | Minutes of June 2, 2003 - Toby Kennedy made a motion to adopt the minutes of the June 2, 2003 meeting. The motion carried by a majority vote. |
| III | Public Speaks Out |
| Cary Dog Park - Cara Lewis and Jeff Boucher, representing Cary Dog Park Club, attended the August meeting. Jeff gave a brief update on the club's activities in promoting their mission to establish a legal and safe dog park in Cary in which owners can take their dogs to play. Jeff indicated that the group made a presentation to Council and Jeff also requested the board's continued support to include a dog park in the proposed PRCR Master Plan. | |
| IV | Land Dedications |
| V | Reports |
| A. Administration | |
| Greenways Committee - Leta Huntsinger, Chair | |
| Leta reported that the committee
continued discussions of 'setting priorities' at the
June meeting. Previously, members reviewed proposed greenway
projects and at the June meeting recommended the following approach for
setting priorities: a) a 'hub & spoke' system was identified
with Bond Park as the hub and Lake Crabtree/Umstead Park, Downtown,
Hemlock Bluffs/Regency Park, and Thomas Brooks Park/American Tobacco Trail as
the destinations at the end of the spokes. These were considered as the
major areas of activities and places where connectivity was most desired.
b) This system was then used to identify greenway/multi-use trail segments
that would provide connectivity between these areas. The committee discussed ongoing updates to the Town web page. Committee members have been writing trail descriptions for inclusion on the web page. Committee members were provided a greenway draft for the web and asked to provide staff with feedback. Feedback may be emailed to Meredith Bridgers and/or Doug McRainey. Roy Alfred asked if staff had numbers as to the usage on the greenways. Doug McRainey said that currently the department does not have statistics on the use of the greenways but plans on obtaining them in the near future. |
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| FY04 Budget - Mary Henderson In an attempt to keep the board updated and to assure board input in setting budget priorities, staff will include an agenda item for budget presentation and discussion as follows on an annual basis. September meeting - presentation of previous year's data and accomplishments to set the basis for the budget plan for the upcoming year. November meeting - Capital Improvement Budget (CIP/B) planning to establish priorities. January meeting - Operations and Maintenance (O&M) budget planning to establish board priorities related to services. May or June meeting - presentation of upcoming year's budget recommendations. |
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| PRCR Proposed Master Plan - Mary Henderson thanked
members for their commitment and input into this document. Members
had recently received the final draft document and were asked to review
prior to the PRCR Master Plan Steering Committee on August 12. Mary
asked board members to focus on recommendations and implementation.
Mary noted that this plan is a roadmap and there may be times
opportunities arise outside the plan that the Town will need to
consider. Doug McRainey noted that the PRCR Master Plan is anticipated on the web later this week. A council worksession is scheduled for September 11th. From there, the PRCR Master Plan will go to a Public Hearing; the Planning and Zoning Board and then onto Council for action in mid-October. |
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| USA Baseball/Thomas Brooks Park - Mary Henderson updated board members on the USA Baseball/Thomas Brooks Park project. Mary noted that Town staff has been meeting monthly with representatives from USA Baseball and the design team of Heery International. This has been an intense process and a meeting is set for September 6th to review the preliminary plans. Board members were provided with a handout of design option IV. Mary noted that it is anticipated this project will go to the Operations Committee in September. | |
| Aquatics Facility - Mary Henderson updated board
members on the status of the proposed aquatic center. Mrs. Henderson
reviewed the staff report going to the Operations Committee (8/5/03) on the
consideration of a proposal from the Triangle Aquatic Center (TAC) and
staff's review of options for developing an aquatic project. Mrs.
Henderson noted that in December the town expected to have a clearer
picture of the availability of funds from the hotel/motel tax. Concerns from board members include: need for 0 entry for children, moveable floors; need for warm-up/cool-down pools for competition; TAC primarily competitive setting, TOC residents can't use during competition. Additionally, there were concerns regarding proposed sites: Walnut Creek, flooding problems, Weston site, limited parking; North Cary site does not mesh with existing site. Mrs. Henderson noted the the Master Plan draft indicates the need and recommends the development of an aquatic facility. Staff had requested direction from Council regarding the options identified for the development of an aquatic facility. Roy Alfred asked if the Cary Tennis Center, a managed facility, was operating at a profit. Mary Henderson responded that the center has hosted some state and regional tournaments and that participation was good. With the exception of the lights and maintenance, New York Tennis covers all remaining expenses and makes a monthly payment to the Town. Staff should get the numbers from New York Tennis for the first year operating expenses within 60-days. Fees do not offset the maintenance and lights but staff feels the center is operating efficiently for the opportunities and benefits it provides the citizens of Cary. |
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| B. Athletics - Aubrey Clayton | |
| Athletics Committee - Bob Hickey, Chair. No July meeting. | |
| Aubrey Clayton reported that 280 teams participated in the
2003 Pony National Girl's Softball Tournament hosted jointly by the Town
of Cary and the City of Raleigh. This is the third year Cary has
hosted this event. Staff noted that hosting this event requires an extraordinary
amount of staff resources. Both Raleigh and Cary staff are looking
to non-profit groups and the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitor's
Bureau to assist in conducting this event next year. Cary's Public
Works Department did an excellent job in preparing fields from rains so
that games could continue. Aubrey also reported that spring softball season ended much later this season due to the ever present rain. The new format for the July 4th youth baseball games improved the event. Additionally, registration for youth fall basketball is up and additional teams will be added. |
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| Web Inclement Weather Line - Mary Henderson reported that staff is working with Technology Services to design a web page for Athletics rain out information. Currently, the page update process and logistical issues (how often, by whom, from where, etc.) are being worked out. The plan is to have the page fully operational by the start of the upcoming spring season 2004. | |
| C. Cultural Resources - Lyman Collins | |
| Cultural Resources Committee - Toby Kennedy, Chair - No meeting in July | |
| Lyman Collins noted that the Cultural Arts Committee will
meet prior to the PRCR Master Plan Steering Committee to review and
comment on the plan. Sister City delegates from Taiwan, France and Ireland will be recognized during the Lazy Daze opening ceremonies and will meet with festival goers throughout the day at the Sister Cities booth. Lyman asked board members interested in volunteering to assist with Lazy Daze to please email Gail Taylor. This festival relies heavily on volunteers to assist with set up and take down. This year's poster is the Ogle-Guess House. Posters are now available for purchase. |
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| The Lost Colony - Town of Cary, in partnership with
the Carolina Arts Festival and Wake County Public Schools, will host the
production of The Lost Colony. This is an opportunity
for local children to perform in a classic theatre production, directed by
Terrance Mann The Jungle Book - Applause! Cary Youth Theatre begins audition sign-ups August 26th for its fall production of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. Performance dates are November 21, 22 and 23 at Cary Academy Fine and Performing Arts Center. |
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| D. Recreation Programs - Dwayne Jones | |
| Teen Advisory Committee - Kay
Struffolino reported that the new co-chair position will be held by Doug
Meardon, the new Teen Council President. A subcommittee was formed to plan for the Teen Forum slated for late winter/early spring 2004. There was discussion of the teens creating a web site as a school project to link to the town web site. Dwayne Jones will pursue this with Susan Moran who manages the town site. There was discussion of what role/responsibilities Teen Advisory Committee members could undertake to ensure success of this group. It was noted that their goals were to develop better information areas, open more lines of communication with Cary youth and plan/host the Teen Forum. These specific areas would create opportunities for committee challenges/participation and volunteerism. |
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| Teen Council - Liz Nacewicz reported that members reviewed the by-laws with a focus on attendance. Members were asked to wear Teen Council shirts when working town events. Liz gave an overview of the summer activities, members brainstormed on new projects and noted that members were participating in a fashion show at Cary Towne Center as well as selling water at the upcoming Lazy Daze event. | |
| Senior Center - Kay
Struffolino reported great attendance at two recent spring events:
176 at the Senior Citizen Day luncheon and 180 in attendance at the Ice
Cream Social. The Senior Center will host the regional
SeniorNet Conference in November. This is a 1-day, state-wide
event. Additionally, the center is planning a
"showcase" in October. There will be a day-long expo
during the week long event inviting all seniors to meet instructors,
program leaders and other club presidents as well as visit various
activities and tour the center. Kay noted senior concerns: signage and difficulty with access and egress to the Senior Center. Kay asked about the required justifications for a traffic light. Mary Henderson responded that staff will check with the Engineering Department. |
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| Skate Park Manager - Dwayne Jones reported that a new manager has been hired for Sk8 Cary. Jonathan Nunn has a background in the skateboard industry, its products and knows the ins and outs of skateboarding. | |
| VI | Old Business |
| Park Stewardship - Discussion tabled. | |
| VII | New Business |
| CBM Report - Tom Hemrick attended the July Citizen Board Meeting in Greensboro. Session topics included 1) Alternate Sources of Funding; 2) Parks and Recreation in Times of Crises; 3) Parks and Recreation Trust Fund and 4) Making Time to Be Active. Tom noted that there is a lot of private money waiting to be tapped. The Parks and Recreation Trust Fund reported that the funding is there; however, requests are down. Staff noted that the Town had previously received a PARTF grant for $250,000 Brooks Park, Phase I. With regard to Time of Crisis (disaster response and recovery) it was noted that the Cary Fire Department takes the lead in training and implementing the Town's plan. | |
| Program Update - Staff requested feedback from board members on the current method of program updates. Board members found the updates useful and informative. The written updates are provided to members for more efficient use meeting time. | |
| Sears Farm Road Groundbreaking - Judy Newsome reminded members of the upcoming Groundbreaking Ceremony for Sears Farm Road Park on Wednesday, August 6 at 6 p.m. | |
| Clean Water Fund/Stream Restoration - Mary Henderson noted that she attended a press conference on Cary's efforts to improve the region’s water supply by restoring the health of streams that drain into Jordan Lake. Cary has received 3 million in federal funding for this 4.8 million dollar project. Cary’s restoration project calls for the US Army Corps of Engineers to develop a restoration plan and oversee the work that will take place on land 200 feet of each side of 2.5 miles of the White Oak, Bachelor Branch and Panther Creeks in western Cary. Mary noted that this was a long term project and commended Doug McRainey and the Planning staff for their work in these restorations. | |
| VIII | Adjourn |