Joint
Parks,
Recreation & Cultural Resources Advisory Board & Greenway Committee
MEETING MINUTES
Monday,
July 9, 2007 @ 5:15
p.m.
Cary
Town Hall
– Conference Room #11130
316 North Academy Street
–
Cary
,
NC
27513
www.townofcary.org
Attendance:
Jeff Boucher; Robert Bush; Sal Cammarata; Susan Davenport; Marilyn Goldman;
Dennis Hoadley; Tullie Johnson; Steve Smutko; Kay Struffolino; Wesley Lo
Absent:
Tony D’Amico; Nels Roseland, Council liaison
Staff:
Mary Henderson; Lyman Collins; Bruce Crocker; William Davis; Dwayne Jones; Doug
McRainey; Helen Stanfield; Gail Taylor; Kevin Laven
Greenway
Committee Members:
Laurie Ringaert; Dana Stockwell; Leta Huntsinger; Bob Morris; Greg Lytle;
Venki Loganathan
I.
Call to Order/Roll Call – Steve Smutko, Chair
►Chair Steve Smutko called the meeting to order at
5:15
and called roll.
II.
Adoption of Agenda – Steve Smutko, Chair
►ACTION:
Kay Struffolino made a motion to adopt the agenda; Tullie Johnson
seconded the motion. The motion
carried by a unanimous vote.
Introductions:
Chair Steve Smutko introduced the Board’s new Teen Council member
Wesley Lo. Recreation Projects
Coordinator Helen Stanfield introduced Kevin Laven as the department’s
administrative intern working on Accreditation.
III.
Adoption of Minutes of
June 4, 2007
– Steve
Smutko, Chair
ACTION:
Kay Struffolino made a motion to adopt the minutes of the June meeting
noting the following two corrections: 2)
Tullie Johnson was absent from the June meeting, and 2) Under Old Business:
Web Task Force: Mary
Henderson contacted the Public Information Office.
The motion was seconded by Dennis Hoadley.
The motion carried by a unanimous vote.
IV.
Public Speaks Out – None
V.
Special Presentation
►Sign Plan Proposal – Deferred to New Business
VI.
Land Dedications – Doug McRainey, Parks Planning Manager
►Evans Farm #07-SB-004
Required Dedication – 3.97 acres
Staff
Recommendation:
◊
Approval of a
payment-in-lieu of parkland dedication for the value of 3.97 acres.
◊Approval
for developer to construct a 10’ wide asphalt multi-use trail along the east
side of Green Level to
Durham Road
.
◊Approval
for developer to construct a 10’ wide asphalt greenway trail along the north
side of Nancy Branch
◊Approval
for developer to donate a Conservation/Greenway Easement over the open space
adjacent to Nancy Branch.
ACTION:
Robert Bush made a motion to accept staff’s recommendation and to
include the Greenway Committee’s strong recommendation to include the
pedestrian underpass under Green Level to
Durham Road
and that the alignment
be adjusted to remove some of the sharp curves.
The motion was seconded by Kay Struffolino.
The motion carried by a unanimous vote.
►Chatham Pointe #07-SP-038
Required Dedication Required Dedication – .83 acres
Staff
Recommendation
◊Approval
of a payment-in-lieu of parkland dedication for the value of .83 acres.
◊Approval
for developer to construct a 10’ wide asphalt greenway trail along the
southern and eastern edge of the property.
◊Approval
for developer to donate a Conservation/Greenway Easement to the Town over the
designated open space within the site.
ACTION:
Kay
Struffolino made a motion to accept staff’s recommendation.
Robert Bush asked to include the Greenway Committee’s recommendation to
approve staff’s recommendations and to request that the final alignment of the
greenway link to Dorothy Park. The
Committee also requested ultimate linkage to
Normandy Drive
.
Doug
McRainey indicated the Town did not have funds for this project at this time,
but that it could be considered for the future.
Kay’s motion stands as presented. The
motion was seconded by Tullie Johnson. The
motion carried by a unanimous vote.
Chair
Steve Smutko asked Robert to report back when the Greenway Committee begins to
prioritize the proposed capital greenway projects.
►Evans Estates Ph 2
#07REZ-01
Required Dedication –
1.83 acres (maximum)
Staff Recommendation -
◊Approval
of a payment-in-lieu of parkland dedication for the value of approximately 1.83
acres.
◊Approval
for developer to construct 6’ wide paved, private spur trails to connect
subdivision to the Black Creek Greenway.
ACTION:
Dennis Hoadley made a motion to accept staff’s recommendation; the
motion was seconded by Tullie Johnson. The
motion carried by a unanimous vote.
VII
. Reports
A.
Committee Reports
►Athletic Committee – Jeff Boucher, Chair
Jeff reported
the committee did not meet.
►Cultural
Arts Committee – Dennis Hoadley, Chair
Dennis noted the
two meetings relative to
Old
Cary
Elementary School
went well and
announced the upcoming Public Meeting on July 17th.
At their last meeting, Cultural Arts Committee members talked about plans
for their participation in Lazy Daze and Deanna Boone, Public Information
Specialist talked about the web design for cultural art programs and actvities.
►Greenway
Committee – Robert Bush, Chair
Robert noted
that Greenway Committee members reviewed the land dedications that were
presented this evening and that Deanna Boone attended their meeting to talk
about the greenway page web design.
Committee members began their Trail
Use Analysis
project. Member volunteers were
given assignments to randomly visit greenways and observe how the greenways are
used relative to demographics, number of users biking or walking.
Board
members Steve Smutko; Denny Hoadly; Sal Cammarata; Susan Davenport and Kay
Struffolino volunteered to assist with this project.
Robert also announced two vacancies on the Committee and he will bring two
recommendations before this board in August.
►Teen
Advisory Committee – Tony D’Amico, Chair
Dwayne Jones
reported that the committee did not meet. In
April, the youth members talked about the current balance of youth and adult
members and they agreed that the current roster ratio worked well and that no
changes were necessary.
►Teen
Advisory Committee Appointments – Wesley Lo
Wesley reviewed
the recent Teen Scene activities and the April & May volunteer opportunities
resulting in 299 volunteer hours for April and 461 volunteer hours for May.
Wesley presented to the Board, the following youth appointments to the Teen
Advisory Committee for the 2007-2008 for term:
Middle School: Alyssa Egel-Johnson;
Tiffany Tutwiller; Siddhu Vadakkeveedu
High School: Taler Echols;
Madhu Vulimiri; Wesley Lo
Executive Board: Chairman
Leslie Ann Willis; Vice-Chairman Wesley Lo; Secretary/Treasurer
Rahki Bisaryia; Program Director Ian Lee.
►ACTION:
Kay Struffolino made a motion that the Board approve the appointments as
presented; Tullie Johnson seconded the motion.
The motion carried by a unanimous vote.
Wesley Lo presented the application of Tom Hemrick to serve as an adult member
of the Teen Advisory Committee.
►ACTION:
Kay Struffolino made a motion to approve the appointment of Tom Hemrick
to the Teen Advisory Committee; the motion was seconded by Susan Davenport.
The motion carried by a unanimous vote.
Wesley also noted the following teen assignments to PRCR Committees:
Public Art Advisory Board – Lejondro DeRamos & Lauren Mincey
Greenways Committee – Venki Loganathan
Cultural Arts Committee – Rashi Bisarya; Ranjani Iyer & Preetha Suresh
Friends of Hemlock Bluffs – Mandy Astor
Sister Cities Commission – Leslie Ann Willis & Elyse Elder
Athletics Committee – Christine Nacewicz
B.
Goals
Committee
Reports
►Safety
Town
– Jeff
Boucher
Jeff noted that
he did not meet due to a scheduling conflict.
►Scholarship
Fund – Sal Cammarata
Sal reported he
met with Helen Stanfield and turned over the Cary Community Foundation Agreement
for review by the town attorney. Next
steps will include the development of a brochure describing the project and
establishing criteria for awarding a grant and/or scholarship.
C.
Public Meetings – None
D.
Staff Reports
– Mary Henderson briefed Board members on the staff reports on Council
Committee agendas:
►BAR: Donations for the Purchase of Two Park Benches (PR07-28)
OPS 6/7/7
►Selection of Design Team for the Cary Community Aquatic Center (PR07-29)
OPS 6/7/7
►BAR: John Rex Foundation Grant/Trail & Program Improvements at Bond
(PR07-30) OPS 6/7/7
►Hawes Tract/Agreement Revision with WCPSS for Location of Schools
(PR07-31)
Council Direct 6/14/7
►Fit Community (PR08-01) OPS
7/5/7
E.
Administration – Mary Henderson, PRCR Director
►North
Carolina Parks & Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF) – Mary Henderson
Mary Henderson
informed the Board that there is a recommendation to make administrative changes
to the grant requirements to allow mitigation or exchange of land.
Currently, PARTF grant recipients must use the land for public recreation
for 25-years. This amendment will
give local municipalities the ability to request an exchange of land for at
least equal value and give flexibility in protecting lands funded by PARTF.
Comments will be accepted through July 16th; with a vote the end of July.
In 2007 17 million is allocated for PARTF.
Mary asked board members to support these changes.
ACTION:
Kay Struffolino made a motion that this Board endorse the PARTF
administrative changes as proposed; the motion was seconded by Jeff Boucher.
The motion carried by a unanimous vote.
Mary will forward a letter conveying the Board’s endorsement.
The changes will be voted on in July.
►Land
for Tomorrow – Mary Henderson
Mary
indicated she would talk with representatives from Land for Tomorrow and respond
to Board members with information so they can support legislation for bonds for
the protection of land acquisition.
►Community Aquatic Center Update – Mary Henderson
Mary
noted the design team has been selected. The
project schedule is being developed and as the Steering Committee, the Board
will provide a recommendation to Council on site selection and programming.
There will also be opportunities for public input.
Dennis Hoadley urged staff to keep public art as part of this project.
Mary Henderson noted public art has not necessarily been excluded from
the project but could be considered at a later time in the project.
Any proposal would go before the Public Art Advisory Board.
The two sites being considered are the Hawes Tract and the
North
Cary
site.
►Accreditation
Update – Helen Stanfield
Helen informed
Board members that in 2002 Cary Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources
Department received national accreditation from the NRPA Commission
for Accreditation of Park & Recreation Agencies which supports quality
assessment of agencies throughout the
U.S.
Cary
was the third
municipality in
North Carolina
to receive
national accreditation. Staff is
working to prepare for its 5-year re-accreditation early this fall.
Mary Henderson added that the Accreditation Team is expected to visit
Cary
in mid-November
and the Board will be invited to a reception to meet the team.
Mary noted this process is a good benchmark to see how we compare to
other municipalities nationwide.
F.
Recreation Programs – Dwayne Jones, Recreation Manager
►Senior
Center – Kay
Struffolino –
Kay provided Board members with a handout outlining recent activities at the
Senior
Center
.
G.
Cultural Arts Programs – Lyman Collins, Cultural Arts Manager
Lyman referred
members to the Program Update – and also reminded members of the upcoming
Public Meeting on July 17th for input on the design of Old
Cary Elementary School.
►Festivals
Committee – Marilyn Goldman
Marilyn informed
members that the proposed logo designs were presented for consideration.
Lyman Collins indicated that a security plan has been developed for the
Beer
Garden
which will be located
behind the library. Music will also
be a feature.
Volunteers are needed to assist the day of Lazy Daze.
Please contact Katie Crain (Joy’s assistant) at katie.crain@townofcary.org.
H.
Athletic Programs – William Davis, Athletics Manager
William referred
members to the Program Update.
VIII.
OLD BUSINESS
►Web Task Force Update – Dennis Hoadley
Dennis reported
that Deanne
Boone, Public Information Specialist, talked about that status of the web update
by Information Services. Using a
recent public survey, staff is dressing up the design; addressing the ‘ease of
use’ and re-arranging how pop-ups work. Deanna
noted comments from the cultural arts groups. The information gathered will be
presented to Information Services for web implementation consideration.
►Black
Creek Watershed Study Update – Susan
Davenport
Susan provided
updates of recent activities and provided members with a copy of the June
newsletter featuring an article on Low Impact Development and Better Site
Design. Susan noted that the Black
Creek Watershed group would be sending a letter addressing concerns about the
impact of the aquatics center.
IX.
NEW BUSINESS
►Board Member Information Share
◊Tullie
Johnson provided handouts of the exhibit (June 30-September 16) Wild Music -
Sounds & Songs of Life at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.
◊Susan
Davenport
noted that the City of
Raleigh
is beginning an
aquatics study and will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, July 24th
at
7 p.m.
in the municipal
building.
►Sign Plan Proposal – Presentation by Lose & Associates -
PRCR Director Mary Henderson introduced the project and advised members that
today’s presentation was for information only and that action on the Sign Plan
Proposal will be taken at the July Greenway Committee and the August meeting of
the Parks, Recreation and Cultural
Resources Advisory Board. Doug
McRainey introduced consulting team, Chris Camps and Carol Ashworth and Senior
Parks Planner Joe Godfrey, project manager.
In a PowerPoint presentation; Mr. Camps reviewed their sign proposals.
Please
use this link for Board member comments and responses: PRCR
Comprehensive Sign Plan
Greenway and PRCR Advisory Board members were asked to further review the
proposed sign plan and to email Robert Bush and Steve Smutko respectively with
any additional comments. Robert Bush
asked for a list of changes to present at the July Greenway Meeting.
Mary
Henderson outlined the process for implementing the signage plan.
Once approved, the Greenway Committee will work with staff to develop a
sign manual incorporating the guidelines into the plan and prioritize a
greenway/facility list for sign installation.
Dennis Hoadley asked about funding. Mary
referenced the priority listing and noted that parks currently without signs and
those coming online would be ‘signed’ with the new proposed plan.
This is a 10-year phased implementation plan.
Initially, the signs will be installed on certain greenways, as
prioritized, and evaluated.
Dennis
Hoadley voiced concerns of sign ordinance violation and wanted to know the
rationale that the Town is exempt from the ordinance.
Mary Henderson responded that these were public facilities, funded by
public dollars, and the need to provide public information.
X.
Adjourn
ACTION:
Kay Struffolino made a motion to adjourn the meeting at
8:35 p.m.
; the motion was
seconded by Tullie Johnson. The
motion carried by a unanimous vote.
Please
contact the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources with any
questions about the minutes. The
e-mail address is gail.taylor@townofcary.org,
and the phone number is
(919)
462-3961
.