Town of Cary

 

Joint Meeting of the Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources

Advisory Board/Committees


Monday, May 5, 2008
6:15 p.m.
Page-Walker Arts & History Center

 

Meeting Minutes

 

 

Attendance:

PRCR Advisory Board:  Steve Smutko; Jeff Boucher; Robert Bush; Sal Cammarata; Tom Hemrick; Susan Davenport; Dennis Hoadley; Tullie Johnson; Kay Struffolino; Jennifer Robinson, Council Liaison; Wesley Lo, Teen Council Representative
Athletics Committee:  Louis Eldridge; Walker Reagan; King Prather; Larry Miller
Cultural Arts Committee:  Mamta Bisarya; Charles Joyner; Philip Shepard; Paul Wasylkevych; Rashi Bisarya, Teen Representative
Greenway Committee:  Kerry Mead; Bruce Spader; Toby Kennedy; Bob Morris; Steve Rembrandt; Cameron Sweeney
Teen Advisory Committee:  Leslie Ann Willis; Carlotta Dixon; Ian Lee; Jessie Duan; Taler Echols; Madhu Vulimiri; Alyssa Egel-Johnson
Staff:  Mary Henderson; William Davis; Lyman Collins; Doug McRainey; Dwayne Jones; Cindi King; Bruce Crocker; Leda Isenhour Kris Carmichael; Vicki Hayes

6:15 p.m.          Welcome – Steve Smutko, PRCR Advisory Board Chair
                        Ice Breaker (Courtyard) – Cindi King, Herbert C. Young Assistant Supervisor

 

7:15 p.m.          Introduction:  Mary Henderson, Director, PRCR

 

7:15 p.m.          Introduce Participatory Group Exercise - Mary Henderson

Mary explained the group exercise in which committee members divided into four groups and each group performed a SWOT Analysis of one of the four areas.  The Groups then came together, a spokesperson(s) from each group shared the group’s analysis and received comments from the entire group.  Group attached.

 

8:45 p.m.          Adjourn

 

PRCR Advisory Board

Steve Smutko, Chair

Jeff Boucher

Robert Bush

Sal Cammarata

Tom Hemrick

Susan Davenport

Marilyn Goldman

Dennis Hoadley

Tullie Johnson

Kay Struffolino

Jennifer Robinson, Council Liaison

Wesley Lo, Teen Council Representative

Mary Henderson, PRCR Director

Athletics Committee

Cultural Arts Committee

Greenway Committee

Teen Advisory Committee

Jeff Boucher, Chair

Dennis Hoadley, Chair

Robert Bush, Chair

Tom Hemrick, Interim Co-Chair

Andy McRee

Mamta Bisarya

Kerry Mead

Leslie Ann Willis, Co-Chair

Louis Eldridge

Robin Gallant

Greg Lytle

Carlotta Dixon

Tom Wells

Charles Joyner

Bruce Spader

Ryan McCann/PC

Walker Reagan

Deanna Kerrigan

Toby Kennedy

Ian Lee/PC

Randall Bennett

David Lindquist

Laurie Ringaert

Ben Mohar/PC

Pete Burke

Margaret Partridge

Bob Morris

Jessie Duan/PC

King Prather

Debbie Savage

Dana Stockwell

Wesley Lo/HS

Larry Miller

Philip Shepard

Steve Rembrandt

Taler Echols/HS

Ken Berry

Ron Sherhofer

Leta Huntsinger

Madhu Vulimiri/HS

Christine Nacewicz, Teen Rep.

Paul Wasylkevych

Cameron Sweeney

Tiffany Tutwiler/MS

William Davis, Staff

Rashi Bisarya, Teen Rep

Katherine Williams

Siddhu Vadakkeveedu/MS

 

Preetha Suresh, Teen Rep

Venki Loganathan, Teen Rep.

Alyssa Egel-Johnson/MS

 

Lyman Collins, Staff

Doug McRainey, Staff

Vacant/Adult

 

 

 

Vacant/Adult

 

 

 

Dwayne Jones, Staff

 

 

 

FACILITIES – Group 1

STRENGTHS

WEAKNESSES

Parks

  • Diversity in size and type
  • Quantity

·        Convenient locations

Greenways

  • Miles covered

·        Master plan

·        Active committee

Centers & Venues

·        The existence of diverse venues

  • Maintenance
  • Reasonable usage fees
  • Partnerships with WCPSS, Wake County, State

Parks

  • No signature park
  • Need more specialized parks
    • (only one of each)

Greenways

·         No trail heads

·         Parking

·         Signs

·         Restroom facilities

Centers & Venues

  • Size of meeting rooms
  • Bland and beige
  • Geographic distribution
  • Cultural arts centers
  • Pocket parks

OPPORTUNITIES

THREATS

Parks

  • Downtown park
  • Golf course

·        Cricket pitch

·        New “green” development

Greenways

  • Senior population (active)

Centers & Venues

·        Add color

General

·         Animals, C-Tran, “Green Committee”

·         Demographic and age groups

·         Rock climbing, etc., pools, indoor tracks

·         Technology-online facility reservations

·         Velodrome, indoor racquet sports

  • Mountain bike trails, ice rinks

Parks

  • Pollution/littering
  • Drought

Greenways

  • Growth
  • Safety
  • Road crossings          

Centers Venues

·        Loss of open space

General

·        Funding

·        Growth (Population)

·        Water

·        Lack of cultural history

·        Public transportation

 

 

 

PROGRAMS – Group 2

STRENGTHS

WEAKNESSES
  • Age diversity
  • Increase in participation
  • Events®originality, i.e. Spring Daze, Lazy Daze, Festivals, Koka Booth
  • Diversity of events
  • Preservation of traditional (historical) facets of the Town of Cary
  • Insightful perspective of opportunities that lay in the future
  • Publicity
  • Cary Teen Council
  • People like Cindi King

 
  • Different age groups differ in participation levels
  • Programs hindered by efficiency of facilities
  • Continued focus on traditional
  • Lack of awareness of the affordability of programs to different socio-economic classes
  • Convenient customer service(cross-programs)
  • Programs tied with facilities and programs
  • Too much spreading out of programs(athletics)
  • Dedicated space for formal exhibitions
  • Programs(athletic) targeted toward diverse groups

 

 

OPPORTUNITIES

THREATS

 

  • Increasing diversity
  • Broadening opportunities across different age groups
  • Future facilities are in planning or currently in construction
  • Innovation
  • Scholarships programs
  • More post-evaluation discussions
  • Non-residential revenue generators – more publicity
  • More involvement with neighboring towns

 

  • More diversification of facilities – a variety of programs held in the same facility
  • The planning and construction of formal exhibitions(Community Art Center)

 

 

  • Budget
  • Rising fuel costs(transportation)
  • Geographic sprawl of the Town
  • Opportunities and growth in other towns(programs)
  • School systems ®Development of housing
  • Destruction of the historical part of the Town  by developers
  • Loss of open space to development®Trees are our friends
  • Can we annex Morrisville and Raleigh, yet? (Car/eighville)

 

 

 

COMMUNICATIONS – Group 3

STRENGTHS

WEAKNESSES
  • BUD TV(Cable)
  • Website – Well org.
  • BUD Newsletter
  • E-mail notification
  • Athletic brochure
  • Teen Scene newsletter
  • Program guide
  • Weather Hotline
  • Cultural events and festivals
  • Very diverse populations
  • Partnerships with other municipalities
  • Well educated population
  • Senior Center

 
  • Website (convoluted)
  • Welcome package from Town
  • Ask-in
  • Telephone numbers(inaccessible)
  • Community Watch-Safety?
  • Greenways – Signage
  • 15 Minute farce on BUD TV/Town Council segments
  • More volunteers(especially Greenways)

 

 

OPPORTUNITIES

THREATS
  • Ask input from Teens about facilities
  • Aquatic facility
  • New technologies
  • Ability to utilize other means than BUD TV
  • Use BUD TV to update citizens of planning for year
  • Allow citizens to become volunteers easily
  • Utilize Seniors more
  • Community in schools program
  • Electronic message board

 

 
  • Fast growth
  • Over crowding(zoning)
  • Political – private versus public funding
  • Keeping up with new technology…losing culture?
  • Inter-department communication

 

 

           

RESOURCES – Group 4

STRENGTHS

WEAKNESSES