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Committee Meeting

Town of Cary · Athletic Committee
Monday, November 17, 2025 at 6:00 pm · Conference Room 11130, 316 N. Academy Street, Cary Town Hall, Cary, NC 27513

Committee meeting Parks and recreationAppointments and personnelBudget and appropriations

Agenda document Full packet Minutes Meeting page Watch Meeting recap

What's on this agenda

Cary staff asked the athletic committee on November 17 what it is for, and the answers were blunt. One member said he had hoped for an advise-and-consent role and questions whether the committee has meaningful impact. Another said the committee has good ideas that do not seem to move forward. The chair said she was not sure what staff need from the committee.

Staff acknowledged the pattern: there have been good discussions about new programmes, but budget and staff capacity have slowed them, and asked whether the committee might work better as something else, such as a work team. Seven weeks later, on January 5, the parks advisory board recommended disbanding the committee after more than twenty years and folding its subjects into its own work.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

The one substantive question a member put back to staff was how the town hears from people who are not already in its programmes. Staff said current participants are surveyed each season, coaches give feedback, there is a biannual survey, and residents submit suggestions through 311 — which is how more pickleball programming came about, and how discussions started with cricket groups about building a cricket oval.

On numbers: fall youth baseball and softball drew 701 participants, adult basketball, softball and volleyball 1,999, and winter youth basketball starting December 6 has 2,113 across eleven divisions. Staff are hiring part-time scorekeepers and rovers and a third programme assistant, and are working with Downtown Cary Park staff on a pilot adult kickball programme.

A member asked how to keep the TST tournament beyond its current four-year extension; staff said they have committed to growing the youth tournament component. The cricket programme item the chair added to the agenda was tabled to a future meeting.

How the votes went

Two unanimous motions: accepting the November agenda with a cricket programme item added, and accepting the August 18 minutes. Both moved by Ruth Merkle and seconded by Bahram Olfati.

From the published minutes.

Who spoke

No members of the public spoke.

No one spoke.

Read from the records the government published after the meeting. Members of the public are private residents and are not named or indexed.

Speaking at this meeting

Sign up for Public Speaks Out by calling the town before noon on the day of the meeting; each speaker gets three minutes. Comments that arrive after noon are passed to the council as correspondence instead.

Town of Cary's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (4)

Staff or committee report · 2Discussion item · 2
  1. 1 Staff Update
    Staff or committee report
    The sports division now reports to a new services manager. Staff are interviewing part-time scorekeepers and rovers, hiring a third programme assistant and recruiting senior programme assistants to handle coach and player development for baseball and softball, and are piloting an adult kickball programme with Downtown Cary Park staff.
  2. 2 Events and Program Updates
    Staff or committee report Parks and recreation
    Fall youth baseball and softball drew 701 participants and fall adult leagues 1,999. Winter youth basketball begins December 6 with 2,113 participants across eleven divisions.
  3. 3 Role of the Committee
    Discussion item Appointments and personnelBudget and appropriationsParks and recreation
    Staff reviewed how the committee's role has changed and asked members what they expect from it. Members said they had hoped for an advise-and-consent role, questioned whether the committee has meaningful impact, and said good ideas do not move forward. Staff said budget and capacity have slowed new programming and asked whether the committee might work better as a work team. A member asked how the town gathers feedback from residents not already in its programmes; staff cited seasonal surveys, coach feedback, the biannual survey and 311, which produced more pickleball programming and talks with cricket groups about a cricket oval.
  4. 4 Information Share
    Discussion item Parks and recreation
    A member asked how to secure the TST tournament beyond its four-year extension; staff have committed to growing its youth tournament component. The cricket programme item added to the agenda was tabled to a future meeting.

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