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Parks and Recreation Council

Orange County · Parks & Recreation Council
Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Other Parks and recreationBonds and debtBudget and appropriationsComprehensive planElections and districtsRoads and transportationSchools and education

Agenda document Minutes Watch Meeting recap

What was decided

  1. Approved III.cApproval of Meeting Summary, April 2 Approved, none opposed

Read from the agenda's recorded outcomes. Where the board published minutes, those are the record — this is a pointer to them.

What's on this agenda

The Parks and Recreation Council's last meeting before its summer break, at the Bonnie B. Davis Environment and Agricultural Center in Hillsborough. The agenda is timed to the minute: a State of the Parks presentation from the parks superintendent, a review of the two public outreach sessions for the county trails plan, and an update on where the ten-year capital plan leaves parks projects. The council is a thirteen-member advisory body with two youth delegates.

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 capital plan was the item with consequences. Staff told the council that many parks and environment department projects have been deferred in the ten-year plan, because a $300 million school bond and another $100 million for school renovations have first call on the money. The Soccer.com expansion is one of the deferrals, and there is a second reason for that one: Orange County Schools has asked the county for rights to the same land to build a school on. A council member asked what happens to the money used to buy that land, which came from the Lands Legacy and Soccer Super funds, and was told nobody has had that conversation yet. Central Recreation Center renovations and the Mountains-to-Sea Trail stay funded.

The trails plan is close to a draft. Consultants have finished most of the engagement roadmap and identified four possible priority connections: Chapel Hill to Hillsborough, the west-to-east Mountains-to-Sea route, Little River Regional Park to Cedar Grove Park, and Eno River State Park to the future Northeast District Park. Two open-house workshops, one in each town, drew 28 registrations and 48 sign-ins, and when participants marked where they lived on a map it showed large parts of the county with nobody present. The council spent most of its discussion on that gap: an online feedback form, a survey aimed at rural residents, popup events, advertising at the gathering places participants themselves named, and more visual promotion, since the stations with photographs drew the most people. Guiding principles come next, a draft over four months, and a presentation to the county commissioners in October.

The parks superintendent's State of the Parks report put the growth in plain numbers: in twenty years the division has gone from four staff running two parks to thirteen running twelve. Little River Regional Park is building a biking skills course and Perry Hills mini park is the newest in the county. Asked how the county decides where it needs more parks, staff said there are metrics in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan and that some regions of the county have limited access. The county has renewed a five-year contract with the Sportsplex, and the Friends of Orange County Parks and Recreation, a non-profit founded in 2018, will support reviving the Hollow Rock General Store.

How the votes went

One vote: approval of the April 2 meeting summary, carried with all in favour and none opposed. Everything else was a report or a discussion.

From the published minutes.

Speaking at this meeting

Orange County's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (10)

Procedural · 3Staff or committee report · 3Presentation · 1Minutes approval · 1Discussion item · 1Budget action · 1
  1. I Call to Order
    Procedural
  2. II Report of the Chair
    Staff or committee report
  3. III.a Additions or Changes to the Agenda
    Procedural Elections and districtsParks and recreation
    An item added for the Friends of Orange County Parks and Recreation, and the chair and vice-chair elections moved to after the trails plan update.
  4. III.b State of the Parks 2025
    Presentation Parks and recreation
    The parks superintendent reported that in twenty years the division has grown from four staff running two parks to thirteen running twelve. Little River Regional Park is developing a biking skills course and Perry Hills is the county's newest park. Asked what decides where more parks are needed, staff pointed to metrics in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan and named regions with limited access.
  5. III.c Approval of Meeting Summary, April 2
    Minutes approval
    Approved, none opposed
  6. IV.a Trails Plan - Public Outreach Sessions Review
    Discussion item Comprehensive planRoads and transportation
    Two open-house workshops in Chapel Hill and Hillsborough drew 28 registrations and 48 sign-ins. A map of where participants lived showed large parts of the county unrepresented, and the council's discussion turned on how to reach them: an online form, a survey for rural residents, popup events, advertising at the gathering places participants named, and more visual promotion. Four possible priority connections have been identified - Chapel Hill to Hillsborough, the west-to-east Mountains-to-Sea route, Little River Regional Park to Cedar Grove Park, and Eno River State Park to the future Northeast District Park. Guiding principles come next, then a four-month drafting period and a presentati…
  7. IV.b FY 2025-35 Capital Investment Plan Update
    Budget action Bonds and debtBudget and appropriationsParks and recreationSchools and education
    Many parks and environment department projects are deferred in the ten-year plan because a $300 million school bond and $100 million more for school renovations take priority. The Soccer.com expansion is deferred and the school system has separately asked the county for rights to that land to build a school. A council member asked what becomes of the Lands Legacy and Soccer Super money used to buy it, and staff said that conversation has not happened. Central Recreation Center renovations and the Mountains-to-Sea Trail remain funded. Only year one of the plan commits money.
  8. V Report of the Director
    Staff or committee report Parks and recreation
    The county has renewed a five-year contract with the Sportsplex.
  9. VI Council and Committee Reports
    Staff or committee report Parks and recreation
    The Friends of Orange County Parks and Recreation, a non-profit founded in 2018, will support reviving the Hollow Rock General Store. Pollinators week begins 16 June.
  10. VII Adjournment
    Procedural
    Adjourned 8:15 PM. Next meeting 6 August in Chapel Hill.

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