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Recreation Advisory Committee Meeting

Chatham County · Recreation Advisory Committee
Wednesday, June 18, 2025 at 6:00 pm · Parks & Recreation Office, 964 East Street Pittsboro, North Carolina 27312

Advisory board meeting Parks and recreationGrants and outside fundingAppointments and personnelArts and public artBudget and appropriationsEnvironment and sustainabilityEthics and transparencyPublic facilitiesStormwater and flooding

Agenda document Minutes Meeting page Watch Meeting recap

What was decided

  1. Approved 2Approve minutes - May 14, 2025 Approved unanimously

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

Chatham County's Recreation Advisory Committee met on 18 June 2025 and recommended funding two recreation agency grants in full: $9,000 for the Youth Sprott Center and $4,537.08 for the Deep River Park Association. It also took up changes to the grant application, an update on Parker's Ridge, and trail projects.

The county did not win the AP grant it applied for, and is waiting on a decision on a state parks grant in August.

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

Both grant recommendations passed unanimously, as did the May minutes. A member observed that agencies do not really understand how the grant process works. A second round of non-profit grant applications opens 20 June and closes 21 July, which would mean special meetings on 6 August for presentations and 27 August for scoring.

Staff proposed adding a cultural arts element to the recreation grant, tied to the Earl Thompson master plan, along with clearer language, a partner page highlighting funded projects and a resource page.

The committee asked for a formal presentation on available funding sources after a discussion about what it can and cannot do: one member said the committee's job is to advise rather than advocate, another said she believes in advocating. The chair noted the budget will be tight.

The advisory committee policy the commissioners were finishing cuts this committee from ten members to nine, caps absences at 25 percent of yearly meetings, and lets people who work in the county but live elsewhere serve. On Parker's Ridge, permits are in progress and thirty people came to the pre-qualification bid meeting, where the pond, its fish and its drainage were the issues. Members questioned the background checks and annual waivers required of trail volunteers as heavy for the work involved.

How the votes went

The May minutes, the two agency grant recommendations, and the request for a funding-sources presentation all passed unanimously.

From the published minutes.

Speaking at this meeting

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

Agenda items (9)

Discussion item · 4Staff or committee report · 3Procedural · 1Minutes approval · 1
  1. 1 Welcome
    Procedural
  2. 2 Approve minutes - May 14, 2025
    Minutes approval
    Approved unanimously
  3. 3 Recreation agency grants matrix scoring and recommendations
    Discussion item Grants and outside fundingParks and recreation
    Scoring of agency grant requests and a recommendation to the commissioners.
    Recommended full funding: $9,000 for the Youth Sprott Center and $4,537.08 for the Deep River Park Association, unanimously
  4. 4 Recreation agency grant application form
    Discussion item Arts and public artGrants and outside fundingParks and recreation
    Proposed changes adding a cultural arts element tied to the Earl Thompson master plan, with clearer language and a partner page.
  5. 5 Discussion of the May 14 presentation
    Discussion item Budget and appropriationsParks and recreation
    Whether the committee advises or advocates, and a request for a presentation on funding sources for recreation and trails.
    A formal presentation on available funding sources requested
  6. 6 AP grant update
    Staff or committee report Grants and outside fundingParks and recreation
    The county did not receive the AP grant; the state parks grant decision comes in August.
    Not awarded
  7. 7 Board and committees policy
    Discussion item Appointments and personnelEthics and transparency
    The revised county policy cuts the committee from ten members to nine, caps absences at 25 percent of meetings, and lets people who work but do not live in the county serve.
  8. 8 Parker's Ridge
    Staff or committee report Parks and recreationPublic facilitiesStormwater and flooding
    Permits in progress; thirty people attended the pre-qualification bid meeting, where the pond, fish removal and drainage were the issues.
  9. 9 Trails and open space updates
    Staff or committee report Environment and sustainabilityParks and recreation
    Trail projects including Northeast and the park at Briar Chapel, funded through the Haw River Assembly, and the background checks required of trail volunteers.

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