Parks and Recreation Commission

Parks & Recreation Commission (PRC) Thursday, February 8, 2024 Cornelius Town Hall 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. www.cornelius.org/pr MINUTES 1) Call to Order Chair Kolkhorst called the meeting to order at 5:40 p.m. 2) Determination of Quorum A quorum was reached with eight commissioners in attendance. Commissioners present: Carla Eustache, Trey Fouche, Jill Rotunda, Jon Show, Chair Chris Kolkhorst, Robert Reed, Jana Ritter, and Travis Dancy; Town Commissioners Todd Sansbury and Michael Osborne; Mayor Woody Washam, and Mayor Pro Tem Scott Higgins Commissioners absent: Andrew Heywood Staff present: Director Troy Fitzsimmons, Recreation Superintendent Josh Handelsman, and Administrative Assistant Karen Ulmer 3) Public Appearances – Citizen Concerns/Comments None 4) Approval of Minutes (January) Commissioner Dancy made a motion to approve the minutes from the January 11, 2024, meeting as presented. Commissioner Show seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. 5) Director’s Report Director Fitzsimmons shared a presentation highlighting items from his January 2024 report. Superintendent Handelsman gave a sneak peek of our new summer camp branding, Camp Cornelius: Best Summer Ever! 6) Parks & Recreation Commissioner Recommendations & Reports a) Items to be placed on record None b) Commissioner Reports 1. Commissioner Carla Eustache • She attended Strategic Planning and Long-Term Finance committee meetings. • She continues to write articles for Lakeside Living. She met with CPRD staff to plan those articles for 2024, as well as ways the Public Awareness committee can support the department. 2. Vice-Chair Trey Fouche • He attended Strategic Planning and Long-Term Finance committee meetings. • He continues to enjoy coaching his son’s basketball team this season; they remain undefeated. 3. Commissioner Jill Rotunda – No report 4. Commissioner Jon Show • While walking his dog in his Robbins Park neighborhood, he was approached by neighbors concerned about the pickleball court usage there. The courts at Robbins were built for tennis, then changed to add pickleball. One neighbor in close proximity to the courts put their house on the market, and prospective buyers loved it, then saw the pickleball courts and walked out. Other neighbors have complained that the noise from the play and the players is making their yards unusable. Director Fitzsimmons said he is discussing with the Lake Norman Pickleball Association that once dedicated pickleball courts are built at Torrence Chapel or Bailey Road Park, returning Robbins to tennis only.  5. Chair Chris Kolkhorst • He attended Strategic Planning and Long-Term Finance committee meetings. • He continues to attend the Town’s Pre-Development meetings. When we have something going on that is park-related, he wants to make sure he shares those projects with the PRC. 6. Commissioner Robert Reed • He suggested some PRC social events, such as a “board experience” or “board challenge day”, maybe once a quarter or so, where we go together to experience something like disc golf, pickleball, or whatever to see what all the fuss is about. • He suggested an additional Parks and Recreation committee charged with looking at new ideas or new programs, events, or activities to provide additional value to the community. 7. Commissioner Andrew Heywood – Absent 8. Commissioner Jana Ritter • She met the president of the Hough High School Pickleball Club: there are 150 members. The Northern Regional Recreation Center is offering free, open play pickleball for students from 2-4 p.m. on weekdays. • She attended a Try Tennis coach training workshop; the Try Tennis program is offered at Bailey Road Park among other locations. Lake Norman Tennis Association is doing a great job listening to what people want and offering programs such as a new one called Rally Rookies for new players. • She expressed frustration about parents misbehaving at youth sports games and wondered if we can do something to support referees and encourage better parent behavior. Several commissioners expressed support for this idea. 9. Commissioner Travis Dancy – No report c) Town Commissioner Report • Commissioner Todd Sansbury said the Town commissioners and leadership team have been in planning meetings since 9 a.m. He complimented the great work done on the master plan and said the Town Board is discussing a park bond, which is garnering commissioner support. However, you cannot do a park bond or any other type of bond without increasing taxes, so be prepared for potential pushback. Director Fitzsimmons added that the master plan’s scientific survey asked how supportive people would be of a tax increase to pay for a park bond, and the responses were positive. • Commissioner Osborne added that the Town purchasing land for parks takes that land off the table from private entities that build the tax base. 7) Old Business a) Parks & Recreation Commission Goals & Committees • Strategic Planning and Long-Term Finance: Commissioner Fouche said they have started planning for the potential parks and recreation bond projects list. • Programs, Fees and Facilities: Commissioner Show said they have approved for recommendation to the PRC a partnership extension with Lake Norman Outlaws, a new partnership with Charlotte Disc Golf Club to maintain the two disc golf courses in our system, and program fees for open gym activities. These agreements will be brought to the PRC in March. 8) New Business a) 2024 Comprehensive Parks and Greenways Master Plan Director Fitzsimmons shared a presentation highlighting the status of the master plan, including survey results and resulting work done by staff and the PRC. Most of the presentation was the same as the one given at the January PRC meeting, though there were some updates based on the approved motions made at that meeting. Commissioner Eustache made a motion to confirm the recommendations presented and the draft master plan document. Chair Kolkhorst seconded. For discussion, Commissioner Show said more planning and background work was done on this plan, with more objective results, than most other plans that he has seen, and he hopes that squeaky wheels aren’t heard and given more weight over this well researched and thought-out plan. Town Commissioner Higgins said he sees lots of recommendations in this plan that would also be appropriate for incorporation in the upcoming Downtown Plan. Commissioner Fouche said it would be important to have someone from the PRC on the Downtown Plan committee. Kolkhorst said we don’t want to be average, and should always think about making Cornelius as great as it can be. After the discussion concluded, a vote was held and the motion passed unanimously. 9) Adjournment Chair Kolkhorst adjourned the meeting at 7:29 p.m. Next PRC Meeting – Thursday, March 7, 2024 Future PRC Meetings – Thursdays: April 4, May 4, and June 6, 2024 Next Town Board Meetings – Mondays, February 19, and March 4 and 18, 2024