Recreation Advisory Commission

The City of Durham Parks & Recreation Department Recreation Advisory Commission Thursday, November 12, 2020 Virtual Zoom Meeting 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Call To Order: A meeting of the Durham Recreation Advisory Board was held on this day via video conference. Commissioners present via video conference: November 12, 2020. Councilmember Pierce Freelon attended briefly at the beginning. Commissioners White and Reyes were excused absences. Chair Fellerath called the meeting to order at 7:38 am. Attendance was confirmed by roll call. A request was made to move Item III. Director’s Report following VIII. Committee Reports – feedback or concerns. David added a follow-up query to Item VII. Old Business. Approval of Minutes: Marcella made a motion to approve the October 14, 2020 meeting minutes; seconded by Lesley; no further changes, whereupon motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the minutes were approved as presented Public Comment: No resident was present for public comment. RAC Reporting Items: Attendance at community meetings, DPR events, resident concerns or feedback reported.  David participated in DPR’s groundbreaking ceremony at Hoover Road Athletic Park. Mayor Schewel, Councilmember Caballero, and numerous City of Durham employees and residents were present. David explained that it is a 50-acre complex with four soccer fields and was eager for a new park introduction.  No reports of Partner Against Crime (PAC) meetings attended.  No reports of community engagement activities. RAC Action Items – Fee Waiver Requests (Rich Hahn)  No fee waivers at this meeting. Old Business: Board Training/Presentation Q&A – Follow Up  David inquired about voting privileges for RAC liaisons to the City’s Attorney’s Office.  Lynda stated she has not yet received a response and will follow up with Sofia Hernandez, Sr. City Assistant City Attorney, regarding it. New Business: Hoover Road: Recreation Advisory Commission November 2020 Meeting Minutes Meeting conducted via zoom Page 1   David stated the Hoover Road Athletic Park Project had an estimated completion date of Fall 2021. He noted that Twin Lakes Park was close by and there were existing plans for a trail/greenway that had not yet been funded. He stated he has read reports of the City of Durham considering acquiring the privately owned Wheels Fun Park located in East Durham, close to the Hoover Road Athletic Park.  David stated due to the amount of investments being made in East Durham, he believed the RAC should be well informed and able to provide public feedback. He suggested a presentation be made at the next RAC meeting detailing information about the area, inclusive of current and future projects.  Marcella agreed with David that an abbreviated presentation at the current meeting may not encompass the entirety of the projects and what it entailed. She stated she was also in favor of a formal presentation at the next RAC meeting.  Tom Dawson, Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation, volunteered to give the presentation at the next RAC meeting. Wade Walcutt, Director of Parks and Recreation, reiterated that any information needed regarding this would be provided to RAC members at the next meeting along with project deadlines. Tom touched briefly on Hoover Road Athletic Park’s site plans and offered further insight to any RAC member who needed information.  Karthik asked for further detail on the above mentioned trail/greenway. Tom explained that it is currently considered a ‘concept trail’ and that it isn’t currently apart of the Trails and Greenways Implementation Plan. He mentioned that it could be another concept and presentation down the line. Microsoft Teams Overview:  Rich Hanh shared his screen via Zoom to present the software application Microsoft Teams. David discussed the efficiency of Teams. He stated the accessibility of the software application and the ease in which members could communicate. He stated file storage was another useful tool in the application. He mentioned that RAC was subject to North Carolina Public Records Laws and it would keep track of their communication in one area.  Rich showed the commissioners the chat features and file storage in the Teams application. Rich assured those that had not yet received a Teams meeting invite, would be receiving another link from Lynda. Karthik inquired about using Teams’ chat feature as a means for open discussion with RAC. David suggested utilizing the chat feature to put together questions to present to RAC meetings. Rich explained that while the chat feature is useful, the RAC cannot use Teams to have any voting, decision making, deliberating, motions made, or meetings called to order within the chat. David asked staff to help monitor this. Project Updates:  Tom explained that fifty projects were in the works for DPR. He mentioned Belmont Park Pump Track and Drew Granby Playground with which he went into detail. He stated that these are participatory budgeting projects where residents work directly with park planners to deliver what they would like in their communities.  The Lakeview Playground and Park Restoration is another project in the works that was made possible through grant funding. He noted that the participatory budgeting model was applied to similar projects and have made them successful.  Karthik asked Tom to help the commissioners identify key projects on which City Council would like feedback on. Tom stated that he would make the information available to the Commission regarding key projects. Recreation Advisory Commission November 2020 Meeting Minutes Meeting conducted via zoom Page 2   Tom stated the challenges of Covid-19 have made his team re-pioneer ways to get information communicated to the community. He stated that meetings like RAC and DOST are great ways of imparting information. He noted that the Trails and Greenways Implementation Plan updates are given at DOST meetings. Committee Reports: DOST Report (Karthik Sundaramoorthy)  Karthik attended his DOST meeting which was held virtually.  He explained how they revisited their new bylaws and a subcommittee was created to review.  He was given information on the Durham Beltway status and how it is delayed indefinitely due to DOT funds.  He learned that R. Kelly Bryant Bridge Trail and Third Fork Creek Trail are nearing completion planning stages.  Tom stated that DPR is considered the client with these trails and he can give updates as needed. Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC) (David Fellerath)  David stated that BPAC was following the progress of the R. Kelly Bryant Trail and the Third Fork Creek Trail as well.  David stated he read of the Triangle Bikeway Study, managed by groups not connected to BPAC, that proposes a 17-mile bikeway that connects Durham, Chapel Hill, Raleigh and RTP. Their main concern is collecting feedback and they are looking for more diversity specifically from underrepresented groups. He stated that he would share the link regarding the study via Teams. Hillandale Advisory Committee - Rebecca Reyes/ Leslie Stracks-Mullem (backup)  No report at this meeting. Director’s Report: Wade Walcutt  Wade explained that he would be reaching out to commissioners with information, meeting structures, ideas and improvements to assist with community outreach.  Wade stated that he been out in the community and he looked forward to sharing his findings with the group. His areas of focus include maintenance standards, aesthetics, staffing levels and structure.  He stated that Councilmember Freelon had inquired about lighting systems in the parks and is assisting him with answering questions regarding the programming behind them.  Wade stated that he is awaiting additional mandates from the Governor as it relates to Covid-19 on group gatherings and wants to make sure our community is as safe as possible.  He stated how they would begin to provide indoor pools to schools and providing those spaces in safe manners moving forward.  He stated that he would be providing the CIP list for the following year and forward to gain feedback from the Commission.  He provided the Commission with highlights of the Hallow-Eno which was a drive through experience at the Eno River for the October holiday. He thanked the team for their innovation and safety through the experience.  He stated how Joy and her team had secured a reimbursement grant for remote learning sites and after school care programs. He stated that it was a great addition for the Commission.  He thanked everyone for their support and patience during this time. Recreation Advisory Commission November 2020 Meeting Minutes Meeting conducted via zoom Page 3   He stated that how he would like to give as much information to the Commission without overwhelming them to maintain their continued support of the parks. Q&A:  Karthik: I am interested in the DPR after school program, this grant money, how is it going to be used? Joy: As Wade said, it’s a reimbursement grant. It will support the programs that we implemented to provide learning centers. We call them our ‘Recreation Works’ program. It is an all-day program that will provide a safe space for any virtual learning and will assist with existing programs that were in place. Wade: Please reach out for any further questions. Open Discussion:  Lynda: I would like to announce that the park safety subcommittee meeting is cancelled for today. Frank is out sick and we will take up where things left off in December.  David: Do you have all of the member photos you need for the current folder you are keeping on Teams? Lynda: I am still missing some.  Karthik: Bethesda Park that has the outdoor road course, is it closed due to Covid-19? Tom: It has passed inspection, there is some work being done on the half penny. Jason can give more detail. Jason: It’s programmatically closed due to Covid-19. It is tough for our staff to practice safe socially distanced measures especially on the ropes course. The course is inspected every year with two different inspectors. The zip line needs to be in excellent condition because of the risk associated with that activity. The half penny needs large maintenance within the next year. The staff is making sure the necessary work is done and ensuring the facility is being inspected. They are making sure the harnesses, carabiners, and other supplies are being replaced to make sure we are minimizing risks. Karthik: How often is it used? Do middle school aged children use the facility? Jason: It’s weather dependent. We have used it every month of the year. We have discovery days which the public can sign up to use the course. We also do a lot of group programs with organizations, it could be for kids, teens, or private organizations, who want to use the facility for team building or high adventure stuff. Karthik: It looks like a great asset that we have.  Karthik: The old YMCA on Trinity Rd. and Foster St., is that part of Durham Parks and Rec? Is it an open space project? Tom: This is a Duke diet and fitness center is what you are referring to. It is a large storm water project being done by DPW. I have been involved in the early design and development of this. Essentially, this will not be a “park” but it will have parklike features. It does nestle between the Ellerbee Creek Trail and the Beltline Trail. It is a DPW project, DPR just doesn’t have the capacity to maintain storm water features but we have had comment on how it fits in. Karthik: I like the murals that they hanging over there. Tom: They did have a great public process and the storm water design will be very innovative and have art as part of the project. David: I am excited about the future of this area.  Karthik made a motion to adjourn at 8:56AM, it was seconded by Eric, roll call was taken, all in favor. Next RAC Meeting: Wednesday, December 9, 2020 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Virtual Meeting Minutes respectfully submitted by Paola R. Roland: Recreation Advisory Commission November 2020 Meeting Minutes Meeting conducted via zoom Page 4