Parks and Recreation Commission

Parks & Recreation Commission (PRC) Thursday, February 6, 2025 Cornelius Town Hall 5:30 – 7 p.m. www.cornelius.org/pr MINUTES 1) Call to Order Chair Fouche called the meeting to order at 5:36 p.m. 2) Determination of Quorum A quorum was reached with eight commissioners in attendance. Commissioners present: Carla Eustache, Chair Trey Fouche, Jeff Jones, Jon Show, Steve True, Robert Reed, Andrew Heywood, and Jana Ritter Commissioners absent: Travis Dancy and Town Commissioners Todd Sansbury and Michael Osborne Staff present: Director Troy Fitzsimmons, Assistant Director Adam Abernathy, Recreation Superintendent Josh Handelsman, and Executive Assistant Karen Ulmer Chair Fouche welcomed the two new members, Commissioners Jones and True. 3) Public Appearances – Citizen Concerns/Comments None 4) Approval of Minutes (January) a) January 2025 Draft Minutes Commissioner Heywood made a motion to approve the minutes from the January 9, 2025, meeting as written. Commissioner Eustache seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. 5) Director’s Report a) January 2025 Director’s Report Director Fitzsimmons shared a presentation highlighting items from his January 2025 report. He added that the Town held an FY26 budget planning meeting today at the Cain Center. It is going to be a tough budget year, but he is optimistic about our operational budget goal requests since the net expenditure would be only $6.000. The capital expenditure requests will present a bigger challenge. 6) Parks & Recreation Commissioner Recommendations & Reports a) Items to be placed on record b) Commissioner Reports 1) Vice-Chair Carla Eustache • She attended Mecklenburg County Commissioner Elaine Powell’s North Meck Priorities Meeting on January 23 at the Northern Regional Recreation Center meeting. • She has been working on transitioning the responsibility for writing the Lakeside Living articles over to Commissioner Ritter. 2) Chair Trey Fouche • He attended the Martin Luther King Jr Day event, which was standing room only and appeared well coordinated and attended between the three northern towns. It seemed pretty well run for a first- year event. He added that Atrium expressed interest in supporting that event in the future. • He attended the CATS Micro Transit meeting held last night at Town Hall. CATS will be running an Uber-like service, from Davidson to Northlake Mall, with a fee of $2.20 per ride, which is the same as a regular bus fare. Ages 13 and up can ride it without an adult. They want customers to use their app  to coordinate pickups and payment. No bike racks on the vehicles. The Village Rider service will continue to operate for now. • He plans to ask our Town Board members who in our Town is responsible for public art 3) Commissioner Jeff Jones • He attended the MLK event; the speakers and music were awesome. We should consider a new location as that event will probably continue to grow. • He attended County Commissioner Powell’s presentation. • He met with Vinny DiGerolamo, a community relations officer with the Cornelius Police Department. Officer DiGerolamo would like to partner with Parks and Recreation in various capacities, such as participating in our events, being a speaker, etc. Commissioner Jones said he would be happy to be the liaison between our department and Officer DiGerolamo. 4) Commissioner Jon Show • There is an aggressive skunk chasing people on the boardwalk at Robbins Park. • He asked about bamboo growth at Robbins Park. Assistant Director Abernathy said yes, it grows quickly, and we continue to cut it back. • Charlotte Independence’s adult soccer registration is underway and ends on Sunday. They still need to add more women to their teams. 5) Commissioner Steve True • He attended County Commissioner Powell’s presentation. • He has been on the new Caldwell Station Tributary Greenway; it is a really nice addition. • People have asked him about crossover improvements at the Westmoreland bridge over I-77. Director Fitzsimmons said that project has been simmering for years but is now back in active planning as McDowell Creek Greenway East. • He asked if there were any upcoming events regarding the Downtown Master Plan. Director Fitzsimmons said there will be another meeting coming up soon, though the details are still unannounced. 6) Commissioner Robert Reed • He has been involved in the court complex operator RFP process. • The Lake Norman Little Leagues season is coming soon, and he will be coaching his son again. They have already been out on the fields at Westmoreland Athletic Complex. and many others have been out there as well. • He has been getting a lot of questions about the tree clearing near at the Magnolia Cove development project near Magnolia Estates and asked if there is a beautification process or plan at the McDowell Creek Greenway trailhead there. Assistant Director Abernathy said we are limited to the small easement area and the developer will be making improvements also, once that project is done. 7) Commissioner Andrew Heywood – No report 8) Commissioner Jana Ritter • She has had some neighbors with young kids who have wanted to use soccer goals at Bailey Road Park, but they have been locked. She understood that Charlotte Independence (CISC) was obligated to provide goals for public use. Superintendent Handelsman said that CISC told us they have had a lot of vandalism, which is why they were locked. She asked if we could work out a way to include the goals when users other than CISC rent our fields for games or tournaments. Director Fitzsimmons said we let those users know that they have to coordinate that usage with CISC. • The PRC has not had partner presentations in a while. Director Fitzsimmons said we have already been talking about bringing them back for updates. • She has found that a lot of people don’t know they can reserve our tennis courts. We should find ways to promote court reservations. Also, we could promote court reservations and usage at events we are already having at the parks, such as tennis activities at the Robbins Park courts during Earth Jam. Commissioner Show added that CISC might be able to promote their programs on the upper field during Laketoberfest. 9) Commissioner Travis Dancy – Absent c) Town Commissioner Report – Commissioner Todd Sansbury – Absent 7) Old Business a) Parks & Recreation Commission Goals & Committees Chair Fouche reviewed the new committee assignments and chairs. These committees meet on an as-needed basis, typically coordinated by department lead staff. Director Fitzsimmons said the Programs, Fees & Facilities committee will be meeting soon, as staff are working with the Town’s attorney on updating codes and ordinances pertaining to parks. Some of the areas that need to be addressed or updated include private business use of park facilities, drone usage, e-bikes, and court rules compliance. Staff are also working on a pickleball setback policy, which this committee will need to review. Park bond planning and education will split to two committees: Strategic Planning and Long-Range Finance and Public Awareness. b) 2024 Park Bonds Director Fitzsimmons has been discussing plans with the Town Manager and Finance Director. To be ready for the potential first sale in January 2027, they are talking about getting an advancement on soft costs such as design. There is no point in preparing construction documents today, though, if we cannot build until 2027, because building codes constantly change. We can go ahead and prioritize projects but will need to be flexible as opportunities arise. 8) New Business 2025 Farmer’s Market Kenya Joseph, Board Chair for The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Food Policy Council, and Piniel Tadesse, their Program Director, shared a presentation outlining the history of the North Meck Community Farmers Market. It has operated for two years, both at the Northern Regional Recreation Center. They are looking to relocate to the Cornelius Town Hall lawn for the 2025 season. Commissioner Reed made a motion that the Parks and Recreation Commission support the Town of Cornelius hosting the North Meck Community Farmers Market at Town Hall for the 2025 season. Commissioner Heywood seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. 9) Adjournment Chair Fouche adjourned the meeting at 7:35 p.m. Next PRC Meeting – Thursday, March 6, 2025 Future PRC Meetings – Thursdays, April 3, May 1, and June 5, 2025 Next Town Board Meetings – Mondays, February 17 and March 3, 2025