The Wake County Board of Commissioners today adopted a new seven-year Parks and Recreation Master Plan that calls for the County to focus on developing large parks of 100 acres and greater, but also continue to collaborate with local, state and federal governments, non-profits and businesses to help develop recreational facilities around the County.
Through the plan, the Board agreed that the County plays an important leadership role in providing assistance and resources to municipalities and the school system, such as the development of school parks and grants to help non-profits and municipalities with programs.
Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS), a division of Community Services, has spent the last 18-24 months developing the draft master plan, conducting an exhaustive inventory of parks and recreational facilities across the County and its municipalities. Staff created a weighted system for evaluating facilities and park acreage in order to determine what the communities need for future use.
The study found that:
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Gymnasiums are needed in every township.
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All but three townships show a deficit in public swimming pools.
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There appears to be a surplus of community centers, but they are not distributed equitably around the County and, therefore, don't meet needs in most communities.
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Practice and play facilities for field sports are needed throughout the County (includes baseball/softball fields, football/soccer fields and multi-purpose/open play fields).
"This plan will guide us as we make decisions over the next several years about how to best meet the needs of growth in this County," Commissioners' Chair Linda Coleman said. "Recreational activities are a very high priority for the majority of our citizens, and we must find ways to meet the needs and expectations for parks and recreational facilities in the future. The added benefit is that park space is open space, and that helps to protect and preserve our environment for future generations, as well."
She also noted that the plan focuses heavily on partnerships with both the private and other public sectors, so that County funding could help develop facilities that otherwise might not ever come about.
"We have long recognized the value of partnerships, and this plan outlines ways that we can leverage our own dollars for far more value by joining forces with other local governments, with state and federal governments, and with non-profits and other agencies," she said. "If we are successful at pursuing these relationships and can offer some financial incentives as partners, the County's citizens will benefit by having many more parks and recreational facilities much sooner than they might otherwise."
The plan, if fully implemented, would cost an estimated $55 million - $58 million over the next seven years. That would include:
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$17-20 million for expansions and improvements at existing parks and the American Tobacco Trail
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$4.5 million for a grant-in-aid program to help non-profits and municipalities with facility improvements
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$4.5 million to buy land for new district parks
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$17 million for new school parks
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$12 million toward development of regional athletic complexes in partnership with other agencies
By adopting the plan, the Board made no commitments to future funding levels. Those will be decided as part of upcoming budget processes. County Manager David Cooke said that this plan would need to be balanced with all of the other facility and program needs of the County, such as jails or other public safety facilities, human services facilities and libraries.
"We cannot assume that this plan, or that any master plan, would be fully funded as outlined," Cooke said. "It may be, but we will need to go through a priority-setting process as part of the budget process and capital improvement program to determine how parks and recreation needs stack up against the many other needs we have."
For more information, contact PROS Director David Carter at 856-6677, or PROS Project Manager Robert Hinson at 856-6676.
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