AGENDA #4g
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Appropriation of Payment in Lieu of Recreation Area Funds
DATE: April 14, 2004
The attached budget ordinance would appropriate $71,350 in payment in lieu of recreation area funds and interest to parks and recreation capital projects. If the Council agrees we would use $51,700 for improvements at Cedar Falls Park and $19,650 for improvements at Community Center Park.
BACKGROUND
The Chapel Hill Land Use Management Ordinance requires the dedication of recreation areas as part of the approval process for most new residential development. Provisions in the ordinance allow developers to make a cash payment to the Town in lieu of providing recreation area in certain circumstances and with the permission of the Council.
State law allows payments in lieu of recreation area dedications to be used for parks and recreation capital projects as long as certain conditions are met:
· Projects must be located near the development that generated the funds.
· Funds must be spent in a timely manner.
From 1985 until 2004, the Town collected $556,527 in lieu of providing recreation areas from 13 different developers. Of that amount $156,453 remains to be used for some capital projects in various areas of the Town.
DISCUSSION
In 1998 and 2004, the Town received payments in lieu of providing recreation areas from the developers of the following projects:
· Wilshire Place located off of Franklin Street, approved in 2002 ($19,398)
· Cross Creek Subdivision located off of Weaver Dairy Road, approved in 2004 ($51,700)
Wilshire Place Funds
We propose using all of the $19,398 available from this project plus $252 in interest accrued since 2002 for the renovation of the basketball court at Community Center Park:
Community Center Basketball Court Renovations: We originally planned on including the basketball court renovations in the 10-year financing package the Council approved for basketball and tennis court renovations in the FY 2003-04 Capital Improvements Program. Unfortunately we had to re-direct the funds originally budgeted for the Community Center basketball court to cover unexpected costs at the Hargraves Tennis Court project. The funds were used to mitigate problems associated with lack of drainage, poor soils, and rotten light poles found at the Hargraves Tennis Court site once the old asphalt surface was removed. Without another source of funds we could not complete the Community Center court project. This allocation of payment in lieu funds would allow us to complete the court reconstruction as originally planned.
Cross Creek Subdivision Funds
We propose using the $51,700 provided from this subdivision for the following projects:
Cedar Falls Park Tennis Courts: We would use approximately $6,000 to complete the Cedar Falls Park Tennis Court renovation. The unexpected costs at the Hargraves Park Tennis Courts have used some of the funds required for the tennis courts project. This allocation would allow us to complete the court renovation as anticipated.
Cedar Falls Park Play Area: We would use approximately $45,700 remaining from the payment in lieu to replace the playground equipment at Cedar Falls Park. This play area is the oldest in our park system and is in need of a complete equipment upgrade. The funds would be used to remove the old equipment and replace it with a larger, modern structure.
RECOMMENDATION
Manager’s Recommendation: That the Council enact the attached budget ordinance increasing the Small Park Improvement capital improvements program fund by $71,350.
AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND “THE ORDINANCE CONCERNING APPROPRIATIONS AND THE RAISING OF REVENUE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1, 2003” (2004-04-14/O-1)
BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Budget Ordinance entitled “An Ordinance Concerning Appropriations and the Raising of Revenue for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2003” as duly adopted on June 9, 2003 and the same is hereby amended as follows:
This the 14th day of April, 2004.