2023-02-21 Agenda
NEW HANOVER COUNTY PARKS & GARDENS
896 Airlie Road · Wilmington, NC 28403
(910) 798-7620 · (910) 798-7621 FAX · www.nhcgov.com
PARKS CONSERVANCY BOARD
AGENDA
FEBRUARY 21, 2023 5:30 P.M.
Airlie Cottage 896 Airlie Road
1. Call to Order Jessica Gray, President
2. Approval of October and December Minutes Jessica Gray
3. Financial Report Spero Pekatos
4. Staff Report Tara Duckworth/Tanya
5. Old Business/New Business
6. Adjournment
NEW HANOVER COUNTY PARKS CONSERVANCY BOARD PAGE 2
REGULAR MEETING DECEMBER 20, 2022
ASSEMBLY
The Parks Conservancy Board held its regular meeting on Tuesday, December 20, 2022, 5:30pm
at the Airlie Cottage.
Present: Jessica Gray ΛƦƩĻƭźķźƓŭΜ, Dave Ellegood, Cheryl Hannah, Karl Hess, Tony Pagrabs, and
Cassidy Lamb.
Absent: Jim Orr, Tess Osmer, Dana Lingenfelser, Spero Pekatos, and Mark Ihnat, and
Commissioner Jonathan Barfield.
Staff: Tara Duckworth, Tanya Gurganious, Janine Powell, Andy Johnson, Latashia Smith, and Jodi
Rich.
WELCOME AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Jessica welcomed everyone in attendance and called the meeting to order. Approval of the
October minutes will be considered at the February 21, 2023 meeting. The approval of the excused
absences from the December meeting will also be considered during the February 21, 2023 meeting.
Financial Report. Jodi reported the following:
Income
$25- general donation from North Brunswick Newcomers Club
Expenses
$184.88 - purchase of donated freezer for Echo Farms (from Wilmington Tennis Ladder)
$727.33 - purchase of supplies for Smith Creek Park tree planting (paid for by Cape Fear Garden
Club grant)
Staff Report. Tara Duckworth reported that construction has begun on Hanover Pines Park.
Upon completion, it will be a 42 acre passive park. An RFQ will be submitted to find a
design for a pump track at Northern Regional Park. We are planning to apply for a PARTF
Grant for the Phase 2 Smith Creek Park. A survey will be conducted by Janine to get public
st
input. Demo is to begin the 1 week in January on the River Road Park pier. (The pier was
demolished during Hurricane Isaias.) This project is fully funded by FEMA. The Northern
Regional Park trail is half finished. When it is completed, it will be a 1.7-mile paved
multiuse trail. Our art project that the Conservancy funded in the parks has added two
more paintings. They are a fish at Echo Farms and an octopus at Ogden. These paintings
should last at least 6 months. There is a total of 10 paintings. Once all are completed, the
artist will do a touch-up before it is pushed out to the media. Received a grant from the NC
Department of Transportation for multi-use trail construction from Red Cedar to Publix
along Middle Sound Loop Rd and a missing link of trail on Market Street from Mendenhall
to the PN Walmart. Plans are also in the works for a multi-use trail on Gordon Road. The
multi-use trail will run on the Eaton Elementary School side of Gordon Road all the way
down to North College Road, stopping at the State Employees Credit Union, past Laney
High School. There will be a sidewalk on the west side to cross over North College Road for
students coming from Northchase. Briefly discussed the renovations to the Airlie Garden
NEW HANOVER COUNTY PARKS CONSERVANCY BOARD PAGE 3
REGULAR MEETING DECEMBER 20, 2022
Services Center. Jessica Gray asked about the Park Rx program and Jodi mentioned that it
is a national initiative to get people to use parks for exercise in lieu of immediately moving
to a traditional prescription (for things like cholesterol and diabetes). Ideally, we will have
more opportunities for this program once local doctors begin register. We will also try to
partner with the new Wellness Coordinator for NHC in Human Resources, to get NHC
employees involved. Pickleball courts are finished at Arrowhead Park.
Food Truck Rodeo. Scheduled for April 30, 2023 at Ogden Park.
Old Business/New Business. Discussed the subcommittees meeting in the off months of
the Parks Conservancy Board. There were a few people willing to do both subcommittees
for Programs and Sustainability. Carl worried the subcommittees would spread the board
members too thin. Jessica mentioned that beautification was the biggest project to raise
funds for and that it was hard to ask for funds with no projects identified. Janine suggested
talking up parks advocacy and how we can better utilize our parks. Jessica wanted to know
if there were other organizations doing anything with their FEMA properties. Tara
mentioned that there are parameters on what we can do since they are FEMA properties
and there is no infrastructure at these locations (i.e., no irrigation). We should pick a few
select things to do on those properties and maybe take a field trip to the more usable
parcels. The Middle Sound area were suggested as there are several adjoining FEMA
properties there. There was some discussion of whether to change the meetings to
monthly meetings or leave them as they are. It was ultimately decided that the meetings
should remain every other month.
Next Meeting. The next meeting will take place on February 21, 2023 at the Airlie Cottage.
ADJOURNMENT
There was no further business there was a motion to adjourn.
MOTION: Jessica Gray MOVED; SECONDED by Dave Ellegood. Motion carried.
The meeting adjourned at 6:23pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Latashia Smith
-Please note that the above minutes are not a verbatim record of the New Hanover County Parks Conservancy Board meeting.