Parks and Recreation Commission — Cornelius, NC
Date: 2024-08-28

Parks & Recreation Commission
Tuesday, July 9, 2024 Cornelius Town Hall
5:30 – 7 p.m. www.cornelius.org/pr

 MINUTES
1) Call to Order
 Chair Kolkhorst called the meeting to order at 5:37 p.m.

2) Determination of Quorum
 A quorum was reached with seven commissioners in attendance.
 Commissioners present: Carla Eustache, Trey Fouche, Jill Rotunda, Jon Show, Chair Chris Kolkhorst, Jana Ritter,
 Travis Dancy, and Town Commissioner Michael Osborne
 Commissioners absent: Robert Reed, Andrew Heywood, and Town Commissioner Todd Sansbury
 Staff present: Director Troy Fitzsimmons, Assistant Director Adam Abernathy, Recreation Superintendent Joshua
 Handelsman, Executive Assistant Karen Ulmer

3) Public Appearances – Citizen Concerns/Comments
 None

4) Approval of Minutes (June)
 Commissioner Fouche made a motion to approve the minutes from the June 6, 2024, meeting as written.
 Commissioner Dancy seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

5) Director’s Report
 Director Fitzsimmons shared a presentation highlighting items from his June 2024 report.

6) Parks & Recreation Commissioner Recommendations & Reports
 a) Items to be placed on record – None
 b) Commissioner Reports
 1) Commissioner Carla Eustache
 • She has been planning and attending meetings on building out the educational campaign for the
 park bonds.
 2) Vice-Chair Trey Fouche
 • He attended Symphony in the Park, which was hot but successful. He was glad that we put out water
 for attendees.
 • His son has had a great time at our soccer and multi-sport summer camps.
 • He participated in the Strategic Planning and Long-Range Finance committee’s discussion to
 recommend FY25 park maintenance and improvement projects.
 3) Commissioner Jill Rotunda
 • She attended her first Symphony in the Park but did not stay very long because her daughters were
 too hot.
 • Her family is looking forward to summer camps they have registered for in July.
 4) Commissioner Jon Show – No report
 5) Chair Chris Kolkhorst –
 • He encouraged the Commissioners to attend the Town Board meeting this Monday at 6 p.m. for the
 public hearing on the park bonds.
 • He is unable to attend the upcoming Pre-development Committee meeting and needs a sub.
 Commissioner Fouche volunteered.
 6) Commissioner Robert Reed – Absent
 7) Commissioner Andrew Heywood – Absent
 8) Commissioner Jana Ritter
 • She attended Symphony in the Park with her family. It was a great event, and she liked the water
 refilling station.
 • Her daughter is excited to be signed up for the upcoming Puzzle Palooza Junior event.
 • She continues teaching tennis. Her classes will move from Bailey Road to Robbins Park in July.
 9) Commissioner Travis Dancy
 • In June, the Lake Norman area hosted the North Carolina State Games, the state’s largest multisport
 festival with 23 sports offered, three in Cornelius. There were good participation numbers and good
 feedback.
 • Lake Norman also hosted the USTA Tennis 18+ State Championships with over 1,000 players.
 c) Town Commissioner Report – Commissioner Todd Sansbury – Absent

7) Old Business
 a) Parks & Recreation Commission Goals & Committees
 Regional Partnerships – Commissioner Fouche noted that many of the Commissioners attended the Northern
 Towns and Mecklenburg County joint meeting last month. He was disappointed in the format set by the
 County; there was no discussion, just presentations. He will be reaching out to Mecklenburg County Park and
 Recreation Assistant Director Peter Cook to urge follow-up discussions. Chair Kolkhorst pointed out that
 Commissioner Show is now a Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Commissioner representing the North
 Region.

8) New Business
 a) FY25 Park Maintenance & Improvement Project Recommendations
 Assistant Director Abernathy shared a presentation highlighting items suggested by staff for how to spend
 the $360,000 allocated to us by the Town Board for maintenance and improvement projects. The list was pre-
 audited by the Strategic Planning and Long-Range Finance committee. Chair Kolkhorst thanked Town
 Commissioner Osborne and the rest of the Town Board for recognizing the need for this funding.
 Commissioner Fouche made a motion to approve the FY25 Maintenance & Improvements Budget
 recommendation as presented. Commissioner Show seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.
 b) 2024 Parks Bond Referendum: Branding & Educational Campaign Update
 Director Fitzsimmons said that Commissioners Eustache, Ritter, and Kolkhorst, along with staff, have been
 working on marketing for the bond referendum. He and Commissioner Ritter shared a presentation with
 updates. She said that, as part of the educational campaign, we have identified a name and tagline that
 would resonate with our residents, which is Connecting Our Community: Preserve. Prosper. Play. We will
 work with a professional graphic designer to develop a logo. We are working with the same professional
 group that did our Emerald Necklace video to develop a bond video. The narrative for the video was shown in
 the presentation. The group liked it, suggesting only that the “20-million-dollar” should be removed from the
 narrative, but should be on the webpage and other written materials. The public hearing for the bond will be
 part of the next Town Board meeting on Monday, July 15, starting at 6 p.m.

9) Adjournment 6:49pm
 Chair Kolkhorst adjourned the meeting at 6:49 p.m.

Next PRC Meeting – Thursday, August 4
Future PRC Meetings – Thursdays: September 5, October 4, and November 7, 2024

Next Town Board Meetings – Mondays, July 15, and August 5 and 19, 2024