Happy Thursday. Day 2 (of 3) of the Mecklenburg County commissioners' retreat is about to get underway.

#MeckBOCC is several sessions ahead of schedule. Follow along here: https://mecklenburg.ravnur.com/live/BOCC 

And here's the Spanish livestream option: https://mecklenburg.ravnur.com/live/BOCC-espanol

The first session of today is about parks planning, equity and funding, presented by Mecklenburg Park & Rec Director Lee Jones.

Many facilities are showing their age, Jones says.

Some history: Latta Park opened in 1891; Freedom Park opened in 1948.

"Meck Playbook" is the department's master planning effort.

Park & Rec has identified multiple "priority communities" to guide future investment.

Park access continues to raise equity concerns.

There are multiple "zones" through Mecklenburg County where residents must drive more than 10 minutes to get to a park. Lee says purple indicates where you can't walk within 10 minutes of a park.

. @hipolitix asks if all parks are ADA accessible — and to fix them immediately if not. He notes the crescent doesn't receive the same level of resources.

Jones says all parks should be, though he cited one resident complaint recently.

. @LauraMeierD5 asks about the history of inequity at Mecklenburg parks.

Jones: There were some challenges merging city and county oversight of parks, including too much focus in uptown. The Great Recession threw off some planning, and now Meck is seeing unprecedented growth.

. @OnTheFrogSide: "We pay a lot of money to these professionals at (Meck) Playbook and I really hope they give us strong feedback and recommendations on what we need in Mecklenburg County."

. @OnTheFrogSide: "Land acquisition is a huge priority at this time before we're completely built out in the next few years."

She asks for Park & Rec to notify commissioners if more flex spending is needed.

Looking at acres of park land is misleading, since some of those parcels are for protecting resources, @OnTheFrogSide and @susanrodmcd warns.

. @susanrodmcd: "It feels like we're really far behind and now we're playing catch-up."

Jones says this a matter of the haves and the have nots, though this is being addressed through long-term planning.

Chairman George Dunlap: "I can promise you, someone's gonna want something different" when Meck Playbook is released.

"I can promise you right now, somebody's not going to be happy with it," he says.

. @susanrodmcd says it sounds like Park & Rec needs a bond, or some other funding mechanism beyond what's already allocated in the budget.

Jones: Costs will be much higher now than they were in 2008. Parks & Rec will look at a "range of costs" for the next 5-10 years.

. @PatCothamMeck notes Mecklenburg does not have a state park.

Jones: "To get a state park is something that I've never pursued. Think about the vastness of something like that." Nature preserves are kind of like state parks, he says.

County Manager Dena Diorio says certain funding paths for parks will likely need endorsement from Mecklenburg voters. She notes this is a good time to borrow with low-interest rates.

Diorio says Mecklenburg has "plenty of time" to put a bond for parks on the November ballot.

@leighaltman asks how that bond might be impacted by Charlotte's proposed sales tax for transit.

Diorio: "Historically, as general rule, we've never competed when the city has something on the ballot."

But Diorio says voters should perceive a difference between a sales tax and bond.

Dunlap on a bond package: "You want to make sure the community feels like it's equitable so that you get broad support from the community. I hope we won't put the cart before the horse. Let's get the Meck Playbook plan out there first."

Jones say $2M in equity funding will support park makeovers at Tryon Hills Park, Enderly Park and LC Coleman Park. These are in designated high-need communities.

Jones says Park & Rec would need to add about 132 full-time employees to align with Mecklenburg's regional peers. When it comes to funding, Meck's budget would need to increase by $37M.

Dunlap: "Pat, let's start with you since I always miss you."

Cotham says Meck needs to continue to prioritize Park & Rec funding.

. @hipolitix asks how Park & Rec ensures volunteers aren't being asked to do the "heavy lifting" for park maintenance.

Jones: Residents must reach out to the department with concerns and possible projects, like helping to remove invasive species.

. @hipolitix says he hears constantly about the low park ranking; the Trust for Public Land ranks Char-Meck No. 95 out of the country's 100 largest cities.

Jerrell to Jones: "I would really like to be educated to how to speak to this issue." https://www.tpl.org/city/charlottemecklenburg-county-north-carolina

Diorio says a bond can be used for capital and purchase of land — not for operating costs at parks.

Commissioners are taking a 10-minute stretch break, at @susanrodmcd's recommendation.

Switching gears to Mecklenburg's environmental leadership action plan, presented by Deputy County Manager Leslie Johnson.

Background on the county's environmental leadership policy:

Johnson says buildings will require deep-energy retrofits. The dollar amounts are the county's best estimate, though they can be adjusted depending on the length of projects, she says.

The county's plan also calls for replacing 800 vehicles.

Johnson says about 54% of streams need to be restored. That will require a fee increase.

These are the estimated fee increases:

Johnson asks #MeckBOCC about their preferred timeline, either implementing plan/achieving goals by 2030 or 2035.

. @PatCothamMeck asks about the timeline.

Johnson: Waiting until 2035 is too long, experts say. "We wanted to show what would be the implications if we shorten the ramp-up period."

Cotham is also concerned about the advocate groups who informed Mecklenburg's suggestion — saying they might be asking for too much urgency.

Johnson: It's a significant increase in cost if Meck moves quicker.

Johnson: The 2030 goal matches the city's plan, though Charlotte's plan is already underway — meaning Meck has an even more compressed schedule.

@susanrodmcd: "We're behind."

. @LauraMeierD5: "I just want to give my endorsement to this."

There's no budget allocations yet for building retrofits and fleet inventory. Under 20 vehicles are electric or hybrid right now, Johnson says.

. @leighaltman says Meck has a big problem: "We have to triage...I'm not excited about the choices because they're all important. But we have to."