AG 1995 08 21 - Laserfiche WebLink

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OBJECTIVES AND PURPOSES The logic behind the School/Park Concept in quite simple. A school/park is a community based park located on or near a public school campus. Public schools and parks need the same infrastructure items such as water, sewer, electrical service, roads, parking lots, and play areas. The school campus benefits by having facilities available that are above and beyond the requirements and budgets. The community benefits by having a park nearby, at less cost than if it were developed elsewhere. Cabarrus County needs an additional seventeen parks; therefore, present and future public school campuses could be developed into their community and neighborhood parks. Building a community park on school property saves the tax payers money since purchased land for a park is not required. The school system typically does not spend a lot of money on site amenities around school campuses for community recreational facilities. Additional cost savings can be realized if new schools are planned jointly by both the school system and the Parks and Recreation staff. This approach brings fresh, innovative ideas to the forefront in joint school and park planning. This team approach greatly enhances a school campus's diversability as a community focal point. By designing schools with the parks in mind, parking lots can be located to the side of the schools where they can be used for parking by people utilizing the parks. Because school campuses generally have facilities already in place that are needed for a public park (i.e., open play fields, parking lots, water and sewer connections, electricity, and a road system to the campuses), the school/park concept is a cost effective approach to providing public recreational facilities for the residents of Cabarrus County. Building schools and parks together is a win/win situation for everyone concerned. 4