Dix Park, and I'm going to turn it over to Stephen Bentley to present.

Good afternoon, Mayor, members of the council.

I'm Stephen Bentley, the director of Raleigh Parks.

With me today, uh co-presenting is Ruffin Hall, president and CEO of the Dix Park Conservancy.

So I'll kick us off.

He'll share some of the work that they're doing, and then I'll finish the presentation.

We have a lot to cover.

Um a lot of great work to show you today.

So this is a big year for Dix Park.

It is the 10-year anniversary of acquiring the property.

We open opened Gibson Play Plaza.

Uh DHS informed us that they are moving off the campus, and the Conservancy completed a $75 million fundraising campaign.

So our agenda today, we're going to talk a little bit about the visitation.

We've had an incredible summer.

We are going to talk about the transition of DHHS, share some of the great work and the project updates, and then look forward and share some next steps with you.

So congratulations, you have the number two most visited destination in North Carolina.

So June, July, and August saw over 600,000 visitors to Dix Park.

You can see the data points, 42 states and uh four uh 95 of the hundred uh counties in North Carolina, and it is the number one local destination uh in the triangle.

Uh this is a map, a little bit harder to see on the big screen, but you can see geographically that we I was trying to look for states, looks like Idaho and Alaska.

So we need to recruit some uh folks from Boise and some folks from Anchorage to come visit.

Uh but you can see that we go both coasts.

So it's pretty exciting to have such a destination here in Raleigh.

Uh in addition to that, if you go more local, you can see that each one of these dots represents a hundred visitors in Raleigh.

So each of your districts are very well represented, uh represented and visiting the park and enjoying the park.

Stephen.

Absolutely.

Sorry to interrupt.

Yeah.

Can you ask how you have this data?

Is it cell phone?

Is it self-provided?

Yep, uh, the data source is Placer AI.

Uh-huh.

A commonly used tool in uh public spaces as well as retail.

Phone data.

Yes.

And just to capture, uh, we had an end of the summer block party a couple weeks ago in conjunction with Oak City Collaborative, and we had 15,000 visitors to that one event.

So now we'll shift gears a little bit and move towards the DHHS transition.

Just to remind council that we I said we acquired the property 10 years ago.

Uh the original lease was set to expire July of this summer.

However, last summer DHHS approached approached city staff and asked for a two-year extension.

Um, this uh earlier this calendar year, they notified us that they would be leaving in November of 2025.

That has put us in a uh operational position to uh deal with a lot.

So uh from a square footage standpoint, we have about one million square feet of buildings on campus, uh including 300 acres of our grounds and all of our infrastructure.

All of that becomes our responsibility.

And from a context standpoint, every building in the park system is about one million square feet of buildings.

There is so there is one million just on this campus.

So what does that mean?

That means that we are in a citywide organizational mode to respond to this.

This is not just parks and recreation.

We're working closely with our attorney's office on the lease amendment.

We are working with multiple aspects of the engineering department from their facilities and their project management side, stormwater, transportation, to look at a series of things that we have to accomplish with their departure.

Um will be is to decommission the uh centralized systems.

They are uh the buildings, a majority of the buildings are on steam and chiller.

Um we are in the process of permitting demolition of the West Campus, and I'll have more information on this uh coming up.

And then we're looking at how we can advance some demo of the East Campus.

Uh just uh overall perspective for the uh the campus from from buildings.

We have when I say we, I mean the Dix Park Conservancy and the city have renovated six structures uh at about 25,000 square feet.

Uh the last two years, we have demolished uh 25 structures totaling 50,000, and then we are looking at demolishing an additional 500,000 and then stabilizing 500,000 square feet.

And the picture on the right is one of our most recent uh demolitions.

You can kind of see the before and after.

The great thing is we're naturalizing the site and uh removing impervious surface.

And this is a slide that I wanted to share on our next phase of demolition.

So if you think of the West Campus as across the railroad, where the sunflowers are, where the flowers cottage is and the big field, we will demo all of those buildings starting early in 26 with the exemption uh exception of the flower cottage.

And then it kind of shifts us into looking at all the infrastructure needed on site.

So the estimates we received from DHHS that it took about $7 million to run their boiler and chiller.

So our goal is to uh as soon as uh feasible is to decommission the centralized plant, which is the boiler and chiller system.

Uh and what does that mean?

That means that essentially we will um remove the buildings that are attached to these systems, drain them for water, we will seal them up, and we will remove as much of the um walls and products inside these buildings to reduce the amount of mold that will be in them.

Uh we are currently working on a building redevelopment strategy in conjunction with the Conservancy, in which you will see this fall and then in spring of 26.

And then we're looking at how do we go back and supplant a new um utility system.

So we're going to create a centralized uh utility corridor on campus.

And this is going to be a series of project updates on things that we are working on, and then I will turn it over to Mr.

Hall for him to talk about some projects that the Conservancy is working on.

So currently uh the council has authorized the planning and design of the first uh phase of the Rocky Branch uh Creek and Grove project.

I will have a rendering for that coming up.

Now we have design funds.

We do not have construction funds, so you can see we could be the uh construction ready by early 2027, but that is depending on funding.

I mentioned that we are looking at, I have a slide coming up on a master utility corridor so that we can plan for new water, new sewer, and stormwater assets.

And then our partners in transportation and engineering services are finalizing their their permits for construction.

They have initiated some work uh on the Lake Wheeler corridor for utilities and trees.

And then finally, our partners in Raleigh Water have initiated some tree removal, and construction will be underway for a critical piece of water infrastructure in the city, which is the Pull into Bain water main.

Um here is Creek and Grove.

This is a picture if you were uh play Gibson Play Plaza is at the bottom of your screen, and at the top of your screen is Western Boulevard.

The first phase of Rocky Branch takes you to the small bridge entering the park off of Western Boulevard, so we would restore the hillside and the grove as well as open up the creek to boardwalks, assisting in uh helping mitigate some flooding downstream and also creating that strong gateway to downtown.

Here is another vantage point.

So this would be if you were um at the South Saunders uh perspective looking up and you can see the cross section where we would uh create a series of stormwater structures, boardwalks, uh, as well as um interpretive elements.

So we are currently uh in design.

We are going to be hiring a construction manager at risk in 2026 and with the hopes of starting construction in 2027.

This is the utility uh master plan that we've just really initiated with our consulting team from Dewbury.

So as a reminder, all the uh water and sewer will need to be replaced.

The we talked about decommissioning the boiler and the chiller.

Our goal is to create uh a single corridor from Lake Wheeler to Blair Drive, so through the campus that will allow uh the adaptive reuse of buildings if and when they come online to tap into this utility corridor.

It's about 6,000 linear feet of utilities.

And then finally, this is just a sketch of the Pull into Bain project, which I share goes from Pullin Park to the Bain water treatment plant, uh a critical piece of redundant uh redundancy for our water infrastructure in the city, especially in the western portion of Raleigh.

And lastly but not least, this I believe has been uh deemed the peanut.

This is uh uh a rendering of one of our oval roundabouts uh that is on Lake Wheeler Road.

Currently, tree clearing and utility relocation is underway and full construction is anticipated to begin um later this fall.

This contract has already been awarded by the Raleigh City Council.

And now I will turn it over to uh my peer Ruffin Hall with the Dix Park Conservancy.

Good afternoon.

Uh thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today.

I really appreciate it.

Before we go into the slides, I just wanted to take a moment to make a few comments in general.

Um, just wanted to say we really appreciate the working relationship with the city.

And as part of that, our our board chair is here, Bill Ross, you kind of raise your hand, former uh Secretary of North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Um, I also bring tidings from the board of directors.

Um we also appreciate the work on the day-to-day basis with all of our various partners.

Um Nikki Jones and the manager's office, Stephen Bentley, uh, Adam Foreman, of course, Kate Pierce.

But I also wanted to take a moment to say thank you for the programming and the operations and the maintenance staff at the park.

They're really great to work with, they really care about their jobs, and we could not do that without them.

So I just wanted to make that comment really quickly.

Um before we get into the presentation as well, I wanted to talk about three concepts which are important to us, which go beyond maybe the the general updates.

Um, the value of partnership.

I think that it's clear, at least to us, that this park is going to be successful, is successful, going to be successful in large part due to the partnership and the relationship.

We can do great things together.

Second, our goal is to leverage the private sector investment.

So one of the questions I think we sometimes get is you know, what makes the conservancy relationship in parks a little bit different?

In our view, what we bring to the table is the private sector investment that may not occur without that involvement.

And so that's part of the asset that we bring.

And then also, um thirdly, which I think was evident by the maps that you saw, is that we believe very strongly this is a park for everyone.

And I think if nothing else, if you go out and see some of the the folks that are out there of all the various activities, not just the Gibson Play Plaza, there's really been a really energetic community spirit in the park over the last three months, and we're really, really proud of that.

So with that, let's go into the slides.

I'm going to just touch on a couple of really quick things.

Uh House of Many Porches.

I think all of you have been through there and hopefully had a snack.

Uh, the renovated uh facility that the Conservancy did.

Um we had a successful grand opening in conjunction with the plaza.

Our revenues so far for the three months have exceeded expectation.

We've had a really positive hospitality response.

Um and I'll just speak personally.

I do go over there sometimes just to grab a sandwich and sit on a rocking chair.

It's uh well, this is also in August, remarkably cooler over there compared to the Play Plaza.

And but there's a real spirit uh in that facility that I would encourage you all to uh experience with a connection to local vendors.

There's a real local investment in the in the facility.

So our goals here are to continue that visibility and increase the programming and activation, probably more as we get into the cooler months uh as opposed to maybe the summer activity.

Flowers cottage renovation, that's a little bit hard to see.

Uh it's an artist rendering.

You're familiar with the Flowers Cottage.

Um that's being renovated into a food and beverage space with a coffee bar and a little beer garden.

And it's if you've been out on that deck, we're going to extend the deck and then have some seating and some serving area underneath, along with a play area and some public bathrooms on that particular side to really have another destination place, not in the same scope as a House of Many Porches or Gibson Play Plaza, but uh some place for refreshment and bathrooms and those kinds of things.

Um we are going through the final permitting process and looks uh look to be begin construction probably more in winter after the first of the year as opposed to in the fall.

Brown building, adaptive reuse.

You're familiar with the building that is adjacent to the Gibson Play Plaza.

Um we are currently working on concepts associated with a third-party vendor to upfit the facility and use that for a variety of activities, including I know additional restrooms.

Uh, you know, that's that's something we just have to talk about.

Um, indoor refuse, uh refuge and welcome center space, additional concession opportunities, maybe a food hall.

That's what we're currently working on.

That building is going to need some substantial upfit, so that's not an immediate, unlike the Flowers Cottage renovation, that's pretty quick.

This one has a tremendous amount of plumbing and mechanical.

So at the point at which the project gets underway, probably another year to 18 months before that comes online.

Real estate advisory services.

So this is a contract jointly, or we're holding the contract, but it's a joint partnership with the city.

I think that's been working really well to bring some real estate expertise to the table from a national perspective as we collectively think about all these buildings and that real estate position.

So, really, this is just to let you know we've got some help regarding real estate and thinking about it.

Uh, this particular group, City Collective, brings experience uh in San Francisco with the working with the Presidio, as well as a couple of their team members were on the civic campus team when they did the master plan for this particular block, so they know Raleigh.

Um, the coordination of those buildings, the utilities, um, uh market study, and then doing some financial modeling.

So we're in the in the middle of that, and that's a joint effort between the city as well as the conservancy together.

Uh a few items on public art.

So uh public art continues to move forward.

We have a mural project that we've commissioned, uh, Jackie Shelton Green, uh, the ninth poet laureate in North Carolina, first African American and third woman to be appointed to that position.

She has written a poem which is going to go into a mural, which is on the site of the Dobbins building, which is adjacent back on the back side of the sensory garden for the Gibson Play Plaza, and it's going to wrap around.

Uh we don't want to reveal too much of the design quite yet.

There will be a release presentation that on a date to be determined, but we're very excited about that moving forward.

And of course, we have the trolls.

So I'm sure you've heard about it by now.

There's a lot of interest, there's a lot of excitement about the Thomas Stambo trolls.

Let me say these pictures are trolls in other locations.

They're not necessarily the ones that will look like Raleigh.

Thomas Dambo, the artist, um, they are all unique, they're all different.

Um there's uh quite a bit of national and international interest in this, and we will be moving forward with that in October.

So we're in the preparation stages for that now.

Um the on-site construction and installation will begin on October 6th.

What's very important, and and I don't want to spend a lot of time here talking about that.

Um, I would encourage you to do your own research about Thomas Dambeau and his philosophy, um, his environmental stewardship and focus on sustainability.

All the materials for the trolls are recycled.

He uses volunteers to help do the construction.

We're going through the sign-ups of that now.

Um there's a strong international art visibility to the project, and uh we have coordinated with also Charlotte and High Point, as well as a temporary exhibition in Asheville.

Uh ours is going to be first, and then the other troll.

There's there's one troll in Charlotte, and then another one in High Point, and then a group in Asheville.

Those are going to be coming forward in November.

And there is storytelling associated with the trolls in Dix Park and the Charlotte and the High Point ones.

So this is a quite a quite a lift.

Um there's going to be other activities other than just the building of the trolls and the hospitalities of sport volunteers.

There's going to be an artist talk and book signing, at least on October 23rd.

We may have to try to open up another date depending on interest.

And there's going to be public programming after that.

One of the other things we just wanted to mention is as I talked about partnerships.

One of the things about public art and this particular project is we are working with several key partners to make this happen.

So obviously the City of Raleigh and the Dix Park Conservancy are critical partners.

We got some assistance uh just yesterday from the maintenance crews in the park, and we really appreciate that.

Um but also Raleigh Reclaim.

So the materials are all reused, and we have uh been successful had some success with Raleigh Reclaimed using materials that are cut down or used in Dix Park to repurpose them for other uses.

They are an expert in that materials reclamation, they were a partner, as well as Habitat for Humanity.

We're using their platform to help work through the volunteers because they are good at my uh organizing and managing volunteers in groups, and they're lending some of their tools and their expertise to the project as well.

Another project, the Chapel Healing Garden, uh, which is uh almost complete.

There's uh it's open to the public now.

We're waiting on the installation of a fountain.

Um this was a project behind the chapel that was a recommendation of the cultural interpretive plan to honor the history and legacy of the Dix campus, totally private funding funding, and there's some contemplative spaces and small area for programming.

There'll be a recognition event in the spring, um, but encourage you to check that out.

Preston Montague, our artists in residence.

If you have been over to the park, there's a meadow project adjacent to the stone houses, is one of those locations.

Uh Preston's uh Durham Durham-based landscape architect, and he is really focused on ecological restoration and botanical education, classic art.

This is really a project that has multiplied and its impact.

And what I mean by that is what started out as uh a landscape installation public art project has also morphed into connections with uh the maintenance staff as well as volunteers about the value of um native plants and installations and and restoring the land.

Uh and so it sort of had some really interesting spin-offs and energy to it.

You can see some of that if you come to the stone houses where our offices are and see that area where the 14 houses with single family houses were that were demolished, and the plantings have grown up out of the ground now.

It's really interesting.

And these are some of his maps of what he's working.

The Vestora is the one I'm talking about adjacent to the stone houses.

Okay, uh the Conservancy just recently finished the $75 million campaign uh thanks to everyone that was a part of that.

Uh there's too many people to name here.

Over 2,400 donors, and the Conservancy at this point is starting to think about what will the next campaign look like, what are the targets, what's the relationship for fundraising and partnering uh with the city of Raleigh.

Last thing I wanted to mention, new member program.

I will not ask you to raise your hands for everyone who is a member of the Dix Park Conservancy, but if you haven't joined, would encourage you to go to our website and click the box of how do you support.

You can find the conservancy and sign up.

Maybe you can convince the city manager to put that on your subscriptions budget list.

I won't put pressure on you for that, but you know, okay, all right, you're okay, you're a member.

Just check.

Um we started out with a goal of uh 308 members within the first couple of months uh to match the park.

We blew way past that.

Now we're shooting for more than a thousand by the end of the year.

We just uh passed 850 this past week, and so there's uh quite a bit of interest.

So I would encourage you for more information to go to our website, Dixparkconservancy.org, and encourage you to become a member.

Um the other benefit to becoming a member, last thing I'll say about that is that is the device where we will be sharing a lot of information.

So that's a good way to find out what's going on.

With that, I will turn it back over to Mr.

Bentley to finish the presentation.

Thank you, Ruffin.

Just a few more slides.

So the look ahead, uh, the next as you can saw uh there was a lot of things going on in this past decade, and now we're looking at the next three to five years.

Um we brought to you some recommendations at your last uh work session, um, and they outlined uh the creek work, which would uh, like I said, currently we only have design for major improvements to the dog park, which is one of the key uh attractions within the park, uh, not only for people but for our four-legged friends, uh, to continue the demolition um of the buildings that have uh deemed uh ready for demolition, and then partial redevelopment of the East Campus.

Things like trails, community gardens, and public artwork are included in the next three to five years, as well as implementing recommendations from the cultural interpretive plan.

The capital estimates for that are between 90 and 120 million dollars, as well as operating impacts from seven to ten million dollars.

You're asking, well, Stephen, how do we pay for that?

Um, and that's what we wanted to share with you at the end of the presentation here is um what we know about major urban parks is there is no single funding source for them.

The best urban parks in the world are made up um uh being funded by multiple sources.

You can see this graph here includes public funding, uh contributed income, which is donations or philanthropy, uh, earned income, so the opportunity for concessions and fees and rentals, and then value capture, whether it be leasing uh ground leases or uh having building leases.

So our recommendation will be moving forward is that all these tools should be recognized as options to fund Dick's Park.

Specifically, you are familiar with the MSD.

Um you have too, and I have that in the next slide.

Um they can be used for uh different types of services, and that ranges for marketing for the park programs, events, cleaning, safety.

Um recommendation, if you are agreeable, is that we would bring back a proposal or a series of proposals to you this fall outlining boundary rates and the specific services that would be yielded out of uh bringing those fees in.

So this, as you are familiar, you have two MSDs, one on Hillsborough Street with 15 cents per 100 assessed in property value, and then the downtown MSD, which is 7.8 cents for per per 100 of property value.

The other tool we are looking at in front of us is a TIG or a tax increment grant.

I won't go into a lot of detail about that because your next work session is about that.

And staff from planning and finance and budget will bring you a proposed TIG policy based off of those recommendations of that TIG policy, we will work with the appropriate departments and look to see how that can be applied as a tool for Dix Park.

And then finally, uh one of the things that we are working on, I see a lot of Mr.

Hall.

We basically see each other every week is that we are looking at the future governance of the park.

Currently we have a MOA or a memorandum of agreement with the Dix Park Conservancy on a weekly basis.

Um Assistant City Manager Jones and Ruffin Hall and I meet to talk about what does the governance of the park look like.

Currently, it is advised by the Dix Park Leadership Committee.

What does that look like in the future?

And what are the roles of the city?

What is the roles or responsibilities of the Conservancy?

And how do we deliver these services that you have seen on all these slides?

And then ultimately, how is that paid for?

So next steps for us is to bring back to you a updated memorandum of agreement outlining those four items.

And also bring back our feasibility study that we are wrapping up with our partnering departments on what the municipal service districts at Dix would look like and share those different tools with the council.

And that is concludes our presentation.

Thank you for a lot of information.

I will open it up for questions.

Yeah.

Counselor Silver.

Well, thank you, Stephen and Thank you, Stephen.

Thank you, Ruffin, for very exciting presentation.

It's so gratifying to see the numbers of how people love parks so much.

Uh amazing statistic from not only all over North Carolina, but around the country.

I'm going to start with the N1 first because I'm not sure about the memorandum of agreement.

In terms of the leasing option for what you call a value capture, is there a limitation about what you can lease it for?

Does the agreement limit it to certain uses?

So I'm just trying to understand what is the portfolio, should you do some leases?

It has to be a park-related use, or it can be something else.

So the master plan adopts kind of the uses to be determined in the park.

What we would do is uh work with the Conservancy and that uh private entity on what that use is so it supports the park.

Um our recommendation would be anything that goes forth should be park supportive or honoring the council adopted master plan.

Okay.

Uh second question.

I know that Design is moving forward.

Uh very excited about the new entrance off of Lake Wheel of South Saunders.

Just a couple of questions about that.

On the Lake Wheeler, uh you don't have to go back to the image.

Um just wanted to understand as that evolves, and it's very exciting that now there will be an improved edge.

Um this is getting a little bit, you know, in the weeds, but in terms of that edge, uh edges and entrances are so critical to a park.

Is it just going to be an approved road, or it will there actually be an edge to the park so as people are walking?

Yes, they see the road, but what is the park experience and whether that sidewalk can be viewed as the outer park versus a multi-use path, because it is going to go toward the edge.

I notice there is an alignment that takes you through the park toward uh Gibson Play Plaza, but just wanted to understand about both the western edge and the Lake Wheeler edge, and I'll get to the entrance in a second.

Yeah.

So yeah, our goal and and part of this will be accomplished through the Lake Wheeler Road project.

We have a multi-use path and a bike trail.

Um that was part of the park's bond because we are literally building the edge of the park as a part of that project.

Uh the council will see the 30 percent design of that entrance down Rocky Branch Creek.

We have not gotten that far.

Um but um understanding the feeling that you get when you first enter a park is extremely important.

So we will look to attention for detail and how does that set design for the rest of the creek, all the way up towards NC State.

Okay.

And then the last one, I'm sure you were there last week about the entrance uh office South Saunders and Western.

Very excited to see it.

Don't know what could be done short term just to let people know something's coming.

Whether there's a visual that you shared at the entrance to know, yes, it may be 2027 to generate some excitement, but to me that that intersection, that corner is so critical because that's the first introduction to the park.

And so I'm hoping in the short term, without waiting until 2027, is there some intervention to generate some excitement so as people do go toward the Lake Wheeler South Soners under the bridge that there's a sense of arrival to know what's coming because there's a as you know there's a greenway there, there's also an entrance there, and I feel that's a very key opportunity.

Any thinking about what could be done short term?

We could we can certainly look in that.

Low tact low cost, tactical immediate.

Yep.

Yeah, just a question of follow-up about entrances.

And I'm just sitting here thinking like a lot of people aren't going to use that main entrance.

They're gonna come from the farmers market side into the park.

Are we doing anything to also give attention to those access points?

We are.

Um I called it the peanut, um, but up at Good Street.

So actually all the way down Lake Wheeler Road, there will be improvements because of the Lake Rilla Road project.

So wider sidewalks, new plantings, um, a direct access into the Gibson Play Plaza parking lot, as you know, you have to go on good and then turn and come up.

Um this actually creates uh a straight shot right into the park.

So we'll look at um making sure uh the arrivals are important as a part of that.

Thank you.

Other yes, Councillor Jones.

Hi, Stephen, thank you.

Um small questions.

So when in the tree removal, I think it's page 18, uh where you talk about the tree removal plan that's underway.

Is there a plan for replanting, whether that's on Dick's campus or throughout the city for the trees that are being removed?

And do we have one on the overall goal of the parks program when we pull for projects to replant those trees?

So specifically pull into Bain, is that what you are?

Yeah.

So the corridor that is currently being cleared or pine trees, you can't put pine trees back on.

But what we uh came up with is this is a perfect greenway connector.

So you will now be able to we we're going to put a greenway connection down to Rocky Branch.

So you can come up Rocky Branch, pop out of the pines, see the trolls, and then go to the new food and beverage area.

And we'll look at planted because we can't put trees back on the sewer easement.

No, I completely understand that.

But I guess my question overall, and we think about the city as a whole, when we take and we get in, let's say we remove 30 trees.

Do we have a city plan to say even if it's not in that moment?

Because I understand you can't put it over anyway.

Great question.

Does it go somewhere else?

Across the system.

Actually, you requested that we develop the leaf out plan.

So you will see that.

And that although that is parks led, we're working with transportation and stormwater.

So city-initiated projects on city land, what are we doing to steward our our urban canopy?

Great.

Yeah, I just think that as I talk with residents and they have concerns, uh, not just here, but you know, all over the city, we can say, no, there is a goal, there is a plan, and this is what we're doing.

So I appreciate to hear that.

Um the other question that I had, I have a list and then it's gone, sorry.

Um let's go to governance of the can can you walk me through what the governance structure looks like now one more time?

Absolutely.

So we currently have the Dix Leadership Committee.

Um let me get on there.

Pretty close.

There we go.

Uh so currently uh our agreement with the Conservancy outlines the Dix Leadership Committee.

Um it is chaired by the mayor and vice-chaired by um a member of the Dix Park Conservancy.

There are members from NC State University, the Department of Agriculture.

I'm a non-voting member.

Uh Marshell has an appointee uh or herself as a nonvoting member.

We want to look at that structure.

Um now that the park is becoming more complicated and evolving, um, how can we update that structure to better uh address some of the things we're doing in the park, like public art and operations and some of these building strategies?

And that I know MSD and some of the other examples, they take on that responsibility.

Would that be the goal here with this MSE for them to be the governance structure?

It it would not.

No.

This group you could say is more of a advisory and um decision-making nature.

Uh the MSD would require a completely separate entity.

It could be another group, it could be the Dix Park Conservancy could could seek the MSD.

Okay.

Awesome.

And then lastly, uh that's amazing for $75 million, thank you to the Dix Conservancy.

That's phenomenal.

What um time span was that?

Was that over how many years did it take to the other?

So it's from when we started is the 10-year campaign.

Okay, cool.

Well, thank you so much for your work.

Thank you.

Yep.

Council Harrison.

Yeah, thanks to Councilmember Jones bringing up the tree question.

I know there had been some discussion about that from residents.

Um I just wanted to ask um Stephen, do you know when the leafout plan will come back to us to to see?

I will have that for you Friday uh in Marshall's manager's update.

Oh great.

All right.

That's exciting.

I will provide the date, the update for you.

Yeah.

I I I don't know the actual date of the Okay, not the plan on Friday.

No.

No.

No, I'll provide you with that data manager's update.

Gotcha.

I was going to say you guys are uh on it.

We are on it.

We we have definitely done a lot of work towards it with the parks board, but we can give you kind of a schedule for that will come to council.

Okay.

That would be wonderful.

And I was also curious.

Um I know we had talked in the spring where I had requested um uh some understanding of the percentage of native plants that are going into Gibson Play Plaza and the park.

Do you have those numbers?

Did I miss them in a manager's report?

I will follow up with you.

Okay.

That'd be great.

Um I just want to say thank you to everyone who has made Gibson Play Plaza such a success.

It is absolutely fantastic.

I ride my bike by, you know, just randomly now it's it's my route to everywhere.

So it's so you're a lot of those Placer AI people that are.

Yeah, that's me.

Thanks.

I will say just on um with Counselor Harrison that the Preston Montague uh landscape architect is doing a lot of these rewilding projects um that I just saw a week ago.

But um that is increasing the number of natives as he tries to redo like Piedmont Prairies um in certain areas.

So uh was there any questions down here?

No, if I want to make sure it's yeah, you go ahead.

Yeah.

Um hi, Stephen.

Hello.

Um Switching to the lease agreement with DHHS.

Um I'm trying to suss out like how much of this is cost we would have borne.

You know, you know, I'm thinking of like a human scale.

Like if I canceled my lease, my landlord would be like, you can do whatever you want with your body, but you're gonna be paying your rent.

You know, like I wouldn't be released from my lease.

And so I'm curious, like it feels like we're absorbing a lot of costs and a lot of rush that so the lease is written in a way that both parties um provide notification and they provided us notification.

So it is rushed because they had just uh re-upped it two years, but very quickly afterwards um came back and said, well, we're gonna be departing.

Now they've been a great partner working on uh vacating buildings so we can sequence things.

So um but yeah, they they provided we have a green book about four inches thick on the purchase agreement.

Um it basically says if you provide the reasonable notification, and that's what they did.

Okay.

Um then switching gears.

Um there has been a little bit of internet chatter from my residents, so if it would just indulge me a little bit of fact checking.

Some of my residents are concerned that the trolls are going to be made from the trees that are being cut down from the pull-in to Bane water making.

I'll let Mr.

Hall address the trolls.

So uh all of the wood and material using for the trolls are coming from reclaimed wood across the particular park.

And so um whether or not they're uh I I don't believe they're coming from the pine trees in that particular section.

I will verify that, but uh at this point I don't believe they are.

Okay, thank you.

I assumed.

But using the moment to set the record straight.

Um then my last question, um I've been to Gibson Play Plaza several times.

It's a delight as a parent of an older elementary kid.

I love that it like you know, it has a lot of things for my kid to do and will continue to be of interest for a long time.

Um so I think that's a real asset and not something we see in every like in every playground.

Um I have like in seen some feedback from um like parents who have younger kids who have found like line of sight challenges.

And I'm curious, like it what's it are are there what's the best way for like ongoing feedback as the park continues to like iterate and grow?

Oh I would say uh multiple factors.

One, you can find all of our staff's information online.

Um there is the Dix Park Leadership Committee, which uh is held normally once a month that allows public comment.

Um so I would say contact city staff uh to provide the feedback because there could be things that we're if you're in it every day, sometimes you you don't see it, and they can be small little technical changes that might cure up a lot of people's concerns.

Sure.

Cool.

Okay.

Yep.

This is a work session, and this is going to be a very tough questions, but I want to ask the question.

It's not an issue that I hadn't brought up before, but just need to understand in terms of the MOU.

If you recall, I think the Brooklyn Bridge model, they were able to lease the upland portion of the park for a substantial amount of revenue, which helped them build the park quicker without going to the taxpayers.

I don't know the limits of the MOA, the memorandum of agreement, but does it preclude a 99-year lease on the property where DHHS has it on the top of the hill near Spring Hill that has the most dramatic views that probably can get you half, if not a lot of the $90 to $120 million that you are seeking to build out the next phase of the park?

So question number one.

I know that is a lot for people, because it's like saying the whole thing had to be a park.

I think Brooklyn Bridge managed to say we're carving out this portion to generate revenue to help build a park.

Is that allowed currently in the MO in the memorandum of agreement?

And if not, is that something, and this could be a question for the city manager going back to the State, could it help us generate revenue quicker?

Uh have a presence on the edge of the park closer to the Spring Hill, and uh help us move quicker to get the funds without going to a bond or going to the taxpayers to help fund it.

It could be done a lot quicker.

So one, is that allowed in a current agreement?

And if not, is that something we would consider?

Of course, talking to all the Dix leadership and the board and others to see whether we would contemplate just to expedite the completion of the park.

It's a great question, Councilmember Silver.

So clarifying the MOA is with the Conservancy.

Got it.

Our purchase agreement, that big green book I was referencing.

Once the uh state vacates the property, this the property is ours to do what the council chooses to do to do with.

So early, um, the contract is currently written while the state is there.

Um we would actually had a cost sharing provision in it.

Umce they vacate more than I believe 50 percent of the property, I would have to check that number.

Um, then that cost share provision goes away.

So by them leaving, um, the property becomes ours as a city entity to do we want with and in the our relationship with the state of North Carolina no longer exists for the park.

So answer your question, yes, by the end of this year.

Did you have another question?

Thank you.

Um when we go back to the capital cost, and I'm not sure if what he would Counselor Silver just asked if this um if it was already answered, so please forgive me.

Of the $75 million that we have raised, how much of that goes towards that 90 to 120 that we need in capital projects or in capital costs.

Mostly none.

So uh the 75 million that we're talking about is allocated for the projects that have already occurred.

So that was for the play plaza and whatever other projects are.

So, for example, uh 26.5 million of the 75 went towards the play plaza, renovation of the stone houses, renovations of the chapel.

So most of the 75 is pretty much allocated to the operating of the conservancy, operating of small programs, and the renovation and the capital projects that have already been occurred.

Or we still have to finish paying and finishing some projects.

So the Flowers Conage Renew.

Things I mentioned.

Right, right.

That was not included.

This is in addition to what we borrowed as future.

Got it.

Thank you.

Any other questions?

I guess one just uh I know a number of folks on council have said um it's just hard to keep up.

There's so much going on here.

There is.

And obviously a lot of work has been done.

Um of the I just want to confirm.

So all of this is part of the 2019 master plan.

And are there any contemplated updates?

And I guess this gets a little bit to Counselor Silver's questions.

Like if there were going to be some other big decisions, is there anything that needs like a master plan update that would be coming back to this council?

And if we change the governance structures, would that sort of come back?

Yeah, great question, Mayor.

Um I didn't have that in the bullets on the previous slide.

But currently we don't have of a process for updating the Dix Park Master Plan.

We do with other city parks.

If I deem it it's a substantial change to a neighborhood park, it goes through the Parks Board public process.

As a part of this, we want to lock down what that process is, who has uh the oversight of doing it?

Um does it stay with the Dix Park Leadership Committee?

Does it come to the Council?

So those are things we're going to propose to you in this new government structure.

And then just following on that from the finance perspective.

I mean, we see some of these numbers and you've heard questions, right?

That it's a lot of money.

How would the council decide like how much money we want to spend on this park?

Like, will we make a decision to say we actually want a lease or maybe take a parcel and develop it for money or we want to do more concerts and get money that way.

I mean, when would that come to this council so that we can decide whether we move forward on some of this or we're um I don't have a time frame for the city park uh sorry, the city collective work.

I could look to to rough, but that is the meat of the real estate decisions.

And right now they've they've taken, I think we had 50 documents they reviewed and distilled it down and gave us kind of like a baseline direction.

Um our hope is to bring back incrementally.

Here are the options in front of you.

Here's the trade-offs for each and which one you would want to pursue.

So in our November update, um bringing back these next steps, we'll have a more refined uh calendar for the council if that's good.

Okay.

Okay.

Thank you.

Yep.

Councilor Lambert Milton.

Just as a follow-up, I wasn't gonna ask because I wasn't sure if we had the answer yet.

But um I I'm really excited for this Creek and Grove project.

It was one of the things I was most looking forward to when I first got elected and in 2019 and we were sort of getting a lay of the land of DICS, but I notice on here that it says construction start early 2027, uh pending funding.

And so what is the plan for that?

Is that something we're gonna get updated on in November?

Yes.

Okay.

Yep.

It would be the recommended tools, we would say that council consider funding that project.

Okay.

Well, I will just uh personally add, you know, we have all these uh I think uh creeks that got sort of uh polluted and paved over all across the city, and one of the biggest things that I hear from folks when you travel to other places are access to water features in or near their downtown.

And we unfortunately weren't good stewards of ours decades ago, and we have opportunities now to um restore and reclaim those features.

And I think this could be a huge amenity for the city and for the park.

And so I I personally think it should be a a heightened priority for funding for for the park.

So our master planners, when they unveiled that said they'd never gone to a city and got a standing ovation for a specific feature, and that's where people were most excited.

So can you go back to the real estate services slide?

No, the one with the firm that was hired that worked on the presidio and campus.

Okay.

So is there a specific deliverable and a timeline?

Because this is very intriguing that they will offer.

And I did like your other slide about having a balanced approach to generate revenue.

So does this firm actually have a deliverable and recommendations to bring to the council?

Because I think that'll help me understand and you know, if the council would like the city manager to explore, you know, a long-term lease for development to generate revenue, uh they have some other recommendations.

Just want to understand their role, what the deliverable is, and then will that be packed.

Would that includes everything you shared at the the other slide about the different revenue options, whether it's tax increment or grants or other revenue for fees and concessions?

Sure.

Councilmember Silver, the at the end of the day, there is a lot that goes into this particular slide.

We were trying to hit across the top of it.

We have various outlines and multiple steps.

Um the actual the contract relationship with City Collective has about five different task categories.

They're in task one.

And so there are milestones and deliverables at each one each each of those.

What I would suggest to you is that given the scope of the pro of the facilities, the size of the land, the number of buildings, the related development impacts, we're trying to um work collectively on how to best organize and bring that information.

In other words, there's a lot of data and information behind this one slide.

And we can share with you as much as you might be interested in.

Now I think what we're trying to get a handle on is to synthesize that into something that's a clear message.

And at the moment, I think we're collectively just trying to get our arms around the scope of the of the project.

Yeah.

Yeah.

What we can do is when we come back in November, it might be seasonally here is what we would expect on a calendar basis, some milestones that we could bring in decision making points to the council.

One last thing.

I think for me, there's just so much happening not just here but in everything.

If there's a way, whether that's through email or through meeting with you just to get a refresher on the master plan, I have seen it and it's been awesome to go through, but it's so long ago that I feel like I'm just talking and you know yeah sure, sure, sure.

But I I'd really love to better understand it.

So if there's some way to do that and I don't know if anyone else on council feels that way as well, but if for me specifically I would really appreciate some time to just better understand the plan.

We'll work with Marshall's team on finding out who would like to get a good debrief.

I appreciate it.

Yep.

Steve, I know you weren't prepared for this question, but I don't know if all my colleagues I serve on the leadership committee so we know.

Can you just talk about the exciting things that are happening on the farmers market side because I know they're trying to establish a connection and so all the other adjoining parcels recognize the importance of the amazing work that's happening on DICS.

So I don't know if everyone is up to speed on what is happening on the farmers market and establishing connections.

Yeah I highlight a couple of things.

A lot going on in Councilmember Harrison's district not only at this park but on the edges we talked about Lake Wielder Road.

Our team walked with the Department of Agriculture and looking at routes to make a bike and pedestrian connection to the park.

They received I believe design funding from the the legislature this past year have hired a design firm.

We meet regularly with NC State University because they are advancing some of their plans.

If you haven't been over to Lake Raleigh in a while, it's beautiful to take a boat out.

So there is a hub of activity over there that are park complementary I guess the final question I would put on the table I thought there was a really great conversation about DICS and you know Kate and Mitchell and others did a really wonderful job at the Downtown Raleigh Alliance.

And so that was that was helpful.

We've talked about the connection to downtown and that is not part of the master plan.

So how as we discuss this going ahead how do we factor that into this master plan how we expend money you know in the park, around the park any just broad thoughts for us on how we we almost got to the end and no one asked about the connection.

I thought that would have been early on.

Thank you, Mayor.

The DRA event was great because there was big ideas put out there.

There's not going to be like one solution that's going to be the unicorn I would say we are making investments into the strollway.

We are looking at how we can work with transportation on the bus option.

The only thing I could say is we could work with the manager's office on what are any next steps beyond the projects that are already funded because there is projects that are funded and then there's ideas.

So I would say would be the council's decision to work through the manager to say this needs to be a priority and it needs to go in someone's capital plan.

Because we have a few pieces that are funded but the bigger ideas are just sitting in the idea stage.

And I would add that um as we bring forward next year's budget considerations throughout the various departments outside of PRC are that touches that work there will be some recommendations for funding to continue that work which will run parallel.

I think that's important to know the strollway and the work actually on DICS proper will be running at the same time.

So it's not a competing interest on either side is going to be run in parallel with hopefully different sets of funding sources so that we're able to advance both not at the disadvantage of the other.

Okay.

Yeah I just want to add to that conversation about connection I've had some conversations with members of uh the Raleigh Transit Authority who have mentioned underuse of R line downtown and potential opportunities to even restructure it as a line that would take you to points of interest around the city including Dix Park, including Gibson Play Plaza, you know, taking you to Marbles, taking you down to the Statehouse, just thinking about it being more of a you know a visitor experience type of transit.

And so that's just something I I'll put out there because I've heard talk of it.

I would like to get some information on the use currently of the R line.

So you know how many folks are writing it and then also opportunities potentially to retool it for these destinations.

And again, if if RTA is on it and they want to move faster than we do, great.

But I I want to just bring that conversation forward.

And uh I will just say the downtown Raleigh Alliance, that is a conversation.

So as they bring forth some of these uh recommendations for downtown, including the Favel Streetscape.

I think that when we're talking about that in the umthon's committee, right, Councilor Lambert Melton's committee for the economic uh development, we can also discuss that because that was part of the discussion.

Yes.

I don't want to get too in the weeds on this.

I'm just going to revive this uh point of discussion for the R line.

I feel very strongly it needs to be um no charge at point of use if it's going to be used as an economic driver and connector.

Uh it has multiple of other benefits like we've seen with this two, free hour parking um downtown.

And I also love the idea of wrapping it.

There was uh we had that discussion from the consultant that talked about make it look different than a city bus.

I think we have to add some sort of uh novelty factor to it to increase ridership and then also maybe making it more useful for points of of interest.

So I would love to uh I'm happy to take this general conversation into EDI or we can pick it up as part of the um the downtown uh issues.

Counselor Potton.

Yeah.

And I know this is going a little afield from our topic here, but since the R line is up, I will say I would just say if the R line is going to be repurposed for more of an economic development tool, then it should be paid for with economic development money and not bus money.

And we should see how the bus money could be repurposed for greater frequency or extended routes elsewhere in the system.

All right.

I have one final uh question.

Uh so economic impact.

We're talking about a lot of dollars the city has put into this park, and it would be helpful, I think, for us to understand some of the economic impacts that have resulted.

Sure.

And how that guides our future investments.

Uh is there an economic impact study underway or so uh we we've just executed an agreement with a group that's gonna do that.

And the scope of that is to really focus on the economic impact from the 2019 uh point of the master plan when it was approved through today, and then with another couple of years in order to take a very hard look at what that impact looks like on the ground, and we will certainly be happy to share the results of that particular study.

Uh we just had a couple of meetings to start the information gathering, so I'm gonna guess six months, something like that.

Okay.

I'll I'll hopefully beat that, but I want to stay on the record when I can make it.

So I just want a second council member Lambert Melton's uh recommendation about bringing that R line discussion to EDI.

Perhaps, though, that needs to happen at a regular council meeting.

I don't know.

I'm happy to I I think it's already part of the downtown Raleigh Alliance sort of set of topics and conversations that were as a package put in there.

So I think you're I can work with Mr.

Raleigh on making sure that it's included maybe as part of that presentation as a separate item.

So great.

Yeah.

Yes.

I think because you talk about it from an economic standpoint, you're already talking about downtown economics.

You're fine.

It's not until you start talking about changing the route or other things, then it becomes really not an economic issue, it's more of a transit issue.

So I think based on the way you're having the conversation, you should be fine.

All right.

And then I will just say uh, you know, to the Conservancy and all the donors, um, 75 million dollars is incredible.

I mean, I don't think there's any precedent in the state outside of universities potentially for that sort of private support of a project.

And just I think we're all very grateful to all of those donors down to the you know five dollars and all these new members that just joined, including our city manager.

Uh, I'm gonna bench.

I just didn't want that.

Didn't want that to go without uh you know a moment to just say um that is a tremendous accomplishment and uh appreciate uh Bill, you and all those other donors.

I know you've been very generous as well.

Okay.

Uh I think we have exhausted uh our questions and just very much appreciate all this uh information.

Thanks.

Quick question, but if it's not quite asked another question, appraisals working on the R number than the sellers of the Commandant, and I think that's a good thing.