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Board of Commissioners — Work Session

Wake County · Board of Commissioners
Monday, October 13, 2025 at 2:00 pm · Wake County Justice Center

Work session Budget and appropriationsBonds and debtParks and recreationPublic facilitiesRoads and transportation

Agenda document Minutes Meeting page Watch Meeting recap

What's on this agenda

Wake County commissioners hold a work session on funding for the Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) capital plan, built on the $120 million bond voters approved in 2018. Staff lay out an $8.2 million shortfall on the bond's remaining projects and recommend closing it by delaying two projects and reallocating unspent funds rather than seeking new money.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

Parks, Recreation and Open Space Director Chris Snow told the board that several 2018 bond projects have run over their original cost estimates, leaving an $8.2 million shortfall to complete the remaining work: Kellam-Wyatt Park, Lake Myra Park, RDU 286 trails, and renovations at four other parks. Staff recommended covering the gap by delaying the Buffalo Creek Preserve and Green Hills County Park renovation projects to a future bond and by redirecting unallocated greenway and PROS funds.

Commissioner Adamson pushed back, arguing the Triangle Bikeway, a project added to the bond program without going through the original public engagement process, should be halted instead so its design funding could go toward projects residents were told would be built. She also asked whether Green Hills and Buffalo Creek had been elevated through the county's original public prioritization process. Other commissioners asked about contract status, cost pressures from tariffs, and current use of the Green Hills site. On an informal show of support, six commissioners backed staff's recommendation and Commissioner Adamson was opposed. Staff said a related item on Kellam-Wyatt funding would stay on the board's regular meeting agenda, and that a future parks bond would be discussed as part of the county's spring budget process.

How the votes went

No formal vote; on an informal poll, six commissioners backed staff's funding reallocation recommendation and Commissioner Adamson opposed it.

From the published minutes.

Speaking at this meeting

Public comment runs 5:30 to 6 p.m. at the first regular meeting of the month and 2:30 to 3 p.m. at the second. Speakers get three minutes. Written comments can be submitted online between 9 a.m. and noon on the day of a regular meeting.

Wake County's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (4)

Procedural · 2Discussion item · 2
  1. Meeting Called to Order: Chair Susan Evans
    Procedural
  2. 1. Agenda
    Discussion item Budget and appropriations
    Chief of Staff Ben Canada framed the session as follow-up to the commissioners' retreat, noting the board will get two dedicated budget work sessions in the spring and that today's item is a budget-related capital decision.
  3. 2. PROS CIP Project Funding
    Discussion item Bonds and debtBudget and appropriationsParks and recreationPublic facilitiesRoads and transportation
    Staff reported an $8.2 million shortfall on the 2018 PROS bond's remaining projects and recommended delaying the Buffalo Creek Preserve and Green Hills renovation projects while reallocating unspent greenway and PROS funds to cover it. Commissioner Adamson argued for halting the Triangle Bikeway instead, saying it was added to the bond without the original public engagement process the other projects went through.
  4. Adjourn
    Procedural

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