Orange Country Gets New Reacreation and Parks Management Director

Lori Taft said she will collaborate with departments of Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Hillsborough, the Orange County Board of Education and private entities to plan the development of land that Orange County has acquired with millions of dollars from land conservation bonds.

Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey said she served on an interview panel with County Manager John Link and County Commissioner Margaret Brown that chose Taft out of 51 applicants who responded to advertisements in newspapers and trade publications.

"What we were impressed by were the breadth of her background and her overall professionalism from her past experience," Harvey said.

Taft, who earned her master's in physical education and recreation administration at Temple University, has been in the field for 20 years.

She began working summers in her town's parks and recreation camp through high school. She is now a certified professional of recreation in parks, a title presented by the National Parks Administration.

She said she looks forward to working in an area that has placed so much emphasis on making open space available to the public.

"It was a lengthy and strenuous application process," Taft said. "But I knew it was a job that I wanted.

"What they have planned is really something that's going to be wonderful for the citizens."

Taft's job was created by an expansion of the Environment Resources Conservation Department to handle the operation and maintenance of the land acquired in the past few years, said Park Services Director Bob Jones, who has been a member of the department since its creation in 1976.

"It's been great to be able to be on the ground level in developing these parks," he said.

Jones will serve on a team looking into how to use the land with Taft, ERCD director Dave Stancil, land manager Rich Shaw and open space design specialist Kimberly Siran.

More than 500 acres are available for future development phased out over the next 16 years, Jones said.

"A lot of projects are in the works right now," he said. "Each track of land is unique."

Included in these projects is the development of 193 acres called the Chapel Hill Township Park and Educational Campus. A house, an old granary and the ruins of a log cabin are on the land now.

Taft said Orange County will use 95 acres for park space and the remaining 98 for education facilities. Planners expect the construction of three new school buildings.

"It's slated for several phases of development," said Taft. "It's going to be a district park."

Taft will be moving her family from Oak Ridge to take her new position. She said she was reluctant to move her two children, a seventh grader and a freshman in high school, to different schools.

"But after I visited the area and met the people, I made my decision," she said. "These are people who think the same way I do about open space."

Taft's first day on the new job will be Oct. 28. She will meet the staff, learn about the departments and work with both a countywide team and committees from individual parks.

"She brings a lot of energy," said Harvey. "We think she'll be hitting the ground running."

Taft said she looks forward to taking this new opportunity and that she is here to stay.

"I'm sure I'll be challenged at the beginning," said Taft. "And that is always a good thing."

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.