[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6626669,"mediaKeyId","2749911-0d8328bd9b15e04cc56303645db8cb78","parentId",2749911,"title","Lee County approves athletic park fee schedule, authorizes two park hires","audioSeconds",1392,"startMs",686000,"endMs",2078000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2749911-0d8328bd9b15e04cc56303645db8cb78&start=686&end=2078","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2749911-0d8328bd9b15e04cc56303645db8cb78/thumbnail_686000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6626669/Lee-County/North-Carolina/Lee-County-approves-athletic-park-fee-schedule-authorizes-two-park-hires","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6626669-890ebea68bf917c3d81851a9e14be468/orig.mp4?Expires=1775132370&Signature=leENq0JOPRUaaqXporYCI4M560zLnnbOzZZrkO-JRpOe3oj4xstB1xvUYtCN5Xa20cGbAN0s3xn8ZjGQz4L-ku1eO2-RpScXAp9hDd3XLjQH7RK1laseegn9y-itLoH7N07LHG1PHjHCeHXQdyHnQdg8MQnCIGTcHRfbhkDdpl1mtFE96ZvKFpaMAvaW9ugBWxFtEYm~VVIABEMiIIWGyc7zoH-hiDaPqSYWOJKOuHaK3MUUSpHxf6WA58dtwpEZZUrp7padTDY3jjfC7Fa1Mf7ESkCbyJgzV6QntLzqSrSOw28Y-LgyBsV50dWfSOLNDARD6p1pZQbqusVq7D8PDg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Lee County","date","2025-03-24T14:07:49.693Z","article","The Lee County Board of Commissioners on March 17 approved a fee schedule for the Lee County Athletic Park and authorized immediate hires for two supervisory positions — a park operations supervisor and a maintenance supervisor — to manage the August 2025 opening and oversee transition from the project contractor to county maintenance.

Joseph Kiel, presenting the Parks and Recreation proposal, said the fees and priority schedule were developed by Parks and Rec staff and the Lee County Parks and Rec Advisory Board after comparing regional sports complexes. “From an operational standpoint, we're we're looking at operational costs just south of $600,000. And with these fees in place, we're looking at, expecting to bring in around a hundred thousand dollars. So we're looking at 18% cost recovery,” Kiel said during the meeting.

Kiel described a multi-tier fee structure intended to be flexible for hourly practices, seasonal/monthly rentals and daily tournament bookings. Examples discussed at the meeting include: $60 per hour to rent an individual synthetic multipurpose field; a full-month rental for a synthetic field priced at $6,000 (an average of about $24 per hour using the staff assumption of 160 hours per month); a typical grass-field monthly seasonal fee of $3,500 (about $11 per hour under the same 160-hour assumption); and higher daily tournament rates, which staff said could reach $1,500 a day.

Priority scheduling will place Parks and Recreation use first, followed by non‑profit organizations, and the county plans to advertise public-access windows for monthly renters (for example, advertised public hours such as 10 a.m.–2 p.m.). Carolina Football Club public commenter Sean O'Connor told commissioners he and his group found the proposed pricing and the prioritization list “fair” and said they were “incredibly excited to become a good standing partner with Lee County.”

Commissioners debated staffing the facility in-house versus contracting operations. Kiel said the county had surveyed other complexes and found most operate with in-house staff; he also said contracting typically costs more. Commissioners asked staff to provide comparative contract-versus-in-house cost figures for future budget consideration.

The board also approved the immediate hire of the two supervisory positions; staff told commissioners the hires for the remainder of the current fiscal year will be funded from investment earnings on the athletic-park project and that additional positions for full operations are included in the 2025–26 Parks and Rec budget request. The fee schedule and the two immediate hires were approved by voice vote at the meeting.

Other operational notes included plans for concession food-truck stations (operators would apply and pay an upfront fee to be approved by Parks and Rec), use of a booking/officials RFQ for referees and umpires (previously the county had one respondent to an RFQ), and contingency planning to avoid monopolization of seasonal rentals (staff said they would “flip-flop” long-term monthly allocations to ensure multiple organizations have access).","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Lee County Board of Commissioners Meeting - March 17, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Commissioners approved a fee schedule for the new Lee County Athletic Park, accepted related operational details and authorized immediate hires for two supervisory park positions. Staff said the park is expected to open in August 2025 with partial cost recovery from user fees.","taxTitle","Lee County, North Carolina","taxId",55520,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6626675,"Lee County commissioners decline immediate ban on concealed carry at election sites",209,361000,570000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2749911-0d8328bd9b15e04cc56303645db8cb78&start=361&end=570","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2749911-0d8328bd9b15e04cc56303645db8cb78/thumbnail_361000.jpg","/articles/6626675/Lee-County/North-Carolina/Lee-County-commissioners-decline-immediate-ban-on-concealed-carry-at-election-sites","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6626675-ee85d15704ae20092244cd216b48a207/orig.mp4?Expires=1775132370&Signature=XleuhjHec9lRjixTkkp4h9s-pzxiCLRNmrXfF9WT8upCqi1ZkF8k8878tjZNrePK~PWErz9DlEg81jcd7KUDFm62WFuWu0MhmP0pycZ22la0gdP4AoqETFY0oOVajWDCTj2zFE6Sl-xuu7dE71XqTq54BEU8cwsRc8x1mzAhcUfqj2qaP215WU2HuaZFzoZhKVhdAnIG5yCYa9Y-2FH1PRc~pd~tlWvHDzobOhnEr7fV193iFcBXNe23sh93f4~-7nNLu76BG4bhAAMXd3ZmZXdgkkGzbTOkX6CSNZMUW5RgkgJ~wzFTC6lXZ0vSwlWkanQ3TYgMUVbud8jmloi6SA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Susan Feindell, chair of the Lee County Board of Elections, asked the Lee County Board of Commissioners on March 17 to amend Article 2, Section 2-31(a)(2) of the Lee County Code of Ordinances to prohibit concealed handguns “in any space where election activities are taking place.”

The request drew brief discussion and a motion to adopt the amendment, but the motion did not carry after a show-of-hands vote. Commissioners were told the amendment would require two readings before it could be adopted even if the board voted to move it forward tonight.

Feindell framed the request as limited to election sites and election activities, saying the board sought the change “Given the, the climate” and wanted the ordinance to explicitly include polling locations. Her remarks were made during the public-business portion of the March 17 meeting at the McSwain Center.

After the initial vote failed, Commissioner B. Reeves (mover identified in the meeting record) requested the item be held over to a future meeting so staff could provide additional information requested by commissioners, including questions the commissioner said he had presented to county counsel and the manager and items relating to the Bob Hill Center and the Sanford Police Department. The board agreed to return the matter for further consideration once the requested information is available.

No formal tally by named commissioners was recorded in the meeting transcript; the minutes show the motion to amend failed and a separate motion was made to hold the item for reconsideration at the next meeting or when the additional information is available.

The Board of Elections’ request and the commissioners’ subsequent direction mark the item as pending further staff follow-up rather than an enacted change to county ordinance. If commissioners move forward later, the transcript indicates the amendment would require the standard two-reading ordinance process.","The Lee County Board of Commissioners on March 17 rejected a proposed amendment to county code that would have banned concealed weapons at locations where election activities occur. The Board of Elections requested the change; the ordinance will be revisited after staff provides additional information.","actionData","errors"]

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Lee County approves athletic park fee schedule, authorizes two park hires

Lee County commissioners decline immediate ban on concealed carry at election sites