Disc golf proposal pitched to board (11/14/07)

The idea of installing a disc golf course at a city park was tossed around by members of a local board.

The concept was thrown to the Portland Park Board Tuesday, and board members decided to table the idea until an engineering firm could decide how the course could fit into the plans for Hudson Family Park.

Brett Resler asked for the city to purchase the equipment needed for the game, and to install it at Weiler-Wilson Park. Resler said the course, which is set up similar to a golf course, could be located south of the Salamonie River, between an existing pavilion and the wooded area.

Nola Albrecht, landscape architect for The Schneider Corporation, said that a walking path for Hudson Family Park would cut through the course. About 5 acres are needed for a disc golf course.

If the course is installed where Resler would like it to be, it would be in a flood plain, said board member Sharon Pyle.

Resler said that equipment needed for the course could be purchased at a cost of $3,115. This would be for a nine-target course. The game is played by tossing discs into steel baskets. He said the game is one of the fastest-growing sports in America.

At least a dozen people would use the course, Resler said. They currently play at Bearcreek Farms. The players are forming the Portland Disc Golf Club. The group plans to hold events to benefit local food banks, he said.

"It's a very interesting concept," said Mayor Bruce Hosier, who attended the meeting. "We need to see how it would work" into the park plan. Hosier said there also might be room for the course at Portland Memorial Park.

"I think anything that brings more people to the park" is a good idea, said park board vice president Kent McClung. "Let's look at 9 (holes) and maybe 18 later."

Board members decided to look at the area before discussing it further.

In other business, the board voted to pay Schneider an additional $2,500 to do inspection work on the creation of a drive into the center of Hudson Family Park.

Hosier said that Schneider officials would make at least four site visits during the construction. "This is a very fair price," he said. "No one on staff has this expertise."

Work on the drive, which will be done by LICA Construction Corp., was set to start Nov. 5. The construction has not yet started because a concrete sewer line runs under the path of the planned new drive into the park needs to be replaced, Albrecht said. Company officials were worried that the portion of the line that is under the park drive might break.

"We were hoping to have things moving right now," she said. The line is set to be replaced with plastic pipe this week.

The drive construction likely will start next week, she said. The work is expected to take about two weeks to complete.

Also Tuesday, board members:

•Voted to hire All-Circuit, Bryant, to hook up electricity to a garage on the grounds of Hudson Family Park.

The company will move an existing electric box from the south side of the building to the north side, and install eight lights at a cost of $1,460.22. Jeff Harker, street and park department superintendent, said the lights will have sensors for both convenience and security. The garage was left when two houses along South Wayne Street were demolished, but the electricity to the garage was disconnected. Harker wants to use the building to fix park equipment, such as grills and picnic tables.

•Approved the purchase of a snowplow hitch at a cost of $1,100.

The hitch will be used to hook a plow up to one of the city's salt trucks, Harker said. It will be purchased from W.A. Jones, Columbia City. Northern Tool, Plymouth, also quoted $1,799 for a hitch.

The city uses snowplows to plow the parking areas at city parks. Harker said people park and eat their meals at city parks, even during the winter.[[In-content Ad]]