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08/28/2018 01:55 PMA proposed disc golf course in town is now set to go before the Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC) and inland wetlands to seek site approval for the second time. At its regular meeting on Aug. 6, the Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) formally approved the plan for the 18-hole disc golf course at Bittner Park.
Disc golf is a game that combines Frisbee and golf. A golfer is given a disc and has a certain number of throws to reach the “hole,” which is a stand with a chain basket sitting on top. Parks & Recreation Director Rick Maynard previously said disc golf is “growing like crazy” across the state.
The PRC had previously gone through the steps to put a course at Peddlers Park, but at a public hearing residents raised concerns about the location, safety, costs, property owner rights, and the process of approval, essentially putting an end to the plan. At that meeting, Maynard said some residents asked why the commission didn’t just consider Bittner Park since there is already parking and a park there. So that’s what the commission did.
A course was laid out and one fairway was established to give residents a feel for what the course might be like and a chance to ask questions. The commission also put out a survey, which received more than 500 responses with about 75 percent of all respondents saying they support a disc golf course.
At the public information meeting, Maynard, the course designer, and the commission gave a presentation on disc golf, the proposed course, and the reasoning behind Bittner Park before the floor was opened up to questions and comments. Of the roughly 50 people in attendance, more spoke in favor than against and others asked neutral questions.
At the PRC meeting, Chair Rose Dostert said the commission has tried to check every box in soliciting public input and answering questions this time around.
“When I looked through the notes it seems like we answered all of the questions that people had,” she said. “We talked about the liability, we talked about how much this is going to cost, we talked about the safety quite a bit, and we talked about the environment quite a bit. I think we have pretty much answered all of the questions and heard all of the concerns.
Maynard submitted the application to PZC and the Inland Wetlands Commission with the hope that the applications will be heard and approved sometime in early September. Maynard said the map he submitted shows the maximum size to which the course could ever grow to help give commissioners a sense of magnitude, but made it clear the plan for the course would unlikely ever reach that size.
Maynard previously said he is meeting with the town environmental planner to make sure the course isn’t too close to any wetlands and is waiting for an updated Natural Diversity Data Base (NBBD) study from the Department of Energy & Environmental protection. The town conducted a study in 2002 when the plan was to clear a larger section of Bittner to add eight more athletic fields; that study showed no endangered or protected species in the park.
As of the Aug. 6 meeting, Maynard said he had still not received a response from the state despite multiple calls and emails. Dostert said the commission will keep pushing to get that information in hand as soon as possible.
“We want to cross our Ts and dot our Is and by the time we get through Inland Wetlands and Planning and Zoning, hopefully we will have heard back and we will have that information,” she said.