Disc Golf Course decision

We have a decision on the Disc Golf Course on the pavilion hill at Corinth Community Park: the council voted to stop the course.

It was a very difficult decision for me. On the one hand, the volunteers installing the course contacted the city administration, pitched the idea, and received permission from a city official to proceed with the project. Through no fault on their part, the city official did not have the authority to authorize the project. On the other hand, by this point the proper process had been completely ignored, and for my part, I was unable to find a truly compelling desire on the part of residents to complete the park. When I went door to door and spoke to people, almost none even heard of the park and the controversy. While some (less than fifty percent) agreed the park was a good idea and should go ahead, their comments were almost always that "it may be a good idea: I will never use it, but it may be a good idea". In all cases they only wanted the course "if it won't cost the city anything".

Ultimately at the point I had to make a decision for my vote, that cost factor and the lukewarm reception the idea received caused me to vote against the course. The final vote was 4-1 to dismantle the course.

I simply could not be sure that the volunteers would be able to deliver on a "cost free" course for the city. Although the materials had already been purchased, the cost of ongoing maintenance, while not high, was not negligible either. We would have to rely on the volunteers to make it work.

When members of the trails committee expressed that they did not wish to participate in making the trail and the course coexist, it seemed that the only action would be to keep the existing trail and dismantle the course.