If you like golf 鈥� except perhaps for those unwieldy clubs 鈥� you鈥檙e in luck. A disc golf course for Salmon Arm is getting closer to completion.
Proponent Duncan Walters came to council in April 2019 about his wish to build an 18-hole course on the municipal parcel north of the Salmon Arm airport and south of 10th Avenue SE. The parcel is roughly 3.25 hectares or eight acres and provides variable terrain.
Walters said disc golf is one of the fastest growing sports in North America and would be a benefit to the town.
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 call myself a diehard disc golfer,鈥� he said in 2019. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something I鈥檓 interested in. I wanted a place for people to go who have limited barriers to entry.鈥�
He pointed out that regular golf can be expensive.
Read more: Salmon Arm disc golf proponent eager to give back to community
Read more: Proposed disc golf course for Salmon Arm mapped on long, narrow property
Walters wrote a letter to council recently. He asked permission to place a welcome sign at the beginning of the course. He told the Observer that work is going well and construction is nearly complete.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just finishing the last number of tee boxes; we鈥檙e hoping to get mayor and council, at least a few of them, to socially distance for a game.鈥�
However, a few hurdles remain.
A dilapidated old building on the property needs to be dealt with for liability reasons. Another expense is a needed parking lot.
At the May 11 council meeting, Coun. Chad Eliason requested support for the project. He noted that $20,000 to build a gravel parking lot at the site was one of the budget items that had recently been 鈥減arked鈥� due to city budget constraints created by COVID-19.
Rob Niewenhuizen, the city鈥檚 director of public works and engineering, said city staff have been in contact with Walters and believe he is funding the signage himself. But Niewenhuizen emphasized that staff do not want a sign to go up until access and the parking lot are in place.
Commented Eliason re the sign: 鈥淚 just wanted to make sure that we could work on it while we work to unpark the money to park.鈥�
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