High costs have helped shank plans for a new disc-golf course in Barrie.
A report on the feasibility of developing a nine-hole course, at 420 Bayview Dr., has been deferred, decided city councillors sitting in infrastructure and community investment committee Nov. 13.
“I looked at the price and it was shocking, to be honest,” said Deputy Mayor Robert Thomson.
The capital cost for the Bayview Drive disc-golf course is estimated at $220,000 to $400,000.
City staff said it could cost $80,000 alone in potential vegetation removal, and that one of the three creek crossings on the property — a bridge — could cost $150,000 alone.
The city-owned land being considered, located adjacent to Park Place in the south end, also has a quasi walking path with some sensitive environmental conditions.
“One thing about disc golf is they actually construct the course within the environment, with minor changes,” Thomson said. “It’s not like typical golf where they are mowing fairways. They kind of play within the environment where they are.
“I was a little bit shocked at the cost,” he added.
Operating and maintenance costs would be $7,200 annually.
The motion, which was just to receive the staff report, was deferred until the city has some better information on the future needs of Barrie's Sandy Hollow landfill on Ferndale Drive North, data which is expected early next year.
Based on the latest studies, the Barrie landfill has an approximate full capacity date of 2035, although city staff are continuing to assess various options to extend its operation even further beyond the date.
Barrie’s Sandy Hollow Disc Golf Course, also on Ferndale Drive North, is 20 holes spread across approximately 15 acres in the buffer zone between the city’s landfill and the surrounding community.
It is among the most used disc-golf courses in Canada, but it may needed in the future for the city’s landfill needs.
Disc golf is played much like golf, but instead of a ball and clubs, players use a flying disc which is to be thrown into an elevated basket. Players with the fewest throws win each hole, or the game.
The Barrie Disc Golf Club, which operates out of Sandy Hollow, has approximately 200 members, but club officials say that number reflects a small percentage of the people playing the game locally.
The club has offered to contribute $32,350 worth of disc-golf targets, supplied and installed, tee areas and tee signs at the Bayview Drive course.
Coun. Jim Harris, who represents this part of Barrie, has noted the Bayview Drive property is not large enough for a soccer field or a ball park.
Harris has said his community project fund could pay some of the cost for a nine-hole disc-golf course. Each councillor has this fund, with $25,000 for the term of council (2022-26) for projects within their ward.
But another substantial funding source would need to be found with the updated costs.
