Biggest Issue In Front Of Guilford Officials? Disc Golf Course

GUILFORD, CT - Controversial issues in towns are generally predictable: big school projects that cost multi-millions of dollars; major shopping or housing development that bring in tax dollars but those in the immediate neighborhoods aren't fond of.

Currently in Guilford one of the hottest topics being debated is something town officials probably didn't have on their radar screens a few months ago - whether to build a disc golf course at Peddler's Park.

At a recent special meeting of the Board of Selectmen on the subject, a big crowd - mostly opponents - gave the selectmen, the disc golf course designer and other town officials an earful on what they didn't like about the plan, which has already won the approval of both the Inland Wetlands Commission and the Planning and Zoning Commission.

After town officials told those in attendance (about 60 people) that disc golf has been in Guilford's plans for the past years, that the game is rising in popularity, that they chose Peddler's Park over Bittner Park as a more suitable location - they asked the public for input.

Boy did they get it!

The questions/concerns ranged from concerns about injuries from the discs, to whether there would be tournaments, bathrooms, to traffic concerns, to closing the park at night, to the cost of the project, to whether there would be age limits, to trees being uprooted for the course, to parking, to the nearby neighborhood being disrupted.

You get the picture.

To be fair, not everybody spoke against the project.

For instance Boy Scouts James Crossley and Cliff Mackowiack said they play disc golf at their camp where trails cross the course and campsites are nearby and there is never any conflict.

The scouts said that the game does have a big impact on other activities and the issue is being blown out of proportion. They said the course would have positive impact and there would be huge interest that would be beneficial to Guilford.

Some suggested that the town-owned Guilford Lakes Golf Course set aside space for the disc course.

But Judy Sullivan, of the Parks and Recreation Commission, said the fairways in disc golf are different than regular golf and added that "half the fun" of disc golf is walking through the woods.

John Jagielski, another Park and Recreation Commission member, said the park is Guilford town property as the commission's task is to find the best use for it.

He said the disc course has been discussed at the commission level for nearly a year and not much, if any, opposition was ever raised until after the approvals happened.

Jagielski added that he knows there is a lot of concern about tree removal but that the trees they are loking to remove are not old trees, but rather scrub trees and saplings. He said they "do not want to destroy the existing facility, just enhance it."