Pittsfield Seeks CPA Funding For Disc Golf Course Renovation
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is looking to revitalize Kirvin Park's disc golf course with the help of Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds.
Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resource Program Manager James McGrath on Wednesday announced a $7,500 CPA application to the Conservation Commission to finance the endeavor.
The commission unanimously approved the project's application for eligibility. This is required to submit a full application to the Community Preservation Committee for funding because the park is in a conservation area.
About $4,750 is needed to replace the nine chain baskets that make up the course and the rest is for tee boxes, or starting areas that mark where the first shot is thrown from, and signage.
"I think it checks all the boxes," McGrath said. "It's low cost, it's high impact, it really involves the users."
The course was installed in 2016 and had been in the works since 2013. It was the first free disc golf facility in the city and at the time, there was only one other course nearby at Bousquet Ski Resort.
That same year, Windsor Lake in North Adams received a disc golf course as well.
"We have been receiving inquiries over the past year or so from the community regarding planned improvements to the disc golf course at Kirvin Park, you may recall that we worked with a volunteer group several years ago to get the disc golf course installed over at Kirvin Park and it's been very successful and there's a small community of steady users at this at this site," McGrath said.
"They recently have reached out to the city and asked about our willingness to assist them with improvements to the course, so there's an opportunity for the Community Preservation Act program to access funding for that purpose."
If the funds are granted, the city will purchase the equipment and volunteers will install it with cooperation and direction from the city.
The baskets and tee boxes have already been quoted from a vendor.
Commission member Thomas Sakshaug asked if this course will interfere with any of the other activities at the park and McGrath said there is no conflict and in fact, it is very complementary to the surrounding uses.
The panel also weighed in on the city's mosquito control situation.
In April, the City Council voted to opt out of the spraying portion of the Berkshire County Mosquito Control Project, and in late October, the Public Health and Safety subcommittee voted to opt out of the project entirely.
The commission recognized the importance of the other services that BCMCP provides. They authorized Conservation Agent Rob Van Der Kar to write a letter to the council voicing support for the drainage and larvacide portion of the project.
Commission member and former Ward 5 Councilor Jonathan Lothrop was on the council at the time that BCMCP was resurrected after 30 years dormant and offered his opinion on the matter.
"I think sometimes the project gets a little bit confused and that they think of it's just about spraying but it's bigger than that, it's actually much bigger than that," He said.
Because the project maintains drainage ditches to ensure that water flows properly into wetlands while mitigating mosquito breeding zones, Lothrop said he would be concerned about it being eliminated.
BCMCP Superintendent Chris Horton further explained the project's drainage procedures.
"We want higher water quality, we want increased fish access and basically we're in a maintenance mode, we haven't actually started drainage we're maintaining drainage," He said.
"Almost three miles of existing drainage in the city, routine maintenance, that manual maintenance, over a period of three years we've tried to cover all that ground."
Tags: CPA, disc golf, public parks,
