[Sky Pilot]

Meeting with City Parks Operation Manager – Taylor Bressler
Friday January 22nd 2010
2:00 p.m.
People’s Park

We had originally agreed to meet on Tuesday 2-19 but Taylor called to say that the meeting he was in was going long.
We rescheduled for the next day and I was there along with Kevin Sakus, Eric Brown & Joe Royer. Kevin brought 3 of the new sturdy yellow bucket stands he’d built to place out in the park. However Taylor called about 2:40p.m., saying that he’d had another conflict.
We rescheduled for Friday 2-22, however though all were invited from the previous day – I was the only one that made it.
At first Taylor didn’t want to walk into the Park too far, but as it turned out he became more interested in how the land was “coming back’ since it’s been blocked to automobile access for many years now. He would exclaim things like, “Wow! This is really different now!”
We walked all around the perimeter of the Park and I was able to cover all of the questions I had written down. We had a great time talking and commenting on the land, it’s current use by the various “nudies” and “cruisers” and how we could use it for the purpose of Disc Golf.


►Concerning any Disc Golf Course under the Park Department:

Note: The following principals apply to all our courses.

Questions:

►How close can we put Tee Pads to the banks?

Taylor is okay if throw away from the banks – but not so close that there is even the remotest chance of breaking down a ledge and on any hole we design, “there must be no opportunity to throw into the water.”
In addition, I told him that I wanted to stay off the trail on the north side (at People’s) so as to not interfere with those walking down it. He thought that this was a good idea.

►Can we put a Basket on the ‘knoll’ (at People’s) toward the end of the peninsula?

He said that we shouldn’t put anything on that knoll – we have to stay over south of the knoll so that we’re not in any way near the nude beach. There are about 5 large pines south of that area and Taylor and I agreed to use this as a boundary. I had wanted to be able to put a basket on this knoll or hill as it would have been the only place where we would be able to see the confluence of the two rivers at a closer vantage point.

►Is it alright to do some minor brush or branch clearing for fairways?

“No tree or bush cutting.” Taylor said that because of some fairway clearing in the past at Downriver there were so many complaints from the neighborhood that “we almost lost the whole deal!” In other words, he was almost forced to close the course. He said, “Don’t F$#% with the land!” Don’t cut trees because the neighborhood just goes nuts!” No bush or tree cutting – you can whip down grasses but do not pull them up.” The group needs to know that they need to respect the whole deal.”

►Will the City Park Department help us with fundraising?

"No.” Taylor said.
However toward the end of our walk he did seem open to perhaps pointing out some people that I might be able to approach for sponsorship.

►Would it be alright to set out our bucket stands out at Camp Sekani sometime?

He doesn’t want anything at Sekani at this time. We need to keep our focus on People’s Park.

►Do the same rules apply at Downriver?

“Yes.” Note: The same rules apply at any course under the Park Department – including Highbridge.

►Other comments Taylor made…

•“I will have some gravel brought down to downriver (for the parking lot) and you guys can have a work party and spread it around.”
•“The parks will not provide any maintenance.”
•“I don’t care if they smoke but they gotta watch their butts!”
•“You can put a picnic table down here (People’s) for tournaments, but pack it in and pack it out.”

We need to keep in mind that this is not 'our' land. We are authorized to use it for Disc Golf within the City's parameters.
It's pretty obvious that we don't have a 'perfect' course at Downriver. It is on the other hand a beautiful scenic place and a tremendous opportunity for us to develop a better course.
It's literally painful to hear so many negative things being said about myself or the board or anyone for that matter. I appreciate those that work hard to improve the courses - as I'm sure others do. You know who you are if your active in the process of improvement. Kudos to all that endure and persevere through difficulties.

Sky Pilot
SDGA President