Meeting tonight to discuss disc golf course

Taylor Lake Village will hold a meeting tonight to discuss complaints such at littering, urination and errant discs at the city's new disc golf course.
The Taylor Lake Village Ad Hoc Disc Golf Course Committee -- made up of whoever shows up for the meeting -- will meet 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, at City Hall, 500 Kirby Boulevard.
The meeting's agenda calls for the committee to recommend to the City Council changes that should be made to resolve issues at the course.
The citizens' opinions will be weighted higher than those who are not residents," said Mayor Natalie O'Neill. But anyone is welcome to make their opinion heard."
O'Neill said she has received complaints from fewer than 10 people since disc golf course opened in Taylor Lake Park last month. Some residents living near the park have complained of trash. She said one complaint was about players drinking, smoking marijuana and urinating on the course. She said she's also received reports of one person getting hit by a disc and one narrowly avoiding a hit.
The city has already taken some action. It removed three holes that were near homes to help keep discs out of yards, opened a second restroom and added more trash cans.
The city also plans to post rules that could include instituting hours of operation for the disc golf course. It's helped that since a tournament a couple weeks ago, the number of players has slacked off, the mayor said.
Even so, O'Neill said a woman complained to her just yesterday about the disc golf course.
Some who use the park have been told to get out of the way by disc golf course players, the mayor said.
Some of those who play disc golf made some assumptions that it's a disc golf course first and a park second, which it is not," O'Neill said. It's a city park first. It has a disc golf course in it . . . We put it there for everyone to enjoy equally."
One disc golfer who's been involved with the course from the beginning, Chris MacGregor, said he's seen none of the behavior that has drawn complaints.
"Disc golfers have been keeping the park clean," he said. Before the extra trash cans went in, it was the disc golfers who went out and bagged up the overflow, he said, and it was the disc golfers who let the city know more trash cans were needed, even offering to donate some.
He said it's extremely rare for discs to hit anyone, citing a clean track record for five years at Seabrook's course along a jogging path.
It's just hard for residents living near the park to get used to the idea of people actually using the park they've had to themselves for years, MacGregor said.
"People thought they'd have a nice quiet backyard, but what they really have is a park."