Trails link, disc golf talk dominates Parks and Recreation Commission session

A $252,700 bridge to somewhere and disc golf, both on Carson City’s east side, captured attention at Tuesday evening’s Parks and Recreation Commission meeting.

A $250,000 grant from Southern Nevada Public Lands Management will provide financing for the Carson River Trail System Eagle Valley Creek segment bridge, said Parks and Recreation Director Roger Moellendorf. It will link 9 miles of the east-side trail system, he said.

“This is a little bit of good news,” said the director, crediting staffers and particularly the efforts of Open Space Manager Juan Guzman to lobby for the funds in Las Vegas and secure the money despite “incredible odds against him.”

The Board of Supervisors is slated to accept the grant Thursday. The bridge near the Empire Ranch Golf Course might take shape this year after competitive bidding moves the process along.

Moellendorf also reported on efforts to find a disc golf course site on the east side, and the commission heard the wishes of Greg Swift, the Carson City resident spearheading efforts to bring disc golf competition and tourism here.

Swift said the best site is U.S. Geological Survey land coming to the city along Deer Run Road, although Moellendorf also reported on other sites that had been investigated. The director talked of sites at Carson River Park, which was tested in April, and another near the V&T Railway Eastgate Depot and Flint Drive. Swift said, however, the USGS land was optimal.

That might require a reversal from the Open Space Committee and the supervisors requiring only passive recreational uses, Moellendorf said. However, Supervisor John McKenna, who sits on the commission, sounded interested in pursuing the site Swift favored.

Parks Planner Vern Krahn and the commission recognized community groups for helping parks and recreation-related projects. Cited were the donation of 17 trees to the city by the Downtown Business Association, plus the donation of interpretive signs and benches by Gardeners Reclaiming Our Waysides as part of art along the bypass freeway.