On Wednesday, the Joint Advisory Committee on Golf heard from maintenance director Keith Ihms about the damage done by the Aug. 26 storm. The final cost to clean up the golf courses may reach $100,000, he said.
Although the courses were all open within a few days of the storm, most of the debris was pushed to one side and still needs to be removed, Ihms said.
Highlands Golf Course was the hardest hit, with 25 large trees toppled. The Country Club had 24 trees down, with large root balls. There were so many trees down, that it was difficult to estimate the damage, Ihms said. Workers would cut one downed tree and find two or three more under it, he said. Contractors were hired to help because of safety concerns, and the POA's Maintenance and Construction Division has also helped move some of the trees.
Without a stump dump in which to deposit the trees, disposing of them is more difficult. Ihms said he has found a logger that will come in and grind the trees and take away the wood chips. The debris will be moved to two sites to wait for the grinder.
The operation is limited by the number of employees who hold a commercial driver's license, Ihms explained. The trees are cut into 9-foot lengths and loaded onto large trucks to be moved to the central location. That part of the project should be done by the end of October.
The root balls, some of which weigh "a couple of tons," can't be ground, Ihms said. They are also very difficult to move. Some may be buried next to where the tree toppled, he said. He didn't say how long it would take to dispose of the root balls.
Ihms asked the committee to let others know not to add wood to any POA piles. The city will pick up residents' damaged trees, he said. Also, residents are not allowed to take the wood for firewood because of the dangers of the shifting woodpile.
Golf Operations director Darryl Muldoon reported to the board on the Berksdale Golf Course which became a nine-hole course after flood damage in 2017. The remaining nine holes were closed when damage to a bridge was discovered in June.
At the August Golf Committee meeting, about 40 members attended and many asked that the nine holes be reopened. Golf Committee chairman Jason Loyd asked Muldoon to look at the feasibility of reopening the course without repairing the bridge.
Muldoon, with the help of Ihms and golf course architect David Whelchel, who is a member of the board of directors, mapped out a route around the course. It will require two-way traffic up a steep path, Muldoon said, and that might be mean installing a fence as well as some new signage. Also, he said, only POA carts should be allowed on the course since private carts may not be able to navigate the hill. If the board approves the plan, the course might reopen in the spring.
General News on 09/18/2019