Overseeding, geese focus of meeting
Posted on Friday, June 20, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/62985/
BELLA VISTA — By a 5-2 margin, the Bella Vista Property Owners Association Board of Directors voted Thursday night to uphold a decision the board had already made at its May meeting to discontinue overseeding the golf courses in the coming fiscal year.
The term overseeding deals with the spreading of the quick-germinating and short-lived rye grass over the dormant Bermuda grass during the winter months in an effort to protect the latter during the early growth stages.
While this process has its advantages, such as costing less money and allowing carts on the fairways during the winter, it also causes the Bermuda grass to have to struggle for necessary nutrients and allows for weed growth.
Last month, the board voted 6-2 to reverse a decision made in 2005 to overseed. Thursday night, board members used a somewhat obscure section of Robert’s Rules of Order that enabled them to bring the issue back to the table and reconsider that decision.
POA maintenance manager Casey Crittenden gave a short talk on the pros and cons of the procedure and ultimately recommended not overseeding.
Crittenden told the board that while overseeding does provide green grass in the winter, it is only for a short time. He also offered an opinion of the U. S. Golf Association that states the longer a course goes without overseeding, the better off the Bermuda stand will be.
Following Crittenden’s comments, board members were given an opportunity to speak on the issue.
The comments for the most part were in support of Crittenden’s recommendation. However, two directors, George DeGroot and Bill Johnson, were in disagreement.
For DeGroot, one of the big negatives to not applying the rye grass is forcing golfers to maintain their carts on path through the winter months, basically Jan. 1 until mid-April.
“ Carts on path essentially takes away the golfing amenity, ” he said. “ Are we in favor of green grass or people ? We must remember there are people here. ”
Keeping the carts off the fairways, according to Degroot “ will not be positive and result in a loss of revenue” because fewer golfers will want to play.
He said he would like the board to find some sort of balance between overseeding and not overseeding that would benefit both the golf courses and the players.
Johnson suggested that this opportunity be used to experiment and see just what sort of impact overseeding might have in the long run.
While most agreed that forcing golfers to keep the carts on the paths might be an inconvenience, and even limit play for those unable to walk much, the general consensus was to give it a chance.
“ I hope (the membership ) will support the POA Board, ” Anita Werts said.
In other matters, POA General Manager Tommy Bailey told the board that the POA had received a depredation permit from the federal government to eliminate some of the Canada geese in the area.
The permit, he said, authorized the shooting of up to 100 of the birds.
Other options sought by the POA to control the goose population, such as birth control, relocation and shaking the eggs to prevent birth, were apparently not considered, Bailey said.
In answer to a question by Director Werts, as to when the POA will begin killing the birds, Bailey said any action will be up to the board of directors.
Bailey said if they have to do it, they will contact groups such as Hunters for the Hungry to participate.