Orienteering course floated at parks committee

CLOVIS — Navigating through an unfamiliar spot of Ned Houk Park with just a compass and a map could prove difficult. Navigating through the Clovis parks, recreation and beautification committee, however, proved much easier.

Ramon Cruz, an eighth-grader at Gattis Middle School, found his trip to the committee’s meeting full of approval, as members gave their recommendation for his plans to build an orienteering course at the park for his Eagle Scout service project in late May.

Orienteering turns navigation into a recreational and educational activity. You receive a map and a compass, and can only use those to navigate through a series of checkpoints. You must go in the correct order, as each checkpoint provides clues you need to find the next checkpoint.

Cruz said orienteering is a go-to activity when his troop camps at Ned Houk Park.

An Eagle Scout service project requires creating something that will be of benefit to either a church, school or other organization besides the Boy Scouts. Although a permanent course holds an obvious benefit to his troop and others, it would be available to the community at large year-round.

“We have to build the course every year, and it’s a hassle,” Cruz said. “We can make a permanent one and have it be available for many organizations in Clovis.”

Cruz plans to build 10 checkpoints on the course, and would use those for three orienteering courses — a basic five-checkpoint course, an intermediate 10-checkpoint course and an advanced course using the same 10 checkpoints in a different order.

He estimates a minimum cost of $160 for the lumber that would become checkpoints and the cement to put them in place, and plans to enlist other scouts to help him with the build. He hopes to borrow tools from citizens or businesses and maybe get some help from volunteers, as Boy Scout regulations require adults handle power tools.

“It shouldn’t be too hard (to fund-raise) if I do some car washes or some chores,” Cruz said.

Mainly, Cruz said he was coming to the committee to see what type of permits he might need to build the course.

“No permits, just permission,” City Manager Justin Howalt said before the group unanimously recommended approval. The Clovis city commission will make the final decision, but nobody at the committee meeting — including four city commissioners — had any objections.

Cruz would make the maps available on the city’s parks and recreation website, but committee member Lisa Pellegrino-Spear suggested a hard copy be available at the course, possibly one that could be photographed with a smartphone, because mobile Internet can be spotty at the park — which is technically city property but also a 6-mile drive from where most people would recognize Clovis’ city limit to be.

Eagle Scout projects are nothing new to the park, which includes a disc golf course put together by Cory Young in 2005.

In other business at the meeting:

n Member approved recommendation of a leash law.

According to the proposed ordinance, running at large would mean “a dog or cat which is off the property of the owner, or not in an enclosed area on the owner’s property. A dog shall not be considered to be running at large if it is on a leash, not exceeding eight feet in length, and under the physical control of a person physically able to control it. A voice command is not an acceptable form of control.”

There are exceptions for police canine units, dog parks and approved animal shows or training programs.

n The committee recommended opening portions of Ned Houk Park for grazing leases.

Howalt said grazing leases had been recognized in the past, and brought in between $3,000 and $5,000 per month, but weren’t used during recent drought years.

When Pellegrino-Spear asked Howalt how the city’s lease rates would compare to others, Howalt said the rate would largely be determined by what interested parties offer.

Howalt said the lessees would be responsible for building and maintaining fencing around the grazing areas.

Pellegrino-Spear noted the grazing was a good way to reduce the fire threat for the park.

“As long as it’s not impeding on any current use,” she said, “it seems like a great opportunity.”

n Committee member Jamaal Williams invited members to Zia Little League’s opening ceremonies, to be held 10 a.m. Saturday at Beechum Field.

n Parks and Recreation Director Mark Dayhoff distributed a copy of master park plan goals, and where he felt they broke down as short-term (1-3 years), medium-term (1-5 years) or long-term (1-10 years) goals.

The list included 27 ongoing goals, and three others suggested by Dayhoff — resurfaced parking lots for youth sports fields, wider concrete walking paths at Greene Acres Park and a new lighting system with metal poles at Guy Leeder Softball Complex.

Members tabled the list to give each member an opportunity to look at it before the next meeting, set for 5:30 p.m. April 22.