Paintball, go-karts approved

Boone County will get a go-kart track and paintball field in the near future.

The Boone County Commission, without Commissioner Karen Miller, voted Tuesday to grant a permit to Scott-Poe Properties LLC to build the new recreation facilities at Perche Creek Golf Club, west of Columbia.

“It’s amazing how many calls we’ve had,” Perche Creek Golf Club Manager Jake Poe said. “People are excited about this. I think Columbia is really yearning for another outlet for fun, and I think they deserve it — everyone needs a place to escape reality for a bit.”

Jake Poe’s father, Richard Poe, the owner of Perche Creek Golf Club, came to the county commission with the request because he said that neither activity is available in Boone County.

“We feel these are the two attractions that are most requested by our customer base and potential customer base,” Jake Poe said.

The timeline for construction is still unclear. Richard Poe said he hoped to start “as soon as possible” and to have the track and field open within the year.

Although no one spoke against the proposal at the commission’s public hearing, some residents showed up at the planning and zoning meeting March 18 in opposition, saying that go-karts would cause too much noise.

The planning staff decided the track’s distance from the closest residents, 800 feet, is enough to limit noise, Stan Shawver, director of the Boone County planning and building inspection department, said at the meeting.

The track’s proximity to Interstate 70 also means the go-kart noise would be no worse than the pre-existing highway noise, Shawver said.

The County Commission allowed the permit under six conditions: the facilities should be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., any additional lighting for the go-kart track must be pointed inward and downward, no private go-karts allowed on the track, the cars must have no more than 6.5 horsepower, the cars must have 4-cycle engines and no additional lighting allowed on the paintball field.