STANWOOD — Plans for a new disc golf course at Church Creek Park are moving forward after the City Council approved a $6,000 request for the project.
It’s part of an ongoing effort to clean up the park at 27116 72nd Ave. NW, where police and neighbors have faced problems with vandalism and drug use.
Five local disc golfers who make up the Stanwood Disc Golf Volunteer Group crafted plans for a 9-hole course. It would wind through some of the wooded area in the 16.5-acre park. They pitched their idea to the council Jan. 8.
Disc golf is a game in which people throw Frisbee-like discs from a designated tee into a basket a few hundred feet away in the fewest throws possible. The Stanwood course would be free and open to the public, though people could pay the city to rent it for tournament use, much like the baseball field at Church Creek Park.
The volunteer group asked the city to pay for half of the course’s cost. They estimate equipment, installation, clearing and landscaping could total nearly $13,000.
The remainder of the cost is covered by personal donations and corporate sponsorships, said Erik Bade, a disc golfer who lives near the park. They’ve raised about $6,500 so far, not including the city’s $6,000 pledge.
“At this point, we’re fully funded,” he said. “But the more money we have, the better we can make things.”
Any money raised between now and the end of February would be used to buy higher-end equipment, install detailed signs along the course and landscape around the tees and baskets.
The volunteer group is working with the city to process donations and purchase supplies and services, Bade said. They’re still ironing out the last details and finalizing a course design.
“We’re hoping to build in March and open by April,” he said. “That’s always been the goal, and it looks like we’re on track for that.”
City officials hope a disc golf course could provide more local recreation options and draw people to the area who have been going elsewhere to play.
“We’re super excited about it,” city administrator Deborah Knight said. “I know there’s a big group of disc golf enthusiasts out there who travel some distance to play, so we want to let them know we’re working on a course here.”
To learn more, donate or see a draft map of the course, people can visit www.churchcreekdiscgolf.weebly.com.
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439, kbray@heraldnet.com
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