Disc golf: Could it help or hurt a Worcester park fallen on hard times?

WORCESTER – Walking the snow-covered trails of Cookson Park, Mary Leovich pointed out spots that she remembers from childhood.

A flat stretch partially blocked by brush and saplings was once a ball field where Leovich played with her grammar school classmates at the former Malvern Road School. She highlighted other landmarks along the hilly trails, including a dilapidated swing set and sandbox, and concrete benches so old that their wooden seats had disintegrated.

Leovich navigated the terrain in worn hiking boots, wearing a light jacket, mostly unzipped on a cold day, insisting she wasn’t freezing.

That is likely because she was too busy talking about the park, its topography, its flora and fauna including deer, coyotes and turkeys, and the solitude this wooded park at College Hill gives to residents, despite what appears to be a crumbling condition and the steady hum of traffic from nearby Interstate 290.

History and passion

Cookson Park is steeped in history. The city bought the land on June 3, 1936, from a real estate developer and named it after Worcester Mayor Walter Cookson, who died in office eight days later while attending the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

A 2004 master plan developed by consultant Weston & Sampson noted some of the park's 26.5 acres had deteriorated, were overgrown and unusable. The city's parks department, the plan noted, wanted to reestablish Cookson as a safe and attractive destination. Upgrades would cost over $600,000 at the time, and the master plan noted the work would be done as funds became available.

Leovich knows some of those challenges remain, but the park also has benefits, like taking a walk in nature. She knows this not just because of a childhood connection but also as an adult. Today, she lives in the house she grew up in on College Street that is located near Cookson, and she remains protective of the land and its trails.

That is why 10 years ago, she founded Friends of Cookson Park, a grassroots group of neighbors who are essentially stewards, looking out for the park’s welfare. Its membership of approximately 80 volunteers clean up trash, maintain trails and does whatever it takes to keep this park a destination for those who want a quiet space in nature to escape the city’s hustle and bustle.

Concerns brewing

But Friends of Cookson Park is on guard because a foundation is thinking about building a disc golf course in the park.

Neighbors have questions and concerns. Will the course bring traffic and noise? Where will people park? Will it disrupt trails and wildlife? Will it attract Holy Cross students from the nearby college campus? That's a prospect that deeply troubles Leovich, because she said students are constantly partying and drinking in the neighborhood around the park.

Another concern is the potential disruption of an endangered species in Cookson. Weston & Sampson's master plan mentioned lady's slipper in the park and noted it’s a protected species in Massachusetts.

The plan didn’t show where the plant is located, nor did it identify the type of lady's slipper. There are three species protected by the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act, and one species (pink lady’s slipper), found in many parts of the state, isn’t protected. Meanwhile, MassWildlife records show no rare species have been found in Cookson Park, according to an agency spokeswoman.

Despite those questions and concerns, Leovich isn’t dead set against the idea of disc golf. She’s a career engineer, a profession steeped in data and analysis. So Leovich wants more data on the pros and cons of the park before rendering a decision.

“It’s not inherently bad. It could offer good recreation,” she said.

Foundation: Doesn't want to battle neighbors

The Worcester Sports Foundation has not submitted a formal proposal to the city.

Jeff Turgeon, one of the foundation’s officers who works as the executive director of the MassHire Central Region Workforce Board, has spoken about the course with Leovich and Rob Antonelli, Worcester’s assistant commissioner of the Department of Public Works and Parks.

Turgeon believes Cookson is a good spot because it's wooded, the topography offers variety to challenge disc golf players, and there's more than enough land, since a course generally needs about 20 acres. Disc golf, said Turgeon, will also clear out some of the overgrown areas and help restore the striking vistas of the city that visitors once enjoyed from the park's elevated perch.

However, Turgeon noted the foundation, with its 300 members, doesn’t want a fight and will move on if the neighbors don’t want the course.

“We’re not going to submit a proposal to the city unless Mary (Leovich) says it’s good to go from her end,” said Turgeon. “We’re here to create recreational opportunities. The last thing we want is any kind of battle with neighbors or residents.”

Course price tag $100,000 and no taxpayer money

To describe disc golf, it’s like regular golf, but instead of a ball, players fling a disc, and the one with the fewest flings to deposit the disk in a basket suspended on a pole is the winner. Turgeon’s group wants 18 holes at Cookson, and it will cost approximately $100,000 to build the course.

In some cases, Turgeon said communities use community preservation funds to help with the bill, but that won’t be the case at Cookson. Turgeon stressed no city or taxpayer money will be used.

He divided the $100,000 price tag into categories. One is $20,000 for design, and it’s typically paid with donated time and services. Another $65,000 will prepare the land that involves clearing overgrown brush and dead trees, plus some tree trimming. Donations of time and resources will over that cost, said Turgeon. The final $15,000 for equipment will also come from donations, sponsorship signage on the course and grants.

Not a penny will be charged to play the course, said Turgeon, and the foundation will cover the cost of maintenance, with occasional support from the city for upkeep and trash removal.

Disc golf already exists in Worcester

There is precedent for disc golf in Worcester. A course at Newton Hill has been in play for 15 years after hosting its first tournament in 2009, and Antonelli said it has worked out well.

Like Cookson, Newton Hill has a friends group that raised money and volunteered time to not only build the course but also keep it maintained. That's not to say the city doesn’t kick in funds, as Antonelli estimated Worcester pays for about 10% of the cost to keep the course running.

Meanwhile, Turgeon’s group has experience building a course. It's located in Boylston on town land near the Town Hall and the police station. The foundation paid for it and takes care of most of the upkeep, said Eric Hoffses, chairman of the town’s Parks and Recreation Commission.

There were concerns when the foundation proposed the course, primarily that it could lead to drinking and discarded beer cans, but Hoffses said that never happened.

“No one is complaining with any of it,” said Hoffses. “It’s much smoother than I ever could have anticipated. I said when it started, when they offered to build a disc golf course for free, ‘What is the catch?’ I still haven’t found it. They’ve done an amazing job."

Waiting for proposal

Antonelli is waiting on a proposal from the foundation. If he gets it, his staff will review it and then send it to the city's Parks and Recreation Commission for further review. Neighbors living around the park will be invited to a public hearing hosted by the commission to give their input, and then it’s up to the commission to vote thumbs up or down.

As Antonelli sees it, the concerns expressed by the Friends of Cookson Park are “legitimate.” Parking, potential impact on trails and whether the course could encourage drinking by Holy Cross students are issues Antonelli said he wants answers to.

However, he said a similar concern about drinking was expressed when the a course was proposed at Newton Hill, and it hasn’t materialized. “From my past experience, my eyes are open to it, but the devil is in the details,” said Antonelli of a possible course at Cookson.

Turgeon is hoping for city approval this spring, followed by fundraising and design completion. Then volunteers install the course and finish the job in the fall. Again, Turgeon mentioned his group won’t push for the course if the neighbors don’t want it. “We recognize if Mary (Leovich) and the folks at Friends of Cookson Park and the city feel it’s not the best fit, then we’re more than happy to let it lie.”

Lament, hope at Cookson Park

Leovich has visited Cookson Park many times, as a child and adult, over a span of 40 years. Before she embarked on her recent walk, she stopped at a kiosk at the park's entrance and lamented that the plexiglass protection was broken and likely vandalized. It’s not the park it once was, but it still offers solitude in a constantly buzzing city.

Whether a disc golf course is a good fit is something Leovich isn’t ready to decide. She’s still mulling it over and gathering information, but hasn’t ruled it out.

“It might bring some nice life back to the park,” she said.

Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on X: @henrytelegram.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester Cookson Park neighbors wary over disc golf course proposal