Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Recreation Disc Golf topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Needham seeks $50,000 for disc-golf feasibility study amid site, tree and neighbor concerns
Summary
Park and Recreation requested $50,000 for a disc-golf feasibility and design study to evaluate multiple town parcels (Town Forest, Ridge Hill and alternatives); commissioners asked for careful review of conservation jurisdiction, tree impacts and parking before advancing to construction funding.
Needham’s Park and Recreation Department asked the Community Preservation Committee on Feb. 11 to fund a $50,000 feasibility and design study for a municipal disc-golf course, a step intended to expand site options beyond two locations studied privately by the Disc Golf Association.
Stacy Mulroy, director of Park and Recreation, said the association donated an initial feasibility study that focused on two parcels — Town Forest and Ridge Hill — and that the town would hire an on-call engineering firm to look for alternate parcels and provide a construction estimate. "We're currently requesting the $50,000 for feasibility and design," Mulroy said during the presentation.
Mulroy and committee members discussed likely construction timing (planning in FY27 with potential bid and construction in FY28) and a rough build estimate of about $300,000 if the project advances beyond feasibility. Commissioners raised questions about jurisdictional constraints (several candidate parcels are under the Conservation Commission), potential tree removal and neighbor opposition in high-value residential areas, and parking and trail-use impacts if the Town Forest is selected.
Mulroy said public meetings and careful outreach to abutters would be part of the planning process and that the working group would include disc-golf representatives, neighbors, and town staff. Commissioners recommended involving the Conservation Commission early and explicitly evaluating tree preservation and parking in the feasibility scope.
Next steps: staff will include conservation oversight, tree-impact assessment and neighbor outreach in the feasibility scope if the CPC funds the study; construction funding would require later capital or CPC approvals.
