Toward a New Vision for Port Townsend Golf Park
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Photo by Scott France [/caption]
News by Scott France
Under the terms of a lease between the City of Port Townsend and the non-profit Friends of the Golf Park, city staff is evaluating the Friends’ plan for long-term operations of the golf course over the next 20 years, including a report on its completion of required milestones in the first of four phases in the agreement. That first two-year phase expires this December. Should the Friends fail to meet the phase one metrics, the City may terminate the lease.
The lease term began on January 1, 2024, and states that the Friends group will collaborate with the City to improve the Golf Park property, enhance native plantings, expand recreational opportunities, and increase public access to the Golf Park property.
Phase one of the lease calls for the development of a trail that will run from east to west, and that the golf course will be closed for play for at least six full days a year for public access. It also calls for a plan for the installation of a north-south trail.
City Engagement Process
Handing over the operations of the golf park to the Friends group came after several years of public engagement on what to do with the property and golf operations, which everyone agreed were in decline. A business analysis of the Port Townsend Golf Club completed in 2019 found that the course would need “considerable investment in improvements and modernization” to continue as a golf course.
A community engagement process conducted by the City in 2020 revealed limited use of the Golf Course and low interest in golf in general. Additionally, maintenance was subpar not only for the golf course and its buildings and physical infrastructure, but also for its record-keeping, according to City Manager John Mauro.
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The current dining area. Photo by Scott France [/caption]
Faced with the reality that the golf course operation was not financially sustainable, the City launched an extensive public engagement process – hundreds of participants in open houses, over 3,000 survey responses, numerous stakeholder meetings, small group outreach, and council workshops – after which the City Council unanimously approved a vision and policy direction for a mixed use approach, retaining the nine-hole golf course alongside public amenities. The agreement that the city struck with the Friends group represents the culmination of that community engagement effort that the city launched in June 2022 to explore alternative uses for the site.
To Change the Narrative…and the Use
Mauro and Friends President Bob Wheeler acknowledge that the vast majority of Port Townsend residents do not use the golf park, and many regard the land as a rather exclusive province of golfers, a condition they are seeking to change.
“It takes a while for people to get comfortable with coming to a space that they have historically felt they are not allowed to be in,” Mauro said. “It’s community land, and we are working with the Friends to make sure that the welcome gate is open.”
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The current plan developed by the Friends group [/caption]
Wheeler and the Friends group realized that incorporating amenities, recreational features and events would be necessary to attract city residents. “I don’t know how many people I heard say, ‘I never went in there. It didn’t look friendly,’ Wheeler said, “We don’t have enough golfers around here to sustain ourselves” .
In addition to the trail installation, Phase One includes the installation of disc and foot golf targets, converting the clubhouse into a restaurant, and developing a plan to expand native and prairie planting areas.
All of these improvements will take time. “If we put in all the requirements that the City Council and the citizens wanted in the first five years, I think we could be setting [the Friends] up for failure,” Mauro said.
Community Services Department (CSD) director Melody Sky Weaver sees great possibility for the property under the plan. “A big piece of this plan is the vision for our new CSD in the next few years is bringing back recreation into the city, and a focus on youth,” Sky Weaver said. “This vision could provide a lot of incredible opportunities for youth.”
The lease holds open the option for affordable housing to be developed on a portion of the land. “We have a pipeline of land we are required to identify and have ready for some purpose, and housing’s been that primary purpose for Council. We never want to manage housing,” Mauro said, addressing a common reason voiced in local social media and among some City Council candidates for their opposition to housing being developed on any part of the golf park.
Housing development is also seen by many residents as a threat to the indigenous camas plant and soils on the Kah Tai Prairie Preserve at the southwest corner of the park. In an email on behalf of the Native Plant Society (NPS), Kathy Darrow said that NPS “is concerned that housing on the Golf Park/Camas Prairie Park would destroy healthy, relatively undisturbed soils that are still capable of being restored, in part, to native prairie vegetation. There are dozens of other prairie species that are important to the function and health of this ecosystem.”
The camas plant requires regular maintenance through weeding and other methods, including burning, to remain healthy and thrive from year to year, according to Celeste Dybeck, a S’Klallam Tribe member. Burning has stalled in recent years, but the NPS is “currently in the process of planning and coordinating the process to restore traditional/ecological burns to Kah Tai Prairie Preserve,” Darrow said.
The area earmarked for possible housing is along Blaine Street, where already existing infrastructure is in place. That strip abuts and possibly includes a small portion of the 1 ½ acre Prairie. Mauro said that the city has “so many plates spinning” that he doesn’t anticipate much, if any, motion towards housing on the property in the next 10 years.
The Jamestown S’Klallam tribe has a significant connection to the golf park property, particularly through its establishment of the číčmǝhán trail, the Kah Tai Prairie Preserve, and Sentinel Rock, where Chief číčmǝhán signaled the state of his negotiations between the indigenous people and the settlers. This connection has been frequently cited by housing development opponents in social media and at City Council hearings.
However, Luke Strong Cvetich, Planning Director of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, said that the Tribe neither endorses nor refutes these views, which are overwhelmingly voiced by non-native people. “We appreciate the challenges of balancing housing with conservation,” Strong-Cvetich said. “We’re not for or against anything at this point. We know that the city has its own process. We are paying attention and will review projects when they come up.”
If the city grants a continuance of the lease, which seems likely, Phase Two will run for five years, beginning this January, and include investment and full implementation of the public programs. These include the installation of the north-south trail, miniature golf park and a playground. A temporary amphitheater will also be developed along with the establishment of concert programming.
The plan for the new playground is to be partially funded through a grant from the State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO), with the City providing the required match,” Sky Weaver said. “We will apply for the grant in 2026.”
Mauro, Sky Weaver and Parks and Recreation Director Michael Todd envision a place that is a hub of activity. “It’s about removing barriers to enjoying these spaces because they’re for everyone in the community,” Sky Weaver said.
Where’s the Money?
Recognizing the daunting financial hill that the Friends group would face in getting started in funding the elements of the lease, it is not being charged rent during the lease’s first two years. “We are relying on donations at this point,” Wheeler said. So far, the group has received donations of $250,000, two of $50,000, and several $10,000 donations.
The group is conducting a fundraising campaign aimed at securing 100 donations of $ 1,000 each and 1,000 donations of $100 each.
The city is providing certain resources and financial contributions to the effort. “We have a well there they draw irrigation from, and we set aside funds to help support the building and capital improvements,” said Todd.
