Disc Golf

Benefits of Disc Golf

A disc golf course provides a lot of "bang for the buck", allowing dozens of players to play the same time. A successful disc golf course can have over a hundred players playing the course at the same time on a given weekend.  In contrast, a tennis court that costs more to install only has two or at most, four players at a time.

What’s the approximate cost to build a course?

We’ll assume the land is available already, but that’s an additional major expense if it’s not. A barebones installation with light duty baskets, natural tees and simple wooden signs and do-it-yourself design (not recommended) can be installed for about $350 per hole. A full service community course with a heavy duty basket, dual cement tee pads, nice dual tee signs and two sleeves for basket placements on each hole could run up to $1000 per hole which includes a basic design fee on a property with little clearing to be done. The design fee could be $2000-$3000 higher if the course requires lots of fairway clearing thru woods and the designer is involved in supervising that process. An added cost might be if the clearing is done by outside hired professionals versus park staff and volunteers. Additional amenities that may be considered would be an information sign board at the start of the course and benches at several or all holes. A very nice course can be installed for $20,000 in most places where not much clearing is required.

Hockey

Having a local Inline Hockey team at Paloma Valley, is reason enough to have an inline Hockey rink.  We need team members, parents and coaches input to let us know what kind of facility we might want to add.

Above, is a picture of Mar Vista's popular outdoor roller hockey rink.  It is the first roller hockey facility constructed in a Los Angeles city park.

The rink features fiberglass dash board surrounding the floor and a smooth-as-ice concrete skating surface. And it even has its own official Fan Page on Facebook.

February 02, 2002 | Taken from LA Times article by KEVIN RODERICK

How one parent saw the need and helped make it happen!
He learned that a decent concrete rink with boards and fences would cost about $270,000. With help from the city, the board at Mar Vista applied for a grant under Proposition K, a bond measure that city voters approved in 1996 for improvements like this. They got $247,000, enough to make the project possible.

First, though, city parks officials had to be convinced that hockey was deserving. The sport was being played in organized fashion at only a few parks in the city. "They weren't too hot on the idea at first," Ponton recalled. But the park advisory board collected 200 letters of support from local parents, schools and other organizations.

Eventually, the parks department assigned grant writers to help Mar Vista secure the main chunk of needed money. The parents also got help from Lisa Gritzner, the chief deputy to City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski. "I've learned that if you have trouble at the bottom, you go to the top. She's been the project's guardian angel," Ponton said.

Fund-raising festivals and sponsors brought in the cash needed for the scoreboard, bleachers and lights. Archstone Communities, a development firm with plans to build apartments near the park, gave $14,000.

An additional $5,000 came from Operation Cleansweep, a city program that helps fund beautification. Local businesses also chipped in.

Construction began in June, and the completed 175-by-75-foot rink opened to skaters in November. Now, 182 boys and girls play on 16 teams organized by age and ability. Players range in age from 6 to 17. Each pays $70 and receives a jersey and trophies at a season-ending banquet.

BMX

While many successful skate parks allow the cross use of kick scooters, roller blades and BMX bikes, there are both design and safety issues to consider.  Not all elements of a good skate park make sense for bikes.  We think it's important that we have a BMX team to study those differences so that parts of the skatepark are accessible to BMX riders, like street plaza elements, while considering the feasibility of separate areas for bikes and skateboards.

We would like some BMX members on the Project to ensure that we're considering their preferences and needs.

Cost of a skate park

Cost of a 10,000 square foot park can range between $100,000 and $400,000.   Much of the variance in cost comes from the local volunteers and experts that would be willing to donate time, construction and engineering skills to the project.  A world class skate park with all the elements of an XGame competition would need to be two to three times that size to incorporate all of the bowls and turns and street elements.  The park should have areas for skaters of all levels, from the seasoned pro to the beginner, as well as spectator areas. 

The project’s success will hinge on finding the right combination of a public-private partnership to raise capital and operation funds. Options could include private management of the skatepark and fees or revenue generating activities to offset maintenance costs.  A representative from the Tony Hawk foundation recommended we look at all of the city and county projects currently on the books to see if we can piggyback onto one of those.  "It's tough enough to raise money for the park, but to take on the burden of road improvements and infastructure costs is heartbreaking."

While our Site Team is busy looking at sites and meeting with representatives in the community, our Design team is studying other parks and gathering the cost of construction and maintenance data needed to build our park.

Skate Board Development

We're going to let the skaters in the community work on the design elements of the skate park by studying existing parks, researching the flow and experience and usability of the skate park by both beginners and experts.  Our desire to build a world class park shouldn't be hindered by size or scope as we've plenty of examples of parks being built in phases with excellent results. 

     Phase I of Lincoln City's Skate Park was built in 1999 at a cost of  $64,000.  It's an 8000 sq foot Moguls Bowl that was from the beginning a highly rated design.  It has since become a great place for young skaters to learn new tricks while having a good flow for more experienced skaters. 

    

Phase II added an additional 8000 sq foot cradle and pipe, but at a cost of $200,000 plus volunteer man hours.  This section is covered and a crowd favorite considering the Oregon weather.  

They added the Swimming Pool featuring tight transitions, and the gentle flowing Snake Run with the Tombstone wall built with stone from the original snake run. 

They just completed Phase V and have a Phase VI already on the drawing board.

Volunteer Labor

Taken from an article at Smart Cities Prevail Blog:

There's an ugly rumor going around that volunteer labor projects will be forced to end on January 1st, 2012 when the statutory provision that exempts volunteer labor of prevailing wage requirements, sunsets. This is simply not the case but unfortunately this claim is being used ....to scare California city officials over the future of their volunteer projects.

... We can now proudly announce that two bills have been introduced this legislative session in order to EXTEND the volunteer labor exemption of prevailing wage requirements to 2017.

Skate Park Petition - draft

     We, the undersigned citizens, parents, business owners and skateboarders of Menifee, CA wish to express our support for local youth by proposing the construction of a public skate park.

     Skateboarding is one of the most popular youth activities in the country and has reached international status through World games and X games.  We believe that it’s time that we provide the underserved skaters in our own community with a safe place to challenge and express themselves.  The city, county and parks and recreation foundations have done much to provide some active youth ball parks, soccer fields, and gymnasiums.  We would like the less organized sports activities to have a stake in our parks and open spaces as well.

     During the past ten years, hundreds of successful public funded skate parks have been constructed in cities and towns across the United States. Not only have they proven to be statistically safer than a basketball court or a public pool, they’re also an excellent way to get young people involved in civic and community development. Young people need to have a sense of ownership in and connection to the community in which they live. A skate park is a great way to build such bridges.  Rather than giving young people tickets and additional "no skate zones" for participating in a sport they love, let’s provide them with a legal and safe place to skate.

     By organizing and beginning to lobby for a public skate park, these young Menifee skateboarders have already shown a great deal of initiative, creativity, and responsibility. Let’s not ignore this opportunity to fulfill an important need and strengthen our community.


Sincerely,