Fairfield Park

[CEValkyrie]

Fairfield had very little damage from the strom. The course is in very good playable condition.

[CEValkyrie]

I had a meeting scheduled with the RLAPD on Wednesday that is moved to Thursday. I'm meeting with the new Executive Director and the Superintendent of Parks & Facilities  This will be my final attempt to make improvements to this course. I've been trying for over 5 years. If i'm not successful this time i'm throwing in the towel. Wish me luck.

[jasonc]

Good Luck!!!!  I hope the new Executive Director is receptive to your ideas   

[CEValkyrie]

Good Luck!!!!  I hope the new Executive Director is receptive to your ideas   

Thanks Jason. I spent some quite a bit time putting together an outline of what I would like to see accomplished.I also have quite a few pictures on my laptop of what a course should look like.  I had meetings all day yesterday and spent a few hours adding info to it. DGCR is a great tool. I gave them a link to the course on DG Course Review and asked them to read the reviews prior to the meeting. I also used the info to compare South, West, and North suburbs. It's amazing how bad the 18 hole courses in the north suburbs are. 1 of the 5 have proper tees. 3 of the 5 have proper tee signs. The west and the south have 8-9 courses and most have good tee pads. I'm hoping they get the idea of what needs to be done out there. I'm giving this one more chance. It's do or die time. Carrie and I looked at houses for sale in the subdivision across from the park on Saturday. If this happens there is a house I want to purchase. If not I'll be looking elsewhere.

[CEValkyrie]

Excited for this meeting. They've added a 3rd person to the meeting. He's the Supt. of  Recreation. I'll fill everyone in tonight with the details.

[airspuds]

good luck

our "disc golf thoughts " will be with you

[CEValkyrie]

Had an excellent meeting today. The Executive Director is fairly young and seems pretty interested in the project. I think they "get" that the course has potential and needs improvement. He noticed the improvments to the tees and signs at Crystal Lake and what a big difference it makes. Prior to the meeting I sent them a link to Fairfield and and asked them to read all the reviews at disc golf course reveiw. There was a lot of information exchanged between the 4 of us. The meeting lasted 1hr 45min.

They are going to meet together and discuss the project. The first step in the project is bringing in an experienced course designer which I reccommended. Once the layout is complete they are going to get estimates on cement tee pads and landscaping. At this point there is no gurantee on any changes but I did get a good vibe from the meeting. If this happens it's not going to happen quickly. This may take a few years to get going and as usual money is an issue. Tom might be able to add some more.

On a side note there is a possible long term project for the future which includes another disc golf course in Round Lake.
We are going to try to organize a weekly indoor disc golf open gym this winter at the sports center. This would take place on the indoor soccer field. Here is a link. You can get an idea of what the soccer field looks like.
http://www.rlapd.org/facilities-sports-center.cfm

[Sr.]

Thanks for your work Brett! It's very much appreciated. Sounds promising.

[Brad]

Thanks for all the wok  Brett.

[Tom McManus]

Had an excellent meeting today. The Executive Director is fairly young and seems pretty interested in the project. I think they "get" that the course has potential and needs improvement. He noticed the improvments to the tees and signs at Crystal Lake and what a big difference it makes. Prior to the meeting I sent them a link to Fairfield and and asked them to read all the reviews at disc golf course reveiw. There was a lot of information exchanged between the 4 of us. The meeting lasted 1hr 45min.

They are going to meet together and discuss the project. The first step in the project is bringing in an experienced course designer which I reccommended. Once the layout is complete they are going to get estimates on cement tee pads and landscaping. At this point there is no gurantee on any changes but I did get a good vibe from the meeting. If this happens it's not going to happen quickly. This may take a few years to get going and as usual money is an issue. Tom might be able to add some more.

On a side note there is a possible long term project for the future which includes another disc golf course in Round Lake.
We are going to try to organize a weekly indoor disc golf open gym this winter at the sports center. This would take place on the indoor soccer field. Here is a link. You can get an idea of what the soccer field looks like.
http://www.rlapd.org/facilities-sports-center.cfm

Brett did a great job at the meeting yesterday, presenting a lot of great ideas and representing disc golf in Illinois. It does seem like Round Lake is interested in making some major improvements and upgrades to their disc golf facilities. The two reps from Round Lake were definitely interested, and asked the right questions. I am not sure how quick things will move, but it does look like there will be some major upgrades and maybe even an opportunity for a new course.

One thing that I took away from the meeting is that disc golf is important to them and that they want it to play a larger role in their park system. It would be a combination of course improvements, park district activities, and even getting involved with other park districts.

[jasonc]

Brett & Tom,

THANK YOU!!!   

[Bruce Brakel]

[CEValkyrie]

I'm glad Tom was able to make it. He added a lot of good information and it was good to have someone keep me on track.

Some more info. Fairfield will never be a pay to play and it cannot be sold. It's open space and has to be free to all.

[roman]

Indoor gym for disc golf use? Brett, if you make this happen I am buying you a beer every time I go there.

[CEValkyrie]

Chuck Kennedy is coming into town on October 18th to meet with the Round Lake Park District. He has an afternoon meeting with them. if all goes well he'll be out designing a course on the 19th. I'll make sure this is clear. From there the park district is going to get bids on the concrete and landscaping work then decide if they are going to go forward with the project. If they go forward this could be a 2-3 year project that needs to be budgeted.

[Chainmeister]

Chuck Kennedy is coming into town on October 18th to meet with the Round Lake Park District. He has an afternoon meeting with them. if all goes well he'll be out designing a course on the 19th. I'll make sure this is clear. From there the park district is going to get bids on the concrete and landscaping work then decide if they are going to go forward with the project. If they go forward this could be a 2-3 year project that needs to be budgeted.

This sounds great. However,would this mean that Fairfield would close over that period or just during some of the constructions phases?  Too bad he can't be in town on the 16th to play IOS#5.

[CEValkyrie]

Chuck Kennedy is coming into town on October 18th to meet with the Round Lake Park District. He has an afternoon meeting with them. if all goes well he'll be out designing a course on the 19th. I'll make sure this is clear. From there the park district is going to get bids on the concrete and landscaping work then decide if they are going to go forward with the project. If they go forward this could be a 2-3 year project that needs to be budgeted.

This sounds great. However,would this mean that Fairfield would close over that period or just during some of the constructions phases?  Too bad he can't be in town on the 16th to play IOS#5.

If they to go forward with the project the course would be closed.

[jasonc]

Good to hear that the RLAPD is moving in the right direction!!!

I would certainly be bummed about losing the home course for a while.  However, I know I am one of many that would appreciate a re-designed course with input from Brett and Chuck. 

Thanks again for all of your hard work Brett!!!   

[CEValkyrie]

Good to hear that the RLAPD is moving in the right direction!!!

I would certainly be bummed about losing the home course for a while.  However, I know I am one of many that would appreciate a re-designed course with input from Brett and Chuck. 

Thanks again for all of your hard work Brett!!!   

I appreciate it. I'm excited to see what happens next week. If this goes through it will sucks when the course is closed but it will be worth it.

[CEValkyrie]

Chuck came into town this morning and checked out all the land avaliable at FF. I was not there but he said he met with the park district about an hour. I talked to him tonight out at the course. He said the meeting went very good and also got a good vibe that things are going to move forwad. He'll be back this winter walking the course and mapping out a new one. He filled me on in some initial thoughts and I like what he had to say.