Mossy Roc Needs your help!

[sk8architecture]

Mossy Roc is going through another rough patch. Apparently today, Monday the 19th by 8 am this morning all baskets are to be pulled for good. From what I hear this is not a temporary thing as it was last summer. We may loose this course for good!

Please take time to e-mail Sudden Valley at
GM@SuddenValley.com

In a respectful manner please email them and ask why? or if its true? If nothing else we can bog down their system with too many emails!

[mrDROCK]

Again I ask: what is the reason for them wanting to close down the course? Do they think it is a waste since not many players go there? That is the only reason our emails can help. If they are looking to build on the land, there is nothing we can do.

[sk8architecture]

I will try my best to answer but I do not have all the details so this is just my best guess.

The course is on private land which is owned by Sudden Valley, a housing community but not one of those gated communities. The course sits on a abandonded campground. 7 years ago Pat and some other locals found this land overgrown and unused so they proposed a disc golf course. Well they got something in and slowly turned this land into what it is today. Now that the land looks really good the residents of Sudden Valley are now using it to walk their dogs and such. So Sudden Valley feels the land should support the residents not the disc golf community. But the community made it what it is. Without its presence it will over grow again and I believe residence will not find it a comfortable place to walk their dog.

I also feel that Sudden Valley sees how many people use it, so they see $$$$. So until they find a way to make money off it its gone. I think prior to this they wanted the disc golf club to pay a $1,000 monthly fee for the land. Hope this helps.

[LJ Jubner]

Here is a copy of my e mail

Hi

My Name is Shawn Hadley and I live in Everett. I make the 45 min drive twice a month to play at Mossy Roc. I buy gas, food and from time to time even stay overnight locally. I wanted to take the time this morning to offer my support of Disc Golf remaining at Mossy Roc

This course is the only venue in the entire Northwest corner of the state that is suitable for both tournament and casual play. I can share with you the fact M/R has been suggested to host at least one full sized State series Disc Golf tournament in 2011. The size of M/R makes it perfect for the 175+ players that will attend. This influx of local revenue is a huge bonus for some of your otherwise suffering local business's.

I can also share the effort that I personally made three times in the last two years to come up and volunteer at M/R. My efforts are small compared to the hundreds of hours donated at no cost to your Home Owners Association by the 25 or so local golfers who give every time they play. From something as simple as picking up trash to spending hours developing and maintaining trails. The fact that our shear physical presence sheds light on the dark corners of this great neighborhood and state asset. I also want to mention the $300 I have personally donated to the Mossy Roc project.

In the end, Disc Golf at Mossy Roc is way for you to gain a really great park at absolutely no cost to you the home owners. It would be a shame if it reverted back to the run down, illicit or illegal activities that were the norm before Disc Golf moved in.

Please feel free to contact me anytime and Thanks for your belief in Disc Golf



Shawn Hadley

PDGA Tournament Director
PDGA Tournament Official
Disc Golf Course Designer @ Silver Lake, Everett, WA
Volunteer Course Coordinator at Twin Rivers Arlington, WA
Volunteer Course Coordinator at N. SeaTac Park SeaTac, WA
Promotional Director for 501c discoveringopenspaces.com

Use terms like revenue for huting business
mention the crime that was there
everyone needs to stress the fact that SV is getting a free park

[sk8architecture]

Very Good e-mail Jub.

It seems this stuff happens time and time again. Disc golf cleans up a nasty underutilized park into a wonderful secure enviorment. Then other users feel comfortable and start using the park as well. Then the enviormental and user complaints come.

[Tim]

Good job with the spell checking/proofreading, Jub (mostly). ;)

Man, first I see that Thomas's sister's car got broken into and now I see that Mossy Roc is in danger again. Already, I have a case of the Mondays.

I'll send out an email a little bit later, thanks for letting us know, Q.

[sillybizz]

I sent one out yesterday and my dad is sending an email today.

[sk8architecture]

Just got off the phone with Pat. Currently removing basket 3. Bummer.

I guess the GM did not show up for work today. He is not going to have a happy inbox folder when he does show up for work.

Near as Pat and I can figure. Sounds like there is no real reasoning for closing it, other than the GM guy has power and wants to flex his muscles. FYI this is a new GM that has been there for about 2.5 years. The old GM fully supported the course.

[sillybizz]

So only hole 3 is gone right now? If this is the last day to play it, I am making the trip to Bellingham today.

[sk8architecture]

Nope 1,2,3 gone. That was the hole they were currently on. They are pulling all the holes. If you get up there quick you may be able to play the back 12 or so holes before they get pulled. But you better hurry!

[sillybizz]

Nope 1,2,3 gone. That was the hole they were currently on. They are pulling all the holes. If you get up there quick you may be able to play the back 12 or so holes before they get pulled. But you better hurry!

F***!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :angry::angry::angry::angry::angry:

[Tim]

If they were to make MR a pay-to-play course, it could feasibly work (I don't know about that $1,000/mo figure though). Granted, if they were to do that, they'd need to allow concrete pads and have real baskets on all the holes. And hey, why not actually open up parts of the campground too? Every time I've played the course I've thought about how cool it would be to have an overnight tourney there.

[Boosh Dag]

Email sent Saturday morning.

Would hate to see this thing stick. Love the course and people that made it happen.

-Greg Lyman

[mrDROCK]

Thanks for the explanation. I understand now that the residence are looking for money from the land.

[JR Stengele]

Just got off the phone with Pat. Currently removing basket 3. Bummer.

I guess the GM did not show up for work today. He is not going to have a happy inbox folder when he does show up for work.

Near as Pat and I can figure. Sounds like there is no real reasoning for closing it, other than the GM guy has power and wants to flex his muscles. FYI this is a new GM that has been there for about 2.5 years. The old GM fully supported the course.

Where will all the baskets go? Could they be eventually be put in up in Lyndon where that large course was supposed to go so they don't just sit?


Sucks to lose one of the best courses in the state.

[olydiscgolf]

There was a short bit on the local news last night about the closing of this course. I've never played it, but it sounds great. Losing courses is not the direction this sport needs to go!

I'll see if I can find the story online.

[Boosh Dag]

Here's what the HOA website has listed...

Closure of Disc Golf Course – With the rapid deterioration of the Campground parking lot, due in large part to the heavy use by disc golfers, and the decision of the Board to not pave the parking lot, a tipping point was reached indicating that disc golf is going to require significant time, cost and attention in the future, without a significant return to the Association. Requested permission to close the course from the Executive Committee. Permission was granted and the course has been set to close on the 16th of July. Disc golf contacts have been notified.

[LJ Jubner]

Whats the address of the HOA site? That's where we should be posting.

Has anyone asked if the HOA will hire someone to collect their fees?
Is there an in force land use agreement? If not Do'H

Has anyone walked the SV neighborhood asking for support form it's residents directly?

Normally issues like this go largely unnoticed by the General population these HOA's say they represent. More often then not it's a small group that drives issues like this.

Want to cause a real stink? Go around to local business's and remind them of how much you spend at their store. then "how it's too bad a local HOA's unilateral decision can have such a negative effect on their business.


This is just the latest example of how the DGC can polish a turd and then the powers that be wants their cut. We need to remember that we are doing loads of work and they get a free park. In the future we as a community need to protect our investments by having iron clad agreements with these types of overzealous landlords (in this instance the HOA).

[REDFIVE]

That is lame. The course is getting used too much so they have to shut it down. Horrible reason. Sounds lazy on their end too. Who needs a solution when you can kill it?

[Cornwall, Esq.]

@LJ post #18
unsure if there is in force land use agreement, but there is some type of "paperwork," per Pat. I have not seen it, thus cannot comment. Others with much more history in the sudden valley disc club would know. Even if there is a land use agreement, I personally don't know if it would be worth fighting with a private land owner who no longer wants us there.

As to walking the SV neighborhood and asking residents directly, I doubt this would be feasible or effective, as it is a very large community of wealthy homeowners situated around lakes and a ball golf course, and the average make up of residents appears to be retired couples, vacationers, and families. Thus, sheer size of neighbor hood and general character of population would make me disinclined to try a grass roots movement. Plus, we all got day jobs.

As to local businesses to inform, there really aren't any. There is a small Sudden valley shopping center, however it is much further past the course, and I doubt gets much disc golfer traffic. The lafeen's donut shop is where I usually go to eat afterward, and I extended my disappointment to them, however it did not seem to click.

While there were residents of Sudden Valley on the Sudden Valley disc golf club, who maintain the course, I don't know what extent their raising hell would do, sounds like it's a done deal.
Boosh Dog's post was the first time I heard that the parking lot was the issue. They just expanded the parking to get away from the gravel recently!!!!
We even have a sudden valley resident who works for the city doing nothing but road paving, who would likely have done this for costs had I known it was the issue. Maybe they just don't like cars entering the roadway on that tough turn?
All in all I'm super disappointed, and hope that Cornwall can take the increased traffic that will likely result. Guess it's time to work on another venue for top level disc golf?

Request: Please hyperlink the HOA website with the boshdog quote.

[luckylaurent]

Glad I got to play it before it disappeared!

[Boosh Dag]

Here's the link...

http://suddenvalley.com/2010/07/04/weekly-hightlights-28-jun/

[Yoduh]

Here's the link...

http://suddenvalley.com/2010/07/04/weekly-hightlights-28-jun/

This is a good friend of mine who is the manager at all of the west side Piece of Minds. He is also going to talk with a few of his neighbors. I think a really smart thing to do is to approach people that live in the neighborhood and see how many signatures you can get on a document supporting the course. If 5 golfers did this at time it would go fast!
To whom this may concern:

Hello, my name is Quinn Sharpe and I am a resident of Sudden Valley, Lot 254. I am deeply dissapointed that SVCA has decided to pull the baskets at our local frisbee golf course, Mossy Rock on Lake Louise dr. Frisbee golf is a great outdoor activity for kids and adults alike and, to my understanding, at no cost to SVCA. I have been playing frisbee golf for 15 years and have enjoyed my time with friends, family, and colleagues at Mossy Rock. I went to school at Western and played frisbee golf at the Cornwall Park for years (They have 9 baskets/holes). I was thrilled when I moved to Sudden Valley 3 years ago to find out that we had a local frisbee golf course maintained and cared for by people who love the game.

Please reconsider your decision to take away a great activity in Sudden Valley that enriches the neighborhood.

Best regards,
Quinn Sharpe
Lot 254

[Cornwall, Esq.]

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/07/23/1537758/sudden-valley-shuts-down-disc.html

Finally some local press! I'm happy they were successful getting the GM to comment.

Please use the up vote widget and make a helpful comment at the website.

[Ol' Bob]

I read all the comments. Glad I'm not there.

[Boosh Dag]

Ditto