Bovenzi Park

[Jason Southwick]

So while Hadwen Park chugs along at a pace whose rhythms I have only so much influence over, my life ebbs by like blood dripping. And while the attention span is a bit short for true crippling depression, it's not that hard to figure out what depression is and when you have it.

All because I'm not building a course right now. Just to be loading the dogs and chainsaws into the truck to meet friends in the woods to build a course. How is it possible to have screwed up one's life to the point of not being able to do, right now, the thing one was meant to do? The funnest, most satisfying, most fulfilling thing: Building a disc golf course. With Hadwen stuck in the getting-permission phase, precluding all chainsawing, and me already thinking at the last "Stand there and field questions from angry neighbors who hate me" meeting how great it would be if I could turn myself into the kind of monster in "The Thing" that one of the guys tied to a chair turned into when they touched red-hot metal to his blood, and bite a few heads off. Literally bite their heads off.

This is what happened, in a very large nutshell. I took my chainsaws and dogs to Maravista off West Mountain St in Worcester close to Holden, home of the infamous Dick Hurz. I went there to help Rick Belhumeur for once with his trees at his mom's house. And right there there's a park where, according to Rick, no one goes.

So we look it up and it's not a park but a piece of conservation land owned by the Worcester Land Trust, which, btw, bought a big chuck of Tommy Southwick's land, including Southwick Pond, the water we only see a small part of from Holes 16 and 17 at Maple Hill. The Worcester Land Trust is dedicated to keeping land undeveloped.

Rick visits Bovenzi Park first, before our research, just because we happened to talk about it that one time, and he says holy cow. It's been logged, in part because of the Asian Longhorn Beetle, and the half that I eventually walked (before we looked at the map and realized it's twice as big and has a whole other piece of land) is already cleared as if you were making a disc golf course. It's listed variously as 80 and 120 acres. So after looking at the map I had walked 40 acres that would make a superb disc golf course (if designed well). The disc golf course work of cutting and clearing has been done, with big spaces between medium to medium-large trees. Everything else has been cut down and chipped, with the wood chips layering the cart paths and other large areas of ground.

To build a course there would mean more brushhogging and weedwhacking than chainsawing. The dead wood is all gone, chipped. It could be a course with holes of all length, including an 800 hole. The loggers left lots of space between trees. There are potential fairways EVERYWHERE, with no areas that are too dense or too wet or otherwise unusable. The unusable space in this abundantly spacious woods, would be close to houses. Stay away from houses, especially when there's plenty of room to do so. One complaining neighbor...

So, I called the Worcester Land Trust and Colin, who answered -- this guy knows how to answer the phone -- with, "Jason Southwick of the famous Southwick Family in Leicester and disc golf," and on and on a little. And I say, getting right to the point, "I'd like to spearhead a volunteer effort to build a free public disc golf course at Bovenzi Park."

And he seems delighted by the idea, and says he has to scan the documents related to what can and can't be done at Bovenzi Park, and says he'll bring it up at the next WLT Board meeting next Wednesday.

Well, I'm fairly flabbergasted by this turn of events. Hadwen Park will proceed as it proceeds, but if I get a chance to start on this new piece of land, it starts. These first two steps, finding a suitable piece of land and getting permission? Pure fkng soul-grinding "please take a seat in Hell" torture. And the diplomacy, ahh diplomacy. Diplomacy has always been hard for me, like a foreign language you kinda know, but is fatiguing. Sometimes it's best to skip diplomacy and say something to the effect of "You and your slut mom can both sk meye dk." You know, bring the conversation to the point where you're really talking.

Granted, there's a fine line and some people disagree with my approach to human interaction. My wife, my friends, my critics, my supporters, my dad, all my siblings, most of my cousins. But I'm not one to fret about the fringe and its lunatic opinions.

Sometimes it's enough to know just what you know.

Happiness is...









...loading the dogs and chainsaws into the truck in the morning.

[Trent Solomon]

good luck with this. I might have to move if you keep building courses down there

[Rob Walker]

As always, you the man, Jason. Good luck.

[Andrew_Bottcher]

As usual, phenomenal news!

[Steve Solbo]

As long as their isnt a Conservation Restriction on the property and as long as the EOEA has nothing to do with the parcel, the WLT should be able to dictate proper "non-detrimental" uses on the property, or as EOEA likes to call them, "passive recreation uses"... they still think of disc golf as ball golf, I had it out with them a couple times in Mashpee, over this topic.

Good luck Jason! May be able to help decipher some of the paperwork they come up with.

[Jeff Prendergast]

Jason,

Does that park include the area abutting the highway interchange? The piece of land between Maravista and I-190 was recently cleared out (beetles?) if memory serves me correctly. If so, then there appears to be a fairly large area available. I know that location but didn't ever know the extent of the actual 'park' portion of that land.

Nice find!

[Adam Goodman]

Ah the diplomacy of building courses. What fun!

Many areas with potential around here have "passive use" issues either in the deed or town law. I consider dg passive use, and in CT it seems to be decided case by case and ultimately up to a vote by whatever body, conservation commission or parks and rec. I'm curious about how that conservation land bit goes at Bovenzi. In southern CT, groups like the Aspetuck Land Trust buy up land in order to preserve it, hands off folks. They just acquired 30+ acres in Westport for Paul Newman. I've never inquired with them as they appear to be against any development.

Well anyway, good luck with Bovenzi. Cool name, who was he/she?

[Todd Eddy]

The land was donated by Peter Bovenzi, a Leominster builder. There are many Bovenzis is the central MA area.

[Titan Bariloni]

close to highway is good feature..

finding out this year I am allergic to Bees...is going to damper my happiness nest year...

[Jason Southwick]

I rewrote some of the stuff I put together for Hadwen and emailed it in, and will follow that with packets of goodies and a Powerpoint Presentation (for them to peruse before their Wednesday meeting), which is not open to the public I believe. (Wait, I have to make sure about that.)

Took some pictures of Bovenzi Park that I included in the PP presentation.

We'll see. Fingers crossed.

[Jason Southwick]

Jason,

Alas, I have news, and it isn't good for your project.

The board reviewed your materials and were impressed.
However, the setting of disc golf baskets on the property appears to violate the terms of the Conservation Restriction.
Furthermore, we spoke to the organization that holds the Conservation Restriction and enforces it to get a sense of their thoughts on the allowability of a formal course on the property and they do not believe that that activity is allowed.

I am sorry Jason.
You have great presentation materials and your project is certainly with merit.
While any person could walk through the woods and throw a disc, the setting up of baskets, or the creation of a formal course appear to not be in keeping with the intent of the controlling legal document.

My sincerest apologies.
Thank you for considering Bovenzi Conservation Park.
We appreciate your taking note of it and considering it.

Sincerely,

Colin

Colin M.J. Novick
Executive Director
Greater Worcester Land Trust

[Kyle Moriarty]

Well those guys are a buch of buzz kills.

[David Hoey]

at least it was like taking off a band aid... quick and painless.

unlike other projects.

[Jeremy Binley]

What a kick in the Junk. Sorry Jason.

[Jason Southwick]

Object course? I see cracks in the ban. Call me crazy.

Here's where I'm at. Defeat is always the greatest thing ever if you're trying to motivate yourself. It's a question of human will. If the people making decisions about Bovenzi Park knew how great disc golf is...

Or maybe it's just time to move on. Get back on Hadwen right away, even though my best efforts to rush that project have little sway so far. It's the pace of things.

So today I take all three dogs to Bovenzi Park after writing the morning email inquiring how the Bozenzi Park meeting went, knowing I'd probably know the answer you just read by the afternoon.

And I marked off a killer course, having already walked the property several times, and kinda had an idea of how to go. Counterclockwise from the end of Maravista off West Mountain St. Lots of very long holes. 18 holes. Don't have to cut hardly anything. Just scrub ready to grow like wildfire come spring. Now it's almost playable, unless you like good tees.

I think we should play it, video it, and send it in, just in case the deciders decide to lean the other way.

I'll ask about weed whacking and brush hogging.

No problem with people throwing discs through the woods. Wasn't that a hint?

I think it was a hint to not give up yet.

Jason

[Titan Bariloni]

would be nice to have an updated "what is DG video" and all the benefits of having one....so people working on getting courses in could send with the package..and not spend 27 days describing in detail what disc golf is..!..plus story telling is a dying pastime...people want that "youtube insta eye gratification" kinda information....kinda sad..cuz stories are fun

[Andrew_Bottcher]

Say, I actually know the dude (Colin) who wrote you that e-mail, Jason. My parents and his wife's parents have been friends for like 30 years.

I'll see what I can do (if anything).

[Adam Goodman]

However, the setting of disc golf baskets on the property appears to violate the terms of the Conservation Restriction.
Furthermore, we spoke to the organization that holds the Conservation Restriction and enforces it to get a sense of their thoughts on the allowability of a formal course on the property and they do not believe that that activity is allowed.

Jason, you should definitely request a copy of the conservation restriction to see what it actually says. It's interesting how they say "do not believe". Almost as if you make them believe...they may change their mind. However, if it's in the deed or written law of the land or whatever, might not be worth fighting for. Also were the people who enforce the restriction at the meeting? If not, then they only heard your presentation 2nd hand and probably didn't get the full sales pitch. I'm so used to the knee jerk reaction to "golf". Good luck.