Intentional damage at site of future disc golf course

One of the trees that was defaced at the site of the future disc golf course in Chi-Bro Park. Photo courtesy Village of Manchester

On Tuesday morning, May 9, Village officials discovered there had been damage to the work being done to prepare for the disc golf course in Chi-Bro Park.

Despite the enthusiasm for the project among the Village staff, Council, and Parks Commission, it’s evident there are some people who are less than thrilled with the planned venture. Trees that had been marked to denote the location of fairways had black paint painted all over them, according to Village Manager Michael Sessions. In addition, one tree was painted with the word “STOP“ on it.

“It appears that the damage is between what will be Hole 2 and Hole 3 of the disc golf course,“ Sessions said in an email to council members on Wednesday. “Sgt. Joel Gebauer and I believe that there might be some misunderstanding with the trees being painted and what the paint on the trees means. We are hoping that word of mouth helps explain to the public what the markings mean until the course can be fully finished.“

Sgt. Gebauer asks that if you have any information on this to please contact him at gebauerj@washtenaw.org.

Sessions added, “Village President Pat Vailliencourt is going to have Ben, the designer, come back out and fix the damage. This will be an additional expense to the Village of Manchester; however, we do not plan to have him back out to fix the course until we are ready to complete the construction of the tees and holes.“ He estimated that the additional cost would be in the neighborhood of between $500–$1,000.

Vailliencourt is incensed by what she considers vandalism of the course, for a second time. “Manchester is better than this,“ she said. “I have been told that Ben was approached by some neighbors objecting to ‘invading‘ their privacy and I had one guy tell me that ‘it will bring in outsiders that don‘t have our values.‘ I wonder what he thinks of our community values now.“

Manchester resident Andy Galicki said in a Facebook post, “I understand that this course is going into an area of town that many people love as a nature area, walking path, or biking trail, and that members of our community may feel like they will lose it … but I also truly believe that we can provide a wonderful addition to this community without sacrificing any of the functionality of a beloved area of town. And that‘s no reason to vandalize someone‘s hard work and dedication.“

Galicki concluded, “If you have an issue with this project, please reach out and be a part of the solution instead of the problem.“

Vailliencourt added, “The community response has been they are appalled and ashamed that this happened in Manchester. I have had several people volunteer to help get the course done. Also, Ben from Innovagolfer has been great. He has been personally working to get the course ready to put in the throw pads and baskets. We absolutely will not let this prevent us from finishing the course. It is an awesome outdoor multi-generational activity that will be free to play.”

Trees that had been marked for the fairway were painted over so the markings were obliterated. Other markings for tree removal were also covered so measurements and markings must be done over again.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.