Several improvements to Posse Grounds Park have been completed during the winter. The basketball court was resurfaced and received a new coat of paint at a cost of $5,900, the disc golf course was completed by Christmas and an expanded bocce ball play area is under construction and expected to be completed within the week according to Sedona Parks and Recreation Manager Josh Frewin.

“We do have some new bocce ball courts going in at Posse Grounds Park,” Frewin said. “There was an existing one that was in pretty poor shape, so it’s replacing that one. We ripped up that existing one and put in two new fullsized bocce courts with a shade structure over it right behind the tennis court area.”

Many of the park’s visitors were unaware of the bocce court because the walkway to get to it wasn’t obvious.

“But now we have a pathway leading out to that and some shade structures, looks much better,” Frewin said. “So it’ll be a lot clearer to anyone on that trail or near the tennis courts will easily see [it].”

The project cost for the new bocce courts was about $7,400 and was completed by the city of Sedona’s Public Works Department.The project’s main expense was the construction of the concrete shade structures, while most of the other required materials were surplus from prior public works projects. Frewin said that a small non-electrical scoreboard will also be added soon.

There are currently no formal bocce ball or disc golf leagues. However, Frewin said that tournaments and leagues have been discussed, and a pair of residents who live near the park, Danusia Szumowski and Dave Fowler, have started a “Sedona Bocce League at Posse Grounds Park” Facebook group to organize residents for more regular play.

“Dave and I moved to Sedona from California, from St . Helena , ”Szumowski said. “It has a wonderful bocce community … they’ve got a league that’s organized by the city and people are really involved. By the end of the season, if you’re lucky enough to get on a team, you know, a big chunk of the community. It’s kind of the heart and soul of meeting people, forming meaningful new friendships. It’s one of those things where people of all ages play … It was just a wonderful experience and probably the best part of living in St. Helena … When we came [to Sedona] we missed that, so Dave and I were thinking, ‘How can we get bocce back into our lives?’”

“The other thing in Sedona we notice is people that live here are looking for ways to connect with one another, community,” Szumowski said. “‘How do we as people who live here form more meaningful relationships and have a sense of community? Dave, and I thought bocce, it’s not going to be the answer, but it could be a meaningful contribution toward that goal.” They eventually discovered the nearby bocce court at Posse Grounds but were disappointed by its state of disrepair. “It was really unplayable,” Szumowski said. “It was exciting for us because we thought, let’s fix this. So I then began a crusade with Parks and Rec to show them how this could be a great thing and I put together a Facebook page, talked to our neighbors.”

The city of Sedona broke ground on the improvements in mid-July and the couple has been documenting the progress since then.

“One of the goals [is] to create a league play but you kind of need a critical mass for that, and two courts, side by side was optimal, they decided to do that,” Fowler said. “Based on the plans that I submitted, they have constructed two essentially professional bocce courts that now enable us to create leagues and be able to initiate that process with Parks and Rec. So we’re really looking forward to getting the word out to the greater community.”

Fowler and Szumowski are hoping to advertise the courts to residents and kick off formalized play in the early spring but haven’t discussed it yet with the city.

“We’re hoping to form an official league now that we have two courts, there can be some competition … and, again, create community,” Szumowsk said. “The other thing we have to figure out is some formalization of how to maintain the courts.” “[Bocce ball] is a social, easy sport that anyone can play,” Frewin said. “We also made the court ADAaccessible for people to play. We’re excited to get them open and get everyone involved, whether experienced players or playing for the first time.”

Disc Golf

The full disc golf course at the north end of Posse Grounds Park was completed on schedule for Christmas and all 18 holes are now open. The cost was $6,200, with a private sponsorship for the course baskets worth about $2,850. Public Works did the construction and resident volunteers helped with some of the course design and layout.

“A few years ago, we started with what was called December Disc Golf Days. It was like the three disc golf baskets on the field [to] gauge interest,” Frewin said. “[We] eventually moved it up to where it is now, about north of [the community] pool and has a little five-hole course set up there. It was still heavily used and lots of good feedback, so we took it to the city council.”

Some minor landscaping and walkway smoothing along with a bench installation are still scheduled for the disc golf course.

“[Disc golf] is an inexpensive sport to play; youjust get a few discs and can come play,” Frewin said. “It’s free to actually play once you have the disc. It’s a great time to do it with friends and family, you can do it by yourself … Some of the disc golfers call it ‘hiking with a purpose.’”

Pickleball

Construction of up to eight new dedicated pickleball courts in place of the north softball field at Posse Grounds Park is anticipated to begin in May or June, according to city communications manager Lauren Browne. The project will be put out to bid in the coming months.

Additional improvements that are part of the$1.54 million pickleball project include lighting fixtures, shade structures, benches, the installation of a water station, fencing with a gate, waste receptacles and two new parking areas with 50 stalls.