QUINCY – Controlling traffic flow in the area, improving recreational equipment in Forbes Hill Park and keeping the view from the Furnace Brook Golf Course clubhouse the same are among of the values and principles brainstormed by residents for design improvements of Forbes Hill Park and Furnace Brook Golf Course. 

On Tuesday, June 28, Quincy residents gathered at Furnace Brook Golf Course for a two hour long Values Workshop, attended by about 83 individuals and conducted by the City of Quincy, to discuss their priorities for the design project. 

"Our goal tonight is to have...a values workshop about what the community wants to see from the golf course, from the park and the relationship and how it impacts the community at large," Dave Murphy, Quincy's director of natural resources, said. 

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The Forbes Hill Park renovation plan was first presented at a March 2 meeting. Plans to encroach on the grassy field and wooded areas of Forbes Hill Park with a 107-space parking lot and new basketball courts received significant pushback from residents. 

About two months ago, Forbes Hill and Wollaston residents organized a walk through of Forbes Hill Park to express their opinions on the city's redesign plans for the park. 

In April, Murphy said the intention of the original plan was to give drivers somewhere to park other than on the residential streets of the Wollaston Hill and Forbes Hill neighborhoods.

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Residents at April's park walk through said they don't mind drivers parking in their neighborhood once the golf course lot fills up, as long as the park stay untouched. The city took over operation of the Furnace Brook Golf Club on April 1.

When the original design plan was meet with push back, the city listened and a new tentative plan was drafted. The design process has since been paused to make way for community input on the project. 

Though, improvements will eventually come to Forbes Hill Park.

At a May 26 Quincy Community Preservation Committee meeting, $500,000 was requested for "Forbes Hill Park Renovations." Murphy said $346,000 was approved for improving the basketball courts, tennis courts, upgrading play equipment and planting trees at Forbes Hill Park. 

"Under any circumstances these improvements need to be made," Murphy said in an email. 

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Post its with residents' values and principles for the design project decorated the windows at Furnace Brook Golf Club at the end of the Values Workshop, 

The question for the night was: "What are the Values and Principles that the community and the diverse groups of stakeholders want to see reflected in the project design?"

Attendees were split into five randomized groups. Along with a facilitator, they discussed what items they feel are values and principles for the park and golf course design. Then, all attendees came together to report their groups' priorities and have them sorted into categories like park, golf course and safety. 

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Some conversations surrounded the ambiance of the neighborhood, parking, storm water management, drainage and the presence of alcohol, both at the clubhouse and in the park.  

When the topic of potentially changing the location of the Furnace Brook Golf Course clubhouse and expanding it came up in one group, some residents expressed concerns, while another other explained the reasoning behind it. 

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"I just have a concern it's going to be triple amount the size," Joann Squitier, a neighbor of the park and golf course, said.  

Dave Potter, who helped organize the walk through the park, advocated for the clubhouse to remain in its current footprint.

Another group member mentioned the importance of a watchable ninth green in regards to the clubhouse.

The group also discussed noise control in the area, revitalizing recreational space in the park and creating a more welcoming environment at the clubhouse. 

Not all residents in the same group or various groups saw eye to eye on certain issues, like whether dogs should remain on a leash in the park or not. 

To conclude the workshop, Murphy laid out the steps to come. He said his team is going to compile the information brought up and work to find common ground between contrasting points. 

"Tonight was about getting people to the table, giving them a voice in the process and we will continue that even beyond tonight to the next steps and the next community meetings over the course of the summer and beyond that," Murphy said. 

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Maria Mulligan, who helped organize the walk through the park, said the workshop was refreshing and a restart.

"It doesn't have to be division, us versus them, it can be a little oasis on the hill," Jenn McDonough, resident of the Wollaston neighborhood, said following the workshop. 

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Reach Alyssa Fell at afell@patriotledger.com.