Hundreds of attendees came out to give their opinions on the golf course on Wednesday, Jan. 11 only to end up seeing dots.

More than 200 people showed up to the packed event at the Fort Worden Commons building to explore the fate of 58-acres of city-owned property.

Port Townsend City Manager John Mauro said the commons was possibly the only space available in town large enough to host an event like it.

He also made clear the city’s intention to use the vast interest in the golf course to explore the future of Port Townsend’s pool while people were paying such rapt attention.

“We’ve taken a big decision and we’ve made it even bigger by taking the golf course and Mountain View and sort of putting them together because they’re so adjacent to each other. And maybe there isn’t anything between them, but let’s ask the question,” Mauro said.

Consensus on questions was hard to find.

Throughout the night, exclamations were tossed out with golf lovers’ angry asides countered by those who wanted to return the land to Native people or turn it back into a prairie drawing some of the loudest comments.

Chris Jones, founder of Groundswell, the Seattle landscape architecture and planning firm hired by the city, did his best to lead the audience through a presentation explaining what’s possible on the site while ignoring the interjections.

For months, he has worked with the help of a 21-person stakeholder group assembled by the city in response to the 2020 Parks, Recreation, and Open Space plan that indicated residents were interested in seeking alternative uses for the municipal nine-hole golf course.

“We are not designers necessarily, we are consensus builders,” Jones said. “We’re going to get a lot of feedback from all of you, not everything that everybody wants is going to fit on this site. It’s our job to discern what are the priorities.”

Jones offered examples of other golf courses that had been modified to include trails or public park land. Then he listed two golf courses that had been renovated to be maintained as is, but mentioned that his team had to look outside the state to find the latter.

When it came time for the question-and-answer session, Jones and city staff again maintained the situation by taking only written questions and disregarding the good deal of declarations offered aloud. So many people showed up for the event that the city ran out of comment cards for attendees to fill with questions and had to hand out sticky notes to keep control of feedback.

The move and the controlled nature of the event was not without more feedback.

“I feel silenced and like I have to speak through a sticker. I really was hoping to hear some of the diverse opinions because that would help me make a decision on what I want to see because I came undecided,” said Aleta Greenway, 38, of Port Townsend, after the meeting.

Chris Jones, founder of Groundswell, the landscape architecture and planning firm hired by the city, stuck around after the presentation to speak …

The bulk of opinions were collected by way of sticker dots, which attendees were given to place on pictures of more than 20 possible options, including affordable housing, disc golf, keeping the golf course as is, and more. The alternatives were displayed on two sets of boards, one for the golf course and another for the Mountain View Commons.

Even before the dots were down, there was a hint of what could happen.

“If we get a lot of dots on golf and a lot of dots on trails — let’s say we call it a day there — that’s going to tell the designers that we’re going to include golf and trails. That’s pretty straightforward,” Jones said.

At the end of the night, support for a pool was clear across all the Mountain View boards, however the golf course was far more split. Keeping the course as-is had an abundance of indicator dots, but so too did support for walking/biking trails, natural habitat, and the Kah Tai prairie.

Some of those at the meeting were glad to have dotted their eyes.

“I’m an older adult and I’m trying to encourage people to look at golf as exercise,” said Ginny Adams of Port Townsend, who identifies as over 65.

“I thought tonight was really well done. The city staff were very inclusive, open. They ran the meeting so no one person was going to dominate,” she said.

While the bulk may have been on nature trails and golf, there was still a spread of other options.

“I know where I’m not putting my dots,” said Tim Behrenfeld, 59, of Port Townsend. “Affordable housing.”

“I’m looking for things that bring community into the place,” he added. “I would love to see an outdoor theatre or an outdoor music venue.”

The plan for the next open house is to present the data gathered at this first event as well through a survey conducted online.

Opinions can still be submitted to the online survey at tinyurl.com/envisionpt.