In time, Woodland Park expects Shining Mountain to be a shining example of a municipal golf course. In the short term, though, patience is needed.

“We just closed on this in December,” Mayor Kellie Case told over 100 residents assembled at the Ute Pass Cultural Center on March 17 for a Shining Mountain Golf Course community meeting. “We’ve been doing a lot of maintenance out there that had been deferred.”

While patience is encouraged, that doesn’t mean that meaningful improvements aren’t happening. The course has continued to be maintained during an historically dry winter and the buildings have gotten a lot of TLC.

“You will see quite a bit of improvement for this golf season compared to what we’ve seen the past couple of years,” City Manager Aaron Vassalotti said.

The city plans to open the course for the season on May 1. To get to that point, the city council will select a management company from among four applicants during its April 2 meeting.

That management company will run the pro shop, plus golf tournaments, events and lessons. The city will handle the maintenance of the grounds and will run the event center.

Speakers from the community expressed frustration with how the course had deteriorated over the years and about what they saw as the wasted potential of a beautiful property and setting. Many said the course had been chronically under-maintained.

City officials acknowledged those concerns and said everything that can currently be done is being done as fast as possible.

“Since the city bought the course, staff has been busy going through the facility,” Parks and Recreation Director Cindy Keating said.

Vassalotti said one of the urgent needs is to make an agreement with a food truck to serve the facility.

The main purpose of the meeting was to gather input from the community.

“The purpose for tonight is we don’t want to do this in isolation,” Case said. “We want to do it with input from you all. We really appreciate the feedback. The purpose is to get you involved.

“We didn’t want to come and frame a whole layout of plans for you. We need you to help us do that.”

That process will be ongoing. The city has established a website, Whatsupwoodlandpark.com/shiningmountain to keep the dialogue ongoing. Updates will be posted on that website throughout the process. Comments and suggestions can continue to be made there.

City officials stressed that the property is much more than a golf course. They are seeking feedback about those other possibilities as well. Among the items suggested at the meeting were tennis and pickleball courts, an expanded driving range and cross country skiing opportunities. Problems with the layout of the current disc golf courses were also mentioned.

Hearing those aspirations and issues was the point of the meeting. Continuing that dialogue and providing updates is the purpose of the website. It’s a municipal golf course and Woodland Park wants the entire municipality to be involved.

“This is your golf course,” Case said. “It’s not our golf course; it’s all of our golf course.”